Taking Heart (23 page)

“Now what?” Gage asked, eyeing him warily. “I told Chase we'd wait for him there.”

“If there's a chance in hell that Julia is up the road, there's no way I'm waiting around for Chase to take his sweet-ass time getting there.”

“He's got Gracie. We have no idea where to start looking. For all you know, we could be walking into a trap. What makes you think this guy would make it easy for you to find him? Pull over and wait for Chase,” Gage said.

“She's not far. I can feel it.”

“Our room is just up the road. Go there and we'll wait for Chase and Justin.”

Dylan took a deep breath, trying to control his frustration. Gage was right. They had no idea where to begin looking, and going on his gut instinct wasn't exactly trustworthy any longer. Gracie might be able to at least find a starting point for them. “Fine, call them.”

J
ULIA CURLED HER
knees to her chest, trying to stay as warm as possible, but the chill of the evening was creeping into her bones. She shivered and rubbed her arms. With nothing but a T-shirt, the goosebumps stood out on her skin. She knew it would have been far worse at any other time of the year. At least it wasn't winter. The summer nights might be chilly, but she had been through far worse. Her mind wanted to trace her steps back to the nightmare with Evan, but she refused to let it. She needed to stay alert, stay focused.

Her stomach growled loudly, and she wished she'd thought to grab the bag of food, but survival had been far more seductive than burgers at that moment. The sun was beginning to set, sending shadows curling through the trees. She had no idea how long she'd been hiding, but she hadn't heard Evan come back this way, and she prayed he'd moved farther downstream looking for her. As much as she wanted to come out of her hidden retreat, she knew it was safer to wait until darkness completely fell. There was no telling where Evan was, and the cover of darkness might be her only ally in this fight for her life.

She wondered if Justin or Chase had told Dylan she was missing. Or what they were doing right now. Justin would be tearing her house apart trying to figure out how to find her, and her sister and Bailey would be frantic. Chase would have sent word to his father and the local deputies. She wondered how long she'd been gone, how far Evan had taken her, and how wide a circle they might have made to find her.

Julia hugged her knees tighter. Her legs were beginning to cramp from the confined space. The wet, earthy scent of decay began to remind her of a grave, as if she was being buried alive. Another tremor worked down her spine, but this one had less to do with being cold than the unexplainable terror that was beginning to hover at the edges of her sanity, trying to gain a foothold in her mind. No one knew where she was, and as far as she knew, no one was even searching for her.

Unable to stand the choking darkness any longer, Julia edged out from where she'd taken refuge. A doe was creeping through the woods with her nose bent to the ground, and the deer raised her head in alarm. Julia stared at the beautiful animal, feeling slightly guilty at being the cause of her fear.

“I wondered when you were finally going to give up and come out of there.”

Dread coiled around her heart like a python at the twisted humor she heard in Evan's voice. “You're not nearly as tricky as you'd like to believe.”

Julia's eyes scanned the woods around her for an escape route. She heard only a few cars moving down the highway, so there would be no help there. Running back to the motel wasn't an option. She would have to take her chances by going deeper into the woods.

“Don't even think about it.” Evan slid the gun from the back of his waistband. “We're going back to the room and waiting for the fun to begin. Your boyfriend should be here soon. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees you.” He smiled, his teeth looking more like fangs. “We need to clean you up before he gets here. We can't have you looking like you've been rolling around in the dirt.”

“You're insane.”

Evan shrugged and grinned. “Maybe a little. You wouldn't be the first to say so.” He waved the gun back toward the road. “Let's go.”

D
YLAN PACED IN
front of their motel room while Chase let Gracie out of the car and clipped her leash on. “It's about damn time you got here,” Dylan growled while Roscoe tugged at his leash, looking across the road. “Julia is somewhere out there with that maniac, and you're having a tea party with your boss.”

“Look, I want to find her as badly as you do, but running off half-cocked isn't going to help anyone, including Julia. Evan is being methodical, patient. You need to do the same.”

“Evan nearly killed her once.”

“He's not trying to kill her this time. He wants her. It's
you
he wants to kill. As long as you're alive, she will be, too.”

Dylan's control snapped and he grabbed Chase by the collar with his free hand, dragging him toward his face, his nose nearly touching. “If you keep underestimating him, you're going to get someone killed. If he so much as lays a hand on her, I will rip him apart. Understand?”

Roscoe began barking, pawing at Dylan's leg. It was enough to get his attention. Dylan released his grip on Chase and ran a hand over his head. “I . . . I'm sorry. I just—”

“I know.” Chase laid a hand on his shoulder. “We'll find her.”

Dylan was jerked sideways as Roscoe yipped and tugged him into the parking lot. Tango was sniffing the ground, whining and dragging Gage behind him while he tried to keep him under control. “What is with these dogs?” Gage muttered.

Gracie lifted her head, looking at the sky and sniffing the air, before giving a short whimper and nudging Chase with her nose. “I don't know. It's like they miss her, too.” Chase squatted down beside Gracie. “What's up, girl?”

Dylan narrowed his eyes as Gracie sniffed the air. “She's trying to find her, Chase. Let her follow her nose.” Chase looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. “What's it going to hurt?”

Chase shook his head. “She's not trained yet, Dylan.” Dylan wasn't going to let that dissuade him, and Chase must have seen the determination in his face. “Fine. Gracie, find her.”

Gracie immediately put her nose to the ground and walked to Dylan and Gage's motel room door, sniffing the area around it before moving down several doors. Stopping at the end of the walkway, she scratched at the door and whined.

“See, I told you,” Chase complained. He moved to retrieve the shepherd.

“Knock on the door.”

Chase shot Dylan a frustrated look and rolled his eyes at Gage. Gracie continued to scratch at the door, whining. When there was no answer, Dylan moved to the window and tried to see inside. The curtains were drawn, and he couldn't see anything inside other than that there weren't any lights on. Gracie eyed Chase pitifully, as if begging him to let her in, and gave a quick bark.

“This is ridiculous. The two of you are staying at this motel. She probably smells you, or Julia on something of yours.”

“That's not our room,” Gage pointed out.

Dylan slid the phone from his pocket and hurried for the front desk. The balding man behind the counter barely glanced up from his magazine when he walked inside. “Yeah?”

“Have you seen this man?” Dylan loaded the picture of Evan at the fast-food restaurant. “He might be staying here.”

The man shrugged, his gaze sliding over Dylan and Gage behind him before returning to his magazine. “Maybe. How much is it worth to know?”

Dylan clenched his fists at his sides as Chase strolled up to the counter and flipped his badge out. The man laughed. “Don't make no difference to me who you are. This ain't the Ritz. You wanna know something, you're going to have to make it worth my while.”

Dylan lunged across the counter and grabbed the front of the man's shirt. All three dogs went crazy barking. Tango jumped up with his massive paws on the counter, and the man's eyes nearly bulged from his meaty face.

“Is my leaving your face intact worth it? I could feed you to this dog.” The man's eyes flicked to Tango and back to Dylan, as if unsure who was more dangerous.

“Yeah, okay! He was staying here. Came in yesterday.” He pawed at Dylan's shirt until he let him go, and stumbled back a few steps into his chair, knocking the magazine to the floor.

“Was there a woman with him?” Chase asked.

The clerk shot him a dubious look. “Do I seem like the sort of guy who's going to ask questions?”

“Unlock room six,” Chase ordered.

“You got a warrant?”

“Do I need one?” Dylan crossed his arms over his massive chest.

“I ain't unlocking anything.”

Dylan glared at the clerk, and the man became suddenly helpful.

“Hold on, now.” He slid a set of keys onto the counter with one singled out. “I suppose I can't help it if someone was to steal my keys and get into the room while I was on my break.” His brows arched high on his wrinkled forehead before he turned and disappeared into a room behind the office.

Dylan snatched the keys. “Let's go.”

Chase put a hand on his chest, halting him. “This could be a trap, and Evan wants you dead.
You
wait here.”

“Bullshit!” Dylan pushed past Chase and headed for the door. He slid along the wall as he approached and motioned Chase to move forward.

Chase knocked on the door. “Police, open up!” Nothing but silence greeted them. “Okay, give them to me. Let's open it up.”

J
ULIA HEARD DOGS
barking in the distance. It sounded so much like Tango, deep and echoing, and she wondered if she'd finally snapped and had some sort of psychological break. At least she knew Tango was safe. No matter what Evan chose to do to her, she'd been able to keep the dogs and her brother safe. She hoped Evan would give up on finding Dylan as well, now that his fury was directed at her for trying to escape.

Evan reached for her upper arm and shoved her forward. Her mind reeled with possibilities, ways that she might get away from him again since she wasn't restrained. He might not have the tape over her wrists and mouth, but that gun was enough to deter her from yelling for help. At least for now. She wondered how she might be able to knock it away from him without getting herself shot.

“You almost had me fooled. I even headed down the riverbank looking for you.” Evan chatted as if they were old friends, but she knew he only wanted to hear himself talk. If she spoke up, he'd make her sorry. “Then I realized you hadn't left any footprints, and I backtracked to where I'd last seen you.”

Evan jerked her arm, pulling her back into him and pressing his lips close to her ear. “I told you, you're mine and you always will be. I will find you anywhere.” He shoved her forward again, and she tripped over a branch on the ground, falling to her knees and tearing through her jeans. “Although, I must say I'm pretty disappointed with your boyfriend. He's no closer to finding you than when I took you from the kennel.”

“Dylan?” She knew she shouldn't have spoken, but it fell from her lips, a prayer spoken in a moment of weakness.

Hateful eyes fell on her as she rose from the ground. “When he finally gets here, I'm going to kill him. And I think, because you decided to play your own game with me, I'll make you watch. Now get up and keep walking.”

“Walking where? Where are we going?” Julia's legs felt like rubber and barely held her up as she continued to put one foot in front of the other. Thinking about Dylan coming for her was the only thing keeping her moving. “What makes you think Dylan even knows I'm gone?”

“Because I told him, sweetheart,” Evan explained. He spoke as if she was an ignorant child and couldn't understand. “But even if he didn't know, he'd have come back here. He's staying at this motel. Why do you think I chose it?”

Her heart leapt in her chest, pounding against her ribs. Dylan? Here? Before she could even open her mouth to voice the questions racing through her mind, Evan laughed.

“You look surprised. I took you from right under his nose. What better place to keep you in order to prove he isn't the man for you? I love you. If he can't find you a few doors down, he's worthless.”

“You
want
him to find me? To prove he loves me as much as you do?”

Without warning, Evan pulled her against him, pinning her arms to her sides as he wrapped his around her. She felt his body against hers, his arousal pressing against her stomach, and wanted to gag. The man was vile.

“I want to prove to
you
that he doesn't love you like I do. We belong together.” A confused frown furrowed his brow as he looked into the distance, toward the road. It cleared and he looked down at her, his eyes hungry. “You're mine.”

T
ANGO DRAGGED
G
AGE
toward the road, completely disregarding every command to stay. Gracie had done nothing but whine since they'd managed to open the motel room. It had been nearly empty other than a bag of food from the restaurant Evan had taken a picture in front of. Gracie pressed her nose against the corner of the dresser, where Chase was the first to see the blood.

“It's not necessarily Julia's.”

Dylan couldn't say anything. There was just as much of a chance that it
was
. He couldn't let himself consider that she might not be alive. He followed his brother out the door as Gage tried to control Tango. Luckily Roscoe was behaving, but Dylan didn't care. It was looking less and less as if they were going to find Julia safe, and his lungs didn't want to cooperate. The air was too thin, and he was struggling to breathe, to remain calm, and think about their next move.

“Okay, I've called in another deputy to get the forensics evidence.” Gracie whimpered, tugging at her leash. “What is wrong with them?”

Dylan looked down at her as she tipped her nose to the air, snuffling before turning to look back at Chase. “She smells something.”

“Yeah,” Chase agreed. “Julia, in the room.”

Dylan narrowed his eyes and watched her drag Chase behind her, taking a few steps toward the parking lot before looking back at them expectantly, as if she wanted to follow Tango. Gage was struggling to pull the huge dog back into the parking lot.

“Wait, bring them over here,” he instructed both of them, walking across the highway, at the edge of the woods. Gracie barked at Chase as they moved closer to the woods, tipping her nose up again. Dylan's heart picked up its pace. This was exactly how Gracie acted when they'd been training. “She smells her. Let her go.”