Love Required (28 page)

Going about their usual routine, he made his way to the kitchen with Lexi. On the couch in the family room, he could see there were at least two sleeping bodies covered with a blanket. He wasn’t sure who they were, but as soon as Lexi hits the floor, they were gonna get a surprise. Setting her down, she took off for the bumps on the couch as he got her breakfast ready.

A moment later he heard a squeal from Lexi followed by Allie’s laughter. Coffee was most definitely required so he started a full pot, still having no clue as to how many people were in his house. Once the coffee was brewing, he made Lexi’s oatmeal and set it out to cool while grabbing her milk from the fridge. Allie came into the kitchen carrying Lexi. Up on tiptoes, she kissed him on the cheek and said, “Today will be a good day, Jay. I can feel it.”

Jason gave her a nod, knowing he needed to stay positive. The problem was that every time he did, his mind went immediately to the alternative. And that was not something he wanted to focus on.

“Thanks, Al. You guys didn’t need to stay, you know.”

“Shut the hell up.” Allie dismissed him as she put Lexi in her highchair. When she turned back to him, she added, “Next time you say something stupid like that, you will be pinched.”

Jason’s sides tightened in response; she dealt some painful pinches. The other bump on the couch, now known to be Mike, called out, “We both know you don’t want that.”

He smiled, regardless of what was going on. His friends being there was what he needed. They knew this and he expected nothing less from them. Allie walked over to the couch and kissed Mike, before excusing herself to clean up. A few moments later, he heard Logan yell from upstairs, followed by Allie laughing. Jason shook his head, and Mike said, “Sounds like Logan’s up now. I can only imagine what she did to him.”

Logan came lumbering down the stairs with a scowl on his face. As he slipped his shirt over his head, he said, “Mike, could you at least try to control your woman. She just ripped hair out of my leg.”

Mike snorted as he stood and stretched. “She’s been your sister longer than
my woman
. Why on Earth would you think
I
could tame her?”

Jason offered, “He’s got a point, Logan. Besides, in previous times she would’ve laid a wax strip on you or something.”

Logan grabbed himself a cup of coffee. “You mean, again. A strip of wax
again
.”

He let out a small laugh when Mike’s eyebrows shot up in question. Jason just said, “True story.”

Mike stifled a laugh as he went upstairs in search of Allie. The front door opened, and Jason could hear Gillian and Jake talking as they came in. When they rounded the corner, Gillian smiled and set a box of pastries on the counter. “Good, you’re up. I talked to Sean already, and he said they have a make and model on the car Damien was driving. So they’ve put out an APB for it. They’ve got eyes on his house in Idaho, and he promised to stay on top of things and call as soon as he has more information.”

He accepted a kiss on the cheek before she moved around him and helped herself to some coffee. Jake was holding Ella, and gave Jason a pat on the shoulder. “You doing okay today?”

Jason’s throat clogged up, and he tried to swallow, unsuccessfully, so he nodded in answer. Logan dug into the pastry box. Jake accepted coffee from Gillian. Mike and Allie came downstairs laughing about something. Lexi was playing with her oatmeal, and somehow Ella had ended up in his arms. This was his family, and they were doing the only thing they could do for him right then … distracting him.
Thank God for them
, he thought. Because the alternative was for him to go crazier with each passing minute, wondering where his Cupcake was.

~*~*~*~

TORI groaned. Her body felt like she’d gone three rounds with a prized fighter, after drinking a bottle of tequila, but not before being thrown down a flight of stairs and then locked in a sauna for days. Not recalling going on a bender, she tried opening her eyes, only meeting more darkness. There was a throbbing in her head that began to pulsate harder, and she moved her hand to rub at the offending area. It was then she felt that both of her hands were restrained and awareness crowded in. Damien!

Her body jolted in shock just remembering the threat of her ex-husband. The movement brought another wave of pain down her arms and back. Feeling as if she’d been in the same position for days, she tried to roll a little to ease the discomfort, but her lack of mobility was astounding. Her limbs felt heavy, and her mouth was dry. Tape covered her lips, which she only realized as she went to lick them. Her eyes burned like she was crying, but nothing escaped as she took in the magnitude of her predicament. She was locked in a trunk, with her hands and mouth taped, in what felt like sweltering heat. Just thinking of the heat made her voracious thirst roar to the front of her mind.

She had no idea where she was, or how long she’d been there, but just that she needed to get the hell out. There was no way she was going down without a fight. Gathering all the strength she could, and taking in all the oxygen her nose would allow, she screamed through the tape, hoping to God someone was nearby. Someone other than Damien.

CHAPTER THIRTY

JASON stood at the door leading to his yard, staring at the landscape, making mental notes of things he wanted or needed to do back there. Anything to keep his mind off things. Things that could be happening to Tori. Things that could’ve already happened. Things he couldn’t prevent from happening. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, willing the calm to stay. It wasn’t working, though. With each passing hour, his anxiety mounted. It crowded in with the fear, the pain … and the disappointment. Never before had he felt like such a failure. He’d failed Tori in every possible way, and if given the chance, he’d never do it again.

He sighed and told himself, “I failed. I’m so sorry I failed.”

A second later, a sharp pain stabbed at his flank, and he spun to see the source. His eyes met a scowling Allie, hands on hips for a brief moment before one of her fists socked him in the chest. “I dare you to say that again!”

Jason rubbed his side, momentarily thankful for the physical pain to distract him from his emotional pain. Glaring at Allie, he said, “Knock it off, Al. I’m not in the mood.”

“I’ll knock it off when you do,” Allie insisted, challenge in her voice. Turning back to the window, he sighed again, ignoring Allie’s words. It didn’t matter what she thought, because he knew he’d failed Tori. When staring at the yard no longer worked, he found his way to the couch and sat amongst his friends, hoping whatever they were watching on daytime television would distract him. Lexi would be asleep for at least another thirty minutes. He mentally ran through what he would have to do next for Lexi to make sure her day wasn’t altered too much in Tori’s absence. It had been twenty-four hours since she was taken.
A lot could happen in twenty-four hours
.

Turning back to the television, he focused on that. A loud knock at the front door had his attention immediately. Everyone in the room looked in the direction of the door. Logan was up and moving to answer it as the rest of them also stood. Whoever was at the door clearly had something important to say—the knock sounding determined.

When Sean barged in the room wearing his uniform, Jason wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear what he had to say. The thought that it could go negatively had Jason’s knees ready to buckle. He stepped forward, and Jake’s hand landed on his shoulder. He didn’t know if it was in support or restraint. Sean finally nodded his head and said the three words Jason needed to hear. “They found her.”

Jason was in motion immediately. He had no idea where he was going, just that he needed to move, to get to her. Shrugging off Jake’s hold, he rushed past Sean, his sole thought was that Tori needed him. He’d almost made it to the door, only to be held back again. “Jason, wait. You can’t leave …”

All Jason heard was
you can’t leave
, and he lost it. Before he knew what he was doing, his fist landed across Sean’s jaw, knocking him backward. Turning back to the door, he pushed forward with one intent—getting to Tori. He didn’t know where she was, but he knew she wasn’t there. Strong arms banded around him from behind and pulled him back. His chest heaved, and he tried disengaging from the hold. “Calm down, Jay. She’s okay, and she needs you … so you have to control yourself, man.” Jake’s voice filtered through the buzzing in his ears.

He tried again to free himself from his brother’s hold, but Logan got in his face instead. “Cool it! Where you gonna go, huh?” Jason’s heart began to hurt from the speed of his pulse. He
was
losing it. It felt like he was wound as tightly as he could possible get, and he was beginning to snap. Blinking rapidly, he tried to focus as he looked at Logan, Jake’s hold like steel bands around his arms. “You need to hold it together. Listen to what Sean has to say, and then we can figure out what to do. We’ll get you to her, I swear.”

Jason’s jaw clenched and unclenched, “I need to be moving. I have to get to her.”

“I know that, and you will,” Logan said firmly. Then he looked over Jason’s shoulder and said, “Sean, what do we have to do, and where do we need to go.”

Sean came into Jason’s view, rubbing his jaw. Jason hadn’t meant to punch his friend; it just happened. Sean stretched his jaw from side to side. “Shit man, that hurt!”

Jason glared at him, wanting to do it again. Sean put his hands up. “Okay, she’s not in San Diego. The bastard was actually trying to take her back to Idaho. She was found in the trunk of the car, at a store just north of Vegas. Someone heard sounds coming from the trunk and called it in. Luckily, there was a unit nearby, and they ran the plates. Minutes later, they were forcing their way into the car. Damien was nowhere to be found, but they have Tori. She’s safe.”

Jason was trying to process the information Sean had just spilled. His brain was trying to determine what question he needed to ask next, but he couldn’t figure it out. She was far from there … too far. Fortunately, his friends were there to speak for him because Gillian asked, “Where is she now, Sean? Is she okay?”

Why didn’t he think to ask that? Because she had to be, that’s why
. If she weren’t, Sean would’ve told him otherwise. He needed to get to her. How long would it take to drive to Vegas? He was mentally calculating just that when Sean answered, “She’s been taken to one of the hospitals in Vegas. She was dehydrated and has some bruising, but overall, she appears to be good. They’re expecting you, Jason. I listed you as next of kin on the reports so you shouldn’t have trouble getting in.”

That was all he needed to know. Trying to shake Jake off, he was again met with Logan in his face. “Calm the fuck down! I know what you’re thinking. That you can just get in the car and drive to her, but that’s not happening.” Jason scowled at his closest friend, wishing his hands were free to inflict some kind of pain on him. “You get in that car and try driving like this, you won’t even make it. Plus, you’ll take out a few people with you. Gillian?”

“Yeah?” Gillian answered from somewhere nearby.

Logan said, “Can you use the company cards and book me and Jason on the next flight to Vegas and get us set up with a car there?”

“On it,” Gillian said quickly.

Jake declared from behind him, “I’m going, too.”

Logan leveled a look at him, “I know he’s your brother, but he needs you here. Sean said they didn’t find Damien, and that means he could be coming back. And since we can’t take Lexi on a plane with us, you need to keep an eye on her here.”

Jason stiffened at the thought.
Damien could not get his hands on Lexi
. Jake’s hold on Jason lessened as he said, “Not gonna happen. I’ll take care of her for you.”
Jason nodded, still able to speak.

Logan then said, “Allie, can you throw a change of clothes in a bag for Jason?”

Allie responded as she ran toward the stairs, “I’ll throw in a change for Tori, too.”

Logan nodded, and Jason watched him, thankful his friend knew what he needed. Whether it was to yell in his face, or get him a change of clothes. Jason took a deep breath and calmed a little more. Gillian walked back in, papers in hand. “Got you both on a flight that leaves in two hours. That should give you enough time to run by your place for a bag, Logan.” He nodded then she turned to Jason. “You have a plane ticket and a car reserved. I will get you both a hotel room and text you the information as soon as I have it. I don’t know which hospital she’s at yet, and I want to pick one close by. Okay?”

Jason gave her a nod before whispering, “Thank you.”

She hugged him. Allie came down the stairs and pulled Gillian off him before pushing him to the door. Shoving a bag in his hand, she said, “Go get your girl.”

Logan walked quickly to the driveway and jumped his truck, Jason following. Before they left, Sean leaned on the open window. “I’ll send you any information I get as it comes in. Keep me posted.”

Logan agreed, and then they were moving. He felt almost numb, not knowing what he was supposed to feel. The pain was there, but duller. The anxiety still simmered, and the fear remained hovering in the distance. There was a new kind of fear, too. He had to wonder and worry—what if she blamed him? Shaking that feeling off, he focused on remaining calm. Tori was okay, and he was on his way to get her.

Together, he and Logan went through the motions of airport security, and they were soon waiting at the gate. None too patiently either. Jason paced in front of the window, waiting for the call to board the plane. Looking to his watch, he willed the time to pass quicker. He thought about how long the flight was, then how long it would take to get from the airport to the hospital, mentally calculating how long until he would be with her again. How long before he could touch her.

Logan interrupted his thoughts, “Jay, you need to sit the fuck down. TSA is probably watching you and getting ready to pounce on your ass any second. Then how will you get to Tori?”