Chapter 45
After I put the waffle boxes in the garbage, she yawns next to me in the kitchen. “Coffee?”
“I didn’t think to make any. Want some?”
She smiles up at me. “I was offering to make it for you.”
“But—”
“Please. Just let me do something, Anderson. Yes, I’ve been through some shit, but I need to feel useful.”
Relenting, I hold out my hands. “I give up. Go ahead.” The truth is, I am happy to see her want to do something for herself. She is one of the most independent people I have ever known, so I think it’s a good sign.
The scent of fresh coffee brewing fills the air, and I wonder if this giant leap forward means she’s ready. “June, do you want to talk about what happened?”
Her shoulders bunch up and she sighs. “I don’t know.”
“We can call someone in and?—”
“You’re the only person I know who would understand. And I’d rather talk to you, anyway.”
It’s nice to hear that second part. “Okay. How about I start?”
“You?”
I nod. To get this conversation started, I think I need to prompt her like a witness. Not that I do much courtroom work, but she’s reluctant to say anything. “I had gone back for my phone and I ran into my brother Cole upstairs. Talked to him for a few minutes, hunted down my phone, and headed out. But you weren’t there. After I searched around some and tried your phone a lot, I ended up in the security guard room. They saw me running around, and they’d hesitated to call the police, because they’re good at their jobs.”
Her plump lips smooth into a flat line. “Because the police can make things messy?”
“Exactly. One had gone on break, and the other was on the phone to his pregnant wife. That’s how they missed the abduction. For the team who abducted you to know that …”
She rubs her upper arms absentmindedly. “They’re good.”
“Exactly. Real pros. We watched the abduction several times, looking for anything. But the guy knew how to tilt his head to avoid the cameras, no license plate on the van, nothing to identify them. Do you remember anything identifying about them?”
June sighs. “I do. I could probably describe most of them to someone.”
“Maybe I can call in a sketch artist. We can identify them and?—”
“I don’t think you need all that.”
“Why not?”
“Because I know who took me.”
I frown at her, because I’m lost. “But … you know them?”
She nods slowly. “Yeah, I?—”
“I thought my dad was involved, but if you know them?—”
“Because they told me who they are. Andre Moeller. Ring any bells?”
I lean back and try to think. “He’s an old friend of my father’s. But that doesn’t make any sense.”
“He said your dad owes him a lot of money. Said this was all just about business. Wasn’t personal.” She pouts. “Felt damned personal to me.”
The one thing about all of this that has killed me since I got her back is not being able to casually touch her. But I will only touch her when she invites me to. She has to initiate it. I want her to feel like she’s in charge of what happens to her body. She already had her autonomy taken from her. I won’t do it again in any way.
But I am dying to touch her when she pouts over this. I want to comfort her and hold her and kiss the top of her head, while telling her everything will be alright. It’s too soon, though. I know that. And she might not invite me to hold her ever again after all she’s been through. Not that I could blame her for it.
After all, my father is the one who fucked everything up.
“I don’t understand what’s going on with everything. Dad … he demanded I not call the police. At first, he made it sound like it was to protect you, but it wasn’t. It was strictly about protecting himself. He doesn’t include me in on some things, and I always thought that was just business. I’m busy, he’s busy. That’s how things are. But after all of this … I don’t know what to think. What else he’s hiding?”
“Not to mention that it’s super weird I was kidnapped and there was no ransom.”
“That we know of,” I add. “I’d like to think he squared up with Andre and that’s why you were released, but I doubt it. Dad would have smugly called me to tell me to thank him or something. Tell me more about how things were on your end of it.”
“Not much to tell. They kept me blindfolded for a lot. Interrogated me for a long time. Two of them, a man and a woman. I think they were getting a baseline to see if I was lying, because they kept asking the same kinds of questions. After a while longer …” The coffee’s done, so she gets out two mugs and the cream. “They brought me upstairs to meet Andre in the penthouse. And before you ask, I didn’t recognize the skyline. Anyway, he wanted to talk to me. I think … I think he felt guilty or amused, honestly I’m not sure. That guy seems like a sociopath.”
“What did he do to you?”
She shrugs. “Had me kidnapped and gave me breakfast.”
I snort a laugh. “No, I mean, during your conversation. Why do you think he’s a sociopath?”
“It was just his vibe. He went from clearly angry and keeping it all in to a little flirty and extremely polite in a flash. He was so hot and cold and had no trouble going from one to the other. Not like he’d lost his marbles. More like he was in full control of every marble and ready to wield any of them at any time.” She sips her coffee. “I don’t know what his deal is, but it’s not healthy.”
My blood boils at the thought of her in the presence of someone dangerous like that. “I don’t really remember him. Last I saw him, I was a kid.”
“I still think it’s weird that there was no ransom.”
“Pretty sure he did it to show Dad he could do it. If he took someone closer in the family, that would have been a step too far in their game.” I can’t say the last word without every muscle in my body tensing. “This … they’re playing at something. I’m just not sure what it is.” I take a sip and a breath and try to sort through it. “There’s also the distinct possibility that he took you off the street in front of their home to show them that no one is untouchable.”
Her eyes lift at that. “Because if they take me from their expensive, seemingly safe neighborhood, then they can get anyone?”
I nod. “Whatever the case, no one in my family is safe. Not while Dad deals with people like Moeller.” And I mean to put a stop to that.
“It’s, um …”
“What?”
“Do you think your dad had them do it? To scare me off of you?”
“No!” I almost drop my coffee at the thought, so I set it down and go to her, fighting the need to touch her still. But I need her to hear me on this. “Dad wasn’t exactly surprised that this happened, but he was more resigned than anything else. Like this was the cost of doing business. Dad keeps secrets, but he’s not a good liar. He would have screwed this up, if that were the case.”
She sighs and puts her head on my chest, so I take that for permission to hold her, and she melts against me. It feels incredible that she’s coming to me for comfort. I love it. But then she mumbles, “I’m sorry.”
I take her by the shoulders to look at her. “What for?”
She sniffles and her eyes are a little pink. “I didn’t want to think your dad would do this, but I had to ask. I didn’t mean to offend you?—”
A laugh pops right out of me, and I pull her in for a hug. “You didn’t. I promise. All options are on the table until we figure this out.”
“Thanks for understanding. This whole thing is just too weird. I keep spinning out, trying to figure out what I did wrong or?—”
“You did nothing wrong.” Other than pretending to be engaged to me. “Now, listen, I don’t know what Dad is involved in, but I’m going to find out. I don’t know how well either of us will sleep until we know what is actually going on.”
She nods and holds me tighter, and damn, if that’s not the best feeling in the world.