Nate sat in the squad room rubbing his forehead. The police captain was busy handing out assignments. He knew he wouldn’t be given an assignment because he wasn’t part of the PD.
He’d promised Ryan he wouldn’t do anything until they checked in at the station, pooling all of their resources, but to his knowledge, they knew nothing more than they’d known an hour ago.
His gut told him to go to the lake, but he didn’t know why. If Ryan asked for a good reason, he couldn’t give him one. His gut wasn’t a good enough reason. He strolled over to the window facing the side of the building, wishing he could find some answers to his questions. The window was slightly open, letting in a nice breeze. Where did Trevor live? Where was Randy Brooks? Were they involved in her disappearance?
He heard a sound off to the side and turned his head, surprised to see a boy of about eight standing outside with a huge gray dog whose tongue was hanging out.
“Go to the loch.” The boy nodded to him as if he were talking directly to him. All he could think of was what the hell did that mean? What was a “loch”? He turned to see if the lad was addressing someone behind him.
The boy chuckled. “Are ye daft, man? I said go to the loch.”
He closed his eyes for a second, trying to gauge if the kid and the dog were really there, and when he opened them again, they were gone.
He rubbed his forehead again, looking for the boy, but he didn’t see him or the dog. Could they have disappeared that quickly? Was he seeing things? Afraid his worry and concern for Lauren was clogging his mind, he turned back toward the officers’ meeting.
Ryan came over and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You see a ghost or something?”
Nate looked back at him with wide eyes. “Maybe. Or I could just be losing my mind. What’s a loch?”
Ryan closed his eyes. “A loch is a lake. Why? Did you see something?” Something about the way he said it made Nate think he knew more about the situation than he was letting on. It emboldened him to speak.
“Did you see a boy or a dog there a moment ago? Is there one that lives down the street or something?”
Ryan quirked his brow. “Did he speak with an accent? Was it a huge deerhound or wolfhound or something?”
“Yeah,” Nate said, suddenly relieved. “He said to go to the loch. Then he called me daft. Who uses the word daft in this day and age?”
“Old Scots,” Ryan whispered. “I’ll explain later. You and I are going to the lake. Don’t mention the kid to anyone. I’ll be right back.”
Nate didn’t know what to make of what Ryan Ramsay had said, but he didn’t much care if Lauren’s stepbrother had a screw loose. At least they were going to the lake.
Jake followed the two of them out to the cruiser. Ryan gave crisp instructions as they hurried along, as if he knew time was of the essence. “Jake, contact the sheriff’s office, see if they’ll send a boat out onto Orenda Lake.”
“I don’t know why you’re going to the lake. There’s no indication…”
Ryan stopped him in his tracks with one word. “Loki.”
Jake’s jaw dropped and his entire demeanor changed. “I’ll make the arrangements. Get your ass going.”
As soon as they were in the car, Nate asked, “What the hell did that mean? Who is Loki?”
Ryan put the car in gear and sped out of the parking lot. “You’re not likely to believe this, and if I hadn’t see it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it either, but Caitlyn was contacted by the boy and his pet a while ago, when she was in a bad state. He said he was her guiding angel.”
“You mean guardian angel? Are you trying to tell me I just saw an angel?”
“Not guardian angel, guiding. He guides her in the right direction, which is exactly what he was doing with you. I told Jake about him.”
Nate chuckled. “Come on, Ryan. You don’t believe that, do you?”
“Like I said. If I hadn’t seen him with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it either. But I do trust my own eyes and ears.”
“So what did he look like?”
“The dog is tall and thin. Gray haired with a wiry coat. The kid has brown hair, always mussed up, and he looks around eight or nine. Speaks with a Scottish burr, and comes off as the kind of jokester his name implies.”
Nate took in everything Ryan said, unable to believe he’d talked with an apparition. “A ghost from Scotland. I don’t know, Ramsay…What was he wearing?”
“His Grant plaid.”
“What?”
“A kilt in muted reds and greens, a little gold. He’s from medieval times, so the colors aren’t really bright.”
Nate whispered, “You saw him out the window.”
Ryan said, “No, I didn’t. If we find Lauren on the loch, I mean the lake, will you believe me then? Nothing gave us any reason to search the lake. It’s September, and the temperature is only around fifty degrees. There won’t be many boats out there now.”
“Agreed. Tell me how you want to handle this. And who do you think we’ll find?”
“Randy Brooks. His father and uncles all have boats and houses on the lake. He insisted someone would pay when we arrested the group at the frat house.”
“Not Trevor?”
“Trevor is a little more mature than the others, but he’s still a possibility.” He pulled into the driveway, parked his cruiser, and both of them made a beeline to the lake. Ryan’s father emerged from the house and followed them down.
“What is it, Three?”
“Dad, we’re taking the boat. Lauren is missing. We have nothing to go on, just an inkling. I’ll tell you as soon as we hear anything.”
Lorraine had followed her husband out of the house. “Oh no,” she said, reaching out to her husband. He wrapped his arms around her and helped hold her steady. “Please find her.”
Ryan reached the boat-house and ducked in. A moment later, he came out with two vests—he put on one and tossed the other to Nate. “Use this in case bullets fly. If you go over, it’ll keep you above water.”
Nate didn’t argue, he just put it on, struggling to get his numb hands to comply. He said a quick prayer, then thought of Lauren and what she must be going through.
He’d never met anyone as strong as Lauren. She had to hang on, she just had to. He’d started to imagine a future with her. With this woman he loved.
Once they headed out, Ryan pointed to the sheriff’s boat already headed in their direction. Jake had been true to his word. Ryan slowed when the sheriff’s boat drew up next to him. “Did you find anything?” he called out to the two guys on board.
“Ramsay, there’s one boat out there,” the man who was closer to them reported. “Plenty of room to hide someone. When we approached, we hadn’t gotten your call yet, but I think it’s worth checking out. He’s trolling. Midway down on the east side of the lake. No fishing gear in sight.”
“How many men?”
“Only saw one.”
“Travel with us for backup?”
“Absolutely. Not much else happening out there this time of year. You make the call when we check it out. We’ll follow your lead.”
Ryan nodded and took off.
“You never asked him who it was,” Nate said.
“Does it matter?”
***
Trevor Hutton removed Lauren’s gag and ran his fingers down the side of her cheek. She backed away from him, coughing to get the awful sour taste out of her mouth. This wouldn’t be the end. It couldn’t be. Ryan and Jake would come for her, and Nate would search high and low for her.
But would they even consider checking the lake this late in the season?
“Water,” she rasped.
Trevor moved over to the counter built into the side of the small room and grabbed a bottle of water. “Now, I’ll leave that off if you can be pleasant and promise not to scream.”
She nodded. As soon as she had reason to believe they were close to another boat or the shoreline, she’d scream her lungs out, but until that happened, she needed to convince him he could trust her.
She took several swigs of water, knowing she had to be dehydrated.
“I told Dominic not to hurt you. He was only supposed to scare you. In fact, I wish you’d never started that ridiculous support group. I sent Randy out to scare you, but I didn’t tell him to set your house on fire. The stupid bastard. I beat the shit out of him for that mistake. You could have died. But you didn’t listen to him or to the group. Your brothers wouldn’t stop, and the school security was all over the fraternity. That’s why it escalated. Dom and the others just like to play with a few women here and there. They never hurt them. None of them were virgins, and they all want it.”
She didn’t intend to argue with him. Ryan had told her to save her energy if she was ever abducted. Keep her strength up, be aware of her surroundings, and dig for information. Don’t try to get away until there were others around, then scream and fight with all your strength.
Except she found herself saying, “He did hurt me. They all did, kicking and punching as if I were nothing but a rag doll.”
His eyes glittered with rage and balled his fists. “I know, and I was furious when I saw that video. I’m glad Dom was arrested. I never intended for this. To see them touch you…hit you…it was just wrong. I apologize that I didn’t get to you in time.”
She said, “Where are we?”
“Orenda Lake.” He moved over to a closet and opened it up. “Look at all the pretty things I bought for you.” He pulled out one gown and said, “They’re more weather appropriate for Florida, of course.”
“Florida?” Her pulse sped up and she coughed again, doing her best to maneuver the water bottle with her hands tied in front of her.
He said, “My parents own two homes, one on the lake and one in Florida. We’ll occupy the one they’re not in. They’ll be leaving next week, so we’ll have our own place until they return in late spring. By then, I expect you’ll be used to the idea of being my wife.”
“We’re on the lake. You’ll be caught if you try to bring me to Florida.”
“Hardly. There’s a small channel, as you know, that will take me into Seneca Lake. My parents own an old homestead there, too, though it’s barely functional. No one will find us there. We’ll set out once the search dies down.”
“Trevor, you’re a nice man,” she said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice as she addressed her rapist, “but I’m not interested in being your wife. A woman has to agree to the marriage, and I’ll never marry you.” She turned her head just a touch, not wanting him to see the disgust in her eyes. A distant sound registered in her ears. Was it truly a boat, or was she just projecting what she wanted to hear?
“Ah, but you will grow to love me. When you have no human contact but me, you’ll become dependent on me. You’ll see. You’ll beg me to touch you in the end.”
All of a sudden, he froze, tipping his head to the side.
“Shit,” was all he said, but she knew that meant he’d heard the boat, too. She knew it was really there.
He grabbed her and hauled her around, holding her back against his belly. He pulled a gun out and said, “One word, one wrong movement, and I’ll kill whoever it is. My guess is it’s either that idiot boyfriend of yours or one of your stepbrothers. I’ll kill all three of them if I need to.”