Chapter 26
Tess wedged her sandwich wrapper into the trash bin behind the medical examiner’s office, wiped her hands on a napkin, and sat back down at a table in the shade to relax for a little while longer.
Lunch breaks were never glamorous there—twenty minutes if she was lucky, thirty if the universe was generous.
Today, the universe seemed to be in a decent mood.
One of the two autopsies Dr. Hansen had handled that morning ran longer than expected—the cause of death for a forty-four-year-old man had baffled him, and they were both hoping the toxicology screens would shed some light.
By the time they finished and Tess finally stepped onto the small patio with her lunch, everyone else had already drifted back inside.
Her e-reader became her only company, which was fine with her.
Out there, the world sounded completely different. No phones, no gurneys, no clipped footsteps on linoleum—just the steady drone of the building’s rooftop AC unit, a few gulls arguing overhead, and the hum of traffic drifting from the main road.
It was just her and a stretch of rare, quiet midday air.
She checked the time. Enough left to call Bonnie. Ever since Tess had stopped at the woman’s boutique, they’d talked on the phone every few days.
She dialed and pressed the phone to her ear.
Bonnie answered on the second ring. “You caught me at a good time. Are you on a late break, or did you ditch the office and run?”
She laughed. “Late break. However, the second option doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”
“Go for it! Chaos keeps life interesting.”
“Trust me, I get plenty of chaos.” It felt like she’d been living in a whirlwind for years, and starting medical school would only crank the speed higher. She wondered how Brian would handle seeing her even less—if he’d still want this, want her, when things got harder.
“Busy morning?”
“Yeah. But I’m good. Just... catching my breath and some fresh air.”
Bonnie’s tone shifted slightly—warm, familiar, and motherly, the kind of tone that settled Tess rather than stirred anything painful. “And how are you and Andy holding up? How’s the house coming along?”
“Better every day. The repairs are moving along, and the living room doesn’t resemble a disaster zone anymore. The contractor said we’ll be able to move back in another two weeks or so. As for Andy, he’s... okay. Teenager-okay.”
Bonnie laughed knowingly. “Ah, yes, angst—the international emotional standard of sixteen-year-old boys.”
She smiled, relaxing a little. “He’s been busy with work at the hardware store and hanging out with friends. He’s even got a girlfriend, although he won’t admit that. Anyway, it all keeps him out of trouble.”
“Well, mostly, I’m sure,” Bonnie teased. “But I’m glad things are settling.”
“Trying to, at least.”
“Good.” Bonnie’s voice brightened. “Now, I’m actually glad I got you on the phone because I was going to call you later.”
Tess arched a brow even though Bonnie couldn’t see it. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to invite you and Andy to come with Brian to Saturday dinner at my house at five.” Bonnie didn’t even try to hide the excitement.
“Sean and Grace will be there too. We’re grilling—well, Dan is grilling.
Which actually means his nephews will be grilling with him supervising and telling them they’re doing it all wrong. ”
She laughed. “I can easily picture that.”
“Anyway, please join us,” the older woman finished. “No arguments. Consider this a summons.”
Warmth unfurled low in Tess’s chest. Leave it to Bonnie to make an invitation sound less like a formality and more like they already belonged.
“That sounds perfect,” she said. Then she winced at a sudden thought. “Brian does know you invited us... right? I don’t want him to feel like I’m overstepping.” Things between them were still new and delicate, like a thread not fully knotted yet, and she didn’t want to be the one to pull it loose.
“I told him I was inviting you, and honestly, he seemed delighted. I wouldn’t do that to you or him.” An unexpected snort of amusement came through the phone. “Dan’s the matchmaker. Me? I might help things along, but I know when to keep my nose out of someone’s business.”
Tess wasn’t sure if she believed that, but she kept it to herself. “Well, in that case, I’m in. I’ll have to let you know about Andy, though. It’ll depend on his mood.”
“Tell him there’s food,” Bonnie said. “That’s all men and growing boys need to hear.”
She shook her head, still smiling. “I can’t argue with that.”
After they exchanged their goodbyes, she stood and slid the phone back into her pocket.
The lot behind the building stretched out quietly in the afternoon sun. Nothing out of place—no dark Escalade, no lingering car idling where it shouldn’t be. Just the familiar row of employee vehicles and a delivery van parked near the loading dock.
But that sense of unease crept up anyway, light but insistent, the same flicker she kept trying to dismiss as nothing.
She glanced around again, slower this time, searching for anything out of place—a shape, a shadow, a face she didn’t recognize. Nothing.
Still, she couldn’t shake it, and it was starting to drive her crazy.
Back inside, she spent the next few hours filling out paperwork, restocking the autopsy suite, filing lab results, and prepping Dr. Hansen’s equipment for tomorrow’s cases. Performing the routine daily tasks pushed the unease from her mind.
At the end of her shift, she washed up, sent Andy a quick text, and headed toward the exit. Patty and the other clerks had already left, so the lobby was quiet.
She pushed through the glass door into the late afternoon heat and squinted against the sun.
The lot was still and less than half full. A few vehicles sat scattered in their usual spots—proof some of the county offices were still grinding through the late afternoon. Her car sat where she’d left it that morning, fourth space from the end of the second row. Everything looked normal.
However, trepidation rippled through her.
She shook it off. Fatigue. Stress. That was all.
Her footsteps made barely a sound on the warm asphalt as she approached the car. She dug into her bag to fish her keys free, muttering a curse when she realized they’d worked their way to the bottom.
A roar of a revved engine split the air.
She jerked her head up.
A white van shot into the lot from the far entrance—too fast, tires skidding, engine screaming. It fishtailed once, corrected, and barreled straight toward her.
“What the—?”
Instinct jolted her backward. She stumbled a step.
The van veered hard and skidded to a stop beside her, its brakes shrieking loud enough to hurt her ears. The scent of burnt rubber hit her a second later.
“Hey!” she yelped, her heart hammering.
The sliding side door flew open.
Two men in black ski masks, jeans, and T-shirts jumped out before she could react. One grabbed her wrist in an iron grip. The other wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her off her feet.
“Stop—stop!” She shoved against the arm cinched around her middle, panic flaring so fast it made her vision strobe. “Let go!”
They didn’t.
A formidable hand clamped over her mouth while a rough voice snapped, “Get her in!”
Her phone slipped from her fingers and skittered across the pavement.
“No—no!” She kicked blindly, her heel connecting with someone’s shin. A grunt. But the hold didn’t loosen. She was half carried, half dragged toward the open van as she fought harder—her legs and arms flailing, her body twisting. Every instinct screamed at her to get free.
“Move!” one barked.
A shove from behind came hard, and her world tilted.
She hit the metal floor of the van on her side, pain cracking up through her ribs, hip, and shoulder.
Before she could scramble to her feet, the first man was already climbing in, grabbing her ankles.
The second pushed her shoulders down. She barely got out half a shriek before a hand clapped over her mouth again.
“Quiet, bitch!”
The door slammed shut, blocking out most of the afternoon sun. There were no windows in the back. It was hot in there and smelled of grease, sweat, and gasoline. A glance around revealed nothing she could use as a weapon.
Before she had time to register the van moving—fast, too fast—a hood was aggressively pulled down over her head.
Darkness swallowed her. Zip ties cinched around her wrists, digging deep, the ratcheting sound, sharp and unmistakable.
Another set clamped around her ankles. She kicked on instinct, but her legs barely shifted before the plastic dug in harder.
The floor vibrated beneath her, every bump and turn sending her rolling like loose cargo.
“No—please!” She choked against dirty fabric over her face, wild panic clawing up her throat. “Help!”
No one heard her.
The van lurched to the left so violently that her head snapped back and banged the floor. With her hands behind her back, she couldn’t grab onto anything to stop her body from sliding.
Her pulse thumped wildly, becoming white noise in her ears. Her breath came fast and useless, like her lungs didn’t know how to work anymore. She tried again to kick one of them, but her feet didn’t make contact.
The vehicle whipped around a sharp turn, and her already bruised shoulder impacted with something hard and metallic. Pain shot down her arm.
“What do you want?” she begged. “Please—what do you—”
“Shut the fuck up!” one of the men ordered. His voice was low and threatening.
Her thoughts skittered everywhere, incoherent at first—Dr. Hansen? Patty? Someone saw, someone must’ve seen—
But the parking lot had been nearly empty, and no one else had been around.
Oh, God! No one knows what happened to me!
Tears slid hot down her cheeks, but she didn’t stop struggling—not even when her muscles groaned in pain, not even when her chest burned with terrified breaths she couldn’t control.
“L-let me go!” she tried again, her voice muffled and breaking.
No one answered her.
Tess’s stomach swooped with each curve and turn they took too fast. The van’s undercarriage rattled with every bump.
Her mind raced. Why her? What did they want? Who were they? Were these the same people from the Escalade she’d kept seeing? Would she ever see Andy again?
She didn’t know. God, she didn’t know anything. And she couldn’t see their faces. Couldn’t see anything but shadows through the thin material covering her face.
Her heart twisted painfully.
She squirmed, trying to get her hands free, but it was useless. She changed tactics and kicked her bound feet out, this time striking a leg or arm.
“Knock it off!” Hands shoved at her, knocking her off balance again.
“Go to hell,” Tess spat, her voice thin and shaking.
He hissed a laugh. “You’ll want to save your strength.”
Fear cut through her like a blade.
She swallowed it down. She needed her head clear. Panicking would get her nowhere. She forced her breathing to slow—barely. Just enough to keep from hyperventilating.
She memorized every sound. Every bump. Every turn. If she lived through this—and she had to—she needed details. Anything she could use to escape.
Over the years, she’d trained herself not to react too strongly when dealing with bodies. With death. With tragedy.
But this wasn’t a corpse laid out on a metal table.
This was her. Alive and helpless. Kidnapped, with no idea what would happen to her next.
As the van sped farther from the M.E.’s office, Tess clenched her jaw, and she focused on every detail she could, no matter how minor or seemingly insignificant. It was that or give in to the rising terror threatening to swallow her whole.
She didn’t know why they’d taken her.
She didn’t know where they were taking her.
And if she never made it home again, Andy would be all alone in the world.
That thought—more than pain, more than fear—made her blood run ice-cold.