who took me left me with plenty to remember him by, as if I would ever forget what he did to me…and the others.”
“There were others?”
His question reminded her that the truth about her life was ugly—gnarled and twisted like a destructive and malignant tumor leaching life from the living. No one wanted or needed to hear about it. And the last thing she wanted to do was rob Payton and his sister of hope. Hope made for a terrible first casualty, and she had no intention of adding to their misery.
“I shouldn’t be telling you this. Not now. I only brought it up to say that I made it through and Nikki can too.” She tried to pull away, but he stopped her.
“I don’t know who did this to you, but I hate the sorry bastard. I’d sure as hell like to beat the crap out of him.”
Men always thought they could fix things with their fists, but underneath his anger, she knew Payton only wished he could have protected her from a lifetime of pain.
“You’d be too late. Cops shot him the day he got caught. He’s dead, but picturing you beating the crap out of him still works for me. Thanks.”
She wielded her sarcasm like a shield, unable to bring herself to tell him more. She had blocked much of her degradation from her mind, mercifully banished into the oblivion of time and distance. And there were things in her memory that no one would ever know. Things she hadn’t even told Sam. But as she saw it, nothing would be gained if she continued.
“If I tell you much more of what happened to me, it won’t be any comfort to you. And that’s not my intention. I just wanted you to know that it’s not in my nature to give up, and I get the feeling you’re the same. We can’t give up on Nikki.” She let go of his hand and pulled away. “I’m sorry. I thought I could talk about what happened to me, maybe give you a pep talk, but…I can’t.”
“That’s okay.” He leaned toward her, closing the gap she’d made. “We haven’t known each other very long, but time doesn’t always play a part in how close you can feel to another human being. In hard times, you get to know who your friends are. What I’m trying to say is, if you ever want to talk…I’d listen.”
“Thanks, Payton.” She smiled and clasped his hand again. “I appreciate that.”
Something in her gut told her that placing trust in Payton would not be a mistake. And he’d been right about knowing who your friends were during hard times. Her friendship with Sam had endured over the years. But why had she opened up to him? Perhaps, in her heart, she knew it was time for the healing to start. If she would ever wrestle her life back, it had to begin with a first step. And Payton might be hers.
He was a good listener, and she had a feeling she might eventually get an opportunity to test those listening skills. If she was right about Nikki—that the girl was still alive and in the hands of the Russian—she might need to confide how she’d found the will to endure her own ordeal. And she prayed Nikki could dig deep and do whatever it took to survive.
Now, after what she’d said to Payton about Nikki, she realized there had been a change in her way of thinking.
She’d allowed Alexa to take over, which made sense. Alexa seemed to have the resources to handle the international magnitude of Globe Harvest and not be hampered by the rules of fair play. Her trust in Alexa had surprised her, but her unflinching need to find Nikki—one girl—had taken on an equally surprising urgency.
But when she thought about it, it made sense. Kids make mistakes, but an error in judgment should not be a life’s sentence. Nikki was an innocent kid who had come into the crosshairs of ruthless and cruel men. If Nikki wasn’t to blame, then was
For the first time, the weight she’d been carrying on her shoulders all these years started to budge. And it felt…good. Damned good.
“I could sure use some coffee.” She crooked her lip into a smile. “Maybe something quick to eat. I’ve got to call Seth to tell him about Alexa.” Jess rose off the bed, but stopped short when she heard her cell phone ring. Reaching for it on the dresser, she said, “That’s probably him now. The boy has a way of reading my mind.”
She answered the call, “Beckett here.”
“Just wanted you to know that your contribution netted us fifteen more hot spots.” The woman didn’t identify herself, but she recognized Alexa’s voice. “Can’t tell you when this is going down, but I wanted you to know. Thanks to you, we’ve improved our chances at shutting down this target for good.”
“I didn’t really expect you to call, but…thanks for the bone.” Before she’d finished, the call went dead.
Alexa had spoken her mind. No frills. No ticker tape parade. She had to satisfy herself with the subtext of the cryptic message.
“Was that Seth?” Payton asked when she shut down her phone.
“No. Alexa,” she replied with a grimace. “She’s a woman of few words, but I think she may have given us just enough information for Seth to work his magic.”
The woman had identified fifteen locations from the pages she’d given her. Now she’d have something more for Seth to work on. And that was all the ticker tape parade she’d need. Just because Alexa had what she wanted, that didn’t mean Nikki would be found. Payton’s niece was a needle in the proverbial haystack. And any attempt she and Payton made to find her would be at even worse odds. Still, she had to try. Rolling over and giving up wasn’t an option.
“Come on, Payton. We may not have the resources behind us like Alexa, but I’ve got a feeling we’re back in the hunt for Nikki. And Seth is gonna show us the way.”
For his sake, she sounded more confident than she felt. Seth would be a long shot, at best. And she had no idea how to find Nikki, but doing anything was better than sitting around waiting for a call from Alexa that might never come.
The odds were definitely stacked against them, but she knew what it felt like to be an underdog. The way she figured it, a woman with nothing to lose should never be counted out.
CHAPTER 26
Peninsula Hotel
Downtown Chicago
Morning
“So tell me…” Payton said as he watched her punch the elevator button heading for Seth Harper’s suite. “What do you pay this summer intern of yours? If he can afford this place, you gotta pay pretty good. Where do I apply?”
“Sorry, the last time I put money on a quarterback, I got burned on the bet. You cost me money, as I recall.” She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him as the elevator moved. “Believe it or not, this girl’s got standards.”
“Well, sorry I didn’t come through for you. If I had known you back then and knew you had money on me, I might’ve tried harder to win.” He grinned, looking like his old cocky self, back in the day.
“Oh, you won, Archer.” She raised an eyebrow. “I was betting against you at the time.”
The elevator doors opened and mercifully saved her from an explanation, but the grimace on Payton’s face had been priceless.
Down the hall, Seth Harper’s suite door had a DO NOT DISTURB sign on the knob. After she knocked, her well-worn employee and friend greeted her.
The tall and lanky kid looked like he’d been up half the night and just crawled out of bed. His large dark eyes had shadows, the inherent sadness in them intensified from his lack of sleep. Gone were his upscale “hotel” clothes, replaced by his usual
The kid was a real puzzle. One day she’d wrestle him in her grip and work him like a Rubik’s cube to figure
