Page 22 of Cruel Ice

“You sent him running with instructions, didn’t you?”Low. Biting. “You told him what you remembered from the night of your abduction. He probably got a team to round up your suspects for the attack.”

The detective was not as clueless as Declan had feared.

“Let the cops handle this,” Parker urged him. His hand still pressed to the wood of the door. “We will arrest them. They’ll be locked away for what they did.”

Will they?“They may have already fled the city. If they are smart, that’s exactly what they’ve done. My guard was lowered when they took me.” A foolish mistake because he’d damn well been suffocating and had needed an escape. One night to disappear into a crowd and pretend he was someone else.But that didn’t happen.“It will not be lowered again.” Never again.Kidnap and nearly murder me once, shame on me. Come after me twice, and I’ll put you in a grave.

“We’re searching for that van. Marley got a partial on the plates, and we’re going to track it down. We will find them.” A grim vow from Parker. “Just don’t do anything foolish until we do, got it?”

“I’m not a foolish man. Quite the opposite. But thanks for the insult.”

Parker grunted. “You think I don’t get that you’re holding back? That I don’t realize you’re going for some vigilante justice BS?”

“And the insults keep coming.” Declan’s voice was mild. James would say that the more mild his voice became, the more dangerous his mood. “Do you always speak to crime victims this way, or am I special, Detective Ellis?”

“We interviewed the bartender at Abyss.”

Declan didn’t blink.

“Based on the location of where Marley saw you get thrown in the gray van, I had my team backtrack through the area. Cops went in all the bars and clubs. Found a waitress who remembered you at Abyss. I’m afraid that scar makes you hard to forget.”

“You don’t say. And here I thought it was completely unnoticeable.”

A muscle jerked along Parker’s jaw. “We pulled in the bartender who served your drink last night.” Parker’s stare was far to watchful. “Of course, I knowyoudon’t remember him, right?”

“Um.”

“But we brought him in for interrogation earlier. His name’s Keith, and Keith swears he served you a completely normal drink. His boss even turned over surveillance footage so we could watch the encounter ourselves. There is no sign you were drugged at Abyss.”

Again, Declan made no movement. Nothing to tip off the detective that he did fully remember the name of the club and the SOB of a bartender who’d given him the drink. The only drink he’d had that night.

“You walked out of the place under your own steam. No stagger. No stumble. And you only took a few sips of your drink. You didn’t even talk to anyone except the bartender.”

The detective had been far more thorough than Declan expected. Kudos to the man. Slightly problematic, but still, he’d have to remember not to underestimate Parker Ellis again.

“Is any of this ringing a bell for you?” Parker pushed.

“The night is still foggy,” Declan said.

“That wasn’t a yes or a no.”

Right. It hadn’t been. “Perhaps I will recall more later.”

“Perhaps you will.” Parker’s nostrils flared “We had to let the bartender go after the interview. Keith has no record, and there is no evidence he did anything to your drink.”

I’ll find evidence on my own.

“Again, this isnota vigilante situation.”

“Detective.” Declan sighed. “What is it about me that makes you believe I am going out to seek vengeance on my own?”

“Your family. Your past. The fact that you’re far, far too calm for a man who was abducted and nearly murdered. Got to tell you, you’re not acting like any victim I’ve ever seen.” Suspicion darkened each word.

“That’s because I’m not like any victim you’ve ever seen before.”And the people who made me a victim? Oh, absolutely, they will pay.“Thank you for the update on my case.” Declan looked pointedly at the hand on the door. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to Marley.”

The hand on the door fisted. “I thought she was sleeping.”

“Yes, but why does she need to sleep alone?”

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