Against All Odds Page 9

  She felt like she was wearing a flashing neon sign, like everyone could sense what they’d done. Of course that was ridiculous, but the feeling wouldn’t go away.

  Once she was sure nobody was looking, she sent him a quick text asking if he was okay, and then she went to work. There was enough to do to keep her busy for a week without even needing to leave her desk. That was just as well. She was in no state of mind to be out dealing with the public.

  Genevieve pushed everything from her mind and focused on the task at hand. Before she knew it, a couple hours had flown by. Still no text back from Nick.

  Her stomach twisted. Not that they usually spent much time texting back and forth. They weren’t in a relationship. It was just that with the night before and the way he’d left, she needed to know that everything was okay. That they hadn’t ruined the good thing they’d had going.

  She felt like kicking herself for inviting him over. For wearing that dress and basically inviting him to kiss her and forget about his problems for a while. All she’d done was push him away. Destroyed any chance they had at a real relationship—the one thing she really wanted.

  Focus!

  Genevieve turned back to the paperwork and her computer and chastised herself for worrying about what Nick thought of her. He was concerned about one thing, and that was finding his daughter. It was far more important than anything else.

  Officer Chang stopped at her desk and leaned against it. “A bunch of us are heading over to that new Indian restaurant. Want to join us?”

  “Yeah. Meet you there.”

  “You can ride with me. I have room.” He ran his fingers through his hair slowly and drew his eyebrows together. “Save on gas, and all that.”

  “Okay, sure.” She grabbed her purse and followed him. At least hanging out with some of the other officers for a while might help to get her mind off everything.

  Except it didn’t. Conversation didn’t drift away from the shooting or the two missing people. Theories flew around the table like gnats at a summer barbecue. Everyone was excited that a suspect had been named based off the police sketches.

  Genevieve wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I didn’t hear about that. Who did they name?”

  Chang held her gaze for a moment. “Some guy the captain’s ex was seeing. He’s the one who identified him. Said he was a hundred percent sure.”

  The news felt like a slap to the face. “And he took his leave of absence after that?”

  Grant nodded and leaned over the table. “He threw quite the fit. Can’t really blame the guy, though. If someone my ex dated did that and took my kid, I’d be seeing red myself.”

  Genevieve nearly dropped her napkin. “Sounds like he really needed to step away from the case.”

  Chang snorted. “My money’s on him not staying away from the case.”

  She sat taller and stared him down. “He’s as professional as they come. If he says he’s taking time off, that’s what he’s doing.”

  He held her gaze. “You’d know.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  All other conversation at their table grew quiet.

  Chang leaned back in his chair. “Just saying you two work together a lot. That’s all.”

  Her face warmed, and she hoped it didn’t turn pink. She pressed her palms on the table. “It sounds like you’re saying more than that.”

  “Do I have reason?”

  “If you want to accuse me of something, why don’t you just say it?”

  A few people around the table mumbled to each other.

  Chang fixed his collar and continued holding her gaze. “Just making an observation. Nothing more.”

  Her pulse raced through her body. There was so much she wanted to say, but doing so would only make her and Nick look guilty. “All right then, let’s talk about something else.”

  “Fine by me.” His brows knit together as he continued staring at her, then he finally turned his attention to one of the others.

  She sipped her drink, trying to calm herself. Why had she agreed to ride with Chang?

  Shock

  Zoey leaned back in the chair. Her muscles ached, her head pounded, and her stomach hadn’t stopped growling. All of that was starting to pale in comparison to the rope burns on her ankles and wrists.

  She drew in several deep breaths through her nose and shook her head to keep sweat from dripping into her eyes.

  Trying to get out of the ties was turning into a futile cause. She was probably giving herself marks that would never go away—assuming she got away. There was no telling what the captor was going to do with her.

  Why bring her all the way to wherever they were? The car ride had seemed to go on for hours. Though it likely seemed longer due to being tied up on the floor underneath a blanket. It was like he purposefully ran over every bump in the road.

  The longer Zoey sat still, the colder she became, until she started shivering. If she didn’t keep fighting against the ropes, would she get so cold she’d die? Was that the plan? Or would starvation get to her first?

  Maybe that was his plan. He hadn’t been able to kill her back at the school, so he’d brought her here to die. It was a long way to drive just for that, especially when all he’d had to do was reload one of his guns.

  And what about Ava? Where was she? He’d been dragging her around like he had some kind of plan for her.

  Zoey shivered, and it made all of her pain all the worse. Even with as miserable as she felt, her eyelids grew heavy. It was tempting to give in, but could she even sleep tied sitting upright? She certainly wouldn’t stay warm—she would only grow colder wearing just a camisole and ripped pants.

  If only she could get over to the kitchen and rummage through it to find something to eat. She would take anything at this point.

  She had to keep fighting. Sleep would have to wait. The exhaustion would have to move over, because she didn’t have any other choice. Getting back to Ariana and Alex wasn’t optional. It would happen.

  Zoey went back to struggling against the ties. They dug into her already-sore skin. Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away and kept struggling. She would get free or die trying.

  Creak!

  She froze. Was he coming back?

  Scrape-scrape.

  Her throat closed up and she struggled to breathe. It was twice as hard without the use of her mouth. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs. But she had to save her energy for running.

  If she ever got the chance.

  Crash!

  Zoey struggled against the ties all the harder. She didn’t want to find out what was going on.

  Creak-creak.

  A door cracked open. It was one Zoey had thought was a closet.

  The door opened farther, but nobody came out.

  Her eyes widened. She struggled all the more. If she could’ve run and hid somewhere, she would have. Instead, she was in the middle of the room, exposed to whatever monster was about to come out for her. Possibly something far worse than the gunman.

  The door moved even more, now halfway open. Due to the dim light and shadows, Zoey couldn’t see anything—anyone. Was it another captive like her? Or someone worse than her captor?

  Crash! Thud!

  A plume of dust rose from the ground. It took Zoey a moment to realize someone had fallen to the floor from behind the door.

  She simultaneously wanted to scream and run. She could do neither.

  The person didn’t move for a moment, but then rose.

  It was Ava. She was still fully clothed, thank God. As she struggled to stand, she looked around the room, then finally her gaze landed on Zoey.

  Her mouth dropped. “Miss Carter?”

  Zoey struggled against the ties and tried to call out to the girl.

  “Why does Dave have you? Have you seen my brother or sister?” Ava asked.

  Zoey shook her head and continued whining—the only sound she could make with any real volume.

 
Ava wobbled toward her. “I need to get the keys to the cuffs on my ankles. Then I’ll get you untied. We have to run. I think Dave left, but who knows how long he’ll be gone?”

  Zoey moved back and forth, and tried to shout, for all the good that did. What they needed was for Ava to free her, then they could both look for the key, and find some food while they were at it.

  The girl continued talking, but Zoey couldn’t focus. She just needed to get out of the chair. The sooner the better.

  Once Ava finally made it to Zoey, she knelt down and pulled on the rope on Zoey’s right wrist. It seemed to take forever, but her arm finally fell free.

  Zoey reached for the duct tape and yanked it from her mouth, then she pulled out the gag. She gasped in as much air as she could.

  Ava freed her other hand.

  “Thank you!” Zoey stared at her red rope-burned wrists. They looked a lot better than they felt. She’d expected to see bloody flesh hanging from her bones.

  “We’ve got to get out of here!” Ava moved to Zoey’s left foot. “Dave’s crazy, and he might not be alone.”

  “I gathered as much.” Zoey bent over and reached for her other leg.

  A door slammed shut somewhere not far away.

  Zoey and Ava exchanged a worried glance.

  “Go back!” Zoey gestured toward the door Ava had come out of. “I’ll look for that key. Don’t let him know we’re trying to escape. That we’re working together. Hurry!”

  Ava nodded, then scrambled on all fours back to the room, moving much faster than she had before.

  Just after she closed the door behind her, Dave appeared around the corner.

  Zoey pulled her arms back against the chair as they’d been before. Hopefully, Dave wouldn’t notice the ropes on the floor or the missing duct tape from her mouth.

  Convince

  Alex called Nick. Again. It went to voicemail as it had the last fifty or so times. At least it felt like fifty attempts.

  Luke came out of the bedroom and brushed some hair from his eyes. He plopped down next to Alex on the couch.

  “How’re Macy and the baby?”

  “Both are sleeping. The doctor wants me to bring her to the hospital, but she just wants to rest first. Says she won’t be able to sleep at all once there. I’m sure she’s right.”

  Alex thought back to his recent stay at one. “True. They never seem to give you ten minutes to yourself. Do you need anything?”

  Luke shook his head. “You’ve got enough on your plate. Thanks for coming over. We really didn’t think Macy would go into labor so soon, or that it would happen so fast.”

  “She’s my sister. I’d do anything for her.”

  “Still, I appreciate it. At least you were here when I couldn’t be.”

  Silence rested between them until Alex spoke. “How long do you think you’ll be able to keep the news about Zoey from her? She was so persistent earlier. The baby crowning was the only thing that finally distracted her.”

  Luke closed his eyes. “That sounds like Macy.”

  “She’s going to want to know why her best friend isn’t here to support her.”

  “I know.” Luke opened his eyes. “I’ll figure something out. If she really won’t relent, I’ll give her part of the story. Make it sound not so bad. She’ll be mad at me later, but it’s worth it for her to not be stressed right now.”

  “You can blame it on me. Tell her I threatened to hit you.”

  Luke cracked a small smile. “Just find Zoey so Macy never has to know anything was ever wrong.”

  “That’s my plan.” Alex checked his phone. Still no calls or texts from his friend. “Well, if you’re fine and they’re sleeping, I’m going to take off.”

  Luke nodded. “Thanks again for everything.”

  “Don’t mention it.” Alex shook his hand. “Congrats again. I’ll call or stop by later.”

  “Sounds good. Let me know if you hear anything about Zoey.”

  Alex nodded, then made his way outside. His car was parked diagonally across the driveway, leaving no room for anyone else. Luke’s car was next to the sidewalk in front of the house.

  No time to worry about that. Alex climbed in and texted Nick to let him know he was going to his office and then his house to find him.

  Just as Alex was pulling out of the driveway, his phone rang. He accepted the call and put it on speaker. “Took you long enough.”

  “I’m busy, Alex.” Nick sounded out of breath.

  “What’s going on? Do you know where they are?”

  “No. That’s why I’m so busy, but I do know who has them.”

  Alex pulled over. “What? For real?”

  “Yeah. All the sketches except yours were of Dave.”

  “Dave? Dave, who?”

  “Corrine’s boyfriend.”

  “That Dave? What’s he doing here?”

  “Shooting up a school and holding my daughter.”

  Alex squeezed the steering wheel. “Why does he have Zoey?”

  There was a brief silence before Nick replied. “That’s anyone’s guess.”

  “It sounds like you have an idea.”

  “He’s a sick bastard, what can I say?”

  Alex thought back to what Dave’s son did to Ava. “You mean like his kid? You think he wants to… to…” He couldn’t bring himself to say it. “To Zoey?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. If I did, he’d have a bullet through his brain already.”

  Alex’s stomach lurched. “Where are they? Do you have any idea?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

  “Can’t you do that faster?”

  “No, actually I can’t. Especially since I’m not on the case. In fact, I’m not even working. I’m taking a leave of absence.”

  “What?” Alex exclaimed. “But you can stay on top of everything if you’re there.”

  “I can’t think straight. It makes more sense than any other time.”

  “We have to take this into our own hands, then.”

  “No, Alex, we can’t.”

  “Nobody cares about this case more than we do! Our skin is in the game like no one else’s.”

  Nick took a deep breath. “I realize that, and that makes us more likely to screw up. I’m not going to do that. My daughter’s life is on the line. I’m not going to pull the crap you did when Ariana was gone.”

  Alex gritted his teeth. “I resent that.”

  “You ended up under arrest, Alex! You should’ve let us handle it.”

  “The charges never stuck. You know that! If I hadn’t done everything I did—”

  “Alex, I need to go. As much as I don’t want to, I need to go back to Corrine’s. The officers just left, and I need to find out everything I can from her about Dave.”

  “See? You’re getting involved off the books!”

  “The difference is that I’m not doing anything illegal. I’m going to find out what I can from her. I can communicate with her in ways they can’t. Then once I find out what I need to, I’ll tell the head of the case.”

  “What am I supposed to do?”

  “Do what you do best. Blog about it. You have extensive reach.”

  “Can I at least post a picture of Dave? Tell about his past?”

  “They’ve already released one of the sketches to the press. They’re working on an actual picture. It’s public knowledge. Everyone needs to know what he looks like. Yes, post everything you know. I’ll talk to you later.” The call ended.

  Alex fought to breathe normally. The thought of Zoey and Ava with Dave made him sick to his stomach.

  He would try it Nick’s way—staying within the bounds of the law—but if that didn’t work, Alex wouldn’t hesitate to do what it took to get Zoey and Ava back safe and sound. As long as he wasn’t an officer yet, he was still a normal citizen. He could get away with a lot more, and he would take full advantage of that.

  Question

  Nick marched up Corrine’s walkway and rapp
ed on the door.

  She answered, looking both exhausted and annoyed. “What do you want? Your buddies just left.”

  “I know. That’s why I’m here.”

  Corrine groaned. “You never left?”

  “I’m an extremely patient man. Are you going to let me in?”

  “You’re not going to leave if I say no?”

  He shook his head.

  “I can call you in for stalking.”

  Nick arched a brow. “Really? You think that’ll work? What evidence do you have?”

  She threw her hands in the air. “Fine. Come in. You’re going to eventually, so I may as well get this over with.”

  He walked in past her. “I just want to find Ava. Nothing more.”

  “That’s all I want.” She slammed the door. “I don’t see how you being here is going to help.”

  “We’re just going to chat. See what we can figure out about where Dave might be.”

  “Because you don’t trust your guys to do a good enough job?”

  “Because I think you might be more relaxed talking to me. You’ll probably think of things you didn’t with the officers here.”

  Corrine laughed. “Relaxed around you? Are you delusional?”

  Nick plunked down on the couch and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. Just like he’d done thousands of times before on this very furniture. “Not delusional at all.”

  She folded her arms. “So, we’re just going to sit and talk about my ex like old friends?”

  “Why not?” He crossed one foot over the other.

  “Maybe because we hate each other?”

  “Do we? Really?”

  They stared each other down before she uncrossed her arms. “I’m going to get something to drink—I need it. Want something?”

  “Sure.”

  “What?”

  “Surprise me.”

  Corrine gave him half an eye roll, then disappeared into the kitchen. Glasses banged around.

  Nick looked around the room, studying the pictures of the kids. He didn’t have nearly enough of them. The only ones she hadn’t taken were the ones on his phone and backed up on the cloud.