Decker hesitated again. He'd rather hoped to avoid telling her this part, but finally he admitted, "Not alone, no. There was a security guard in the area. They brought him over, told him they were the police and that Stephanie was a kidnap victim and that they needed him to stay with her and keep her calm while they went after the kidnapper."
He paused and peered down at the sheet lying across his body, not at all surprised to see that the tent had fallen.
"And he believed them?" Dani asked with surprise. "They don't have badges, do they?"
"They don't need them," Decker pointed out.
"Oh, right. They used that mind-control business," she muttered with realization and then frowned. "Then where is she? What happened? He didn't just let her wander off, did he? She might be out there in shock somewhere-"
"He didn't exactly let her go," Decker interrupted, avoiding her eyes. This was the hardest part to tell her, but there was no hope for it. "When they came back out, and told us Stephanie and the guard should be there, we spread out to search the parking garage. We didn't find Stephanie."
"And the guard?"
"Dead," he said bluntly.
As he'd feared, Dani's eyes widened with horror and fear. "What-? How-? Did-?"
"His throat was slit," Decker answered before she could finish the question.
Dani sat back, her face paling sickly. "The rogue killed that poor man and took Stephanie."
"That's what we think," he said carefully.
"What do you mean think?" she asked coldly. "Of course he did. She wouldn't have gone with him willingly."
"No, probably not," he acknowledged. "But we don't understand why he bothered to take her with him when it would be easier for him to slip away on his own."
Dani frowned at his words and then looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "The one who has her watched her a lot."
"Watched her?" he asked curiously.
She nodded. "I noticed him watching Stephanie in the van, but at the clearing he was left to guard us and he couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. He just stood there, his expression really intense and locked on her like his life depended on it. It was creepy. I wanted to ..." Dani shook her head unhappily and waved that away. They were both silent for a moment and then she said, "So you're still chasing him?"
He nodded.
"But then why are we here?" she asked with a sudden burst of frustration. "We should be on the road following him."
Decker caught her arm as she started to get off the bed. "He didn't take the SUV."
"Didn't...?" Dani stared at him with incomprehension, and then a new horror began to rise in her eyes as she realized the state of things. "You've lost her."
Decker winced, but said quickly, "We'll find her."
She didn't look as if she believed that was likely, and then sighed and glanced around. "I need to call my parents. They'll be worried sick."
"It's all right. Lucian sent a couple men over to take care of them last night," Decker told her, and her eyes widened with alarm.
"Take care of them how?"
Dani asked the question as if suspecting their people might have gone and shot them down like dogs in the street or something. The reaction irritated the hell out of him. "They just eased their minds and made them think that you and Stephanie stopped in Toronto for a couple days to see the sights and visit Wonderland. It was so they wouldn't worry. If you call them, you'll just upset and confuse them. They're happy and calm right now." And not likely to call in the mortal police and blow this up into a "situation," he thought, but didn't say that out loud.
Dani stared at him for several moments, looking uncertain, and then shook her head and said dully, "You should have woken me."
"There was no need. You couldn't do anything to help either situation."
"I could have helped look for Stephanie," she argued. "Another set of eyes wouldn't have hurt. Besides," Dani added, getting upset again. "None of you even know what she looks like."
"Every man has a picture of her," he assured her solemnly.