“You have my number . . . Keep us posted.” Levi nods and escorts Sydney out of the house.
Moments later, Dylan walks in and tips his chin up at me. “Hey, Reinhardt, any leads yet?” he asks, not beating around the bush and I don’t blame him. This is his baby sister, and I’d be the same if it were Avery.
“Just piecing video together now,” I tell him as Dylan and Jackson shake hands.
“Muff, it’s good to see you again,” Dylan tells him. “Thanks for helping out.”
“Hey, Linc . . . I wish it was under better circumstances. We’re going to find your sister.”
“Damn straight and as soon as I find the fucking bastard, I will bury that asshole alive, so he dies a slow death.”
I pace the rug as both my hands clasp the back of my neck. Wanting to get back to the search, I say, “Let’s check the video from the point she exits the building until the last transmission.”
Dylan, Jackson, and I head back over to the screen. We start from the beginning and follow the time stamp on each series of footage, reviewing the images frame by frame, like an old movie. Todd attacks Delilah, slams her to the ground in the alley, straddles her, places a cloth over her face, then stashes her in the trunk of the town car.
“We already know Meyers puts Delilah in the town car’s trunk from the dry cleaner footage . . . and we know they’re headed east from the venue from our drone footage. But after that, we don’t have anything else.”
“LAPD found the car abandoned and the real Carl dead in the back seat,” I tell Dylan. “This footage is from the street cams we were able to get ahold of thanks to Dixon and his wife.”
“Here are those images,” Jackson says.
It’s like a knife gutting my insides as I watch the transfer of Delilah’s limp body from the town car into the back seat of a black SUV that heads east on I-10.
My phone buzzes and I quickly answer the unknown number.
“Mr. Reinhardt. This is Detective Solis. We got a hit on the SUV.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Delilah
My body is in pain, my hands are tied behind me, and I can’t move. I lie here on the cold floor full of fear with no hope for escape. I try to clear the cobwebs to remember what happened to me, but it’s no use and I have no idea where I am or how long I have been out.
The faint scent of cigarettes lingers in the air and I swallow the bile that wants to resurface again. I breathe in slowly, images flash back to me. I was backstage, a maze of hallways, then finally fresh air, only to be attacked from behind.
I open my eyes slightly and when I do, I see darkness as the moonlight reveals the face I never expected to see. He’s all too familiar and yet, he’s a stranger to me. He looks angry, agitated, and tense. I watch his mouth move, as if he’s talking to himself. I hear murmurs of random words, but I can’t make out what he’s saying.
Fear paralyzes me. My heart is pounding in my chest as I lie here like a rag doll.
A sharp kick to my leg and a whimper escapes my dry throat. The snicker on his face disgusts me as he sits in the chair glaring down at me.
“Well, well, well. Sleeping Beauty is finally awake,” he hisses, and I cringe at the sound of his voice.
I can’t speak because of the muzzle over my mouth, so I’m forced to listen to him as tears stream down the side of my face onto the wood floor.
“That sorry-ass SEAL can’t help you now.”
I try to calm the churning in my stomach.
“Tell me, Dee, does he say you’re beautiful? Does he tell you how sexy you are? Does he know everything about you like I do?” His voice is cold and emotionless as he rambles. “You know they’re all lies. He’s a liar and a thief. He’s not a hero like the articles make him out to be. A Purple Heart just because he was injured in battle. That fuckface is a pussy. And he can’t save you.”
I close my eyes, trying to shut out the vile words coming out of his mouth. I focus my thoughts on Brody. Yes, he tells me I’m beautiful and how sexy I am. More tears come knowing that I will never see him again and that I never told him I love him.
He snickers a chuckle and I want to throw up. “Your fucking brother had to arrest me. Drake couldn’t cut me some slack. He wanted me out of your life. So he threw me in jail . . . when I’m done with you, I’m going after him, his wife, and daughter.” Todd stands and paces the room. “He ruined my life . . . he took you away from me . . . we were going to have a life together. I was going to make it right.”
“Fuck you, Todd,” I garble through the cloth.
“What’s that, Dee-li-lah?” he sneers. “You belong to me. We made vows. You promised me . . . and not once did you come to see me. To see how I was doing. To apologize for Drake throwing me in jail. Instead, you left me. Not this time.”
Shivers chase up my spine as regretful decisions and memories stir.
We took a weekend trip to Las Vegas. After several drinks at one of the casinos, we were walking down the strip and watched Elvis marry a couple. On a whim, we did it too. But it was just for fun and all fake. Todd slipped Elvis a hundred bucks to “marry” us on the fly. My god, Todd thinks we really did get married.
An evil smile spreads across his face as he steps forward and lowers himself onto his haunches so he’s looking over me. Todd’s eyes are absent of anything good. If I thought his eyes were evil before, nothing can describe the iniquity in them now. Terror consumes my body and I know it will soon be savaged by his inevitable blows.
Relief washes over me when Todd steps away and disappears into the darkness.
I hate the dark and my eyes dart wildly searching for any escape. There’s only a sliver of the moon casting through the blinds and I hold onto it for a brief moment sending a silent prayer to the heavens.
I try to loosen the tie wrapped around my wrists, but it only cuts into my skin. I try to use my shoulders to shove off the wrap muzzled over my mouth, but it’s no use.
I hear his steps behind me, but the way my body is positioned, I can’t maneuver around or see him. A boot kick to the left side of my stomach forces air out of my body. I yelp in pain as another kick connects with my shoulder and I hear a crack. I think it’s my collarbone.
Before I can take in a breath, my hair is pulled, and I’m dragged down a hall.
I shut my eyes, anticipating another blow, instead he pulls out a blade from his back pocket, cuts the tie around my wrists, and removes the gag from my mouth. A reprieve I desperately needed as I scurry to the edge of the wall. Where I cough, gasping for air. Uncontrollable tears stream down my face. I’m dizzy and have no breath in me from his assaults. My vision is blurry, but I manage to see through the darkness.
“You think you can get away from me . . . not this time, Dee. Not. This. Time.” The sound of his voice is what nightmares are made of.
“Why?” I slur. “Why are you doing this?”
“Why?” he repeats, his maniacal laugh rings through the air, sending chills up my spine. “You’re my wife, goddamn it!”
“We aren’t married, Todd . . . it was not real.”
“It was real to me. I put a ring on your finger.” I look down at my hand and see a gold band on my finger. My god, he’s really lost it and there’s no use in talking any sense into his crazy mind.