Page 46 of Trial Run

“I don’t know, but I need you to promise me you won’t be. I shouldn’t be bringing you with me, so do me a favor and hang back and let Sarah and her team do their job. She’ll take care of your girl. I promise.”

Reggie started to protest Lennox’s characterization of Brooke, but every response she replayed in her head fell flat. Brooke might not be hers, but she couldn’t deny that she wanted her to be. What would Brooke think about her showing up at Landon’s, riding shotgun with the cavalry sent to save the day? Would it change her mind about whether they could have something more or would she be annoyed that Reggie kept showing up when she’d asked her for some space?

Reggie shook her head. All that mattered right now was making sure Brooke was safe. Once she was certain she was out of danger, she’d walk away, if that’s what Brooke wanted, but if she was willing to try for more, she’d be ready for that too.

“Here we go,” Lennox said as she pulled up to a small yellow house. “I’ll go see what I can find out. Promise you’ll stay in the car.”

“Sure,” Reggie said, secretly crossing her fingers, not wanting to fully commit. If there were clear signs Brooke was indanger, a promise to Lennox wasn’t going to stop her from going in that house, FBI be damned.

At that moment, Sarah appeared and knocked on the driver’s side window. Lennox lowered the window and asked, “What’s up?”

“No one’s here,” Sarah said, her face grim.

“What do you mean?” Reggie asked. “Then where is she?”

“I mean no one’s here.” Sarah sighed. “Brooke was with him when he stopped by here, but Landon lost my guy on his way back to the courthouse. We assumed he’d left her here since she wasn’t with him when he showed up in the parking garage, but I guess it’s possible he took her somewhere else on the way.”

Reggie came out of her seat. “You assume? You guess?” She turned to Lennox. “What the hell? She could be anywhere. He could have…”

She couldn’t allow herself to speak the words for fear saying them might create a reality she couldn’t face. A moment ago, she’d been ready to charge the house if there were signs Brooke was in trouble, but now she knew she was and she had no idea where to go or what to do to make it right. All she knew for sure was finding Brooke was the most important thing she could do and if these people couldn’t do it, she would take matters into her own hands.

Chapter Eighteen

Brooke woke up to the sound of footfalls and a sharp pain bit into her joints jolting her memory. She was gagged and blindfolded with her legs tied to a chair and her hands were bound behind her back. She cried out, but the muffled sounds were barely audible to her own ears—whoever was outside the door had no chance of hearing her pleas. Before she could come up with an alternate plan, she heard the footsteps fade into the distance along with any hope she might be rescued.

After a few moments of pointless struggle, she leaned into the silence, listening for a clue, any clue about what was happening to her. At first she was discouraged with only the sound of the air conditioner whirring to life—not much of a clue, but then she was grateful that wherever she was being held, at least she had some small creature comfort.

An image of Mark’s face flashed in her mind, and she wondered how she’d completely missed that he was dangerous from the start.You’re a bad judge of character, said the voice inside her head that constantly barraged her about the messiness of her life. But the other voice, the one that told her to be kind to herself, replied,How could you know he was bad? Besides, you like Reggie and she’s a stellar human.

But you pushed Reggie away.

Win one for the accusatory inner voice. Time to shut down this game because she wasn’t going to find a way out of here by second-guessing her decisions. And she had to get out of here. Ben would probably be out of school soon. Who would look out for him if something happened to her? Who would protect him if he was in danger?

She shook away the dread and wished she could rip away the blindfold. The dark canvas was an invitation to think the worst and her thoughts were bleak enough already. Despair began to creep in. Her sense of time was skewed by the drug, but it felt like hours since she’d left the courthouse with Mark, and hope was fading fast.

Her brain raced through a succession of nightmare scenarios, all of which left Ben without a parent. She should’ve planned better, made sure she had people in her life who would be willing and able to step up if anything ever happened to her, but she’d been too focused on what she needed to do—get her degree, get a real job that paid real money—and somewhere along the way, she’d forgotten there was an actual reason she was working so hard, sacrificing so much. Hell, she’d even pushed away the one person who’d seen her life up close and hadn’t run far and fast in the opposite direction.

Where was Reggie right now? Was she back at the courthouse having a side convo with Leroy about the silly juror who’d gone to lunch and hadn’t come back? Had the judge let the proceedings start back up without her or had everything come to a screeching halt in her absence?

You’re not that important.The voice inside her conjured the statement from a sinister mix of exes and fake parents who’d told her the same. Surely that was why she’d been picked in the first place. She’d been targeted for being the calm one, the one who smoothed things over, who went along to get along. The one who didn’t have anyone else in her life to turn to when herchild was threatened and could be counted on to comply with any instructions if it meant keeping Ben safe.

What would Reggie do if she knew what was happening right now? Flashes of Reggie driving full speed to the hospital and barreling past all obstacles to get to Ben told her exactly what she needed to know. Reggie would be there for her, in good times and bad, strong and fierce. She’d pushed her away because she was used to doing everything on her own, even figured she had to in order to prove her own worth, but maybe there was a greater value in letting her guard down and accepting love from someone else. And now she might not get the chance.

She sat in silence for a moment, replaying the last few times she’d seen Reggie, wishing she’d let the future simply play out instead of orchestrating it to the only conclusion she thought she deserved.

A low whistle broke into her thoughts, and she stiffened at the sound. She didn’t know the tune, but she recognized the whistler and braced for Mark to enter the room. Whatever he had planned, she was ready for him, and she would not go down without a fight.

* * *

Reggie’s hand was on the car door handle ready for the second Lennox stopped the car in front of Ben’s school. As the vehicle eased to the curb, she lost her patience and opened the door only to feel Lennox grab her other arm.

“Slow your roll. School’s in session and the resource officer confirmed he’s in class.”

Reggie shook off Lennox’s arm. “Sure, but every minute Brooke is missing means this kid could wind up without a parent. I hope you brought your badge.” She didn’t wait for a response before jumping out of the car and jogging to the front door of theschool. She’d made it a few steps inside when she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Lennox running toward her. She held the door as Lennox dashed past.

“Come on,” Lennox called out. “Let’s do this.”

Relieved not to have to tackle this job on her own, Reggie followed Lennox to the administrative office. Sarah and her team were still in Oak Cliff, regrouping in their efforts to find Brooke, but Reggie had insisted on seeing Ben herself, to be sure he wasn’t in any danger and so the questions came from a familiar face. Besides, if there was a chance Brooke wasn’t in trouble, but had simply decided not to come back to court, Ben might have some idea of where she might be.

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