Page 56 of No Good Deed

The man squatted beside her, and it didn’t surprise her to see Ethan Westerlake. Pompous ass and now a kidnapper.

Ethan had always dressed well, walked with his chin up and eyes above everyone. He’d projected an air of superiority as if he believed his own bull.

It had been a few weeks since she’d seen him and it looked like he’d aged years. The skin beneath his eyes was puffy and slack. The eyes themselves were bloodshot and filled with anger. His hair was a mess, and he didn’t look like he was in control of a single thing.

What was on that USB he’d hidden in her Cloud Gate?

Was it better to keep what she knew hidden or tell him the police had it? If that made him desperate, things could get even worse.

“So where the fuck is my data?”

He seemed to expect her to answer, even with the duct tape covering her mouth. Piper tried to say something, but the muffle was unintelligible.

Ethan scowled at her, then leaned in and pulled out a gun. She was glad she hadn’t eaten before the presentation because the sight of the weapon almost made her vomit.

She flinched away, but it was no good. Ethan’s smile was feral when he pointed the gun directly at her face. “I’m going to take off the tape and you’ll follow instructions. Scream and die. Got it?”

Piper barely managed to get her head to nod. She wouldn’t scream. At least not while there was a gun in her face.

Ethan kept the gun aimed at her while he ripped the tape off her face. The pain had tears forming in her eyes, but she clamped her teeth together to stop crying out. She closed her eyes and focused on drawing in full breaths of air and controlling her reactions to him.

“Now, where the fuck is my data? What did you do with it?”

Hoping her face wouldn’t give her away, she opened her eyes. She tried to keep her voice strong, but it shook anyway. “I don’t understand. What data?”

Ethan’s face reddened, and his eyes widened before he slapped her so hard she tasted blood. She couldn’t stop the cry at the sudden pain, and she tried to roll away from him.

He grabbed her shirt and yanked her up until they were nose to nose. Her shirt ripped at the shoulder. “I want my USB. Where the hell is it?”

She flinched again at the tone and the spit flying from his mouth. “All of my USBs are in the Cloud Gate tin.” Her voice barely reached a whisper.

He shoved her away from him, and she thumped back to the floor, with her head taking the worst of it. As she struggled to remain conscious, Ethan paced the room. When he turned back to her, his eyes were wild and out of control. “I’ve tried finding your fucking tin, but you’ve hidden it. Where the fuck is it?”

He neared, and with the tape holding her, she couldn’t avoid his kick.

He squatted down and pointed the gun at her belly. “This shot won’t kill you right away. It’ll take hours to bleed out, where no one will find you. Now, where is it?”

Knowing the extent of Troy’s security system, she decided her best option was to tell the truth. Troy would be looking for her and wouldn’t be at home. The security system and alarms would let him and Marcus know Ethan was breaking in and they would catch him.

He slapped her again and she couldn’t stop the whimper. “It’s at the house where I’ve been staying.”

“Where? Exactly.”

“In the living room. On the coffee table.”

Ethan’s grin was terrifying. “It better be, or you won’t be the only one bleeding out slowly.”

Then he brought down the gun on her head, and everything went black again.

* * *

Troy paced the garage. “It makes sense that Westerlake won’t take her far. He wants the USB, and he knows it’s here somewhere.”

Marcus nodded. “I agree. I think your theory that there’s a second man involved is probably right. There are tons of empty buildings around here where he could stash her. I’ll put out a call and get people searching. We’ll work in teams of three. It’s dark out there, and I don’t want anyone alone.”

They jumped into the squad car and returned to the deputy’s office. There were landlines and maps there, and it was more central. Easier to pull in people to help.

Dozens of people came when they called. All the people from Midnight Lake had stayed in town, and they helped with the calling. Troy’s cousins. Nimii. Stan. Jim and Carl. The Guptas. Janine Jefferson. Anna and Nina. Kimi. And so many more.

---