Chapter Thirteen
In the cabin, he collected his thoughts. Pacing, he knew he couldn’t rush off without a plan. Prescott was smart, and this wasn’t about Avery, it was about him. His skin was crawling, and anger rippled under it. What the hell did he want? Why was he here?
He picked up the deck of cards on the table and threw them. They flew, fluttering around before falling across the floor.
Someone pounding on his door made his reflexes kick in, and he grabbed the gun out of his waistband and aimed it at the door.
“Come in.”
“He wants to talk to you.” The muffled voice from behind the door was Alex’s. Alex pushed the door open, raised one hand, and reached the cell toward Mike with the other. Mike looked at it, biding his time, his thoughts erratic, and then he grabbed it. His stomach clenched as it had all those years before. It was a phone call just like this that had started everything. Prescott had called and asked for him by name, and every time he called after that there was another girl, another race against the clock to find her, and another family that had to be told. He wouldn’t fail again. His beautiful little girl would not become another of Prescott’s victims. He’d die before he let that happen.
“Prescott,” he said, barely containing his anger and fear. It wasn’t the way their conversations usually went. Mike had always been patient in the past. “Where’s Avery?”
“Hello, Michael. How are you this fine day?”
“Where the hell is she?”
“Now is that any way to speak with me, Michael?”
“No, but the things I want to say will only hurt Avery.” Prescott made a tsking sound. “You’re certainly right, Michael.” And to prove his point, Avery screamed in the background. Mike hollered in anguish at her pain. His whole body shook with rage and terror. “Stop! Okay, okay! I’m fine, Henry. How are you?”
“That’s better. I’m wonderful, Michael.”
“What have you done with her? She has nothing to do with me or you, so let her go back to her old life with her husband.”
“Nonsense, she loves you, Michael, not that ninny. I can see it in her eyes. This one’s a keeper.”
“Why are you doing this? I’m not a cop anymore. You win.”
“Aw, Michael, it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about the game!” He sounded excited as if he were discussing the strategy of chess. “You quit halfway through, and I don’t like quitters. I’m going to start killing again, Michael, and if you don’t resume your place on the board, I’ll step up my game starting with this pretty little thing.” His laugh chilled Mike deep to his core. How could someone sound so sane when speaking words so incredibly maniacal? His fist clenched at his side, and he closed his eyes. He felt so helpless. He’d promised to keep Avery safe. He’d told her over and over he’d protect her and now she was in the hands of a true psychopath.
“I’ll find every brunette slut I can, and rip ‘em from teeth to twat until you do what you’re supposed to. Think of Lydia, Michael.”
Mike gritted his teeth, his knuckles white from clutching the phone. He couldn’t trust himself to speak.
“Well? Are you going to go back and trade in the retirement badge for your old one?”
Mike gathered a breath.
“Don’t hurt her. I’ll do what you want, but you have to let her go.”
“That’s not how things work, Michael. I need some collateral. I’ll keep her safe, and I won’t hurt her too much if you do what you’re supposed to. I’m due to pick my next victim any day now, aren’t I? I’m excited, Michael. I’ve been on hiatus for a long time waiting for you. I considered using Annie, years ago when I found you hiding here, but even I don’t have the stomach for elder abuse. Besides, this is so much bigger than you know. I need your head in the game. Now that I have Avery, I know I’ve got you.” He sighed happily as if they’d just struck a mutually beneficial business arrangement. “I’ll pick my girl, and we’ll resume our cat and mouse, and when I’m satisfied you’re fully invested again, I’ll let you know where you can retrieve your little girl.”
Icy ghost fingers crawled up his spine. His little girl was in the hands of the worst killer in Canadian history, and he now knew Prescott had done his homework—he’d been watching them.
“Let me talk to her,” he demanded quickly. “I need to know she’s okay, and I need to tell her I’m going to do what you ask. She has major trust issues, Prescott. If she doesn’t think I’m going to bother, she’ll do something stupid. You have no idea how reckless this girl is. She drove off the road to save a moose because she thought her life was less valuable.” Mike glared at Alex, who still hovered by the door. He instantly looked around to avoid eye contact with Mike. Mike felt another pull in his gut to hurt the man responsible for Avery’s pain.
Prescott sighed, sounding annoyed, but Mike heard him moving. He could almost see him assessing Avery. There would be intrigue on his face. After hours and hours spent on the phone with this man, Mike knew Prescott had a thing for the out of the ordinary. People he couldn’t predict fascinated him, and God knew Avery was endlessly unpredictable. “My dear, I need you to take this call.”
“Avery?” Mike demanded, his heart in his throat.
“It’s so good to hear your voice.” She sounded lighthearted, not like she was in the most dangerous situation of her life. He felt pride for his strong lady.
“I’m going to get you out of this. Just cooperate with Prescott, and we’ll get you back in my arms where you belong, okay? Can you do that for me? Can you please just be my good girl and behave until he brings you home to me? I mean that, Avery, home with me. You’re mine.”
“Okay, but can you do something for me?”
“Tick tock, kids,” Prescott said ominously.
“Check on my Uncle Bernie. He’s sick, and since I’ve been away, I haven’t contacted him. I know he’ll be worried. Can you call him and tell him I’m okay?”
“You be good, and I’ll get ahold of Bernie and tell him not to watch too much Bugs Bunny.” He played along in case Prescott was listening, but he knew exactly what she was telling him. She was somewhere in the top of his mountain.
“Okay, enough.” Prescott was back on the line. “You’d better be in full action, my dear Michael or your girl will be next. I’m going hunting tonight. I think I’ve got the perfect girl in mind. This will end with you—with us.”
Mike walked to the closet and grabbed his black box. He opened it, stared for a moment at the pictures of Ella and Lydia, slid them to the side, and grabbed his badge.
“Did you bring a car?”
Alex looked at the badge in Mike’s hand and opened his mouth without speaking.
“The life of the woman I love is on the line, and I will break your jaw if you don’t hurry up and answer me.”
“Yes.” Alex paused, paling. “I’ve got one.”
“Good. Let’s go.” He shoved Alex out of the cabin and slammed the door behind them.
“Where are we going?”
Mike didn’t have time to drive to the RCMP location in Moncton, so he’d go to the police station in Bathurst and make contact from there. He needed to find Avery, and he needed backup. A blip in his gut over Avery made him start to jog out of the cabin.
“To the police station. Hurry the hell up. That’s where I get my job back, and you get to live.”
* * *
Prescott tightened zip ties around Avery’s wrists and the arms of the wooden chair she sat on in the middle of the dank hunting shack. He’d already secured her ankles to the chair legs. Both pinched uncomfortably, but her feet tingled with numbness already.
“I’m sorry about the unpleasantness, my dear, but it’s necessary.” He stood, slow and methodical in his every move, and assessed his work. He gathered a breath and dug into his pocket, pulling out a container. He opened it, shook a tablet into his palm, and popped it into his mouth.
“I won’t run. I’m tired of running. Sitting for a while might be nice.”
He chuckled and her stomach rolled. He was an older man and looked more CEO than killer, but his chuckle—that was definitely a killer’s. He had chewed the white tablet, and chalky residue coated his lips.
“Funny, I’ve been watching you two for days, and I’d think sitting would be the last thing you’d want to do.” He rubbed his chin and circled her like an animal might circle its prey. “Michael isn’t what you call him, is it, Avery?” She lowered her face, feeling her cheeks heat. God, how much had this man seen? How long had he been watching them? “Did you grow up in a single parent home, dear?” He tsked. “So many women these days with daddy issues.”
Avery refused to answer. She wouldn’t sully the beauty of her relationship with Mike by allowing this monster to discuss it. “Don’t you think keeping me right under Mike’s nose is a little reckless?”
“Right under his nose is exactly where I’ve been every time. He never checks his own backyard.” He stopped, pulled another chair out, took a moment to tug up his pant legs before sitting in front of her. He narrowed his eyes and scrutinized her face. It heated further. He took a bottle from a case of water on the floor and cracked it open. He took a swig, swished and swallowed, grimacing in disgust.
“You’d think after all these years I’d learn to like the taste of those things.” He shuddered. “Chalky and nasty but they do the trick.” He patted his trim stomach. “It’s funny, I eat well and I keep myself in prime shape and still…” He sucked air through his teeth.
“Acid reflux,” she said, and a smile spread on his face. He turned, pulled a straw out of a convenience store bag on the table, and plopped it into the water bottle. Avery thought of her own reflux and realized since she’d been with Mike she hadn’t needed an antacid even once.
“A doctor once told me it was stress and that maybe it was time for a career change.” He chortled. “He thought I didn’t like my job, joked I didn’t have the stomach for it.”
“Maybe you don’t.” Avery looked plainly at him as he offered her the bottle with the straw. She shook her head. “No, thank you. I’ll only have to pee.” She glanced at her tied wrists and wiggled the fingers of her bound hands. He paused and touched her right wrist, which had begun to bleed. He fingered the blood, almost mesmerized by it.
“Well, that’s practical thinking, my dear. Most of the women I tie up are not nearly as calm and logical. They’re usually crack whores though.” He set the water with a straw next to her on a high side table. “I have a victim to deal with, but you reminded me. Before I go, do you need to use the outhouse?”
His calm everyday tone unnerved Avery, and fear raced wildly within her as she imagined the women before her in this man’s possession. I’ve killed so many women; I can do it in my fucking sleep. They’d never made it back to their loved ones. But beneath the bone-chilling fright—deep in her gut, she knew Mike would save her, and that kept her sane and outwardly calm. She wasn’t meant to die yet. Maybe she’d let go before, maybe it seemed easier that way in the Jeep, but now she had Mike. And with him, she wanted to fight—she wanted to live. And for that, she needed to keep Henry talking.
“You want Mike to play your game. But how is killing a game? And why Mike?”
“So, that’s a no then?” He stood, clapping his hands together. “Very good. Now be a dear and behave.” He smirked then, patted her on the head, and whistled as he walked away stripping off the hunting attire. “I think you’ll find my punishments for disobedience quite different from your daddy’s.”
Avery swallowed hard. Knowing Henry knew such intimate things about her and Mike made her sick to her stomach, but hearing him refer to Mike as her daddy reassured her that he was coming for her. My mountain man daddy is coming, and this asshole will regret ever laying a hand on me.
* * *
The rustic one-room hunting shack was cold. Light and wind came through the old slatted wood structure, but without the sun to warm the air, the damp draft chilled her. It had nothing in the way of amenities, but Henry did manage to find a little mirror so he could smooth his hair after he’d removed the hunting clothes he’d been wearing over his slacks and white button-down shirt.
Avery huffed quietly. Her only thought was to keep him there with her until Mike came.
“What was that, my dear? Do you have something to say?”
“You just look like you’re heading out for a date, not to murder some poor innocent woman.” She shook her head as if the mere movement could rid her of his image.
“Innocent?” he snorted. “My victims are never innocent.”
“I am. You’re crazy.”
He laughed a belly laugh that curdled her stomach.
“It is a date of sorts though, and I think mental instability is a given with most serial murderers, no?” His amused expression fell away, and he looked at her seriously. “And are you really that innocent?”
She pulled in a swift breath, and her eyes stung, so she looked to her lap. Maybe Henry was right, but before she could think any further on it, he flew at her. The rapid movement was so unlike him that she screamed in alarm. His civility was merely a mask to the beast within. His hand clasped around her jaw and squeezed tightly. She squeaked in fear at the cold hatred in his dark eyes.
“Do you know what else besides mental instability should be a given, my sweet? Respecting the man that could snuff you out on a whim.” His words were forced through clenched teeth, and spittle sprayed from his mouth, landing on her cheek.
“You obviously feel very strongly for Mike,” she answered as calmly as she could, pretending fear wasn’t shredding her insides. “Because of that, I don’t think you will snuff me out.” Her eyes tightened in pain as he strengthened his grip, but she refused to show alarm. She tasted blood where her cheeks mashed against her teeth and split. “If you kill me, he’ll be lost to you forever.” His eyes slivered.
“Once he’s back into hunting mode, he’ll chase me to the ends of the earth to avenge your death. He’ll never give up.” He leaned his face so close to hers she could feel his minty breath against her face. “He won’t stop until he takes his last breath or I take mine. You don’t see it, but I do. It’s rare these days, but yours is a love he’d gladly die for.” His fingers squeezed her jaw harder once again, and tears sprang to her eyes. “It wasn’t my plan to kill you, Avery, but I’m highly adaptable so don’t fucking tempt me.”
“Okay, please!” she whimpered. Her mind whirled as she attempted to keep calm and logical. She just wanted to keep him talking and there, but he was so unstable she couldn’t risk provoking him further. Her heart also flipped at his observation of Mike’s love for her.
“That’s better.” He smiled and released her face to pat her cheek sharply. “Now,” he said, straightening his jacket. “How do I look?” Avery swallowed the blood in her mouth and forced a small smile. Play nice, Avery, she told herself.
“Handsome.” She fought to keep from physically recoiling from him. There was truth to her statement, but knowing his inner ugliness made him repulsive to her. She couldn’t see him as anything but evil and revolting.
His smile widened slowly, and he winked at her. “I do love a fast learner.”
He turned again, this time lifting the keys and a set of license plates off the table. She saw a flash of them, but he kept them close to his body. XBN—excited being nobody, she memorized and struggled to read more. He started whistling again; this time when he got to the door, she called out.
“Why? Will you tell me why he’s so important to you?”
Prescott’s head cocked as he froze in the doorway. “And ruin the surprise?”
He turned and left without another word.
She waited, listening, attempting to quiet her thudding heart and erratic breathing. Had it been five minutes? He must have a car stashed somewhere, or maybe he planned on stealing one. She yanked on the ties around her wrist and hoped Mike found her in time. With the partial plate number, he might be able to catch Henry before he took his next victim. She hissed as the ties cut deeper into her skin, more blood seeping into the wood. She shut her eyes and imagined the woman who would wear ties just like her, knowing she wouldn’t be so deliberately cared for. The poor woman would die at the hands of a man who was somehow connected to the man she loved. Why was Henry so obsessed with Mike? She growled, trying to think.
Avery clasped her fingers tightly around the curved arms of the chair, squeezing to hold her arms steady then pressed her toes into the floor and hopped. She moved no more than a quarter of an inch, but it was a start. She jumped again, this time with more vigor, and then again.
She’d made it a foot and a half closer to the table when the door swung open. Henry stood there a moment shaking his finger at her. He’d been testing her? Her gut sank, and terror sprang to life within her. Would he kill her now?
“Tsk, tsk.” He walked to her, in his even-tempered way, stopping to pull a roll of antacids out of the plastic bag on the table. He took a moment to unroll them and fill his container. Then he opened a black duffle bag on the floor and pulled out a syringe. “I guess it’s nap time.” As soon as he pushed the plunger down emptying the syringe into her, Avery felt the effects and slumped, and before his back was out the door, everything went black.
* * *
By the time Mike had gotten his clearance and reinstatement back, Alex had disappeared, and Mike didn’t even care. Let the bastard run. He could deal with him later. Mike had much more important things to worry about. The local PD was ready to help in any way they could, so he had a temporary desk and computer access.
His heart clenched in his chest as he thought of Avery. Was she okay? Had Prescott hurt her? His chest burned as the many women Prescott had killed flashed in his mind, including the first one, Lydia. The one that he kept a picture of in his lockbox. All brunettes, all tall, all drug addicts, and all dead.
Mike seemed to slip seamlessly back into his role and googled ‘bars in Bathurst, NB,’ and several listings came up. Prescott usually picked up his vics in bars, and maybe that was an advantage. Bathurst was small, and most people didn’t have the money to spend much time in bars, so there weren’t many. He picked up the phone and called the new team commander in charge of Prescott’s case, Don Davies.
“He hasn’t killed since you left. He used to communicate with you via Skype, was it?” Davies’ voice sounded as if his larynx had been dragged down a gravel road and he breathed into the phone as if he were walking up a flight of stairs. He probably drank rotgut whiskey and smoked too much—probably spent too much time eating diner food and sleeping in his car, too. This might have been Mike had he continued working in the field. He wondered for a moment what the guy looked like, but didn’t linger on the thought. He needed the man to send him the files on Prescott and nothing more.
“Yeah, short video chats that bounced off hundreds of IP addresses around the world, completely untraceable.” The cop gave a snort that made Mike’s gut leaden. He knew the guy had knowledge of Mike’s past and had probably decided there was more to his relationship with Prescott than was evident, but Mike ignored him, ending the call as soon as he got what he needed. Avery was the most important thing, her and whoever Prescott chose to take as his next victim—not some vendetta he had to clear his name. He’d given that up when he’d disappeared into the mountains.
Prescott had spent most of his life in institutions with access to the internet, and he had a thirst for knowledge as well as a genius level IQ. Mike still didn’t understand why Prescott hadn’t taken anyone since Mike had left the RCMP. The news had completely stunned him, but it probably shouldn’t.
He’d long ago learned that Prescott cared more about getting under Mike’s skin than he did about the killing, he just hadn’t figured out why. The women were all hookers, addicts, and mothers. That made sense. Prescott’s own mother had been a beautiful brunette who had put herself and her need for her next high above all else.
She’d been seven months pregnant with her second child when she’d been shot and killed. Prescott had been ten years old at the time—found by the EMTs he’d called, a Saturday Night Special at his side, with only his prints all over it. He had planned his mother’s murder extensively; the investigators had found detailed journals. He told tales of the abuses he’d endured from various Johns, pimps, and drug dealers—most of it was for no other reason than their amusement.
Prescott excelled at everything, except making friends. He was always a loner and never associated with any of the other kids. Mike had no clue what any of that had to do with him or why Prescott had become so obsessed, but he pored over the files again anyway. Mike had grown up in a middle-class family as an only child. His dad was a cop, his mom a schoolteacher and neither had a drug problem. He’d lived an ordinary, unremarkable life.
Mike arranged some backup to stake out the local bars, but it was more important he find Avery while he knew Prescott was out. She was on his mountain, a mountain as familiar as the back of his hand. She had to be in one of the hunting shacks up there, and he’d need to search them fast. Prescott wouldn’t be gone long.
With the sun long down, it was cold. At night, it still dipped to barely above freezing, even though the days were warm enough to… he pictured his little girl tied to the tree, her eyes shuttering as he brought her to ecstasy. Mike’s breaths came in quick puffs as he trekked faster up the mountainside. It was a hell of a lot farther than he needed to go, but he decided to park in a remote area several miles from the mountain in case someone was watching him. God only knew what Prescott was up to, who he’d enlisted, and what would happen if Mike wasn’t careful. And then there was the dangers of nature itself—hungry animals, or mudslides in the quick thaw. Prescott would no sooner take his little girl than nature would. He would not fail again—he couldn’t. Avery was his life.
The first hunting cabin was in ruins, but he checked it anyway, smashing the door open wide and leaving it hanging from the hinges. His heart rate had skyrocketed when he searched but quickly fell when he found nothing more than scattered beer cans and dead leaves and debris. The second cabin was in better shape but was still empty. He wanted to fall to his knees and scream, but he had to keep searching. He ran faster than he thought possible up the rough terrain, leaping over rocks and bushes to get to where he’d seen another hunting cabin. His little girl was on this goddamn mountain, and he’d find her if he had to tear it down boulder by boulder.
When the third one came into view, he knew she’d be there. There were fresh boot prints in the wet mud. He flew over the picnic table between him and the cabin and slammed his shoulder into the door to bust it open. It splintered against his weight.
Avery sat in the middle of the sparsely furnished cabin, tied to a chair. Her head hung limply, her blonde curls covering her face. His heart felt as if it had skidded to a halt in his chest. She looked dead. He howled angrily. Not her! Not his little girl.
“Avery!” He knocked the table out of his way with a raging swipe of his arm and when the single unoccupied chair fell to its side and split, Avery’s head came up. Mike’s heart started at a frenzied pace, and he felt dizzy. He cursed, slid across the floor on his knees ignoring the splinters and cradled her face in his two big palms. He kissed her hard.
“Are you okay, baby? Talk to me.” She’d been drugged, he could tell. Her eyes were heavy-lidded and looked hazy. Her face was puffy and swollen when she looked at him.
“Jesus, I thought you were dead! Come on, honey, talk to Daddy, let me hear your voice.”
“If I… had’ve known… these chairs turned to kindling so easily… I would have tossed myself on the fl—.” He cut off her murmured drug-fogged words with another kiss and then pulled his hunting knife from his belt. He sliced the plastic ties quickly and dropped the knife to rub the sting from her wrists.
* * *
“Never mind. Please… let’s go.” Her eyes roamed the room, slowly and unsteady. “This rescue seems way too easy… convenient. Anticlimactic, yeah?”
“You were never his target, Avery. He got what he needed. He only did it to prove he could. It was all to manipulate me.” He grabbed the knife from the floor. “But you’re right. Let’s go, just in case.” He took her hand and kicked the broken chair pieces out of their path. She was wobbly and stumbling a bit, but he wrapped his arm around her waist and bent to scoop her up.
“No, I need to walk. Please.” He nodded and tightened his grip on her waist.
“It’ll get me out of this fog faster.”
“Okay, honey, but hurry.”
“Daddy?”
“Yes, baby?” he answered, dragging her faster.
“He shot Rocky.” She swallowed a sob. He only kissed her head and pulled her on. “And I got a partial license plate number.”
“You did good, honey. Really good.” She slid and stumbled, but he caught her. His soft voice encouraged her, but she was so tired.
“Poor Rocky. We need to find him. We can’t leave him out here.” A lump welled in her throat. She hadn’t had time to grieve when she was in the shack since she had been fighting for her own life, but now she felt the loss.
“We will. But right now, we have to get you back.”
“I saw Alex,” she whispered, her eyes searching Mike’s face. “I saw you talking with him. How is he still alive? Why is he here?” She’d watched him die months ago. She’d seen the blood. No one could have survived a shot to the chest like that. But somehow, not only was he alive, but he was here, on Mike’s mountain. Had he followed her, even after the way things had ended between them?
“Please, fill me in. I need to know,” she asked, her words slurring from the drugs. She stumbled again and he caught her.
“Avery, you need to concentrate. I’ll carry you if you don’t.”
A part of her almost wished he would. She needed to feel safe in his arms again, but she didn’t want him distracted while Prescott was still on the loose. “Okay. I’ll be quiet for now.”
“Screw this, little girl.” He grabbed her up in his arms. “This is where you damn well belong. Now no arguing.”
When they finally got to his cabin, Avery was shivering uncontrollably.
“Come on. You’re probably in shock.” He looked her in the eye and pushed her hair back, running his thumb along her forehead scar. “You’re not staying here, but I want you to sit for a minute in front of the fire and drink some water. Okay?” Avery nodded and sat on the sofa. Her teeth chattered, so he pulled the throw blanket over her. She suddenly stood, her eyes wide and wild. “I need a pen and paper. I need to write down the license plate number.” He placed both hands on her shoulders and pushed her back down. Picking up the blanket, he tucked it around her.
“I’ll get it.” He went to the drawer and took out a pad and pencil. He handed it to her and sat beside her while she scribbled the letters down. “Excited being nobody,” she murmured and then looked at him. “We’re not staying here? Where are we going?”
“I’m taking you to Annie’s, and I’m going to find him. This is going to be a huge help.” He took the pad and tapped it against his palm. “I can’t wait to get this guy,” he said, growling through gritted teeth.
“There’s something else. I saw a convenience store bag in the cabin. If they have cameras you might be able to get a picture of him and broadcast it and the partial plate number. Al’s Convenience.”
“I can’t risk alerting him we have that info. He’ll disappear. And I already have his picture, but so far it hasn’t done us any good. He’s too nondescript.”
“Daddy, I think he wants you to catch him this time. There is more to his connection with you than you know. He says it’s a surprise.”
“I’ve thought that for a long time, Avery,” he said, running a hand through his hair in obvious frustration. “I just don’t know what it could be.”
“Can I see the files?” He arched his brow, but grabbed the file off the table, holding it out of her reach a moment. “I’d rather you close your eyes for a few minutes before we leave, but you’ve spent time with him. Maybe you’ll see something I can’t.” He handed her the folder. She grinned, put her hand on his forearm, and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “I know you’ve been hidden from the world awhile, but I saw a show once where they posted a plate number online and said the guy hit their dog and took off. The power of social media had his location within an hour without alerting him. Could you do something like that? But include his picture because a partial plate won’t be enough when we don’t have the make, model, or color of the car.”
“You, little girl, are brilliant!” A smile grew slowly on his face.
“The writers of the show are brilliant. My only contribution is remembering it.” She rubbed her face as if she could scrub away the drug haze faster. “I only wish I could remember which one so we could credit them.” She shrugged, and he bent to take her mouth. She felt dizzy when he released her lips.
“Mm, that was some kind of brilliant too!” Mike said as her hand fell from his arm to his hip where she clung as he kissed her again, deeper this time.
“Hey, is that a cell in your front pocket?” she asked when their kiss broke. He looked down.
“Yes.” He smirked. “But I’m happy to see you too. Why do you ask?”
She reached into his pocket and grabbed it. “It works?”
“It’s police-issued. Different provider than yours, so yes.”
She blinked up at him.
“Are you going back?” She didn’t know how she felt about it but was more concerned how he felt. Had he missed it?
“I don’t think so.” He was thoughtful a moment. “I want this done—Prescott, Alex, and the rest of this mess, but after that… No, I don’t think I want that life back.”
Avery gripped his phone and smiled. She was glad he didn’t want his old life back because she didn’t either. Avery loved her time with him here in the mountain, and she couldn’t wait to get back to it. She swiped the phone to open it.
“Do you have a pic of Prescott in your email? I can post from here. Maybe we’ll get lucky and have his location before he gets to his next girl.” She opened a fake Facebook account quickly and searched for online Facebook groups located in Bathurst and posted in each one. She created one plea that would relate to each group. When she was finished, Mike handed her a glass of water.
“Drink.” He sat beside her again, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tightly against him. She knew he had to go. Time was so vital now.
“Prescott’s all about games, and cat and mouse seems to be his favorite. I’m just never sure which one of us is the mouse.”
* * *
Her head fell on his shoulder, and she nuzzled against him. The warmth between them felt so right. He didn’t want to leave her now. He wanted to be here where she needed him, but getting Prescott was the only way she’d really be safe. He had to end this.
“Will you tell me about Alex now?” Mike felt heavy in the chest. Did she still love Alex? He looked at her. Her eyes were weary. His little girl needed rest.
“He isn’t a good person, Avery.” She looked to her lap, and he kissed the side of her head. “But none of that reflects on you, baby.” He couldn’t deny his worry that she still had feelings. “He faked his own death so that you’d think those guys would kill you if you didn’t give them your money.” One of her tears landed on his shirt. He hated Alex at that moment—more than anyone should hate a loser like him. “But he didn’t do it for the money, he did it to save his ass from those thugs.”
“I shouldn’t be surprised. Our whole relationship was a con.” She sounded dejected. “But his death haunted me, and he let me think those guys were going to rape and murder me. How could he be so cruel?” She looked up at Mike, and the pain in her eyes went straight through his heart. Mike wished he could take it away.
“If it helps, he didn’t want you to die. He was coming to save you. He realized he’d made a mistake and wanted you back.” She shook her head at his words. “No, he didn’t. Whatever he told you was a lie. He was going to use me again. He might have wrapped it in a selfless package, but I know the truth. He never loved me. It was always about the money.”
“Aww, baby, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Her mouth hitched up at the side. “He’s a douche, and I have a way better man.” Mike took her chin and kissed her lips. “Yes, you do, and I intend to prove it to you every day.”
“Mm, I like the sound of that, Daddy.” She snuggled into his chest. “Where are they all now?
“Alex took off, so I don’t know where he is, but the other two are dead.”
Avery’s eyes widened. “Did you?” Mike gave her a half smile. “I wish, but no. Two conservation officers were here. They found their bodies tied to a tree, mostly eaten by the cougar. I’m guessing Prescott had something to do with that.” He pulled her head to rest on his chest again and set his chin on her head.
She was quiet for a moment, digesting all of this. Mike wished he could hold her all night, reassure her that unlike her asshole fake husband, he understood that Avery’s true worth had nothing to do with her trust fund and everything to do with her beautiful, brave heart. But he had to finish this first… for her.
He kissed her head once more and shifted his weight, preparing to stand. She grabbed his forearm to halt him so he relaxed again.
“Can I stay here? I want to be here surrounded by your things while you’re gone. It’s comforting.”
“Our things,” he corrected. “And yes, I can have someone come to stay with you while I go find Prescott. Maybe Riley. He’ll keep you safe.” He reached into his back pocket and grabbed Alex’s cell. “This was Alex’s. Use it to let your friend Becca know you’re safe. But don’t look for answers in it. You’ll only torture yourself, and he isn’t worth it.”
“I wish we could run away and leave this mess behind, but if I’ve learned anything these last few months it’s no matter how far or fast you run, your past catches up with you.” Her huge glassy eyes found his, and she gave him a small, tentative smile. “But I don’t regret it. If I hadn’t run, I would never have found you.”
“That’s the truth, but I believe I found you, little girl.” He winked at her. “Rest, I’m going to call Riley.”
She slept against his chest until Riley’s knock at the door woke her. She yawned and moved so he could get up.
“I’m going to tuck you in bed before I leave,” Mike murmured as he lifted himself off the couch. “Stay here.”
“How will I sleep knowing you’re out there chasing that psychopath? I’m not even tired anymore.” She yawned, proving her words were a fib, and he chuckled. He’d let her get away with it for now.
“You will sleep because you know he won’t hurt you or me as long as I’m playing his game. And because my number one priority is my little girl.”
“Okay.” She yawned again. “I love you,” she whispered drowsily. He stood, smiled and shook his head. “You’ll say anything to get out of bedtime, won’t you?” he chuckled, and she smiled back cheekily.
“Don’t dismiss my love, Mountain Man Daddy. I’m actually very excited to go to bed. Maybe not now, or alone but eventually.” She bit her lip, looking equally sexy and adorable, and his heart somersaulted in his chest like a teenager.
He bent and picked her up, yelling to Riley that he was coming. He set her on her feet just as they got to the door, and opened it.
Riley gave him and Avery a nod. “I’m going to do a perimeter check and have a look around out here.”
“Good. I’m going to get Avery settled and then I’m out. She’s going to have a rest. There’s only one window in the bedroom, and it’ll be locked. You’ll see it when you do your round.”
He nodded again, then left, and Mike looked at Avery. She looked small and delicate beside him with her tired eyes and marked-up wrists.
“Sure you wouldn’t rather go to a hotel? Somewhere you can have a hot bath and a meal delivered? Somewhere with lots of people? There’s safety in that.”
“I think I’m happy to shower, put on your long johns, and climb into your bed. Although the promise of a bath, rather than the pee-stream spray is tempting.” She shot a dirty look toward the bathroom, and his mouth hitched at the side in a smirk. He wanted everything for her at that moment. Whatever she desired, he wanted to give.
“Do you want to go back to your old life, Avery? With all the money and material things?”
* * *
Avery considered Mike’s question carefully, even though she knew the answer. He’d value it more if he saw she’d thought about it.
“I’ve loved the last few weeks, Daddy. Living out here with you has been the best time in my life. I had nothing growing up, so when I got all the money I surrounded myself with material things, but it never filled the hole I had inside. I wasn’t poor in material things, but I was poor in love. I love this mountain, the views, and being able to frolic naked with you outdoors.” She looked away a moment remembering that Henry saw them outside together and hating that he had managed to invade that private moment between them. Her daddy would put him away though and then no one would invade their oasis again. She grinned. “But I’d sure like that bath and maybe something other than venison stew.”
“When this is over, we’re going out for the night. We’re getting a fancy hotel room with a big tub, dinner at a nice restaurant, and breakfast in bed. I’m going to spoil you rotten, little girl.”
When he had tucked her in the bed, and she was heavy-lidded and fresh from the shower, he sat beside her on the edge. Her stomach sank at the confession she had to make.
“Daddy, that money—the millions. I don’t need it. All I need is you, this little cabin in the mountains, and Annie’s company now and then. Having you makes me richer than any trust fund ever did.”
He brushed her hair back. “I love you, little girl.”
“I have something I need to tell you, but I don’t want to. You’re going to be mad.”
“Avery.” His tone that made her swallow thickly. He crossed his arms. “You’d better tell me now.”
“Can I tell you when you get back?” She licked her lips when his brows rose.
“Right. Now.”
“He didn’t take me from here.” She frowned even though he uncrossed his arms to touch her face. He smoothed his thumb along her wrinkled brow. His compassionate expression gave her strength.
“Tell me.”
“I ran again. I saw the conservation officers and thought they were cops. I thought they might arrest you too, and I started obsessing about how I had ruined everything for you and that you’d be better off without me.” She drew in a quick breath and continued. “If I left, you’d get your peaceful mountain back. But then I got halfway up the mountain, and I knew I needed to turn back. By you being my daddy and me being your little girl we had an agreement, and I was breaking it by making decisions for you.” She clutched his wrist.
“I was running back, Daddy, I was, but then Prescott shot Rocky and grabbed me. I shouldn’t have run.” Tears pooled, and she began to tremble again. She was so tired and so overwhelmed, she couldn’t hold any of it in. He pulled her into his arms. “Rocky wouldn’t have been shot if I hadn’t have run either. He followed me and wouldn’t go home. And if he’d stayed with you, he could’ve protected you from Alex too.”
“I didn’t need protection from that half-wit con man, but honey, we’ll fix it in our way, I promise. Okay? I promise you can let go of all that guilt, but I have to get Prescott first.” He pulled her back so he could look her in the face.
“You’ll spank me?” she asked, chewing her lip nervously.
“Little girl, you will be taken over my knee and spanked as soon as this is over.” He gave her one of his firm looks that melted her all over and then wiped her wet cheeks. “And this time, I’m going to make sure you never run again.”
“I’m sorry…” He hushed her, but she continued anyway. “I never thought hearing I was getting spanked would relieve me.”
“That happiness won’t last long, little girl, but the burn on your ass will.”
“Okay, Daddy.” She smiled, and he pressed his lips to her head.
“Now roll over and go to sleep.” She turned over right away, and he planted a firm swat over the blanket. “That’s my girl.”
Avery fell asleep within minutes, finally at peace.