Chapter 29
Avoice pulled Addie from her sleep, making her eyes scrunch. A familiar voice. But one she couldn’t quite place. Not yet. Because her head…God, it hurt.
She reached up and touched her skull, only to flinch at the sharp pain.
What happened?
“That was my intention, but things changed.”
Addie froze at the voice. A familiar voice. Cass. But she wasn’t the only thing Addie heard. The deep rumble of an engine vibrated beneath her. She was in a car.
She cracked her eyes open, but everything was so blurred she couldn’t make anything out.
One blink. Two. But even when her vision started to clear, she had no idea what she was looking at.
The back seat of a car? No, not even the back seat. She was on the floor, facing the space beneath the driver’s seat.
“I didn’t…no, that’s not…”
Who was Cass talking to? And what the hell was going on?
She closed her eyes. Think, Addie. How did you get here?
Her eyes flashed open…the bathroom. Cass had arrived and asked to use it, Addie turned, then…nothing. Cass had done something. Hit her? Maybe with the glass container of brownies?
Her heart beat faster. She was part of it. Cass was part of whatever was going on.
“I know drugging her would have kept her out for longer, but like I told you, she asked me to leave. What was I supposed to do, shove them down her throat? My choice was knock her unconscious or walk away. I chose to hit her. And trust me—it felt good.”
The brownies had been laced…Jesus.
She had to attack Cass. Yes, it would be dangerous while the other woman was driving, but what was the alternative? Wait for her impending death or whatever the hell was about to happen?
“The trunk?” Cass gasped. “Are you kidding? I could barely drag her limp body to the car. And I already risked a neighbor seeing and Noah coming out and witnessing what I was doing. I got her out of there as quickly as I could.”
Noah…oh, God, he’d know she was gone by now and he’d be losing his mind.
Stupid. She was so stupid for opening the door while she was by herself. But she’d been so distracted with the photo of Jules that she hadn’t been thinking.
“Look, I’m just pulling into the park now, then she’ll be all yours.”
Addie’s heart gave a giant thump. All whose? Who the hell was behind this? And they were at the park?
She tried to push up, but a wave of dizziness had her falling right back down. The second she hit the floor, nausea coiled in her belly.
No. She couldn’t be sick. Not now.
“What do you mean you’re not here yet? I’ve done my part—I’ve gotten her here. Now you have to take her so I can get the hell out of Amber Ridge. And when the money comes, you give me my cut.”
Money? What money?
The car suddenly stopped.
Shit. She needed a weapon. She lifted her head, grateful the upper half of her body was behind Cass’s seat so she couldn’t see her.
But there was nothing. The floor was completely bare.
“No. I’m not waiting in this fucking parking lot with the woman I kidnapped in the back.
I may as well call the sheriff to arrest me.
I’m dragging her ass out, hitting her a second time so she stays unconscious, then getting my ass the hell out of town.
You’d better hope you get here before she wakes up. ”
Addie didn’t have a weapon and she was out of time. It took every ounce of strength she had to remain perfectly still as the front door opened.
A second later, her door opened.
Breathe, Addie. Just breathe.
Hands slipped beneath her arms and dragged her out of the car. Her lower body hit the ground with a thud, but still, she made sure to remain limp. Then Cass let her upper body go, and her head hit the ground. This time, it was hard not to wince at the bite of pain.
Footsteps sounded beside her. She took a deep breath before opening her eyes to see Cass walking back toward the car.
Addie lifted her leg and kicked the other woman in the calf as hard as she could.
Cass cried out and dropped, and the second she hit the ground, Addie pushed up. For the second time, the world tilted, dizziness trying to press her back down. She refused to let it and forced herself to her feet.
“You fucking bitch,” Cass growled as she jumped up.
Addie had just straightened when a kick caught her in the stomach. She cried out and fell to the ground.
“You really thought you could get away with murder?” Cass growled.
Addie tried to suck in air. “What are you talking about?”
“He told me what you did to Rhett. You slept with him, and when he cut things off, you lost it and killed him. You’re crazy! He even told me how you made all that shit up about a stalker to gain sympathy.”
Another kick caught her in the ribs. She gasped for air as pain cut into her airways.
“I don’t know who told you those things,” Addie gasped. “But they’re lies!”
“You think I’d believe you over him?”
“Him who?”
Cass pulled her leg back to kick Addie again, but when she flung it forward, Addie grabbed her ankle and rolled, pulling the other woman to the ground. Cass’s head slammed into the asphalt with a thud.
Addie didn’t give her a chance to recover before she turned and kicked, getting Cass right in the face.
The crunch of Cass’s nose was loud, but her scream was louder as she grabbed her face.
Addie didn’t stick around to see what happened next. She shot to her feet and ran. She wanted to jump into Cass’s car and drive, but there was no guarantee the key was in the car and not on Cass, and then Addie would be cornered.
And what if the second person showed up and blocked her leaving? She’d be outnumbered, and there was every chance that person would have a gun.
Addie ran straight to the cabin, but not to the door. She lifted a rock and threw it through the window. The glass shattered, but she didn’t attempt to get inside. Because again, she’d be cornered. Instead, she cut into the trees behind the cabin.
The broken window would have set off the silent alarm, alerting Noah and Colt. Which meant someone would come. She just had to hide until they did.
She rounded trees and jumped over roots. Jules’s food truck came into view ahead. She was just reaching it when a shout sounded behind her.
“I’m going to kill you, Addie! And I know these woods far better than you! You can’t hide from me.”
Too slow. She was moving too slowly. But with the rippling pain in her ribs combined with the pounding of her head, she couldn’t run any faster.
Suddenly, she tripped over a rock and hit the ground hard. Her ribs cried out in pain and when she tried to push up, the pounding in her head swayed the world around her.
“You really think you can outrun me?”
Oh, Jesus… Cass was so close.
Quickly, Addie crawled toward the vehicle, but instead of hiding behind it, she crawled beneath it. There was barely any space, and she just fit. It was a risky hiding spot. If Cass checked there, then she was as good as dead.
The pounding footsteps grew closer. When they stopped at the front tire, Addie covered her mouth to silence any sounds trying to escape. Then she watched Cass’s boots circle the tires.
Don’t look underneath. The quiet words whispered in Addie’s head.
Cass cursed and started jogging away.
Addie was just breathing a sigh of relief when a new voice sounded.
“Cass!”
Addie’s heart stopped. She knew that voice.
But, no, that didn’t make sense. It couldn’t be him…could it?
Three words slipped from his mouth. “Where is she?”
Noah couldn’t breathe. He wanted to punch the fucking wheel, do something, anything, to drown out the helplessness.
She was gone. Addie was fucking gone, and he’d been right there when she was taken. He couldn’t wrap his damn head around it.
He pushed his foot harder to the floor of the truck.
Was it Jules? Had she somehow instigated this?
Jesse hadn’t wanted him anywhere near Jules’s house, but nothing and no one could have stopped him. He wasn’t just letting Jesse and his team handle this search. He was a damn Marine, and he was going to find Addie.
When he pulled up in front of the ranch-style home, Jesse and a female deputy were already on the lawn.
“Where is she?” Noah asked, before he’d even closed the door to his truck.
Jesse stepped forward. “Not home.”
“What do you mean, not home?”
Jesse touched his shoulder. “I’ve got deputies patrolling the streets. We’ll find her.”
“You’ll find her? This could be her. She could have taken Addie.”
“I know. And we’re doing everything we can to find out if she did.” Jesse glanced behind him. “Did you check her phone? See if there were any hints of where she might be?”
A breath hissed out of him. “Yeah, I grabbed it before leaving the house.” He stormed back to the truck and grabbed her cell from the middle console.
On his way back to Jesse, he unlocked the phone and went into her recent calls, but there were none from today. Then he opened her texts. “Shit.”
“What?” Jesse stepped closer.
“Cass was at my house…”
“Cass?”
“Cassandra Ainslee, from the park. She texted Addie to ask if she could come over, then again to say she was there.”
“What time?”
Noah looked up. “The same time she disappeared.”
The woman behind Jesse touched her radio. “Dispatch, this is Deputy Claudia Russell requesting an address and plates for a Cassandra Ainslee. She’s a suspect in the disappearance of Addison March. Over.”
A red convertible suddenly pulled into the drive.
Jules.
Noah tried to step forward, but Jesse put a hand on his chest. “Stop. As far as we know, she hadn’t broken the law yet.”
“Stop? She’s part of this, Jess!”
“You think she’s part of this. We need to find out if that’s the case.”
Noah fisted his hands, every fucking part of him wanting to storm forward and question the woman until he had answers.
Jules climbed out and pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh my…have I done something wrong?”
“Jules Faber, I’m Sheriff Hayes, and this is Deputy Russell. We need to ask you a few questions.”
She rounded her car. “What’s this in regards to?”
“Addison March.”
Jules’s eyes widened, panic suddenly taking the place of every other emotion. “Is she okay?”
“Before we disclose anything, we need to ask you some questions. We can do that inside your house or down at the station.”
The station? Fuck that. They didn’t have time. Every minute—hell, every second—mattered.
“Where is she?” Noah growled.
Jesse turned. “Noah—”
“I know you’re her birth mother. And I know you’re somehow involved in everything that’s happened to her.”
Tears formed in the older woman’s eyes, her mouth opening and closing. “You know?”
“Jules—”
“Wait.” She stepped forward, cutting him off. “What do you mean, where is she? Is Addie missing?”
“Miss Faber, please,” Jesse pushed.
She swallowed before nodding quickly. “Okay. I’ll tell you everything, but I have to say, I don’t know where she is right now or what’s going on.” Jules crossed to her front door and stepped into her house.
Noah was the last in. He’d barely stepped foot inside the living room before he demanded, “What’s going on, Jules?”
The older woman lowered her grocery bags to the counter and visibly took a breath before turning.
“I can tell you what I’m doing here, but I’m not sure where Addie is.
I would never hurt her. Because, yes…she’s my daughter.
Or at least, my biological daughter.” She shook her head and frowned.
“I’ve, um, struggled with my mental health for most of my life.
When Addie was born, it was the worst it had ever been.
Pregnancy hormones and everything. So much so that I…
I had to make the difficult decision to give her up for adoption. ”
Tears welled in Jules’s eyes, but she blinked them back before continuing.
“Two years ago, I was diagnosed with brain cancer. That’s when I started searching for her.
I knew I had to find her before I died. I needed to at least meet her and confirm that I made the right decision in giving her up.
I found someone who was good at locating people and they did exactly that.
I didn’t know how to approach her…but then, I saw the ad for a food vendor at the park. It had her name on it. So I applied.”
She lifted a shoulder, like that was it. That was the end of the story.
No. That told them nothing about what was going on. There was more. There had to be more.
“Does anyone know you’re here?” Jesse asked. “Would anyone have an issue with you being here?”
“I don’t have many people in my life. Well, except my therapist. But in the eighteen months I’ve been seeing him, he’s become more like family.”
Noah’s brows flickered. “Who’s your therapist?”
Jules’s smile softened. “You’ve met him. I encouraged him to come down from Billings and check out the park. He liked it so much, he decided to stay and set up an office here. Tobias Thacker.”
Something hard formed in Noah’s gut. “Toby? He’s your therapist?”
“Yes. He’s wonderful. We’ve grown close over the past year or so, and honestly, I have nothing but wonderful things to say about him.”
“I was seeing him for a while too,” Noah said to Jesse. “I felt like he was pushing for me to break up with Addie.” Did that have something to do with all of this?
Jesse looked back at Jules. “You said you’ve become close with him. So he knows you have no friends or family. He also knows you have brain cancer. And when you told him that you had a daughter you wanted to reconnect with, he came down here too.”
Jules frowned. “Yes. I told you, we’ve basically become family. What are you getting at?”
The deputy’s phone rang, and she stepped outside to answer it.
“Do you have many assets, Miss Faber?” Jesse asked.
“Assets?” Jules asked. “I mean, I inherited a bit from my own parents when they passed on a few years ago. A house, some shares. A lump sum of money that I haven’t touched. I live pretty frugally because that’s what I’m used to. Why?”
It finally made sense. “He wants your inheritance. But then he found out about Addie, and she threatened that. He tried to scare her away before you two got close. But now…” He couldn’t finish the sentence.
Jules shook her head. “No. He wouldn’t do that.”
The deputy stepped back into the room and looked at Jesse. “Sheriff, that was the station. Cassandra Ainslee’s car was caught on a few street cameras moving west.”
Noah looked at Jesse. “The park is west, but she wouldn’t—”
Suddenly, Noah’s phone dinged. He glanced down.
Shit. “That’s the silent alarm at the park…someone broke into the office.”