Page 39 of Justified Fear

He jolted just before his eyes opened.

“You’re safe, Ray,” she assured him.

His gaze moved from her to both him and Seth.

“These gentlemen are from TFH.”

“I’m Seth Harrison, and this is Ryan Morrison.And Maya.”His partner was sitting beside him, a warm reassurance as always.

“Hello.”

His voice was weak, and he looked like he’d had the shit kicked out of him.But Ryan would reserve judgment.He could have been an accomplice to the whole thing.

“We need to ask you a few questions about what happened a couple of nights ago.”

He nodded, then winced.Seth suffered through a concussion a couple of years earlier, and he understood the pain.

“I’ll help as much as I can,” he said.“Anything might help us find the guys who took you.”

He sounded sincere, but there was something about the guy that was bothering Ryan.Maybe it was Keely telling him that the guy was hitting on her.He wanted to believe he was above petty jealousy, but that was the only explanation for wanting to punch the man.A man who had obviously been worked over by someone.

“You’ve worked parties for the Kellys before, correct?”Seth asked.

“A couple.They hired me through my website.”

“Good.Can you tell us what happened?”

“We were in the middle of dessert when the guys showed up.”

“How many were there?”

“Three.One really tall man…he seemed to be in charge.The other two were stockier, like they were the muscle.”

“Can you give us a good description?”

He shook his head.“They were wearing ski masks.”

Of course they were.

“Okay, Ray.Can you go through what happened that night?”

He nodded, then winced again.

“Everything was normal.I didn’t know what was happening at first.I had just poured the champagne that Keely…” his voice trailed off.“Is Keely okay?They were very intent on finding her.”

Another shared look with his boss as alarm screamed through him.“What do you mean?”Ryan asked.

“They kept saying they had to get the chef.”He closed his eyes.“That was the last thing I remember before one of them hit me over the head.Next thing I know, I’m in a room with no windows.”He closed his eyes.“I didn’t do anything to save her.”

“How did you get away?”Seth asked.Ryan could tell his captain had his own suspicions.

“I kept pounding on the door.No one would come, and I was in there forever.Finally, I made enough noise that the people next door heard and called the police.They thought it was a domestic abuse situation.Like I was beating someone.”

Thank God for nosey neighbors.They could be a cop’s best friend in these situations.

“Is there anything else?”Ryan asked.

“No.I mean, some of my memory is fuzzy.”