30. Ro
Chapter 30
Ro
I sprinted into the lobby, Caden one step behind me. I saw smoke coming from the Summit restaurant, and people stumbling out coughing.
Chef Harvey’s stocky form staggered into the lobby. “What happened?”
“There was a fire on the grill.” He bent over, hacking loudly. “No idea how it happened. We’re always careful.” He coughed again.
Enzo and Everett jogged over. As a woman stumbled out of the restaurant, Everett caught her.
“Paramedics and firefighters are on the way,” Enzo said.
Piper appeared. “Jesus, what’s going on?”
“Tessa had a fire extinguisher,” the chef added. “She was trying to put the fire out.”
I froze solid. “Tessa’s in there?”
The chef nodded. “She was getting people out and spraying down the fire.”
Without hesitation, I charged into the restaurant and into the kitchen.
Smoke hung thick and heavy. “Tessa!”
There were no flames. Caden moved to the left and I went right around the workbenches. I pressed a hand to my mouth. The smoke was still dense.
“Where is she?” Enzo stepped into the kitchen.
“Tessa?” I spotted the blackened stove. The fire was out, but the alarm was still blaring. A fire extinguisher lay discarded on the floor. “Caden!”
He and Enzo got close.
Then I saw something else on the tiles.
One of Tessa’s shoes.
I picked it up and scanned around. “Tessa!” Where the hell was she? “She isn’t here.”
“Let’s check the CCTV,” Enzo said.
“I’ve added a few extra cameras in the restaurant,” Caden added. “I’ll pull up the feed.”
We hurried out. Hotel staff in the lobby were keeping guests calm as they evacuated them outside.
“Everett, the fire is out.” I saw the firefighters coming in, wearing all their gear. “Show them to the kitchen.”
The man nodded, his face serious. “Tessa?”
I shook my head. “We’re going to find her.”
I followed Caden and Enzo to the security room tucked behind the concierge desk. As we entered, I saw there were lots of screens, although the space was small and cramped, and the tech looked old. I already knew that Caden had a new security room designed with a fully updated system containing the latest technology.
He dropped into a chair, his fingers flying over a keyboard.
I stared at the screens. Images emerged and I spotted Tessa running toward the restaurant. The image changed. It showed her running through the restaurant to the kitchen.
Of course, she had. There was no hesitation in her steps. Tense, I watched for her to come back out of the kitchen. “Have you got cameras in the kitchen?”
Caden shook his head.
Come on, fairy queen. Where are you?
“There,” Caden clipped.
Every muscle in my body locked and rage welled up in my chest.
A man was yanking a struggling Tessa out of the kitchen. She was fighting him, but he was half carrying, half dragging her across the restaurant. They weren’t heading to the front door to the lobby, they were going the other way toward the windows, then they moved out of sight.
I leaned forward. “Where did they go?”
“He took her outside,” Caden said.
“Who the fuck is he?” The smoke haze made it hard to get a clear view and he was careful not to look at the main cameras.
This was him. This was our saboteur.
The man who’d poisoned Tessa.
“Wait, let me check the other cameras.” Caden tapped on the keyboard.
Enzo frowned at the screen. “He’s familiar.”
The image switched to an outside camera. I caught a brief glimpse of Tessa and her captor. I had a clear view of Tessa’s enraged face, while the man holding her was half out of the frame, his face in profile.
Enzo sucked in a sharp breath and swore in Italian.
I knew that guy. I frowned. “The IT guy.”
Enzo nodded. “Rupert. Rupert Fairbanks. As far as I know he’s quiet, mild-mannered, shy.”
“It’s him.” I ground my teeth together. “He’s the one who did all of this. All the accidents, the dead deer, Tessa’s poisoning. It was him .”
“And now he started a fire and abducted her,” Caden said darkly.
My body locked. “Caden, where the hell did he take her?”
“I can’t see. I’ll search all the outside cameras and see if I can get another glimpse of them.”
Fear bit at me. This guy was unhinged, and he had Tessa.
“Rupert’s always had a crush on Tessa,” Enzo said. “She never noticed.”
“Yeah, I clocked that the first time I met him.”
“I’ll also check his social media accounts.” Caden’s hands flew. The screens filled with images from the outside cameras, then another screen filled with social media. “I’ll see if I can get a read on him. What he likes, where he goes.”
“He designed the hotel’s damn computer system,” I bit out. “That’s how it was so easy for him to hack it and shut off the cameras the night he poisoned our food.”
“Shit.” Caden slapped a hand on the desk. “There’s an old post on his social media. He has a history with the Windward Resort.”
“That’s right,” I said. “Tessa mentioned it. His great-grandfather co-founded the resort with Chester Clarence. Clarence swindled the guy out of his share. Left him with nothing.”
Caden looked up. “It sounds like Rupert wasn’t thrilled about that.” Caden cursed. “Some of the language here…I can’t be sure but I think he’s the author of the hate mail I’ve been worried about.”
I straightened, my chest tight. “He feels the hotel should be his. And Tessa.”
“And you took them both,” Caden added.
“Find him.” He could hurt her. God . No . I couldn’t lose her.
“ There .” Enzo pointed at the screen.
I saw an ATV tearing out of the maintenance bay. Tessa was on the back with her hands tied together.
“I know where he’s taking her.” I spun and sprinted out of the security office.
Hold on, Tessa. I’m coming. Hold on, my fairy queen .