Every Step She Takes (Who's Watching Now Book 2) (34 page)

Travis followed him into the living room where all three of Rachel’s girls were watching TV. Canned laughter echoed through the room.

Lark stood and glanced from one adult to the next. “Where’s Aunt Grace?”

Rachel shot a quick look toward the two younger girls and shook her head. “Honey, will you help me in the kitchen? I’m late starting the baking for tomorrow, and my customers will revolt if there aren’t any cinnamon rolls.”

“Sure. There’s nothing but reruns on TV anyway.”

Kane squeezed his wife’s arm before continuing through the room.

In the small office, Travis scooted a chair up close to Kane’s as the sheriff logged into the system. “Where do we start?”

“Property records, I guess. Maybe she bought a smaller home somewhere in the area after her husband died.”

The record for the sale of the Vine Haven house had been duly recorded, but there wasn’t another purchase.

Travis scowled at the computer screen. “I hope she didn’t die, too.”

“We’ll try death records.” Kane typed and scrolled. “Here’s the husband, Franklin Rogers. No Karen.”

“What about marriage records? Maybe she remarried in the last couple of years.”

Kane’s hands stilled on the keys. “Well, this is interesting.”

“Did she marry again?” Travis straightened in his chair.

“No, I found the marriage record for Karen and Franklin. How old was David when he died?”

“A couple of years older than Grace, so around eighteen.”

“If my math is correct, why did his parents get married two years after he was born?”

“That’s odd. A few months would be one thing, but a couple of years? Can we look for David’s birth certificate?”

Kane typed and frowned. “No record. David wasn’t born in this county.”

“I’ll call Fritz. He can put one of his computer geeks on it. If the FBI can’t find Karen Rogers—”

“They’ll find her.” Kane stood. “I smell cinnamon rolls. Let’s go indulge in sugar while we wait for some answers. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night.”

* * * *

“I’m hungry.”

Mason Rogers scowled. “Too bad. Would you rather be dead?”

Grace climbed down the final rungs of the ladder and walked away from the oak tree with its wooden platform high up in the branches. Still solid enough to hold their weight after eighteen years. The moon was out, illuminating the overgrown path, but she stumbled and went down on one knee. Mason reached out a hand to help her to her feet.

She thanked him then rolled her eyes. Common courtesy toward the man holding her hostage, really? She was losing it. “We stayed up there too long. It’s dark.”

“You’d rather be back in the filthy shack?”

“I’d rather be home, eating pizza and taking care of my dog. You gave him a nasty bruise, kicking him that way. I hope you didn’t break a rib. I should take him to the vet to have him checked out.”

“Would you lay off about the stupid dog?” He hunched his shoulders. “I can’t let you leave. We’ve been through this.”

Grace gritted her teeth. He’d definitely relaxed his guard, though the shiny, silver pistol tucked in the holster on his hip made her nervous. Surely she’d have an opportunity to grab the car keys sooner rather than later. A much better option than trying to escape on foot and leaving him with transportation. Maybe Rogers wouldn’t go after her neighbors at this point, but she wasn’t willing to risk Lark. He was just mean enough—not to mention batshit crazy—to hunt her niece down and hurt her out of sheer spite. He had to be in an incredible amount of pain, especially after climbing the tree with a broken arm. If she could convince him to pop a half-dozen pills, maybe he’d doze off.

“I have extra-strength ibuprofen in my purse in the car. It’s been hours since you took something, and you look ready to drop.”

They crossed the weedy side yard and stopped by the driveway.

“I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

She opened the car door and reached for her purse. Taking out the pill bottle, she shook three into her hand then added a fourth and held out her palm. “Here.”

“I’m not taking four freaking pills. You want me to OD?”

“On ibuprofen? Get serious. This’ll barely take the edge off the pain.”

“Let me see the bottle?”

With a sigh, she held it up. “Ibuprofen, just like I said.”

He squinted in the moonlight then nodded. “I’ll take three.”

“Whatever.” She dropped the last one back into the bottle then tossed her purse into the car while he swallowed the pills dry.

“Geez, I’m a complete idiot.”

He glanced up. “Why’s that?”

“I have power bars in my glove box. Maybe I won’t starve after all.”

“Hold it.” He knocked her hand away.

She pressed it against the seatback to stop the shaking. God only knew if she could choke down food, but she was going to try. Cocky and self-assured was her new strategy. Sympathetic understanding hadn’t gotten her anywhere while they talked up in the tree. If she could pull off complete confidence, maybe he’d actually start listening to her. Taking a breath, she squared her shoulders and forced a bored smile.

“You really are paranoid. Open it yourself. No gun. Just food.”

He pushed the button on the little door and pulled out a handful of bars. “Mind if I eat one? I’d prefer not to take those pills on an empty stomach.”

“Sure.” She reached behind the passenger seat and retrieved a blanket, hugging it to her chest. “I imagine it’ll cool off before the night is over.”

“Anything else?”

Grace shook her head and strolled toward the house beside him, in no hurry to go inside the dingy shack. “We can’t stay here forever, you know. Do you have a plan?”

“I’m working on one, and you’ll be the first to hear the details once I’ve figured them out. Before we can go anywhere, though, I have to access my damn bank account. I’m almost out of cash.”

Pressing her lips together, she resisted shouting he was a freaking loon if he thought he was going to get away from here. Making him angry would definitely not be in her best interests.

“Did you see that?”

She turned. “See what?”

“A flash of light over toward the road.”

Her heart beat a little faster.
God, please let Travis have somehow found me.

“Are you sure you’re not seeing things? It’s late. Who’d be out here in the middle of nowhere?”

“It’s not like we’re in Moose Flat for Christ’s sake. Civilization is only a few miles away. You tell me who’d be out there. Your boyfriend maybe?” His voice rose as he pulled out the gun and waved it toward the house. “Get inside.”

“I’m going.” She stepped up onto the porch and glanced back over her shoulder. A cloud covered the moon, leaving unrelenting blackness. Her hopes of rescue faded with the light. “How would I have contacted Travis? You tossed my phone out on the freeway, which is going to be a huge inconvenience, by the way. The light was probably someone walking their dog.”

“I’m not taking any unnecessary risks, and I’m not in the mood to chase you down, so get inside.”

The door creaked as she pushed it open. “Ironic.”

“What is?”

“You kill people for a living. Taking risks is what you do.”

“Shut up, Grace. Just shut the hell up!”

“Got it. Thank you, Mrs. Rogers. At least it’s a place to start.” Travis stood and pocketed his cell phone.

“What did she tell you? Has she been in touch with him?” Rachel’s eyes filled with hope. “Does she know where that lunatic took my sister?”

“She mentioned a house outside Vallejo where Mason Rogers lived at the time of David’s death.”

Kane followed him to the door. “Do his parents still live there?”

“No, his father fell in a drunken stupor and cracked his head open when Mason was a young boy. Fritz uncovered that bit of information a while back. Karen Rogers told me it happened the day after David died. Odd, don’t you think?”

Kane frowned. “I don’t like coincidences. Jesus, this story just keeps getting stranger and stranger. Does Mason’s mother still live in the house?”

“She took the boy and left the area shortly after her husband died. A heart attack killed her several years ago.”

Rachel stepped out onto the front porch and wrapped her arms across her chest. “Why would Mason go back there then?”

“He probably wouldn’t, but Karen Rogers mentioned a tree fort David built for his little brother when he visited him. Apparently the kid loved it. If this psycho is fixated on David…” He shrugged. “It’s all I’ve got, and I can’t sit here doing nothing any longer.”

“Definitely worth checking out.” Kane bent to kiss his wife, shifting the bulletproof vests he carried. “Stay with the girls. I’ll call you the second I know something.”

“But—”

“The man is armed and dangerous. Worrying about Grace is enough. If she’s there, we’ll bring her home.”

Rachel pressed her lips together and nodded.

Travis headed toward the driveway then turned. “Your Jeep or my rental car?”

“Let’s take the car. It’s faster. Do you want me to drive? You’re injured, and—”

“I can drive.” He needed to be in control of something. Giving the car door a hard slam, he winced when pain stabbed through his ribs. It didn’t compare to the agony of not knowing what was happening to Grace.

Ignoring the posted speed limits, they reached the outskirts of Vallejo in under a half-hour.

Kane glanced up from his phone where he was tracking their route. “Take a left up ahead. It’s only a couple more miles from here.”

“I suppose I should have called Fritz.”

“Why? This’ll probably end up being a wild goose chase. If we find the bastard, then you can call him. I’m not afraid of the little freak, and if a stray bullet takes him out, it’ll save the tax payers some money prosecuting him.”

Despite the nerves eating at his gut, Travis smiled. “I can see why you and Marconi are buddies. For law enforcement officers, you both have a strange way of ignoring the rules.”

Kane grunted. “I take care of the people I love. Turn here.”

The car jolted down a dirt road as the moon slid from behind a cloud bank, illuminating empty fields studded with clumps of oak trees. Travis turned off the headlights.

“No point in announcing our arrival if Rogers is around.”

“Agreed. Let’s park and walk the rest of the way.”

He pulled over near an old, rotted log and turned off the engine. After stepping out of the car, he fastened on the vest Kane handed him then checked the safety on his weapon before easing the door shut. Keeping an eye on the uneven surface of the track, he picked up his pace. Adrenalin fueled by hope rushed through him.

“I know the odds are slim, but I’d bet my business they’re here.”

Kane glanced over and kept his voice low when he answered. “You’re probably setting yourself up for disappointment.”

“This will sound ridiculous, but I can almost feel Grace—her energy, whatever. Stupid, I know.”

“Did anyone tell you Rachel had a stalker a couple of summers ago?”

Travis nodded.

“He held her in my brother’s cabin up in the mountains. The whole time I was driving toward it, I could feel her need pulling me. I was in a panic, thinking I wouldn’t get to her in time.”

“This feels more like impatience than fear.”

Kane covered his mouth on a strangling noise. “Sounds like Grace. We’d better keep quiet. The house should be just past those trees.”

The Porsche sat squarely in front of a dilapidated shack with boarded over windows. The breath left Travis in a rush.
Thank God.
He nudged Kane.

The other man’s smile flashed in the dim light. “Got him!”

Travis spoke in a whisper. “How do you want to handle this?”

“Not much cover, and we know he’s a crack shot. Shit.”

“If we work our way around to the side, he won’t have a visual with those windows boarded over. The porch should obscure his view from the door.”

Kane nodded, backed further into the trees then turned north. Watching where he stepped, Travis emerged from the thicket of woods behind the other man to face a weedy side yard.

“Looks good. Should be easy enough to reach the porch from here.”

“I’m sick of getting shot at, so let’s hope.” Travis took a long breath. “I’m praying she isn’t hurt. I’ll kill the bastard if he’s touched her.”

“Grace has a knack for controlling any situation. My money’s on her.” Kane jerked his head toward the rear of the house. “The back door looks accessible. We can hit him from both sides. Take your pick.”

“Front.”

“The risk is greater. Maybe—”

“I was a SEAL.”

“It’s all yours.” Kane glanced at the illuminated dial of his watch. “Two minutes to get into position should be plenty. We go in at the same time.”

“Let’s do it.”

* * * *

Fear inched down Grace’s spine. The way Rogers was pacing from door to door to peer out into the darkness while muttering to himself was freaking her out. If he hadn’t been carrying a deadly weapon, she would have kicked him on one of his many passes through the room.

“Why don’t you sit down?” She pointed at the second battered chair next to a table with a broken leg. “Obviously no one’s around, and you’re making me crazy.”

“How did my brother stand dating you, always nagging and bitching? He told me how great you were. I guess you’ve changed.”

“Life has a way of doing that to people. I’ve been thinking.”

“Oh, this should be good.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Do you want those photos of David or not?”

He turned slowly away from the door to face her. “I want them.”

“Mid-morning, my dad will be either at the winery or in the vineyard. Mom has her garden club meeting at ten o’clock on Thursdays. I could easily slip into the house and get the pictures for you.”

“You’d do that?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“You mentioned you need cash. I could give you some. I have a vested interest in your escape, since I’m really, really sick of this place and would like to go home. We can stop at an ATM on the way to Vine Haven.”

“The cops will be monitoring your bank account for withdrawals. I already considered asking you for a loan.”