Текст книги "TORMENTED"
Автор книги: Jani Kay
сообщить о нарушении
Текущая страница: 6 (всего у книги 17 страниц)
Chapter 17 – Eva
Harrison picked me up in his arms and carried me out into the dark hallway, his footsteps creaking on the wooden floorboards. My whole body shivered in spite of the warm balmy weather. I snuggled closer to the hard, muscular chest I was pressed against, loving how comforting it felt to be so close to his beating heart.
“I’m taking you home, baby.” He grunted against my ear. “I should never have brought you here.”
He kicked a side door open, and only when my lungs sucked in the fresh air did I realize I’d kind of been holding my breath. The sweet scent of honeysuckle and gardenias mixed with citronella oil from the tall outdoor candles spiked into the grass along the path.
On a long exhale, I leaned my head back far enough so I could look up at Harrison’s face.
With his jaw set tight and his lips pursed together, he appeared intimidating and scary. But then he looked down at me, and his eyes softened as he searched my face. He carried me to a bench away from prying eyes and sat down, holding me on his lap. His hand held the back of my neck and we just sat with our eyes locked for a long moment. Taking a few deep breaths, I struggled to calm myself and gain control.
“Feeling better yet?”
I did. All the pent-up rage and frustration I’d bottled up for months and months had found an escape.
Placing my fingertips softly against his pounding heart, I nodded, totally bemused. “Who would’ve thought it possible to fuck away one’s anger?”
“Works for me. Mostly.”
“Figures. That’s such a male thing to do.”
Harrison chuckled. “Well, there is always boxing or hardcore drinking. I prefer fucking. It hurts less after. Usually.” His voice was low, teasing and oh so fucking sexy.
“Hmmm . . . I’m not convinced of that.” I rubbed over the areas where he’d bitten into my skin. There would be bruise marks for at least a few days. He noticed what I was doing and gently moved my hand away, then softly kissed my neck and the tops of my breasts. Goosebumps scattered over my chest and arms, and my breathing pattern changed to short, sharp pants. I liked rough, but what he did to me when he was gentle completely undid me.
I felt him smile against my skin. The cocky bastard was completely aware of the effect he was having on me.
“What would girls do?”
“You really want to know?” God, this is a weird conversation.
“Yeah, try me.”
“Shopping. Lots and lots of shopping. That’s number one. And then there is wine. Wine helps everything.”
“That’s such a girl thing to do.”
I still hadn’t shaken what just happened inside and my mind kept going back there. I changed the subject. “Nolan was really mad as hell.”
Instantly, Harrison’s jaw set tight again as he clenched his teeth. Tension hung between us.
“Let’s not talk about him. Unless you want me to go back and use him for a punching bag.”
“No. Let’s just go. Tonight was bizarre enough without the two of you getting physical.”
His eyes flashed dangerously. “You’re right. The only one I wanna be physical with is you.”
I swatted his arm.
“Is that right, Mr. Summers?”
“You can bet your life on it, sweetheart.”
He stood up from the bench, still holding me. “You okay to walk to the car? I don’t want to draw further attention to us. If the guys from security think something weird is going on—”
“I’m fine. I can walk on my own.”
He lowered me to the ground, still holding me across my back for support. “I’m not going to break, Harrison. I’m not a porcelain doll.”
“Um . . . yeah, I know . . . but we were pretty rough in there. I’m just worried about you.”
“That’s sweet, but I can take as good as I give. I got this.” I gave him my best smile, even though my knees felt weak and I missed the feel of his arms around me.
Harrison was such a contradiction that he made my head spin. One minute he was carnal, primal even, the next he was concerned that I was okay.
Signaling the valet to bring the car around, we stood in silence for a while, each lost in our thoughts.
“Oh crap,” I said, breaking the silence.
“What’s wrong?”
“My purse. It’s still on the table inside. I should go get it.” I ran a hand over my hair, trying to straighten it. “My keys are in there.”
“Baby, you have that just-fucked glow all over you. Not to mention a bite mark on your neck and breast that’s plain for everyone to see.” His fingertips ran reverently over the affected areas as he held my gaze. Admiration and lust mingled in his eyes. “The elegant Eva Ryder has never looked sexier, but that’s for my eyes only.”
He removed his hand, took his phone from his pocket and made a call.
“Savage, listen, buddy, where are you?”
I listened as he instructed his partner to find my purse and deliver it to his place on his way home.
“Guess you’re staying at my place again tonight,” he said with a cocky grin. “You may as well move in, you know.”
His words knocked the wind right out of me. For a commitment-phobe, Harrison was saying things I never thought I’d hear coming from his mouth. Yet, I was the one who’d not be up for it. After kicking Nolan out, I’d made up my mind that I wasn’t moving in with a guy ever again until I had a ring on my finger. That would never happen with Harrison, so the chances of me ever moving to his place were as good as zero.
Chapter 18 – Eva
Sundays were my favorite day of the week. Don’t get me wrong—I loved my job and wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. But Sundays had a special kind of magic to them. Especially those mornings when I woke up with sunlight streaming through the window, and Harrison’s warm body was spooning into my back, his leg draped over mine, and his breath on my neck.
But this wasn’t such a Sunday morning. A storm from hell raged outside, bashing tree branches against the window as the wind howled. Shivering, I pulled the covers up to my chin and sighed. No Harrison to cuddle into either.
For a few seconds, disappointment washed over me that he’d left the bed. I was still thinking about it when the delicious aroma of bacon snaked its way to my consciousness and I took another deep sniff. My stomach growled and I remembered that I hadn’t had a decent dinner the night before.
“Good morning, sunshine.” Harrison stood in the doorway of his bedroom, his hair ruffled from where my fingers had been the night before. I smiled, remembering how I’d yanked the smooth strands every time his head had disappeared between my thighs. I’d never had a lover who could eat me out like Harrison, and sometimes the sensations were just so intense that my hands did the communicating for me.
I laughed—a genuine laugh from the belly. “Good morning, handsome.”
Wearing nothing but a chef’s hat and slippers, Harrison folded his arms across his bare muscled chest and waved his cock at me. He looked fucking ridiculous, yet so achingly adorable at the same time.
“Ready for breakfast?” He beamed.
“Um, anything else other than your sausage on the menu?” I said, eyeing his erection while I held onto my side as fits of laughter shook my body. “I thought I smelled bacon?”
He fisted his cock and gave it a few tugs. My eyes widened as my mouth watered. It turned me on like nothing else watching a man play with his tool in such a confident way.
“This handsome specimen is dessert, baby. ’Cause I know you can’t get enough of my cock. But first, I have pancakes with crispy bacon and runny eggs and maple syrup, and freshly brewed coffee. How does that sound?”
“Really? You made all of that?”
“Sure. It’s Jade’s favorite breakfast. I used to make it for her on Sundays . . . especially on stormy days. She hates storms, you know, and there’s nothing like the smell of bacon to take your mind off the miserable weather.”
The way his eyes softened when he spoke about his sister made my heart melt. In those rare moments that Harrison gave me glimpses of his inner self, his gentle side that he fought so hard to hide from everyone, I couldn’t help but let him crawl just that little deeper under my skin.
“Well, that makes two of us. Since I was a kid I’ve always been unnerved by storms.” Lightning cracked just outside the window. I jumped, my whole body tensing up. “Nobody ever made me pancakes and bacon to get me through the storms though.”
He pushed his large frame off the doorjamb he was leaning against and crossed the room with a few long strides. “Wait till you taste mine. You’ll forget everything else when you sink your teeth into my fluffy pancakes.” He sat on the edge of the bed, took both my hands in his and rubbed my palms with his thumbs.
“You crack me up. You look so—”
He pulled a Zoolander expression. “—Ridiculously good-looking?”
“Yeah. The chef’s hat makes you look like a master chef and the slippers are adorable.” Just like that, and I was laughing again.
“It’s fucking cold when you slip out of a warm bed. Especially after being snuggled into a hot and curvy naked body.”
“So why aren’t you wearing clothes?”
“What, and deprive you of the amazing sight of my sausage?”
Laying my hand on his chest, I caressed over the taut skin. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
I loved this playful side of Harrison. Not many men had the confidence to pull off being silly and sexy at the same time.
“It’s you that brings it out in me, Eva.” He leaned forward and kissed me. It was sweet and tender, but with just enough passion to show me that he meant what he said.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I better go get those pancakes before they go rubbery and make a liar out of me.” He pulled the bed covers up to my chin, kissed my forehead and marched out of the room, leaving me with a perfect view of his ass, a smile and a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart.
Careful, Eva. This Harrison could catch you off guard and sneak into your heart so, so easily.
I scarfed down the pancakes, which were drizzled in maple syrup. The contrast between the sweet and the saltiness of them and the bacon was the perfect taste combination.
“Oh my God, that was the best breakfast I’ve ever had.” I rubbed my tummy as I held my mug out for a refill of coffee.
“Yeah? You sure of that?”
I knew where he was going with this.
“Of course I haven’t had dessert yet, but to be perfectly honest I think I over-ate and I’m a little bit too full now,” I teased. I wished I could burp on demand as most men were able to do, but all I could manage was a small one while I patted my stomach and handed him my empty plate. “Your fault for feeding me so well.”
Harrison’s face was priceless. “Well guess what, baby? I saved a space for your sweet pussy. Come here.”
He grabbed hold of the bottle of syrup, ripped the hat from his head and dove under the covers at the foot end of the bed, his head bopping up between my legs.
“Argggh, you are a naughty, naughty boy,” I said, only half joking as his wet mouth covered my mound.
I heard muffled sounds and lifted the covers to inspect what he was getting up to. Harrison was drizzling the sticky golden liquid all over my pussy and stomach. He threw the covers off and moved up, pouring the dripping syrup reverently over my breasts, as if he were an artist.
“This is what I call breakfast. Just the right amount of sweet and salty,” he murmured in a husky voice. God it was hot watching him lick it off me. I forgot all about the raging storm outside as I moaned, gripping the sheets as he sucked and licked and kissed his way over my body until he reached my lips.
I licked the syrup off his chin and tasted the sweetness on his tongue.
“Hmmm,” I hummed into his mouth.
“You’re good enough to eat, baby, and I can’t get enough.”
“My turn,” I said as I rolled him over. “I’ve gotta find out what sausage and syrup taste like.”
His eyes gleamed as I took the bottle from him and poured a copious amount over his cock, watching it drip down like an ice cream sundae.
“Fuck, woman, get your mouth on me.”
Harrison gripped my hair and held it to one side as I went in for a taste of dessert. I rimmed the head with my lips, causing heavy groaning to rumble from his chest. I licked and nipped and sucked, teasing him, swallowing the sweet liquid suggestively and smacking my lips. His grip tightened on my hair, pushing me down as he raised his hips, fucking my mouth with his delicious cock.
He threw back his head, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he spoke. “I’ll make you breakfast every Sunday for the rest of my life if you’ll suck my dick like that.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Chapter 19 – Eva
After we’d washed the sticky residues off one another’s bodies in a warm and relaxing bath, Harrison suggested my second favorite thing to do on a Sunday.
“Let’s go down to the bookstore and get a coffee,” he said while we got dressed. He’d given me a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt from the drawer, and I sniffed deeply as I pulled it over my head, loving the smell of Harrison on his clothes.
Okay, maybe it was my third or fourth favorite thing now that he was part of my life. Being fucked by a man like Harrison had to be number one, right? That moved everything else way down the list.
My breath hitched. “Oh, I’d love to go. There’s nothing better to do on a lazy day like today.”
Harrison raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “Well, I’d argue with that. If it were entirely up to me, I’d tie you to my bed and fuck you all day long.”
“Yeah? You wouldn’t get bored?”
He looked at me as if I’d grown a pair of horns between my eyes. “Eva, don’t you get it? You are my favorite thing. Trust me, there is nothing remotely boring about you. But I’d be a selfish boyfriend if I didn’t take you out sometimes too.”
Did he say boyfriend? I couldn’t help the grin that spread over my face.
He moved closer and slapped my ass playfully before nibbling at my ear. “I am your boyfriend, yeah?” His voice was low and gruff, with a nearly imperceptible hint of uncertainty. I loved when in spite of his usual cockiness I could still detect his vulnerability. Sure, it was only rare glimpses, but it was there never the less. It was the complexity of this man that attracted me and kept me hanging on as I tried to unravel him, layer by layer.
“You can be anything you want if you keep making me breakfasts like that.”
“I did commit to every Sunday for the rest of my life, you know. That’s a big deal for me, baby.” He kissed my neck, slowly and deliberately. “But with you, I can’t think of life in any other way.”
Funny, neither could I. Every image I had of the future somehow included Harrison. I’d never articulated it, or consciously thought about it. It just was.
He helped me into a black jacket that hung on a hook by the door. It smelled of him and I took a deep sniff while he rolled the sleeves so that my hands showed before he tied the belt around my waist and smacked my ass again. “Ready to go?”
I nodded, giggling like a silly schoolgirl.
Harrison took a large golf umbrella from the stand and held the door open for me, a wide grin on his face.
Driving in the rain wasn’t something I enjoyed, and I was relieved when we eventually made it inside the bookstore and out of the punishing wind. This was freaky weather for this time of the year, and everyone on the car radio we’d listened to had complained about how it messed up their weekend.
As much as I loved going to the beach on sunshiny days, nothing could beat the excitement I felt when confronted with shelves upon shelves of books. I lazily ran my finger along the spine of the books on the groaning shelves and selected the ones that jumped out at me.
“Take your time, Eva. I’m going to get us a table and a coffee over at the café. See you there.” He planted a kiss on my cheek and I watched his sexy swagger for a few moments as he walked away before letting out a long, relaxing sigh and indulging in one of my favorite pastimes.
Twenty minutes later, I had a stack of books in my arms from which I’d make my final selection. First I wanted to read the blurbs while sipping on my coffee in the comfort of a leather armchair.
Harrison waved me over. He got to his feet and took the pile of books from my arms, setting them on the coffee table.
“Hey you.” He gave me a lopsided grin that made my knees weak.
“Wow, this is the perfect spot,” I mused. I was never this lucky to get a table by the window with the deep comfortable armchairs.
I snuggled in, one leg under my ass and a pile of books in front of me. And the best part was I could sneak glances at Harrison’s handsome face while he was fully absorbed in the pile of car and bike magazines he’d collected off the shelves. This was my idea of bliss and the perfect date.
We hadn’t been there long when an attractive blond woman came over to our table. I was used to chicks hitting on Harrison all the time, even in my company. It never failed to amuse me how brazen some people could be.
“Excuse me,” she said, clutching her throat.
Harrison glanced up from the magazine he’d been engrossed in.
“Yeah?” he drawled warily.
“My son . . . I can’t find him. Have you seen a blond boy running around by any chance? He’s only three years old. Wearing jeans and a red shirt.” Her face grew more anxious by the moment, and tears brimmed her eyes.
“No, sorry,” I said, letting my gaze run over the area, searching for a small blond head.
“What’s his name?” Harrison asked, as he pushed to his feet.
“Mitchel. We call him Mitch.”
“And your name?”
“Jessica.”
“Don’t panic, Jessica.” Harrison placed his hand on her shoulder. “I’ll help you find Mitch.”
“Oh God, thank you,” she cried, big fat tears splashing down onto her chest. “I only turned away for a second.”
“I know, kids are amazing escape artists, huh?” He smiled at her. I guessed he was trying to put her at ease and make her feel better. “Where did you see him last?”
She pointed toward the coffee counter. “I was just putting sugar in my coffee. He was there the one second and then . . . I’ve been everywhere looking for him. It’s been over ten minutes and I still can’t find him. Oh God, what if he’s been abducted? What if somebody stole my child?” The hysteria kept rising in her voice as she twisted her hands together anxiously.
“Listen, let’s not allow all those TV shows to let us get carried away, okay? If we stay calm, we have a better chance of finding him quickly.” Harrison removed his phone from his pocket and dialed a number.
“Eva, stay here with her, but keep your eyes open, okay?”
I nodded, feeling my throat thicken too.
Harrison walked toward the coffee counter, retracing the woman’s steps.
“Jessica,” I said while placing an arm around her shoulder, “if anyone can help you find Mitch, it’s Harrison. Don’t panic, okay?”
“I’m so worried about my boy. He has to be okay. We’ve got to find him.” She talked as if she was trying to convince herself. She wrung her hands together. “And as if that isn’t bad enough, his father will kill me if anything happens to him.” The anxiety in her voice made my heart ache for her.
“We will. He’s probably just hiding somewhere thinking this is all a game.” I tried to sound calm and reassuring as I rubbed her back.
“You don’t understand. We already lost one child in an accident. We can’t lose Mitch too.” She was close to hysteria, hyperventilating as she clutched her throat. My stomach dropped to my shoes.
Pushing her down gently into the chair, I said, “Jessica, Harrison is a cop. I promise you he will find Mitch. Just take a few deep breaths, honey.”
God, please don’t let me be lying to Jessica.
I shoved my coffee into her hand. “Here, drink this. You stay here in case Mitch comes back to this spot. I’m going to go and look around too. Whatever you do, don’t lose hope.”
I couldn’t bear to see her suffer. Harrison simply had to come through for her. I shot up a prayer, hoping like hell somebody was listening.
Chapter 20 – Eva
Making my way slowly around the bookstore, my heartbeat quickened a few times when I saw a blond head, but when I realized the child was a girl, or way older than three, disappointment washed over me.
Harrison came toward me, empty-handed and with a grim look on his face.
“I’ve got men looking outside and in other stores around us. Savage is on his way, too.”
Interesting how Harrison and Savage worked together. They were a strong partnership and as far as I could gather from what Harrison had told me, they always had one another’s back, regardless of the time of day or night. I still needed to thank Savage for dropping off my purse the night before, but at that moment it seemed insignificant.
“Jessica told me she already lost one child. We have to find Mitch,” I said, choking on my words. I remembered Mia’s agony when Jaime went missing; I’d hoped I’d never see another mother experience the same thing again. But life didn’t work like that. Kids went missing every day, and for different reasons. It sucked, and a feeling of hopelessness overwhelmed me.
“Baby, you have to stay strong for Jessica. If she sees you’ve lost hope, it will frighten her out of her mind.”
“I’ll go to the bathroom and splash my face with water before I go back to check on her,” I said, turning away from Harrison.
“Eva, wait.”
I swung around. “Yeah?”
“The washrooms are the only place I haven’t checked.” He smacked his forehead with his palm. “I’ll go check the men’s room while you wait, and then we’ll check the ladies room together.”
“But—”
Harrison laid his fingers over my lips. “Shhh . . . trust me,” he said simply.
I nodded, my eyes widening as I watched him go into the men’s room. Seconds later, he emerged still empty-handed.
“I have a strange feeling about this,” Harrison said, as he gripped my arm and shoved me behind him. Without any warning, he smashed the door of the ladies room open and burst inside.
Sobs. The sobs of a child.
“Fuck,” Harrison yelled. “Stay where you are and I won’t hurt you.”
Stunned by Harrison’s aggression, I followed him inside. Standing inside a cubicle was a middle-aged woman holding a distraught little blond boy in her arms, her hand covering his mouth.
“Mitch?” Harrison said. “It’s going to be okay, buddy. Mommy is waiting for you outside.” He took a step closer to the woman. “Don’t move a fucking inch. I’m going to take the boy from you and then I’ll ask questions. You got that?”
The woman went pale and nodded. Harrison was a large man and the way he towered over her, threatening her with his body language, would be enough to make anyone agree. She shoved the boy forward and Harrison grabbed him from her.
The woman cowered into the corner, her face in her hands as she began sobbing. I had no doubt that Harrison would get the whole story out of her.
My gaze swung back to Harrison holding the boy. What astounded me most was the soft look in his eyes as he comforted the child. “Listen, buddy, this beautiful lady is Eva. She knows your mommy and she will take you to her, okay?”
Harrison reached for something inside his pocket and produced a handkerchief, wiping the tears and snot from the boy’s face before handing him to me.
I couldn’t help kissing the boy’s forehead as tears filled my eyes. Jessica and Mitch were lucky today. If Harrison hadn’t decided to spoil me, this child would most probably have become another face on a milk carton.
“You okay, Eva?” Harrison’s voice was laced with concern.
“Yeah, I’ll take Mitch to his mommy. Jessica will be so happy.” I hugged the boy for a few seconds as relief flooded my body.
“I’ll be there soon. I just need to call Savage and deal with her.”
He nodded his head toward the woman who’d sat down on the covered toilet, her shoulders slumped forward and tears streaming down her face. Somehow, I couldn’t help but feel pity for her. Something must have driven her to do something like this. Who was I to judge without knowing the whole story?
Yet I couldn’t deny that what she’d done was a terrible thing. I shuddered to think what her intentions were for the boy. And Harrison—he’d saved a boy by listening to his gut when he sensed something was off. The man never ceased to amaze me. Between him and Savage, they’d deal with the woman in the most appropriate way.
As fast as my legs would carry me, I made my way back to the café area where I’d left Jessica. She was pacing up and down, clutching her chest and talking rapidly on her phone, tears streaming down her face.
“Jessica, look who we found,” I shouted out as I approached her.
Her head snapped up, and her whole expression changed when she saw her child. My heart skipped a beat when I witnessed pure joy and love shine from her face. She sobbed even harder through her smile.
“Mitchel, are you okay, baby?” She took him from my arms and smothered his face with kisses.
I couldn’t help laughing and smiling with her while watching them reunite. It tugged at my heartstrings to see so much love between them. I was so damn proud of Harrison and what he’d done to save the day.
Yet something Jessica had alluded to earlier had stuck in my mind, and I needed an answer, so when she finally calmed down enough to talk, I ordered fresh coffees and a drink for the boy and invited Jessica to take a seat.
“Oh my God, I can’t thank you and your husband enough for helping me today. Thank you, thank you,” she said, reaching out and squeezing my hand. “I don’t normally ask strangers for help but after I’d run around hopelessly, I was so frightened that I realized I needed help.”
“Oh, it was all Harrison; he’s the hero. He found your son in the ladies room.” I didn’t want to tell her more than that, figuring that Harrison or Savage would fill her in when they had all the details. What Jessica needed at that moment was a friend and supporter. The truth and the horror of what happened would come out sooner or later.
“Where is he? I need to thank your husband.”
“Oh no, he’s not my husband,” I said, heat rising to my cheeks. The first time she mentioned it I kind of ignored it, but I didn’t want her saying something like that in front of the guys.
“He’s not? I’m sorry. It’s just the way he acted around you—I could have sworn you were a married couple. You appear to be so in love with one another.”
I just did a kind of unladylike snort-laugh, because if Jessica knew how far from the truth she was, it would be awkward.
“Honey, you said something earlier which worries me. Why did you think your husband would kill you? Is he a violent man?”
Jessica cast her eyes down for a long moment before meeting my gaze. “There’s no point in lying. Since our daughter was killed in an accident, he blames me, and our marriage is on the rocks. He yells at me all the time.” She shrugged, her eyes sad. “He’s become abusive lately, and I must admit I’m afraid of him when he goes on a rampage and threatens me. Poor Mitch hides under the bed when he starts yelling at me.”
“I’m so sorry.” Sorry was an inadequate word, but I didn’t know how else to say it. “Has he . . . physical hurt you?”
She shook her head before whispering. “Not yet.”
Shifting my weight on the chair, I thought for a long moment before speaking. “I know it’s not my business, but maybe you should get help? Have you spoken to anyone about it yet?”
Jessica ruffled Mitch’s hair before planting a kiss on his forehead. Since we’d sat down, she hadn’t stopped gently touching the boy and hugging him to her. “I’m too embarrassed. Our families think we are a match made in heaven. I don’t want to upset anyone.”
“You’ve got to look out for yourself, Jessica. And for Mitch. If something happens to you, what will your boy do?”
She lay a hand on my arm. “You’re right. Thanks for your help.”
I smiled warmly at her, hoping she’d take my advice and do something about it before she became another statistic.
Savage came toward us, a deep frown between his eyes. “Hey, Eva,” he said, but his gaze was glued on Jessica. “Um, Jessica, are you okay?”
“Lucas Savage, my God, it’s you!” Her eyes were wide, and she wiped her face removing the tear stains on her cheeks.
“You guys know one another?”
“Yeah, we were at school together,” Jessica said quickly.
Savage turned to me with a lopsided smile. “Jessica was my first crush, and the first girl to break my heart.”
Must have been one hell of a crush, because Savage couldn’t take his eyes off the pretty young woman. He ruffled the boy’s hair. “You okay, big boy?”
Mitch nodded but he tightened his hold around his mother’s neck, as if he were afraid he’d be taken from her again. Savage picked up on that, because he took a step away and said, “Nobody is going to hurt you. You are safe now, buddy.” The frown was back between his eyes.
“I never expected to see you again.” Jessica’s frown matched that on the man’s face. Something must’ve happened between them that had been left unresolved.
Savage cleared his throat. “I have to ask you to accompany me to the police station to make a statement, please.”
The pretty blonde lifted her chin in defiance. “Seriously? I can drive there myself. My car is just outside.”
Reaching out as if he wanted to touch her, Savage changed his mind midway and dropped his arms to his sides. His voice was solemn when he spoke. “Okay, suit yourself. I wanted to tell you this at the station, but a woman tried to abduct your son. This is more than just him disappearing for a while. He could have been taken.”
“Oh God,” she shrieked. “Was it Melinda?”
Savage ran a hand through his hair. “How do you know the woman’s name?”
“Melinda is my husband’s sister. I think they want to take my child from me. This was all a setup.” Her voice was high-pitched, and she clung to her child as if she’d never let him go again.
Savage grabbed her by the shoulders. “Jessica, calm down, sweetheart. The main thing is we’ve stopped her. Harrison has taken her into custody, and we’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise. I’m here to help you. So can you and your boy please come with me? I’ll drop you back here to get your car when we are done.”
Feeling awkward just standing there, I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. From the corner of my eye I saw Harrison approach us, and heaved a sigh of relief. He’d handle this the appropriate way.
“Everything okay?” His gaze went from me to his partner to Jessica.
Shrugging, I said, “I’m not sure. The woman?”
“The woman is being taken for questioning. And we’ll need a statement from you too, Jessica. My partner, Savage, will handle it from here. Are you okay to go with him?”
