Should she fight him? Run? Would he really shoot her on the side of the highway with all those cars whizzing by?
He pushed her into the backseat of his SUV, quickly zip tying her wrists together as she shook. Tears streamed down her face, and she kicked at him as he pushed her down. He punched her in the ribs. “Don’t fucking fight me. I know you like to be tied up, bitch. We’ll have some fun after you get those cards for me. Maybe I’ll even give you back to your Navy SEAL boyfriend—eventually.”
She kicked at him again, before he hit her in the head with something. She began to feel dizzy, and then he hit her again. Everything went black.
Chapter 19
Troy cursed as he drove along the freeway toward Caitlyn’s apartment. Something was very, very wrong. He could see smoke in the air and a huge traffic jam in the opposite direction. Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles lined the side of the road, and he cursed as he saw a white SUV in flames. An SUV that looked exactly like Caitlyn’s.
He dialed her number again as he pulled to a stop. It rang and went to voicemail.
“Caitlyn, sweetheart, it’s me. Are you okay? Call me right away.”
Turning on his signal, he took the next exit and looped back around, getting back onto the freeway. Not caring about whatever laws he might be breaking, he drove along the shoulder until he reached the emergency vehicles. Troy jumped out of his SUV, jogging toward the police officers there.
“Sir, stop! You can’t come any closer!”
“I think that’s my girlfriend’s SUV! Is she okay? Is anyone inside?” he asked, craning his neck to see around the emergency personnel rushing toward the flames.
“There was no one in the vehicle,” the officer said.
“What? Where is she? Let me just see the license plate,” he said frantically. “I need to see if it’s her car.”
The officer clenched his jaw, nodding, and walked closer to the scene with him. Troy didn’t give a shit if this guy wanted to babysit him. If he spotted Caitlyn, no one would be able to stop him from going to her. Several firemen were spraying some type of fire retardant onto the flames, but the back of the SUV was still intact. His heart stopped as he looked at the plate. That was Caitlyn’s car. But if she wasn’t in it, where the hell was she?
“That’s my girlfriend’s car,” he said. “Caitlyn Thomas. She was supposed to be at my place an hour ago. What happened?”
“She wasn’t in the vehicle,” the officer repeated. “Multiple callers reported a smoking SUV on the side of the freeway. When we arrived, the car was engulfed, but no one was here. It’s possible she went for help or had someone take her to the hospital if she was hurt.”
Troy frowned. Although he had no doubt she’d get out of her car if she could, she wouldn’t just abandon it on the side of the freeway and leave with a stranger. Even if she was hurt, she’d wait for an ambulance. What if someone had taken her?
Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he called Raptor. “Caitlyn’s missing.”
“What?” Blake asked. “When did this happen?”
“Just now. She was supposed to be at my place an hour ago. She texted to say she was running late, but she never showed. Her car is on fire on the freeway.”
“Holy shit, that’s her? I just heard about that.”
“God damn it!” Troy said. A few of the police officers looked over at him, and he muttered a curse, talking in a low voice to Blake. “No one’s in the vehicle. The police don’t know where she is. I think it’s related to the yacht. Someone took her. She had multiple hang-ups a few days ago at work and noticed a couple casing her office.”
“Damn. You didn’t say anything about that.”
“I know,” he said, frustration growing within him. “She said that she was just being overly paranoid. I should’ve trusted my gut and looked into it.”
“Maybe she went for help,” Blake said. “Did she walk along the highway or get a ride?”
“I don’t know,” Troy said, running a hand through his hair. “Jesus. I’ll go check her apartment and make sure she’s not back there. Can you and Clarissa head to my place? I need to call the hospital, too.”
“We’re on it,” Blake said. “Jackson and Taryn are over here. I’ll have them contact the hospital while we check out your place. We’ll find her,” Blake assured him.
“Damn it. I hope so.”
His heart thudded in his chest as he looked around at the chaotic scene. The fire had finally been put out, and there was white foam on the road in addition to water from where they’d sprayed. Some of the investigators were already photographing the vehicle, and his gut churned. That was Caitlyn’s car. She was his. They were acting like this was a day-to-day accident, and his girlfriend was fucking missing.
Troy looked down at his phone, making sure he hadn’t missed any calls or texts. Was she hurt? Injured? Scared?
He knew she’d been running late, but damn. Her car was pretty new. It shouldn’t have just caught fire on the freeway. Had someone sabotaged it?
Turning away from the accident, he rushed back to his SUV. “I need to find my girlfriend,” he said to one of the officers. Without
