Chapter 12

Chapter

Twelve

February 17th

2:16 P.M.

Panther's heart was heavy as he and his team drove into their compound.

Failed.

He'd failed once again in finding Elle's daughter and now he had to tell her he still hadn"t found her little girl. Seeing the pain and heartache on her face as he broke the news was going to shred him to pieces. Even though he knew she had to know that Ruthie hadn"t been at the house they'd gone to search because he would have called her immediately if he'd found her child, she was still going to be holding out hope.

Wouldn't be able to help it.

And he was going to dash that hope to pieces.

How many more times could she survive believing she might get her daughter back only to have to once again face the possibility that her child was gone forever?

Each time it would destroy another piece of her, and he was afraid that even if Elle got Ruthie back, she would have lost too many pieces of herself to still be the same woman she had been before.

If she didn"t get her daughter back … Panther wasn't ready to go there yet.

So close.

They had been so close this time to finding Ruthie and Jimmy. He'd been right. The house of his old doctor was exactly where Jimmy had been hiding out. There was evidence that someone had been there recently, although there were no signs of Dr. Francis Wells. While he wouldn't be surprised to find a body buried in the backyard, it had been the living he'd hoped to find there.

With a fridge and pantry stocked with child-friendly food, a little girl's bedroom upstairs similar to Ruthie's room at home, and a room in the basement with a door that locked from the outside it was obvious that a child had been staying there. Clothes were left behind, and the sheets on the bed weren"t clean, there was a toothbrush in the bathroom cabinet, and dirty dishes in the sink. Panther was sure that DNA would be found and that when compared with both Ruthie and Jimmy's, it would prove that both had been in the house.

But that didn"t solve the question they needed answers to.

Where were the pair now?

Panther sighed as he climbed out of the car and walked toward his front door. As much as he didn"t want to do this, it was best to just do it and get it over and done with.

Excited chattering filled the room as he opened the door, and the second the girls spotted them, Jessica was flying across the room and throwing herself into Scorpion's arms. "It's ours. It's our baby," she repeated over and over again.

Clutching her to his chest like she was the most important thing in the world, Scorpion buried his face in her neck and sank to his knees, tears unabashedly streaming down his cheeks and he rocked her from side to side. "It's our baby? Yours and mine?"

"Yours and mine," Jessica echoed. "I"m sorry, I know I should have told you first, but I was so happy, so relieved I couldn't hold it in, and I didn"t want to distract you while you were raiding a house. But it's ours, Mason. Our baby. Yours and mine."

Pulling her back so he could see her face, Scorpion framed it with his large hands, his thumbs catching her tears. "It was always ours, Jess. Always. I would have loved that baby with everything I had to give. But knowing there's no part of that monster growing inside you, that you don't have to be scared and stressed, and try to be all noble and do this alone, that's what I care about. You're free, which means our baby is free."

"I love you so much," she exclaimed, pressing her lips to Scorpion's.

"Love you more, sweetheart," Scorpion whispered against her mouth.

"I did save one thing to tell you first," Jessica said, pure love and adoration shining in her eyes that right now were the brightest blue he'd ever seen. "It's a girl. We're having a daughter. A sweet little baby girl who is going to have her daddy wrapped around her little finger before she even makes her big entrance into the world."

Fresh tears streamed down Scorpion's cheeks. "I"m having a daughter? You hear that, guys, I"m going to have a little girl." There was so much pride and love on Scorpion's face that Panther couldn't not smile despite the heaviness in his heart for the news he had to deliver.

As everyone offered congratulations to the happy couple, he scanned the room looking for Elle.

Only she wasn't there.

Andy was bouncing on the couch, catching all the grown-up's excitement, but there was no sign of his girl.

"Guys, where's Elle?" he asked, a bad feeling settling in his gut.

"Oh, I"m sorry, Panther, I think I upset her," Jessica said, the smile falling from her lips, replaced by an anxious frown. "I was so excited I came bursting in here to tell her the news about Mason being the baby's father, and I think I reminded her of Ruthie. I mean, not that she doesn't think of her daughter every second of every day, but I think I made it worse. She said she wasn't feeling well and went upstairs to lie down. I"m sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Jess. I"m so thrilled for you." Panther went to her and kissed her cheek. "For both of you," he added, giving his friend a one armed hug. "I"m so relieved everything worked out the way it should have. I"m just going to go up and check on her."

"You didn"t find Ruthie?" Jessica asked, one hand moving almost absently to caress her stomach.

"No, but she was there. We just have to find where Jimmy took her when he left," he said as he headed for the stairs. He completely understood why Elle had needed some time to herself. Sweet and loving as she was, it had to be hell for her to see Jessica's joy over her pregnancy and know that her own daughter had been snatched away from her and might never come home.

Taking the stairs three at a time, he bypassed Andy's room and Mrs. Pfeffer's room, knowing that if Elle needed to feel safe and comforted she would have sought his bed.

At least, that's what he thought, but when he opened the door to his room his bed was empty.

"Elle?" he called out as he headed for the ensuite.

There was no answer and the bathroom was empty as well.

That gnawing in his gut that said something was wrong grew as he ran back into the hall, throwing open the doors to the other two bedrooms and the other bathroom.

All of them were empty.

Elle wasn't there.

"She's gone," he called out as he ran down the stairs. The room went instantly silent.

"What do you mean?" Tillie asked. "She went up there to rest."

"She's not there and the bed hasn't been touched since it was made this morning," he said.

"So she left?" Ariel looked confused. "Why would she tell us she was going up to lie down but leave?"

"Daddy," Andy said, tugging on his hand.

"In a minute, bud. What did she say exactly?" he asked the women who were the last ones to see his girl before she just vanished.

"But, Daddy?—"

"In a minute, Andy," he repeated, more firmly this time.

"She just said she was supposed to be watching Andy but was feeling sick and needed to lie down," Tillie said.

"She wouldn't just leave though," Tank added.

"Something must have happened," he said, raking his fingers through his hair. Why would she leave without telling him? She knew he would do whatever it took to bring her daughter home.

"He phoned her once already, right?" Rock said. "So maybe he called again."

"Daddy," Andy said, reaching for his arm.

"I said hold on a minute, Andy. Yeah, he called once, but if he called again I don't know why she wouldn't tell me."

"Maybe she couldn't," Trick reminded him. "Maybe he threatened her. Maybe she thought her only chance was to follow his instructions."

"Handing herself over to the man who's obsessed with her on a silver platter isn't the answer. Elle is smarter than that," he shot back, frustrated mostly because he hated this feeling of helplessness.

"She's a mother," Jessica said softly, her hands on her stomach as she leaned into Scorpion's side. "This little one isn't even here yet, and I would do whatever I had to in order to protect her. Elle would do the same for her daughter. If he threatened Ruthie, Elle would go to him."

"Damn it," he roared as the helplessness soared. Elle absolutely would do anything to keep her daughter safe, but just going off without at least leaving him a clue so he could come after her was still reckless, and it wouldn't keep Ruthie safe for long. Jimmy wanted Elle not her daughter, and sooner or later once he had Elle, Panther was sure he would wind up disposing of the little girl.

"Daddy!" Andy yelled in a voice he hadn"t heard his son use before. "Elle told me I had to tell you something. She said I had to tell you, there's no place like home."

No place like home.

He should have known better than to think even for a second that Elle would just leave and not give him a way to find her.

Snatching up his son he hugged Andy hard. "Sorry, buddy, should have listened to you. I think you just saved Elle and Ruthie's lives."

At least if he could get to them in time.

February 17th

4:40 P.M.

What happened next?

Elle was terrified that she already knew the answer to that question.

Her face throbbed where she'd hit it against the side of the table when Jimmy threw her off him earlier, and her ribs screamed with every breath she took because she'd hit them, too. But it was fear for her daughter that left her almost paralyzed.

Every time she saw the hand-shaped bruises on Ruthie's slender neck, she was forced to confront how close she had come to losing her only child.

She'd been late, and Jimmy had been in the process of following through on his threats to kill Ruthie when she burst into her house. No matter how long she lived, whether Jimmy wound up killing her or she died of old age, she would never forget seeing his big hand wrapped around her child's small throat.

But Ruthie was alive, and currently huddled against her side. The feel of her daughter's tiny frame was the only thing keeping her strong. Ruthie's life was in her hands and she wasn't going to mess up.

She couldn't.

Messing up meant losing her child and that wasn't going to happen.

Jimmy nodded approvingly as Elle put the final dish away in the china cabinet. True to his words, he had the table set and ordered her to cook them a roast meal like the kind you'd have for Christmas day. After they'd finished eating, she and Ruthie had washed all the dishes by hand while he sat in a chair and stared at them in the creepiest way imaginable.

Like he was undressing her with his eyes, and Elle had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly what was going to happen next.

Where was Rafe?

Why hadn"t he come?

She was sure he would have made it back to the compound by now. Wherever he went to look for Ruthie, her daughter hadn"t been there and she knew that Rafe would want to break the news to her himself. Andy was a smart little boy, and she had no doubts that he had told his father exactly what she'd asked him to.

So why wasn't Rafe there?

Had he not understood the clue she left with Andy?

That seemed to be the only logical conclusion because Rafe would come after her, she knew he would. There was no way he would leave her and her daughter alone with a lunatic for a second longer than he had to.

Was he out there right now? Planning the best way to enter the house without getting her and Ruthie killed in the process? If he was out there, or if he'd hacked into the house's cameras, he would have seen that Jimmy had a weapon on him.

Writing romantic suspense was one thing, but living it was another. Elle wasn't cut out for this. She was so sick of being shaky and scared all the time, of the pressure in her chest, and the weight in her stomach. She didn"t want to live balancing on a knife's edge any longer, terrified that at any second she would slip and slice herself open.

"Perfect." Jimmy nodded as he pushed away from the table.

When he stepped toward them, Ruthie pressed closer against her side, and Elle wrapped an arm protectively around her daughter's shoulders shifting slightly so she was between Jimmy and Ruthie.

"Time to put the kid to bed so the two of us can have some alone time."

Shivers danced up her spine at the way he looked at her when he said it. She knew exactly what he meant by alone time, and her entire body rebelled at the notion.

Just because she didn"t want this man to touch her, if it was the only way to protect her child, to buy time until Rafe could come for them, then she would absolutely allow him to do anything he wanted to her.

Ruthie was her priority.

Ruthie was her everything.

Any sacrifice was worth it if it ensured that her daughter lived.

"Bedtime? Mommy, it's not dark yet," Ruthie said, her sweet little voice music to Elle's ears.

Quickly, before Jimmy could say anything, she leaned down and picked up Ruthie. At seven, she was really too big to be carried, but Elle wanted her daughter close and to protect her from Jimmy. "It's okay, baby. Sometimes we need an early night, and I bet you"re really tired after today, it's been a big day."

Giving a nod, Ruthie snuggled closer, resting her head on Elle's shoulder and she relaxed. Jimmy nodded approvingly, and she knew she had averted a crisis. It was clear that Jimmy didn"t care about Ruthie at all, so while theoretically Elle should be safe enough with him for the foreseeable future, her daughter was not.

Carrying Ruthie up the stairs to her bedroom, she quickly got the little girl into her pajamas and tucked into bed with her favorite stuffed unicorn. For weeks, Elle had dreamed of this, of having her little unicorn girl home, of tucking her into bed like she always did, reading to her, singing to her, and kissing her goodnight.

But it wasn't supposed to be like this.

The man who had stolen her daughter wasn't supposed to be standing in the doorway with a gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans.

Her little girl was supposed to be safe once she came home, but Ruthie was no safer now than she had been for the last month.

Since she didn"t want to risk Jimmy's anger, Elle didn"t read to Ruthie, but she did sing to her, stroking her daughter's hair as she held the little girl close against her breast. She didn"t care that the added weight of the child against her cracked or broken ribs hurt so badly she had to fight back tears, all that mattered was that she was holding her daughter again.

When she sensed Jimmy getting antsy behind her, Elle laid Ruthie back against her pillows, and kissed her forehead. "I love you, little unicorn girl, so very much," she whispered.

"Love you, Mommy," Ruthie's teary but brave voice whispered back.

Letting her daughter go was the hardest thing in the world when all she wanted to do was keep her little girl glued to her side, but somehow, she managed to straighten, turn on the nightlight, make sure the covers were tucked up to Ruthie's chin, and walk out the door, closing it behind her.

Left alone with Jimmy, it took all her willpower not to scream and try to run away. But with her daughter in the house and Jimmy armed, she couldn't do anything without risking Ruthie's safety, and that was the one thing she wouldn't do.

So when Jimmy took her hand and led her down the hall to the master bedroom, she let him. And when he opened the door, and she saw rose petals strewn about and lit candles on every available surface, she fought her instincts to run.

Just like she fought them again when he guided her into the middle of the room and stood there staring down at her like he couldn't wait to devour her. And again when he began to undress her.

Afraid that at any second she would break, lash out, and do something that would get her daughter killed, Elle allowed her mind to drift away and find a place to hide. It hid itself in Rafe's rustic cabin, up in his big bed, surrounded by his scent.

Rafe was coming, she believed that with every fiber of her being. All she had to do was hold on until he got here.

When he had her naked, Jimmy's hungry eyes roamed her body, his hands seemingly everywhere at once. They touched her breasts, tweaking her nipples painfully. They skimmed her hips then swept all the way up until they circled her neck, squeezing just enough to hurt before sweeping down again.

They brushed up the inside of her thighs, and when he touched her between her legs, Elle wasn't strong enough to stop tears from leaking out.

You can do this.

For Ruthie, you have to do this.

Be strong.

Your daughter needs you.

Anything for Ruthie.

The internal pep talk was the only reason she didn"t fight him as Jimmy pushed her back onto the bed, then unzipped his jeans. His length sprung free as though it had a mind of its own and had only one goal.

As he climbed onto the bed, covering her body with his much larger, much strong one, Elle turned her face away. If she had to do this to keep Ruthie safe she would, but she couldn't look at him while he raped her.

"Eyes stay on me," Jimmy growled as one of his hands grabbed her face, squeezing her cheeks painfully as he turned her head so she had no choice but to look at him.

If he even noticed she was crying he didn"t say anything. She felt him lift his hips, and she prepared herself for the intrusion that would forever change who she was even if by some miracle she and her daughter survived.