She nods and looks back at her computer. “I mapped the town where Grace is from and took it out four hundred miles in every direction. That brings up a lot of possibilities, but I immediately discounted the south and anything west of the Rockies. He had to have had access to Grace and she was from a very small town. It’s pretty isolated. From what I can see of the media reports when she was abducted, she rarely went out of town. The only place she went that year was to a 4-H archery camp up in the Nebraska National Forest.”
“Let’s start there.”
“I did, there’s not much up there. Only two towns.”
“That’s good, right? That means we don’t have many places to look.”
“But V,” Conner says from behind his laptop. “The problem is, we’ve got two leads. One is in Hollywood and one is in Nebraska. We have to split up if we want to check out both.”
“I just don’t see the Hollywood connections though. It makes no sense.”
“Well, listen,” Felicity says. “In that interview Grace did the other day, she told the reporter that she never saw the guy’s face. He was wearing a mask. She said it looked real, but it was of someone she knew, and not a famous person. So what if this guy who kidnapped her is involved in special effects in Hollywood? What if that’s his specialty?”
I have a sick feeling in my stomach.
“What if the guy worked on the Invisible Man set, Vaughn?”
Conner gets up from where he’s sitting and walks over to us. “Holy fucking shit, Felicity!” He leans down and kisses her on the cheek. “That’s the fucking connection. This asshole worked in production. He was a special effects guy.”
“And the senior team was invited to the premiere.” Motherfucker might’ve been sitting near me that night. I might’ve fucking talked to him.
“Dad?” Conner says into his phone. “We’ve got a lead and I need your help…”
Conner steps out of the room and takes the call into the hallway. “Keep going, Felicity. You’re hot, so just keep going. What else do you think?”
“Well, I think this guy saw her at that archery camp, so…” She pulls up a local 4-H website in northeastern Colorado. “We know she was in 4-H, and this is the local chapter near her town, so this was the club she was in. We should start with the leaders, I guess. See who was on that trip with her.”
“So we need to travel there?”
“Yeah.” Felicity shrugs. “It’s footwork from here. I don’t see how we can do much more online. We need to see these people. Look them in the eye and compel them to talk to us.”
Conner comes back into the room. “OK, Dad’s giving me access to the personnel files. I’m gonna see if we can find a connection to Colorado or Nebraska.”
“This is Felicity.” I look over at her and she’s talking into her phone. “We’re going to need a flight plan to Holyoke, Colorado. We’re on our way now, please have the jet ready.” She ends her call and looks up at me. “We’re going to get Grace back.”
Chapter Twelve
I SIT down next to him and fold my hands in my lap. “Should I call you by your name?” I ask. “Now that we’re married?”
“We’re not married yet,” he growls. “It needs to be legal.”
“Of course. But don’t you want me to call you by your real name?”
He turns his head and points that stupid mask at me. “You should already know my name.”
“You’re right. But you’ve kept it a secret. So I don’t know your name. I don’t even know what you look like.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he says quickly. “You don’t get to reject me.”
Right again. But I keep my mouth shut and just stare at the test in his hand. We both watch the blue plus sign appear and when it does, he throws the stick on the coffee table and gets to his feet.
“I don’t want to pretend this baby is mine,” he says with his back to me.
Shit.
“I might not be your average guy, but I am not crazy.”
Oh, yeah, dude. Your trip to Crazytown started ten years ago.
“This is Vaughn Asher’s baby and it needs to go.” He whirls around and snatches my wrist so fast I gasp. “Come on.”
“What—”
I’m forcefully pulled to my feet and my first reaction is to fight him. I dig my heels in and pull back, but his grip is secure and he yanks me forward until I fall face-first on the coffee table. One large hand presses on my back, keeping me pinned, while the other grabs my hair and slams my face on the hard wood. I taste blood when my lip splits. “I think you’ve forgotten the rules. But don’t worry, little flower, I’m here to remind you.” He leans down into my neck and I recoil from the heat of his breath. “You’re a big girl now, aren’t you, Daisy?”
A fingertip strokes along my cheek and I panic. He’s never touched me like that before. Not in a way that implies he’d rape me. But I can already tell this kidnapping is nothing like the last one. Last time he was very young. Early twenties at the most. Ten years later and that boy who wanted me to like him, wanted to win my cooperation with some sick form of domestic seduction that included keeping house and taking care of him the way a wife might, is gone.
In his place is a man who wants very different things. In his place is a man who wants… a woman.
“I’m still so young,” I try.
But his hand presses on my head even harder, making me whimper. “I’ve been patient, Daisy. I let you graduate from college. I watched you have your fun. Date a few men. Have sex. And now look, you’re nothing but a whore.”
Oh, God.
“You’re pregnant with another man’s child. If we want to be happy, that parasite inside you needs to be dealt with.”
And then his hand slips between my legs and shocks me out of my compliance. I elbow him, striking something hard, like his cheek or his neck, and he grunts in surprise. I have a split second of satisfaction before the throbbing in my head takes over.
“How dare you!” he bellows, his fist connecting with the back of my head over and over. “How dare—”
I elbow him again and this time I twist out from underneath him when he recoils. He recovers and pins my shoulders to the table with both hands. “I’ll kill you for that.”
“Let’s start there.”
“I did, there’s not much up there. Only two towns.”
“That’s good, right? That means we don’t have many places to look.”
“But V,” Conner says from behind his laptop. “The problem is, we’ve got two leads. One is in Hollywood and one is in Nebraska. We have to split up if we want to check out both.”
“I just don’t see the Hollywood connections though. It makes no sense.”
“Well, listen,” Felicity says. “In that interview Grace did the other day, she told the reporter that she never saw the guy’s face. He was wearing a mask. She said it looked real, but it was of someone she knew, and not a famous person. So what if this guy who kidnapped her is involved in special effects in Hollywood? What if that’s his specialty?”
I have a sick feeling in my stomach.
“What if the guy worked on the Invisible Man set, Vaughn?”
Conner gets up from where he’s sitting and walks over to us. “Holy fucking shit, Felicity!” He leans down and kisses her on the cheek. “That’s the fucking connection. This asshole worked in production. He was a special effects guy.”
“And the senior team was invited to the premiere.” Motherfucker might’ve been sitting near me that night. I might’ve fucking talked to him.
“Dad?” Conner says into his phone. “We’ve got a lead and I need your help…”
Conner steps out of the room and takes the call into the hallway. “Keep going, Felicity. You’re hot, so just keep going. What else do you think?”
“Well, I think this guy saw her at that archery camp, so…” She pulls up a local 4-H website in northeastern Colorado. “We know she was in 4-H, and this is the local chapter near her town, so this was the club she was in. We should start with the leaders, I guess. See who was on that trip with her.”
“So we need to travel there?”
“Yeah.” Felicity shrugs. “It’s footwork from here. I don’t see how we can do much more online. We need to see these people. Look them in the eye and compel them to talk to us.”
Conner comes back into the room. “OK, Dad’s giving me access to the personnel files. I’m gonna see if we can find a connection to Colorado or Nebraska.”
“This is Felicity.” I look over at her and she’s talking into her phone. “We’re going to need a flight plan to Holyoke, Colorado. We’re on our way now, please have the jet ready.” She ends her call and looks up at me. “We’re going to get Grace back.”
Chapter Twelve
I SIT down next to him and fold my hands in my lap. “Should I call you by your name?” I ask. “Now that we’re married?”
“We’re not married yet,” he growls. “It needs to be legal.”
“Of course. But don’t you want me to call you by your real name?”
He turns his head and points that stupid mask at me. “You should already know my name.”
“You’re right. But you’ve kept it a secret. So I don’t know your name. I don’t even know what you look like.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he says quickly. “You don’t get to reject me.”
Right again. But I keep my mouth shut and just stare at the test in his hand. We both watch the blue plus sign appear and when it does, he throws the stick on the coffee table and gets to his feet.
“I don’t want to pretend this baby is mine,” he says with his back to me.
Shit.
“I might not be your average guy, but I am not crazy.”
Oh, yeah, dude. Your trip to Crazytown started ten years ago.
“This is Vaughn Asher’s baby and it needs to go.” He whirls around and snatches my wrist so fast I gasp. “Come on.”
“What—”
I’m forcefully pulled to my feet and my first reaction is to fight him. I dig my heels in and pull back, but his grip is secure and he yanks me forward until I fall face-first on the coffee table. One large hand presses on my back, keeping me pinned, while the other grabs my hair and slams my face on the hard wood. I taste blood when my lip splits. “I think you’ve forgotten the rules. But don’t worry, little flower, I’m here to remind you.” He leans down into my neck and I recoil from the heat of his breath. “You’re a big girl now, aren’t you, Daisy?”
A fingertip strokes along my cheek and I panic. He’s never touched me like that before. Not in a way that implies he’d rape me. But I can already tell this kidnapping is nothing like the last one. Last time he was very young. Early twenties at the most. Ten years later and that boy who wanted me to like him, wanted to win my cooperation with some sick form of domestic seduction that included keeping house and taking care of him the way a wife might, is gone.
In his place is a man who wants very different things. In his place is a man who wants… a woman.
“I’m still so young,” I try.
But his hand presses on my head even harder, making me whimper. “I’ve been patient, Daisy. I let you graduate from college. I watched you have your fun. Date a few men. Have sex. And now look, you’re nothing but a whore.”
Oh, God.
“You’re pregnant with another man’s child. If we want to be happy, that parasite inside you needs to be dealt with.”
And then his hand slips between my legs and shocks me out of my compliance. I elbow him, striking something hard, like his cheek or his neck, and he grunts in surprise. I have a split second of satisfaction before the throbbing in my head takes over.
“How dare you!” he bellows, his fist connecting with the back of my head over and over. “How dare—”
I elbow him again and this time I twist out from underneath him when he recoils. He recovers and pins my shoulders to the table with both hands. “I’ll kill you for that.”
