Dungeon Games (Masters and Mercenaries #6.5)(55)

The Irishman’s brows rose. “Careful there, Brighton. I might think you’re being friendly.”

“I’m sorry, man.” He was about to go into a major explanation because O’Donnell was Karina’s friend and he needed to start playing nicely with Karina’s friends. “I can only…”

O’Donnell held a hand up. “I’ve met your ex-wife. I understand. Just treat Karina well and we’ll be all right, you and me. You talked to Sean? He told you what we found out about Terry Mills?”

“I’d like to know what doctor he’s seeing.” He couldn’t get his mind off the brother-in-law. Something had been off about him earlier.

“I’ll have Adam try to get his medical records. Do you think he’s faking the broken arm? Why would he do that? Is he trying to get sympathy from Karina?”

Derek could think of only a couple of reasons, but his mind was working overtime. “I need to get her to talk to me about her marriage. I’m not trying to pry, but I don’t like the fact that her brother-in-law walked in just as Karina is being threatened. Do you know anything? Were they close? Would he want revenge on her for some reason?”

O’Donnell whistled. “Damn me. You think he’s the one who’s after her. He’s been in town longer than he admitted to Karina. He’s lying about that. Who knows what else he could be lying about?”

“I don’t know, but he’s a ship captain. He’s going to be good with ropes.” His mind turned. Plug and play. Take a suspect and answer the questions. He had the who and how and the when. This was tricky because there didn’t seem to be a why, but money was always bubbling right under the surface. “Did the brother have any property of value? Karina obviously didn’t keep it. The mother died before Karina’s husband. Was the will left in probate? Sometimes it can take years.” Maybe Terry didn’t think Karina deserved anything. Or maybe there was something else he was missing.

He needed to figure out what was in that box.

“No idea, but I’ll find out. Adam can run a search on the whole family. Karina’s husband was killed in a drug related shootout. As far as I can tell, he was a good cop. There was nothing dirty about him. He was posthumously honored as a hero, but things aren’t always as they seem.” Liam looked down the hallway.

“Have you been here the whole time?” He didn’t like how long Karina was taking.

“I’ve been standing here the whole time. The only person who’s moved around back there was someone taking out the laundry. She pushed one of those carts out the back door. I went back there, but Karina was in the shower. I told her to hurry it up.”

His heart started pounding and he turned and started down the hall. He’d told Karina to skip the shower, but Liam didn’t know that. Karina wouldn’t disobey him. Shit. Shit. Shit. It made sense. It would be an easy way to get her out. “How long ago?”

Liam was running beside him. “Five minutes tops. I called out to her in the locker room, but the shower was on. She’s fine, Derek.”

But he had the sudden feeling that she wasn’t. “You didn’t see her.”

“I can’t walk into the ladies’ dressing room.”

Derek hit the dressing room running. Nothing. It was quiet with the singular exception of a shower running somewhere in the back.

Please please please please be there. Please be there.

Liam stopped in front of the lockers. “Shit, is that blood?”

Sure enough, there was a smear of fresh blood on the doorway leading to the lockers.

“Karina!” He didn’t give a shit who freaked out that he was in there. He barreled into the shower area and ripped open the plastic curtain.

Nothing but an empty stall.

“Fuck me.” Liam pulled his cell. “Sean, get out to the parking lot. He has Karina. He took her out in a laundry bin.”

Derek stood there staring at the place where the water hit the tile. She was gone. Taken by a person who had already killed four times. Gone. Right out from under his nose. He was supposed to protect her, defend her, and he’d been changing into jeans while she fought for her life. Panic slowed him, made time seem to stop.

“Lieutenant?”

Who? Where would he take her? Where the hell was she? She should have been safe in his arms, but he’d been arrogant. He’d promised to protect her.

“Lieutenant!” O’Donnell whirled him around. “Snap out of it. I know you’re terrified, but she doesn’t need her lover right now. She needs the cop. You shove everything you’re feeling down and concentrate on the case. Now.”

Derek nodded. Li was right. He had to get it together. There were clues and they might, just might lead him to Karina if he could stop freaking out and concentrate.

But first he called an APB in on Karina, Terry Mills, and Will Daley. He didn’t give a flying f*ck that he was rolling the dice, and if he was wrong they could fire him. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was finding Karina before…

Finding Karina. He was going to find Karina.

“You said it was a woman.” Liam had seen the person pushing the laundry cart. He’d called that person a she.

“I was standing a good twenty-five feet away, but she was small. I couldn’t see her hair, but there was no way that frame was male. She had breasts. I would bet they were fake. I can tell a fake set from a mile away.”