Page 80 of Preying Heart
“She’ll do it willingly—for you—and just so you’re not tempted to kill yourself, she’d do it for your mother. I have her, too. See? I’m nothing if not thorough, and my intelligence is leaps and bounds beyond yours.”
Slade sucks greedily from the soda can and pours the chips into his mouth. He’s living proof that every man is truly nothing more than a feral beast.
Quite satisfied with myself, I snap pictures of Slade degraded like a pig, licking the donut remnants off the filthy mud. I’m using Slade’s burner. How convenient of him to have kept it—a direct connection to his very beautiful but equally empty-headed sister.
I text her the photos with no comment, and expect her back at her penthouse by evening or tomorrow evening at the latest.
ChapterThirty
Remi
It’s amazing how easy everything is when one has money.
Now that Heath believes the Big Dude is dead, and I secretly think it was Stan Greasley, I no longer have to hide at the Fortress. I don’t know why I so easily believed Gavin’s goons were going to kill me. Looking back, I can see I was ruled by fears, big and little. I was afraid of my own shadow, and I saw a threat in every corner.
No more.
I receive the text of poor Slade imprisoned in a storage shed licking crumbs from the dirt next to Gavin’s metal-tipped boot, and I spring into action. I have to confront Gavin and I have to take him down.
There is no negotiation with evil men. No giving in to their threats. They would only hold you under water until a near-drowning experience causes you to crater. You’d get a short gulp of air, and then they’d push you under again and again and again.
I pack my bags and disarm Heath’s booby traps. Key in the gate code and walk out of the Fortress from the front entrance, bold and strong. I thought I would have had to escape through the dark and twisty mine shaft, and I’ll always be grateful for Heath in entrusting me with his security system.
After rearming everything, I walk down the road toward Divine, Idaho, and call for a rideshare to come pick me up. I have money to pay, and after a commuter jet and another rideshare, I’m keying in my code to the penthouse apartment that I left so hastily more than a month ago.
The apartment stands before me exactly the way I left it. Silent. Still. Uncluttered. The clean, straight lines of chrome border the smooth white leather surfaces of the geometrically perfect seating areas surrounded by glass-topped accent pieces. The deep blues of the nighttime view of the Space Needle harmonize with the mood-setting sconces casting an eerie glow over the sleek marble countertops.
Slade’s worn duffel bag slides off my shoulder as I wander on stockinged feet over the hard stone floor. My computer sits darkened on the immaculately clean desk, and my contoured ergonometric swivel chair is tucked symmetrically in place.
This was my home? The penthouse I took such pride in decorating? The view I meditated to? I drag my fingers over the cool, clean lines, the minimalistic materials, the stark-white palette, and the streamlined curves.
It’s empty and devoid of life. So foreign and alien from the naturalistic clutter of Heath’s fortress, the overfull umbrella rack, the dog bed next to an antique server cabinet, the eclectic jar collection on the divider, some filled with sea glass, shells, and other bric-a-brac.
Heath.
I wonder how he’s getting on. Whether he’s found Lucy. What he’s going to think when he finds me gone.
A wave of exhaustion sweeps over me. My legs wobble and my stomach rolls. I collapse onto the hard surface of my minimalistic couch and bury my face in my hands.
Heath.
What will he believe?
How will he feel?
My lower lip trembles, and I’m afraid I can’t hold it in—can’t keep the act up.
Gavin could be at my door any minute, and yet, I need to mourn. I need to grieve.
For once in my life, I believed. For that tiny moment in time, I was gloriously loved. For a fraction of eternity, I threw my fears out to the wind. And I believed in love. In Heath. In forever.
Sitting here alone among all the things I thought were so important—I let the memories wash over me. The big and little moments, the wildflower he tucked in my hair, the pine cones he stacked against my door, the steak he burned on the deck when we shared our first kiss, and the shooting stars where I made him tell me his wish but never told him mine.
In that tiny sliver of time, I had everything I’ve ever wished for.
Heath
The traffickers had the women on the move, and it took us three days and nights of tracking to locate them inside a tractor trailer headed for the Canadian border. We gave chase, pulling alongside the truck. The Feds set up a roadblock, and after several hours of tense negotiations where the traffickers threatened to shoot the women, they made a deal with the Feds to turn over their big boss.
