A Deadly Love (28 page)

“That is without a doubt the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” She kissed his jaw, her lips trailing across the rasp of his beard.

He was drifting in a haze of pleasure and exhaustion when he heard her whispered words.

“I love you, Dillon.”

****

Brooke was alone in the room when she woke. Patting the dented pillow at her side, her lips curved. Slowly she sat up and stretched. Shower first, then breakfast. Her feet hit the carpet, and she yawned hugely. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked around the room.

Not alone. Otis sprawled on the rug at the foot of the bed. He opened one eye and looked at her before closing it again. Finding her robe draped across the rocking chair in the corner, she tied the belt and then knelt to pet the dog, scratching him behind the ears. “How’re you doing, boy?”

Otis groaned softly and rolled onto his back, his front paws dangling ludicrously in the air. Smiling, she headed for the bathroom.

She was still smiling twenty minutes later when she entered the kitchen. Zack sat at the table, demolishing a waffle liberally coated with syrup. Her grandmother took a sip of coffee and glanced up from the paper. “Shall I make one for you?”

“After I have a cup of coffee, please.” She poured a mug full to the brim and cupped it in her hands, breathing in the aroma. “Where’s Dillon?”

“He had an early meeting.”

“I’m supposed to eat my breakfast, brush my teeth, and catch the bus without arguing with anyone,” Zack said around a mouthful of waffle. He wiped a drop of syrup off his chin and licked his finger. “This is way better than cereal.”

“Grandma makes the most awesome waffles ever.” She glanced at the digital clock on the stove and frowned. “Doesn’t the bus usually come in about five minutes?”

June dropped the paper. “Oh goodness, I lost track of time.”

“Finish your breakfast,” Brooke said, laying a hand on the boy’s shoulder when he jumped up from the chair. “I’ll walk you to school.”

“You will?”

“Yep, but we can’t bring Otis. He needs to stay quiet for a day or two.”

“He looked a lot better this morning, and he ate part of his breakfast,” June said. “I fed him while you were in the shower.”

“I’m just so thankful he’s going to survive this, though I should probably make an appointment with a vet to have him checked out.”

“It couldn’t hurt.” June tilted her head, and her fine, white eyebrows shot up. “That sounds like the bus now. If you’ve finished the waffle, Zack, go brush your teeth. You don’t want to be late for school.”

The boy hit the floor running, and Brooke drained her cup. “I’ll eat when I get back.”

Her grandmother studied her above the rims of her glasses. “Dillon seemed awfully cheerful this morning for a man who spent the evening looking for dog barf in the woods. You wouldn’t know why, would you?”

Turning away, she forced a casual tone. “Don’t have a clue.” She grabbed her fleece jacket from the rack by the door. “Here comes Zack.”

“I’ll have a waffle ready for you when you get back.”

She dropped a quick kiss on her grandmother’s cheek as the boy raced into the room. “You’re the best. Grab your coat, Zack. I’ll carry your backpack. Do you have everything in it?”

He nodded. “Grandma June packed my lunch. She even cut the crust off my peanut butter sandwich.”

“You’ll be the envy of all your pals. Let’s go.”

Hustling, they reached the school just as the first bell rang. Zack ran off to join his friends, and Brooke waved to Caroline. She waved back, but her eyes lacked their usual sparkle.

Brooke joined her at the door as the teacher shooed the last of the kids into the building. “Everything okay?”

“I’m sure it will be.” Caroline frowned. “Elliot called for a substitute this morning. He said he was feeling off.”

“Probably caught a cold from one of his students.”

She nodded. “It’s one of the hazards of teaching. How’s your dog?”

“Much better, I’m thrilled to say.”

“That’s great news. I’d better go. The kids will tear the classroom apart if I don’t get in there.”

“You’re a braver woman than I am. Tell Elliot I wish him a speedy recovery.”

“I will. Thanks, Brooke.”

She headed out of the empty school yard and jogged toward home, her hands jammed in the pockets of her jacket. Last night’s storm had passed, but there was a chill in the air. Harley cruised by and stopped, braking hard in the middle of the street. He lowered his window and glowered at her. “What the hell are you doing out alone?”

“I had to walk Zack to school. Geez, Harley, it’s the middle of the morning, not exactly the witching hour.”

“After last night...” He frowned. “Hell, I’m headed to a D&D, or I’d give you a lift.”

“What’s that?”

“Drunk and disorderly.”

“At nine in the morning?” Her voice rose.

He grunted. “Probably an all night bender. Promise me you’ll go straight back to the house.”

She clicked the heels of her tennis shoes and saluted. “Yes, sir. I’ve got a waffle waiting with my name on it.”

His lips curved slightly. “See you, Brooke.”

The cruiser sped off, and she jumped when a fir cone dropped from a tree in front of her.
Damn, Harley!
She hadn’t thought about the possibility of danger until he opened his big mouth.

She quickened her pace, turning onto her grandmother’s road. The wind sowed through the tree branches, and she flinched with every creek and moan. “Stop it.” Her voice echoed back at her. Shivering, she broke into a run. A branch snapped.

She absolutely would not look! Forging onward, she ran into the stiff breeze. Her ears chilled, and she huddled deeper into her jacket.
Half a mile to go.

Footsteps pounded the pavement behind her. Screaming, she whirled and crashed into an outstretched arm. A sweet scented rag covered her mouth and nose, and the world faded to black.

Chapter Seventeen

Dillon frowned at the reports on his desk and tightened his grip on the receiver. June’s words were so garbled he couldn’t understand what she was saying, but her distress was crystal clear. His gut clenched as he pictured is son lying on the playground with a broken arm. “Did something happen to Zack?”

“No, it’s Brooke. She’s missing.” Her voice cracked, and she sobbed into the phone. “She walked Zack to school and never came ho-ome.”

Fear froze the blood in his veins, and cold sweat beaded his brow.
There is an innocent reason, surely.
“Maybe she stopped to talk to someone and lost track of time. Did you call her cell?”

“Of course, but she didn’t answer.” She took a shuddering breath. “So I called Harley. He saw her leave the school and yelled at her for walking home a-a-lo-one.” The quavering word dissolved into tears. “Not Brooke.
Not my baby girl.
”

“We’ll find her, June.
We’ll find her!
I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Slamming down his phone, he grabbed his jacket and ran from the office. Overhead clouds rolled across the sky as he tore open the truck door, cranked the key, and gunned the engine. She had to be safe, had-to-be. The words repeated over and over in his brain. Tires squealed as he turned the corner and raced down the street. Pulling into June’s driveway beside Harley’s patrol car, he hit the ground running.

“Did you find anything?” he asked as he burst through the kitchen door.

Harley stood beside June’s chair, one hand resting on her shoulder. She hugged a purple knit cardigan to her chest, her whole body trembling.

“There were a few scuff marks in the dirt at the edge of the road about a half mile from here. We should get a partial shoe print, but it may have nothing to do with Brooke.”

“It’s something at least.” He knelt in front of June and took her fragile hands in his. “We’ll bring her home. I swear to God we will.”

“The FBI agents should be here any minute.”

There was a knock on the front door as Harley finished speaking. Otis scrambled out from beneath the table, barking furiously. Standing, June wrung her hands and stared at the dog.

“I’ll get the door,” Harley said, stepping into the hallway.

“And I’ll take Otis over to my house. We don’t need him in the mix.” Grabbing the dog’s collar, he led him out the back door and hustled him across the yard. Two dark sedans were parked on the road along with a state police vehicle. The troops had turned out in full force. He stared at the parade of law enforcement entering June’s house, this time to search for Brooke, and slammed his fist into the wall of the house. His knuckles throbbed.

He should never have left her side.
Screw work!
If he’d stayed with her, she’d be safe right now. Pushing the dog inside, he leaned his forehead against the closed door. Nothing could happen to Brooke.
Nothing.
He wouldn’t survive losing her, couldn’t even think about her ending up the way the other women had or he’d lose his mind.

With shaking hands, he wiped the dampness from his eyes and walked across the yard. The FBI had damn well better have a plan. If they didn’t—

“What’s going on, Dillon?”

He spun at the sound of his grandfather’s voice.

Jesse left the path and waved his hand toward the cars. “What’s all the commotion?”

He spoke sharply. “Did you hear someone in the woods either last night or this morning?”

“It’s been real quiet for a few days now. I was hoping Brooke would drive me into town for groceries. I dropped the milk carton when I was pouring it on my cereal. Made one hell of a mess.”

The sudden surge of hope dissipated, leaving him hollow and aching. “Brooke’s missing.” He struggled to force out the words. “We can only assume the madman who took the others grabbed her.”

Jesse’s chin trembled beneath his beard. “Oh no.”

“She disappeared about an hour ago. If you had heard something,
anything
, we’d at least have a place to start looking.”

“Lord, I wish I could help. Are the police organizing a search?”

“I don’t know what they’re doing.” He unclenched his fists and put a hand on his grandfather’s back. “Let’s go find out.”

He heard Harley’s raised voice when he opened the kitchen door. “—don’t give a rat’s ass whether you think it’s a productive use of time or not. He can’t have gone far in such a short time.”

“If he dumped her in a car, he could be in Eureka by now,” Polk said. A vein bulged in his forehead as he glared at the sheriff. “You’re not in charge, and I say—”

“Enough.” The quiet word silenced both men. Agent Johnson made a note on a form, capped her pen, and stuffed it in her blazer pocket before looking up. “Sheriff Boone can organize a ground search if he chooses. We’ll focus on questioning the parties of interest we’ve identified.”

“Who are they?” Dillon narrowed his eyes on the woman and stepped closer.

“I’m not at liberty to say.”

A haze of red clouded his vision, and something inside him snapped. Before he could lunge for the woman’s throat, Harley grabbed his arm.

“You can’t help Brooke if you’re locked up for assault. Anyway, they don’t know shit.”

“I need to leave. Now.” The blood pounded in his temples. “Before I do something really stupid.”

Harley pushed him out the door. “We’ll focus on the stretch of road where I found the scuff marks, the woods around it, and nearby homes. If anyone doesn’t cooperate, I’ll put a deputy on watch until I can get a search warrant.”

“You don’t think he took her away in a car?” Jesse asked, shutting the door behind them.

“Not initially. Brooke’s no fool. She would have run like hell from anyone trying to entice her into a vehicle. Seems more likely our man came out of the woods, then surprised and overpowered her.”

Dillon stared at Harley. “She would have been wary if she’d passed a car parked on the road.”

The sheriff nodded. “Maybe he’s a champion sprinter and ran her down. But Brooke’s in shape, so I’m betting she gave him a long, hard run. Even if he used a car, he was probably forced to carry her some distance. There’ll be signs if we’re right.”

“Let’s go!” Jesse’s voice rang with impatience. “I may not be as spry as I was a few years ago, but I can still track with the best of them.”

“I’ll call my deputies to help with the door to door search. It’s broad daylight. Someone
must
have seen something unusual.”

“There aren’t many homes along this road,” Dillon said. “It shouldn’t take long to check them all.”

“The quicker the better. If he’s close, we don’t want to give him an opportunity to move her.”

Dillon followed the sheriff’s cruiser in his truck and pulled in behind him. Hunching his shoulders against the stiff morning breeze, he knelt by a patch of dried mud near the edge of the road. The partial print was faint but discernable. “Probably a hiking boot.”

“Looks like it.” Harley spoke into his radio, his voice sharp. “I want a cast made now. I don’t give a shit about speeding tickets. Get your ass over here!”

Jesse’s lips twitched. “It’s no wonder you’re always looking for new deputies.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m an asshole.” He stared at the print a moment longer before turning. “Dwayne’s on his way. So are Detective Watkins and his partner. Let’s see if we can find a trail before the FBI decides to join us and obliterates it completely.”

“He went this way.” Dillon rose from a crouch and stepped around a bent fern. A few yards away he spotted a broken branch on a huckleberry bush. “He headed away from the road.”

“Here’s another heel mark. It’s deep,” Jesse said, pointing to a soft patch of earth. He must have been carrying her, no doubt hurrying as fast as he could.”

“Carelessness on his part will tip this in our favor.” Harley rubbed his hands together. “Let’s go find the bastard.”

They moved steadily toward town, following a trail of bent branches in the thick underbrush. Dillon stopped beside a rotted log and frowned at an indention in a patch of moss. Sun filtered through the branches overhead, glimmering on a pale strand of—he blinked and it disappeared. “Shit.” Bending low, his gaze scanned the log before zeroing in on a blonde hair stuck to a piece of bark. “He set Brooke down here. Her hair caught.”