Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 68006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68006 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
“I understand that. I understand how you feel about her, believe me I do. The same way I feel about Zee. But Leif—”
“I’m not in the mood for a dressing down right now, Reid. I need to fucking find her.”
“We’ll find her. We’re already on it.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means I know where you went.”
“And you knew I took her with me.”
“That’s right.”
“So it’s not enough to have me watching her. You’re watching me as well.”
“Only since the apartment building security was compromised. Only since Brindley was killed.”
I open my mouth to argue…but why? The main thing is that they’re already working on finding Kelly.
“Whoever is behind this is some kind of Houdini,” Reid says. “How he’s able to get past our security is beyond me. And that can only mean…”
I sigh. “Someone on the inside.”
“Yes,” Reid says. “And now I have to find out who it is.”
“Just find Kelly. Please. She can’t end up like Brindley. She just can’t.”
“She won’t. I swear to God I’ll die first.”
“Not before I do,” I say. “I swore I’d protect her, and I can’t let her down.”
“I’ll be in touch.” Reid ends the call.
Damn right he’ll be in touch.
In the meantime, what do I do? I can’t just sit here. I rush back to the other room. Time to interrogate this Mr. Smith.
Except, when I get there?
He’s fucking gone.
I want to bang my head against the wall. Scream in rage. Let the tears inside me fall.
But I can’t.
Now is not the time for emotional outbursts.
Now is the time for action.
And I know what to do when it’s time for action.
If only Buck were in town, the two of us could work together. But he’s not, so this is a solo mission.
And I will not fail.
I cannot fail.
I can’t fail Kelly.
I will find her. And I will fucking find her tonight.
I head back to the hotel room, and I thoroughly search for clues.
Damn.
Nothing.
Whoever is doing this is more than a professional. He’s an escape artist.
How did he get Kelly out of here? We’re on a high floor. I look at the balcony. Open the sliding glass doors.
Look down.
It’s dark outside, but I look closely. Nothing. If he had escaped this way, someone would have seen him. Plus, how the hell could he get down on a rope or whatever else carrying a woman? She would be screaming and thrashing and—
No. She’d be drugged.
Fucking bastard drugged my Kelly.
And Mr. Smith? I don’t know whether he’s Kelly’s father or not, but he’s no friend to her.
I walk briskly back through the place, ready to devise a plan, when several uniformed police officers walk through the open door.
Shit. I’m the one who called them, but I don’t have time for this now.
“What happened, sir?”
“My…girlfriend. She was in this room. Now she’s gone.”
“And you don’t think she left of her own accord?”
“I know she didn’t. Kelly Taylor. Check with your fellow officers. She’s been questioned with regard to security breaches at the Wolfe residential building in the area. I don’t have time to answer questions right now. I need to go find her.”
“You realize we can’t file a missing persons report until twenty-four hours have passed.”
“Fine. Fine. Just comb this place for fingerprints or whatever you do. I need to go.” I brush past them, pushing them out of the way.
“Sir, stop right now.”
I turn. One of them has a gun pointed at me.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
I raise my hands. “Look, I don’t want any trouble. But I love this woman, and I’m going to find her. I’m her best chance right now, and if you shoot me, I won’t be able to do what I need to do.”
“Sir, you will not leave until you answer some questions.”
I don’t take police for granted, but right now, Kelly is more important than following their orders. I serpentine down the hall to the stairwell, hoping he won’t try to hit a moving target.
He doesn’t, thank God.
I could’ve pulled out one of my own pieces, but that would’ve just taken more time.
I scurry down the stairwell, floor after floor, until I finally hit the first floor, rush through the lobby, and outside.
Now what?
I don’t know where to look.
I don’t even know what to—
Until I dropped my gaze to the sidewalk.
It’s a phone.
A burner phone.
I pick it up, and a text message is flashing.
Damn. For a moment I thought this might be Kelly’s burner phone that I gave her. But it’s not. Someone else’s.
I throw it back on the ground and look up, raking my fingers through my hair, thinking, thinking, thinking…
And I see it.
The camera perched near the side of the hotel.
Is it a traffic camera? Or is it part of the hotel security?
It blends in with the decor so well that if I didn’t know what I was looking for, I may not have seen it.