Latent Danger (On the Line #2)(44)

As it was, he hated that it had taken them so damned long.

Liz’s mouth twitched, like she wanted to speak, but she didn’t.

Zach continued, willing away the urge to lift her off her feet and throw her against the wall. It wouldn’t get them anywhere, but it might get their case thrown out of court. Then again, what the fuck did he care about court if he couldn’t get to Shauna in time?

“Why don’t you tell me how Sawyer’s involved? Were you working together?”

Liz’s whole body jerked at the suggestion and she wasn’t able to hide the venom in her eyes then. “Sawyer is a pig.”

It wasn’t enough. She’d said nothing to implicate herself yet. He needed a confession, so he could press her to tell them what she’d done to Shauna.

He saw Ronan step out of the house, presumably to check with the officers that were scouring the property.

Zach focused on Liz and pressed her weak spot. “What happened, Liz? Did Sawyer drug you?”

Her eyes blazed. “He didn’t need to. Sawyer and I were different than what he’s got going on with those other girls.”

Zach opened his mouth to press the issue, but the front door opened, and an officer moved to the side to let a tall woman in her fifties in. It couldn’t be Liz’s mom.

“What’s going on here?”

Zach stood. “And who are you?” He asked the question of the woman, but let his gaze slip to the officer who’d let her in.

The woman squared off with him. “I’m Julia Tiede. I cook for the Gordon family and I live on the property. Why are their officers on the grounds? And what are you doing with poor Liz?”

She looked past Zach to Liz and Zach turned to see the girl had transformed. She now wrapped her arms around herself, tears streaming down her face.

The cook circled around Zach, to draw the girl into her arms. “What is this? One minute you’re protecting her from this killer and now you’re grilling her?”

“Were you in the main house this afternoon when Detective O’Rourke arrived with Liz?” Zach asked.

“Oh no,” she said, and her chin went up in defiance. “Neither of us is answering any more questions without the family attorney present.” She turned to Liz. “You don’t say another word to these men, Liz. I’ll call your parents’ lawyer.”

“Fine,” Zach said, signaling to one of the officers to take Liz into custody. “We’ll go ahead and transport Ms. Gordon to the station in the meantime, and begin processing her.”

“What? On what grounds?” Julia Tiede’s indignation was clear.

Zach didn’t know if they could make a murder charge stick, but he was too far down this road to turn back. “Murder. Liz Gordon, you’re under arrest for the murders of Adrienne Edwards, Carrie Anthill, and Candice Jordan.”

They took her from the room while the cook began to make calls.

Zach spun and stalked down the large hallway that went from the front of the house through to the back. He hit the door and kept moving, letting out a grunt of frustration when he got to the yard. He looked out over the lawn and let loose with an almost animalistic cry.

Where the hell was Shauna and was she even alive?





Chapter Thirty-two





The pain shooting through Shauna’s stomach was hot and searing. She’d been floating above the pain, watching herself from a distance, but she shot back into her body with a force that took the breath from her.

When she felt the pain, she knew she had no chance of catching that breath anytime soon. Darkness surrounded her, and she wasn’t sure if it was because she was really in the dark, or if she was losing consciousness. She couldn’t seem to grasp onto the floating strings of thoughts in her brain.

Part of her brain screamed at her to fight and the other part told her to give in and sleep, to let go and lose herself because coming to full consciousness would hurt too much.

Her arms felt like lead and her feet didn’t seem to want to move. Shauna fought for what seemed like an eternity, but couldn’t make out whether she was tied up or her limbs just weren’t working. Her head was swamped in fog so thick she didn’t seem to be able to cut through it.

That’s when it hit her. She was having trouble breathing, and it wasn’t just because of the pain. Something was covering her mouth and maybe part of her nose, too. She focused on slowing her breaths, taking long deep draughts of air, but it was no use. Panic took over as she started to feel the effects of her limited breathing and she closed her eyes, no longer able to fight it all. The pain, the fog, and the increasing doubt that this was something she could get herself out of.

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Chapter Thirty-three





Zach punched the bathroom wall again.

“Feel better?” Ronan asked from his spot just inside the door.

A growl was the only response Zach gave him. He didn’t feel at all better. Liz Gordon had remained silent since her attorney arrived and the prosecutor didn’t think they had enough to charge her on. They needed to find the rope or the lipstick, or some evidence that could tie Liz Gordon to the bodies of the dead girls.

Worst of all—no not worse, the only thing that really mattered—was that they hadn’t found Shauna yet. She might be hurt or dead.