Page 69 of Inked Persuasion

“What the hell?” Beckett asked as he came to my side.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” I growled.

Susan met my gaze, her eyes a little unfocused. Shit. She had a concussion. I once thought I loved this woman. But if she had something to do with Annabelle being hurt,ifAnnabelle was being hurt, I didn’t know what I’d do.

“Talk to me,” I ordered.

Susan swallowed hard. “I missed you. I just wanted to see you.”

“Who the hell is this?” Beckett asked, the anger in his tone palpable.

“My ex-wife,” I gritted out.

“Where the fuck is Annabelle?” Beckett asked, nearly pushing me out of the doorway. I wasn’t quite sure what Annabelle’s brother would do to Susan, and I didn’t need Beckett to end up with an assault charge or worse. So I stood my ground. But that didn’t mean I wouldn’t potentially throttle this woman to get answers. I let out a breath and glared.

“Answer,” I ordered.

She met my gaze, tears spilling down her cheeks. “I was only supposed to surprise her so he could come and get her. I think. But then I saw her, and I just got so angry. I didn’t even realize what I was doing.” She let out a shaky breath. “My head hurts. But I didn’t mean to. I don’t think she’s hurt. I didn’t hit her with the car. She got hurt when she fell. She moved out of the way when I came at her. But then he took her. Jacob, everything hurts. Help me.”

My hands were shaking, and I stood up, pushing Beckett slightly back. “Who took her?” I asked, my words clipped.

“What the hell is going on?” Beckett asked, his voice lower than even mine.

“Your neighbor. Hotch. We met when I came to visit you one day, and you weren’t there. He was such a nice man. Said he was upset that you were dating his girlfriend, that you just took her. I didn’t think that was right, but then I wanted you back, too, and it seemed like we had a common goal. I didn’t know he planned to hurt her. And I don’t know why I did what I did. I just got caught up in it all. It was a stupid mistake. Please don’t call the cops.”

“You’re going to want to stop asking for things right now,” Beckett ground out.

“Where is she?” I asked, trying to keep up.

Hotch? Annabelle’s neighbor? The guy who kept trying to ask her out?

Dear God, it made no fucking sense. There was no way Hotch would do this. Would he?

I didn’t know the other man, though, so maybe he would. And the other guy always seemed to show up at weird moments, was constantly watching, wanting to know more about Annabelle and me. But I’d always chalked it up to random curiosity, maybe a little jealousy. Not this.

“Where is Annabelle?” I asked, sirens sounding in the distance.

“The ambulance should be here soon,” Clay said. “What are we doing?” the other man asked.

“I don’t know where he took her.” Susan started crying harder. I didn’t move her in case she’d hurt her back, but I didn’t know what else to do other than seething in front of her.

“Where did you two meet? Other than in front of my house,” I asked, trying to connect the dots but failing.

“I don’t know. It was just two places near here. He might’ve taken her there. I don’t know. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. You were supposed to come back to me. You weren’t supposed to leave me.”

“I don’t really give a fuck about you right now,” I said. “Tell me the places you met.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks, and I just glared at her, not sparing a single look of sympathy for her. This wasn’t the woman I had married. Something had twisted her, and I hadn’t recognized it. I would mourn that loss later, but first, I needed to find the woman I loved.

Because, Jesus Christ, I loved Annabelle. And nobody was going to stand in my way.

“I don’t know. They were just small places we used to visit. In the woods.” She rambled off two addresses, and Beckett tugged at me.

“You go to one. I’ll go to the other.”

“You need the cops,” Clay said as if Beckett and I weren’t making sense. Maybe we weren’t.

“You tell them what’s going on,” I said to the other man.

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