Dangerous Secrets (13 page)

“Is this something you’re serious about? Larry has been looking for the past six months and can’t find anyone he thinks is right for the job. I’m not going to tell him about this unless you’re absolutely serious.”

“I am, Dad. I’m ready to move home, but I have to know you’re not going to micromanage my life. Personal or otherwise. I can’t live like that anymore. If I butt heads with someone over something, I have to know that you’ll let me handle things myself.”

He blew out a long breath. “I know I deserve some of that. I’ve already moved your stuff out of the house and into a condo downtown.”

“What are you talking about?” She didn’t know if she should be grateful or very annoyed.

“Don’t jump to conclusions. I knew you’d
eventually
move home. I didn’t know when, but I knew when you did, you wouldn’t be coming back to the house. Thought I’d save you the trouble. You don’t have to stay in the condo either and I didn’t hire a decorator or anything. I just wanted you to have options and I figured you’d want your space when you moved back.”

For her dad, that was an incredibly big step. Sure, he technically should have let her pick her own place, but she knew he wouldn’t change overnight and picking a fight was the last thing she wanted. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll move home tomorrow.”

She smiled even though he couldn’t see her. “I can’t do that. I’ve got to put in my notice and pack up my apartment here.”

“I’ll hire movers.”

“Dad, no. I can handle it.”

“By yourself?”

“I didn’t say that.” She wasn’t quite ready to tell her father about Adam. Until she got a grip on her own feelings, she wouldn’t mention him.

“Is there someone in your life?”

“
Dad.
”

“Okay, okay. If there is someone, and if it gets serious, you will bring him home?” The way he asked the question tugged at her heart.

Her and her father had always been close growing up. When she was old enough to move out though, she’d started to crave her independence and they’d butted heads. He wouldn’t give her breathing room and she hadn’t been willing to compromise. So for the last couple years they’d fought and bickered more than they’d gotten along. Something she couldn’t handle any longer. She missed her relationship with her father.

“Of course I will.”

“When can I expect a definite answer?”

She raked a hand through her hair. “I’m giving you one now. I might need a week to settle in once I move back, but I’m telling you now that I’ll take the job.”

“I’ll give you two weeks once you get back. That’s a month over all. I’ll contact Larry in the morning and have him email you what to expect.”

“Shouldn’t you run this by him first?”

“No, he’s seen your resume and he wants you. I’m sure the fact that you’re my daughter has a lot to do with it, but he’s been dragging his feet hiring someone. You’re more than qualified for this job, Izzy. Don’t get hung up on your last name. I have faith in you and so does Larry.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

After they hung up, she slipped her phone back into her apron. The bathroom was still quiet when she exited the stall so she splashed cold water on her face.

She might be making a huge mistake, but she had to take the chance. Not just with Adam, but with her life in general. She had to stop running away from her heritage. Deep down she knew that’s what she’d been doing these past couple of months. Hiding.

It was time to face up to her life and actually challenge herself. Working for her dad excited and terrified her at the same time. But maybe that was a good thing. And the thing with Adam, well, she’d just figure that out too.

She patted a paper towel over her face and went back out to relieve Adam. She found him building a pyramid out of straws. “Bored?” she asked as she ducked under the hatch to join him.

He nodded. “Just slightly.”

“Did Don already leave?”

“Paid and gone.” He patted both his pockets, then pulled a lighter from one and handed it to her. “I forgot. He said to say thanks and he’d see you in a day or two.”

“Thanks.” She slipped it into her back pocket. “Have you seen Toby yet?”

“Still no sign of him.”

She glanced back down at the near empty bar then back at Adam. “Would you mind watching the bar one more time?”

He shook his head and lightly gripped her hips, pulling her against his body. “Did you start dating me so you could pass off your workload?”

“Ha ha.” She leaned up to kiss him.

His eyes flared with surprise for a moment but just as quickly his lips hungrily covered hers. Holding onto his shoulders in a tight grip, she savored his taste and the way his big hands slid up her back as he devoured her. Pressing her body tighter against him, she let out a tiny moan as heat pooled between her legs.

Adam jerked back suddenly, his green eyes dark with passion. “Shit, Izzy. Save that thought for later.”

She definitely would. This shift couldn’t end soon enough. Smiling, she wiggled out of his embrace and made her way through the kitchen. She felt a little bad quitting on her boss now, but the sooner she got it over with, the better for everyone.

Adam watched Izzy walk away and fought his physical response. The woman could get his blood pumping with a short kiss. Simply watching her hips sway had him reacting like a randy teenager.

Hell, he even found her light snoring adorable. That alone told him how far gone he was. He scrubbed a hand over his face and glanced down at the two customers. He started to go check on them when his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. After he saw at the caller ID, he looked back toward the kitchen entrance.

“Will you two be okay for a minute?” he called down to the two customers.

Barely looking up from the game on the television, they both nodded so he picked up the phone. “Hello.”

“Adam, how are things?” Edward asked.

He ducked under the bar hatch and headed for the front door. There was no way in hell he could risk Izzy overhearing this. “I’ve still got time, sir.” He hadn’t told her father about the stalker in Coconut Bay yet and he planned to keep it that way. He was handling things his own way and he didn’t want Edward interfering.

“I was calling to congratulate you on landing the Forester deal.”

“What?” he asked as he walked down the sidewalk. He took a seat on one of the benches, unsure if he’d heard right.

“Just got a call from Izzy and it looks like she’s moving home in a couple weeks. Don’t know how you did it, but you held up your part of the bargain so I’m holding up mine.”

He paused for a long beat as he digested the other man’s words. Izzy had made a decision? Since when? More important, why hadn’t she told him?
 
“Sir, I don’t know if I had anything to do with her decision.”

“I expected a different reaction.”

Me too.
“Sorry sir, it’s just…I don’t want the job. Either we have the right numbers and proposal or we don’t. I don’t want this job based on some crazy deal.”

“Nonsense. I’ll send our standard contract to your office and let you and your brother take a look at it before we get started or make any more decisions.”

“Sir, I don’t want—”

“Take a night to sleep on it. You’ll see that this is the best decision for your company.”

“Sir—”

But he was talking to himself. Sighing, Adam snapped his phone shut and scrubbed a hand over his face. He wasn’t taking the job. He’d have to tell his brother and he already knew how that was going to go over, but he didn’t care. Izzy was everything he’d ever wanted and they had a shot at something real.

“Damn it,” he muttered to himself. Telling his brother was going to be a pain in the ass.

“Bad time?” A voice caused him to jerk upright.

“Detective Dennis.” He nodded at the man and stood.

“Call me Jack, please.”

“You here to see Toby?”

He shook his head. “You and your girlfriend actually. I think we might have made a break in the case and I just wanted to make sure she was doing all right.”

They both started to walk toward the entrance when the unmistakable sound of gunfire filled the air. And it was followed by a blood-curdling scream.

Izzy.

Toby’s office door was open and he was typing on his computer. Izzy knocked as she stepped inside. “Hey Toby.”

He glanced up. “Just the woman I wanted to see.”

“Uh oh.”

He grinned and pushed the keyboard away from him. “Nothing bad I promise. I just wanted to let you know that Jack—Detective Dennis—is on his way down here. He wanted to thank you again for the sketch and I think he’s going to be hanging around here for an hour or two.”

She frowned. Had something else happened? “Why?”

“He’s coming down here to keep an eye on things for a couple hours.”

“You mean he’s keeping an eye on me?”

He lifted his shoulders apologetically. “Pretty much.”

“I guess that’s a good thing. Well, relatively speaking.” She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.

“I can’t tell you how sorry I am this is happening. I can’t even imagine what Adam’s going through.”

“Adam?” She tilted her head to the side.

“Oh come on, I’m not blind. Anyone can see you two are together.”

She could feel warmth spreading up her neck and cheeks. She was
not
having this conversation with her boss. And she needed to talk to him about something else anyway. “Listen, I know this is probably a crappy time, but I have to put in my two weeks’ notice.”

His head fell back against his chair. “Is this about the attacks?”

“Not exactly. I’m moving home.”

“Damn, girl. You know we’ll miss you but there are four servers already lined up wanting to bartend.” He smiled slightly and any guilt she’d felt disappeared. They would definitely live without her.

“I’m going back up front to relieve Adam. If your cousin shows up I’ll buzz you. Unless you want me to send him straight to your office?”

“Send him here.”

Back up front, Adam wasn’t there. She ducked under the bar and placed two fresh beers in front of the patrons. They were so engrossed with the television, she didn’t bother asking them where he’d gone. She opened the front door and peered outside. When she didn’t see him, she hurried back through the restaurant and into the kitchen again.

“Have you seen Adam?” she asked Bryan, the only cook behind the grilling area.

He glanced over his shoulder as he dropped chicken wings into a fry basket. “No, but I haven’t been paying attention.”

She chewed on her bottom lip. Raw panic started to rise inside her. It was stupid because she knew Adam could protect himself but the thought of something happening to him made her sick. “Do you have a second to spare? I just want to check out back, but with everything going on I don’t want to go alone.” Everyone in the restaurant knew there was a criminal on the loose.

“Sure.” He wiped his hands on his dingy white apron.

As they walked past Toby’s office he didn’t glance up from his phone conversation. She pushed open the heavy metal door and stepped out back. With one of the two floodlights not working, half the area was dark. Directly behind the restaurant was a small parking lot reserved for the employees—one she never used—and two large dumpsters. Immediately the smell of rotting food accosted her. She held a hand over her mouth. “Gross.”

“Tell me about it,” Bryan said.

“Adam? You back here?” she called out.

A beer bottle rolled out from behind one of the dumpsters and a strange feeling filled Izzy’s belly.

“Damn cats,” Bryan said.

Instinctively, Izzy reached out and grabbed his arm. “Let’s go back inside.”

Before he could respond, a man wearing a baseball cap stepped out from behind the dumpster. And he was pointing a gun directly at them.

“What the hell?” Bryan immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her from the other man.

Without warning, the other man shot Bryan in the chest. It was like everything happened in slow motion. The sound of the gun was surprisingly loud. Not like what she’d seen on television. Bryan flew backward and landed in a puddle of water, his body making a sickening thump against the pavement. She wanted to go to him, but couldn’t.

From somewhere deep inside her, a scream erupted with shattering intensity. She knew it might be the only chance she had to alert anyone to her situation. The back door was too far to run. He’d shoot her in the back if she tried.

He didn’t want her dead. At least not yet. That much she was sure of. And that might be her only advantage.

The man wearing the hat moved toward her and she automatically took a step back. “Try and run and I’ll empty this into your back.” His words were monotone, dead, and they stopped her in her tracks.

“Izzy.” She turned at the sound of her name.

Adam and Detective Dennis appeared from around the side of the restaurant. The detective had his gun drawn. Unfortunately she now stood in between them and her would-be attacker. They both jerked to a halt when they saw her. Shuffling sounded behind her.

She started to turn when an arm circled around her neck and steel pressed into her lower back. Despite her desire to stay calm, heat and cold rushed through her entire body as raw fear threatened to overtake her. She prayed she wouldn’t start hyperventilating.

“Move and I’ll shoot her. I might not kill her, but she’ll be paralyzed from the waist down,” the man gripping her shouted into her ear.

He took a few steps back, dragging her with him. Her heart pounded erratically against her ribcage, but she kept her eyes on Adam.

Adam looked positively feral. Possessed almost. As if he could literally rip out the man’s throat. Adam took a step forward and the man’s grip around her neck tightened.

“Take another step and I’ll blow her away. I mean it!” he screamed in her ear.

“Come on, Phillip. We know who you are. I talked to your old boss and step-brother today. You don’t want to do this,” Detective Dennis spoke, his words provokingly calm.

“You don’t know shit.” He took another step back, farther away from them.

The detective lowered his gun but didn’t sheath it. “We can talk about this. So far you haven’t killed anyone so you’re not in that much trouble.”

Izzy’s gaze fell to where Bryan was barely breathing. He wasn’t dead yet, but if they didn’t call an ambulance soon, he would be. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the back door creak open, then close. Good, that meant someone was calling the cops.

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child.” He took another step back and Izzy’s heart rate increased so fast she could barely hear anything above the blood rushing in her ears. Unless she wanted a bullet in her back, she had no choice but to move with him.

Her breathing became shallower, unsteady. She couldn’t go anywhere with him. It meant certain death. She knew it and by Adam’s heated gaze, he knew it too. The detective kept talking and her attacker kept pulling her back farther but she kept her eyes on the man she loved.

Life sure had a messed up sense of humor. She finally found the right man and she might not ever get to tell him how she felt. There were a whole mess of other things she should be worrying about right now, but all she cared about was staying alive so she could tell Adam she loved him.

Adam’s green eyes practically glowed under the moonlight. Like a wolf ready to attack. Then he did something surprising. He took a step back. It was small and she might not have noticed if she hadn’t been staring right at him. Unfortunately, the man with the gun noticed it too.

He withdrew his gun from her back and aimed at both of them. “Don’t make a move.”

Sirens sounded in the distance.

That bastard was pointing a gun at Adam so when he moved back another step she decided to take a chance. If she didn’t, she was sure to end up on the eleven o’clock news. She elbowed him in the ribcage using all the force she could muster under the circumstances. He grunted and stumbled, but didn’t lose his grip around her neck.

The sirens grew even louder. Damn it, why didn’t they turn them off? The loud announcement of their arrival might be her death warrant.

Before she had time to contemplate anything else, the man started firing at Adam and Detective Dennis. Loud pops sounded in her ear, then everything around her muted. She shook her head and tried to fight back as he dragged her along the pavement, but all her movements were slow, sluggish.

What the hell had he done to her? She tried to think when something slammed against her head. A sharp pain was followed by absolute numbness. Even though her brain was screaming in panic to stay awake, she slumped against him as darkness swallowed her whole.

Adam dove behind a dumpster. Jack followed a second later. Pings ricocheted off their metal protection. A few more shots fired, then silence.

Adam watched as Jack pulled out his radio. “Dispatch, this is Delta 20. Officer needs assistance. I repeat, officer needs assistance.”

Static rustled. “Delta 20, this is dispatch. What is your location?”

“220 South Street.”

“Officer and ambulance already on their way. We received a distress call five minutes ago.”

That’s all Adam needed to hear. He peeked around the dumpster. “Shit!” They were gone.

“I’ve got my cell on me. I’m going after him.” Heedless of the detective’s protests, he raced back toward the front of the restaurant. The sound of squealing tires spurred him on.

As he rounded the building, he saw a dark blue sedan speeding out of the parking lot. Keys already in hand, he sprinted for his truck. If he couldn’t keep up with this guy, the cops would never get to her in time. Maybe they’d never find her at all. And she’d be—no! He was going to get to her.

He jumped into the front seat of his vehicle and burned rubber as he tore out of the parking lot. Instead of heading down Main Street, he hooked a sharp right onto a side street, then made a left onto Livingston which ran parallel to Main Street.

The guy wasn’t stupid. He was heading out of town. It was his only choice. But if he saw Adam following, there was no telling what he’d do. He might get nervous and throw Izzy from the vehicle. The thought of Izzy alone and scared with this maniac did something foreign to his entire body. He’d been in some of the worst shit holes in the world, but nothing prepared him for the terror he now experienced.

He felt so damn helpless without a weapon, but given the chance he’d rip the guy’s throat out with his bare hands.

As he passed under a green light, he glanced down a side street and saw the car speeding in the same direction. He allowed himself a brief breath of relief. If he could keep them within his sights, he knew he could save Izzy.

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. Trying to keep his eyes on the road, he fished it out without glancing at the caller ID. “Yeah?”

“It’s Jack. Why didn’t you wait? I’ve already put out an alert.”

“I’m tailing the guy right now. He’s heading out of town so you better tell your guys not to try and pull me over for speeding.”

“You don’t have a weapon! What the hell are you going to do if you do catch up to him?”

“I’ll figure that out when that happens.” Livingston was coming to an end so he turned a sharp left onto a side street and headed back toward Main Street. He was nearing the edge of town.

Jack cursed, then said, “Keep them in your sights, but wait for backup. I’m seconds behind you.”

At the light, he made a right onto Main Street and his heart skipped a beat. “Shit!”

“What is it?”

“The road forks and he’s not anywhere in sight.” He had two choices. One road led toward a stretch of beach. The other led toward Jacksonville and away from town. He tried to think what he would do if he wanted to kidnap someone.

“I’m taking the route to Jacksonville.” He glanced both ways, then sped through the red light. He needed to catch up to the guy before he hit the highway. Once that happened, it’d be impossible to track him.

“I’ll head the other way and alert everyone of the situation. I’ll call you back.”

They disconnected and Adam fought the bile rising in his gut. If anything happened to Izzy, he’d never forgive himself. He didn’t know how this had happened. He should have been with her, protecting her. Not on the phone with her father.

Guilt ate at his soul as he sped down the road. Trees flew past him at increasing speed. The road stretched far enough in front of him that he should have been able to see any other cars but there was nothing.

He clutched the wheel and slowed the vehicle enough so he could execute a U-turn without killing himself. Silently, he sent up a prayer and hoped someone was listening.

The man who had taken Izzy wanted her for a reason. A sick reason. He wouldn’t want to take her far. No, he’d take her somewhere close and without witnesses. If he’d attempted to take the highway, he’d risk Izzy overtaking him or causing a wreck.

He pulled his phone back out and started to dial Detective Dennis when his phone buzzed again, flashing the detective’s number.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t think he’s headed toward the highway.”

“I agree. I’ve already turned around.”

“This guy used to obsess over this girl who stayed every summer with her family. I just got off the phone with the station. They finally got her old address.”

“Let me guess. She’s got a place on the beach?”

“She did—or rather her family did. It’s not theirs anymore”

“It’s a stretch.” Even Adam knew that. He knew the area Jack was talking about. Where the road forked in the other direction, there was a long stretch of houses. Huge beach houses with about half a mile in between each. Most of them were only used during the summer months by their wealthy owners. Finding the right house would be like finding that proverbial needle in a haystack.

“It’s the only lead we have.”

“Where is it?”

He rattled off the address and Adam cringed. He didn’t know the area well, but he knew how long it would take him. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“I’ll be there in ten,” Jack said.

“Keep your damn siren off,” he growled.

“I planned on it. Call me when you get close.”

Adam’s hands tightened around the wheel as he sped along the pavement. There was only one road in and out of where he was headed. If it was the last thing he did, he was going to kill this son of a bitch.