AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Of course. I’m not sure I can be much help, honestly. There were…four. Maybe five.” She shivered, glanced toward the window. The hand in a splint crossed over her chest as if to protect herself from the memories. “No, I’m pretty certain the one man, the leader, said five. Said there were ‘five of us.’”
Heather helped her take a drink. His partner fussed with the blankets over her a bit. Heather had only been in Finley Creek a short while, he thought. But he’d seen her with Haldyn Harris and her evil lady cronies around the precinct several times since she’d transferred in.
Most likely because Heather’s wickedly cute little sister Hope now worked in the forensics lab, and had for about three weeks. The Coleson sisters were two highly attractive women who got looks everywhere they went. Even in TSP polos.
Those two Colesons would bring trouble to the TSP someday. Jarrod was counting on it. He looked at his biggest source of trouble now. “Men or women?”
“Men. Thirties mostly. I think. But one…maybe older, fifties possibly. He was the driver, I think. They were all strong, though. In good shape. After…I was in the van, they headed north. After that…they drugged me. Transdermal patch, here.”
There was a raw spot on her neck. He studied the soft skin for a moment. Her skin was delicate, pale. Soft looking.
He was going to find those bastards and shove his fist down their throats. Multiple times—each. Once for each of the bruises he could see right now. Queens should never have bruises like that on their delicate skin. Or have that fear in their eyes like that. “Then what?”
“I tried to listen to what they were saying. And to their voices. Some sounded very familiar. I just don’t know why. One said something…about me and Daniel.” She just kept shivering. Damn it, he hated to see her looking like that.
“What did they say?”
“Taunting me. About Daniel mostly. About our relationship. Said something about me…walking around the TSP…” Her eyes met his. He saw the knowledge in her eyes. What she suspected. “I am pretty certain he works with us. At least him and maybe one or two of the others. They sounded so familiar. I’d definitely heard at least two of them before.” The fear in those blue eyes—no, he would never forget. The bastards were on borrowed time. Jarrod was going to make sure of it. “I just…I’m not very good at audio identification of anything.”
“It wasn’t random.” No one had honestly thought it was. Abductions in broad daylight with a dozen witnesses just didn’t happen. Not in a city this size.
She took another drink. Jarrod grabbed a blanket off the small generic nightstand next to the bed. He covered her with it, tucking it up around her shoulders. She just eyed him, moving her arms out of the way. He adjusted the braid, so it wouldn’t be pulled.
Her hair was like silk.
“Thank you,” she whispered. But she kept shivering.
Damn those bastards. He was going to find them personally.
“Where’s Powell? Is she okay?”
“Your friend went to a safe house immediately after your abduction. We weren’t certain if she was a target or not,” Heather said. “Gunnar has her, actually.”
“That’s not going to go over too well. Not…Gunnar. She’s been avoiding him lately. She about had a panic attack when she saw him today—yesterday. She was definitely a target. The driver—I heard him say that the boss was going to be angry that they hadn’t gotten both of us,” Haldyn said. “They wanted both of us. They had been watching us. To get us together. One said that, too.”
She was still shivering, damn it. Jarrod felt completely useless. He opened the cabinet next to the bed. Haldyn just watched him. But he found what he wanted. Two more blankets. He covered the queen of the lab with one quickly. “There. Damned room is like ice.”
She just eyed him with mistrust. Like she always did. Partially his fault, but he had a job to do.
“Thank you. The other guy, the one in charge, I think, said the deal was they got both of us or they would only get half the money. When they thought I was out. I was listening. To see if there were any names used. But…there weren’t.”
“Why would someone want both of you?” Powell Barratt was an extremely wealthy woman with massive ties to the richest family in Texas. Haldyn was the head of the forensics division of the Finley Creek TSP, the daughter of a cop and a waitress.
There wouldn’t be much overlap through their careers. Ransom was a possibility. They could have taken both women—and killed the one without a lot of wealth behind her to send a message forcing the family to pay up for Powell. He’d worked a case like that before. But that case had been closed over a year ago. “What are you both involved in?”
There had to be something. Something they were both wrapped up in, all the way to their pretty little eyeballs. Nothing was ever that random.
“Work. That’s about the only thing we are involved in. She has her businesses, and I run the lab. We both spend a good fifty-plus hours a week just working.”
Heather elbowed him again. That pain in the ass had some seriously bony elbows. “Don’t be such an ass.”
“It’s his normal personality. Especially with me. Surprise—it’s almost comforting,” Haldyn said. She looked at Heather. “Where is Beck? He was so afraid. And he didn’t want to leave his father. I promised him he’d be okay.”
“He’s still in pediatrics. I have two sisters that work in this hospital on that floor—they took turns sitting with him, too. He was taken care of. I promise.”
“Thank you. I need to see him.”
Damned if the crazy woman didn’t flip the blankets back, revealing pale legs and slipper socks. Like she was going to get out of that bed and find that billionaire’s kid herself.
