Still unconscious, Griff never stirred, but the bigger man kept moving, ducking through the bedroom window, descending a ladder propped against the side of the town house.
The man with the curly black hair punched her so hard she hit the wall and slid down to the bedroom floor. Her head spun and her vision dimmed as she flashed in and out of consciousness.
“No cops.” The man grabbed her chin and tilted her head back. “You hear me, lady? You want your kid to live, you keep quiet and do what they tell you. You got it?”
When she didn’t answer soon enough, he slapped her face. “You got it? Say it?”
She swallowed. “No...police.”
“That’s right. You’ll be hearing from us. Till then, keep your mouth shut.”
Kenzie tried to get up, but he hit her again. “And tell your boyfriend he had better keep his fucking brothers out of it.”
Her eyes slid closed. It was the last thing she remembered until Gran opened the door, saw her lying on the floor covered in blood, and screamed.
TWENTY-FOUR
Reese was dead asleep when the phone rang. His meeting had run longer than he’d expected and he’d gotten home late. With a weary sigh, he rolled over to grab his cell phone off the nightstand, read the digital numbers on the clock: 4:01 a.m.
Since nothing good happened at four o’clock in the morning, his heart rate jolted from sluggish into high gear. Recognizing Kenzie’s cell number sent his pulse rate up another notch. “Kenzie?”
“Reese, it...it’s Florence.” Her voice shook. “Kenzie’s hurt. Men took Griff and they told her not to call the police.” Florence sobbed into the phone. “I didn’t know who else to call. Please help us, Reese.”
But Reese was already up and moving, trying to wrap his head around another disaster, trying not to imagine what terrible thing might have happened to Kenzie. “Does she need an ambulance? How badly is she hurt?”
“She won’t go to the hospital. Please come, Reese.”
“Listen to me, Flo. I’m on my way right now. I’m calling a doctor. He’ll meet us there.”
“No police. She just keeps saying it over and over.”
“No police, Flo. This man is a friend. He’ll help her and there won’t be any police involved. Just tell her to hang on until I get there.” He swallowed, fought for control. “Both of you. Just hang on.”
Florence made a sound in her throat. Then she took a shaky breath. “We’ll be okay. I’ll take care of her till you get here. Thank you.”
Reese ended the call. He didn’t want thanks. Kenzie was hurt. He needed to get to her. It occurred to him that nothing in the world could stop him.
Dressing quickly, he made a brief pause in his study to retrieve the Nighthawk semiauto in his safe. He kept the gun for protection. His juvenile records were sealed, which allowed him to get a permit. He had learned the hard way there were bad people in the world.
Minutes later, he was behind the wheel of the Jaguar, roaring out of the garage. As the vehicle fishtailed onto the deserted street, Reese fought to steady himself. It was time to shut down his emotions and regain control.
He voice-dialed Dr. Charles Chandler, a longtime Garrett family friend, and the doctor agreed to meet him at Kenzie’s town house on Gilbert Street.
Reese stepped on the gas, sliding around corners, accelerating, rolling through stop signs at intersections. No police, he reminded himself, and slowed the Jag enough so he wouldn’t get stopped. Still, he made the trip in record time. As he got out of the car and raced up the sidewalk, Florence opened the door.
“Thank God,” she said.
“The doctor should be here any minute. Where’s Kenzie?”
“Upstairs in Griff’s room.”
Reese raced past her up the stairs, Florence hurrying to catch up. The door to the bedroom stood open. A lamp burned on the bedside table, casting shadowy light around the room. Aside from the nightstand, the room was in shambles, as if a bomb had exploded, curtains torn down, photos and trophies on top of the dresser broken and strewn all over the floor.
Kenzie sat on the edge of Griff’s bed, her head hanging forward, dark hair hiding her face. Bruises began to darken the back of her neck and her arms below the short sleeves of her pink cotton robe. Kenzie sobbed into Griff’s Dallas Cowboys jersey, which she hugged against her chest.
For an instant, Reese stood frozen, blinding rage pouring through him. Clamping down hard on his emotions, he crouched on the floor in front of Kenzie. Reaching out, he gently caught hold of her hand.
“It’s okay, baby. I’m here now. Everything’s going to be okay.”
She looked up at him, her eyes stricken with fear and grief. Tears tracked down her cheeks. “Reese...oh, God.” She leaned forward, put her head on his shoulder, and kept sobbing. Reese gently held her that way, terrified he would hurt her. He didn’t know how badly she was injured. He didn’t want to make it worse.
Wiping tears from her cheeks, Kenzie sat up on the edge of the bed. “They took him, Reese. They took Griff. They came right...right into our home and kidnapped my little boy.”
He took her hand. It felt icy cold. He saw the bruises on her knuckles and pressed his lips there. “We’re going to get him back. I promise you. Right now, I need to see how badly you’re hurt.”
She didn’t protest when he opened her robe. His jaw tightened as he studied the darkening bruises on her pretty breasts and torso, did a quick check for broken bones, didn’t find any, but she sucked in a breath when he touched her ribs. Her eyes were puffy, her jaw bruised, her plump bottom lip cut and swollen. Fresh rage welled inside him. It took all his will to battle it down.
“I need you to tell me exactly what happened,” he said softly. “Can you do that, honey?”
Tear-filled eyes fixed on his face. She took a steadying breath and nodded. “It...it was late. I tried to sleep but I had too much on my mind. I was lying there, thinking about Lee’s murder, thinking about what the police might do, when I heard a noise. I wasn’t sure what it was, so I got...got up to check. I heard voices in Griff’s bedroom and when I opened the door, I saw... I saw a man carrying him over his shoulders toward the open window.” Her voice broke.
“It’s okay, baby, just take your time.” Where the hell is that doctor? He ground his teeth in frustration but kept his emotions locked down tight.
“Griff was...Griff was bound hand and foot and I...I realized he was unconscious. I tried to stop the man who was taking him. I didn’t see the second man until...until he hit me.”
Reese clamped down on a shot of fury, managed to hang on to his temper by a thread. “Go on.”