Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
Thank God for adrenaline.
Between that and Renly’s terror for Abby, he’d managed to get his phone out and speed dial Stark Security. There was a twenty-four-hour hotline for agents in trouble, and although he’d passed out before connecting to the operator, the hotline had served its purpose, and the call had been put out. The team had tracked his phone, found his location, and now a medic was treating him for the lingering effects of the sedative that Darrin had used on him.
They still didn’t have the labs back, but the doctor was pretty sure it was some sort of custom mix with various sedatives combined with a low dose of Rohypnol. Renly knew that whatever it was, Darrin had used the same thing on Abby.
She wasn’t in the office, and he knew damn well she wouldn’t have left willingly. That bastard had taken her, and right now the only thing that was occupying his mind was getting her back. Figuring out where she was, getting her to safety, and then taking out the son of a bitch who did this to her.
Many of Stark Security’s agents were away on other assignments, but everyone who was available was now gathered in the Fairchild and Partners Development office. Nikki and Damien were there too, Nikki pacing the hall as she spoke to the owners of Greystone-Branch. They were working the case as well, digging into their recent hire’s background. Because Renly couldn’t believe this was the first time Darrin had done something like this.
“Okay, thanks,” he heard Nikki say.
She came in to the break room—now Command Central—and relayed that Bijan, one of Greystone’s owners, had talked to Darrin’s last employer.
Although they hadn’t mentioned it when Bijan had called for a recommendation, he admitted now that Darrin had been let go because of harassment complaints from the female staff.
“So he’s escalating,” Winston said.
“Did he say anything that might help us locate her?” Renly asked.
Tony was already at Darrin’s apartment, searching his place. So far he hadn’t reported back.
Local law enforcement had been contacted, and a detective was on sight, working with the team. The LAPD had agreed to let Stark Security take point, but they had a team working in the field and were prepared to respond once Abby was located.
Mario was checking traffic cams, hoping to get lucky and parse out the route Darrin took with Abby. So far, he’d only been able to track them a few blocks away before losing the thread.
Leah, with whom Renly had worked the most in his short time at Stark Security, was on the phone with someone at the county, working a hunch. Now he watched as she paced the far side of the room.
So far, it didn’t look like her hunch was playing out.
As for himself, Renly was feeling damn useless. His head was throbbing, and he didn’t have a single goddamn clue as to where the son of a bitch had taken her.
Leah came over and took his hand. “Hang in there,” she said. “We’re going to get her back.”
He wanted to believe her, but fear was clinging to him. He’d had so much in his life just ripped out of his hands, and he was desperately afraid that Abby was going to follow that pattern.
And why the hell had he told her he didn’t want to be in a relationship? She had to be scared, and he wished that he’d told her everything in his heart, if only so she’d have that to cling to.
He thought about his mother and Elise. His mother had waited too damn long. Years too long. Hell, for that matter, so had Renly. He should have told Abby he loved her on his first night back.
What was there to think about? Why would he say he didn’t want to have a relationship with her?
Because he was an idiot. Because he was so goddamn afraid of losing her that he’d never claimed her.
And now here he was, and losing her was a very real possibility. And he was fucking useless between the vertigo and the jackhammer pounding in his head in the wake of the damn drugs.
Just get the fuck over it, Cooper. Quit feeling sorry for yourself and work the problem.
He looked at Ryan. “We need to track down his family tree. See if anyone alive owns property. Or if he inherited something that he hasn’t taken title of yet.”
Ryan nodded, and Nikki, still on the phone, stepped in, her head cocked as she listened to them speaking. Then she held up a finger. “Bijan, let me ask you something,” she said, her voice fading as she stepped back out into the hall again.
Renly followed, his forehead creased with a frown. Damien was in the hall as well, also on the phone, and he looked up when Nikki clutched his arm.
“No, that’s perfect,” she said. “We’ll check it out. Yes, of course I’ll keep you updated.”
She turned and looked at Renly. “His uncle owns a building in the garment district. Greystone considered buying and renovating it for office space but decided not to. It’s not much,” she said, “but at least it’s a lead.”
Renly stared at the building, the old, abandoned warehouse in the garment district. It was a small one, currently under renovations, and there was an ancient, rickety fire escape that ran up one side.
“Heat signature on the third floor,” Leah said beside him.
“The main doors are locked tight,” Ryan said. “We can blow them, but it’ll take a while to do it silently. We don’t want him to know we’re coming.”
Renly nodded slowly, taking it all in. He looked at the fire escape. At the places where it appeared to be coming loose from the brick. Just looking at it made the world tilt beneath him.
But he could do it. He took a step forward. He could man up, go up there, and get Abby. He had to.
Leah frowned at him. “You okay?”
“Just a little head swimming from the drugs.” He felt nausea rise as he imagined being on that fire escape, the world tilting until he was parallel to the ground. Darrin taunting him.
He’d drugged Renly; he must have drugged Abby. What else was he capable of doing?
Renly knew the answer. Anything.
And if Renly fucked up, then he also up fucked up Abby’s only chance. He drew in a breath. He needed to be the one in that room. He needed to be the one who got to her. He needed to be her knight in shining armor. Because goddammit, he knew that he couldn’t live without her, and he needed to tell her as much.
But he also had to be smart, and that reality—the reality that he’d been trying to suppress since he left the SEALs—rose up in front of him. The hardest choice in his career.
He looked at Leah. “Can you give me a minute? I need to talk to Ryan.”
“Sure. Of course.”
He could tell that she was curious, but she was too much of a professional to ask. Beside him, Ryan finished speaking to a local SWAT officer, then turned his attention to Renly. “What’s on your mind?”
“I can’t go to Dubai, and I can’t climb that ladder.”
Ryan nodded slowly. “Vertigo?”
Renly took a step back. “You know?”
“I suspected. You told us about the head injury. I’ve seen you stumble a couple of times. And I can’t think of any reason other than that that you wouldn’t want to go up that ladder to rescue the woman you love.”
Renly smiled. He hadn’t told anyone he loved her, but it was nice to know that it showed. Hopefully that meant she knew, too.
“I’m an asshole. I should have told you a long time ago. I should have told you at least before you assigned me to Dubai. The type of operation that is, I’d be useless in the field.”
“I think that’s my call,” Ryan said. “And you and I know there’s a hell of a lot more to an operation than being the one who scales the outside of a building. That being said, under the circumstances, I don’t think you really want to be rushing off to the Middle East and leaving Abby behind. I’ll put you on something local, and you can stay here until your vertigo calms down and you and Abby are settled.”
Renly stared at him. “You still want me on the team?”
To his surprise, Ryan laughed outright. “You’re an excellent agent, Renly. And I’m going to assume you weren’t listening to me when I told you that there’s plenty you can do where your vertigo won’t be an issue. I’ve known a lot of men with head injuries who developed vertigo, and it tends to calm down in time. You’re going to be fine. I wish you’d told us, but you’re going to be fine.”
“Right. Good.” Relief flooded him. Hope, too. The day was turning around, and that could only mean good things for their chances.
Ryan cleared his throat. “Of course, if you keep something like that from us again, we’re going to have another talk, and I don’t think you’re going to like the outcome of that one. But right now, we’re five by five.”
Renly grinned. “In that case, I need to know who you’re sending up. I need whoever you think is best in the field to go in and rescue my girl.”
Ten minutes later, Emma was standing beside him. A former operative with a secret government agency, she was the best sharpshooter in Stark Security. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll get her back.”
Renly nodded, hating the fact that he wasn’t the one going up, but knowing this was about saving Abby, not making Renly feel warm and fuzzy.
The plan was for Emma to go up, assess the situation, and radio back. She’d take care of Darrin, and on her make, the below team would blow the downstairs door.
When the team went in, Renly intended to be first in line. There’d still be stairs, but there’d be a solid wall and no outside world flipping sideways around him.
“Are you okay?” Emma said.
“Yeah,” he said. “Take care of my girl.”
“You’ll have her back soon.”
“I know.” He still hated the fact that he wasn’t on the front line, but for the first time in a long time, he’d been honest about who he was and what he was capable of.
And at the end of the day, it was that honesty that was going to ensure he got Abby back.