FRIDAY. KYLE’S HOME, Seattle, Washington.

Kyle had to do something. Say something. Bethany’s gaze grew distant, and he knew she wasn’t there with him. This whole ordeal had unleashed demons she’d sealed away, and now they were back. He admired her strength and determination to find her friend, but she couldn’t do this alone. Even Kyle didn’t try to do it all himself. That was what a team was for.

“How’s the food taste? Too much cheese?” he asked to get her to say something.

“Oh? Oh—God, no. This is amazing.” Bethany shook her head and took another bite.

“Good.” Kyle smiled at her. He had to treat her like a client now. He had to keep her calm and comfortable while his team did the heavy lifting. “How about we talk about something happier?”

“What would that be?”

He opened and closed his mouth.

This was where the other guys were handy. Isaac always had something to talk about, and Felix was good at pitching in when it came to banter. Kyle kept them all aimed at a goal and the machine running.

“What’s the last thing you did for fun?” Bethany asked.

“I took a bike ride down one of the paths Mom and I used to do.”

“You grew up in Seattle then?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Mt. Vernon, mostly. My parents moved into Seattle, then out to Tacoma.”

“I never thought I’d be back here.” Kyle glanced at the kitchen, the light gleaming off all that white.

“How’d you end up here then?” Bethany asked.

“At first, Dad. He got himself in the hospital and they wouldn’t release him to anyone. I was the only person he could call, and we sort of fell into a dependant relationship. I heard rumors we might open an office on this coast so I bought the house on a gamble. Six months later they announced the move here and there you have it. I’m back in Seattle.”

“Wait—go back to the house. You said you redid the kitchen?” She ate another dainty bite.

“The whole thing, actually. Dad and I actually lived in the garage for a month together before I got the inside of this place put together enough that we didn’t have to be under the same roof.”

“The whole thing?” Bethany turned in her seat to gape at the living room.

“Pretty much. I can’t take too much credit for the design, though. I got a lot of help. Figured when Dad was gone, I’d sell the place.” He didn’t have any use for a two thousand square foot house with an in-law suite. Of all the places he’d lived though, this was the one he was going to miss.

“Is there an after dinner tour?” she asked.

“If you want one.” He shrugged.

“How’d you learn to do all the remodeling stuff?” Bethany leaned her elbows on the table. “Spoiler, I love all those home reno shows.”

“I got into too much trouble between deployments, so I found a guy who’d hire me for weeks or months at a time. Picked up a little bit of everything.”

“I need to learn your secrets.” Bethany placed her fork in the middle of her plate. “That was delicious, thank you.”

“Glad you liked it.” Kyle pushed his plate away from him. Mom had always called her Tuscan Chicken recipe the ultimate comfort food, and he was inclined to agree. “Ready for your tour?”

“I am.” Bethany grinned and stood.

He had no idea why a house tour was this exciting, but she was smiling.

“Let’s start at the front then.” He stood and together they walked across to the front door. “Here’s a picture of it before. If you swipe, you can see it down to the studs, then here you have it.”

Bethany took his phone and stared at the picture.

“Wow...and you bought this place looking like this?” She gaped at him.

“The garage apartment sold it. That place wasn’t all that bad.” He shrugged.

“There’s a hole in the subfloor. How’d you even walk through the house?”

“Couple two by fours and some plywood.”

“You are the king of understating things, aren’t you?”

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

“Yeah, right.” Bethany glared at him from the corner of her eye. “Where to next?”

“You might not want to look at the kitchen before shots if the hole in the floor bothers you.”

“The kitchen? This beautiful kitchen of yours? Do I just keep swiping?” She marched across what was previously a gaping hole straight down to the basement and stood in the middle of the living room facing the kitchen. “Dear God...”

“Told you.” Kyle ambled after her, taking far too much joy in her shocked expression.

“I can’t believe you turned this into that.” She glanced up at him. “I do like your use of the subway tiles.”

“The rectangle ones?” He squinted at the kitchen.

“You know what they’re called.” She smacked his shoulder. “What else can you do? Magic?”

“I know a few card tricks?”

“Of course you do.” She grinned.

They toured a downstairs room he used as an office and the lower level bathroom. She asked questions about materials and the time taken for each stage of the remodel. They spent a good five minutes discussing how he’d bought the wood for the stairs off a house that was going to be demolished so he could replace the busted ones here with something similar.

The upstairs had far less charm. The bedrooms were functional and simple while he’d saved his dollars to put into the two bathrooms.

“All total, what do you think you put into the place?” Bethany crossed his bedroom to sit on the bench between the two dormer windows looking out on the back of the house.

“Oh...thirty or forty grand?” He squinted at the ceiling. “That sounds about right.”

“Do you think you’ll make it back?”

“Easy.” He leaned against the foot of his bed. “Need to finish drywall in the basement and tidy that up so it’s partially finished. Biggest thing will be making Dad’s apartment livable. Tearing out all the last carpet, redoing the insulation, replacing some drywall.”

“You’re set on selling the place?”

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t have a lot of use for a house this big without Dad.”

“Will you buy to flip again?”

“Probably not something that’s a project on this scale, but maybe if the right thing came up. Hard to say, really.” He shrugged.

“I wish I could do something like this.” Bethany glanced down at her lap. “Oh...it’s Merida?”

Kyle crossed to the bench and took the phone. He hoped it wasn’t bad news.

“Hey Merida, you’re on speaker with me and Bethany.” He held the phone between them.

“I didn’t wake you up, did I?” Merida asked. She would make the appropriate apologies without meaning them. They all knew their job happened twenty-four hours a day.

“Not at all,” Kyle said.

“Merida? Like...Brave, Merida?” Bethany blinked up at him.

Kyle quickly covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

“Close enough,” Merida said without skipping a beat. “Zain wanted me to check that you’d gotten his email and were staying put for the night.”

“Copy that,” Kyle said.

“Good. Get some rest and we’ll see you tomorrow.” Merida hung up.

“Did I just piss her off?” Bethany covered her mouth.

“Nah.” Kyle grinned. “We give her shit all the time about being the Office Princess. Believe me, Merida can hold her own.”

“Who is she?”

“She’s...well, she’s more like our Office Manager, though originally she was going to be Zain’s assistant. If it’s in the office and not operational, it’s under her purview.” He leaned back on the cushions and stared across the room.

“Does this count as my rain check, or do I get to cash that at a better time?” Bethany asked.

“What?” He chuckled. He had a vague memory of her saying something about another time.

“Nothing. Forget it.”

“Beth—any.” He winced. He’d fallen into calling her Beth and it’d become a habit before he could fix it. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” She leaned her head back against the wall and smiled at him. Bits of hair had come loose from her bun during the day. He’d always wondered how long her hair really was.

“I think the holder of the rain check gets to decide when they cash it in,” he said.

“But I thought I owed you?”

“You were going to grace me with your company, so I think I owe you.”

“Oh, do you now? I think after all this I’m in your debt.”

“Nah. You brought us a client. That might actually get you a referral fee for all I know.”

Bethany’s smile dimmed and Kyle could have kicked himself.

He reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze.

“We’re going to find her.” He couldn’t tell Bethany Megan would be okay or alive, but at the very least they’d bring her home. Then they’d find her killer. While their team aimed to work within the bounds of the law, they didn’t hesitate to bend rules for the greater good. Sometimes that’s what it took to protect people. Like Bethany.

“I hope so,” she whispered.

“We will.” He pulled on her hand and she leaned toward him.

Kyle slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her up against his side. He hated that this was happening to her, but at least he could help. He wasn’t good at much, but this fell under his specialty.

“Thank you,” she mumbled and laid her head on his shoulder.

What he wouldn’t give for this moment to be happening in another time or place. His attraction to Bethany warred with his need to look out for her. They were not compatible. At least not for him. And besides, she was better off without him.

“Why don’t we get some rest and start early tomorrow?” he said. Putting some walls between them would do him some good.

Kyle tugged on her hand and guided her to her feet.

“How am I supposed to sleep?” She peered up at him through her lashes.

“Comfortably, I hope?”

“Haa. Haa. You’re so funny,” she said in a deadpan voice.

“Good thing I’ve got a day job, right?”

Bethany smiled at that.

What he wouldn’t do to keep her like this. If he could keep her in a bubble away from all the evilness, he’d do it. He’d always thought Bethany was one of the strong ones, and now he knew how strong she really was. He admired the hell out of her for the shit she’d been through. Unlike him, she’d come out of it better, compassionate.

She leaned toward him a little.

Shit, she was dead on her feet and here he was keeping her awake.

He opened his mouth.

Before he could find the words, Bethany swayed toward him and went up on her tiptoes. She pressed her mouth to his in a sudden kiss. Kyle gripped her shoulders, the forbidden attraction seducing him. For one, blissful moment he sank into the kiss. Her mouth was soft, warm. He’d wondered what she would feel like, how her lips would taste and now he knew. Against his better judgment he pulled her closer. Her hands slipped up over his shoulders. Her head tilted one way, his the other.

Cherry. She tasted like cherry lip balm.

His head spun. There wasn’t enough oxygen in his lungs.

Kyle turned his head, sucking down air.

Holy shit.

“I...uh...sorry.” Bethany pulled away from him.

There was a note in her voice he didn’t like. It bordered on fear.

“Wait?” He kept hold of her hand, but didn’t stop her from putting distance between them.

Bethany stared at the floor, her cheeks bright red, eyes wide.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “No. Sorry. Can we just forget the last few minutes happened?”

“No.” It wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear, but it was the truth.

“Oh, God. Okay.” She tugged her hand from his and covered her face.

“It was a kiss.”

“I know.” She dropped her hands. “I...I’m not supposed to date or anything. For a year. I wasn’t supposed to kiss you.”

“You lost me...” It was Kyle’s turn to stare.

“I...um. Sit? I can’t think with you standing over me like this. Has anyone ever told you that you’re too tall?” Her hands fluttered when she spoke. He’d never seen her nervous before.

Kyle perched on the edge of the bench and leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

“Okay. I told you about Anthony. Well, when I moved out I started dating, and it was such a mistake. I’m...it was bad, okay? I decided about six months ago I wasn’t doing any of that, and I said no dating, no nothing. For a year.”

“I see.” Six months ago? He couldn’t remember if anything had been different about her, but that wasn’t his business.

“You see? What?” Bethany put her hands on her hips. She didn’t handle being nervous well.

“I’d just like to point out that a kiss is not a date.”

“Oh, haa haa. It falls under that anything category.”

Kyle bit his cheek to keep from chuckling. He doubted she’d like to hear how cute she looked flustered with wisps of hair framing her face.

He was damaged goods. Bethany needed someone better than him. Right now was the short term, and that had different requirements. He leaned forward and grabbed her hand.

“You couldn’t help yourself so you kissed me. Is that about right?” he asked.

“Your masculine magnetism was just too great,” she said with a flat stare. She took a small step toward him.

“I’ll try to keep it in check.” Kyle stood, and she tilted her head up, watching him.

“You should do that. Prolonged exposure has me loopy.”

“Does it now?” His gaze slid from her eyes to her mouth. He wasn’t the only one feeling the chemistry.

“Which bedroom am I staying in?” Bethany glanced away from him.

“First room on the left.”

Kyle shoved his hands in his pockets and vowed to get a handle on himself. He’d stay in his corner tonight. Tomorrow they’d find Megan and all of this would be over.

FRIDAY. CANDLELIGHT Theater, Seattle, Washington.

Jay shoved the door to the boiler room open. His arms still ached from sitting in the closet for what seemed like hours. When he went to visit the girls he was prepared. Today he’d had to hide while those men defiled the space.

Roger Blew.

That fucker could go blow himself.

Jay had been aware of the detective for about fifteen years. During the nineties the guy had taken to TV, spouting off all kind of garbage about Jay that wasn’t true. It would have been funny if it weren’t insulting.

A whimper broke through Jay’s thoughts.

He whirled toward the bed.

Megan sat on the mattress, her wide eyes on him.

Fuck.

He hadn’t been able to get back here as soon as he’d have liked.

“You need to pee? Want some water?” Jay wasn’t keen on the smell of urine especially if he was going to have to wait a while longer.

Megan nodded.

“I went to visit your house. Bethany was not there.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the chain holding Megan’s feet to the frame. “You know who was?”

The loudest sound in the room was Megan’s snotty breathing. She must have been crying. He couldn’t even enjoy her fear, the power he had over her, because Bethany had ruined it. This was all Bethany’s fault.

Jay unlocked the other chain securing Megan’s wrists to the headboard and stood back, holding both of her leashes. He had to be smart handling her. He wasn’t a big man, and he’d had women try to fight back before. Megan was feisty. He wasn’t going to let her fool him. She was as manipulative as Mom.

“Get up.” He gestured at the corner of the room where he’d set up a little partition to hide the piss bucket. “The cops were at your house. The cops. No Bethany. Faith is still at work. Everything is fucked.”

Megan hobbled to her feet.

“I had a plan. If we’d stuck to the plan it would be perfect, but no.” Jay shuffled along with Megan to the corner.

She paused at the entrance and glanced from the bucket to him and back.

“Go,” Jay snapped.

This was only supposed to be a temporary arrangement. Pick up Megan on her way to the movies. Get Bethany while she was at home alone and make it back before Faith was off work. If it’d gone according to the plan he’d have everyone by tomorrow morning and spend the day setting the stage. He wouldn’t care what they smelled like. Hell, Mom sometimes stank of piss, so it could be perfect. He just didn’t want to smell it for days if he could help it.

Megan edged into the cubby hole, her eyes still on him.

“Fine.” Jay rolled his eyes and took a step back, behind the partition.

He couldn’t touch Megan, not like that. Sex wasn’t her purpose. She had a higher calling.

Jay’s phone vibrated. He frowned and slid it out. He’d been dead certain he didn’t get a signal down here.

Strange.

What wasn’t strange was that it was Mother. Again.

She never took these trips well, but he needed them. Always pent up with her and her bitching about her younger years, how much better she’d had it. He worked close to seventy hours a week to keep her comfortable and the most thanks he got was a pat on the cheek. Like he was still a fucking child.

Mom tried is patience.

“Are you done yet?” Jay snarled.

Megan made a whimpering sound.

Jay shoved his phone in his pocket. He’d take care of her later. Once his needs were met. He just couldn’t handle Mom until then.

The chains rattled and scraped the floor.

“Finally.” Jay straightened.

Megan stepped out from behind the shelter, hands clutched to her chest.

“Get back on the bed,” he said.

She stank of fear and sweat. Usually that combination would intoxicate him but not right now. Everything was ruined. He’d have to come up with a new plan to get the girls. He would not abandon his plan.

Megan stumbled, lurching sideways. He recoiled, unprepared for touching her. She kept coming, smashing something hard clenched between her hands against his face. Jay stumbled backward, yanking on the chains, forcing Megan to keep coming. She screamed into the gag. Pain radiated through his face and down his spine.

Jay tripped over debris he hadn’t bothered to clear and they both went tumbling to the ground. He landed on his side, Megan driving her knees into his chest. She snatched at his knit mask, pulling it around and blinding him.

“No!” he wailed and threw up his arm to shield his face, fearing those nasty nails.

Except...that wasn’t Mom. Jay wasn’t a little boy.

He jerked on the chains and rolled. He shoved the mask back into place just as Megan hit the ground. He threw himself at her, grabbing her throat with one hand. Her eyes bulged.

They were brown, not blue.

The wrong color.

“No.” Jay shook his head.

“That’s not right. It’s not right!” He shoved to his feet and whirled toward the bed.

The mask where was the mask?

Megan lay on the ground coughing and gasping for breath.

“Everything has to be perfect.” Jay grabbed the chains and dragged Megan’s spent body to the bed.

He didn’t even bother putting her back on the mattress. He chained her to the heavy bottom frame and left her there.

If he couldn’t get Bethany next, he’d settle for Faith. Going out of order wouldn’t kill him. It wasn’t the plan, but the end result would still be perfect.