Chapter 5

CHAPTERFIVE

Pipe wasn’t completely surprised at Cora’s pronouncement. He’d had a feeling it was something like this from the little she’d said earlier. “Go on,” he encouraged.

He was impressed with the woman sitting across from him. The accusation she was making was serious, and he supposed if there was proof of what she was saying, the police would’ve acted by now. But despite the lack of such proof, instead of giving up, going home and getting on with her life, she was digging in her heels. It was more than obvious she truly believed what she was saying.

“About three months ago, Lara met this guy. To me, it seemed a little too coincidental. They bumped into each other at the coffee shop she goes to every morning. I’ve told her more than once that she needs to change up her routine every now and then. You know, not go to the same place at the same time every day, not take the same route home, stop going to the grocery store every single Sunday at ten in the morning, that kind of thing. But Lara’s always been a little naïve.

“Anyway, she came to work all excited about the tall, dark, and handsome guy she’d met. Within just days, she was spending all her free time with him. He said all the right things and apparently was very generous. He showered her with gifts, which she loved. Her family is rich, and she grew up having everything she wanted. Not that she’s spoiled, far from it, but she’s never really known hardship. I think having this guy give her little presents because he supposedly cared about her was very flattering for her.”

Cora stopped, and Pipe could tell she was thinking back on her own hardships. His hands clenched in his lap. He hated that this woman had obviously suffered. That she’d had to be tough and look after herself since childhood. Being in the foster care system wasn’t easy, and he recalled the pain in her voice when she’d talked about being rejected by family after family.

“I wanted to meet him, but every time we planned to hang out, his plans suddenly changed. And not just a few times, but over and over for weeks. But Lara continued to sing his praises. And to be honest…he simply sounded too perfect. Good looking, rich, completely devoted to Lara after just days…not that I think she couldn’t attract a guy like that, and she certainly deserves one. But when I looked him up on social media, there wasn’t much there. And the little I did find consisted of pictures of him with beautiful women, or posing alone in front of expensive cars and boats. Look, I get it, social media isn’t real life, but there was nothing there that made me think he was anything but a playboy, let alone a good match for Lara.

“I also thought it was a bit weird that she fell for someone who wasn’t sticking around. Apparently he travels a lot, and he was here on a project for his dad. That didn’t seem like the best set-up for a long-term relationship, especially when Lara’s job was here.

“I was already suspicious of his feelings for her, but by the fifth time he’d had something come up unexpectedly when we were supposed to go out for drinks, I knew something wasn’t right. Most men who want more than a casual fling would want to meet their women’s friends, wouldn’t they? But he was going out of his way to avoid meeting me. It didn’t sit well, but Lara kept making excuses for him and reassuring me that he did want to meet, but the timing never worked. She was head over heels in love with this guy by this point, and she had serious stars in her eyes.

“He finally agreed to go out for dinner with us shortly before Lara disappeared from town. Believe me, I honestly wanted to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, because Lara had nothing but great things to say, and she was crazy about him. But meeting him face-to-face didn’t make any of my concerns dissipate. If fact, it only made me more sure that he was a total dirtbag.”

“How so?” Pipe asked.

“He wouldn’t meet my eyes, not even when he shook my hand. His phone kept going off with notifications and texts, and he wouldn’t put the damn thing down to talk to me or Lara. He made a few off-color, inappropriate jokes, and he subtly put Lara down. She didn’t even notice, but I did. I’d lived with my share of foster parents who did the same thing, so I recognized what he was doing right away—a power play. Everything he did and said was about control.

“And to top it all off, when our waitress came to the table, he couldn’t take his gaze from her tits. The guy made my skin crawl, and I honestly hated everything about him. I couldn’t believe Lara didn’t see any of it.

“Of course, right before our meals came, he got another text and told Lara that he was sorry, but he had to leave. He didn’t say why, just simply got up and left.”

“Please tell me he paid for your meal on his way out,” Owl muttered.

“Of course he didn’t,” Cora snorted. “I could tell Lara was upset that he’d left, but she pretended everything was fine. Told me he was a very busy man with a lot of important deals he was working on.

“When we got back to her place…we had a fight,” Cora said softly. “I told her that he was no good, that he was going to hurt her. Lara very rarely raised her voice, especially to me. But she yelled at me that night. Told me I was just jealous, that she wasn’t going to let my bitterness ruin the best thing that had ever happened to her. It hurt. I don’t think we’d ever fought like that before. And I wasn’t jealous. If she found someone who honestly loved her like she deserved to be loved, I would be pushing them together. Would do everything in my power to help that relationship along. But this guy…no. He was self-centered and immature and a womanizer, and I didn’t want my best friend anywhere near him.”

“What’s his name?” Owl asked.

“Ridge. Ridge Michaels. I tried to do more research on him, but most of the stuff I found online was about his rich parents. I discovered where he went to high school, and saw a ton of pictures of him in tuxedos at one fancy event after another, but nothing really substantive.”

“Can you describe him?” Pipe asked.

“Of course. He’s younger than us, maybe around thirty? He’s tall; about the same height as Lara, so five-ten or so. Short dark brown hair, brown eyes. His nose has been broken at some point because it’s a little crooked. He’s built, muscular, not fat at all. The night we went out for our unsuccessful dinner, he’d dressed casually in a pair of brown slacks that had perfect creases and a polo shirt. He looked like a successful businessman, but…” Her voice trailed off.

“But what?” Pipe asked.

Cora shook her head. “You’ll think it’s stupid.”

“No, we won’t,” the men said at the same time.

Cora’s lips twitched before she sighed. “I’m not sure that he actually works at all. I mean, according to Lara, he allegedly owns some kind of technology company…she wasn’t sure of the details…but he didn’t seem to know how to use some of the features on his own phone. Hell, Lara had to show him how to adjust the font size when he complained he couldn’t read his texts.

“Anyway, our fight was on a Friday night. I didn’t talk to her all weekend, I was still too upset that she wasn’t taking my concerns seriously. That she wouldn’t even listen to me. By Monday morning, I was anxious to see her. To apologize, even though I didn’t think I had anything to be sorry about. I wanted to have a rational conversation about Ridge. Spell out my concerns and make her understand that they were coming from a place of love and concern, but she didn’t show up for work.”

Cora looked at Owl, then Pipe. “You have to understand, Lara very rarely misses work, and then only if she’s sick, because she doesn’t want to pass any kind of illness to the children. She lives and breathes her job, and she has something like three months of vacation time built up. I immediately knew something was wrong. The office told me there was nothing to worry about, that there was an email sent Saturday morning to HR about her taking a leave of absence. I immediately knew that was bullshit. Lara wouldn’t just leave without talking to me.”

“But you fought,” Owl reminded her.

Cora shook her head vehemently. “No! I mean, yes, we did, but there’s no way Lara would have just left work without arranging it well in advance. She’s too responsible. I immediately texted her, and she responded, but the wording was wrong on her reply.”

“How?” Pipe asked.

Cora looked away briefly. “She didn’t use punctuation,” she said quietly. When Owl gave her a skeptical look, she straightened. “And before you tell me that’s not proof, you don’t know Lara like I do. She got a hundred and four percent in her advanced English class in high school. And in college, she continued to get A’s in all the classes where she had to write papers. Look, I’ll show you,” she said almost desperately.

She pulled out her cell phone and clicked on a few buttons before practically thrusting it at Pipe. He took it and scrolled through the messages on the screen.

“If you go back, you’ll see that before she took this so-called leave of absence, she used periods, commas, exclamation points every now and then. Her punctuation is always perfect. It’s a point of pride that I’ve teased her about for years. But in her more recent texts, there’s nothing. It’s just not like her.”

Pipe had to admit she had a point. He handed the phone to Owl.

“I went to the cops. They said she was an adult woman and could decide to take a spontaneous vacation with her boyfriend if she wanted. The fact that she was still texting me was enough for them to conclude she was fine. They dismissed me as if I was just being paranoid. I’m not. This Ridge guy kidnapped her. He’s not letting her talk to me. And I’m scared to death that he’s going to do something awful to her, if he hasn’t already.”

“When did all this happen? How long has she been gone?” Owl asked.

“A month and a half,” Cora whispered. “He’s had her for almost two months.”

Pipe didn’t want to ask his next question, but he had to. “Do you have any proof that she’s still alive? Have you talked to her at all?”

“She’s alive. At least, she was two weeks ago. I kind of lied and texted that the Phoenix police would be knocking on their door if she didn’t call me, if I couldn’t see or hear for myself that she was all right. I went through her apartment—and no, I’m not sorry—and found an address for Ridge in Arizona. The phone rang two hours later. It was Ridge. He wasn’t happy. Told me that he’d press charges for harassment if I didn’t stop. I told him that until I spoke to Lara, I wasn’t ever going to stop. He turned FaceTime on, and Lara was there. They were sitting on a bed together. She wasn’t herself,” Cora said in a shaky tone.

“In what way?” Owl asked.

“She seemed really…off. I apologized profusely for our fight, even though I still felt more than ever that I was right. Her voice was wooden. Monotone. Her gaze kept drifting away from the screen. But she accepted my apology, and told me she was happy and that she wasn’t returning to DC. I panicked. I mean, she’s spent her entire life here. She loved her job. Her parents are here. But more than that, she just seemed so unemotional about it all. As if she wasn’t really there. It was Lara, but it wasn’t…if that makes sense.”

Pipe nodded.

“Then Ridge pointed the camera back on himself, told me now that I’d seen Lara and knew she was fine, I needed to leave them alone to live their lives. He told me to butt out and hung up.”

“So what do you think we can do?” Owl asked.

Cora turned to him. “Go in and get her,” she said without hesitation.

Owl frowned. “We can’t just kidnap her.”

“I know! I mean, I technically know. But a part of me still wants to do just that. He’s hurting her. I know it. The person I saw on that video phone call wasn’t my friend. It looked like she was drugged or something. And she’s protecting me. I have no doubt about that. I think Ridge threatened her to say what she did.”

“You can’t actually know that—” Pipe started.

“I do!” Cora interrupted fiercely, then paused, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. “Look…Lara and I watched a movie together once. A woman was kidnapped and held hostage by her mafia boyfriend. When her mom finally got to see her, she sent her a secret message, letting her know that she wasn’t there of her own free will. The movie was horrible. Really cheesy and stupid. But we watched until the end anyway…then we talked about what we’d do if we were ever in a situation like that.”

She stood, as if she needed to burn off nervous energy. She paced briefly behind her chair, wringing her hands. “Of course, we both insisted we’d never be so stupid, but we were having fun, discussing something we assumed would never happen. We even came up with a signal. Something only the two of us would know—and when we were talking, she gave me that signal.

“I’m not crazy, Pipe. I’m not jealous of my friend. She’s in trouble, and I’m the only one who cares. Her parents are actually thrilled that she’s finally found a man. The police think she’s there of her own free will. But she’s not!” Cora was practically yelling by the time she finished.

Pipe hated seeing her so upset, even as he admired her fierce defense of her friend.

He didn’t care what people looked like. Didn’t give a rat’s ass how much money they had in the bank. What he did care about was loyalty. The lack of it was why he’d finally left the SAS. He’d seen too many of his superiors—who were supposed to ensure the safety of the men under their command—make decisions to further their own careers instead of protecting men and women in the field. And he’d worked with plenty of people who were more concerned about saving their own skins than about the soldiers fighting alongside them.

He knew he had PTSD after everything he’d seen and done. Not nearly as badly as some of his friends at The Refuge, but he was thrilled nonetheless that he was no longer regularly put into a position that involved a hail of bullets. Or knowing someone may or may not have an RPG pointed at his chopper. He’d been loyal to the military, but seeing others not care about the lives of soldiers under their command had affected him deeply.

The six other men who owned The Refuge were as loyal friends as he’d ever known, and he finally felt like he’d found his place in the world. Now, seeing Cora fight tooth and nail for her friend, her extreme loyalty toward her, even when most signs pointed to the fact that Lara was with this Ridge guy because she wanted to be, made his heart turn over in his chest.

“What was the signal?” Owl asked.

Glancing at his friend, Pipe noticed he was leaning toward Cora as if he could pull the information out of her simply by staring. He was also visibly tense. More so than Pipe had ever seen him before.

Then it clicked. Owl had been a hostage himself. He knew exactly how Lara was feeling…if she really was being held against her will.

Pipe wasn’t sure what he believed at the moment. Oh, he was completely sure Cora believed her friend was in danger, but whether she was or not remained to be seen.

Cora took a deep breath and did her best to regain her composure. She clutched the chair in front of her with both hands as she met Owl’s gaze. “She scratched her ear with her pinky,” she said calmly, as if she wasn’t just yelling at them a moment ago.

Pipe frowned.

“Like this,” Cora said, demonstrating what she meant. She raised her hand and, using her pinky finger, kind of stuck it inside her ear and twirled it in a small circle. “It was quick, but I know what I saw. And trust me, that’s not something Lara normally does.”

It wasn’t much…but Pipe started to believe her. What were the odds Lara would use the exact signal they’d devised if she wasn’t in danger?

“All I’m asking for is help getting her out of that house in Phoenix. I know without a doubt that if I show up and knock on the door, Ridge will deny me entry. I’d try to sneak in, but I looked up the address on the Internet and checked out the satellite view. It’s a sprawling estate. He probably has cameras and dogs and trip wires or something. I’d never get close, and then I’d end up just like Lara and we’d both be screwed. You guys have training. You can get in and out of places without anyone knowing. From that point, I’ll take care of her. Hell, you don’t even have to get us out of the city. I swear I won’t bother you further if you can just get her out of that house.”

She gave Pipe a pleading look. “I’m not crazy. And every day that goes by and she’s there…” Her voice trailed off once again, and she slumped, head dropping between her shoulders as she continued to clutch the chair.

“Lara’s the only family I’ve ever had,” she said after a moment, her voice low. “And I won’t abandon her.” Her head came back up, and she looked at both Owl and Pipe. “If you won’t help me, I’ll figure something else out. But I feel like you’re my best hope.” She flicked her gaze to Owl. “I can pay you. I’ve got the six grand I was planning on using at the auction, to win a chance to talk to Pipe. I know it’s not nearly enough, but if you tell me your price, I’ll pay you back. Even if it takes me the rest of my life, I’ll get you whatever you ask.”

Pipe didn’t like the desperation he heard in her voice. It was worrisome and simply…wrong. And he had a bone-deep instinct to fix it.

“Can you give Pipe and I a moment to talk?” Owl asked her.

She nodded and turned immediately, walking to the other side of the deserted restaurant to stare out the windows. Her back was ramrod straight, and it looked as if all it would take was one more stressor on her shoulders and she’d break into a million pieces.

“What do you think?” Owl asked softly.

He turned his attention to his friend. “She’s telling the truth.”

“I agree. But I’m not sure what we can do. It’s not like we can actually go to Phoenix and storm the house,” he said.

“Why not?” The words out of his own mouth surprised him, but he didn’t take them back.

Owl lifted a brow.

“I don’t mean kidnap her. If we put enough pressure on this Ridge guy, like going to his house every day, he’d have to let us see her eventually.”

“Or he could call the cops and claim we’re trespassing and harassing him and his girlfriend, just like he threatened to do to Cora,” Owl reasoned.

“We need more intel,” he said after a moment.

Owl nodded in agreement.

“We don’t even know if Ridge is this guy’s real name.”

He nodded again. “And if her friend really is being held against her will…we can’t turn our backs on her.”

Pipe wasn’t surprised at Owl’s thinking. He, more than most, wouldn’t be able to turn a blind eye to someone who was being held hostage. He knew how it felt. He and Stone had been through hell, and nothing would keep him from helping anyone else who might be enduring a similar situation.

“I agree,” he told his friend.

“You think there’s any way she’ll agree to stay here in DC, while we look into things in Arizona?”

Pipe snorted. “Not a chance in hell.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. I’ll call Stone. Give him a head’s up on what’s happening, and that we’ll probably have a guest coming back with us. Maybe I’ll give Tex a call to see if he can start looking into this Ridge guy too.”

Pipe nodded, turning to look at Cora. She hadn’t moved. She had her arms wrapped around her belly as if she was holding herself together. It looked like the weight of the world was on her shoulders, and he almost desperately wanted to carry that burden for her. “I’ll meet you in the lobby tomorrow morning,” he told Owl. “I’ll see if I can get her to stay in DC and let us do some recon, but if she balks at that and insists on coming with us, she’ll need to go back to her place and pack.”

“Sounds good. Shoot me a text if she’s coming with us, and I’ll take care of getting her a ticket to New Mexico.” Then Owl cleared his throat, and Pipe turned to look at his friend.

“We’re all in on this, right?”

“Absolutely,” he said with a nod. “You didn’t hear the story of how she and Lara became friends. She was a foster kid, and she aged out of the system without anyone wanting to adopt her. Lara befriended her in high school and they’ve been extremely close ever since. They’re like sisters, and if Cora says Lara’s in danger…well, I’m starting to believe her.”

“You’re right, I didn’t hear that story. But I didn’t need to. The concern and love for her friend is easy to see. Besides, after what almost happened to Alaska, the thought of anyone else going through that…it turns my stomach.”

Pipe nodded, his lips pulling down in a frown.

“All right. I’ll let you tell her what’s up. Let me know if you run into any snags, otherwise I’ll see you in the morning,” Owl said.

“Copy,” Pipe said, reverting to military speak. Up until now, everything had been somewhat casual. He’d started the evening just hoping to satisfy his curiosity about why Cora wanted to win that auction so badly. Now that he and Owl had decided to check into Lara’s situation officially, things felt more formal and urgent.

He nodded at Owl and didn’t wait for him to head toward the elevators before walking over to Cora.

She turned as he got close. Her arms were still around her waist protectively, but she lifted her chin as if preparing for him to tell her bad news.

“We’re leaving in the morning. Owl and I will meet with our friends at The Refuge and make a plan for going to Arizona to potentially talk to your friend.”

Cora’s eyes widened, then her shoulders sagged in what Pipe could only assume was relief. “You believe me?” she whispered.

Pipe stared at her for a long, intense moment before nodding.

She closed her eyes briefly before looking back up at him. “No one else has,” she said in a tortured tone.

“You know your friend better than anyone. If you say she’s in trouble, why shouldn’t I believe you?”

“Because there’s no evidence? Because she told me that she’s fine? Because what woman wouldn’t want some rich man to sweep her off her feet and whisk her away to a life of luxury?” Her tone was a bit bitter, but Pipe didn’t take offense.

“I’ve relied on my gut more times than I can count. And it’s never let me down. If you say she’s in trouble, she’s in trouble,” he said with a shrug. “Any chance you’ll wait here in DC while I go find Lara?”

Cora looked aghast. “What? No! I’m going with you!”

Pipe couldn’t stop the small smile from forming on his lips.

“What’s so funny?” she asked a little belligerently.

“Sorry, nothing. I had a feeling you’d want to come with us.”

“Of course I’m coming with you! My best friend may or may not have been kidnapped by her asshole boyfriend. There’s no way I’m staying here while you go and see her.”

Pipe nodded. Anticipation churned in his gut. He couldn’t be upset that she was coming back to New Mexico with them. He was looking forward to spending more time with the woman. Getting to know her better. Not that anything would come of it…she lived in DC, and he wasn’t going to leave The Refuge. But it had been a long time since he’d been drawn to a woman the way he was to Cora.

“All right,” he told her. “I’ll escort you back to your apartment so you can pack a bag. I’ve got two beds in my room here at the hotel. It’d be easier if you came back and stayed here, but if you don’t feel comfortable with that, I can pick you up at your place in the morning, then we can meet up with Owl and head to the airport.”

Cora nodded, even as she turned toward the restaurant’s exit. “You don’t have to take me home. I’m a big girl, and I’ve been riding the Metro my entire life without any issues.”

“I know I don’t, but if you think I’m going to let you walk off into the dark by yourself, you didn’t do as much research into me as I thought.”

Her lips twitched, then she sobered. “I just don’t want you to think I’m some wilting flower who can’t take care of myself. I’ve never had anyone to lean on before, other than Lara, and with the way I’m feeling right now—pissed off and frustrated about this whole situation—I can more than handle anyone stupid enough to come at me tonight.”

“You’ve got someone to lean on now,” Pipe said quietly as he gestured toward the exit. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

She stared at him for a moment, and Pipe had no idea what she was thinking. She was very good at hiding her emotions when she wanted to.

Finally, she nodded and walked past him.

As she did, he heard her whisper, “Thank you.”

Those two words, spoken so softly, so earnestly, did something to Pipe. He’d been thanked before, many times, but never had an expression of gratitude sounded so heartfelt.