Page 33 of Her Billionaire Hero
“Detective Bastille can help you. I’ll let him know you’re here, Mister …?”
“Nash. Baldwyn Nash.” I took a seat to wait. Putting in another call to Sloan’s cell, I felt like I might pass out when it went straight to voicemail without ringing at all. She—or someone else—had turned it off, or the battery had died. I texted her friend Delia the news that I hadn’t found her yet and that I was at the police station.
A man wearing a white button-down shirt and khaki slacks came out a side door. “Nash?”
Getting up, I went to him with my hand extended. “Yes, that’s me, Detective Bastille. Are you familiar with Preston Rivers?”
He shook my hand. “I am. What does he have to do with the reason you’re here?”
“I’m pretty sure he’s kidnapped Sloan Rivers.” My fists balled at my sides as pure fury filled me.
His brows raised. “His wife?”
“Ex-wife,” I corrected him.
His skepticism showed on his face. “You her new boyfriend?”
“Not that it matters, but yes I am,” I said. “Look, he hit her the other day. Knocked her on her ass. I told her to file charges, but she didn’t want to make things any worse for him than they already are. She was at her friend’s apartment. Her car is still parked there. A fire broke out, and in the confusion and smoke, Sloan went missing. I’ve already checked out all the hospitals in town and she’s not at any of them, not even as a Jane Doe. So, now I’m here, asking for your help in finding her.”
“And we can definitely do that for you, Mr. Nash.” He clapped me on the back as he steered me toward the front door. “It’s likely that she is with her ex-husband, but maybe not on the terms you think. People get back together. I’m sorry to have to point that out to you, but it’s a fact. And we can’t waste time on things like that. So, if she’s not back in a couple of days, give me a call or stop by and we’ll see what we can do then.”
Holy fuck!
Chapter Eighteen
Sloan
A bulge on the right side of Preston’s pants outlined the handgun that he had tucked into the waistline. “And you’ve got a gun because?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” We were heading out of town and I had no idea why or where we were going.
I wasn’t sure when he’d gone off the deep end, but he’d most certainly gone off it. “You should turn this car around and we should get you to a hospital, Preston. I’m worried about your mental state. Maybe you’ve had a stroke and it has changed your personality. You’re not acting like yourself.”
“I haven’t had a stroke. And I know I’m not acting like myself. When you’re accused of murder, it takes a toll on you. But now that I’ve found the real killer, things will go back to normal very soon.”
“Who told you that the body they found is Mom’s?”
“I know it’s hers.” He took an exit, leaving the highway behind.
Everything in me froze. “How would you know that? Unless you killed her.”
“I was framed, Sloan. You’ll soon see by whom.” He took a sharp left and the headlights caught a sign that said we were heading toward the small town of Elgin, some thirty minutes out of Austin.
“So, this person who you think killed my mother lives in Elgin?” I couldn’t figure out why he was doing this.
“No.”
Since that made no sense, I asked, “Are we going to Elgin?”
He looked straight ahead, not even glancing at me as he drove through the night. “Yes.”
“You’re really scaring me. Do you want to scare me? Is that part of the plan?” I asked. “Did you start thinking this up right after you were questioned about the body?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. All I want is for you to understand how things went down. I want you to see who was behind it all. And I want you to understand that I am the only person you can trust. Once you know and understand that, we can move forward.”
I didn’t want to move forward with him. But I didn’t think it would be smart of me to let him know that. “Preston, what is it that you want from me?”
“I want you back. I told you that.” He took a right turn just as we got into the city limits. The road was narrow and eventually it narrowed even more as we left town behind us.
