Wilde Chase (10 page)

Too many could
haves, should haves, and maybes. Kelly wanted to do better. She needed to do
better. Tag was
right,
love didn’t appear on a
schedule. In her case, it had slipped in without her even recognizing it. Not
until tonight. She finally stopped listening to the voices that whispered that
nothing this good could possibly last, and really thought about how she felt
about Ben. The answer was there, in her heart, just waiting for her to see it.
Maybe Ben was in love with her and maybe he wasn’t. It didn’t matter, because
she was already falling in love with him.

If there had been
any doubt, it vanished the moment he answered the phone. “Hi, baby. I’m really
glad you called me. Are you okay?”

Kelly’s heart
bounced and bucked like a colt with spring fever at the sound of his voice. How
had she managed to ignore the effect he had on her until now? He made her heart
race just by speaking her name. “Hi. I’m okay. I wanted--I just…” She took a
deep breath and started again. “I wanted to tell you I’m sorry I walked out on
you tonight.”

“I’m sorry too. I
didn’t mean to come off the way I did. I screwed up.”

She could hear the
self-recrimination in his voice and it wasn’t hard to imagine him, his hand
rubbing the back of his neck, dark brows furrowed. “I think we both screwed up
a bit. But we’re still okay, right?”

She heard Ben
exhale loudly. “If you’re still talking to me, then yes, we’re going to be just
fine.”

Relief filled her,
and Kelly finally felt like she could breathe again. “I know it’s late, but I
was thinking maybe I could come over and we could talk about a few things?”

“Like your
sister?”

Kelly winced. Tag
had been busy since he’d left. “Yeah, like Jenny. And what I’m going to do to
your big-mouthed baby brother when I see him again.”

Ben chuckled at
that. “You get him after I’ve addressed the fact he drove off with my
girlfriend tonight. And I would like it if you came over. I’ve got some stuff I
need to tell you too. You want me to come get you?”

“I’ll drive. I
think that come the fall, I’ll start driving more. You know, when it starts
getting dark earlier.”
There, peace
offering made.

He was silent for
a long moment before finally saying, “You don’t have to do that.”

“We’ll talk about
it when I get there.”

“I’ll be waiting
for you.”

“I’ll be there soon,
caveman.”

Both of them lingered
for a few seconds, neither of them hanging up first. Finally Kelly giggled and
said good-bye. She tossed her phone back in her purse and headed down to the
parking lot. They’d just survived their first fight and she was glad that
particular milestone was behind them. Things were back on track now, and for
the first time she was looking forward to the future instead of fearing it.

****

The back lot was
poorly lit and crowded with cars. Oddly enough, it was one of the few places
she actually felt unsafe. Surrounded by apartments, the only access was via a
narrow alley. It saw a fair amount of foot traffic, and most of the people who
wandered in and out were looking for an out-of-the-way place to do something
illegal.

 
Normally Kelly would have made sure to have
her keys threaded between her fingers before she even set foot out the door,
but tonight she was distracted. Thoughts of Ben and what they still needed to
talk about buzzed around her head, and she was nearly halfway to her car when
it dawned on her that she wasn’t alone.

By then, it was
far too late.

Three men appeared
out of the night, prowling toward her. “Hey girlie,” one of them cat-called
from her left, as two more moved around, cutting her off from the apartment.

“
You looking
for some fun?”

 
“Hey,
She’s
that
animal doctor!”

“No shit?” The
first one looked her over and she shuddered at the cold look in his bloodshot
eyes. He was close enough that she could see the acne scars that marred his
sallow face, but the other two were wearing caps pulled down low, concealing
their faces.

“Yeah, I remember
you now. You’re the one that screwed us up last month. We could have scored,
but you had to come snooping around.
Stupid bitch.”

The taller of the
two faceless men pointed to her purse. “Bet she’s got the keys to the clinic in
there.”

The acne-scarred
one sneered and moved closer. “Yeah, I bet she does. C’mon doc, give us the
keys so we can party. I bet you’ve got good shit in there.”

Kelly took a step
back for every step he took toward her. “It’s a vet clinic, not a pharmacy.
Unless you need help with fleas or deworming, there’s really not much there for
you.”

“You did not just
say that! Man, she thinks you’ve got fleas!” The third man doubled over with
laughter.

“Shut the fuck up!
I do not have fleas. You’re coming with us, doc. You’re going to get us into
that clinic of yours, got it?”

Kelly didn’t
bother
answering,
she just dropped her head and ran.
They’d cut her off from the building, but the alley was a straight shot across
the lot from where she was standing. If she could just get to the street, maybe
she could find someone to help her.

She never stood a
chance.

They caught her
before she’d gotten close, tackling her from behind, and sending her crashing
to the pavement in a scene that felt all too familiar.

The weight of her
attacker had her pinned to the ground while stars swam in Kelly’s vision and
her mouth filled with the coppery taste of blood. Well shit, that didn’t go according
to plan.

One of them
grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked her head back. The movement caused a new
batch of stars to spawn, making it hard for her to see anything.

“Get up, bitch.”
She was hauled up by the hair and the back of her shirt until she was on her
knees. “Do that again, and you’re going to be real sorry. Got it?” The one she
now thought of as Scarface leaned in close and sneered at her. His breath was
foul and she had to swallow hard to stop herself from retching.

Her tongue still
hurt from where she’d bitten it when she fell, so Kelly opted not to speak. She
tried to nod, but the hand in her hair made it impossible to move her head more
than a fraction of an inch. It seemed to be enough.

“You have the keys
to the clinic?” Again she nodded and the hand in her hair slacked off a little.

“Pick your shit up
off the ground then, bitch, and let’s get this party started.”

It took Kelly a
second to understand what he meant, but when the hand on her hair finally let
go, she glanced down and saw the contents of her purse had spilled out when
she’d hit the ground. She grabbed her keys and things, stuffing them back in
her purse, but she slipped her wallet into her hand, holding it against the
side of the bag.

They hauled her to
her feet moments later and she had to bite back a moan of fear when the tallest
one flashed a knife blade under her nose before placing it against her side.
The message was clear. No more stunts.

Despite the
warning, she managed to drop her wallet as they headed into the alley, and none
of her attackers noticed the soft thump as it struck the ground. Kelly knew
that Ben would come looking for her when she didn’t arrive at his place. This
way, at least she could leave him a clue. It was all she could do until they
got to the clinic. Maybe once they were there she’d be able to activate the
panic alarm.

If
they gave her the chance.

* * * *

Where was she? Ben
checked the time again. Kelly should have arrived by now, even if she’d hit
every light along the way. His need to protect her had started their first
fight and he didn’t want to start another one so soon, but something didn’t
feel right.

Screw it. He
called her cell. When it rang several times and then went to voice mail, he got
a tight feeling in his gut. He left her a brief message as he tugged on his
shoes.

Whistling for
Chase, Ben headed for his Jeep and was already behind the wheel before calling
again. When it rang and rang before going to voice mail, Ben knew his instincts
were right. Something was wrong.

He broke every
speed limit between his home and hers, his worry escalating every time he
called her and got voice mail again. He took the route she would have used but
there was no sign of her or her car. It was like she’d vanished.

Ben pulled into
the parking lot of Kelly’s building, praying she’d be standing right there with
some simple excuse for where she’d been. Instead, he spotted her car, still
sitting in its stall. The sight made his heart do a sick little drop. She had never
left. So where the hell was she?
 

He didn’t bother
taking time to find a parking space. Instead,
Ben
 
left
the vehicle sitting behind
Kelly’s. He stopped just long enough to snap a leash on Chase, and then the two
of them headed for Kelly’s apartment.

Her door was
locked and there was no answer when he knocked and called her name. Ben hadn’t
really expected her to be there but he was forcing himself to be logical. He had
to stay focused, needed to approach this rationally. Whatever had happened,
he’d be no help to Kelly if he went off the rails now.

Ben crouched down
on the floor of the hallway and took Chase’s head in his hands. “Chase.
Such
Kelly.
Find Kelly!”

The moment Chase
heard the German command to “seek,” he went to work, pulling his head free of
Ben’s hands to circle the hall. He whined once and then took off, moving as
fast as Ben would allow as he followed Kelly’s scent.

They were back in
the parking lot in no time at all. Ben expected Chase to head straight to
Kelly’s car, but his partner veered off and started making for the entrance to
the alley. That didn’t make any sense, but Ben trusted Chase’s nose. In all the
years they’d been together, Chase had a near-perfect track and capture record.
Ben didn’t know why, but for some reason Kelly had headed toward the alley on
foot instead of going to her car.

Chase raced into
the dark alley only to come to a sudden stop and double back. He started
barking, his paw scratching at the weatherworn concrete. Ben dropped into a
crouch beside him and started looking for whatever Chase had scented. It took
him a few seconds to find it in the gloom and a few seconds more to recognize
what he was holding: Kelly’s wallet.
Fuck
.

“Good boy, Chase!”
Ben’s tongue cleaved to the roof of his mouth and he had to force the words
past the lump of fear that was wedged in his throat, threatening to choke him. There
was no way her wallet had wound up here by accident. Kelly was in trouble.
“Chase,
Such
!
Such
Kelly.”

Chase took off
like a shot, nearly pulling Ben off his feet. Chase’s nose was off the ground,
telling Ben that the track was so fresh that it was still suspended in the air.
She wasn’t far ahead of them now, and that didn’t make any sense either. Where
the hell was she going and why wasn’t she answering her phone? How had her
wallet ended up in the alley? He had far too many questions and no answers. Only
a terrible sense that time was running out.

After a few
minutes Ben had a sinking suspicion he knew where Kelly was going. Her trail
was leading them straight to the clinic. Scenarios started racing through his
mind, each one more alarming than the last. His instincts screamed that this
was related to the break-in and the lowlife scum he’d spotted hanging around
outside the clinic earlier today. It was the only thing that made any sense.

His worst
suspicions were confirmed when they got close enough to see that there was a
single light on at the clinic. The “Closed” sign was still hanging on the door,
and there was no one in the waiting room. The place should have been locked up
and dark, but it wasn’t. Someone was in there. It had to be Kelly. Every instinct
Ben had was screaming for him to do something, but instead he ordered Chase to
sit and forced himself to stay out of sight.

He needed a plan.

The night air was
oppressively hot, cloaking the street in a stifling blanket as Ben checked the
area. They were alone. Whatever was going on inside the clinic, they hadn’t set
a lookout. Ben snagged his phone from his back pocket and dialed. He was going
to need backup.

Not that he had
any intention of waiting for his fellow police officers to arrive before he
went in. Kelly was in trouble. He wasn’t going to stand around. He was going in
there and
do
his job.
To find her
and protect her.

Chapter Nine

Panic alarms were
a great idea in theory, but Kelly was discovering they only worked when the
reason you needed to hit the damned button wasn’t already in control of the
situation.