Torn - Cynthia Eden Page 0,47
and started walking toward their SUV.
For a moment he just stared after her. No, no, she couldn’t be serious.
But . . .
She was almost at the SUV.
I hate Jekyll. I’d be happy if I never saw that island again.
But he couldn’t let Victoria go alone. Shit. Shit.
He rushed after her. He had the keys, dammit, so she couldn’t just leave without him. Knowing Victoria and her secrets, the woman probably knew how to hot-wire a car. He caught her just before she reached for the door handle. His hand closed around her shoulder and he turned her back to face him. “No.” That one word was all he could manage right then. Fury choked him too hard.
“Uh, no?” She blinked. “No, what?”
He took a deep breath. Another. He smelled lavender. He could feel her delicate shoulder beneath his touch. But in his mind . . . he saw a knife. Could almost hear a woman’s screams.
Not Kennedy’s screams. Not Melissa’s.
Victoria’s.
“There is no trade.” It couldn’t, wouldn’t happen. The killer was focusing on Victoria, and Wade would figure out why the hell that was happening, but he wasn’t just going to stand there while she offered herself up to him.
“If it saves Melissa . . .”
His hold tightened on her as he leaned in close, his body pressing to hers. “You don’t risk your life, got it?” And he knew he sounded like a dick, but he couldn’t help it. Too rough. Too angry. Too scared . . . scared that something would happen to her.
“Am I just supposed to let her die? Is that what you would do if he’d asked you to make the trade instead?”
“It isn’t me.” It’s you. You matter. You can’t . . . I can’t lose you. But he didn’t tell her any of that. Instead, Wade took another deep breath and made himself step back. “First thing we need to do . . . find Jim Porter. Let him know what’s happening. Then, yes, we’ll go to Jekyll Island. Together. You don’t go off without me. I don’t go off without you. We’re partners, and we’ll stay together every single moment.”
She shook her head. “We need to get there now—”
“The killer was here in Savannah when he made that call to you. Jekyll Island is almost an hour from here. We check in with our client first, we call Gabe and update the rest of LOST, then we’ll search Jekyll.” They had to do this thing right.
Her jaw locked, but Victoria said, “Fine, we’ll play it your way.”
His way? His way would be to lock her up so she was far away from any danger, and that was not how he should be thinking. She was his partner, but they’d crossed a line when they became lovers, and keeping things professional, keeping his emotions out of the mix, was damn impossible. He wanted to protect her. Shield her from everyone and everything. But that wasn’t the job.
Maybe it fucking should be.
He opened her door. He took out his phone and tried to call Jim. But the line just rang and rang, and finally his voice mail picked up. Wade left Jim a terse message, explaining that he needed to call, ASAP. Then he climbed into the SUV and dialed Gabe. He wasn’t surprised that his friend picked up on the second ring.
“Tell me you’ve got news,” Gabe said immediately.
“Not the kind you’re going to like.” Wade’s fingers tapped on the steering wheel. “We found Kennedy Lane.”
“That is the news I—”
“The perp kept her alive for three years, torturing her.”
Silence. Then, “Son of a fucking bitch.”
“And he’s taken another woman . . .”
THE DOOR OPENED. Light spilled into the little room where she’d been kept, but Melissa didn’t move.
She was standing behind that door, her body frozen. She’d gotten free moments before, and now he was coming—whoever the hell he was. The door inched open, so slowly, and soon she knew the light would spill on the cot. He’d see that she wasn’t there.
I only have a moment. I have to act fast.
Her hands were linked together, forming one big fist. She had them lifted over her head. She was going to hit him as hard as she could. She would knock him down and run. Run fast and never look back.
“Melissa . . .” His voice was low, raspy. And . . . familiar?
She saw his back as he stepped into the room. Broad. Strong. The light hit his blond hair.
And the light also