Page 25 of Abducted

That was what kept creeping up into his head from the back of his mind, tormenting his thoughts.

Had it been anyone else but him, she’d be dead.

***

“Just be careful.”Lana bit her lip as she pleaded. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. Ethan pretended to change the channels on the TV, and Nate waited by the door, looking around the room. Both doing a shitty job of pretending they weren’t listening to every bloody word.

Damn, she looked sexy. She was freshly showered, her hair still damp. She wore light gray leggings and a deep V-neck long-sleeved shirt, with her pert cleavage just visible.

It was a good thing he trusted Ethan with his life. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be back late, so don’t wait up.”

She nodded. Her teeth nipped at her bottom lip. It took every ounce of his resolve not to take that wounded lip into his mouth and kiss her. He chucked her under her chin with his knuckle and winked. That earned him a shy smile.

Ethan and Nate might be right, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to kiss her for the first time with their watchful amusement.

He closed the hotel room door tightly after Lana sat in the living room with Ethan. They’d had a huge dinner, and he’d insisted she order anything she needed from the concierge. He and Nate took the elevator to the main floor and exited the lobby to where Nate’s truck was parked. It was too risky to be driving around in his own. Although the police wouldn’t have identified him as a suspect, whoever had trashed his house would, and they would be on the hunt.

They got in and drove to Capitol Hill. “You think he’ll be there?”

Cal looked at the time; it was going on 7p.m. “I don’t know. I suspect he spends more time there than he does at home.”

Nate parked in front of the strip club that Stamos had said he frequented. “Well, we can’t exactly bust in there, guns blazing.”

“You wait here. I’ll go in and see if I can spot him. If he’s there, we’ll wait until he comes out. He smokes, so it won’t be long.”

He fit the baseball cap Lana had worn onto his head, then exited the truck. The club was quiet. A few old men sat at the bar, and the other few scumbags were peppered around the stage. A thin, leggy blonde gyrated on the stage; her gold-sequined thong reflected the strobe lights, sending a flurry of golden light into his eyes. And there, front and center, was Stamos, tossing singles.

“Woo-hoo. Come over this way, sexy.” Stamos’s immature catcall sounded through the half-empty room.

Cal groaned under his breath and adjusted his cap. He quietly left the bar and crossed the street. A gaggle of young women passed him on the way out. A cloud of their cheap perfume swarmed his face. Their skimpy outfits led him to believe they would be starting their own shifts soon. Their wandering eyes raked over him.

“Mmm…yummy.” One of the girls traced her leopard-print fingernail over his shoulder. He stepped out of her reach.

“Sorry, I’m done for the night.”

She pouted her red painted lips. “Too bad.”

He smiled and sidled through them. “Good night, ladies.” At one point, a spark of interest would have shot through him. Not enough interest for anything serious, but a stir of sexual attraction would have warmed inside him.

Not now. Not the slightest hint of reaction raced through him. All he could think about was Lana.

“He’s there.” Cal slid into the passenger seat and shut the door. “Looked as though he had a few buddies with him. We’ll need to take them all.”

Nate snorted. “Easy peasy.” He pushed his seat back and got comfortable.

Cal, on the other hand, kept his gaze trained on the club entrance. “Have you had any word on that list of people I gave you?” Tanner kept popping up in his mind. He couldn’t shake the possessive glint he’d seen in the photo taken at the gala.

If there was one thing he could easily read, it was a guy staking his claim. But Tanner’s damn attack left acid churning in his stomach. If the bastard had anything to do with wanting her killed, Cal would find out.

“No, I should have something late morning or early afternoon tomorrow.

You have a hunch?”

Nate knew him well. “Sort of.” He didn’t want to get too deep in conversation, though, and miss Stamos if he came out.

“Trust your gut, man. It hasn’t misled you yet.”

Fifteen minutes later, Stamos strode out, two friends in tow behind him. They laughed and shoved each other around, then stopped in a tight circle on the sidewalk and sparked their cigarettes.

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