Midnight Exposure (34 page)

Two girls emerged from the kitchen.

“Can I help you, Mr. Kimball?” the taller one asked. Reed recognized her as one of Scott’s classmates, Emily something.

“I’m looking for Scott.” But Reed knew his son wasn’t in the house before she answered.

Emily smiled. “I don’t know where Scott and Brandon went. We were upstairs. When we came down, they were gone.”

The Druid added logs to the bonfire that roared at his feet. He moved to check on the initial sacrifice. A young man in his prime. Two more were necessary. Brigid plus another healthy specimen. He sent a prayer to the gods that his apprentice would not fail in his quest. Great salvation could not be achieved without great sacrifice. The balance must be maintained.

An engine approached. Minutes later, boots crunched on frozen snow.

His apprentice carried a young man over his shoulders like a fireman.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t obtain the woman. I brought a substitute. I have no excuse.” The apprentice carefully lowered his burden to the ground in front of the second pillar, then knelt in the snow at his master’s feet. “I failed.”

The Druid placed a gentle hand on the beloved blond head. “I failed in that task as well. The situation is not ideal, but we will
make do. We have little choice. Now be quick and bring me the final sacrifice. The hour nears.”

“Becca doesn’t have any idea where they went.”

Reed snapped his cell phone closed. Next to him, Jayne flinched.

“She thought the boys were still here.” Reed’s eyes flickered to the driver’s window. The two teenage girls exited the Youth Center, locking the door before giggling their way down the walk. Scott should be hanging around, chatting up the pretty girls while he waited for Reed. The pressure inside his chest increased until he thought his ribs would crack under the strain.

Jayne reached across the console to grab Reed’s hand. He didn’t pull away. He didn’t respond in any way. Shock had dulled his reflexes. She gave his fingers a light squeeze, but Reed’s gaze didn’t waver from the window. He dragged in a breath, the muscles of his chest constricting like an ever-tightening vise.

“We’ll find him. Maybe they got hungry and went to grab something to eat.”

“There were empty pizza boxes inside.”

“Oh.” Jayne drummed the fingers of her free hand on her thigh. “Anywhere else they might have gone? Is there an arcade or video game store in town?”

Reed shook his head. Jayne’s question prodded him into action. She was right. Sitting here wasn’t getting Scott back.

“We start looking for Aaron. We’ll try Nathan’s place. That’s where he’s been staying.”

“Want me to try Scott’s cell again?” she asked.

“He didn’t answer the last three times, but sure.” He tossed her the phone. Reed had already called the state police. Surprisingly, so had Doug. Unfortunately the state cops were coming late to the party and the whole catch-up process would take more time than Reed could spare with his son missing and a resident killer on the loose.

Jayne selected the number from the outgoing-calls list and pressed Send. From the driver’s seat, he heard the call flip to voice mail.

“Didn’t even ring that time.” She left another message.

“I’m gonna stop at the diner. See if anyone saw the boys. We can try to catch Nathan there, too.” Reed jerked the gearshift into drive, and the truck roared away from the curb. “I could drop you off with Mae. She and her twenty-gauge would keep you safe.”

Part of Reed wished she’d agree, though he hated to let her out of his sight. Rationally, he knew she’d be safer with Mae than actively going after a psycho with him. The other part wanted all the help he could get to save his son. The decision was tearing his soul apart.

Jayne took the choice away. “I’m with you all the way. We
will
get Scott back.”

Reed had no doubt Jayne would do anything for Scott. Her face was full of the same fierce determination and strength as when she’d stepped between him and the coyote.

Love, fear, and gratitude continued to play tug-of-war with Reed’s heart. “Let’s try the diner.”

They arrived at the restaurant a few minutes later. Reed jumped down from the cab. Jayne met him around the front of the vehicle. From the sidewalk, they peered through the big plate glass windows. No Scott. No Nathan.

“You go in the front door.” Reed started toward the back.

“OK.”

Reed jogged around the building, entering through the rear door. He made a quick tour of the storage rooms, Nathan’s office, the restrooms, and the kitchen before sweeping into the dining room. He saw Jayne across the room, standing by the entrance. She shook her head.

Shit.

Reed scanned the dining room. Business was slow. Only three tables were occupied. Jed sat in his usual booth. Mandy balanced a tray in the aisle. She stopped at Jed’s table.

Reed careened to a stop, his boots squeaking on commercial linoleum. “Has anyone seen my son?”

Mandy slid the tray onto the table and turned to greet Reed. Her smile evaporated as she met Reed’s gaze. “No. What’s wrong?”

“I can’t find him. Is Nathan here?” Reed’s voice rose with his frustration, and Mandy backed away. Her baby blues went wide.

“I’m sorry, Mandy.” Out of the corner of his eye, Reed saw Jed getting to his feet, ever ready to defend Mandy. Reed exhaled to the count of three. His feet had stopped moving, but his body was strung tight enough to snap. He jumped as a weight settled on his arm. Jayne squeezed hard. Reed drew strength from the contact and wrestled his vocal cords into submission. “It’s important.”

Jed stepped up behind Mandy. With two hands on her upper arms, he gently moved her to the side so he could plant himself between her and Reed. “I left Doug at Aaron’s place. Nathan was supposed to meet him there.”

Reed caught Jayne’s eye and tilted his head toward the waitress.

Jayne stepped in. “Hey, Mandy, I could use a glass of water.”

Mandy backed away with obvious relief. She and Jayne headed for the kitchen. Reed dropped his voice to a whisper and told Jed about the photo.

“Son of a bitch,” Jed said. “I can’t believe Aaron would do something like that. The cancer must have rotted his brain.”

“I’m going to drive out to Nathan’s place. I have to find Aaron. Any idea where else he might go?”

Jed concentrated hard enough to make Reed’s head hurt. “How about his hunting cabin?”

Reed had no idea what Aaron was up to, but any kind of weird pagan ritual would need seclusion, more seclusion than Nathan’s house would afford. And tonight was the solstice. “Is it isolated?”

“Oh, yeah. Nobody goes out there. It’s not that far from Aaron’s place as the crow flies, but there’s no real road. Dumb spot for hunting, if you ask me. He’s got some woods right around the cabin, but the rest of the property’s too rocky. Not enough forage for game.”

A hunting cabin that wasn’t in a great spot for hunting. Sounded perfect for other activities that required seclusion. “Will my truck make it?” Reed asked.

“Definitely. But you might have to put her in low.”

“OK. Can you give me directions?”

“I can do better than that. I’ve got trail maps in my truck.” It took Jed a minute to fetch the maps from the parking lot. He spread it out on the table and pinpointed the cabin. “I could take you out there.”

Reed debated. “No. I need you to call this man.” Reed wrote the name and number of the state police investigator on a piece of paper. “The detective’s on his way, and he’ll need someone to show him where the cabin is.”

“Got it.”

Reed sure as hell hoped so. A lot of lives depended on it. Like Scott’s.

A buzzing sound from the floor caught Reed’s attention. Jayne’s phone vibrated at his feet. He leaned down and picked it up. The external display indicated a text message from the
Philadelphia Daily Scoop
. Why would Jayne be getting a message from a tabloid? With a small twinge of guilt, he flipped open the phone and pressed OK.

The message was only two words.

Got pics?

She’d lied to him. She wasn’t a travel brochure photographer. Jayne was paparazzi.

“Oh. There’s my phone.” Ice clinked in the glass in Jayne’s hand. “Must have fallen out of my pocket.”

Reed handed her the phone, still open to the tabloid’s message, wordlessly. Jayne’s eyes bugged. The color bled from her face. She opened her mouth.

“I don’t have time to discuss this now.” Reed cut her off.

Jayne swallowed. “But I can explain.”

“I said I can’t deal with this right now.” Reed’s teeth ground as he pivoted and headed for the door. “I have to find Scott.”

The cab of the truck had cooled in the brief time they’d been inside the diner, but the outside temperature couldn’t compare to the chill that had swept over his heart.

“Reed, I can explain.” Jayne’s voice was strained.

Without looking at her, he shook his head. Had she already sent the photo she’d taken of him to the paper? No point in asking. Her answer couldn’t be trusted. After all, she’d offered him an explanation, but she’d never denied her betrayal.

A moan woke John. Fresh pain blasted through his body, and it wasn’t just from the recent beating. His arms were tied behind his back and securely fastened to something behind him.

In a panic he took stock. Sky over his head, ice under his ass. There was cold air at his back, but heat from a bonfire five yards away kept him from completely freezing his nuts off. He kept his eyes off the fire so his pupils wouldn’t constrict. His vision focused on the ring of wooden posts.

The tremors that rushed upward from the soles of his feet had nothing to do with the winter night.

He knew exactly where he was. The same clearing where it had all started. Where Zack had died.

Panic ripped through him with a freight train roar.

His weight strained against the ropes that bound him to the post. Rough fibers bit into his wrists. Inside his chest, his heart beat against his ribs like a frantic parakeet, trying to break free of its bone cage. But he was trapped.

An icy crackle had John jerking his head around. The old man circled the clearing, chanting. John couldn’t make out the words, but they flowed over him like a hypnotic drum. The old guy was pouring something from a jug just inside the circle. Dark liquid glugged into the snow. It was a replay of that night with Zack.

Hard cold fact: he was going to die tonight.

John’s vision went red around the edges. The rushing in his ears drowned out the intonations. His head lolled to his shoulders.

But instincts were a bitch. And survival was the most relentless nag of them all. Even after all he’d been through, he didn’t want to let go. Neither did he want to face whatever horrors his captor had planned for tonight.

John lifted his head an inch. The frozen air caressed his bare skin. Another moan brought his head around to the other side. Two more forms were slumped in front of upright poles. His heart did a double take. Two more poor souls were going down with him.

And there wasn’t jack shit John could do about it.

He swiveled around at a scraping sound. His captor was arranging a limp body, a young man, on the flat-topped center stone strewn with pillar candles.