20. Lost
CHAPTER 20
Lost
H eath’s body hummed with anticipation. He and Addy had been very discreet when they’d made love in her house with Nina in the next room.
But Nina was working with Kimi for a few hours like she did every Saturday, and he wanted to spend at least one of those hours worshipping Addy’s body.
She was his everything, and he wanted her to never spend a moment doubting how much he loved her or how incredibly special she was.
He turned the corner onto her road and spotted the snow-covered car pulled over to the side. He put on his hazard lights and pulled up behind the vehicle. When he spotted the license plate, panic shuddered through him. Wabi . Addy’s car.
He had his phone out and was dialing her even as he exited his vehicle to check it out.
The number you have reached is out of service.
What the hell? It only took a moment to realize the car was locked and empty. The hood was slightly warm, and there wasn’t as much snow built up on it as the rest.
He called Marcus. Or tried to. His phone didn’t work. He yelled Addy’s name, but there was no response in the wind. He moved back to his car and tried Marcus again. This time, the phone connected. “Addy’s car is on the side of the road near her house. She’s not in it, and her phone says out of service. I’m heading to her house.”
“On my way.”
Heath didn’t rush on the way to the house, checking on all sides of the road for anyone walking or signaling. The wind was crazy, but the snow wasn’t all that heavy. Visibility was decent. He wouldn’t be able to pass her without seeing her.
When he reached her driveway, he knew without entering that she wasn’t there. The wind had obliterated recent footprints. He jumped out anyway and immediately heard Animosh barking. He used his key, and the dog bounced out, happy to see him. A quick call out and a search showed no Addy.
He had to take a second and rest his hands on the counter to bring his breathing back in line. If he didn’t have a clear head, it might cost her everything.
At the sound of a vehicle pulling in, he opened the door, and Mosh followed him outside. Marcus. Heath moved to his car, and unlocked the glove box where he’d stored his gun. He wasn’t going without it now.
Marcus rolled down the window. “Lock up and jump in. Bring your dog. She might be able to help. There are tracks on the road but they’re fading with the snow.”
Heath hadn’t even looked for tire tracks. He’d been focused on Addy walking along the road.
Soon, they were in Marcus’s cruiser and heading along the road. The wind had erased a lot of the evidence, but it was still clear that a set of tracks led up the hill to Jonas Adamson’s place.
Marcus stopped the car and pulled out his phone. When Troy answered, Marcus briefed him on the situation. “Call out the troops and have someone head to Kimi’s place. We need to make sure she and Nina are safe as well.”
Heath wanted to kick his own ass. He hadn’t called Kimi or Nina. Hadn’t checked on his own daughter. Marcus reached across the car and held his arm. “Stop.”
“What?”
“Stop berating yourself. You’re allowed to go into panic mode when the woman you love is in danger. You’re allowed to think of only her. That’s why we’re here. We’re a team, and we’ve got your back. Troy will call in the Midnight Security people as well and we’ll get Nina protected while we search for Addy. We’ve got this.”
Heath managed a nod even as some of the panic eased. His Army teammates were the best of the best. He didn’t know the others from Midnight Lake as well, but everything he’d seen had impressed him. He would trust the team surrounding him to help them out.
“Okay. We should leave the car here and head up on foot. If it is Jonas, or if someone is using his place because he really is out of town, driving up the hill will alert them.”
Marcus agreed and sent another text. Heath didn’t wait. Instead, he headed up the hill, keeping to the side of the drive near the trees that lined it.
He kept his gun down at his side and opened all of his senses wide, as they’d been trained to do in the military. Animosh climbed the snow at his side.
The faint scent of carbon monoxide led him forward, right along with the faint tracks. As they climbed the hill, the wind increased, taking away the sounds. He wished he had goggles to keep the snow and wind out of his eyes. Having to squint reduced his visibility.
As they crested the hill, he and Marcus moved to the edge of the trees. Animosh followed. Both of their jackets were dark, helping them blend in with the shadowy trees.
In front of them, a farmhouse filled an open space. There was a detached garage and two sheds as well.
If Jonas was behind this, chances were, they’d be in the house. If it was someone else, the options were wider. The tire tracks led toward the garage, and he paused. Crossing the yard would make them easy to spot if anyone looked out the windows.
With a series of hand signals they’d used in the Army, he and Marcus worked out the strategy and then Heath lowered to a crouch and moved as quickly as he could to the nearest shed. Once he reached that, without anyone or anything reacting, Marcus took off from his position and reached the far side of the house.
Animosh didn’t understand the signals and trotted along at her own pace.
Heath didn’t hear anything happening inside of the shed. If Addy was tied up and unconscious, she could be in there, but he figured Jonas would have her with him. If he’d gone to the trouble of sabotaging her car and her phone, he wasn’t going to dump her somewhere.
He wanted her.
Heath breathed through the rage and controlled his reactions. He couldn’t control his emotions, so he’d used them to find Addy.
He moved behind the shed and to the second outbuilding. No noises or signs of disturbance here, either.
Marcus met him at the garage, and they moved to the small door. A twist of the knob showed it was locked. No sound from inside.
Animosh arrived to sit beside them. Would she know to alert them if Addy was in one of the outbuildings? Or the house? Would she bark and alert Jonas in the house?
Beside him, Marcus cocked an eyebrow and waited for Heath to make the decision. Into the garage or the house?
No lights showed anywhere, but even though it was gloomy and windy, it was also the middle of the day.
They could take a few minutes and check the garage, but those few minutes could cost Addy. His gut said she was in the house.
Again, using their hand signals, they made a plan. Marcus sent a text to Troy updating him on the situation. Then, he and Marcus approached the house with the dog on their heels. A back porch had wooden steps leading up to the rear door of the house. The wind had whipped the snow, but a hint of footprints remained. One set of prints from what he could tell. Animosh let out a low growl.
Heath up the steps dashed up and stood beside the door. When there was no reaction, Marcus did the same. This door was locked as well. Animosh sat in front of the door and growled again.
They could be inside within seconds, but the noise of breaking glass would alert Jonas. They’d avoid that if possible.
The third window they tried shifted noiselessly. It opened above the kitchen sink, and it took them only seconds to get inside. With a pang of regret, he left Animosh outside. She would let them know if someone approached, but he didn’t know the dog well enough to trust her not to give them away from the inside. They closed the window behind them, knowing the draft could alert Jonas to their presence.
Heath let his body shift into warrior mode. He shut down his emotions and let his instincts and training take over.
Addy was here. He could feel her.
Hang on, Addy. I’m coming.
A ddy struggled to regain full consciousness. She floated in that dark, dibiki world where she coasted after a bad attack. She was mostly aware of her body and some of her surroundings, but specifics of sight and sound were beyond her.
The last time she’d been in the dibiki had been when Heath had arrived in town, and she’d been terrified he wanted to take Nina away from her. Now, she was the happiest she’d ever been. Nina too. And Heath. All of them. A family.
A sound slipped into her brain, but she couldn’t identify it. Whatever it was, it had her breathing escalating again. Was it the wind making the noise?
Addy tried to shift her body. Tried to make it easier for her lungs to find the air they needed. If she drifted too far into the dibiki land, Nina would be alone.
No. Nina would have Heath. And Nimii and Ginny. Kimi. Troy and Piper. All their friends.
Heath would take care of Nina. But Addy didn’t want to drift away. She wanted to stay in her new world of happy.
The work to ease her breathing took all of her concentration, all of her effort. Time didn’t register when she was in the dibiki world, but eventually, some of the tightness in her chest lifted. Not all of it, but enough for her brain to allow other thoughts, other sensations.
Cold shivered through her. No wind in her face, but the cold filled her up.
Was she in danger?
That shot her breathing up, and for a time, it consumed her. She battled the fear, battled the cold, fought for the air.
Years of practice had her following the pattern almost without thought. Breathing should be without thought, but when cold and panic pressed down on her lungs and weak heart, she needed to help it through the process.
Finally, she was calm enough to allow a tiny part of her brain to figure out where she was and if she was in danger. What was the last thing she remembered?
When memory swam back, it landed with a thud on her chest. Her car and phone were broken. The wind and the cold and the snow. Almost home.
Something had hit her on the head and she’d swung into whatever it was with her tire tool. She’d heard a man swearing and then another thump to the head had knocked her out.
But she wasn’t outside. He hadn’t left her there.
Who?
Her memory said male. Bigger than Addy, but that wasn’t hard. Not as big as Heath, though. Jonas?
Now that she’d reached the level where her memory worked, it was easy to push through the rest of the fog and into reality. She kept her eyes closed, hoping to learn more without letting her attacker know she was awake. Heath would find her, but he would need time.
Whatever she lay on was solid and smooth. Beyond her closed eyelids, it appeared dark, so she lifted her lashes a bit. Definitely dark. Opening her eyes the whole way made little difference until she moved her head to look behind her.
A glimmer of light showed higher up on the wall. A straight edge. Was it a window? It seemed higher than normal. Was it a barn window or a door at the top of some stairs?
The light started to twist, and Addy realized she was holding her breath. She released it slowly and drew in another the same way. The air was chilled. The walls provided some protection, but this space wasn’t heated.
The light widened, and she realized it was a door at the top of the stairs, and it was opening. Panic shot through her veins. She’d wanted to find a way out before the person came back. She’d spent too long in the dibiki , and now he was here.
The light hadn’t landed on her yet, so she dropped her head back to the ground and tried to relax her body. If he didn’t think she was awake, she might figure a way out.
How much time had passed? How long had she been unconscious and then in the dibiki ? Too long.
Heath would be looking for her once he found she wasn’t at home. Or when he found her car. He would find her.
The light spread until she could see it on the wall in front of her. An old block wall, like many of the basements in Vermont. Some people used them for cold rooms or utility rooms. Other people added insulation and made them living spaces. Then, a light flipped on behind her, and smaller things came into focus as she heard a door close. She noticed the cracks in the foundation, a stack of boxes, and a toolbox. Several potential weapons if she got a chance to use them.
The important thing was that escape was up. Hiding in this room wouldn’t give her any advantages. She had to get up those stairs.
Which made her wonder if she was tied up. How had that not occurred to her before? A few muscle flexes revealed that while her feet didn’t appear to be bound, she couldn’t move her hands much. She still wore her winter clothing, which brought a whole different kind of relief. She hadn’t been raped, but she was potentially tied up. Not so tightly anything hurt, but enough that she wouldn’t be able to run freely.
Her brain was clear now. She was more scared than she’d ever been, but she was also angry. Completely pissed that someone had trapped her here. Nina was going to be scared, and that was unacceptable. She would be strong for her daughter.
“Hello, Addison. You must be awake by now. You can’t fool me, you know. I know you too well.” She didn’t respond, and the happy, whispery chuckle was tricky to identify, but her heart said it was Jonas. Heath had been right. She closed her eyes until they were open just a slit.
The stairs creaked, and footsteps approached. She hoped the man would come around into the light. She’d be able to identify him for sure, and she might have a shot at escaping to the stairs if she could somehow knock him down.
Her chest would be tight for hours yet, and running wasn’t advisable. But it was better than staying locked up with whoever had kidnapped her.
“It’s so nice to have you here, Addison. I know we’ve been dancing around our attraction for years, but I think it’s time for us to be honest about it. It’s time for us to be together for the whole world to see.”
What. The. Hell?
“I’ve got some tea upstairs for you. Once we come to an agreement on how we should tell the world about our marriage, we’ll go upstairs and get you warm.”
Definitely Jonas. His voice was different, whispery, but it was him. Her body shook, and she couldn’t do anything to stop it. Jonas had lost his grip on reality if he thought she was agreeing to any of this.
Fear consumed her, and she tried to squash the panic. In all the scenarios she’d imagined, she hadn’t thought she’d have to deal with someone unbalanced enough to believe she’d marry him.
“There you are, Addison. You’re coming back to me. I know we’re going to have such a wonderful life together. Just the two of us.”
Had Jonas hurt Nina?
Panic consumed her, and her lungs wouldn’t cooperate.
In and out.
Slowly.
Find the air.
But panic clawed at her, and her body wouldn’t cooperate.
Where was the air?