Hostage Negotiation (10 page)

“Breast cancer?”

He nodded.

“I’m so sorry. What was her name?”

He didn’t look like he wanted to tell her, but then he did.

“Jo Lynne.”

Kaylee had always been what her mom called a touchy-feely kind of person, sometimes crossing boundaries, getting into other people’s space without realizing it. She couldn’t help it. If she felt bad for someone, she wanted to make them feel better. And since hugging made her feel better, she didn’t stop to think about her next action. She just slid her arms around Zack’s waist and rested her head against his chest, hugging him close.

At first he didn’t move, just stiffened in his chair with her awkwardly leaning against him. But then it was like a dam broke inside him, and he was holding her just as tightly as she was holding him. His cheek nestled against the top of her head, his soft breath fanning out against her scalp. With her encouraging him, he began to tell her about Jo Lynne—slowly at first, then the words rushed out, in ebbs and flows, as he told her about this woman he’d once loved enough to plan forever with her.

Until he lost her.

When he stopped talking, they continued to hold each other for a long time. Her ear pressed against his chest, listening to the strong, steady beat of his heart. Him gently rubbing her back, his cheek moving every once in a while against the top of her head. When he finally pulled away and stared down at her, she expected to see regret, perhaps even embarrassment that he’d confessed his pain to her, a woman he probably thought of as a relative stranger, even though she felt like she knew him better than most men she’d ever met. But there was no embarrassment, no regret, no anger anymore. There was something else in the depths of his eyes. Relief, perhaps? That he’d finally been able to talk about something that she sensed he’d never really spoken about before?

His hand shook as he feathered her hair back from her face. He swallowed, hard, and then he was gone, shutting the bathroom door between them, as if he needed that barrier to compose himself again.

She folded up his map, set the chairs back where they belonged then slid into her bed, leaving only the dim light on as she waited.

A few minutes later he padded into the room, looked down at her, his expression solemn. Then, without a word, he flicked off the light.

The room was plunged into total darkness. She hated the dark, always slept with a light on. But the familiar, smothering fear that she expected didn’t come. Instead, she felt...safe. And now that Zack didn’t seem angry at her anymore, the tension in the room was gone and she knew even before she closed her eyes that this time the nightmares wouldn’t come. This time she’d be able to sleep until morning, without fear.

Covers shifted as he moved in his bed just a few feet away.

“Kaylee?” His deep voice broke the quiet.

“Hmm?”

“I was angry about having to spend the night in a hotel room with you, because since meeting you, for the first time in five years, I thought about another woman besides Jo Lynne.
Really
thought about her, about
you
. Do you understand?”

She smiled in the dark. “I understand. Zack?”

“Yes?”

“I care about you, too. And I wouldn’t mind seeing you sometime...after this is all over. That is, if you want to.”

His breath shuddered out of him. “I want.”

The tension that had evaporated earlier was suddenly so thick she could barely breathe. For a moment she wondered what, if anything, she should do. Part of her wanted to join him in his bed. But it would be a mistake. She was too damaged, still fighting nightmares, still trying to overcome what had happened to her. This...this attraction she felt for Zack, even though it was mutual, was too new to act on. The timing was completely wrong, and she suspected they both knew it.

“Good night, Kaylee.”

His covers rustled again and she sensed that he’d turned over, facing away from her. Decision made—he’d made it for both of them.

She let out a breath that was equal parts relief and disappointment. “Good night, Zack.”

Chapter Eleven

Zack pulled his truck into the parking lot of the sheriff’s office, with Kaylee sitting tense at his side, clutching her hands together so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. No doubt she was worried about visiting the search site, but no more worried than he was. That worry had kept him tossing and turning at the hotel last night. But he’d finally managed to fall asleep. But then Kaylee’s frightened sobs had awakened him. He’d grabbed his gun from beneath his pillow and bolted upright in one smooth motion, sweeping the pistol back and forth, seeking out whatever had scared her. Then she’d thrashed and moaned again, and he’d realized there weren’t any bad guys hiding in the shadows of their hotel room. The bad guys were hiding in the shadowed recesses of her mind.

His heart had clenched in his chest at how terrified and pale she looked in the glow of the bedside clock as the nightmare gripped her. So he’d put his gun away and leaned over, ready to shake her awake. But the moment he’d whispered her name and placed his hand on her shoulder, she’d calmed and rolled over to face him with a smile, still asleep.

He’d pulled his hand back and studied her quiet beauty, watching her expression to make sure the nightmare was really gone. She really was a striking woman. Just remembering those long, shapely legs and firm, high breasts that were beneath the covers had his own breath hitching, his pulse slamming. And just like every time he thought of her
that
way, guilt crushed down upon him and he berated himself for a fool.

And then she’d cried out in her sleep.

Once again he patted her shoulder, whispered soothing words. And once again she’d settled into a peaceful sleep. After the third time, he’d given up on trying to sleep himself and had figured he might as well get some work done—thus how he’d ended up at the desk, reaching over to pat her and whisper to her every time the nightmares came back.

And wishing desperately that he’d stuck to his guns when he’d first told Cole that he wasn’t going to a hotel with Kaylee.

Of course Cole had no way of knowing just how attracted to Kaylee Zack was, and not just because of her looks either. Although stunning, especially with most of the bruises healed, there were plenty of other beautiful women that Zack had seen or known. Her looks were only part of her appeal. What called out to him was their intense shared history right after the accident, the days spent holding her hand, sitting by her hospital bed. The bond they’d formed was a strong one, and not one-sided at all the way her head doctor had assumed. He felt just as connected to her as she did to him.

And he didn’t know what in the world to do about it.

Wanting Kaylee was a dead end. She’d been through too much and needed more time to heal. And even though she’d surprised him at the hotel with her flirtatiousness, he took it for what it must be—her acting out, being silly, to cut the tension between them. It certainly couldn’t be real, not after what she’d suffered.

She was strong, tough, and he admired her for that. But even someone as courageous and determined as she was couldn’t possibly be ready to get back to “real” life so quickly after what she’d gone through. And he’d do good to remember that. His job today was clear—keep her alive, unhurt. Then he’d turn her over to Cole and be on his way, letting Kaylee get back to her life while he returned to his.

“Zack?”

He blinked and realized he must have been staring at Kaylee, because she was looking at him uncertainly, waving a hand in front of his face. His face heated and he turned the engine off.

“Looks like we’re the first search team here.” He gestured toward the near-empty parking lot. “We can have a cup of coffee inside the break room while we wait.”

She gave him a quizzical look, but hopped out of the truck as he came around to her side. They headed into the building down the same long hallway that she’d been in yesterday. But as soon as they started to pass the conference room with the big glass window, she stopped so fast that the soles of her all-weather hiking boots squeaked against the floor.

Zack was immediately on alert, stepping half in front of her, hand automatically on the butt of his holstered pistol as he looked to see what had startled her. But all he saw was Cole and another detective sitting with their backs to the window, questioning a thin, blonde-haired woman who looked no more threatening than the average housewife. But as he glanced at Kaylee, he realized she wasn’t scared; she was just startled, and more than a little confused.

“Why is Sandy in there?” she asked, as if he should know.

He shrugged. “I’ve never seen her before. Who is she?”

“Sandy Gonzalez. She’s a long-time friend of my family, and also the owner of the travel agency that I used to schedule my trip and my flight down here yesterday. She lives in Miami. I wonder if something has happened. She must have come to see me.”

She headed toward the door.

“Hold it.” Zack stopped her just as she started to turn the knob, and he gently pulled her back. “Looks fairly intense in there. I don’t think we should interrupt their meeting.”

But Sandy was already staring at Kaylee through the window, her eyes wide with surprise.

Kaylee raised a hand in greeting, but instead of waving back, Sandy’s face turned a bright red and she looked away.

Kaylee slowly lowered her hand and looked up at Zack. “What’s going on? She looks...scared.”

He wasn’t sure he agreed with that assessment. If anything, she looked guilty to him. But guilty of what? That was the real question.

“You said she booked your trip. Did you always use a travel agent for trips here in the state, even though you live in Florida?”

“Actually, no. I mostly used her agency when I planned a trip out of state. Let’s face it, it’s only a few hours from here to Miami. I could easily set up my own tours and hotels for that. But she called me, asked where I was planning on vacationing this year and said she had a great deal for a tour package in the Everglades.” She shrugged. “I thought it sounded fun so I went ahead.”

“She called you? Why would she do that?”

“Because I hadn’t called her yet. I take a week’s vacation every July, and most of the time I call her to help me schedule it. I guess since I hadn’t called yet, she decided to call me.”

“Has she ever done that before? Called you first?”

She shook her head and stared through the window at the woman who was still avoiding looking at her. “Actually, no. But she didn’t want me to miss out on the deal. Poor Sandy. She feels terrible about what happened.” She frowned. “I just can’t imagine why she’s here.”

Zack could imagine exactly why she was there. And he didn’t feel sorry for the woman one bit. In fact, he’d like to strangle her about now. Because he remembered that Cole had told him yesterday that all three of the women that they believed were taken by
the devil
had booked their trips through travel agencies. And knowing that Miss Gonzalez’s agency was based in Miami, he felt it was a safe bet that she wouldn’t have driven or flown all the way to the opposite coast this early in the morning unless there was a darn good reason—like that the police wanted to interrogate her. And he didn’t see Cole wasting time with the logistics of getting Gonzalez here in person unless he had a compelling reason for it.

Although Zack had told Kaylee to wait, he no longer felt the compulsion to do so himself. He wanted to know what was going on, exactly how it related to their current case and why Gonzalez had broken protocol by calling Kaylee to offer her a trip instead of the other way around.

He rapped on the glass. Cole looked over his shoulder and nodded. After saying something to the detective on his right, he shoved his chair back and headed out of the room. After closing the door behind him, he motioned for them both to follow him down the hall.

After a quick knock on another door to make sure no one was inside, he ushered them into a small conference room. All this one boasted was a round table with four chairs. Not a snack machine or window in sight.

Zack pulled one of the chairs out for Kaylee, who murmured her thanks as she sat. Then he took the chair to her right across from Cole.

“Spill,” Zack said. “What’s the connection between the travel agencies and our case?”

Cole’s brows rose. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”

“Don’t have time to waste. The search parties will be here soon and we’ll have to head out.”

Cole greeted Kaylee before looking at Zack again. “Obviously, Kaylee must have told you that woman is Sandy Gonzalez, owner of Aventuras Travel Agency based out of Miami. What we didn’t know until late last night after digging through layer after layer of shell companies is that she’s also the owner of several other travel agencies around the state. Want to guess who owns the agencies that Mary and Sue Ellen used?”

“Sandy Gonzalez,” Zack said.

“Bingo.”

Kaylee glanced from Zack to Cole. “Wait, you’re saying she hid the fact that she owned the other agencies? Shell companies are fake companies, right?”

“More or less,” Cole said. “They’re real on paper, legal entities. Mostly, people use them to hide true ownership, not necessarily for illegal purposes. Sometimes it just has to do with marketing, like a gas and oil company not wanting people to know they also own, say, a milk plant—because gas, oil and food don’t exactly sound appetizing together. No harm in using shell companies to keep the image of the different entities intact and separate. But other people use them to hide income, or for other illegal purposes. In this case, there’s nothing illegal about how Miss Gonzalez set up her companies. But that doesn’t mean that she didn’t do something illegal.”

Again, Kaylee glanced back and forth between them. Zack could tell by the wary look on her face that she didn’t need to know about shell companies to see that something wasn’t right. But she also didn’t want to believe that her friend had done anything wrong.

“Okay,” she said. “I don’t have to be a detective to think that sounds like a big coincidence. But it has to be, right? What other explanation could there be?” When neither of them spoke, she frowned. “You can’t think she had something to do with my abduction. That’s preposterous. She wouldn’t do that.”

Cole shrugged. “I think it’s a possibility, yes.”

She laughed then sobered. “You’re serious?” At his nod, she said, “The person who abducted me, who assaulted me, tortured me, was definitely a man. I may not be able to describe his face, but I have no doubt whatsoever that my attacker was male. So what’s your theory here? How could she possibly be involved?”

Zack eyed Cole. “Good question. What would she have to gain by arranging the abductions, if that’s what you think happened?”

Kaylee sucked in a startled breath.

“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Cole said. “But we’ve only been questioning her for about a half hour. My team just got a judge to sign off on a subpoena for her financial records about an hour ago. I’ve got one of my best detectives rousing a bank manager as we speak to try to get some quick info over the phone rather than wait for the usual ad hoc reports that could take days or weeks. We don’t have that kind of time if we’re going to find Sue Ellen alive.”

“Hold it, hold it.” Kaylee waved her hands in the air. “Financial records? Subpoena? What do you expect to find? You think she hired someone to kidnap us? There weren’t any ransom demands. What would she have to gain?”

She shook her head like she thought Cole was crazy. “Have you seen the publicity she’s been getting? In Miami, at least, I can tell you she’s been getting a lot, all of it bad. If this cockamamy idea of her somehow being behind the abductions for financial gain were true, trust me, it totally backfired. I heard she’s had to lay off half her staff. No one wants to book vacations with an agency whose last client was abducted during the arranged tour and tortured for three months.”

“She’s right,” Zack said. “There doesn’t seem to be an obvious financial benefit for Miss Gonzalez to be involved in any way.”

“Exactly.” Kaylee crossed her arms and sat back in her chair, looking smug and aggravated at the same time. “I can’t believe you brought her here to interrogate her like some criminal.”

Cole’s brows rose again. “If you were in that conference room with her, listening to her avoid most of my questions, I highly doubt you’d feel so confident right now. She’s definitely hiding something. I just haven’t figured out what that is...yet. But I will.”

Zack’s cell phone vibrated against his waist and he pulled it out to check the screen. “Looks like the search parties are waiting for us in the parking lot.” He put the phone away and they all stood. He eyed Kaylee’s determined look. “I don’t suppose there’s anything at all that I can do to talk you out of going out there with me?”

She immediately shook her head. “Not a chance.”

He sighed. “I didn’t think so.” He held the door open for her. “Let’s do this, then. Let’s go find Sue Ellen.”

Cole walked with them down the hallway, toward the front lobby and the doors that opened onto the parking lot.

“Who’s your search team partner today? Deputy Holder called out this morning, said his wife’s sick along with his son. He’s staying home to take care of both of them. You’re not searching your grid alone, are you? Just you and Miss Brighton?”

Zack gave him a droll look. “You know me better than that. I’m not taking any more chances with Kaylee’s safety than absolutely necessary. I sent out a group text this morning from the hotel and got four volunteers to help Kaylee and me search our assigned area. Two of them are your men, Alan Thomas and Rick Carlson.”

Cole nodded his approval. “They’re both new to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, but I’ve heard they’ve been a great team in the searches so far. And even though Carlson’s a rookie, Thomas has a dozen years of policing experience from his stint in Broward County. You said four guys, though. Who are the other two?”

“A couple of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation officers are going to follow us out there in their vehicle. Gene Theroux is a local veteran, knows this area inside and out. The other FFW guy, Jasper Carraway, drove all the way from the panhandle area a couple of days ago—on vacation, no less—to volunteer his expertise in the search. Between them and your two deputies, we should be good to go.”