Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Tori Church .
He recognized her right away. It didn't matter that it's been over a decade. He spent half his junior year of high school sitting behind her in history class. She's as pretty now as she was then.
Judging by the look on her face, she finally recognizes him too.
And she still hates me .
It figures.
He had a terrible crush on her in those days. It started the moment they met. There was something about her that pushed all the right buttons for him.
They were friendly in class and occasionally outside of class, since their lockers were near each other. It took him weeks to work up the nerve to ask her to fall homecoming. And when he did, she turned him down.
That would have been the end of it, and they would have remained friendly too, if it wasn't for what happened at the dance.
The incident that changed everything.
"How have you been, Tori?" He keeps his expression neutral. He doesn’t need his FBI training to see she’s displeased by the sight of him. Any idiot could see that.
"I'm fine, thank you." Her voice has a frosty tone. She doesn't bother asking how he's been. It's clear her politeness doesn't run that far. "I forgot to tell you about the painkillers Dr. Grant prescribed for Miss Fancy Pants." She explains the dosage and how to best administer the pills.
Despite the frost, he still has trouble taking his eyes off her. She doesn't look that different. A little older. A few faint lines on her face. She's filled out and is a little curvier than those days, but that's it.
Except Tori Church is the last woman he wants to see right now.
After everything he's gone through with Rachel, he's had enough female drama to last him a lifetime.
He was surprised Tori didn't recognize him right away. It gave him the opportunity to study her in the exam room. No wedding ring. Still quick with a smile. Judging by how comfortable she seems in this environment, she's worked here a while.
"It's best if I speak to Rachel," she states. "I'm sure she'll be the one administering the painkillers. Can you have her call us?"
Liam glances down at the pink carrier. "Rachel is… unavailable."
"Oh?" Her voice lilts higher. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine." Liam tries not to scowl.
He watches her debate with herself over whether she should ask him nosy questions about his ex-girlfriend .
She purses her lips and apparently decides against it. "Well, if you're unclear about anything, be sure and contact Dr. Grant. We wouldn't want Miss Fancy Pants to be uncomfortable."
She turns and walks off. No goodbye or "nice to see you" after all these years.
Not that he expected it.
He pays the vet bill with a credit card, wondering how he's going to deal with this dog. He doesn't know anything about dogs, especially not one this high maintenance. Miss Fancy Pants belonged to Rachel, and she fussed over the thing incessantly, but now she’s his problem.
Along with everything else Rachel left behind.
He gathers the paperwork and medication and heads toward the glass doors in front. Behind him, his radar for trouble goes off when he hears Tori running back to the reception area in distress.
"Oh my God, Peyton. Mable is gone!"
The woman behind the counter turns toward her. "What do you mean, gone?"
"There's no sign of her anywhere!"
Liam's hand pauses on the door. Instead of leaving, he turns and strides back over to where Tori and Peyton are both speaking excitedly.
"What's happened?" he asks on alert.
Tori turns to him, frantic. "Mable is missing! She's been taken."
His brows slam together. "Taken? Someone's missing?"
"Yes! I left her right there in back!"
"How old is she?"
"Twelve."
He sets the dog carrier down and pulls his phone out to contact Lewis, the special agent in charge of his squad. They worked White-Collar Crime, but Lewis can get the wheels in motion to Violent Crime quickly. "Call 911 right now," he tells the seated woman. "Does she have a cell phone? Have you tried calling her?" he asks Tori as he puts the phone to his ear. "When did you last see her? "
"A few hours ago. No, she doesn't have any kind of Bluetooth or GPS, though I've thought about installing it."
He stares at her. "Wait a minute. Who is Mable?"
"My minivan."
Lewis answers on the second ring, but Liam tells him to forget it, that he'll explain later. He flashes his gaze over to Tori as he ends the call. "Your minivan?"
"I can't believe this is happening." She chews her bottom lip. "What should I do?"
"Your minivan is named Mable?"
She nods. "I parked her right out back, but now she's gone. Someone stole her."
"Are you sure you didn't park her—" He shakes his head. "— it somewhere else?"
"Of course I'm sure!"
Peyton says she has the authorities on the line, and he reaches for the phone. He speaks to the 911 operator, explaining the situation. They ask a few questions, and he gets the answers from Tori.
"The police will be here shortly," he tells them, handing the receiver back. He turns to Tori. "For future reference, you should make it clear you're speaking about a vehicle and not a person."
She looks at him like he's nuts. "Why would you think Mable was a person?"
"Because you told me it was."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"All right, fine ." She seems embarrassed and shifts the purse on her shoulder. "I guess I could see why you might have thought that."
He’s ready to say more, but decides not to embarrass her further. "Does anyone else have the keys to your van?"
"My brother, Road, has a spare key. I've lost mine a couple times, so I gave him my extra."
Unfortunately, he remembers her brother all too well. Road was a senior back then. Right after the incident, her brother threatened to beat the shit out of him. "Maybe Road borrowed your van and forgot to tell you."
Tori rolls her eyes. "That's crazy. Road did not borrow Mable."
"It's a possibility. The police will want to check it out."
"They will?" Tori goes quiet. She glances at Peyton, who's watching their exchange with concern. He can tell by Tori's expression the reality of the situation has sunk in. He remembers her family was a rough crowd and inclined to avoid the authorities.
"Do you have the van's license and VIN number?" he asks. "They’ll need those too."
"Maybe at home, or my cousin Brody might have it. He's the mechanic who works on her."
He nods. "Your insurance company will also have that information. You should call them."
Tori starts digging through the large tan purse at her side, apparently searching for her phone. He watches as she pulls out various items—a pack of tissues, a bag of dog treats, and two leashes. She places them all on the counter in front of her. She digs around some more and pulls out a hairbrush, a small doggie raincoat, a large planner, and an iPad.
Liam fights back a smile at the amount of stuff piling up in front of her. Tori was always eccentric. He remembers how she used to put streaks of pink and purple in her hair. He liked it though. Always liked how she was different and marched to her own beat.
"Gosh, where's my phone?" she mutters, still rummaging.
When she pulls out a can of tennis balls, he can't help his grin. "Is that like a bottomless Mary Poppins bag?"
She glances up at him, except their eyes catch hold, and there's something about her expression that transports him back in time. Back to the sixteen-year-old kid who thought Tori Church was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen.
A peculiar ache tugs at his chest, and he recognizes it.
She frowns. "Why are you even here?" She goes back to rummaging through her purse. "This is none of your business. You should just go ."
He licks his lips, still reeling from the trip back in time, from the longing he used to feel for her.
But then he remembers how she treated him after the incident. She wouldn't accept his apologies, wouldn't talk to him. Instead, she believed all the rumors. Not to mention the threats he had to deal with from her pissed-off older brother.
He knows whatever feelings he might have once had for Tori are best left buried.
"I'm a federal agent," he says. "That's why I'm still here."
This gets her attention, and she tilts her head. Tori's nature was a kind and forgiving one, and he can tell that hasn't changed. It's one of the things he found so appealing about her.
The problem is she was kind and forgiving to everyone except him.
"I think the police have arrived," Peyton says, standing up from behind the desk and motioning outside. "Should I come too?"
Liam turns toward the glass doors and sees a dark blue SUV with Seattle Police on the side pull into the parking lot. Despite Tori telling him to leave, he stays, figuring maybe he can offer some kind of help. "Yes," he says. "They'll want to know if you've seen anything."
He picks up the dog carrier and heads outside with the two women.
The three of them stand in front of the animal hospital and speak with the officers. He flashes his FBI badge, introducing himself. They're confused at why he's here, but he explains how it's just a coincidence, and he was only bringing his dog to the vet.
Both officers take this in, glancing down at the girly pink dog carrier.
He stays by Tori's side as they question her and Peyton. Neither of the women noticed any suspicious activity in the parking lot. Tori calls her insurance company to get the VIN number and report her van stolen. While she does that, Liam asks about other car thefts in the area. Eventually, after getting all the information, the officers tell her they'll put a broadcast out with the plate number and description of the minivan. One of them hands Tori his card and says they'll be in touch.
"Poor Mable," Tori laments after the police leave. "I hope she's okay and they find her soon."
"Me too." Peyton gives her a hug. "I'd better go back inside. I'm closing tonight and still have to clean up."
"Thanks for coming out here with me."
When he and Tori are alone, she turns to him. "Do you think there's any chance they'll find Mable?"
Liam studies her. Strands of silky hair have slipped from her ponytail, and most of her makeup's faded. A pretty flower wilting after a long day. She's obviously dispirited. He sees no reason to make her feel worse.
"Actually, there is a good chance."
"Really?" Her face sparks with hope. "But how? Isn't it like finding a needle in a haystack?"
"Not necessarily. They have automated license plate readers, or ALPRs, and they're all over the place—including police cars. So if whoever stole Mable drives near one, it'll trigger an alarm."
"I didn't know that."
"They scan thousands of license plates every day."
There's some barking and movement from inside the carrier at his side. He'd almost forgotten about the dog.
Tori bends over to peek at Miss Fancy Pants. "Looks like someone's awake," she coos in a soft voice. "I'll bet you're groggy though."
"Would you like me to give you a ride home?" he asks, figuring it’s the reasonable and polite thing to do since her car's been stolen.
Apparently, it isn’t.
Tori straightens and seems to remember who he is. She turns and glances toward the parking lot. "No, thanks. I'll call Blair to come pick me up."
"Blair Thomas? "
"She's my sister-in-law."
"Really?" Liam's eyes widen. Except for a few of his baseball teammates, he's never really kept in touch with anyone from those days. "Blair is married to your brother?"
"Yes, she is." Tori eyes him. "Why is that so surprising?"
Blair and Tori were best friends in high school, but as he recalls, Blair—a classy redhead—didn't seem the type to be involved with Road. "No reason."
She scowls at him again, and it's obvious the cold shoulder has returned. "You still think you're better than everybody, don't you?"
Liam is taken aback. "No, I don't think that. I've never thought that." Maybe after all these years, they can finally clear things up between them. "Look, I know you hate me, but what happened that night was an accident."
She scoffs. "Yeah, right."
"It was," he insists. "I would have never done that to you on purpose."
Tori's eyes flash with anger. "Look, I heard you laughing, okay? Everybody saw you do it. After all these years, why don't you just tell the truth?"
His muscles tighten with a familiar frustration from long ago. Nothing’s changed. She still doesn’t believe him. Hell, nobody believed him. "I am telling you the truth."
"Whatever." She holds her hand up. "I don't need this, especially not today. I've got enough with Mable stolen." She shifts her purse on her shoulder. "Just leave me alone."
Liam watches her head back toward the entrance to the animal hospital.
He didn't need this today either.
Miss Fancy Pants barks from her carrier again, demanding to be let out. He glances down at the little dog, barking and scratching at the zipper.
It figures. One more female determined to give him a hard time.