Page 5 of Rescued By the SEAL

Shit, now isn’t that the truth? The last time I had a gut-wrenching sensation was over a decade ago when my life was completely turned upside-down in the worst way possible. I couldn’t ignore that even if I wanted to, but it turned out to be correct. Maybe I shouldn’t be quite as dismissive about this guy as I’ve been. The cop could know what he’s doing.

“Okay, so you want me to go and check out where she was last seen? See what I can figure out? See if she’s still there?”

“I do,” Max agrees. “And this is an apartment block where a lot of criminals live when they’re supposedly trying to get their livesback on track because of the cheap rent, so you might have to dig deep. The cop can’t go himself because he arrested a lot of these assholes in his time, and again, he doesn’t want to make things worse. His daughter’s life is at stake.”

“Sure, of course.” I feel a lot more somber now. This could be some serious shit here. “I’ll see what I can find out. I’ll be discrete too. If this cop is worried, then we don’t want word to get out that he’s looking for his kid. It’ll get every crackpot asshole out demanding ransom money or whatever. Especially if he’s arrested them and they hate his guts.”

“Yes, and here is the address.” Max keeps his eyes fixed on me as he hands me the paper. At first, I don’t understand why he’s acting so weirdly… until my eyes read the words on the page and my heart sinks. “Will this be alright with you?”

“This is the area that my dad was in last,” I whisper. “You don’t think he could have a part in this, do you?”

Max is the only person who knows that I’m not Landon Cooper, who I pretend to be using my cousin’s surname. He knows that Bill and Alice Ross are my criminal parents. He has even helped me to keep track of where they are because as much as I don’t want to see them, I want to know what the fuck is going on in their messed-up lives. My mother is still in jail for a string of robberies that she was a part of, but my father is out for the moment and known to be in this exact area.

“I think that could be his apartment block,” Max replies quietly. “So, if this is too much for you, I understand. But I also think that your father might be able to help you solve this. He might talk to you more than he will anyone else, and if he knows anything, then we could be able to save this young journalist’s life. Youknowyour father wants to be in touch with you.”

“I do, but I’m pretty sure that’s just desperation and a need for money.” I sigh heavily, knowing that I’ll have to push my own family shit to one side for the moment to help others. Damn my need to make the world a better place. “But I suppose if I can use that to my advantage, then I should, shouldn’t I? I’ll see what I can find. Oh, do you have any details about this woman?”

“I don’t have much,” Max admits. “The cop was a little vague since he’s still trying to keep this all under wraps, but he’s paid up front so I know he’s good for whatever we do. She has dark hair, blue eyes, and a couple of tattoos. I’m sure she will stand out from the rest of the scum in that place. If you have any issues, though, just give me a call, okay?”

I nod, knowing that I’m very unlikely to do that. I much prefer to do things alone. It’s how I work best, but I guess it’s good to know that I always have backup should I need it. Especially since this is going to be my father I’m dealing with. I don’t knowwhatversion of him I’m going to be getting right now, but it won’t be a good one. It never is. My leaving home seemed to be a catalyst for my parents too, but it sent them down a bad path rather than along a good one. Fucking shame.

I can’t stop myself from feeling resentful that they cared more about living their hedonistic lives than being parents, but I suppose it worked out okay for me career-wise. At least I escaped into the military before anything crazy could happen.

“I’m going to go over there right away.” A surge of determination flows right through me. “I’m going to get this sorted now.”

And if I have to finally confront my father after all these years at the same time, then so be it. I can kill two birds with one stone. Now, I’m the one with a strange sensation in my gut, one that I just know is correct, but it’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. I have to be. Idon’t have the option to break down right now. That isn’t going to work. Not a chance in hell.

I wasn’t expecting this today, I have to admit. I didn’t need much rest after the Argentina debacle, but I might have considered a time-out if I had known that I would be heading straight into the lion’s den today. I wouldn’t have raced to the office this morning all excited to get started. I would have taken the time to work out what’s for the best.

But I’m here now. This is happening, so I might as well get on with it and see where I end up. I leave the office with a confident swagger and stroll to my car like I don’t have anything to worry about in the world. I don’t want anyone to see that I’m freaking out because the past has caught up with me at long last. No one needs to know about that. I don’t want anyone I work with to know anything about the reality that I’ve lived in my whole life. I’m not that person. I’m not burdened with that shit, and I don’t want things to change now. Just because Bill has cropped back up again and shown his ugly face, it doesn’t change who I am and what I’ve built for myself.

There’s a reason that I’ve always hidden the truth about my identity ever since I walked out of my parents’ house at eighteen years old, and that’s because I never wanted to get mixed in with their nonsense. I never wanted to be tarnished with the same brush. People thought that I would go the same way as my family, and I was determined not to, so I totally went the opposite way with everything. But I guess there is only so long that you can avoid the inevitable, and it’s finally here. For a little while, at least, I’m about to accept my fate as Landon Ross for a while. I just hope this Lola Rose chick is easy to find and save because the less time I spend mixed up in this job, the better, as far as I’m concerned.

5

HEATHER

“Help!” I try to call out, but the sound is all muffled and I can’t get past the ball of material tied around my head and clumsily stuffed into my mouth. I won’t be able to make anyone hear me, which is a nightmare. It’s hell. “Help, someone.”

The stupid thing is, my father has constantly told me that going off to interview people alone is dangerous, and I’ve ignored him. I maybe should’ve taken it on board when interviewing criminals, but still, I thought I knew better. I thought it would be enough for people to know where I am. That was my safety method. But now, I realize how goddamn dumb that was. Now that I’m tied up in a fucking cupboard and I don’t know what the hell is going to happen to me. I coulddiehere.

And all because I wanted to know what was going on with Landon. My goddamn curiosity about the past has come to snatch me up and kill me. This is what happens to the fucking cat, isn’t it? She dies because she can’t keep her nose out of other people’s business. I got a bad feeling from Bill Ross as soon as I saw him once more, and I should have gone along with thatfeeling. Then again, I never would have thought that the man who lived next door to me as I grew up would do this to me, whoever he has become. I just didn’t think that a single soul would ever do this to me. I don’t deserve this at all.

Where the hell is Roger? My God, I thought I was nice to him. It seemed like we had a connection. But he must realize that something has happened. I was crying and then I vanished. Doesn’t he care about me? What the hell?

“Help, someone!” Tears stream down my face, and I can’t even wipe them away because my arms are tied up too, as are my ankles. Even if I managed to unlock this goddamn cupboard, I don’t think that I would stand a chance of getting out. I definitely should have taken those self-defense classes that Dad signed me up for. I might have been able to dosomething. I was pretty much overpowered right away by Bill, which was partly due to shock and also because I don’t know how to look after myself.

Maybe when I get out of here,ifI manage to get out of here, then I’ll make some changes to my life. But oh, my God, the idea that I might not get out of here alive is killer. It’s tearing me up from the inside out. I’ve never thought of death before, certainly not when it comes to myself, but now it’s all I can think of. Bill Ross isn’t the man I once knew. He’s clearly leaned right into the life of crime, and now I don’t know what he intends to do to me. I don’t know what he’s capable of.

“Will you shut thefuckup?” The cupboard door swings open and Bill glares at me. “How the hell am I supposed to hear myself think while you’re in here making so much noise? My God, I’m trying to work out what to do with myself. I don’t know if you know, but I wasn’t exactly planning on this happening today… but when the opportunity comes, I got to take it.”

He rakes his fingers through his sweaty, sticky hair, staring at me with wide, manic eyes. This man is wild, his life has gone terribly down hill, and I don’t know if I have a chance to save myself. A desperate man is a dangerous man. That’s another little ditty from my father that I now understand more than ever before. He’s a man who will do anything to survive, and I might be his next meal ticket. I scramble backward as if there is a back to this cupboard which I can escape through, but there’s nothing.

“Please,” I beg through teary eyes. He might not be able to hear me properly, but there has to be something getting through. “Please, don’t do this to me. Bill, you know me. Don’t do this to me. Let me go. I won’t tell anyone about it. I won’t talk to my father if that’s what you’re worried about. I’ll just walk away like nothing happened, like I just did my interview.”

“Stop talking.” Bill presses his hands over his ears trying to block me out like a child would. “My brain is going fucking crazy as it is. I don’t need you on top of it. I’m overwhelmed, I can’t hack any of this. I don’t need you talking.”

“You can solve this.” I can see my bag on the bed beside him. How the hell can I grab it without setting him off? “You can solve all of your problems by just letting me go. I won’t be in your way anymore. I’ll be gone.”

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