Love Required (26 page)

Jason set Lexi on the ground. She was still trying to walk on her own, but managed to get around fine in the kitchen with all the surfaces to hold on to. He crowded into her personal space and stole a kiss. “I’ve told you, I’m only obsessed with
your
cupcakes, Cupcake.” Then he winked and planted a scorching kiss on her lips. Seconds later, Tori broke the kiss at the sound of Lexi laughing and pulling on her pant leg. They both looked down at her and laughed.

Jason picked her up and shook his head. “Little Cockblocker should be the next words Aunt Tessa teaches you. Or Aunt Allie.”

Tori smacked him on the arm and scolded him, “Stop it! She is really gonna start saying everything you guys say to her.”

Jason chuckled. “Okay, we’ll work on Mommy first. Would that be better?”

Taking Lexi from his arms, she said, “Yes, much.”

He kissed them both before heading to the fridge. Pulling out his lunch Tori had made him, he finished gathering his stuff to head into work. All week, he had kept close tabs on them, completely disrupting his life and work to make sure they were safe. Jason spoke with Mack on a daily basis and the two of them discussed whether or not Damien had been seen at the house. Between those phone calls, and Sean confirming that Damien had checked in with his parole officer, she felt safe.

According to today’s call with Mack, Damien was seen at his mailbox the day before, and he had pulled his car out of the garage early that morning, leaving it in the driveway. With the knowledge that Damien was in Idaho, Tori would be going to the mall with Tessa today.

Putting her bag on her shoulder as Jason came back in the room, she asked, “Have you seen the keys to my car? I thought they were in my purse, but I can’t find them.”

Jason pulled out the keys to his car and handed them to her. “I told you I’d prefer you driving my car. Yours isn’t as safe.”

She scowled at him. “My car is perfectly fine and gets me where I need to go.”

He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around both her and Lexi. “I’m sure it does, but my car is safer and more reliable. Besides, Lexi’s new seat is already strapped in, so you might as well.”

Still scowling and unable to move from his hold since her hands were full, she grumbled, “Was that part of your plan? Use my reluctance to move the oversized car seat to my car.”

Jason smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. “I plead the fifth … a guy has to keep some secrets.”

“Oh, using my own lines on me … I see how it is. You just wait until tonight. Two can play at game, mister.”

“Promises, promises,” he said with humor as he hugged her tighter and dropped his face to her shoulder, kissing it. The brush of his beard against her skin awakened her body, as always. Her nerve endings were slaves to the sensation, and he knew this. Jason Michaels fought dirty for sure.

Nudging him away from her, she laughed. “Okay, stop that. We both have places to be.”

“But I’m the boss, so I can be late,” he said, moving toward her again. She quickly ducked out of the way and moved around the kitchen island.

“You already had me today so you’ll just have to go to work and wait until tonight for more,” she said while trying to counter each of his moves. He went left, she moved right.

Finally, he gave up and his shoulders slumped in defeat. Giving her a pouty lip, he relented, “Fine. If you can resist me, I can resist you. So long as we’re not in the same building, I can totally wait until tonight.”

She shook her head and grabbed his keys he’d put on the island. “That pouty face isn’t going to work. Now let’s go before you’re late for work again and Logan starts to hate me for being the cause.”

Jason huffed a laugh as he moved to pick up his computer bag, “Logan likes how happy I am right now.”

Tori stopped and looked at him. “He does.”

Jason took Lexi from her and proceeded to carry her out to the garage. Loading her in the seat, he turned back to Tori and kissed her. “Yep, so you’re stuck with me now. Just think of all the people whose happiness would be directly affected if you ever leave me.”

Giving him her best
I’m-dead-serious
expression, she said, “I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’re damn right you’re not,” he said sternly before taking her lips in another kiss—one meant to drive his point home. After she was good and breathless, he pulled away, smiled, and walked to his truck. “Call me later, please.”

Shaking the dazed feeling off, her fingers touched her tingling lips as she nodded. She watched him leave before getting in the car. Looking back at Lexi, she teased, “Looks like someone might be skipping her afternoon nap so she can go to bed early tonight.”

Lexi picked the appropriate time to blow a raspberry at her. Tori laughed and backed out. “We’ll see, little girl.”

JASON had just dropped down into his chair when his phone rang. It wasn’t a number already programmed into his phone so he assumed it was business related.

“Jason Michaels.”

“Jason? It’s Tessa.” Her voice was serious and not playful as it usually was, immediately putting him on edge. The tone of her voice, coupled with the fact that she was calling him when she was supposed to be with Tori, had him bluntly asking, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I think … I don’t know. I was just checking to see if you’ve seen Tori. She said she’d be here over an hour ago, and I can’t get ahold of her. That’s not like her so I was starting to get worried.”

Standing abruptly from his chair, it slammed into the wall behind him, catching Logan’s attention. Maybe his reaction was unnecessary, but he had reason for it. Tessa was right; it wasn’t like Tori to be late or to not answer her phone. Something could very well be wrong. “I haven’t seen her since she and Lexi left the house well over an hour ago. She said she was running by her place to drop off something for Hal, then she was picking you up.” He was already making his way out to his truck so that he could get to her place, with Logan close on his heels. “Do you have her landlord’s phone number?”

Tessa answered, “Yes, want me to try his number?”

“Yeah. I’m on my way over there, but call him now and see if he’s seen her.”

“Okay, I’ll call you back. Bye.”

He ended the call, and Logan grabbed his arm as he was climbing in the truck. Jason looked at his friend and got straight to the point. “Something is wrong. Tori hasn’t shown up at Tessa’s, and she isn’t answering her phone.”

Logan’s hand dropped from Jason’s arm as he cursed. “Fuck, go! I’ll call Sean.”

Jason nodded as he slammed the door and threw the truck in drive, yelling out the window as he pulled away, “Tell him I heading over to her place.”

He found Tori’s number at the top of his call list. Pressing send, he waited as it rang. When he got her voicemail, he hung up and dialed again. As he heard her sweet voice telling him to leave a message, he couldn’t help the surge of fear that crept up his spine. Something was wrong.

When the recording ended and gave him the beep, in a voice full of concern he said, “Tori, baby, call me back as soon as you get this.” Panic had him clinging to the phone, not wanting to move it away from his ear. When the phone ended the call for him, he reluctantly pulled it away and looked at it. Something was definitely wrong.

A honking horn alerted him to the now green light he was sitting at. Driving blindly as he’d called her, he hadn’t even realized where he was. All his focus was on getting to Tori’s place as quickly as possible, so he floored it. Under normal circumstances, it would take about ten minutes to get there—but not this time.

As Jason was weaving around cars on the freeway, speeding to the exit he needed, his phone rang. Quickly grabbing it, he answered with the hope Tessa had found Tori. “Tessa?”

“Jason, her landlord isn’t answering his phone either. Are you at her place yet? I’m worried,” Tessa said in a small voice, nowhere near as large as her personality. He wanted to comfort her a little, since she was Tori’s best friend after all, but the truth of the matter was he didn’t know what to say.

“I’m worried, too.” Taking a deep breath when he saw his exit come into view, he added, “I’m getting off the freeway now, so I should be there in three minutes or less. Call me if she shows up, okay?”

“Okay, let me know when you find her,” she pleaded.

“Of course.” Ending the call, he turned right onto the main road leading to her street. Less than a mile down, and he was making the quick right turn toward her house. Even though he was in a residential neighborhood, he punched the gas. The truck picked up speed as he made his way to the end of the cul-de-sac.

His fears began to conjure all sorts of scenarios as to what horrible things could’ve happened to Tori. The fact that he couldn’t see any emergency vehicles or smoke coming from where her place was only provided a small comfort. When her driveway came into view, and he could see the tail end of his car there, a bit more relief bubbled up inside. Now he could eliminate car accident from the list of fears he mentally made on the reckless drive over.

Pulling in the driveway far too fast, he slammed on the brakes and simultaneously flung his door open. After throwing the truck in park, he was out the door a second later, jogging past the front house, through the gate toward the converted garage where she lived. He called her name as he got closer to her door, but heard no response. Trying the door handle first with no luck, he began to pound loudly on the door, calling her name again.

Nothing looked out of place as he abandoned the front door and went to the small window next it. Everything was quiet, and he didn’t like it. The ruckus he was making should’ve at least warranted a response from Lexi. If they were in there and something was wrong with Tori, he would’ve heard Lexi. He wasn’t sure if he should be comforted or frightened by that fact. Where the hell were his girls?

Deciding to get inside at any cost, he needed tools. As he started to run past his car to get some from his truck, a movement inside the car caught his attention. The front seat was empty, and the dark tinted windows prevented him from seeing much, but he knew he saw something. Throwing open the back door, he almost crumpled with relief when he found Lexi belted into her car seat. Her cheeks were lined with tear tracks, and she was sucking her thumb voraciously.

Leaning into the car, he crooned, “Hi there baby girl.” Making quick work of the belts, she made noises between crying and whimpering—but happy to see him. He could totally relate to how she felt. After pulling her out, he stood up and held her tightly to his chest as she snuggled into him. Her little body hiccupped from crying so much, so he knew she had been in the car by herself for an extended period of time. Rubbing her back, he rocked her and tried to calm her, all while the sickening feeling of dread threatened to take him to his knees. Tori would never leave Lexi … ever. Something was horribly wrong.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

JASON turned himself in a circle, taking in everything around them, hoping for a clue as to where she might have gone. When his gaze landed on the back door to Hal’s house, he could see that it was open. Moving closer, he noticed damage to the frame and something on the floor, just beyond the doorway. Knowing he needed to investigate, he glanced down at Lexi in his arms and debated whether or not he should take her in there with him.

He didn’t have many options, and the thought of putting her back in the car was not appealing in the least.
What if Tori’s hurt in there and needs help
, he thought. Deciding she’d be safer with him, he stepped into the yard to get a closer look. His gut was screaming at him that something just wasn’t right, so he pulled out his phone and dialed.

“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?” A firm feminine voice came across the connection.

He wasn’t even sure how to answer her question. “I’m not sure what the problem is yet, but I just know that something is wrong. I wanted to call you guys before I entered the house to see what is happening.”

“Sir, can I have your name and location please?” she asked.

As he began walking toward the open door, he answered her. He could hear her saying things into the line that were clearly meant as orders to others. Although he was glad that help was on the way, it did little to calm his fears.

“Thank you, sir. I’m dispatching a unit to your location now. Can you tell me what kind of help you need? Is someone hurt?”

“I’m still not sure. All I know is that when I got here, my girlfriend wasn’t here, but her one year old daughter was still in the car. She would never leave the baby alone like that. I can see the back door to her landlord’s house open so I’m going in to check it out,” he said as he continued to hold Lexi tightly against his chest.

“Sir, do
not
go inside the house if you think there’s something wrong,” she insisted.

“With all due respect, there is no way I’m
not
going into that house. What if she’s hurt and needs me?”

“I understand your concern, but I can’t allow you to place yourself in danger. The unit is three minutes out, sir, please wait.”

“I can’t do that,” he answered with a lowered voice as he stepped up onto the back stoop. Angling himself so that he was shielded by the doorframe, he assessed the view inside the door. Not seeing anything other than a turned over chair, he cautiously stepped inside. He was thankful that the baby had calmed down and wasn’t making much noise, but she still clung to him, so he held her tightly. In his attempt to comfort her, he realized she was providing him a level of calm he didn’t think was possible otherwise. Not with the horrible thoughts running through his head.

“Sir, the officer is pulling up out front. Are you inside, and what are you wearing?” the dispatcher asked.

“Yes, I’m inside. I have on jeans and a black t-shirt. I’m holding a baby, and I’m unarmed,” Jason answered, knowing the dispatcher needed to relay the information to the officer outside. He knew this was for his safety as much as it was for the officer’s. He could hear her communicating what Jason was wearing to the officer at the same time he heard car doors close outside. Ending his call, he moved toward the front of the house, intent on getting the door for the police, when he spotted Hal lying on the floor.