Chapter 23
Connor followed Evelyn into Mark’s apartment, and exhaustion weighed him down. The last few days he’d been stuck on the same damn hamster wheel, searching for answers but finding none.
Porkchop jumped on Evelyn’s legs, barking and licking his excitement.
Evelyn bent forward to pet the top of his head, and Connor cradled his hands around her waist and brought her ass against him.
She straightened.
He slipped his fingers under her jacket and curled them into her tender sides. He dropped his face into her hair and inhaled the scent of her coconut shampoo. She was the one silver lining to this whole mess. He cradled her against him and savored the curve of her spine against his body.
“How’d it go with Simon? You didn’t say much earlier.” She slipped out of her jacket, folding it over her arm, then melted against him again.
“Turns out Gabriel and Lynette were in a secret relationship. I got a look at the case file, but there’s no mention of him. I called the lead detective on the case and left a voicemail. I want to find out if there was any suspicion around Gabriel. If there wasn’t, I need to know why.”
Evelyn twisted until her breasts pressed against his chest, and the rhythm of her heartbeat thumped below his. She tucked her head under his chin and wrapped her arms around him, her jacket bunching against his back. “He’ll call soon.”
“I hope so. Time’s running out.”
“Can I do anything to help?”
He smiled as several ideas popped into his head, but he couldn’t dwell on them. They needed to focus on finding Gabriel. “There are a lot of ways you could help me, but none of them involve clothes, and I don’t have the proper time to devote to them. At least not right now.”
He gave Evelyn a kiss on the cheek then stood to retrieve the leash to walk Porkchop. His phone rang before he reached the door. “It’s an unknown number. Hopefully it’s the detective I called earlier.”
Connor pressed the phone to his ear. “Mitchel here.”
“Connor?”
His heart stopped beating as his sister’s sweet voice whimpered across the line. The leash slipped from his fingers. “Monica?”
“You need to come get me. Now.” She croaked the words as though her throat was too dry.
“Where are you? Are you safe? Is Gabriel nearby?” His momentarily frozen heart thundered painfully into action. Adrenaline shot through his veins as reality took hold. She was alive. And she needed him. Now.
Evelyn’s smile fell. “Where is she?”
Connor pressed his hand to his ear to better hear his sister. “Monica, tell me where you are.”
“I...I don’t know.” Her voice trembled and pitched with emotion.
“He blindfolded me and threw me in a car. He stopped and pushed me out then took off. I’m near a river, and no one’s around.
I see some old warehouses and crumbled rocks.
There’s noise a few streets away, but I have no idea where I am. ”
“Run toward the noise but stay as hidden as possible. If he’s close, make it hard for him to see you. Find someone to help you, find a place to hide. Figure out where the hell you are so I can get to you.”
“He said he didn’t have time to deal with me. He needed to get out of town.” Her words came out in rough gasps, assuring him she was running.
Connor tried to calm his erratic thoughts and focus. “Whose phone are you on?”
“I found it when I took off the blindfold. He might have thrown it from the car. I don’t know anything. I just need you to find me.”
Monica was within his grasp, but he was still so damn useless. How could he save her if he didn’t know where she was? “Get off the phone. If he left it, he can track you. But first we need to figure out where you are.”
He stared down into Evelyn’s concerned face. “Calm down,” she mouthed.
He nodded and dropped his hand to his side, keeping his gaze locked with Evelyn. “Walk toward noise or a group of people. Anything that will keep you safe in case Gabriel shows up.”
Evelyn’s eyes widened, and she tightened her grip on his arm.
“I’m running toward a busy street.” Her ragged breaths vibrated the speaker, and seconds stretched by like hours. “I see...oh my God I’m in Brooklyn. There’s a restaurant across the street. And people.” Monica laughed. “Tons of people. It looks like The Flying Pig, that restaurant in Williamsburg.”
“Go to the restaurant. Call the police. Stay there. I’m coming.”
“I just want to go home.” Her words were thick, as if spoken through tears.
The small voice she spoke in reminded him of how she’d sounded as a little girl and tore his heart in two. “I’ll be there soon. Are you there yet? I don’t want to get off the phone until I know you’re safe.”
“I’m here. I can’t believe it.”
Sobs poured through the phone and knocked the air from Connor’s lungs. He couldn’t believe it, either. Monica had gotten away from Gabriel. She was safe. Tears welled in his eyes, but he blinked them back. “Good. Now call the police. I’ll be right there.”
His mind screamed at him not to disconnect the call, not to sever the connection with his sister. But she needed to call the police, and he had to get to her.
“Was it really Monica? Is she okay?” Wonder laced Evelyn’s words.
Connor grabbed the back of her neck and crushed his mouth on hers. He pulled back and grinned. “Yes, it’s her. She’s in Brooklyn. Gabriel said he had to get out of town. We’ve got to go.”
“We? You want me to go with you?”
“Yes. Gabriel’s still out there, and he’s up to something. No way he’d just let Monica go. I don’t want you out of my sight.”
Red and blue lights slashed against the night sky and bounced around the eclectic mix of buildings dominating the area. Thrill bubbled in Evelyn’s stomach, but just because Monica had escaped Gabriel didn’t mean her nightmares were over. Some scars never fully healed.
Connor swerved past a line of cars at a red light, and his tires bounced onto the sidewalk. A few pedestrians shot them dirty looks as they jumped out of the way. He threw his car in park, turned off the engine, and hurled himself from the car.
Evelyn followed close behind. The familiar entrance of The Flying Pig tied her stomach in knots. Gabriel had brought her to this same restaurant. She slowed her gait as they approached the crowd gathered by the front door.
A paramedic kneeled on the ground, and a pair of dirty white sneakers poked through the cluster of people. She stayed close behind Connor as he pushed his way through the barrier of bodies and dropped to the side of the young woman with closed eyes.
“Monica?” Connor spoke the name as if he couldn’t believe the woman in front of him was his sister. “What the hell happened to her? She sounded fine on the phone.”
“The hostess said she collapsed as soon as she walked in the door. The woman called 911. We need to get her to the hospital. You know her?”
“She’s my sister. Did she talk to the police?”
Evelyn laid a hand on his rigid shoulder. She didn’t want to be in the way but wanted him to know she was here for him.
“No, she didn’t get a word out before she went down. Do you know what happened to her?”
“She escaped a kidnapper. We’ve been looking for her for close to a week. There’s no telling what the sick sonofabitch did to her.”
Monica lay on her back with her eyes closed. Bruises covered her swollen face. Dried blood mixed with dirt caked every inch of uncovered skin, and chunks of hair had been cut from her head. Her clothes had been shredded, leaving pieces of her body exposed to the gawkers behind her.
Connor covered Monica’s hand in his. “Monica, I’m here. You’re safe now.”
Her chest moved up and down, but no indication she was aware of his presence flickered across her beaten face.
Tears gathered at the corners of Evelyn’s eyes. Connor had been so excited to see his sister, and now she didn’t even move at the sound of his voice.
A second paramedic approached, rolling a gurney toward them at a quick trot. “Let’s get her to the truck. She needs fluids. Now.”
The crowd parted, and two police officers approached. They nodded in their direction. “Detective Mitchel. Ma’am,” the female officer said.
Evelyn recognized the female officer from the police station and tipped her lips in a half smile.
“I don’t have time right now, Sanders,” Connor barked, and kept his gaze focused on Monica’s still form as they maneuvered her onto the gurney.
“He’s still out there, Connor. We need to know everything she told you so we can get more men out looking for him.”
Connor locked his eyes with her then glanced back down at Monica.
Evelyn stayed as close to the ambulance as the crowd of people around the vehicle allowed. She didn’t want to get lost in the sea of nosy pedestrians. She needed to be close to Connor.
A sharp gasp rang from inside the ambulance, and he turned his back to the open door of the ambulance.
She stood on her tiptoes, and her heart lodged in her throat.
The bottoms of Monica’s feet flailed on the gurney and sobs floated into the air.
She took a step forward, but a hard pinch of pain at the small of her back halted her movement.
Hot breath skimmed against her ear and anxiety raced through her.
“Don’t move. I’d hate to ruin Detective Mitchel’s reunion with his sister by shooting his girlfriend.”
Gabriel.
Fear bit into her flesh.
“You’re going to turn around and walk to my car. Be quick before your boyfriend knows you’re gone, or I’ll open fire on all these innocent people. You’d hate to have that weighing on your conscience.”
She wanted to scream, to alert Connor and the police to Gabriel’s presence, but she didn’t doubt he’d kill as many people as he could before they got to him. Connor’s self- defense lessons spun on repeat in her mind, but he never went over what to do with a gun pointed at her.
“Don’t make me hurt you.” Spit spewed from his mouth as he spoke.
He slid his cheek against hers and pressed his lips to her ear. A shiver threatened to shake her entire body, but she clamped her teeth together to stop it. “You’re mine now, my little mouse. I can’t wait to take you home and play with you.”
Evelyn sucked in a deep breath, and bile sloshed in her stomach as she glanced around...and gave one last, silent plea to the universe to send help.
It didn’t come.
Gabriel grabbed her biceps and steered her toward the car.
Numbness crept through her like a crack on a windshield spreading slowly from the center.
He opened the door to the back of his car, and she sank onto the leather seat.
Her heart pounded in her ears. She cast one more glance toward the back of the ambulance.
Connor straightened and glanced outside, his gaze gliding across the crowd.
It was too late. He couldn’t see her.
With his hand on the roof of the car, Gabriel pressed into her personal space, and the smell of whisky drifted from his breath. “This time you won’t be so lucky.” In one swift movement, he lifted the gun in the air and brought the butt down hard on her skull.
Stars erupted in her vision, and she faded into darkness.