She strained to recall what had happened. Memory of leaving the Daytons and driving in the rain was all Jess could grab onto.
But then bits and pieces of random images sparked behind her closed eyelids. Melanie’s reaction to the painting, the crack of lightning as she got into her car. The text from Owen. The rapidly approaching headlights in her rearview mirror. Someone had run into her car at a high rate of speed. Oh, my God.
Jessica tried opening her mouth to cry out for help, but her lips wouldn’t move. Nor would her hands and feet she realized in terror. She’d been bound and gagged.
Panic quickly set in, sending her mind into a place it wasn’t prepared to go. She struggled against her bonds to no avail while trying to breathe through the blood trickling from her nose.
Her lungs hurt along with her head.
I have to calm down. Think, Jessica, you have to think.
It took considerable effort to pull herself together enough to keep from blacking out. Her lungs felt as if they would explode from lack of precious oxygen, and her mind continued to rebel against what she knew to be true. Someone had tried to kill her.
It suddenly dawned on her that she was in the trunk of a moving car. It bounced along an uneven surface, telling her one thing for certain…they were definitely not on the highway.
Jessica could do nothing but lie there bound and gagged while waiting for the vehicle to stop. Yet she knew exactly what would happen then…she would be killed just as Sandy Weaver had.
Tears welled up behind Jessica’s closed eyes to leak from the swollen corners. She would never again have the chance to tell Owen how sorry she was for shutting him out, to let him know how much she loved him and always had.
The car finally rolled to an abrupt stop, sending pain shooting through Jessica’s shoulders. She had no idea how long she’d been bound, but her arms had been screaming in agony since she’d became conscious.
Thunder boomed overhead, temporarily drowning out the sound of Jessica’s thundering heart.
The engine shut off on the vehicle and the slam of a door followed shortly after.
A moan of fear vibrated behind Jessica’s gag with the knowledge that she would soon face her abductor. The fact that she couldn’t see kicked her anxiety up another notch.
The trunk abruptly opened, and the sting of the pelting rain hit Jessica in the face.
She was suddenly yanked up by her tormented arms. Jessica cried out from behind her gag as her stomach made contact with the unforgiving ball of a man’s shoulder.
Nausea rolled with every step her captor took. She prayed to God she didn’t vomit behind that gag and choke to death on it.
The man trudged through the rain for what seemed an eternity to an upside-down Jess before he entered some kind of shelter and dropped her trussed up weight on the floor at his feet.
Excruciating pain burst through Jessica’s body, eliciting another cry from behind her gag.
The sound of footsteps could be heard moving away from her just seconds ahead of a door opening in the distance. It slammed closed, telling Jessica she’d been left alone on that floor. For how long, she had no idea.
Owen…
Chapter Forty-Three
Owen sat in the pouring rain in the parking lot of the Country Inn Motor Lodge staring at the door to room 102. He wasn’t sure how long he’d sat there, waiting for Jessica to return before he decided to leave.
Cranking up his car, he reached for the gearshift when a dark colored sedan pulled into the parking space next to him.
Steven Ruckle jumped out, shielding his eyes from the rain and hurried up to the overhang of the motel.
Rage boiled inside Owen’s blood. He opened his door and flew from the car before Ruckle realized what had happened.
Owen gripped the other man by the arm, jerked him around and slammed his fist against his face.
Steven staggered back a few feet before catching his footing. He lifted his hand to the corner of his mouth. “You son of a bitch,” he growled, launching at Owen.
But Owen was a force to be reckoned with. He had too much to lose to allow Ruckle to take him down. He ducked, coming up with an uppercut that caught Steven on the chin.
“Where is she?” Owen snarled, spinning around behind the reporter.
Steven quickly faced him, his hands coming up to ward off the next potential punch. “I have no idea. That’s why I’m here, looking for her.”
Owen took a threatening step closer. “Bullshit. You know which motel room belongs to her, but you haven’t seen her?”
“I saw her earlier this evening, but as per usual, she’s not answering her calls or texts. So, I figured I’d see if she was here.”
The longer Owen stood there looking into Ruckle’s eyes, the angrier he became. “I won’t give her up for you or anyone else. Do you understand? I’ll kill you before I let you have her.”
Something flickered in Ruckle’s eyes. He lowered his hands and blew out a resigned breath. “Yeah, well you don’t have to worry about killing me anytime soon. She made it perfectly clear that she didn’t want me. Not for a lack of trying on my part, mind you.”
Owen studied Ruckle’s face closely but saw no hint of deception. He relaxed his stance. Somewhat. “Then what are you doing here?”
“I came to see how her visit with the Daytons went since she didn’t answer her phone.”
“Why did she go see the Daytons?”
Steven ran a hand through his wet hair. “She’d painted another picture the night before of a cabin on a lake. An eerie looking painting with the images of Terry Dayton’s and some young girl’s faces just beneath the surface of the water. It really shook her up. She wanted to speak with Jasper Dayton to see if he recognized the cabin in the painting.”
Owen thought about that for a moment. Surely to God Jessica didn’t take her paranoia to the Daytons? “Where do the Daytons live?”
Steven stepped around him and headed toward his car. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
With little choice but to do as the asshole said or sit in the rain and hope Jessica returned soon, Owen got back inside his car and followed Ruckle from the parking lot.
So Jess had turned Ruckle down, Owen mused, staying close behind the dark colored sedan. Did that mean she’d be willing to give Owen another chance, or was she simply not interested in Ruckle? Owen wasn’t sure about anything anymore. He did, however, know that he would do everything in his power to make Jessica happy again. Even if that meant moving her back to Chicago. He had yet to sell their home. He would even unpack Jacob’s things, if that’s what Jessica wanted. Owen only wanted her love.
Flashing lights could be seen up ahead through the torrential downpour. Owen touched on his breaks, staying close behind Ruckle as he eased along the side of the road, giving a wide berth to the fire trucks and police cars.
Owen squinted against the red and blue lights, wondering what had happened, but the downpouring of rain made it impossible to see.
Owen slowed to a stop behind Ruckle’s sedan as he parked in front of a pale-yellow house in a nice suburban neighborhood. The flash of lightning revealed a white work truck sitting in the drive, but Jessica’s SUV was nowhere in sight.
Waiting for Ruckle to exit his vehicle, Owen quickly joined him. They ran across the yard toward the front porch, their shoes sloshing through the water puddling on the lawn.
Owen stepped onto the porch next to Ruckle and wiped the rain from his face while the other man rang the doorbell.
Long moments ticked by before the door opened to reveal a confused looking blonde. She blinked up at Ruckle, her eyes glassy and slightly unfocused. “Steven?”
It wasn’t lost on Owen that woman knew Ruckle personally.
Steven responded in a smooth voice. “Hi, Melanie.”
“What are you doing here?” Her words could barely be heard over the thunder rolling through the skies.
Ruckle stepped aside, tilting his head in Owen’s direction. “This is Owen Nobles, Jessica’s husband.”