No Good Deed: A Small-Town Romantic Suspense Novel

19. Fat Lot Of Good

Piper’s head felt like a symphony orchestra was playing inside it, with each section working on a different song. What had happened? Why did she hurt?

Her brain was foggy, and for a long moment, she didn’t try to think. Instead, she focused on breathing. In and out. In and out. Quiet the noise, quiet the panic. In and out.

The next time she woke, the noise had receded enough that she didn’t think her head would explode. The pain was down to a normal headache on steroids.

Could she open her eyes? Move? Should she?

Piper couldn’t think of specifics yet, but she was aware that danger surrounded her. When she felt herself drifting toward the darkness again, she fought to stay conscious. If she was in danger, awake was better than asleep.

Why was she in danger?

She focused on her breathing, keeping it calm and letting the fog dissipate. Suddenly, the memories clicked into place.

They’d been at the saloon, talking to the town about her ideas. The people had been excited about her suggestions. After the meeting broke up, she’d headed to the back to check on Oreo. Her body had been drained from the meeting, so she’d splashed water on her face in the bathroom.

Oreo had barked outside the door, and she’d been talking to him as she’d opened it.

Something had pinched her neck, and her head had slammed against the doorjamb. That was all she remembered.

Panic had her heart thumping, and it took precious seconds to calm down enough to pretend to still be unconscious. In all the books she’d read, it was a good idea to fake it to learn more about the situation.

Except all the horrible things that happened to women when they’d been knocked unconscious ran through her head, and her eyes flew open even as she tried to move her hands and feet.

She wasn’t wearing a blindfold, but she was gagged, and her hands and feet were tied. How had she not noticed that right away? Had he drugged her or knocked her out with a blow to the head? Or both?

Where was Oreo? Was her little dog okay? If this bastard had hurt him, he was going to pay.

The urge to vomit consumed her, and she wasted precious seconds squashing that. It felt like duct tape gagging her. If she vomited, would that stop her being able to breathe?

She checked out the space she could see in front of her, not ready to try moving yet. If he was behind her, he might not have realized she’d awakened.

Where was she? Without moving, she checked out her surroundings. With the dim light, she could see wooden floors covered with dust. Paneling covered the lower part of the wall, and flowery wallpaper was above that. The paper was torn in spots, and the paneling was scuffed and dusty. No furniture in her view. Nothing to use as a weapon.

She hadn’t heard anything since she’d woken. Was he watching her? That caused a full-body shudder she couldn’t stop.

When there wasn’t any reaction to the shudder, she tried to move. Her hands and feet were numb, probably from whatever he’d used to bind her. Flexing them, she couldn’t get enough feeling to tell what it was. Probably more duct tape.

Her hands were behind her, so she couldn’t pull off the gag. Could she bend backward enough to reach her feet? Maybe she could walk out on her own.

Which brought her back to wondering where she was.

Piper stretched her neck slowly, hoping no one was watching, and hoping to feign waking up if he was. The ceiling was intact but in dire need of a coat of paint.

She rotated and found another wall similar to the first. A window was on this wall, but was boarded up with slats. The gaps between the slats and one loose slat at the top allowed in the dim light.

More rotation showed she was alone in the room, and that there was only one door. She needed to get out of that door, and to do that, she needed to get out of her bindings.

Turning in the slow circle had her heart pounding. Between the exertion and the fear, breathing solely through her nose made her dizzy.

She stayed motionless while she tried to calm her body and her brain so she could find a way to free herself. In all the books she read, there was a handy tool left behind by the kidnapper that would help free her. Apparently, Ethan hadn’t read the same books because there was nothing in the room but her and the boards covering the window.

She could use the loose one as a weapon if she could get free. Which was a big if. She tried twisting and bending to get her hands closer to her feet. When that didn’t work, she wondered if she could maneuver her body into a ball, get her hands under her feet, and bring them forward.

If it hadn’t been such a dire situation, her attempts would have been laughable. Looked like she would be adding some flexibility training to her daily routines.

Forcing down the panic, she rotated to look around the room again, hoping she’d missed some tool or sharp edge.

Once again, only the loose board on the window looked helpful, but she couldn’t reach it from the floor. Was there a way to get to her feet? Would moving be easier if she hopped or rolled? With the numbness getting worse in her extremities, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stand, but it was worth a try. That way, she see if doorknob was open and if she could escape.

Deciding that was her best hope, Piper rolled near the wall and tried to figure out how to use it to stand up with her hands behind her back and bound.

Her first attempt didn’t get her anywhere. Neither did her second. Or fifth, when she had to take a break to get her breathing under control. Her vision was getting obscured by crazy flashing lights as dizziness threatened to render her unconscious again. Her lack of food this morning was helping the nausea but it weakened her. She had to push past it. If she could inch up the wall like a worm, she could escape.

She was about to try again when the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door had her freezing in place.

* * *

Troy had been trained to think past the emotions. In the Army, letting your feelings loose could lead to death for you and your companions.

In all the situations he’d found himself in while working for Uncle Sam, he’d never once been as terrified as he was now. Containing those feelings was getting increasingly difficult as the minutes ticked by.

Where the hell had Westerlake taken her?

The car hadn’t passed by any of the security cameras again, but that still left a lot of options. There weren’t many cameras in town, but there were lots of back roads heading in different directions.

At least they knew he hadn’t gone past Midnight Lake and Troy had called Stan to see if he’d spotted anyone passing his farm on the north road. Stan hadn’t seen or heard anyone, but had been working in his garage for a while.

To the south, Mrs. Gupta thought maybe she’d seen a silver car, but it could have been white. Or maybe it was a van. She was too rattled to remember clearly.

In other words, they had nothing, and Piper had been missing for over an hour.

Marcus had contacted deputies in nearby locations to be on the lookout for the car, and was on the phone with the police in her suburb of Chicago looking for more information on Westerlake. He’d spoken with at least two detectives so far and was waiting on a call back from someone in the vice department.

Troy returned to the street behind the saloon, and walked up and down again, looking for clues. Enough people used the area that tire tracks were useless. He walked to the next street in both directions but didn’t find anything dropped on the side of the road.

When he returned to the saloon, he heard Oreo barking. He hadn’t wanted the little guy to freeze, but it sounded like he was lonely. Troy moved through the back door into the kitchen area, but the barking was coming from the room out front. Oreo was probably searching for Piper exactly like the rest of them. Or he maybe had to go outside to do his business.

Troy found Oreo barking near the stairs, but the dog raced over to Troy when he walked into the room. Troy scooped him up. “You’re missing her too, aren’t you, Oreo? Don’t worry. We’ll find her. Come on, we’ll see if Joe’s next door with Moose.”

The huge mutt was a combination of Newfoundland and Sasquatch and was another Kimi rescue. He was also a gentle giant, and Troy was pretty sure he wouldn’t eat Oreo.

He found Lia working on a laptop in the back waiting room with Moose at her feet. The behemoth lifted his head, and sniffed the air with his eyes lasered in on Oreo.

When he woofed, Oreo flinched and nearly jumped out of Troy’s arms. Moose stood and it only took two steps to reach them. Oreo leaned over to check out the dog and Moose sniffed his face and then licked him with a tongue that was nearly as big as the bulldog.

Despite the stress, Troy smiled and put Oreo down. The two sniffed at each other, and then Oreo turned a few times and plopped onto the floor. Moose licked him again and then flopped down with his front paw, circling the smaller dog.

Lia laughed. “That was easy.” Then she sobered. “He’s welcome to stay here with me for as long as you need. Anything new on Piper?”

He shook his head. “Not yet.”

But his phone rang with Marcus on the other end. “What have you got?”

Marcus blew out a breath, and Troy’s stomach tightened. Marcus didn’t make him wait long for answers. “No word on Piper, but we have a few people who are pretty sure the car went south. I’ve made some calls, but no one has spotted it yet. We have to assume he’s got her.”

Troy closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing until he could speak. “That bastard is going to pay for this.”

“Damn straight.”

“There are more present and past law enforcement agents and military people in these few square miles than almost anywhere in the country. How the hell did he get past us?”

“Good question.”

Troy paced the room. “Has anyone else reported two men in the car?”

Marcus paused for a moment. “No. What are you thinking?”

“I think it could be a decoy. What if Ethan was dropped off here and has Piper close to home?”

“But he will need a car to get out at some point.”

Damn. That was true. “What if he’s taken her to my place? Used my car? Or Piper’s car?”

Troy raced out the door and wasn’t surprised when Joe ran with him. Marcus drove the official squad car and caught up to them just as they arrived at his home. Troy’s car sat where he’d left it when they’d walked to the Saloon earlier in the day.

Marcus parked to block the driveway while Joe raced around the back to cover that exit. Troy moved to the front door while Marcus covered the exit through the garage.

Troy checked the door, but it remained locked. He used his key to open it slowly. No reaction inside. He peeked inside to find the alarm still set. He quickly entered the code and disarmed it.

No one was in the living room, and a quick peek showed the kitchen area was also empty. Troy unlocked the back door and Joe came in. They swept the bedrooms and bathrooms but found nothing. Which only left the garage.

He texted Marcus to let him know they were entering from the mudroom. Marcus had Troy’s spare key and would enter from the front.

As they entered, Marcus called out, “Police. Hands where I can see them”, but Troy could tell by the feel of the place that it was empty. Her car was there, but Piper wasn’t.