7
Brady pulled to a stop at the address Emily had provided before she’d dropped off into a restless sleep. He hated to wake her, but he needed the code to access her complex. A gentle shake popped her eyes open and she sucked in a breath as she looked around. “What? We’re here?”
“You dozed the last hour.”
She shoved a hank of dark hair behind her ear and blinked a few more times. “I’m so sorry. I haven’t been sleeping well and then after the last few hours . . .” She shrugged. “I guess I’d had it.”
“Understandable.”
She scrubbed her eyes. “Um. You need the code, I’m guessing.”
“Yes. Or I would have let you sleep a little longer.”
“No. Let’s go to Heather’s place first.” She rattled off the numbers. “Did Derek get back to you on the 911 call?”
“Not yet. It may take him a bit.” He punched in the code and the gate swung open. “Can you text the code to Linc? They’re about five minutes behind us.”
“Sure.” She sent the text. “Turn right here,” she said. He drove slowly, scanning the area, taking note of anything that might spell trouble. Nothing alarmed him. The parking lot was quiet at this time of the morning. Just before dawn, the first orange and gold rays of the sun were starting to sneak into the horizon. “Do you see her car?” he asked.
“No. And that’s her spot right there.” She pointed.
A young man exited the apartment nearest them and hurried to a packed silver BMW. Brady thought about telling him he needed to move a few of the boxes so his view wouldn’t be obstructed, but that wasn’t his priority at the moment.
The man’s gaze met Brady’s, then slid to Emily’s. He gave a double take, but lifted a hand in a wave. Emily returned it and rolled down her window. “Paul. Hey, Paul!”
Paul paused, then walked over to the vehicle. “Hi, Emily. What’s up?” He nodded to Brady. “I’m Paul Bailey.”
“Brady St. John.” Brady held out a hand and the two men shook.
“I’m looking for Heather,” Emily said. “Have you seen her?”
“No.” He frowned. “Did you try her cell?”
“Of course. She’s not answering.”
“That’s weird. She didn’t say anything to me about being gone. Is she all right?”
“I don’t know. When was the last time you saw her?”
“Wednesday morning, I think. She was in a hurry to get to the office. Why all the worry?”
“She called 911 late Wednesday night and no one’s seen her since.”
“What!”
“I know.”
“That’s not good. What’s being done to find her?”
“Everything possible,” Emily said. “Will you ask around and tell me if you hear from her—or anyone who might have seen her before she left work that night?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks.” She gave him her number and the man climbed into his car, backed out, and headed toward the exit.
“That was Paul,” Emily murmured.
“I gathered.” A spark of jealousy flamed for a nanosecond, making Brady catch his breath. What in the world? Just because you saved her life doesn’t mean you get to stake a claim. He’d saved lives before and had never once had a flash of jealousy when he’d reunited them with friends and loved ones. His reaction made no sense. “Who’s Paul?” He couldn’t help it. He had to ask. A few seconds’ worth of conversation hadn’t told him much.
“A friend. Sort of. He’s a realtor and occasionally comes into the bank where I work when he’s in town. He mostly works in Columbia and deals in commercial real estate, but he and Calvin are friends and have lunch once or twice a month. He’s loaded. He’s been living here for about two weeks.”
“I see. You said he was loaded. Not to diss your apartment complex, it’s actually very nice, but someone who’s loaded doesn’t live in a place like this. At least I find it odd.”
She frowned. “But his cousin, Claire, isn’t loaded. He’s having his home renovated and moved in with her. He said she insisted he stay with her and get to know each other again. Apparently, they’d grown apart over the years and had recently reconnected. When Paul needed a place to stay, Claire convinced him it would do his character good to ‘live like a normal person.’” She wiggled air quotes around the last few words. “I’ve only talked with her a handful of times. I think I’ve seen more of Paul in the past two weeks than I have of Claire in the past two years.”
“Seems like he would offer to help her out with a fancier place.”
“He did. She said no. He said she refuses to let him help her out, that she wants to make it on her own.”
“Admirable.”
“Hmm.”
“You sure do know a lot about him for having only known him for two weeks.”
“I got all that from Heather. He’s been trying to get her to go out with him from the moment he met her, but she keeps turning him down. I think she really likes him, and if she wasn’t working so hard on this story, she’d go.”
“Oh. Heather, huh?” He refused to acknowledge the fact that he was relieved. But he also couldn’t help wondering why he was so drawn to this woman he’d rescued. She was very similar to Krystal in a lot of ways, but there was also something very different about her. He thought it might have something to do with the way her eyes expressed every thought she had and yet managed to remain mysterious at the same time.
She raised a brow. “Yes, Heather.”
“And she keeps turning him down?”
“Yes, why?”
“Just curious.” He made a mental note to look into the guy’s background, then nodded at the apartment next door to Paul and Claire’s. “Is that hers?”
“Yes. I know where she keeps her spare key.”
“All right. Stay here and call me if you see anything suspicious or if anyone starts doing drive-bys—”
“Actually, why don’t I just come with you?”
“Emily—”
She opened the door and climbed out, ignoring his protests. Brady scowled and she met his gaze over the hood of the Chevy. “I need to go with you.”
He nodded. He’d do the same thing in her shoes. “Fine, but stay back.”
“You think someone’s in there?”
“No, but just—”
“Then you think she’s dead?”
“Emily . . .” Planting his hands on his hips, he sighed. “I don’t know if she is or not, but it’s better if I take a look by myself.” He paused. “That way, if it’s a crime scene, there’s not two of us trampling around in there, okay? If it’s all clear, I’ll call you in to take a look.”
She gave a slow nod. “All right. I’ll hang back.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course not.” She was stubborn. Probably why she was still alive. Besides, the 911 call came from the parking garage. If someone took Heather . . . or had killed her . . . he seriously doubted they’d bring her back here. But he’d keep that to himself.
“Heather keeps the key in a magnetic holder on that small plant stand,” Emily said. “Behind the right rear leg.”
He found it with ease, but if he hadn’t known it was there, he never would have spotted it. “Clever.”
“She is.”
Brady inserted the key in the lock and turned it. And frowned. “It’s unlocked.”
“What?” Emily stepped forward and reached for the knob. He caught her wrist and she yelped.
“Sorry.” He released his hold immediately, knowing he’d grabbed the area the ropes had rubbed raw. “I didn’t mean to hurt you, but don’t touch that. We may need to see if there are any prints on there.”
“Right. Of course. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.” She held her wrist with the other hand and pain glittered in her eyes. Regret arced through him. He’d have to be more careful. And in that moment, the reason for his attraction clicked.
There was no pretense about Emily. What you saw was what you got. He blinked and shook his head. “It’s okay. No apology necessary. Stand to the side out of the line of fire. Should there be any shooting. I’m hoping there won’t be.”
“You haven’t learned to wait for backup?” Derek said from behind them.
Brady jerked to see Derek and Linc hurrying toward them, hands on their weapons. “Didn’t know I was going to need it, but backup is always welcome.” He nodded to Emily. “Make sure she stays behind you.”
She frowned, but didn’t argue. Once she was positioned so that if someone started shooting she’d be out of danger, Brady pulled his weapon and used the hem of his shirt to turn the knob. He pushed the door inward.
When nothing happened, he rounded the doorjamb and into the small foyer, favoring his throbbing knee. Empty. But the place had been ransacked. His nose twitched at the combined smell of cinnamon and other spices he couldn’t identify while he took in the destruction. Satisfied no one was going to shoot him immediately, he glanced back and found Derek and Linc just inside, weapons held ready, and Emily peering around the edge of the doorjamb.
“Someone’s been here,” he said, “and it’s not pretty.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, trying to see around his brothers. “Heather?”
“No,” he said quickly. “Sorry. I simply meant someone broke in and trashed the place. Stay put for just a minute until we can clear it, okay?”
She stepped inside next to Linc and moved to the left of the door. Linc shut it behind her and Brady let her take in the destruction. Her gaze went to the sofa on the far wall. Then cushions on the floor and the lamp next to the sliding glass door.
“Don’t move,” he said. “If she’s here, we’ll find her.”
Her furrowed brows dipped farther, but her gaze met his and she nodded. He glanced at his brothers who stood ready to help and gave them a nod. Derek covered his back. Linc stayed slightly in front of Emily.
Hip to hip, Brady limped and Derek walked down the hallway, Brady with his weapon pointing ahead and to the left and Derek pointing ahead and to the right. They passed the kitchen to his right. Silverware lay scattered on the floor with the drawer resting on its side next to the refrigerator. The broken spice bottles identified the source of the smell he’d noted upon entering the apartment. Together, he and his brother continued on down the hall, clearing the bedroom and bath to his left and then the master and en suite bath at the very end.
“Same here.” Brady turned and walked back to find Emily standing where he left her. Apprehension held her stiff while her gaze searched his. “She’s not here,” he said.
A puff of air escaped her lips and her shoulders slumped. “Oh, thank goodness.”
“For now.”
She nodded. “I know. I’m still worried she hasn’t gotten in touch with me—or you. I’m worried about that 911 call. But she has both numbers in her voice mail. Maybe she’ll call soon.”
Brady wasn’t so optimistic, but he wasn’t going to take away the hope the empty—if trashed—apartment had given her.
“We good here?” Derek asked.
“We’re good,” Brady said. “Thanks for the backup.”
Linc stood next to the door. “So, what’s next?”
“Can we go check my place?” Emily asked.
“Absolutely.” Brady gestured to the door. “Derek can lead. You follow him, and Linc and I’ll bring up the rear.”
Together, the four of them walked up to the third floor, and this time Emily held back while Brady took the lead. “Key?”
“Same place as Heather’s. We found the matching plant stands on a shopping trip about a year ago.”
He found it and he wished he had a way to ease her worry. But only finding Heather would make that happen.
Derek placed a hand on his arm. “You want me to take the lead on this? I can tell your knee is hurting.”
“Thanks, but it’s fine.” He retrieved the key and, without touching the knob, unlocked the door and pushed it inward.
Only to have something slam into him, knocking him off his feet.
Emily let out a low scream when Brady went down with the person on top of him. Linc grabbed her arm and jerked her away from the two men scuffling in the open doorway. Derek reached in, grabbed the intruder by the back of his collar, twisted, and yanked him away.
The man gasped, swung a fist, and connected with Brady’s cheekbone just as Derek yanked.
Emily blinked. It was over that fast. And she recognized him. “That’s the guy from the boat! The guy who tried to kill me!”
Brady rolled to his feet, breathing hard, wincing when he put weight on his left leg, then patted the man down while Derek held him. “The guy from the boat, huh?” He pulled a gun from the man’s waistband and gave it a slight shake. “What were you going to do with this? Do you have permission to carry it?”
The man was turning an alarming shade of red and Emily was about to protest when Brady said, “Loosen up a little, Derek. I want to hear what he has to say.”
Derek relaxed his hold on the collar slightly, and the intruder gasped, then gulped in air.
Brady touched the reddening area under his eye and winced. “Okay, I guess it’s clear you’re under arrest.” He read him his rights. “Now, who are you and why are you in Emily’s apartment?”
The man’s rugged features tightened even as his right hand hovered over his throat. Emily took a closer look. His green eyes met hers and the flat look there sent shivers dancing over her skin. “Who are you?” she asked.
Again, he said nothing, simply continued to stare and take in deep breaths.
“Maybe a little time downtown will help loosen his tongue,” Brady said.
Green eyes flashed and Emily swallowed. She doubted much of anything was going to make him say a word if he didn’t want to. He hadn’t said two words to her when he’d tied her to the rail of the boat.
“No matter,” Linc said. “We’ll run his prints and see what shows up.” He flashed his badge and the intruder’s eyes widened, then his face dropped into a scowl.
“Great,” he muttered.
“You have something you want to say now?” Brady’s words were soft, but lacked nothing in intensity.
“You’re a cop?” he asked Linc.
“Better,” Linc said. “I’m a fed.”
“Hey now,” Derek protested. “I don’t know about better—” He snapped his lips shut when Brady glared at him.
Brady then returned his attention to the intruder—whose shoulders had wilted a fraction. “He’s FBI,” Brady said, pointing at Linc. “We’re with the CPD. Detectives.”
“And SWAT,” Derek said. “Don’t forget that.”
Their captive laughed. A harsh sound with an edge that raked across Emily’s nerves. “So that’s just great,” he said. “Three cops. Of course.”
“Nope,” Linc said. “Two cops and a fed.”
“Whatever.”
“Feel like talking now?”
With a tight jaw, he gave a short nod. “Maybe. If I talk, I want some protection.”
“From who?”
“The people who hired me. Who do you think?” He lunged at the door and Derek yanked him back.
Brady shook his head. “Derek, do you have cuffs on you?”
“Never leave home without them,” he said with a glare at the man. He passed the cuffs to Brady.
Once he had the man’s hands secured behind him, Brady shoved him into the nearest chair at the kitchen table.
“Come on, man,” their prisoner said, “I’m serious. Look, I got a rap sheet, I’m not going to try to deny it.”
“I’m shocked,” Derek murmured.
“But I don’t know who’s got it in for her,” he said as though Derek hadn’t spoken. “I’m just a hired hand.”
“You’re also an ex-con. Which means you’re not supposed to be carrying a firearm,” Linc said, holding the weapon he’d already unloaded. “I guess you forgot that when you decided to slip this into your waistband?”
The man scowled. “Yeah. That’s it. I forgot.”
“Dude,” Derek said, “you’re going away for a good long time. Why don’t you just cooperate and make things easier on everyone?”
Their intruder sighed and shook his head. “I know it won’t take you long to find my record, but the guy I work for isn’t someone you play games with.” He paused, then shrugged. “However, I have no loyalty toward him. Like I said, I’m just a hired hand, but if I talk, I want protection.”
“Your name?” Brady asked.
“Owen Parker.”
“What do you want with Emily?”
He hesitated. “She’s a job. There’s nothing personal about it, understand?”
“Yeah, I understand. What does the job entail?”
“Someone wants her to disappear,” he said. “I was hired to make that happen.”
Brady turned to Emily. “You recognize this guy from the kidnapping?”
She frowned. “I can’t tell if he’s one of the men who tossed me in the trunk or not, but he’s definitely the guy from the boat.”
“Did you help toss her in the trunk?”
The man glared.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Brady said as his fingers clenched into a fist. “Who was your partner?”
“Another hired hand.”
“And who did the hiring?”
Parker’s eyes hardened. “Someone she’s managed to make very angry.” His gaze swung to Emily. “Trust me, whoever hired me is not a nice person. I don’t know how you ended up on his radar, but you did. And it’s a deadly place to be.”
“Whose radar?” Emily asked with a shudder.
“Actually, I have no idea. Every contact I’ve had with him has been via secure emails or text messages from burner phones. He—or she—” he shrugged—“never uses the same number or email twice.”
“How’d they find out about you?”
“Word of mouth, probably. Now, I’m done talking until I get some guarantees that I’ll be safe.”
“You don’t get any guarantees on that until you’ve convinced us that you’re worth keeping safe,” Brady said.
Parker started to answer when his phone vibrated. He stiffened. The phone sounded again. Brady swiped the screen and put it on speakerphone.
“No!” Parker’s harsh whisper echoed. “Don’t!”
Brady glared. “Hello?”
“Parker?” the voice said.
“Yeah.”
A pause. “Who is this?”
“Parker.” Brady practically growled the name.
Click.
Emily didn’t like Parker’s color. He’d turned an alarming shade of red without Derek’s help this time. “You don’t know what you’ve just done,” Parker growled. “Now he knows I got caught. You’ve just signed my death warrant.”
“You’re in custody,” Derek said. “You’ll be fine.”
Parker gave his head a violent shake. “You’re cops. You know there are ways. If someone wants me dead, I’m dead.”
“Should have thought about that before you became a hit man and targeted Emily,” Brady said. “We all have consequences due to our actions. If you happen to get dead while in prison, it’s no skin off my nose.”
Emily wouldn’t have thought it possible, but the man’s face darkened more and his eyes actually frosted over. “You’re all dead. You better make sure I don’t make bail.”
“You kidnapped her,” Linc said. “She can ID you as the guy on the boat who was about to shoot her and dump her in the lake. You broke into her home. You’re carrying a weapon, which is a violation of your parole. You assaulted a police officer. I don’t think you making bail is going to be something I lose sleep over.”
“I didn’t know he was a cop!” Parker surged out of the chair and struggled briefly against Linc’s firm hold before giving up and dropping back into the seat. “I want a lawyer.”
“Fine,” Derek said. To Linc, he said, “Let’s get this bozo out of here. I’ll call someone to come get him.” He dialed and was soon on the line with the local police, requesting an officer come pick the man up to file formal charges of attempted murder, burglary, and assault—at the very least.
Once the local officers had arrived and taken custody of her attacker, Emily walked to the sliding glass doors and watched the officers load the man in the back of the cruiser. Linc and Derek returned.
“Well, he’s taken care of until we can question him,” Derek said. “Now what?”
Emily rubbed her arms and shook her head as the cruiser pulled out of her parking lot with the man who’d planned to kill her. “I don’t believe this. Someone hired a hit man to kill me?” She gave a low humorless laugh. “That doesn’t even compute.”
Brady stood behind her. Somehow she knew it was him and not one of his brothers. A fact to process later.
“Come on, take a look around,” he said. “See if anything stands out to you as missing or messed with or whatever.”
Emily ran a shaky hand over her hair and sighed. “Who is doing this? The people I was investigating?”
She took in the familiar surroundings. It felt like she’d been gone a week instead of two nights. And she’d never feel comfortable sleeping in this place again. Her lease was up in two months. She’d start house hunting as soon as it was clear she was going to live to do so.
In the kitchen, she noted the overturned drawers and the open pantry that mimicked the way they’d found Heather’s home. And every picture she’d had on the refrigerator had been swept to the floor. Except one that was held in place by a small black magnet. All in all, it looked innocent enough—a woman and child laughing at something they found amusing. But she hadn’t taken the photo and she hadn’t put it on the refrigerator.
She pulled it out from under the magnet and stared at it.
“Emily?”
She jerked and turned to stare at him. “What?”
“You okay?”
“Not really.”
“Yeah. Sorry. Dumb question.”
“No, it wasn’t. It’s okay.” She rubbed her arms and turned the picture over. Nothing.
“What is it?” he asked.
She showed him the picture. “This wasn’t here when I left for work on Wednesday. I didn’t take this picture. I think someone left it on my refrigerator on purpose.”
“Who are they in the picture?”
“My mom and little sister.”
“And you’ve never seen this before?”
“No. That’s what I’m saying. Why leave all of my pictures on the floor and this one stuck right in the middle? It’s like a message.” She paused and bit her lip, then shook her head. “I think this means they’re in danger.”