Amnesia

Chapter Twenty-Six – Liam

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Liam

After getting MaryAnne onto the sofa, I called Billy and told him I had found the girls in my office, both drunk. I was surprised that my good bottle of scotch had nearly been finished off.

Heading into the kitchen, I quickly made a sandwich for myself and fed Piper. Billy walked through the front door, took one look at his wife, and smiled.

“She’s going to have one hell of a headache tomorrow.”

I nodded. “So will Mallory. MaryAnne did throw up, hence the bucket next to the sofa.”

Billy shook his head. “I guess they both deserved to let loose. MaryAnne told me yesterday she was nervous knowing the guy who had Mallory captive was still walking the streets.”

I nodded. “Same. Beer?”

“I’ll take a beer and one of those sandwiches if you don’t mind. I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and I’m starving.”

Motioning toward the fridge, I said, “Help yourself. Join me out back and bring a couple extra beers.”

“Will do.”

Making my way to the backyard, I sat down and closed my eyes.

I was exhausted. Being up early thinking we were going to be in the air looking for…

what…an abandoned barn? We weren’t even sure what we were looking for.

I hadn’t slept last night at all, then to have the whole damn thing canceled.

I had no idea how in the world we were going to find the place where Mallory was held.

Randy and Jonathon were right. They had no solid proof to search anyone’s property.

The more the days dragged on, the more I feared the guy was going to get away with it.

Billy walked in and sat down, placing the two beers and his sandwich on the table. “What are you thinking about? You have a serious frown between your brows.”

I shook my head. “If we’re going to find this guy.”

“We’re narrowing it down, and I would think with them looking into the properties, we can narrow it down even further.”

“Maybe. Randy mentioned that Jonathon had contacted one ranch owner, and he gave them permission to search his ranch.”

Billy set his sandwich down. “That’s good, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I just want to find them. Find out why they brought Mallory to Montana and get some damn answers.”

Staring at my half-eaten sandwich, I picked it up and took a bite. Billy and I finished off our dinner in silence as we took in the view before us. The sun was slowly making its way lower in the sky. My phone rang, and I saw it was Chad.

“It’s Chad,” I said as I looked at Billy and then picked up my phone. “Hey, you back from Chicago?”

“Yes, I am. So does this mean we’re going to start talking to each other all the time again?” he asked with a slight laugh.

I cleared my throat. “Are you busy?”

He paused. “I just got home from the airport. Is everything okay?”

“Would you be able to come to my place? I need to talk to you. I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important.”

“Yeah, sure thing, can Krista come? I haven’t seen her in a few days, and she might be upset with me if I leave her again.”

“Yes, please bring her. Um, except Mallory is a bit…well, she’s passed-out drunk, so I don’t think they’ll be meeting one another.”

Chad laughed. “That’s okay. We’re about to eat dinner, so maybe a couple of hours?”

“Thanks, Chad, I appreciate it.”

“Sure, we’ll see you soon.”

I said goodbye and hit End before I glanced over to Billy.

“He’s not a part of this, Liam. I feel it in my bones.”

I frowned. “I wish I could say the same thing.”

##

MaryAnne had woken up and was sitting at the kitchen island, a cup of black coffee in one hand and toast in the other.

“When was the last time you drank that much, babe?”

Her response was a groan.

Billy and I both exchanged a knowing smile.

“I only slept for a couple of hours. I still feel a bit drunk.”

The doorbell rang and Piper made a beeline toward it, barking as she ran. I opened the door to see Chad and his wife Krista standing there.

“Come on in, and thank you for coming.”

Krista walked in and I kissed her on the cheek. “You look beautiful, Krista.”

She flushed. “Thank you. It’s the pregnancy glow.”

Chad placed his hand on his wife’s lower back and guided her into the kitchen where Billy and MaryAnne were.

“Billy,” he said, reaching his hand out. “Good to see you again.”

MaryAnne stood. “Hi, Krista, I’m MaryAnne, Billy’s wife.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Krista said as she placed her hand over her swollen belly.

“Something to drink?” I asked.

They both declined.

“Let’s head into the living room where Krista will be more comfortable,” I said as I motioned for them to head that way.

“Your house is beautiful, Liam,” Krista stated.

“Thank you,” I said with a polite smile.

MaryAnne stated, “I’m going to go check on Mallory. If I don’t come back, it’s because I passed out next to her.”

Chad frowned as Krista looked confused.

“They both nearly finished off an entire bottle of scotch earlier.”

Hiding her laugh with her hand, Krista took a seat on the sofa while Chad sat next to her. He chuckled and said, “I remember those days.”

“Me too,” Krista added. “No more drinking like that for me!”

I grinned and sat down opposite them.

Chad looked at me, then Billy, then back to me. “What’s going on?”

My neck instantly ached, and I rubbed my hand over it. “I’m not even sure where to begin, so I’ll just put it all out there. The woman you met, Mallory?”

“Yeah?”

“She was kidnapped by someone and held captive somewhere near here. She escaped, and I found her in one of my pastures, passed out from running for two days.”

Krista gasped and reached for Chad’s hand.

“What?” Chad said, sounding and looking utterly shocked. “She was kidnapped?”

I nodded. “Yes. But that’s not the worst of it.”

“Oh my God,” Krista whispered.

“No, she wasn’t harmed, other than being hit a few times,” I said as I tried to reassure Krista.

I turned to Chad. “She was kidnapped from her hotel room in Chicago and driven here. She was held in a basement below a barn for a few days before she managed to hit the guy who held her over the head and ran. She said she ran as fast and as far as she could for about two days. We think she was being kept near, or around Old Baldy, or that area.”

Chad sat back and stared at me. He opened his mouth to say something, then shut it.

I nodded. “I know, there’s more.”

“How could there possibly be more?” Krista asked.

“The guy told her he’d kept other women there, toyed with them for a few days before he did unthinkable things to them.”

Tears rolled down Krista’s cheeks. “Thank God she got away.”

I looked at Chad. “Mallory found a necklace in the dirt. She put it on, she doesn’t know why, but when I found her, I took it off of her.”

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled the necklace out and put it on the coffee table. Chad leaned forward and closed his eyes.

“Emily?” Krista asked. “Wait, your Emily?”

All I could do was nod.

Chad let go of his wife’s hand and scrubbed his face. “Jesus. Liam, this is…this doesn’t even sound real.”

“Mallory was taken around the same time you were in Chicago.”

His eyes widened. “You don’t think I did this, do you?”

It was then, in that moment, I knew deep in my gut and in my heart, my brother wasn’t a part of this.

“No, I don’t think you did. It was just a crazy coincidence. Randy and Jonathon think it’s maybe a sex trafficking thing.”

“Jonathon? He’s working this?”

“Yeah.”

“He didn’t mention it to me.” He shook his head. “I mean, he doesn’t normally talk to me about his cases, but I would have thought he would have told me. I’d want to make sure Krista stayed vigilant to her surroundings.”

I shrugged. I had no idea why Jonathon had kept it from him.

“He told us he went to Chicago with you,” Billy stated. “For a job interview.”

Chad nodded. “Um, yeah. He likes to go to Chicago when I go. He loves that place, and I think that was why he was interviewing. I didn’t see him much this last trip. He had the interview, then said he had some things he needed to take care of.”

I sat up straighter. “What?”

Chad looked at me, confused. “What do you mean, what?”

“He told us he was with you the entire time and was only gone during the interview.”

Laughing, Chad said, “Nah. He’s got someone there I think he hooks up with when he’s in town.”

“He goes to Chicago that much with you?” I asked.

Nodding, Chad said, “Yeah, like I said, he likes it there.”

A sudden chill moved over my body, and I shivered. “Wait here.”

I stood and headed into my bedroom. MaryAnne and Mallory were both fast asleep on my bed. I opened one box, then another, until I found what I was looking for.

When I walked back into the living room, I saw Krista was leaning into Chad and he was speaking softly to her. I sat back down.

“Chad, have you ever seen this guy?” I held up the picture of Donald, and Chad took one look at it and nodded.

“Yeah, I’ve met him before. That’s David York.”

My heart fell to my stomach. “You know him?”

Chad nodded. “I mean, we’re not friends, I’ve met him a few times while in Chicago. He and Jonathon are good friends, though. They served in the Army together, that’s how I met him, through Jonathon.”

I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. “You’re telling me that Jonathon is friends with this guy?”

“Holy shit,” Billy whispered.

Chad looked confused. “Good friends. He’s talked about David ever since they served together in the military. It was the reason he came with me to Chicago the first time, to see David.”

I stood and started to pace. My heart hammered so loud in my ears I could hardly think straight. Jonathon had said the guy’s name was Donald Henly. Had he just said that to throw us off from his friend, David York?

“We need to call Randy,” Billy stated.

“What is going on? How do you have a picture of David?” Chad asked, then picked it up from the floor where I had dropped it. “That’s Mallory in the picture.”