Forever Alexa (Book Four In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series) (14 page)

Jackson grinned as he looked at Olivia. “Yeah, they are.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” His smile faded. “It’s a fucking mess.” No pretenses were needed here. He and Tucker had been to hell and back over the last few months on several dicey assignments.

“I take it Evelyn’s no longer in the picture.”

“Guess not. She packed her bags and walked out.”

“You’re taking it pretty well.”

He shrugged and glanced at Alex. “I don’t know how to take anything these days. Shit’s piling up faster than I can shovel.”

The music slowed.

“What are you going to do about it?”

He gripped his bottle tight. “Couldn’t tell ya. She doesn’t want anything to do with me. She needs my help and is giving me a chance to get to know our daughter…”

“What do you want?”

“Her. I never stopped wanting her.”

“She’s right over there.”

Alex stood feet away, but she might as well have been back in Maryland. “It’s not that simple. I messed it up—messed
her
up.”

“Guess you should probably fix it.”

He sure as hell planned to try.

Wren Cooke walked by, petite, stunning, and exotic with her smoky gray eyes and long, curling black hair.

Tucker took a step in her direction. “Hey, Cooke, let me do you a favor and dance with you.”

Wren stopped as she glanced over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. “Let’s not and say we did. I don’t dance with cops.”

Tucker looked around, his hazel eyes heating with challenge. “You’re in luck. I don’t see one.” He pulled her into the crowd of dancing couples as they continued to argue.

Jackson shook his head and set down his beer. He could never tell if Tucker and Wren wanted to rip each other to shreds or jump each other’s bones. Probably both.

He decided to take a page from Tucker’s book as he walked across the floor, spotting Alex staring out at the cliffs. Tucker was right; she was here. What the hell was he waiting for? He’d respected her need for space—maybe too well. If he kept staying out of her way, he’d never make amends or win her back—and, ultimately, that was the goal. He’d been persistent all those years ago when Alex barely gave him the time of day, but in the end his stubborn determination had paid off. It was time to move past the guilt of his mistakes and take back what he wanted. He moved to her side and gave her a gentle bump with his hip.

She jumped. “You scared me.”

“Sorry.”

“I should check on Livy.”

He snagged her hand as she turned away. “She’s fine. She and Kylee are having a blast. We should dance.”

“I don’t think so.”

He pulled her against him despite her hesitation and wrapped his arms around her slender waist. “See? Not so bad.”

She pressed her hands to his chest. “Jack.”

“It’s not so bad, Alex.” He held her gaze as the wind twisted the curls in her hair.

Sighing, she followed his lead.

“Are you having fun?”

She looked down and fiddled with the end of his tie. “More than I should be. I feel so guilty smiling and laughing when my sister’s…” She shook her head.

He tightened his grip, hating that the light had vanished from her eyes. “She would want you to smile, Alex. We have to believe she’s out there. We’re going to find her. I won’t stop searching until we do.”

“I’m too afraid to let myself hope. I can’t—” Her fingers curled against his shirt. “I can’t forget the way she looked at me while they dragged her to that van. I keep trying to remember something important I might have missed, something that will break her case open and bring her home, but nothing comes.”

The agony in her voice ripped at him. “It’s not that simple, Alex. Not even close.”

“I want it to be.”

“I know. I wish it could be.” He stared out at the city beyond, at the lights winking to life in downtown LA. “I’ve been tossing around some ideas. I think it might be time to head back to Maryland for a while. My hands are tied here. I want to dig into Abby’s case and see what I can come up with on my own.”

Alex stayed silent.

“What do you think?”

“I want to say no. What kind of person does that make me? I want to keep Livy here where it’s safe. I feel like I’m sacrificing my daughter to save my sister, and vice versa.” She huffed out a breath. “I can’t do this.” She pulled away and walked back to the balcony.

He stepped up behind her and rested his palms on her shoulders. “Can’t do what?”

“This.” She made a sweeping motion with her hand. “I can’t dance with you while people laugh and rejoice all around us. I can’t act like my life is normal. If Abby’s alive… What are they doing to her, Jack? Are they pumping her full of drugs to keep her quiet? Are they selling her? I can hardly stand it. She’s so beautiful and bright. She has job interviews lined up with two of LA’s top fashion designers. Who will she be if we get her back? Will she end up like our mother? Nothing’s going to be the same for her again.”

He stroked his thumbs along her skin. “You have to believe she can overcome. If she’s even half as strong as you, she’s going to get through this. Abby will still be beautiful. She can still work for the top fashion designers in LA. This doesn’t have to change that.”

“But she’ll be different. She won’t be
my
Abby—the Abby from two weeks ago—and it breaks my heart.”

He breathed her in as he eased himself closer and gripped her hands in his, offering comfort. “Let me help you. Let me take you and Olivia back to Maryland. I’ve already talked to Ethan. He and Sarah are going to take care of Mutt while we’re gone. We can leave tomorrow if you want.”

Her fingers clutched his. “I’m scared. I’m afraid to go and afraid to stay.”

“I’ll be with you every step of the way.” He pressed his lips to her temple, unable to stand her pain.

Her breath shuddered out as she leaned against him.

He rested his chin on her head and closed his eyes. “I—” His cellphone vibrated on his hip. He wanted to ignore it but instead took his phone from the holder and glanced at the readout. “It’s Detective Canon.”

Alex tensed.

“It might be nothing.”

She lifted her head and turned until their eyes met. “Or it could be everything.”

“One step at a time.”

Alex pressed her lips together and nodded.

He answered. “Hello, Detective Canon.”

“Mr. Matthews, I—”

“I’m sorry, Detective, can you give me a second?” The thundering waves made it difficult to hear.

“Certainly.”

“Come on.” He took Alex’s hand and held his phone up in signal to Ethan and Sarah to keep an eye on Olivia as he pulled Alex with him into the quiet of Ethan’s gym “Better. I apologize again, Detective.”

“No problem.”

“What can I do for you?”

“We may have had a sighting of Abigail Harris.”

He gripped Alex’s hand tight. “That’s excellent.” ‘Sighting’ he mouthed.

“A concerned citizen snapped a photo on their phone and e-mailed it over. The picture’s pretty grainy. I’d like to send it your way. Hopefully Alexa can help us verify.”

“Send it over. We’ll give it a look. I’ll call you right back.”

“What’s going on?”

“They might’ve spotted Abby. Someone took a picture. Detective Canon wants you to take a look.”

“Of course.” She stood close as Jackson opened the e-mail and enlarged the image of a slim woman stepping from one dark passenger van to another.

Alex moved closer. “The picture’s so dark and blurry. I can’t really tell.”

“Come with me.” He took her hand and hurried to Ethan’s office. “We’ll open this on Ethan’s computer.” He opened the attachment on Ethan’s state-of-the-art equipment, enhanced the photo, and played with the image. “It’s still not great.”

Alex moved close to the screen, squinting, studying. “The woman’s built like Abby, but she doesn’t have long hair.”

“It could be up under her hat, or they may have made her cut it.”

“I don’t know.” Her voice vibrated with frustration. “I can’t tell if that’s her.”

“Let me try something else.” He cut-and-pasted the willowy woman from the photograph onto a blank background and enlarged and enhanced until the figure was too big to fit the screen. “We’ll study little bits of her at a time and see if there’s anything we recognize.”

He moved the image to start at the woman’s sandaled foot. “Does she have any tattoos or piercings we could be looking for?”

Alex shook her head. “No. No tattoos or piercings.”

Jackson traveled up the woman’s jean-clad legs until he came to a blurry hand.

“Wait. Wait. That ring. The silver ring on her thumb. Abby has one. She always wears it.”

The image was so fuzzy it was hard to make out any patterns or features on the band. “Does it have any gems?”

“No. It’s smooth. The ring was Gran’s. Gran’s finger was bigger than Abby’s, so Abby wears it on her thumb.”

“This is good. Let’s see if there’s anything else.” He moved the image over a slender arm, noting several bruises on the bicep.

“Oh, that looks so sore.” Alex’s brows furrowed with her concern.

“Do you want a couple minutes?”

“No.” She shook her head and stared at the computer again. “Keep going, Jack.”

“Give yourself a second.”

“We don’t have a second. Abby needs my help right now. Move to her shoulder. She has a small mole I forgot about.”

Jackson moved to the frame, and Alex gasped. “Abby. That’s Abby.”

“Let’s be sure.” He centered on the woman’s face. It was difficult to tell from the angle of the photograph. The woman looked down. The black cap she wore was in the way.

“There’s definitely a similarity. This has to be her. Let’s call the detective. Now that they’ve seen her, they can go get her.” She laughed. “Abby’s coming home.” She gripped him in a hug. “Thank God. Oh, thank God.”

He pulled back and held her at arms length. “Alex, it’s not necessarily that easy.”

Her smile dimmed. “They know where she is.”

“A concerned citizen spotted her on a dark street stepping into a van. Let’s back up a step and call Detective Canon.”

She turned away.

“I’m sorry, Alex. I don’t want you getting your hopes up.”

“Just make the call.”

He stared at Alex’s rigid shoulders as he picked up his cell and dialed.

“Detective Canon.”

“Detective, it’s Jackson Matthews. Alex is pretty certain the picture is of her sister. She recognized the ring on Abby’s thumb and a small mole on her left shoulder.”

“Excellent.”

“So where does that leave us?”

“That’s the tricky part. The picture was from late last night. The citizen sent it to us a few hours ago.”

“Son of a bitch.” He jammed his fingers through his hair. “Why did they wait so long?”

“Couple of guys from a bachelor party. They didn’t realize they had the photo until they woke from their drunken stupor earlier this afternoon. One of them thought they recognized the woman as Abby from the pictures the media’s been flashing.”

“Well, where was the bachelor party?” He picked up a pen, ready to write down a name.

“That’s problem number two. They did a pub-crawl. The group bar hopped throughout the night—all over Baltimore. None of them remember taking the photograph. We’ve taken their phones and have all the pictures. There are quite a few. We’re going to try to make heads or tails of them and hopefully track down some sort of location. We’re also going to follow their credit card transactions. I have men on it right now.”

Jackson leaned back, closed his eyes, and clenched his jaw. Their break had already fizzled. “Keep me informed if anything else comes up.”

“Will do.”

Jackson pressed ‘end’ as he stared at the ceiling and set down the phone.

“They don’t know,” Alex said quietly. “They don’t know where she is.”

He rubbed his fingers over his brow. “They’re working on it. We have to be patient.”

“Stop saying that!” She whirled. “I’m so sick of hearing it. Be
patient
, Alex. They’re
working
on it, Alex. We’re going to
find
her, Alex.” She pressed her palms to the desk. “What if we don’t? I can’t take this anymore.” She rushed to the door and twisted the knob.

“She’s alive.” He stayed where he was, his voice calm despite his frustration. “We know she’s alive and somewhere in Baltimore. The picture was taken last night.”

“But she’s suffering, Jack. She’s in danger. You saw her arm. Do you think I don’t know what they’re doing to her? I’ve been researching when Livy sleeps.” Her weary voice wavered.

Jackson stood and walked to her. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but this is a step in the right direction. This picture came with potential leads.”

She rested her head against the door. “Such as?”

“Although none of the men remember taking that exact photo—”

She cut him off with an exasperated laugh. “That’s a lead? They took a picture and they don’t even remember doing it? What good does that do?”

He took her hand as it flopped from the knob. “Plenty. They took several photos and bought alcohol with credit cards. The authorities need to connect the dots. Answers are coming, Alex. Not as fast as we want them, but they’re coming.”

“They might move her.”

“We have to hope like hell they don’t.”
She covered her face with her hands.

He tugged them away. “Come on, we’ll go say our goodbyes, get Olivia, and head home. We’ll book our flights for sometime tomorrow. I’ll call my parents.”

Her eyes widened. “Your parents?”

“It’s not safe to go to your place. We have no idea if they’re watching the house. No risks. There shouldn’t be a link between you, me, and Olivia. They might know you’re in LA, but they have no idea where. You’re credit card trail stopped after your flight and the night at the hotel. They’ll have no idea we’re with my family.”

“Lost in the shuffle.”

“That’s right. My parents will be thrilled to see you again.”

“I’m not so sure about that. I kept them from Livy.”

“Mom didn’t talk to me for two weeks after I broke things off with you. She loves you like crazy. I want them to meet their granddaughter face to face. This is the next step, Alex. We need to go. I can’t do anything more for Abby here.”

She nodded. “Okay. We’ll stay with your family—if they’ll have us.”