NOVEL: The Panic Pure, by Harper Kingsley [mm suspense] – Chapter Seventeen

Title: The Panic Pure
Author: Harper Kingsley
Genre: mm suspense thriller
Rating: mature

Summary: Daniel Worth, billionaire and CEO of Worth Enterprises is questioned by FBI agent Marshal Newman about the disappearance of one of his employees. They strike up a conversation and soon are regularly meeting and begin dating. However neither realizes just how close danger is lurking.

*

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The hospital would never be one of Marshal’s favorite places. The smell stung his nose and there was a creepy vibe that never completely went away. Plus there were all the sick people.

He’d waited for several hours before the surgeon came out to say Joanna was in stable condition. She was going to live.

Merina, Joanna’s mom, burst into tears and soaked the side of Marshal’s shirt. “My baby, thank God, my baby.”

He awkwardly patted her on the back. Her bones felt fragile beneath her skin, like those of a bird. It scared him that he might hurt her.

Joanna’s two sisters, who looked more like her than their dark haired and fragile mother, hugged each other joyously. Then, once she’d regained control of herself, Tara pried Merina off him and led her out of the room. “Let’s go get something to eat. It will be a while yet before they let us see Jojo.”

Marshal felt guilty about being relieved when they left. It had been stressful with them in the room, their worry digging into his own and making it even worse.

From what Crane told him before the Director left for the night, Joanna had been shot coming home. Her neighbors had called it in, and it was only the prompt arrival of police and paramedics that saved her life.

“Bastard even locked the door behind himself,” Crane had said, shaking his head. “The police had to break the door down. It’s only luck they spotted her legs through the window or they might have waited. She would have bled out.”

It was a hurried conversation they’d held in a corner away from Joanna’s family. Not wanting to add to their worry, Marshal had had to sit on the info of how close Joanna had come to dying.

But now it looked like she was going to be all right.

Marshal slumped on the uncomfortable plastic chair. He scrubbed a hand over his stubbly cheeks and thought about getting another cup of terrible vending machine coffee. His stomach tightened in warning and he decided not.

He glanced at his watch. It was still early yet and he figured he’d give Danny another hour before calling. There was no reason they should both be sleep-deprived and miserable.

Joanna was going to be okay.

* * *

Arthur was putting his watch on when he remembered he was out of milk. He’d indulged in a strawberry-pomegranate smoothie the night before and used the last of the milk and yogurt both. He would have to pick some groceries up later.

Until then, he grabbed a travel mug and left the guesthouse.

The sun was just peeking through the trees and the air was fresh with morning dew. He could see slug trails across the stone walkway, but there were no live ones in sight. He still watched where he was putting his feet just to be safe.

He let himself into the kitchen through the back door and breathed in the scent of delicious food. “Good morning, beautiful.”

Olivia looked up from where she was rolling out cinnamon rolls. “Look at you, all bright-eyed and bushy tailed. What brings you over so early?”

Arthur held up his mug with his best waifish look. “Please miss, might I trouble you for some milk?”

She laughed. “Well, don’t expect me to get it for you.”

Arthur unscrewed the lid on the mug and went to the fridge to fill it up. If he didn’t make it to the store tonight, he at least wouldn’t have to deal with plain black coffee. “Thank you, milady.”

“Hm,” she scoffed. “Make sure you stop back in later and have some of these rolls. Otherwise they’ll just go to waste.”

Making sure the lid was tight on his mug, Arthur sketched her a quick bow. “I shall return, dear Olivia. Make me a willow cabin at your gate, and call upon my soul within the house; Write loyal cantons of contemned love and sing them loud even in the dead of night; Halloo your name to the reverberate hills and make the babbling gossip of the air cry out ‘Olivia!’ Oh, you should not rest between the elements of air and earth, but you should pity me. Olivia!”

She swung a dish towel at him, but she was laughing, her cheeks flushed with pleasure. “You boys. I still can’t believe you watched that movie just to tease me.”

Arthur clutched his free hand to his chest as he pushed the door open with his shoulder. “I would watch a million Shakespeare movies for you, dear Olivia. For my heart shall never belong to another woman as luminous and enticing as you. Plus you can cook and that’s like five points extra right there.”

As the door clicked shut behind him, he saw the towel hit the rectangular window and laughed.

He whistled through his teeth as he hopped down the four stone steps. He had a feeling it was going to be a glorious day.

When he’d come over to the big house, all he’d been thinking about was getting the milk for his coffee. But now he wasn’t so task-oriented and his eyes passing over the garbage cans were caught by a bit of dark gray ribbon trailing from under the lid of the large blue recycle bin.

Danny was very serious about his recycling. He’d throw a fit if he knew that someone had stuck something in the wrong bin.

Curious because Olivia and the maids were always careful, Arthur lifted the lid to see what had been mis-binned.

The travel mug slipped from his hand and struck the sidewalk with a sharp crack of the lid. Milk splashed across his shoe and up his pant leg.

The ribbon was from Andrea’s dress, the one she was still wearing. Blood had run down from the large gash dug out of the side of her head to stain the collar and front of her dress. Her feet nearly touched her ears from the way she’d been folded in half to fit into the bin. Her eyes were wide and staring, the lenses gray with death.

Arthur’s hand shook as he pulled his phone out of his trouser pocket. He had to draw in deep breaths as he dialed the police, the three numbers impossibly hard to remember.

He desperately needed to pee.

“Hello, this is Arthur Conway. I need to report a murder.”

* * *

It had gotten to the point where he’d had to tell himself, “No more coffee.”

Marshal rubbed his gritty-feeling eyes and slouched down in the uncomfortable chair. He was exhausted, but he wanted to wait a little longer before going home. Just until he could be sure there weren’t going to be any surprise updates about Joanna’s condition.

He thought wistfully about a sleep-warmed Danny still curled up in bed. His body ached to curl up next to him, to get just a few hours of rest. Never mind that it was almost time for Danny’s hellacious alarm to start making its awful racket.

I’m so tired.

He scratched his fingers through his hair and closed his eyes, tipping his head back. There was no getting comfortable in this torture device of a chair–the hard plastic back curved like one of those egg-chairs so the top lip jammed into the back of his neck. He’d tried lying down across the row of chairs, but they were molded to cup a person’s buttocks, which meant they weren’t a flat surface and there was always some part of him kept uncomfortable by hard jabs.

He thought about slipping down onto the floor, screw germs anyway, and using his jacket for a pillow. Except the hospital was cold and he was wearing a tee shirt and even with his jacket zipped up he felt unpleasantly chilled.

Hospitals were not and would never be his favorite of places.

“Marshal.”

He jumped and opened his eyes, surprised that his boss had managed to come right in front of him without his noticing. “Director,” he said, using his hand to cover the yawn that tried to escape. His back cracked unpleasantly when he pulled himself upright and he groaned softly.

“Marshal,” Kevin Crane said again, and there was something in his voice that made Marshal’s whole body tense as though for a blow. “I have some news. It’s bad.”

“Joanna?” Marshal glanced toward where Joanna’s mother and sisters had set up camp. It didn’t look like they were reeling from any kind of emotional bombs being dropped.

“No, Marshal.” Crane shook his head. There was a deep furrow between his brows and his mouth was a thin line. “It’s about Daniel.”

There was no air in the room. It felt like he’d been buried in Jell-o while the whole world slowed down, sound distorting into a rush of “bwah-wah wah-wah” sound that made his ears ache to hear.

He couldn’t understand the sound of Crane’s words, but he could see them writing themselves on the man’s lips. He couldn’t look away.

“Andrea Lindley, one of Daniel’s maids was found dead this morning. A short time after that it was discovered that Daniel is missing. There are signs that an intruder broke into the house at around three a.m., where he killed the maid and took Daniel. There were some signs of a struggle, but he’d been gone hours before anyone noticed.”

Marshal shook his head. “No.”

Crane pursed his lips. His eyes were tender with sorrow. “Yes, Marshal. We have agents going over the scene as we speak, but as of now, Daniel Worth has been kidnapped and we don’t know where he is.”

To fear something so much and have it come true… It was numb agony, frozen just beyond his limits to feel, waiting to ruin him forever. He didn’t think he could breathe, the air was so thick in his throat. His eyes burned with acid.

“Danny,” he whimpered once, then squeezed his lips tight together, forcing himself under control. “I need to be there.”

“I will drive you myself,” Crane said. He looked like he wanted to reach out and give Marshal’s shoulder a comforting squeeze, but he saw something in Marshal’s expression and refrained. “You can’t be an active part of the investigation, but maybe you saw something or you know something that can help.”

“I don’t need to be handled.” Marshal stood up, forcing his shoulders not to slump. “We’re going to get Danny back.”

Crane didn’t argue, just walked with him toward the door. Marshal kept his eyes focused straight ahead and kept moving.

Danny was going to be okay. They were going to get him back.

The driveway and yard were crawling with FBI and police. There were so many flashing lights that Marshal had to blink and look away. The coroner van was there already, poking out from around the corner of the house.

He tried not to imagine Danny wrapped up in a sheet and loaded into the van on a gurney. The very idea made him want to vomit.

And one of the maids was dead. The pretty brown haired girl that brought him popcorn with a smile. He hadn’t really known her, yet she was dead and Danny had been taken by her killer.

“Are you going to be okay?” Crane asked, resting his hand on Marshal’s elbow.

Marshal jerked a nod. “I’m not going to fall apart.” Not until we find Danny, he thought. Because if Danny was dead, he would lose it for awhile. He knew himself well enough to know he would be destroyed.

It made him feel worse to speculate on a life after Danny. He didn’t even know if Danny was dead, but his brain insisted on going to the worst scenario first. He was bracing himself for the emotional blow.

Marshal spotted Arthur and he pulled himself together and strode across the lawn. He needed to know what had happened and Arthur was his best source. Even if Arthur looked stressed and nervy.

There was a relief in knowing he wasn’t the only one that would be destroyed if something happened to Danny. Marshal needed the support and solidarity and whatever information Arthur could provide.

“Before you run off,” Director Crane’s voice called him back. He turned to face the man with impatient intensity. “You cannot be part of this investigation. We will get Daniel Worth back, but you can only watch. Do you understand?”

Marshal wanted to throw a fit like they always seemed to do in movies, but he knew how things worked in real life. “I understand. Just please sir, let me be there when you find him.”

“As long as you don’t inappropriately involve yourself with the investigation, you can keep watch.” Crane’s look was sympathetic. “We will do everything we can to get him back alive. I’m assigning the best we have to the case.”

“Thank you, sir.” The words were barely out before Marshal found himself in front of Arthur. He’d crossed the lawn without noticing.

Arthur gave him a bleak look. “I found Andrea in the recycle bin. It took us another quarter-hour to realize that Danny was gone. Oh God.” He rubbed his face. “Who knows what’s happening to him?”

Marshal didn’t think. He just drew Arthur against him and hugged him tightly. Arthur looked near to destroyed. “We’ll find him. We’ve got the whole of the FBI to help us get him back.”

Arthur leaned against him for a long moment, then drew back to tug his jacket straight. “I’m scared that it was Dr. Green that had him taken.”

“What do you mean? Dr. Green?”

“Daniel’s maternal aunt. The FBI’s arrested her. I was going to tell Danny today.” Arthur ran his hand through his hair, straightening it. “What if she hired someone to have him kidnapped?”

“Would she have had time to arrange anything if she’s locked up? Did she know she was going to be arrested?” Marshal asked. He felt off-balance. Danny hadn’t said a whole lot about his Aunt Lauren, but he’d said enough that Marshal felt justified in his fear.

“I don’t know if she knew she was going to be arrested,” Arthur said. “I didn’t have a whole lot to do with the case. I just answered some questions and Agent Assanti handled the rest.”

“Hammy? Hammy was involved?” Marshal had the sudden desire to punch his old friend and he knew they were going to be having some serious words.

“Arthur!” Sophia dashed toward them, her feet lifting high to keep her heels from sticking. She had a tablet clutched to her chest.

“Sophia, did someone call for a ransom?” Arthur asked hopefully.

“No, sorry.” She came to his side and held out the tablet. “I’ve already contacted the company, but we’re trying to get a signal from Mr. Worth’s chip.”

“Chip?” Marshal asked.

Arthur was already flicking his fingers across the tablet screen, but he said, “Microchip. The security department had a subcutaneous microchip embedded in Danny’s shoulder. But as I can see here, it doesn’t work.”

“They suspect that Mr. Worth is being kept somewhere that is blocking the signal. They lost him about four hours ago,” Sophia said.

“Four hours? You’ve known he’s been missing for four hours?” Marshal clenched his teeth.

“No, of course not,” Arthur said. “She means we’ve been backtracking him through the logs and his transmitter went dark four hours ago. His trail disappeared and we don’t have any clear records since.”

“I spoke to Mr. Bleeks himself. He assured me they will do whatever necessary to retrieve Mr. Worth’s tracking data and pinpoint his location.”

Marshal wasn’t sure what he was supposed to feel about Danny having been chipped. Should he be outraged that Danny had been embedded with a microchip like a pet? Because all he felt was grateful.

“Do you think they’ll be able to find him?” he asked.

“I have trust in Mr. Bleeks,” Arthur said. “It will just take a little time.”

But what if we don’t have any time? Marshal pushed the thought away. He was not going to give up on Danny.

/CHAPTER

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