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“Take some time to deal with this,” Ruby instructed. “I’ll call you when I know more. And if the kidnappers contact you, I’ll try to negotiate other arrangements for the ransom drop.”
“No, don’t,” Presley managed to say. “I don’t want to be excluded from this. Please,” he tacked onto that when he realized the snapping tone he’d just used with his boss.
“You’re sure?” Ruby asked.
She must have had a lot of faith in him to put the ball in his court on such an emotional, critical matter.
“I’m sure. Keep me in the loop,” he insisted.
“Okay,” Ruby muttered before she ended the call.
Billie and he sat there in the silence that followed. Thankfully, Billie didn’t pepper him with questions or try to comfort him. She just waited, no doubt coming to some of the same conclusions as he was.
“Why would the kidnappers demand you be in on the ransom drop?” he was finally able to ask. “I mean, I get themchoosing me now that I know about the familial match. But why you?”
“To create more conflict for you,” Billie said without hesitation. “I’m sure there was gossip about us when we both left the force. Maybe even gossip that we’d had a one-off. The kidnappers might have believed they could capitalize on a rift between us by throwing us together.”
Okay, Presley could see that, but it didn’t answer one huge question. “Why bring us in on this? If this is just about them getting the diamonds, why create conflict? Why not try to make things go as smoothly as possible?”
“Because maybe the endgame isn’t the diamonds,” she finished for him.
Bingo.And if that was true, then Victoria hadn’t been kidnapped. She’d beentaken. Of course, that led Presley to another why, and this time, Presley was the one to provide the answer.
“Someone wants Victoria dead,” he concluded, “and the kidnapping is a way of covering up her murder.”
As he heard the words come out of his mouth, the overwhelming sense of dread tore through him. He’d just learned the possible identity of his birth mother, and she could already be dead.
“I’m sorry,” Billie muttered, and she did something that surprised him.
She leaned over and pulled him into her arms. Presley hadn’t even known he wanted, or needed, that hug until Billie pressed closer to him and held on.
He held on, too, putting his arms around her and adjusting so their faces were touching. Presley took in her scent. Took in the feel of her. And he got a whole bunch of memories that he shouldn’t be getting.
Of that night she’d ended up in his bed.
An incredible ending to a shitstorm of an assignment. Billie had been the only bright spot in that ordeal.
However, it wasn’t the first time he’d been attracted to her. No, that had happened right from the start. He’d felt the heat, the lust, the pull from the moment he’d met her. Only her rank and position had kept him from asking her out, and even those barriers had dissolved when they had sex.
The memories kept coming, and Presley felt himself ease back just a little. Just enough for him to brush his mouth over hers. It was a mistake, and he braced himself for her to jolt away. Or, hell, even slap him.
She didn’t do either of those things.
Billie made a soft sound. A hitch of breath combined with a moan, and for just a moment, she sank into the kiss. She gave as good as she got. Then, she moved away from him.
There was confusion in her eyes, and what she muttered was pure profanity. He got that. She didn’t want this heat. Neither did he. But he was clueless as to how to make it go away, especially since that scorching kiss had seemed to clear some of the cobwebs in his head.
“We need to find Victoria,” he stated.
“Yes, we do,” Billie stated right back, the determination in both her voice and expression. “Let’s go to my house so we’ll have some computers to work on. We need to access traffic cams to and from the house on Barlett Street. That and the parking lot of Victoria’s office are the only two places that we know for certain that the kidnappers or someone working for them has been.”
“True.” He pointed to the dash. “Put your address in the GPS.”
Billie immediately started doing that just as a report came in from Ruby. It was marked as Nonurgent with an additional noteof:Deal with what you’re going through. I’ll handle anything on this if needed.
As far as he was concerned, everything was urgent at this point. And that meant he wanted to know what was in it.
“Read it to me as I drive,” Presley instructed, and he headed to her place on the north side of the city. According to the GPS, it would take them twelve minutes to get there.
