Page 35

Chapter Thirty-Five

Logan rode and rode. He opened up the throttle and zoomed down the country roads at speeds he knew better than to do. But what did he care if he killed himself at this point? Life wasn’t worth living without AJ and Bree. He just couldn’t do it.

God, I can’t. I can’t do this —

His phone rang through the Bluetooth set in his helmet.

He stopped on the side of the road to check who it was. Ty? What did his unfaithful wife’s boss want?

He answered, “Jackson.”

“Hey, where’s your wife? She’s never late for work. Is everything okay?”

“Why are you asking me and not her?”

“She didn’t answer her phone and from what I heard you were staying together.”

Logan huffed. “I don’t know where she is. She left for work. I followed her because I wanted to take her, but she slipped out while I was sleeping, and she met up with a guy I thought was my friend. Don’t know where they would go. Nor do I care at this point.”

“Snap out of it, Jackson. Your wife loves you and would never do what you’re suggesting.”

“Oh really? Well, she did in the past.” He had thought Ty knew that piece of information, didn’t he?

“That’s the past. I’m talking about today’s AJ. If she went with someone, something is terribly wrong.”

A sinking feeling filled Logan’s stomach. Had he misread the situation back at the cars? She hadn’t acted like she was under duress.

“I’ll ride around and see if I can find her.”

Ty said, “You might want to call it in.”

“I have no evidence that it isn’t exactly what it looked like.”

“Logan, she’s had a stalker.”

Another call rang in. Adam.

“Adam is calling, so I guess I’ll talk to him about it.”

“Please. I’m praying.”

“Thanks, Ty.” He switched to the incoming call. “Jackson.”

Adam skipped all niceties. “I need you and AJ to come to the station right now.”

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. But AJ can’t. She was headed to work, but I saw her get in a car with Miles Blumetti.”

Adam swore under his breath. “Then get in here faster.”

“Adam?”

“When you get here. Drive safe.”

Logan wished he hadn’t ridden so far away from town, but at least he hadn’t gone straight out for the last thirty minutes.

Miles wasn’t her stalker, was he? If he was, he’d never be able to reconcile letting her fall into the man’s hands while he watched. And not just watched but assumed the worst. He swallowed a throat full of bile.

AJ shook as Miles pushed her forward into his house through the back door. When he’d made her get in his car, he’d zip tied her hands together. He’d also tried to kiss her. He’d been mad when she turned her head, but as much as she didn’t want to make the man holding a knife to her angry, she wasn’t about to kiss anyone other than Logan.

They had driven around for fifteen minutes and then switched cars, leaving the one he’d been driving on the other side of town.

Miles closed and locked the back door.

“Why would you bring me here? Don’t you realize this is the first place they’ll look?” Not that anyone knew Miles was her stalker. They had never even suspected him, but AJ wasn’t about to tell him that.

“They won’t find us. This way, my dear.” He shoved her through the kitchen and into a hallway. He took out a key fob and pushed a button. A series of faint mechanical sounds echoed from behind the wall, and it opened. No obvious door, just hideous wallpaper, but the wallpaper seams were actually a door. It opened up into a small room, maybe five by eight. The room contained a cot and plenty of food and water.

Miles shoved her inside and followed behind.

“We’re gonna stay here for a little while. No use screaming or anything like that. These walls have studio-level sound-proofing.”

He pushed her down on the cot.

Her leg bumped against the metal bar running the length of the small bed. She winced.

“Give me your hands.”

She obeyed. What choice did she have?

He took a chained handcuff and attached it to her wrist, but he did not cut off the zip ties. The other end of the chain was attached to the wall, drilled into what looked like concrete. She wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’ll be back in a little bit. I need to take care of that pesky husband of yours before we can run off together. I can’t believe how hard he has been to kill. But once he’s gone, you’ll be all mine.”

Miles backed out of the room and closed the door.

Logan. What was Miles going to do to him? Miles had been the one to take a shot at him. Did he burn down their house too?