Chapter
Twenty-Five

Kate hadn’t answered any of Landon’s texts or calls. He knew she was busy that morning with her mock trial, but it was unlike her to go radio silent—especially given the circumstances.

After lunch, he decided to head over to her office to track her down, just to put his mind at ease.

After another unanswered call to Kate, he called Beth, her assistant, who came down to the lobby to escort him upstairs.

“Have you seen Kate?” he asked her.

“No, I haven’t. But they were in the litigation conference room all morning, working on the opening statements.”

“Can you take me to that conference room?”

“Sure.” She smiled.

He knew he was being overprotective, but could he blame himself? After his track record, he had to be. When he walked into the big conference room, he scanned the gathered crowd, looking for Kate. But there was no sign of her.

He strode over to Adam and Bonnie, whom he’d met briefly on occasion. “Have the two of you seen Kate?”

Adam shook his head. “No, that’s what we were just talking about. She and I were going to grab lunch in the cafeteria, and she went ahead of me. When I got down there, I checked the entire cafeteria, and she wasn’t there. I thought she’d come back upstairs and we missed each other.”

“But I haven’t seen her either,” Bonnie chimed in. “We’re waiting on her to start the full debrief of the mock opening statements.”

A wave of nausea washed through Landon’s body. “Something’s wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Bonnie asked.

“Something happened to Kate.” He pulled out his phone and called Cooper, who said he’d be over ASAP.

“You’re starting to worry me,” Adam said.

“I think we should all be worried.” He clenched his fists. If something had happened to her, how could he live with himself? “Kate wouldn’t just bail on this meeting. You both know this case is her whole life.”

“I’m confused. Why do you think something happened to her?” Bonnie asked.

“She could’ve been abducted.” He almost couldn’t believe the words as he was saying them.

“Abducted?” Adam’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”

“There’s a lot the two of you don’t know about what’s been happening with MPC behind the scenes. We didn’t tell you for your own safety, but we believe MPC was responsible for Ellie Proctor’s murder, and they’ve been threatening Kate. Now they’ve taken it to the next level. They obviously don’t want her to try this case.”

Adam opened his mouth, but no words came out. His skin turned pale. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“That’s why the other guys and I have been sticking so close,” Landon said.

Bonnie blew out a breath. “I had no idea. I thought you and Kate were an item, and that’s why you were around so much. Do you really think she’s in danger now?”

“Unfortunately, I do.”

Bonnie grabbed his arm. “Let me know how I can help.”

“Thank you,” he said.

She let go of him. “And I hate to sound insensitive, but we also have to figure out what to do about the trial proceeding.”

“We should keep preparing as if everything is on track,” Adam said.

“Then you need to be prepared to step in if the judge makes us move forward,” she told Adam.

“I’ll let you guys worry about all the legal implications.” Landon’s concern was less about the lawsuit and more about Kate’s well-being. He turned to see Cooper entering the room with Beth by his side.

“We need to loop in Atlanta PD,” Cooper said. “Let me start making calls.”

“Is Kate all right?” Beth asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know.” Landon’s voice cracked a little.

“I can do whatever you need me to do here,” Beth said. “No matter the task, just ask.”

Landon turned his attention back to Cooper. “Let’s go find Ethan Black and see what he has to say.”

Ethan sat in his office, tinkering with his opening statement. He vacillated on a few key points. Did he go in with the hard sell or take a softer approach? Ultimately, it was his call, and he would have to live with the consequences if he made a mistake. He could lose or win the jury in that first few minutes.

He looked up from his computer as two men he didn’t know barged into his office.

“I’m sorry, Ethan,” his assistant said, as she jumped in beside the men. “They insisted on coming back, saying it was an emergency.”

“What’s going on?” Ethan asked them. “And who are you?”

The dark-haired man stepped forward. “I’m Landon James. I’m a private investigator working with Kate Sullivan, and this is my associate Cooper Knight of K&R Security.”

“Sorry, but I’m still confused about what you’re doing here,” Ethan replied.

“Kate is missing,” Landon said.

“What do you mean, Kate’s missing?” Ethan asked.

Landon pointed at Ethan, and Ethan could feel the fury just beneath the other man’s skin. “That good-for-nothing company you’re working for has taken her. Who knows if she’s even alive?”

Ethan lifted his hand. “Whoa, now. Wait a minute.” He felt his face redden as Landon’s words sank in. Maybe he should have taken Kate’s accusations more seriously. “Tell me everything that happened.”

Landon took a step forward. “She was abducted from her firm’s building this morning.”

“Why do you think MPC has anything to do with this? And how do you know she was abducted?” Ethan’s mind started to swim with disaster scenarios.

“She went downstairs to the cafeteria for lunch and never came back,” Cooper said. “Someone took her. They’re reviewing the building security tapes right now.”

Ethan searched for an alternative explanation, because what Landon was saying was too awful to fathom. “This all sounds very farfetched. What if she just wanted to get away for a while? Preparing for trial can be extremely stressful.”

Landon shook his head. “No way. You and I both know that Kate isn’t one to run away when the going gets tough.”

“I think you guys are way out of line with these accusations.” But were they? What if they were right and Kate was in danger?

Landon walked around Ethan’s desk and loomed over him. For a moment, he was truly afraid the PI was going to haul off and hit him. Landon’s interest in Kate seemed to go beyond the professional. The determined look in his dark eyes. The twitch in his jaw. This man had feelings for her.

“If anything happens to Kate, I’m holding you personally responsible,” Landon growled. “Do you hear me?”

Ethan raised both of his hands in a calming gesture. If there was any chance that Kate had been abducted, then he needed to do his part to help. “I understand that you’re upset. And while I think you’re totally off base, I’ll do whatever you need me to do. I know you probably don’t believe this, but Kate is one of my best friends.”

“You need to confront Royce,” Landon said.

Ethan’s stomach clenched. “You want me to accuse my client of kidnapping? Have you lost your mind?” He was hoping for something a little less direct.

Cooper nodded. “You said you wanted to help. We’ll put you in touch with law enforcement. Be waiting for the call.”

Ethan looked at their faces and realized that what they were saying was true. Kate was really missing. He felt a trickle of fear for her. Could MPC be involved in this? Her prior accusations against them for attacking her rang through his head. If there was even a small chance MPC was behind it, he had to figure it out. The last thing he wanted was for something to happen to Kate.

Landon was beside himself. With each passing moment, Kate’s life was more endangered—and that was if she was even still alive.

He was huddled up with Cooper, Noah, and some Atlanta police officers in a large conference room at Warren McGee. The air conditioning kept making him break out into a cold sweat.

He walked out of the room for a moment to try to clear his head. Police officers were interviewing everyone on the trial team, desperate to find any clues.

Landon couldn’t believe their greatest hope for finding Kate rested with Ethan Black, a man he had quickly come to despise. But as mad as he was at Ethan, he was even angrier with himself. He had never considered that she’d be at risk inside her own office building. This had been her safe zone. After all their preparation, it had never occurred to him that MPC would be so bold as to walk into Warren McGee and take her. Only time would tell if this mistake would be another fatal one.

The firm didn’t have security cameras, but the building did. The tapes weren’t helpful beyond showing that Kate left the building with an unknown man. But the guy was a professional. He worked the camera angles, and with the way he wore his hat, it was difficult to make out many discernable facial features.

Landon had vowed to protect her, and once again he had failed at his duty. And this time the casualty of his failure was the woman who had won his heart. That was the other thing eating at him. The realization that something could happen to Kate and he hadn’t really told her what she meant to him. He knew he’d been distant in the lead-up to trial. All the stress and pressure of the security issues had caused him to recede back into himself. It was the last thing he wanted, but it was his protection mechanism.

Lord, please protect Kate. I know I haven’t been able to live up to my end of the bargain—with you, with her, with everything. But this is in your hands.

He walked back into the conference room and saw the other men standing around one of the large tables. “Any updates?” he asked.

Cooper nodded. “Atlanta PD has a few officers working with Ethan right now to make sure he’s ready to go talk to Royce.”

“We don’t really have time for a full coaching session, do we?” he asked.

“We get one shot at this,” Noah said. “He needs the help.”

Landon knew his friends were right, but he was worried about the timing.

“Hopefully, that contact will happen within the hour,” Cooper said. “Ethan has agreed to wear a wire.”

“Is that legal, with him being their attorney?”

“Yeah,” Noah said. “There’s a crime exception to the attorney-client privilege. Since Royce would be having these discussions with Ethan in the furtherance of a crime, he can’t claim the privilege.”

“And if Ethan can’t get any information out of Royce?”

“We can’t think like that right now,” Cooper said. “Atlanta PD is also trying to track down Bradley Cummings. It doesn’t appear he is at the MPC office.”

“Do we have pictures of him to compare to the man in the security camera tape?” Landon asked.

“We’re getting that now, but I think it’s a strong possibility Bradley is the culprit.” Noah gave Landon’s shoulder an encouraging slap. “Man, I know you’re upset and worried, but we’re working every possible angle here. We’re going to find her.”

Landon could only pray that Noah was right. He couldn’t even consider the possibility that he had seen Kate alive for the last time.