Game of Fear (Montgomery Justice #3)(23)

For a minute, he feared he’d spoken those words aloud. Then her gaze dropped to his lips and she licked her own.

Screw being good. Self-control was highly overrated.

He stepped forward until their bodies were almost touching, then gently framed her face with his palms. She didn’t move away. Instead, she closed her eyes and rose on her tiptoes to meet him halfway. He brushed his lips across hers. Once, twice, then took over the kiss and showed her some of the passion he’d been denying for so long.

“I thought we were colleagues.”

“Shut up,” she said.

He had no problem with that.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him against her, seeming to want everything he could give her and more. Blood rushed through his ears—and other places—and deep inside, some protective wall, brittle and unyielding, shattered. For the first time in a long time, a flicker of warmth reached the very heart of him as if her light had found its way into the darkness residing there.

A phone rang somewhere in the room, but Gabe didn’t want to move. She was so warm, so alive in his arms.

On the second ring, Deb stiffened and looked over at her phone on the coffee table. “Ashley?” She bolted to the device, then fumbled with the buttons in her haste to answer. She pressed Speaker. “Lansing.”

“Deborah Lansing?”

The tenor of the official-sounding voice made Deb collapse onto the couch. “Y-yes.”

“This is the Colorado Springs Police Department. We found the car your sister was driving. It was abandoned at the bus station. You might want to meet us there.”





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CHAPTER FIVE



* * *




THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS loomed in the west, the peaks even whiter than yesterday. Another dusting of snow had hit the higher elevations, but Gabe’s tires hugged the roads despite the icy conditions.

Deb couldn’t help but be glad she wasn’t alone. She’d let herself lose control with Gabe, but she’d discovered, oddly enough, she didn’t worry he’d take advantage. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had just stepped up like he had. He hadn’t asked questions, he hadn’t balked, he’d thrown himself into her problems. Without asking for anything in return.

The frozen terrain outside the vehicle didn’t appear inviting. Deb prayed her sister wasn’t out there in that frigid landscape, hurt or unprotected. The image of Shannon’s bullet-ridden body seared Deb’s mind, and she fought to not react to the grief filling her. She’d failed her sister. She’d failed everyone in her family. “I was supposed to look out for Ashley. Keep her safe.”

Gabe looked over from the driver’s seat. “Hey, you don’t know for sure that anything has happened to her.”

“Ashley would never have abandoned someone’s car at the bus station and not even let him know. She’s pulled some stupid maneuvers, but in most ways, she’s ultra-responsible. Part of me held out hope maybe she’d broken down and couldn’t call. I was certain she’d be with the car.” Deb turned toward Gabe. “What do I do if she’s really been kidnapped?”

“Find her.”

Simple words, but nothing felt simple anymore. Deb rubbed her hands over her arms to ward off the sudden chill that had nothing to do with the temperature.

Gabe adjusted the heater anyway, then his hand squeezed hers. He gave her a small smile of confidence, but didn’t move his hand away. Surprised at how tightly she clung to the simple touch, Deb stared out the window, trying to shear the worst-case scenarios from her mind.

Seconds seemed to tick by like hours. Every mile Deb prayed for a phone call from Ashley. A text. A picture. A miracle.

“We’re here.” Gabe pulled into the entrance to the bus station. Snow piled in huge dirty drifts all around the edge of the lot, reminding her how bleak their prospects looked.

Several policemen and a cadet in uniform stood staring at an ancient green vehicle with a large dent on the passenger side. Typical student junkbox. Could Ashley have broken down on the way here, leaving herself open to predators? But why abandon the car here and not on the road?

Gabe pulled in next to the police cars, and Deb jumped out of the SUV before he’d even turned off the engine.

“Did you find my sister?” she begged the policemen. “Do you have any information at all?”

Gabe came up beside her. She longed to reach out and grab his hand for comfort, but she couldn’t appear weak. She’d learned long ago that respect came from strength. Her father had taught her that, her brothers had taught her that, her Army unit had welded the truth to her core.

A rookie-looking cop spoke first. “She’s not here and so far there’s no location for her. We’re hoping you can help us.”

The cadet scowled at Deb. “I didn’t think Ashley would do something like this to me. Guess that’s what I get for trusting a kid.” He turned toward the cops. “Can I take the car now?”

“Sure.” The cop handed him the keys.

“What, you’re not going to take fingerprints, or fiber samples, or even pretend to investigate?” Deb asked. “This car is a crime scene. My sister has been kidnapped.”

“I highly doubt that,” a second policeman said. “She left you a note saying she was taking off.” The cop handed Deb a folded piece of paper.