Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

He’d given her everything. How dare she run from him?

Joel seethed inwardly as his thoughts turned once more to Ainsley. When he got her back home, where she belonged, she would never be allowed to leave again.

He’d been absolutely furious the night he’d found out that she was gone. At first, he wasn’t even sure what had happened. Surgery had run late, and he’d gotten home from the hospital about nine o’clock. The lights were on in the kitchen and living room, and the savory scent of roasting meat and vegetables filled the air.

He’d set the roses on the counter next to the others, then went in search of Ainsley. But she wasn’t there.

He’d torn the house apart looking for her, searching every room. But instead of waiting up for him, as he expected of her, she was just… gone.

Her purse hung on the hook next to the door as it always did, and her car was parked in the garage next to his. He’d spent a restless night in bed, tossing and turning, running different scenarios through his head. A few days later he’d run into a neighbor standing by his mailbox. Joel had decided to do some fishing.

As it turned out, the guy’s kid had been sick the day before, so Dave had been home all day. According to the nosy neighbor, an Uber had pulled up near his house late that morning and a woman matching Ainsley’s description had climbed in with only a small bag.

Joel had immediately gone home and searched through her things again. That’s when he found it. Ainsley wasn’t good with technology and though she’d tried to delete the email, he’d been able to retrieve it easily enough.

Joel grimaced as he shifted, wishing he could stretch his legs. For the past several hours he’d been nearly frozen in place, waiting.

He’d sneaked into the house early this morning when the woman left for work. She’d pulled out of the garage and turned onto the street, completely oblivious to the fact that the garage door hadn’t closed behind her.

Joel had spent the day exploring the house, looking for any sign of Ainsley. There was nothing. It was obvious she wasn’t staying here, so where was she? It seemed only Tess knew the answer to that—but he was damn well going to find out.

He’d listened to the sounds of the TV, of the woman moving around the small house as she made dinner, then got ready for bed. Finally, everything was silent and still. He waited another hour before venturing out of his spot in the closet of the spare bedroom.

On silent feet he crept to the kitchen and removed a knife from the block. He’d taken the time to sharpen it earlier before replacing it, leaving no room for error. Curling his fingers around the hilt of the knife, he made his way down the hall to her room. The door stood open, and he watched her a moment before stepping silently up to the side of her bed.

She lay curled on her side facing away from him, and he stroked a finger down the length of her arm. She shivered at the feather-light touch and rolled toward him, her lashes flickering several times before opening. He could see the wheels turning as she gradually came awake and his presence registered. “Hello, Tess.”

Her lips parted on a silent scream but he covered her mouth and nose with a gloved hand, one knee pressing into the soft cavity of her stomach. She thrashed beneath him, eyes rolling in terror, and he climbed atop her, using his weight to pin her to the mattress. Incoherent sounds came from low in her throat as she tried to scream, call for help, plead for her life.

Pulling a roll of duct tape from the pocket of his sweatshirt, he glared down at her. “I’m going to move my hand now. Scream and I’ll kill you. Nod if you understand.”

Her head moved briskly up and down, and he lifted his hand. Her words came out on a whisper. “Who are you?”

Ignoring her question, he tore a strip of tape from the roll. “Lift your hands.”

She did as he asked, and he looped the strip around her hands. “Please, I have money, I can?—”

He shook his head. “I don’t need money, Tess. I need answers.”

Confusion clouded her eyes for a moment before recognition dawned across her pretty features. “You.”

“Yes, Tess.” A cold smile curled his lips. “It’s me.”

“You’ll never find her.” Her voice shook, and he pressed his lips into a firm line as he wove the tape in a figure eight around her wrists. “She doesn’t want to be with you.”

He made a tsk-tsk sound low in his throat. “All you have to do is tell me where she is.”

“Never.”

Her gaze was hateful, and exhilaration zinged through him. He was going to enjoy knocking her down a peg. Grabbing her bound hands, he yanked them high over her head. Tess bucked wildly beneath him, trying to throw him off, but his weight kept her pinned in place.

He grinned down at her. “You sure you don’t have anything to tell me?”

She remained stubbornly mute, and Joel looped the tape around a slat in the headboard. She yanked and pulled against him, and he dug his thumb into her pressure point, causing her to cry out. Once her hands were secured, he glared down at her. “Ready to talk?”

“Fuck you.”

A harsh ripping sound filled the air as he tore another strip of tape from the roll and held it up. “Mouthy bitch.”

He leaned forward, putting more pressure on her torso. “Last chance, Tess. Just tell me where she is.”

She shook her head, eyes hard as she stared up at him. “No. Don’t you get it? She hates you,” she spit out. “You’re an abusive prick, and she?—”

He slapped her hard, snapping her head to the side and halting the flow of of ugly words. She had no idea what she was talking about. Ainsley meant everything to him. “Shut the fuck up.”

She tossed her head in an effort to get away, but he fisted one hand in her hair, trapping her in place. Tess let out a soft shriek at the sharp bolt of pain, and Joel slapped the tape over her mouth. “I warned you.”

Reaching into his black boot, he retrieved the knife and held it up, the long blade glinting in the moonlight. Her eyes rolled with terror as she writhed against him. The blade slashed against her forearm and blood trickled from the wound as a thin red line appeared.

She recoiled, her voice muffled as she tried to scream, hampered by the tape.

“You should have listened,” Joel warned, digging the blade into the fleshy part of her upper arm before slicing into the soft skin.

“You had to know this would happen. Did you think I would let you live after what you’ve done?” Her eyes widened as he lifted the knife and dug the blade into the space between her ribs. “You took her away, poisoned her against me.”

She screamed as the tip dug deeper, cutting into her flesh. “I’m going to find her. I’m going to bring her back home—where she belongs. And I’ll kill anyone who stands in my way.”

The knife sank deep, and she arched violently, her scream penetrating the tape over her mouth. Her face twisted in pain, and his pulse accelerated.

He pulled the blade free, blood arcing through the air and spattering on the wall and headboard before he plunged it deep once more. Over and over he drove the knife into her torso until her body was limp, her flesh and nightdress a shredded, mangled mess. Blood saturated the bed, seeping into the dark clothes he wore.

For a moment he sat there, chest heaving with exertion. He’d held people’s lives in his hands before. But never like this. It was… exhilarating.

But he’d spent too much time here already. Every minute he spent here increased his chances of being caught. Reaching over, he picked up the woman’s phone sitting on the nightstand and used her lifeless hand to bring up the main screen.

He scrolled through her contacts first but found nothing. Next he went through her emails. That was how Ainsley had contacted her the first time; perhaps they’d stayed in touch, though she obviously wasn’t using the same email address. He’d been watching it periodically, but there had been no activity since the day she’d disappeared.

He scowled when her email history turned up nothing of value. There had to be something, damn it!

Next he sorted through the call log. There were dozens of unlisted numbers, probably sales calls or offices calling to confirm appointments. Finally, he hit pay dirt in her messages.

Tucked between conversations with other friends and family members, he found a short chat from an unknown number. The person on the other end recited that they were okay and had picked up hours working at a bar.

His pulse kicked up. Was this Ainsley? It had to be.

He scrolled the rest of the message. The mention of the bar’s owner, Marv, had red creeping into the edges of his vision. Ainsley was his . If the man was trying to make a move…

He shook his head. One thing at a time. The important thing was, he had a lead. She was working at a bar with a man named Marv. Couldn’t be too hard to find him.

Joel crawled from the bed and glanced down at the woman. Her eyes were open and vacant as she stared at the ceiling.

She deserved this. She’d taken Ainsley away from him, turned her against him. But he would find her. He would bring her home where she belonged.

And no one would come between them ever again.