A Margin of Lust (The Seven Deadly Sins #1)(75)

In a few miles, he saw the sign for Strands Beach. On impulse, he pulled into the parking lot. He and Gwen used to come here often for sunset dinners.

He parked in a space overlooking the ocean and turned off the ignition. The sky was pale salmon, the nightly show only just beginning. He rested his forehead on his arms. She should be here—with him. But he'd lost her.

Not tonight in his inept attempt to tail Mo Cotton. He'd been losing her by inches for the past three years. He'd worked so hard to gain the approval of everyone in the world but the one person who meant the most to him. He'd neglected Gwen to romance people he didn't even like. An ass. He'd been an ass.

He sat, head down, empty and defeated until the salmon turned red, and was shot through with lavender clouds. He would stay until dark. He was putting off the inevitable—facing the kids with no news of their mother.

His phone vibrated on the passenger seat beside him. He looked at the screen. Mike McKibben. A spark of hope flickered to life.

"Mike. News?"

"Actually, yeah. I just heard from one of my guys. I asked him to keep me posted. They just got a lead."

"What?"

"Gwen's e-key was used at a house in Laguna Beach this morning, early. Somebody just got around to checking her account at the security company again.” Mike paused for a minute.

“I guess the local guys did a drive by. No action. They didn’t see her car. They're waiting for Sylla and a search warrant to check inside. Thought you'd want to know."

"The address, what's the address?" Art put his cell on speaker and opened a maps app.

"Listen, if it was her she's probably long gone."

"Come on, Mike. I'm close. I'm in Dana Point. I'll wait for the cops to show."

"I don't know..." he said.

"Mike, she's my wife."

"It's the same house, Art. The house she found the body in."

Thirty seconds later Art was dodging cars on Coast Highway—pedal to the metal in the minivan.





CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE


Gwen stiffened. She heard the thump of the front door again. This time it was followed by rapid footsteps that grew steadily louder. The door of her cell flew open. She shrank into her chair. Dim yellow light exploded like a solar flare in the blackness.

"Okay," Mo rubbed his hands together like a child. "Next on the agenda." His cheerfulness was as jarring as the light.

The pent-up tension that had built in the dark, burst from its cage. Gwen wept. She felt nothing but relief as he pulled the tape from her arms and chest. She was so happy to see another human being, to be loosed from her bonds, she threw her arms around his neck and sobbed on his shoulder.

"Hey. Hey." He untangled himself looking uncomfortable. "None of that. You're okay."

Gwen wiped at her eyes with her hands. "Sorry."

"Not a problem," he said, but he stood well away from her as if he was afraid she might touch him again.

He waited until she'd gained control of herself then said, "Let's go up and make that phone call, shall we? There's no reception here."

The memory of the past twenty-four hours hit her with unexpected force. For a moment, the joy of release had blotted out the knowledge of who had taken her and left her in the dark. Mo wasn't her savior; he was her captor. She wouldn't forget that again.

#

"I have to use the restroom," Gwen said.

Mo's mouth tightened in annoyance.

"You said to tell you." She'd been holding it for hours.

He pushed her into the basement hallway ahead of him. Her legs were weak and rubbery. Her thighs burned as she climbed the stairs. When she emerged from the narrow passage into the open air she almost wept again. The last rays of the sun lit the foyer and the living room beyond with a rosy glow. She couldn't remember ever seeing anything as beautiful

Mo walked with her to the guest bathroom. The candle she'd placed on the sink the morning of the open house was still there, like a relic of an earlier age. She hurried in, her bladder full to bursting, and tried to push the door shut behind her. Mo stuck his foot in the doorway.

"Can I have some privacy?" she asked.

"I don't want you trying to get away." He pointed at a window in the far wall.

Gwen lifted her hands. They were still tied. He shrugged and turned his back, but left the door open. She was past modesty.

When she was done, she stepped to the window. She managed to unlock it and lifted it open with tied hands. Sea air brushed past her face, clean and bracing. She swallowed deep gulps.

"What are you doing?" Mo yanked her away from the window.

"I need air," she said.

He dragged her into the living room and handed her a disposable cell phone.

"I'll read you the number." He took a note from his pocket and began reading aloud. "Why aren't you dialing?" he said, when he noticed the phone hanging limply from her fingers.

"I can't." Gwen lifted her roped hands. He snatched the phone and began punching in numbers.

"What am I supposed to say when she answers?" Gwen said.

"What we talked about earlier." His jaw muscles clenched. "Tell her you're here in the house, and there's a water leak."