Chapter 19
He screwed up and Rafe knew it. As he dressed the following morning, he contemplated saying the hell with it and simply forgetting the investigation.
After all, he came here to relax, not to mention the fact he was suspended.
Jase and his team could handle the Hernandez case.
Besides, Diana probably wouldn’t agree to accommodate his request to deliver information on Paul’s uncle.
Starry-eyed over her wedding, her loyalties remained with her fiancé and his family.
At least that’s what he kept telling himself as he ate breakfast in the hotel lobby. He texted Sam that he had errands to run today and for his friend to keep company with Keith and Debbie and others.
’Cause he sure as hell wasn’t terrific company right now.
Of all the regrets he’d had in life, what he’d said to Allison last night ranked up there with the worst of them. Even though what she’d said in return had hurt, she spoke only the truth.
He didn’t fit in with his big, noisy, loving Cuban family.
Talk about bad timing. Lecturing her about her sister after the best sex he’d had in months, hell, ever?
Talk about a mood killer.
Rafe chased his eggs around the plate with a fork, wanting to hit his head against the table in frustration. How could he be so foolish?
Again, the job interfered with his personal life. Only this time, it wasn’t because he’d dedicated himself to hunting down the bad guys.
It was sheer stupidity, all because he finally managed to pry Allison away from her clinging sister. Even if his intentions were honorable, they were horribly misconstrued.
Soy Idiota. You are an idiot.
He’d told Allison it was best to stay apart because she was ruining his investigation, but Rafe knew he was the one who was ruining it.
Maybe he should have tossed in the towel, enjoyed the motorcycle run for the sheer thrill of riding instead of constantly analyzing everything.
Looking for ways to get to Hernandez and get evidence. The crime lord was his albatross, his constant obsession, making him lose reason. Rafe closed his eyes a moment, seeing the dead faces of his agents. He owed it to their families to deliver justice. But was he fooling himself?
The man has evaded us for years. You think you can be the one to bring him down, after all this time?
Appetite gone, he pushed aside the Styrofoam plate and sipped coffee. Nagging instinct made him look up when someone entered the dining area of the hotel.
Or perhaps it was the subtle, enticing scent of a light floral perfume he instantly recognized. A fragrance that rubbed against him last night and burned into his brain as he’d made love to...
“Allison,” he said aloud.
She stood a few feet away, and the first thing he noticed was her auburn brown hair, tangled and unkempt. Were those leaves in her hair?
Had she slept in the woods? Rafe glanced at the rumpled pink jeans, white silk blouse stained with dirt and the floral jacket with a slight tear. Same clothing she’d worn last night when she’d stormed out of his room.
And out of his life, or so he’d thought.
“Allison, why are you here?”
“I need your help.” Allison didn’t meet his gaze. “I wouldn’t ask except... I’m desperate.”
Rafe set down his coffee cup. “What’s wrong?”
Biting her lip, she shook her head. Alarm raced through him. All these months he’d known Allison, even in the thick of being with the dangerous bikers, she’d never lost her composure.
Allison was calm and cool when everyone else got rattled and ran around shrieking like banshees.
Not now. He pushed out his chair, took her hand and led her over to a quiet corner by the elevators.
“Allison, what is it? Did someone hurt you?”
The old protective streak rose up in a fury. “Tell me and I’ll find that son of a bitch and...”
“Diana’s gone.” She raised her gaze to him, and he saw, for the first time, the panic flaring there. “She’s missing.”
His mind raced. Rafe gripped her arms to steady her. Damn, she seemed ready to collapse. He’d never seen her this rattled.
“I need to call the police, but then I thought I’d call the FBI, and then I realized you’re the FBI and I thought of you, but I can’t risk calling the cops because they’d ask too many questions or not take me seriously or say it was a case of the wedding jitters and she ran away.
But if it is, why is her veil splattered with blood?
I didn’t know what to do or where to turn so I came here! ”
“Dios Mio, she’s missing? Okay, take a deep breath. Let’s sit down.” He steered her over to one of the lobby chairs, now abandoned by hotel occupants who’d set out for the bike rally.
“Start at the beginning, from when you left my room. Tell me the last time you saw her. Leave nothing out.”
In halting words, staring at the ground, Allison detailed what she’d found. Rafe listened intently.
When she finished, his heart sank to his stomach. Didn’t look good, but he couldn’t alarm Allison any more than she was already distressed.
“Diana’s mood changed yesterday. Even I noticed it, and I barely know her. Did she get any phone calls, or texts, that upset her?”
Allison finally raised her head. “No. Paul is supposed to fly up later today. They were to marry Sunday. What am I going to tell him?”
“One thing at a time, Allison.”
“Should I call the cops? I should. But I’m scared, Rafe. Can you help me?”
The pleading in her big brown eyes, the genuine terror—hell, they’d make the sturdiest man melt.
“No police for now. We need to check the hospitals first.”
“You do it. I-I don’t know where to start.”
He nodded and began calling the nearest medical facility and a few clinics. Nothing.
Rafe thumbed off his phone. “Take me to the cabin. Did you leave everything the way you found it?”
She nodded.
Then blood drained from her already paling face. “Oh dear heavens, do you think she’s still alive?”
Allison began to shake. “Oh no, if she’s dead... She can’t be dead! My poor sister, why didn’t I stick to her side? Why did I leave her alone?”
Steeling himself against the need to take her into his arms, soothe her fears, he gave her a level look. “Get yourself together, Lexington. Stop getting hysterical. Do you want to find your sister or have a breakdown?”
Shocked, as he knew she would become, Allison gulped. She narrowed her eyes. “Find my sister. Are you going to help me?”
“Yes. Only if you do exactly as I say.”
“I will.” She parted her fingers in the middle and held up her hand. “Scout’s honor.”
He raised his brows. “Allison, that’s the Vulcan sign for live long and prosper.”
“Oh!” She gave a sheepish grin. “I never was a good Girl Scout. Too busy chasing the boys.”
“I’ll bet.” But glad she’d finally regained her composure, he nodded toward the parking lot. “Go outside and wait for me. Let me get a few things and I’ll be down.”
* * *
When he arrived at the cabin and the trail where Allison had found her sister’s bike, the ring and the bloodied veil, Rafe took over with smooth efficiency.
Using his bike gloves, he examined the veil. The blood splatters were even, almost too even. Squatting down, he examined the forest floor and decaying pine needles and oak leaves. No blood. No blood trail. Whatever happened to stain the veil hadn’t happened here. The ring was also absent of blood.
He straightened, meeting Allison’s worried gaze.
“Let’s go to the cabin.”
Not questioning him, she led the way. In the cabin, he examined everything, including Diana’s bedroom.
Her clothing was still hung neatly in the closet. Rafe opened drawers, sifted through pairs of silk panties and lacy bras. He shut the drawer.
“Your sister sure did like clothing. I don’t suppose you remember how much she packed?”
Allison bit her lip and shook her head.
“Did she have a purse?”
“No just her pack. And her cell phone, but I don’t see it anywhere.”
“Let’s look around the cabin.”
They searched inside and out on the deck.
As they returned inside, empty-handed, Rafe went into the bathroom to search it.
On the floor near the shower, he spotted a small crimson droplet. Still wearing his gloves, he opened drawers and saw a small pair of cuticle scissors.
The edges were red.
Dropping the scissors into the drawer, he looked at an anxious Allison standing in the doorway.
“No blood trail, no indication any harm was done to Diana. No, this is more like a statement, Allison. I think she did this to herself.”
Relief mingled with bewilderment on her face. “Why would she cut herself? What kind of statement does that make?”
“Drama, maybe. Your sister does seem prone to it,” he said dryly. “She craves attention and drama.”
Allison blinked. “You think me forcing her into eloping had her creating drama to get attention? That’s a stupid way of getting it. And as much as Di craves the spotlight and drama, this feels different.”
“I can’t argue that. The veil wasn’t slashed by an angry bride. But the blood and the ring make no sense.”
“Well, it’s obvious she left. Or someone took her. Not through the woods, either. How did she get out? On foot?” Allison wondered.
“I doubt she’d call an Uber or Lyft and draw attention to herself.”
Suddenly Allison remembered. “Damn. I totally forgot. Dad kept a car up here, on the property, for when he and mom would fly up here on weekends. It was easier than the long drive. The car is older, but he parked it in the old barn.”
She hunted through the cabinet holding the DVR. “The keys are gone.”
Rafe pointed at the DVR. “We’ll go through this after we check on the car.”
They went to the barn together. The padlock was gone. Even before Allison opened the door, she knew.
The car was gone. Rafe peered inside and then squatted on the ground to examine the tire tracks in the mud.
“I’ll need a description of the vehicle to give to my team,” he told her.
Back inside the cabin, Rafe opened the cabinet holding the DVR. Four cameras—three at the cabin’s entrances and one on the tree by where cars parked. Two more at the barn. All wireless.
“Your security system still works?” he asked.
Allison rolled her eyes. “Duh. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Stress makes you forget.” He thumbed backward through the footage and frowned.
Several minutes later, he blew out a frustrated breath. “All the footage since yesterday has been deleted.”
“I don’t even know if Di knows how to work the machine. Dad did show us long ago, but I never thought of her paying attention to something like that.”
“Perhaps she did. You may have underestimated your sister, Allison.”
Maybe Rafe was right, and Diana was involved in something shady. Allison shook free the thought.
“I know you two are close, but how close? Would Diana share deep secrets with you?”
“Why?”
“Mi familia.” He shook his head. “My family. I have two sisters, and they loved to share secrets and swap notes. Julie and Ronnie sometimes would leave notes for each other in their clothing hamper. I found one once and blackmailed Ronnie into giving me her week’s allowance so I wouldn’t tell our parents she skipped school to go to the movies.
Allison’s mouth quirked. “You sneak.”
“I prefer to think of it as being a good negotiator. Would Diana trust you with a secret?”
Her brow wrinkled. “Yeah, she would.”
“If Diana were going to leave you a message for your eyes only, where would she put it? Not a text or an email, but something covert. Did you have a special way of communicating when you were younger, something to keep secrets from your parents?”
“Yeah.” Allison frowned. “What are you thinking? Like spies do?”
“Something like that.”
Allison exhaled. “I don’t know. Maybe the blood on the veil is a message? But she hates pain.”
Hates pain... That made Diana’s actions even more puzzling. Why did she cut herself then?
“So, you think she’d leave me a secret message like the CIA spies do? Like a spy watch or a drop point?”
“It’s possible. How would Diana leave you a message when you were younger? Think, Allison!”
She racked her brain. Then it clicked.
“Books. I was always nagging her to read more. Real books instead of fashion magazines. I would circle words in the book to help her when we were younger, and later, we’d highlight or circle words to leave secret messages.”
She ran into her bedroom and rummaged around on the nightstand. “I brought two books.”
In Diana’s bedroom, The Help had been left on the nightstand. She handed Animal Farm to Rafe. “Here, you look through this one and I’ll look through the other. Look for words circled in ink.”
Allison handed him a tattered copy of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. He found three words circled early in the tome: before I die.
This wasn’t good.
As he showed it to her, she whispered, “Oh no.”
Rafe took the book from her trembling hands.
At the book’s beginning, the word help was circled.
The next word circled was me.
Diana’s message was grimly clear. Help me before I die.