I Beleive Now (4 page)

But the extra guards Max placed on him made a whole lot more sense now.

"Okay," Kira said. "Fine. Please make sure it doesn't." Kira cocked an eyebrow as if he didn't quite believe Asher and he saw Kira take a quick look up and down the sidewalk but he knew there'd be nothing out of the ordinary. "Who is it you thought you saw?"

Yeah, right. Like he was going to tell him
that
. "No one." Asher laughed, trying to sound normal, running his hand through his hair. "It was stupid. Sorry. Let's head back." He turned and headed back to his photo shoot location at a trot, making it impossible for Kira to do anything but follow him.

The rest of the day went off without another incident. Asher soon forgot all about the man he chased around the corner, chalking it up to a simple case of mistaken identity. Wrapping up for the day, he started to put away his gear.

"Man, I need to find a bathroom." Asher had been ignoring the need, knowing they were close to the end of the session and he just did not want to break the mood, but he had been complaining about needing to off and on for a while now. He finally could take it no longer.

"I thought I saw a café just down this sidewalk," Mike said pointing behind Asher. Mike, a substitute for the day, taking the place of a suddenly sick assistant, smiled. "I'm sure I saw a public bathroom."

"Really? Great!" Relieved, Asher turned and looked back the way Mike was pointing. "I think I'll stop in there. You guys finish putting this stuff away and I'll be right back." Asher once again started down the sidewalk without informing Kira. But this time Kira was paying attention and Asher saw the man coming up behind him.

"What are you doing, Asher?" He nearly yelled.

"I just need to go to the bathroom, for crying out loud. I need to get your permission to do that, too?" Asher knew he shouldn't be irritated but living in this cage was making him cranky. It was one thing when the guards stayed in the background like they did most of the time, quite another when they were continuously in his face like Kira had been ever since that morning. But having the man standing inside the public restroom actually watching him pee was just going too far. "Please don't follow me in. You can just wait out here for me, can't you?"

"Well. I suppose that's okay. Just hurry up." Relieved Kira didn't insist on barging in and checking things out first, Asher dashed in, not waiting for him to suddenly change his mind. Just having him stand outside the door was embarrassing enough. But even Kira knew the bathroom to be a random pick. Certainly there was no way for anything to have been set up ahead of time. There were not always going to be big guys getting ready to do bad things to anyone under Max's protection. Except, suddenly, Asher had a little pang of regret. He really shouldn't treat the guy like that. He was simply trying to do his job. He also knew Kira just wanted to get him back to the penthouse as soon as he could so he was no longer responsible for "the brat", which is what they called him behind his back. He
knew
because he'd overheard Kira talking to another one of his babysitter guards, saying even though Max had raised the level of security around Asher, the chance of anything actually happening was low in Kira's opinion.

As it turned out, Kira's opinion meant nothing.

Asher had just finished washing his hands when a cloth suddenly went firmly over his nose and mouth. A strong arm went around his waist and pulled him tight against whomever it was who held the cloth. He hadn't heard a thing. He didn't even know there was anyone in the bathroom with him. Asher tried to pry the hand away because he could already feel his mind losing focus but his hands were wet and very slippery. He couldn't pull the guy off. Too soon his hands became weak and useless and Asher slipped into darkness.

CHAPTER TWO

"Max, we lost Asher! He went into the men's room and now he's gone."

"Kira, what the hell happened?" Max said into his cell through clenched teeth as he flew up from his desk and headed for the door.

"We should have checked if there was another way out of that damn bathroom before he went in. There doesn't seem to have been a struggle but…"

"How long?" Max had waved frantically to Jasper as he came out of his office. The man immediately understood but was having a bit of trouble staying ahead of his boss on their way to the underground garage.

"As long as ten minutes…"

Too long. Way too long. If this was a kidnapping by car, even in the afternoon traffic, they could be any number of miles in any direction by now. "Have you set up a perimeter?"

"We are doing it right now. We sent for reinforcements prior to calling you."

"How far out?"

"We are going out at least five miles…"

Nowhere near far enough. "How many men?"

"We have six on site. We…called in…everyone…sir."

"Where are you?" He had just thrown himself into the passenger seat, Jasper barely waiting for the door to shut before he put the limo in gear. Max punched the Bluetooth button on his phone, and the call switched to the speakers in the limo for Jasper to hear as well. When Jasper heard the address, he turned the car immediately in the correct direction as soon as they pulled out from the garage.

He had to have been taken. Asher liked to make it obvious when he escaped his bodyguards, which he had done often enough. Yes, they should have checked the bathroom before Asher went in, no matter how random the action. Training in this was essential and he knew part of the blame had to go farther up, since his own bodyguard did those types of things as automatically as breathing. He did know the brat fought constantly at having to have the bodyguards around, but they needed to never make a decision based on anything the boy wanted or didn't want when it came to doing their job. The ones responsible—who did not do the right thing at the right time—would pay, but right now they needed all the manpower they could find. He'd deal with blame later.

This move had to be a calculated one against Max specifically and if that was the case, he also knew Asher had to be alive. He was going to most likely hear very soon what "deal" was needed to be cut in order to release him. His mind raced through all of the problem issues that were going on at the moment—all the people with a grudge who had been acting the slightest bit strange and there definitely were at least a few. But add in those who actually knew about his obsession with the hazel-eyed beauty and his brain came back and settled on only one, recently released, man.

Wyatt Jackson.

The man remained constantly in the news, especially now after his release, and as much as Max wanted to deal with him, he just couldn't risk the exposure. He was still too popular. Reporters surrounded Jackson's every move. He had been acquitted, but any reporter worth his salt could smell the blood in the water. And, in all other instances, just the humiliation of his career being more than done with had been enough for Max. Jackson had been disgraced and ostracized, exactly what had been needed to take him out of power and to disband his ridiculous fan base. But Max had a hunch. Wyatt Jackson was on the move. He absolutely
knew
the soon-to-come call had to be either directly from Jackson or from a representative, depending on exactly how many people Jackson could convince not only of his innocence but of his ability to rise back to power. For that to happen, he'd need support on both sides of the law.

Everyone knew the public was basically stupid and they'd follow any politician who could say the right thing at the right time. Society itself was never an issue. Navigating the muddy waters with your colleagues tended to be a bit more intimidating, but with the right backing, enough money, and the exact exposure necessary, even that tended to not be as difficult as one might think—expensive and tricky but definitely doable. Where things could—and often did—get ugly was where the actual backing came from. Untraceable money was essential in these matters and the only place to find that kind of backing was through organized crime. Although the money would be undetectable, the road that led to it still could be laden with land mines. Even so, Jackson—as stupid as the man continued to be—did know that world, and in order for him to rise back up to the top, there was absolutely no question he'd need help.

Max kept his relationship with Asher private. No one really knew exactly what the young man meant to Max, but Jackson obviously did and that knowledge is what likely drove the man now—a huge reason why Max could no longer afford to leave the man alive. The knowledge itself had to have come from Corrington; thankfully that source was dead and buried. But the question remained, was Jackson working alone or did he yet have enough power—which seemed to be the case—to work with others of influence? If he was working alone, Max could solve this one easily enough. He no longer cared that martyrdom might follow the man's death. He'd simply be dead. Max savored a few moments of time just imagining the ways Jackson could die. There were just so many choices. Fortunately for the man, he could only die once but Max had every intention of making sure that
once
was going to be satisfying.

But if Jackson wasn't alone, simply killing him could prove more difficult.

In either case, Max was going to have to wait. In the meantime, he'd scour the city streets in hopes the brat simply slipped his guard.

As they pulled up to the café where Asher had disappeared, Max knew by the quiet chaos he saw that nothing had changed. He shot out of the limo, not even waiting for the vehicle to come to a full stop, and walked quickly up to the man responsible. The fear in Kira's eyes let Max know the man understood he no longer risked his job. What he risked by not running but by instead staying to help find Asher, was his life. Max chose then to consider that fact when the time came to decide his fate. "What do you have for me?"

"I'm…I'm sorry…sorry, Mr Tyler, sir. We haven't found him yet. Cadum thinks…"

Cadum, a mountain of a man with short, bleached blond hair—Max's personal bodyguard—walked up and nodded to Max in acknowledgment. "There is no doubt he was kidnapped, sir. We found this cloth left on the floor near the window. We believe it had some sort of ether on it used to knock Mr Madden out and they escaped through the window that leads into the alley in back of the café. The window had been left open as well."

"I want to see." Max always made his own observations, although he knew Cadum wasn't wrong. Cadum never missed anything. He was Max's main eyes, other than his own, and they were deadly accurate. If Cadum had been with Asher today, Asher would not be missing now.

Missing!

Asher was missing and Max's heart wrenched. He felt Asher's absence right down to his very
bones
. Asher definitely had eliminated boredom from Max's usually precisely ordered life. Some time ago now, Asher had expertly and effortlessly taken the place of all of Max's casual sex partners. He had absolutely no desire whatsoever anymore in even contacting any of them, much less seeing them. It surprised even Max when he finally realized he never gave a second thought to them now. The idea Asher was his lover, not just his only sex partner, nudged its way to the surface as well. Yes, he had freely given the title to Asher without even thinking about it. But despite all of that, he had remained in total control of his feelings. Of course he liked the young man. Wasn't that always the way when you took on a new partner? He admitted he thought about him, even worried about him, but that had to be due to the fact Asher could be used against him…right? However, the pang he was experiencing in his heart felt a lot like fear.

He shook his head to clear it, to regain control, and took out a cigarette. He was going to find Asher. Whoever had him was going to be calling or sending a message to him soon. He needed to wait it out as he continued to throw his nets over the entire city. But he couldn't help wondering… Couldn't help worrying.

* * * *

Asher woke with one of the worst headaches he had ever had in his life. At first he didn't move because of the pain, but then discovering he had a gag in his mouth, a blindfold over his eyes, and that he was lying on a cold hard surface—probably a floor—with his hands tied behind his back, he started to panic and wondered where the fuck he was.
Shit.
His stomach cartwheeled, which effectively stopped the panic as he concentrated on letting it settle. He couldn't throw up with a gag in his mouth.

Fuck!

Calm down.

He heard voices, faint and unfamiliar, murmuring, like in a feverish nightmare. His arms ached from the position they were in and the ropes were cutting into his wrists. Every time he moved, they seemed to cut deeper.
Shit! How long have I been like this?
He tried to concentrate on how he had ended up on this hard surface, bound like a pig for slaughter; his muddled brain continued to struggle to clear. He was taking pictures downtown…wait, they had finished and he'd gone to the bathroom.
Yeah, that's right
. He had gone to the bathroom in that tiny cafe and was washing his hands. That was when a smelly cloth was clamped over his mouth and nose.
I must have passed out.

Drugged? Damn it! Fuck!

I've been kidnapped!

His head pounded like someone was drumming on it. Why had he not checked the fucking place? Why did they—whoever they were
this
time—always think life was all fun and games to fucking kidnap him all the time?

But…

This time the situation was different. This time the circumstances were definitely scarier. The other times—like when he had been held against his will and almost raped by Griffin's brother—his hands had been tied then too. He had been in the employee break room, having been sent in there by Griffin, his immediate boss at the time, to find something. The place had been familiar and, thinking about it now, he hadn't really been in danger of losing his life. Even so, it had been his own actions, unintentional as they were, that landed him in trouble with Griffin. When he was taken by Brogan, he'd pretty much gone willingly. But in his own defense, he'd been trying to find and rescue his brother, even though he was aware Brogan was loony tunes. Whether or not Brogan would have killed him, he wasn't sure. But again it was his own fault for having been involved in the first place, thinking he could solve his idiot brother's problems.