she thinks so.”
Madison had no idea how right she was, but I couldn’t tell her everything if I couldn’t keep her safe.
“Why do you care so much?”
Terry’s question stung. “You mean why does the Ashby Princess give a shit about some homeless girl?”
The question sounded as bitter and acidic as it felt on my tongue, but I thought he knew me better than that.
“She came to me for help, and I know exactly what these people are capable of and the damage they leave behind. The lasting effect of their sick fucking acts isn’t just limited to the victims, but everyone around them.”
I paused. I needed to suck in a deep calming breath. “If I can stop one person from going through that hell, I will. Otherwise what’s the point of all this fucking money and influence?”
“I didn’t mean anything by—”
“Shut up, Terry,” I said and walked to the other side of the bed. I knelt down to see if there were any clues about who took Madison. Or why. Any clues that could help find her was what I focused on instead of another humiliating reason to get over my stupid attraction to my brother’s best friend.
“I’ll check the bathroom.”
I nodded absently at Terry’s words, more focused on kneeling in a pencil skirt without putting my hands on the motel bed. I reached under the bed, hoping my fingertips didn’t happen upon a used condom, or worse. But then I felt it, something hard and plastic.
“Her phone!” Skirt be damned! I flattened myself against the floor with a grunt and reached until the phone was in my palm.
“What?” Terry stood at the foot of the bed; blond brows dipped into a frown.
“Her phone. Madison left it under the bed.” I held it up like a trophy, keeping a death grip on it as Terry helped me up.
“Thanks,” I said, flashing a quick look of gratitude up at him and ignoring the rush of excitement that stole through me at his touch.
“Anytime.”
Yeah, right. I turned back to the phone instead of my ridiculous attraction to a man who thought I was a stuck up rich bitch who only cared about herself. Madison was what mattered right now. The screen was cracked but I tapped it anyway, relieved when it lit up.
“It’s working.” I heard the relief in my voice and looked over at Terry.
He looked at me like he thought more of me than he did five minutes ago, and it reminded me how easily men lied. People in general, but men especially.
“You get that for her?”
I nodded. “I did. So I could let her know if I found anything. Look, the recorder app is still running.” I stopped and saved the recording and then replayed it.
There were two voices, a man and a woman.
“We can’t leave her here. Who knows who she’s talked to?” The woman’s voice was unfamiliar but I suspected it belonged to Donna McLaughlin.
Then the man spoke. “We have two options, Montana or Texas.”
“Texas is closer to the border and bad things happen to girls all the time down there.”
Her words were ominous, but the meaning was clear. It would be better for them, whoever they were, if Madison was dead.
The man grunted, the sound of Madison’s terrified breathing loud in the phone’s speaker.
“She could make a lot more money in Chicago. Not to mention Mueller is a bishop over there.”
Mueller. Another connection to the Church and Rhymer.
“It has to be the McLaughlins and Mueller,” I insisted. I didn’t need Terry to believe me or confirm it; I was sure Mueller was behind Madison’s kidnapping.
“I gotta make a call,” Terry said and stomped off, giving me time to listen to the recording again while he checked in with Jasper.
Since they didn’t know Madison was recording, the man and woman spoke freely, but the end of the recording grew faint because the door was open, and they were farther away from the bed.
“Drop her at The Last Stop with any driver heading south. Get rid of her.”
What followed was what I feared, sounds of Madison struggling against someone stronger, probably bigger too. And angry.
I knew exactly where The Last Stop was, at the crossroads of three different interstate highways that could get you to Mexico in just a few hours. With the phone clutched in my hand, I headed for the door just as Terry stepped inside.
“I talked to Jasper,” he said but I cut him off.
“I know where they took her. I’m going after her. Oliver