Page 34 of Silverstorm

Truth be known, she liked Jude Wilder, liked him a lot. And she thought he might like her, too. But she’d never expected anything from him. Not a long-term commitment. Not even a short-term commitment. Something completely unexpected had happened between them, something that was special and right, and it’d been unplanned. But now she’d had a taste of Jude, she was going to find him hard to let go.

But let go she must, because she was having a baby, and she was pretty sure he wouldn’t want to be part of that. If only they’d met in a different time, a different place, perhaps they might’ve been good together. As things were now, however, it was messy and complicated, and she wouldn’t blame Jude for a second if he wanted nothing more to do with her. Could they still remain friends? She hoped so. She’d be proud to call him one of her friends, along with Penny and perhaps Naomi, and even the rest of the Stargazer staff. A sad longing filled her chest, because she wanted to be so much more than friends with Jude. But at the moment, she’d be happy with anything he offered.

The door banged open, breaking her conflicting emotions.

“Miss Cusack, you are to come with me.” It was one of the young police officers who’d been with Brady this morning at her cottage. A redhead, with freckles and a scar on his chin. A glance at his badge confirmed he was Sergeant McMurdo.

“Where are we going?” she asked, slightly surprised. She’d been expecting a lawyer, or at the very least, Brady.

“I’m under instructions to move you.” She didn’t like the way he looked at her, kind of sideways, like he was only half watching her.

“Move me where?”

But he didn’t answer, instead he forcibly turned her around and snapped handcuffs on her wrists behind her back.

“Brady didn’t see the need to handcuff me before,” she argued, twisting in his grip.

“Well, things have changed,” he replied, dragging her toward the door. He opened it and then took a quick look into the hallway before pushing her out and practically frogmarching her down the dark passage. No one else was around. At the end of the hall, he turned right, pushing her so quickly, she almost had to jog to keep up. At the end of the next passage, he turned right again.

“Where are we going?” she asked. This was getting weirder by the second. Was he just changing rooms? Was he taking her to a jail cell?

“Shut up,” he snapped.

At the end of this hallway was an exit sign, and he made a beeline for that. Before she knew it, they were outside, and she stumbled down a step into a dank alleyway.

Where were they?

“What are you—” McMurdo clapped a hand over her mouth, and her stomach flipped over. What the fuck? This didn’t feel right. She began to struggle, but he bent her arm up behind her back until she would have cried out in pain if not for his hand muffling her scream. She had no choice but to go where he directed, walking quickly down the alleyway toward a square of light. They must be at the rear of the police station. She’d only seen the front entrance when Brady had brought her in. A part of her registered how cold it was outside, and she didn’t even have her jacket on to keep her warm. Icy rain was falling, hitting her in the face with small, stinging drops.

A figure appeared in the square of light, beckoning them toward him. As they approached, the figure morphed into a man. It took her a few seconds, but she realized she recognized this man. It was the same guy who’d flagged her down by the side of the road the other day.

“You took your time,” the man stage-whispered, as they emerged from the alley into a loading bay area.

McMurdo merely grunted in reply, keeping his hand firmly over her mouth as he led her toward the same white van that’d supposedly been broken down with the man’s pregnant wife inside it. The guy, who she’d pegged as your friendly neighbor-next-door slid the van door open, revealing an empty, dark space, and she began to struggle for real this time. Then it hit her. Was this why the man had pulled her over the other day? Was he trying to abduct her back then? She was not getting in that van.

But then she had no choice, as the sergeant bodily lifted her legs out from under her and slammed her down onto the cold metal floor of the van. The wind was knocked out of her, and instead of screaming as his hand left her mouth, she struggled to breathe. Before she could regain her breath, a figure manifested out of the gloom in the rear space of the cargo area and plastered a length of duct tape over her mouth.

Real fear bloomed in her chest, and she thrashed, rolling herself over, kicking out at whatever and whoever she could. Even while a small section of her brain said this couldn’t be happening. Even as that same small section of her brain told her to stop struggling in case she hurt the baby. But fear was a wild animal in her chest, overriding all logical thought.

“Hold her still,” she heard a voice say. Then rough hands grabbed her ankles and soon both her feet were also wrapped in duct tape and she could barely move. She lay on her back, struggling to draw enough air in through her nose, eyes goggling at the two men staring at her from outside the van while the other figure hovered over her feet, tying off the last of the tape.

“I’ve done what was required,” McMurdo said from between gritted teeth. “My debt is more than repaid. Please, just send Stacy home.” He glared at the man, but Aria heard the way his tone turned pleading, before he turned his back, and without another glance, strode back the way they’d come into the alleyway.

The neighbor-next-door slid the door closed with a bang, leaving her trapped in the dark with the strange figure still crouched over her.

She whimpered in fear, tears leaking from her eyes.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“WHAT DO YOU mean, she’s not available?” Jude slammed his fist on the front reception counter. “I have her lawyer here, and I’m a county deputy. We have a right to see her. Now,” he added, leaning over the counter and glaring at the young female cop manning the desk.

“Sorry, Deputy Wilder, but those are my orders. No one is allowed in to see her at the moment.”

“Who gave you those orders?” Jude practically roared, and the man standing beside him put a restraining hand on his elbow. The bespectacled man in his mid-forties was the same height as Jude and turned a flat stare in his direction, but his warning was clear; it’d do him no good to lose his temper. Stuart Ladley was the best criminal defender in the county, and it’d taken a few hours for Jude to track him down so that he could bring him to the Missoula Police Station. Dean and Naomi had offered to pay his retainer fee, which was substantial, and even though Jude knew Aria would be mortified when she found out how much it cost, he wasn’t about to haggle prices with her when her freedom could be on the line. Dean and Naomi had more than enough money, and they would do the same for any of their staff.

And now that he’d finally arrived in Missoula with Ladley in tow, they were telling him he couldn’t see Aria.

“Get me Detective Brady,” he demanded.

---