Bring the Heat (20 page)

“I'm not asking for anything from you. It was never my intention to hurt you—this just happened. But this is my baby and I'm not giving it up.”

Quickly, she started gathering her clothes and getting dressed, hands shaking. He could only watch, gutted, his emotions caught in a hurricane. How had things gone to hell so fast?

He couldn't bear the thought of loving and losing another child. The idea made him want to die inside.

So he could say nothing as Laura walked out the door. Maybe out of his life.

One thing was for certain: he never knew what lonely really meant until she was gone.

•   •   •

Laura cried all the way home.

And most of the night, too. By the next day she looked like a zombie and even her closest friends at work gave her a wide berth. The fact that she snapped at several of them probably didn't help.

Just after two, her cell phone rang and her heart leapt. It was only Danny, though, and her spirits sank again. “Hello?”

“Hey, it's Danny.”

“Hi there. What's up?”

“I was hoping you'd tell me, because Austin won't,” he said in concern. “I was just at his house and he's clammed up tight. Looks like hell, too.”

As upset as she was, she hated to hear he was hurting. “He didn't say
anything
?”

“Just that you guys had a falling-out. He wouldn't talk about it.”

Indecision tore at her. Normally she wouldn't discuss their business, especially with one of his friends. But her gut told her that Austin wouldn't go to his buddies for help or advice—he sucked at that. They'd have to go to him. Maybe Danny could help.

“Meet me for a drink after work?”

“Sure. When and where?”

She gave him the name of a pub in town with a nice bar. “Five thirty?”

“Works for me. See you then.”

The day didn't improve. She had a body to retrieve, but at least it was a straightforward case. She had her examination finished and notes recorded just in time to meet Danny. Keeping busy had taken her mind off her sorrows for a while.

They returned full force as she pulled into the parking lot and shut off the ignition. She must've looked as bad as she felt, because Danny jumped to his feet as soon as she walked in, and gave her a hug.

“Okay, what's going on with you two?” he asked, seating her.

She wasted no time getting to the point. “I gave Austin some news last night that threw him for a loop. I'm pregnant.”

Danny's eyes widened. “Um, congratulations?”

She gave a sad little laugh. “It would be a happy occasion if he hadn't completely freaked out.”

“At the risk of sounding like an asshole, I can understand where he's coming from.” He shook his head. “But he hurt you, badly. I can see that.”

“Yes, he did,” she said softly. “I knew he might take it hard, though. He survived a horrible loss not so long ago, and there I am reminding him of that.”

“He's afraid.”

“I imagine so. But that doesn't make it hurt any less.”

“Do you mind if I try to talk to him?” Danny asked.

“Not at all. I'm guessing he could use a friend, and he's too stubborn to open up on his own.”

“You've got that right.” Danny smiled. “So, I suppose yours will be a nonalcoholic drink?”

She grinned back, feeling a little better. “Better make mine a Coke, on the rocks.”

“Done.”

Maybe things would be all right eventually. Austin just needed more time.

She really wanted to believe that was true.

•   •   •

He couldn't eat, couldn't sleep. Couldn't think about the case, or the dead ends.

Laura was on his mind day and night, every second, never letting him rest.

She's pregnant.

No two words had ever filled him with such wonder, and yet such terror. There was no changing that,
and in truth he didn't want to. But he was just so fucking scared the same thing was going to happen to her. The monster would get his hands on her before Austin could stop him and—

A knock on the door halted his horrible train of thought. Walking over, he looked outside and saw Danny standing there. With a sigh, he opened up.

“Why do I get the feeling I know the reason for this visit?” he asked, stepping aside to let his friend in.

“Because you're a cop and you're smart that way.” Danny headed straight for the kitchen, pulled open the fridge. “You've got beer again! Say, is that a good thing?”

Austin followed him, leaning in the doorway. “I'm not an alcoholic. I was drinking to drown my grief, but I'm coping now.”

“Hey, you're an adult. Just concerned, that's all.” He twisted the top off a beer. “You want one?”

“No, thanks. But it's nice of you to offer me my own beer.”

“Right.” He took a swig. “Okay, you want the incoming lecture standing up or sitting down?”

“Let's sit in the living room. More comfortable to get my ass chewed on the sofa.”

“That just sounded all kinds of wrong.”

“Didn't it?”

Danny made himself at home in Austin's recliner and Austin flopped onto the sofa. He didn't have long to wait for the man to speak his mind.

“Do you love her?”

“That's easy—yes. I think I've been falling for a long time and I finally got lucky enough to catch her.”

“And then you promptly fucked up.”

“Whose side are you on, anyway?” He frowned, thinking that beer might sound good after all.

“I'm on both of your sides. I want to see you guys happy, but you gotta stop being your own enemy for that to happen.”

“You don't understand how hard this is for me—”

“The hell I don't.” Danny's eyes flashed with anger. “I stood by helpless when your grief almost killed you. But this is different. You have a second chance with a terrific woman who loves you, so if it's blown, it's your fault.”

The truth of that statement couldn't be denied. He loved Laura, and he didn't want to lose her. But his fears were real and he had to work them out in his head before he could make things right with her.

“I hear you. Really, I do. But I have to do some thinking first. Get some things in order.”

Danny nodded. “Just don't take too long. You don't want communication to break down.”

The way it had with Ashley. No, he didn't want that at all.

“Feel like staying to watch the game?” he asked Danny.

“Sure. I'll order pizza.”

•   •   •

Four days later, Austin finally worked up the nerve to call Laura.

She didn't totally let him off the hook, but she was
more civil than he deserved. “Austin,” she said in greeting, her tone wary. “How are you?”

Her first question was concern for him? His heart felt like it had been stabbed with an ice pick. “I'm good. No, that's a lie.” He took a deep breath. “I miss you and I love you. I'm sorry I reacted the way I did, but I was scared.”

There was a long pause.

“And now?”

“I'm still scared,” he admitted. “But not so much that I'm willing to throw away the best thing to ever happen to me. Please say you'll let me pick you up for dinner.”

“You hurt me,” she said quietly.

“I know, baby. I hope you'll forgive me and give us a chance, because I don't want to live without you or our child.”

Another pause. Then she said, “I'll meet you there.”

He was disappointed she wouldn't let him pick her up, but swallowed it down. She was in charge of how this would go, and he wasn't going to mess it up. “Okay. Italian Café, seven thirty?”

“That's fine. I'll see you then.”

Before he could say good-bye, she ended the call. This might be even tougher than he'd thought.

The rest of the day was a serious strain on his thin patience. The hour of their date couldn't arrive fast enough, and he was dressed far too early, pacing the floor. The tick of the clock on the wall was driving him insane. When it was finally time to leave, he peeled out of the driveway so fast he left skid marks.

As he arrived at the restaurant, his carefully rehearsed speech went out the window. All he could think was,
Please forgive me
, and other than that nothing else really mattered.

The hostess showed him to a nice table in a corner that was mostly private, with a candle burning in the middle for a little mood lighting. The waiter brought him a glass of water, but he held off ordering anything else until she arrived.

This had to go perfectly. She had to forgive him.

Trying to calm his nerves, he checked the time. And waited.

•   •   •

“Dammit!”

She was late. Only by a few minutes, but still. The last thing she wanted was for Austin to think she'd stood him up.

Jogging out of the building, she waved good-bye to Toby Baxter.

“Where's the fire?” he called.

“I'm late for my date!”

Outside, she clutched her purse and hit the unlock button on her key ring. The Mercedes gave a cheery blip and she threw open the door and slid behind the wheel. Maybe she should go ahead and call Austin? She was about to dig her phone out of her purse when the passenger door opened and a man calmly got in, shutting it after him.

In his hand was a gleaming pistol.

“Wh-what are you doing? Who are you?” She stared at him in horror, heart pounding.

“I think you're smart enough to figure that out, aren't you?” He chuckled to himself. “Drive off, and don't even think about crashing us. I'll shoot a hole in you and save myself a lot of trouble.”

The gun was aimed at her side. From the cold, hard look in his eyes, he wouldn't hesitate to do it. No way could she crash the car in her condition. And she certainly wasn't going to play on his sympathy by telling him she was pregnant; some attackers might be swayed by that, but look what this man had done to Ashley.

Terror gripped her heart as she drove from the parking lot. She could only pray that someone saw them, or the security camera got him on film. Her hands shook and her mouth was dry. She tried not to think about what this animal would do to her.

It would be a while before Austin realized she was missing. Longer still before a search got under way. It would be dark soon. Not good, any of it.

“Where are we going?”

“Turn up here, take I-49 out of town.”

“Okay.”

She stole a glance at him. He was maybe late twenties, early thirties. Muscular. Nice looking. What would make a man like this commit such horrible crimes?

“What's your name?” she asked.

“What's it to you?”

“I'm Laura, but I guess you know that.” She'd heard sometimes if a kidnapper made a connection with his victim, that could help stave off the worst.

“Of course I know.” He paused, turning a little in the seat to face her better. The gun didn't waver.

“Would you tell me?”

“Guess it doesn't matter. You can call me Chandler. Your boyfriend does.”

“But that isn't your real name.” It wasn't a question.

“No, and he'll never figure out my real identity,” he stated, pleased with himself.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked hoarsely.

“Oh, you'll find out soon enough. And so will Captain Austin Rainey,” he spat. “Right before I kill
him.”

When Laura hadn't arrived by eight, Austin was disappointed. But after he texted her and got no response, disappointment became worry. He tried calling, and got sent straight to her voice mail.

“Hey, baby. I'm at the restaurant and it's almost ten after eight. Did something come up with work? Call me as soon as you can.”

Hanging up, he decided to phone her office. Even at this hour, somebody would be working. The line was picked up on the third ring.

“Medical examiner's office, this is Toby Baxter.”

“Hi, Toby. This is Captain Austin Rainey with the Sugarland PD. I'm trying to reach Laura Eden. Is she still around?”

“Oh, hey, Captain Rainey. No, she left in a hurry a little before seven thirty. She said something on the way past me about being late for a date.”

A chill crept down his spine. “You're sure she left the building?”

“Positive. Her car's gone. I was just about to leave myself.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“No sweat.”

Ending the call, he stood and hurried for the door, giving his apologies to the waiter on the way out. He paused to slip the kid a twenty-dollar bill for taking good care of him, then dashed out. Laura wasn't coming. Something was wrong.

She wouldn't have stood him up. That simply wasn't her style. The man on the phone said she was on her way to meet him, and he believed the guy.

Panic rising, he drove the route to her office in Nashville, keeping an eye out for her car. He hadn't really expected to see the Mercedes, but he'd hoped for a miracle. There was no sign of her or the car. On the way back to Sugarland he phoned the troops.

Shane answered his cell. “Hey, Cap. What's up? Thought you had a hot date with your lady tonight.”

Word apparently got around. “I was supposed to, but she never showed. Something's wrong. One of her colleagues said she left work to come meet me, but she never arrived and she hasn't called or texted me and her phone goes straight to voice mail.”

“Maybe she went home?”

“No. She wouldn't stand me up. If she wasn't coming, she would've told me straight out.”

“Okay. But I'll have a squad go by her place anyway, just to be sure.”

“I'm heading in to the station. I need everyone who's available.”

“You've got it.”

“It's
him
, Shane,” he said, unable to hide the fear in his voice. “I know it is.”

“Stay strong. If it is, we're going to catch him. He's not going to get away with this.”

Ending the call, he sped to the station. He no longer wanted to put this monster behind bars; he wanted him fucking dead. The bastard had taken enough from him. He wasn't going to take Laura, too.

At the station, Danny and Chris were already waiting for him in the conference room. Notes on the case were spread everywhere. Danny stood and pulled Austin into a brief hug.

“We're going to find her, my friend. Don't doubt that.”

“I know. But we don't have much time,” he said, voice strained. “He may keep her alive for a while to taunt me, but we can't be sure for how long.”

Shane and Tonio arrived and they got down to business.

“Let's go through my list again. Odds are high one of these people I put in prison is trying to get revenge for my costing him someone he loved,” Austin said, frustration rising. “But none of the suspects have panned out. The ones who lost someone while they were in prison are either still there or dead, while the ones who've gotten out didn't lose anyone while he was inside. What am I not seeing?”

They hunkered around the table and got to work. They sifted through all the names again from the beginning, with the same results as before. Hours and hours of work repeated—for nothing, it seemed.

It was almost three in the morning, and they were all exhausted. Austin was just about to suggest they get a
few hours' sleep—not that
he
was going anywhere—when a uniformed officer knocked and stuck his head in the door.

“Cap? A squad just located Miss Eden's car a few miles outside of town. They took a look inside, found her purse with her cell phone still intact. They didn't touch anything.”

“God,” he rasped, trying to think. This was bad.

“Tonio and I will go out there,” Shane said, standing. “See what we can find.”

“Okay. Let us know, and thanks.”

“Don't mention it.”

Once they were gone, he looked to Chris and Danny. “Why don't you guys go home, get a few hours' sleep, and come back.”

“You're kidding, right?” Chris shook his head. “I'm not going anywhere until we find Laura. That's final.”

“Me, either.”

A lump clogged his throat, but he kept his emotions in check. His lady was depending on him to keep his cool and find her. He wasn't going to let her down.

“Thanks, guys. In that case, let's try going through this again.”

It was going on six in the morning before Shane and Tonio made it back to the station. Austin's exhausted brain snapped to attention when Shane entered holding a large evidence bag containing Laura's purse and related what they'd found out.

“There wasn't much in the car, and these were left behind.” He laid the bag on the table. “We'll check for
prints besides hers, but that won't help much right now.”

Austin wanted to yell or hit something. “Were you able to learn anything?”

“We did find a patch of flattened grass off the road, a few yards from where her car was found. I think he planned her abduction in advance and had a van or something out there waiting. He makes her drive, then ditches the car and retrieves his own vehicle.”

“Makes sense.” He checked the time. “Fuck! He's had her almost eleven hours. What are we missing here?
What?
”

“Well,” Chris said slowly, “I can think of one thing missing from this list: women.”

Austin stared at him. “The killer is a man. We know this, even though he dressed as a woman at least once, when he lured Matt Blankenship.”

“Yeah, but what about the person he's avenging? My bet is it's a woman. Probably a wife or girlfriend.”

Austin stood, brain whirling. “You're right. He
would
avenge his woman, and he blames me for something that happened to her while he was in prison.”

“But none of the viable suspects lost anyone as far as we've been able to determine,” Tonio said.

Shane blew out a frustrated breath. “It doesn't make sense.”

The answer, when it hit Austin, almost took him like a bullet to the brain. “The killer is male. But what if
he
wasn't the one in prison—what if
she
was?”

The guys stilled, their eyes widening. Chris whistled
through his teeth. “Holy shit. That could be the angle we need.”

Austin's mind raced. “Yeah, it could. Let me go through my case files from the last few years, and this time I'll list the women I've put away. There weren't nearly as many, so it shouldn't take long.”

Leaving them, he retreated to his office, booted up his computer, and got to work. Time was critical.

“Hang on, sweetheart,” he whispered. “I'm going to find you.”

She and his baby had to survive. He wasn't going to accept any other outcome.

•   •   •

The first thing she became aware of was the awful pounding in her head.

Memory returned in pieces. The stranger jumping in her car. Forcing her to drive away. Then he made her pull over . . . and what?

She'd felt a sting in her neck and everything had gone dark. The bastard must've drugged her. The question was where he'd taken her.

The floor beneath her was cold, hard, and unforgiving. Listening, she caught the faint sounds of outdoors. Wind rustling in the trees, a few birds singing. Was it morning?

With an effort, she opened her eyes and blinked the room into focus. Well, not a room, really, so much as a dank space filled with junk. Rolling to her back, she looked around and groaned. Several feet above her was a small window she might be able to crawl through—if her hands weren't bound behind her back and if she
could get some leverage to hoist herself up there. The dim light filtering through the dirty glass indicated the sun was just coming up, and a quick calculation in her fuzzy brain told her that if it was dawn she'd been missing almost eleven hours.

Austin would have the entire force looking for her. Of that she had no doubt. But she knew he'd been stymied by the identity of the killer, and he'd be searching blind. If she was going to get out of here, she couldn't wait.

She had to save herself.

Just then a door opened somewhere above with an ominous squeal of rusty hinges. Footsteps descended and the murderer Austin knew as Chandler sauntered over to her, looming large, a satisfied smile on his face.

He'd be handsome,
she thought,
if he wasn't a vicious killer
.

“Well, good morning,” he said cheerfully.

She eyed him warily, trying not to show her fear. Her mouth was dry and her tongue felt thick, thanks to the drug. “Better for some than others.”

That made him laugh. “You know, I like you. It's going to be a shame to kill you.”

“Waste not.”

“True. But if I let you live, then your captain won't learn his lesson,” he said, as if this were the most reasonable line of thinking in the world.

What a lunatic
. “He's already learned it,” she said in a soft appeal. “You took his wife and child from him.
He'll never be the same, and killing me could never be worse than that loss.”

Anger suffused his face, erasing all traces of his good looks. “That fucking murderer won't be paid up until
I
say so. He took everything from
me
, so I'm not going to stop until I return the favor,” he finished, shouting, jabbing his finger down at her.

“Austin is
no
murderer.” She glared up at him. “He's a police captain who does his job putting criminals in jail.
You're
the murderer.”

For a horrible moment, she thought she'd gone too far. The very real desire to strangle her was simmering in his eyes, in the clench of his hands.

“He took my woman and child from me, and I won't rest until I've destroyed his whole world. By the time I kill him, he'll beg me to do it.”

“How did he take them? What do you mean?”

But her captor had spun on his heel and was already stomping back up the stairs. Immediately she went to work on her bonds. They were tight, not much give in the ropes that bound her wrists, cutting into her skin. She'd need something sharp to saw them against.

Eyes skimming the basement, she searched for something—anything—that could be used as a tool. Mostly there were boxes overflowing with discarded household items, old clothing, cans of pesticides, and the like. Disappointment settled over her—until she spotted the handlebars of something sticking out from behind a pile of boxes in one corner.

Please let that be what I think it is
.

Before she pushed to her feet, she listened intently for any sign of “Chandler” returning. Hearing nothing, she got up and crept over to the corner and pushed at the boxes. They slid out of the way with a noisy scrape and she cringed, ears trained for the killer's footsteps. So far, so good.

One more push at the boxes, and her pulse leapt. An old lawn mower, the push kind that started by pulling a cord, sat there like a beacon of hope. She didn't think her captor knew it was down here, or he would've removed it. Now she just had to get it turned on its side, without making a racket. No small feat with her hands tied.

First, she sat on the filthy floor next to the mower and tried to use her feet, levering her toes underneath the metal frame to try to flip the thing. That was a no-go; it was just too heavy. The mower barely budged.

Next she tried backing up to the same spot and lifting the metal frame with her fingers. But the frame was sharp and the weight caused the edge to cut into her flesh. No dice.

“Dammit!” Gathering herself to her feet again, she glared at the object. “One way or another, you're going down.”

This time she used her upper body to lean on the handlebar. As soon as she did, the motion caused the mower to essentially pop a wheelie, front half sticking up. A bit more of a push downward and she could
upset its balance, toppling it. Which wasn't going to be quiet, but it couldn't be helped.

Finally, the mower fell over. It rolled to its side with a terrible clang, and for a few awful, heart-stopping moments she stood frozen. But as minutes passed and Chandler didn't appear demanding to know what she was doing, she started to relax. He either was deaf or had left the house for a while. It was surely the latter.

Sitting once again, Laura backed up to the mower's blades. After some maneuvering to get the right leverage, she started to saw at the ropes.

And she prayed that time, and a bit more luck, would be on her side.

•   •   •

In his office, Austin scrubbed a hand down his face, rubbed at his tired eyes. He'd lost track of how many cups of coffee he'd consumed, but it was well past doing him any good and now was just making him jittery and sick to his stomach.

Midmorning. Time was running out for Laura, and going through the list of female offenders was a tedious process, even though the names were considerably fewer than the men. The stories were pretty much what he'd expected, except one woman on the list who had actually turned her life completely around and had become a social worker. A couple of the women had died after their prison terms, one from drug use, one beaten to death by her boyfriend. Others were still serving their time, or had been released and rearrested, but after all his research, he hadn't found a single one whose
fate might inspire deadly revenge, or who even had a likely connection on the outside who would commit murder for her.