Stop at Nothing (9 page)

“You want to tell me what happened in the hallway?” she finally asked softly, calling him out of his thoughts.

He inhaled and let the breath out on a sharp sigh. “Mac and I had a long overdue chat.”

She studied him for a moment. “Should I ask how it went?”

He laughed in a short, bitter burst. “Probably not.” They sat in silence for a long moment before Kyle spoke again. “When my mom died, I was angry, lost. She'd been the glue that held our family together, and after she was gone…” He shook his head. “It just fell apart. Tom and Gabe were already grown, were going to college, starting their law enforcement careers. They had that to keep them going. And Joe, well, he was in high school and would go off on his own or with Sadie all the time.”

The sorrow he still bore from the loss was almost a palpable presence in the car. “What about you?”

He shrugged, then sent a halfhearted grin her way. “I got into trouble mostly. I was grounded more often than not, which did wonders for my relationship with my dad. After a while, I think he just gave up. Or at least it seemed that way to an angry teenager with a chip on his shoulder. In some warped way, I think I blamed him for Mom's death, thought of him and not the cancer as the enemy. At least that gave me something tangible to hate.”

“I'm so sorry,” she whispered, hating to see him reliving such pain but touched beyond measure that he was sharing this with her. “I was around the same age when my dad was murdered. I know what you had to be going through. I wish I'd known you then.”

He grunted. “No you don't. I was a total asshole.” He released her hand to scrub at the stubble on his jaw. “Hell, I guess I'm not a whole lot better than that now.”

Abby frowned in confusion. “What are you talking about? You're one of the best men I've ever known.”

He turned to look at her for a moment, confusion creasing his brow. Then he looked away, turning his attention back to the road. He cleared his throat a couple of times, the easiness between them suddenly turning awkward.

Of course he had to be perplexed! She could only imagine what he was thinking. If she'd thought he was such an amazing guy, why the hell had she rejected him so suddenly that summer? Why had she walked away from what they had, from his love?

“Kyle…” she began, her words trailing off as she fiddled with her cuticles. “This morning—”

“We're here,” he announced unnecessarily, cutting her off.

Abby took the hint. She wished like hell that they could pick up where they'd left off and pretend she'd never been such an indescribable idiot. But that part of her life was over. She'd missed her chance at happiness with Kyle and had to accept the fact. Besides, there were far more important things to deal with right now. Discussing a broken heart was probably pretty low on the list. Still, she sat in the car for a moment after he got out, her hands in her lap.

When her car door suddenly opened, her gaze snapped up to see Kyle holding the door open. He extended his hand and helped her from the car. “You did well,” he assured her softly, apparently mistaking the reason for her inner turmoil. He gently cupped her cheek, his warm palm soothing her ruffled spirit in so many ways. “And I'll be right there with you when you talk to Mac about what happened.”

She turned into his palm a little and closed her eyes for the span of a breath before forcing her thoughts back to what had happened to her sister. “He's still out there—the man who took her. We can't let Hamilton or his hired goon get away with this.”

“I made you a promise, Abby,” Kyle reminded her. “I'm going to keep it.”

Dear God, what have I done by letting him go?

She'd walked away from the love of her life, the man who'd made her feel more than anyone ever had before or since. Instead of embracing the love he'd offered, she'd thrown it back in his face, declared she could never love him, had intentionally broken his heart, thinking it would save him heartache in the long run.

And the really shitty thing about it? It'd all been a lie. A lie so heinous it had broken her own heart to utter it.

But she knew if she'd confessed that she was head over heels in love with him he never would've left to pursue his dreams. And eventually he would've grown to resent her for holding him back. She'd grown up in a household filled with that kind of bitterness, and there was no way she'd live like that again.

Of course, that didn't keep her from wanting to kiss him so badly at that moment that she began to tremble with the intensity of that desire. So when he took her face in both his hands for one heart-stopping moment Abby thought he was going to kiss her again. When he tilted her head down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, her stomach sank with disappointment. Not that she minded the chaste kiss; it was sweet and comforting. But she longed to feel his lips on hers once more.

She couldn't help the tiny sigh of disappointment that escaped when he released her and took a step back. But she squared her shoulders and followed him toward the door of headquarters. And when he turned back to wait for her, she accepted his extended hand, knowing she had no right to expect anything more from him than that.

Kyle's gaze flicked to the clock on the wall of his father's office, the seconds seeming to tick by a year at a time. Abby had gone through the entire story for Mac and Tom from start to finish, up to and including their rendezvous with Emma's abductor at the power station to make the exchange. Mac had listened without interruption, his expression unreadable, never once betraying what was going on inside his head.

Tom was the only one to show any response, alternately shaking his head and rubbing a hand along the back of his neck where Kyle knew his brother's stress always seemed to take up residence.

When Abby finally finished talking, Mac just continued to stare in stony silence. But Tom certainly had a few choice words.

“What in
the hell
were you two thinking?” he demanded. “I expect this kind of renegade bullshit from Kyle, but
you
, Abby? I don't give a rat's ass what the guy said—you don't enter into a situation like that without backup! You both could've been killed!”

Kyle squirmed a little. “We didn't go without backup,” he mumbled, sending a guilty glance Abby's way. “Joe and Gabe were there as well.”

“
What?
” Abby cried out over Tom's juicy curse. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“Because I knew you'd be against it,” Kyle admitted. “The guy told you to come alone. It had taken some convincing for you to even allow me to come, so I knew you wouldn't go for having my brothers along for the ride. But Tom's right. There was no way I was going to let us walk into a dangerous situation like that without someone I trusted backing us up.”

“And what if he'd found out?” Abby insisted. “What if he'd seen one of them? Then what, Kyle? He could've killed Emma!”

“I wasn't worried about Emma!” he shot back, the words coming out before he could stop them. When Abby's face blanched, he said in a rush, “I'm sorry, Abby. That's not what I meant. What I should've said was—”

“Save it,” Abby interrupted, her voice catching. The look of betrayal in her eyes was so obvious, Kyle was relieved when she turned her attention to Mac and Tom. “I'm sorry for misleading you, but you have to understand my position. I had to do what was necessary to get Emma back safely. Now that she's out of danger, I'm happy to turn over all the evidence I have.”

“The first thing we need to do is talk to Emma,” Tom told her. “See if she can tell us anything more about her abductor, maybe give us a description. And I'll contact the police in Detroit to see if they can bring Hamilton in for us to question.”

“I'm going with you,” Abby informed him.

“The hell you are.”

Everyone's gazes snapped to Mac who'd finally spoken. “You're officially off this case, Deputy Morrow.”

Abby gaped at Kyle's dad, but Kyle wasn't overly surprised. “But Mac—
Sheriff
,” Abby amended, “you need my expertise. You still don't have any idea who abducted Emma. And I'm the one who has the relationship with Hamilton. I should be the one to question him.”

“It's precisely because of your relationship with the suspect that you're off the case, young lady,” Mac replied, his tone even, matter-of-fact.

“And what about my brother-in-law's possible murder?” Abby pressed. “Who's going to look into that? Are you going to follow up on it at all?”

“We have no body,” Kyle reminded her, answering for his father. “There's technically no murder unless we have a body.”

“You said yourself you can't be one hundred percent certain that it's Curtis Maxwell in the picture,” Mac pointed out. “And you can't tell me where or when it was taken. You just know that the person who sent it—apparently himself a dead man—was in New Orleans at the time. All we can do is treat this as a missing person's case and follow up on Maxwell's actual whereabouts. I'll put one of the deputies from Investigations on it.”

“Technically, it's my jurisdiction,” Kyle pointed out, careful to keep his tone nonconfrontational. When his father's eyes flared in challenge, Kyle added a deferential “
sir
.”

“Pardon me, young man?” Mac drawled, leaning back in his chair and regarding his son with an expression Kyle knew all too well from his teen years.

It meant his dad was going to listen silently, nod as if he was considering carefully, and then shut him down without hearing another word on the matter. But that wouldn't be the end of it if they fell into their usual routine. The conversation would devolve into a no-holds-barred screaming match within minutes—seconds if they were both in the mood for a throw down.

Kyle took a deep breath and let it out slowly, deciding to change tactics in a move that went against years of rebellion against parental authority—and, hell, pretty much
all
authority. He cleared his throat a couple of times, then said, “With all due respect, Sheriff”—God, the words burned his throat like acid, but he continued on—“technically, this one falls under federal jurisdiction, especially as Curtis Maxwell's disappearance could've transpired on foreign soil. With your permission, I'd like to pursue the leads on Patrick Hamilton's involvement in the abduction of Emma Maxwell and the disappearance of Curtis Maxwell and his bodyguard.”

Mac and Tom stared at Kyle like he'd just sprouted a dick on his forehead, neither of them responding.

The silence was more than Kyle could take, so he went on, “Of course, I'd appreciate your assistance, if you can spare people, particularly Deputy Morrow because her expertise and unique knowledge of the case make her indispensable.”

“Tom, Abby,” Mac said, his gaze trained on Kyle as he spoke, “could you give us the room, please?”

Abby and Tom left the room without a word, Abby sending an anxious glance Kyle's way as she eased the office door closed behind her.

As soon as they left, Mac's eyes narrowed. “What exactly are you up to, boy?”

Kyle shook his head, frowning. “What do you mean?”

Mac folded his hands across his abdomen. “You know exactly what I mean. I raised you, young man. I know every trick in the book. Just what the hell are you trying to pull? You trying to make me look like an idiot? Trying to impress Abby? Win her back by humiliating me?”

Kyle's stomach sank. This sure as hell wasn't going the way he'd intended. “No, sir. I'm trying to work together. That's all.”

Mac grunted. “Well, Agent Dawson—”

“It's
Kyle
,” he interrupted, no longer able to put up with the condescension. “I have a name.”

Mac jerked back a little. “Sorry?”

Kyle shook his head. “It's always ‘boy' or ‘young man' or ‘Agent Dawson' with you,” he pointed out, shoving up from the chair and striding toward the door. “Well, I have a name, Dad.” He paused, hand on the doorknob and turned back toward his father, vaguely noting that he'd called him “Dad” for the first time since he was thirteen years old.

“I'm well aware of that fact,” Mac barked. “I'm the one who gave it to you. My brother was one of the bravest men I've ever known. And since he didn't leave behind any of his own sons when he was gunned down by some drugged-up bastard, I thought one of
my
sons would be worthy to carry his name.”

Kyle stared at his father for a long moment, the implication in Mac's words crystal clear. So much for trying to make amends. He made a sound that was something between a grunt and a bitter laugh, then shook his head. “Yeah,” he said, pulling open the door. “Well, sorry to disappoint.”

Several heads snapped up at the sound of Mac's office door slamming, including Abby's. When she came toward him, her brows furrowed with unasked questions, Kyle waved her away and strode straight to his brother where he sat on the corner of an unoccupied desk, arms crossed as he waited.

“I tried,” Kyle said without preamble, lifting his arms in resignation. “But he's never going to see me as anything except a total fuckup. I'm done, Tom. If he wants to get into a pissing match with the feds over this case, he can be my guest. But in the meantime, I'm tracking down these leads and doing my damnedest to bring these assholes to justice. You can either help me or get the hell out of my way.”

Tom regarded his brother with his typical, unflappable gaze. “You're an obstinate, hotheaded pain in the ass, Kyle.”

Kyle eyed his brother. “So…you'll help me then?”

Tom shrugged. “Of course.”

* * *

Kyle hadn't said a word to her on the drive back to her house to get his car. Not a single word. She wasn't sure if he was lost in thought or pissed off at her for some reason. Which only served to piss
her
off more than she already was. What the hell had he been thinking when he went behind her back and pulled Gabe and Joe in on the exchange for Emma? Why hadn't he just told her what he'd planned?

When she pulled into her driveway, she couldn't take it anymore. “So what now?” she demanded, slamming the car into park.

Kyle didn't look at her when he said, “I'm going back to my apartment to shower and change. Then I guess I'll grab a few things, head back this way, and crash at Joe's or Tom's for a few days while I help you on the case.” He finally cast a guarded look her way. “What about you?”

She frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I figured you'd want to get your sister settled when she's released tomorrow,” he said with a shrug. “Does she have somewhere safe she and Tyler can stay for a while?”

“With the security measures Curtis had installed at their house, I would've thought
that
was the safest place for them. But considering what happened, that's clearly no longer an option.” She frowned, trying to think of a viable alternative. “I guess they can go up to the cabin for a few days, but I'd feel a lot better if someone was guarding them.”

Kyle nodded. “Agreed. I'll talk to Tom, see if he can spare someone.” He offered her a grin, clearly trying to make amends. “I'd check with
my
office, but I haven't even met my new boss yet. Kind of early to start asking for favors.”

She didn't fall for that cocky grin of his. Well, not
really
. Maybe her stomach went all fluttery a little—but she was still pissed and refused to return his smile. “Don't worry about it. I'll go with them. I think Mac will understand if I use a couple of vacation days to take care of my family. If he needs me on a case, he can call my cell.”

Kyle sighed. “Abby—”

“So you should probably get going,” she interrupted. She caught a glimpse of his disappointed look just before she got out of the car, grabbing her sidearm and slamming the door behind her. She didn't even glance behind her as she made her way up the front steps. But she came to an abrupt halt when she saw the front door.

The door was closed and there was no evidence that the lock had been tampered with, but there was something…off. She couldn't even place what it was. She just had a feeling in her gut.

“Abby?”

She cursed under her breath as she spun around. She gave Kyle a pointed look, then jerked her chin toward the door.

He pulled his gun from the back of his waistband and stepped to one side of the door, motioning for her to take up position on the other side. Abby twisted the doorknob, finding it was unlocked, just as she'd suspected.

Kyle entered first, clearing the entryway and moving deeper into the house. Abby heard his juicy curse and her stomach sank, knowing what she was going to encounter even before she made it to her study.

So she wasn't entirely surprised when she saw the room had been tossed, every drawer in her desk emptied onto the floor, every paper from her filing cabinet scattered across the floor, pictures torn off the walls, her overstuffed chair shredded and the stuffing strewn among the other debris.

“Stay here,” Kyle said gently, briefly grasping her arm as he passed by. “I'll check the rest of the house.”

Abby nodded absently, but she had a feeling the rest of the house would be fine. Whoever had broken in had gotten what they came for. Her laptop was gone from her desk. She hurried to the closet, pulling open the door that was already ajar and hoping like hell the third copy of the data was still in her fireproof safe.

When she saw the door to the safe standing open, she didn't even bother looking inside. She knew the second flash drive was gone. With a dejected sigh, she slumped against the door frame and slowly slid down until she was sitting on the floor with her knees pulled up to her chest.

She was still sitting there a moment later when she heard Kyle calling from the hallway. “Abby?”

“In here.” She lifted her eyes to his when he came into the room. “They took my laptop and the backup drive I had in my safe.”

“What about your server, the backups there?” Kyle asked.

If she hadn't been so dejected she would've been touched by how much he remembered about her life. She'd never known anyone else who'd been even remotely interested in the technical aspects of her job. But he'd asked. And she'd given him the grand tour, bouncing around like a little girl showing off her newest toy.

Unfortunately, most of those toys were gone now. “Stolen.”

Kyle's shoulders sagged. “Do you have another copy?”

She shook her head. “No. That was it. I'd have to redo all the reports, go back through the data to compile the results. It could be done, but it'll take a while. Hamilton would need to send me another copy of everything. And he's not likely to do that, is he? He holds all the cards here.”

He eased down next to her. “Then get some things together. You can come back to my place. There's gotta be something you can do, something you can restore somewhere, right? You can use my laptop. I'll help you, if you want.” His lips hitched up in one corner. “It'll be just like old times.”