Dangerous Attraction: Part Three (Aegis Group) (7 page)

“Bliss—we just heard.” Her mother and father rushed into the kitchen, elbowing Travis out of the way and surrounding her. They meant to be comforting, but their nearness suffocated her.

“They’re following him now,” Travis said.

“You should leave,” Bliss’ father said, scowling at Travis.

“What good are you?” Bliss’ mother wheeled on him. “You were supposed to keep my daughter safe. Now she’s gone again, because you couldn’t protect her.”

“Mom, Mom.” Bliss held onto her mother, wrapping her arms around her. “It’s not Travis’ fault.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll go.” Travis backed away.

The man Bliss loved. This was a shit way of introducing them.

Paul chose that moment to let out a big wail.

“Oh, I know, honey, I know.” Mom scooped Paul out of his carrier and cradled him to her chest.

Wendy was gone. Right out from under their noses.

W
endy huddled in the back seat of yet another car. She’d lost count around the second or third. Time blurred together. She had no idea where they were, except she could still see the casinos in the distance. All she knew was that Carlos was in the trunk, safe and unhurt.

What had Priscilla done? What had he done to her?

“We’re here,” Daniel announced.

He pulled the car under a metal carport that stretched several yards to her left. The buildings around them were warehouses, big metal structures. The street was empty of traffic or pedestrians, just them. No one to cry out to for help or report them to the cops.

She clutched her bound hands to her chest. The tracker was still there, attached to her bra strap. Priscilla had known. She’d even asked, ensuring the device was on her.

Wendy couldn’t fault Priscilla for what she’d done. If Daniel threatened her family, Wendy knew the lengths to which she was willing to go to keep them safe.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Here.”

“What about Carlos?”

“Don’t fucking worry about him.” Rage laced his voice.

She flinched away, pressing her back against the door.

“Don’t do that, don’t be afraid.” His tone gentled, and he reached for her, his hands careful as he patted her arm and then her shoulder. “Come here. Come here. I had to do it, so we could be together. You were made for me. This is how it’s supposed to be.”

“What are you going to do to me?” She couldn’t stop the tears. Hadn’t she survived this once? She didn’t want to go back there. Not to that cave painted with death.

“First, I’ve got to get your sister, and then we can leave. Go anywhere. I’ve got it all figured out. You’ll see.”

“No,” Wendy blurted. Not her sister. Not Bliss. She’d given up so much of her life for Wendy. If he called her, Bliss would come. It was who she was. Who she’d always been.

This time though, this time Wendy would save her. They had the same blood, the same genetics. She could do this. She could save her sister. The cops would find her first, right? That’s what the tracker was for. She just needed to hang on a little longer and keep him from making contact with Bliss.

Daniel’s face twisted into something ugly, almost inhuman.

Wendy’s body went cold, and tremors shook her hands. Some inborn sense kicked in. She had to keep him happy. Convince him all he needed was her. It’s what Bliss would do.

“I mean, why do we need her? Can’t,” she swallowed down the bile, “can’t it just be us?”

His mouth spread into something like a smile. He reached for her, cupping her cheek in his rough hand. She clenched her fists tighter to keep from cringing away from him.

This time she would be strong.

“She doesn’t matter, but I can’t let her live. Just a little while longer, and then we can be happy, together.”

“Why does she matter? Can’t we go now?”

“She dies,” he snapped and dropped the compassionate act. “Out of the car. Now.”

“Okay. Okay.”

A thump from the trunk reminded her that she wasn’t his only victim.

“What about Carlos?” she asked. They couldn’t leave him behind, could they? Should she keep her mouth shut and hope the authorities found the car?

“Get him out.” Daniel popped the lock on the trunk and pushed up out of his seat, leaving her to scramble after him.

Wendy circled the car, but froze once she reached the tail light. Daniel had the gun out, pointed at the trunk. Her body shook uncontrollably, either from the cold or the fear, she didn’t know which.

Be brave.

Be more like Bliss.

“What’s that for?” she asked. Wasn’t she cooperating?

“The kid’s trouble. Get him out.”

Wendy lifted the trunk and forced herself to smile at Carlos. Did he know his mother was dead? He had every right to hate her because of this. It was her fault. If Daniel weren’t obsessed with her, Priscilla would still be alive.

Carlos stared up at her, his eyes big and red. There was an ugly bump on the side of his head. The duct tape around his hands and face was twisted and mangled, but hadn’t torn. Yet. He was doing his best to get free. The kid was a fighter. Priscilla would be proud.

“Hey, Carlos, it’s okay.” She reached for his hands and held them for a second, willing him to believe her. “It’s all going to be okay. Just come with me.”

Please let it be okay. Please?

Wendy helped the kid out of the trunk. Like his mom, Carlos was a strong-willed personality with lots of smarts. Grayson didn’t know that Wendy had pushed Priscilla to use their address so Carlos could go to a better school district. The only thing that mattered to Priscilla was giving her son the opportunities in life she never had. Now she was gone, and who would look out for Carlos?

“Walk,” Daniel barked.

“Where are we going?” Wendy wrapped an arm around Carlos and hustled him away from Daniel.

“Keep walking.”

“Is it really necessary to point a gun at us?”

“Wendy, Wendy, you’re so sweet and kind. You’ll make a good mother, but you forget you aren’t my first wife. I’ve had others like you. I’m not stupid. You don’t love me yet, but you will. You will.” He picked up his pace and pushed the barrel of his gun against the back of Carlos’ head. “You do as I say, or I’ll kill him, understand?”

“Oh, God. Oh my God.” She swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I understand.”

She shook from head to toe, so much that it was hard to walk. Carlos stared straight ahead, supporting her as they huddled together and stumbled forward.

Wendy wasn’t strong enough for this. She wasn’t Bliss. She couldn’t do this.

Travis stalked down the driveway. Ryan, Connor, and Jade stood in a circle with a few uniformed officers. The frigid breeze sliced through his clothes, but it was nothing compared to the damning looks from Bliss’ parents.

It wasn’t his fault eyes hadn’t been on the perimeter, or that the house staff wasn’t being watched, but he still should have known. If he were dealing with a client under threat, it’s the kind of thing he’d expect to happen. But this was a deranged serial killer with a fucked up god complex, and most of Travis’ rules were out the window.

“Hey Travis. How’s the family?” Connor asked.

“Pissed as hell. What the fuck happened?”

“Check those locations and report back to us,” Ryan said to the uniformed officers.

The cops got in their cars and zoomed off, no doubt under pressure to wrap this up. No one wanted this kind of trouble in a major tourist destination on New Year’s. Shit. The days had zoomed by for him. He hadn’t realized what day it was.

“Jade and I are going to the station to coordinate with the officers there. The rest of you, keep your phones on. When he makes a move, be ready to get there.”

“Yes, sir,” Connor said.

Travis didn’t reply. He wasn’t under the orders of the FBI, but for now he was going to play by their rules. Even if their rules had gotten Wendy kidnapped. Again.

Jade and Ryan climbed into one of several black SUVs and headed out after the police, leaving Travis and Connor alone on the drive, save for the cops stationed at either end of the street.

“Have they figured out what happened and how they lost him with Wendy wearing a tracker?”

“One thing at a time, mate.” Connor held up his hand and sighed. “Appears Daniel got to Priscilla through her son, Carlos. Neighbors said they saw a man with him yesterday. The build fits Daniel, though none of them saw his face. Best guess is he got her when she went home last night and set this up.”

“Where’s the kid?” Travis asked.

“No clue. Daniel has no problem with violence toward men and women, but what he did to his children wasn’t about torture or killing, it was about preserving them. I don’t think he means to kill Carlos. He’s just a tool, but I wouldn’t bet on that. Daniel’s under a lot of pressure right now, and he could do a lot of things we wouldn’t expect him to do.”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Travis nodded. At this point all they were doing was pointless talking. “What about the tracker?”

“It’s active, but it’s on a delay. We’re about half an hour behind him.”

“Are you fucking serious?”

“Man, we don’t have your resources. We’re borrowing Vegas PD tech here. This is a government budget we’re playing with, and we have the best tools available to us.”

“You should have said something.”

“And what? Your guys cost money Uncle Sam isn’t going to foot the bill for, and we both know your boss don’t do charity work. How the hell you’re still here is beyond me.”

Travis had ignored the two calls from his boss. If it weren’t the holidays, his ass would have been called home already. The shit was going to hit the fan once everyone was back from the break, and then he’d pay for this. For now though, he was on his own time and dime. That still didn’t mean they couldn’t have found a way to get real-time tracking devices on the girls. At least Bliss was still here.

“My balls are about to freeze off. You mind?” Connor gestured at the other SUV. “I want to start driving his trail. It’ll get us closer to him the next time we get a read on our girl.”

Travis stalked to the truck and climbed in. He hated this whole situation. Usually, he was the guy brought in to finish a job like this, and he had no idea how to end it. They weren’t dealing with anyone remotely like what he was used to. But Daniel Campbell needed to be put down. The question was when.

Bliss sat on her bed, Paul cradled against her chest. Everyone was downstairs, yelling and blaming each other. She couldn’t handle it anymore. Even Travis was gone, vanished to some far corner of the house where her mother couldn’t heap the blame on him. She didn’t fault him for getting out of the way, but she wished she knew where he was. Even if he was out looking for Wendy. But she didn’t have his number programmed into her new phone yet. Next time she saw him, it was the first thing she was going to do.

Everything in the last twenty-four hours was just more weird and surreal than the last week. Except for last night.

Last night had been perfect.

Travis loved her.

She blew out a breath.

He loved her, and he meant it.

It was crazy and totally out of character for her to jump into a relationship like this, but maybe she’d been waiting for him all along. There was no rhyme or reason to why she loved him over other guys she dated—she just did. She could totally list out the reasons why she loved him, but it was more than how he listened to her when she made a point, counted her opinion about things, or what they had in common. It was how she felt about him. How he made her feel. The way he understood her.

When all this ended, if—when—they brought Wendy home and Daniel went to jail, they had some serious stuff to sort out. She wasn’t willing to be apart from Travis for longer than necessary. Maybe she needed to think about moving. Blush Shoppe had a handful of remote employees. She might take a pay cut, since she couldn’t manage the in-person client meetings, but there was no reason she had to be in Vegas.

Was she serious?

Moving meant being away from Wendy and Paul and her parents. If Wendy was out of the depression then maybe...but who would be there for her in the future? Could Bliss live the rest of her life revolving around her little sister?

Travis had called her on it, and he was right. As much as she loved Wendy, Bliss couldn’t live her life for Wendy. If moving was what was right for Bliss, she’d do it. And Wendy would understand. Bliss hoped she would understand.

She hugged little Paul closer and kissed his sleepy face. Wouldn’t it be nice to be a baby right about now? He had no idea there was anything wrong. Not a care in the world. Whereas, once again, Bliss was at a loss for what to do next.

Her phone rang, clattering like an old telephone. She jumped, unaccustomed to the default ring tone.

Unknown Number.

There were a lot of people involved in the search for her sister. Maybe someone needed to get a hold of her?

“Hello?”

“Bliss—”

“Wendy?” Disbelief. Hope. Dread. A dozen different emotions pounded at her from all sides.

“W
endy, where are you? I’ll come get you.”

“Don’t say anything. Don’t tell anyone about this call.” Wendy sounded frantic as she breathed into the phone.

“What? Why? Are you still with Daniel? Did you get away?”

“No—”

“Give me the phone,” a man said in the background.

Daniel.

Wendy hadn’t gotten away. She was still a prisoner.

Bliss clutched Paul to her chest and stared at the bedspread.

Something bad was going to happen, and she couldn’t stop it.

“Hello?” Daniel said.

“I’m here.” She sat up straighter, refusing to cower at the sound of his voice.

“Don’t get any smart ideas and tell the cops about this call. Are they listening?”

“No. I’m up in a bedroom by myself.”

“Good. Good.” He practically purred with approval.

Her stomach rolled and Paul grunted in his sleep. She eased her hold on him and willed him back to sleep.

“What do you want? You know the cops are looking for you.”

“I’m making a one-time offer. Meet me in half an hour, and I’ll trade your sister for you. Come alone. I see the cops, I shoot the kid, and then Wendy. If you’re late, I shoot the kid and leave with your sister.”