Chapter Eleven
On his wayback from the hospital, Liam was tempted to make another detour instead of heading directly to the apartment. Since Catriona’s arrival, he was like a stupid teenage boy, and he hated himself for it.
He hadn’t felt like a hormonal dumbass in years, and he’d learned the hard way how keeping a cool head might make or break a case. How could a woman who covered herself from neck to toe, acted demurely, and spoke of dedicating her life to God, turn him on like nobody else ever had? Was it some sort of fetish he hadn’t been aware he had, from a man who was surrounded by nuns growing up? And he wasn’t old enough to look back on old memories with rose-colored glasses, especially those of a childhood he’d rather forget.
It was something else; the innocence in her expression when she offered herself to him, curious, eager, and scared at the same time. What messed with his mind even more was that he’d considered it, hoped for it. Immediately, he recognized the evil of his father running through his veins, the same impulse that led to him abusing his mother.
Liam knew that she kissed him, pressed her body against his, but he had to be the one to resist, to protect her against her fleeting desires.
With his resolve not to touch her again in place, he buried his head deeper into his coat as his skin tingled from the biting cold. Through the buildings, the morning sun didn’t shine down that low yet. He could have asked the cab to drop him in front of the apartment, however he preferred to make sure nobody had followed him, especially after the diner incident. Before he’d gone to the hospital, Liam dropped by the station to check Cary Paylor’s address, but couldn’t find anything on the boy, or any Paylors in the area for that matter. It was obvious the boy had given them his real name, but he was probably living on the streets. Often, kids from poor neighborhoods came downtown where the money was, and this was even truer during the holidays.
One question he hoped to ask Cary was why he’d been following them, and especially how and why he’d saved them from those unknown stalkers. His list of questions for the boy was increasing by the minute.
As Liam was turning the corner toward the building, he went into full alert, discreetly watching his surroundings and bracing himself for what he’d say to Catriona.
Instead of using the main entrance, Liam went through the basement door and entered the code on the keypad. Inside, he headed up the stairs, and he was almost to his floor when he realized how easy it had been to climb the steps despite his bad knee. Apart from a faint heat, the pain was manageable for the first time since the firefight.
Still trying to remember if he’d taken pain pills or not, he opened the apartment door. Sun was filtering through, but it was clear Catriona wasn’t there. With the papers stacked on the kitchen table around her laptop and a pad full of scribbles by its side, the little nun had been busy.
He could hear movement upstairs, so he assumed that she was having breakfast with Aleksei and Deva.
Chewy barked as soon as he knocked at the door, and Aleksei welcomed him, a mug in hand. “Hey, just had the notification that you came in.”
Liam relaxed some as he took the steaming cup of coffee. “You’re becoming quite domestic, Alek.”
The Russian all but snarled at him. “I wanted to pour it over your head, but Deva told me you’d prefer drinking it, so don’t push your luck.”
Liam heard Deva laugh from the kitchen and followed his brother in. Deva at the stove stirring something in a pot, Liam scanned the room and his heart skipped. “Where’s Catriona?”
Aleksei and Deva went still as statues.
“What do you meanwhere is she? She’s in the apartment.” Aleksei looked at him as if he’d lost his mind, but Deva appeared worried.
“Last time I saw her was last night, maybe an hour after you left. I brought her some food. She didn’t say much, she was deep in her research and told me she’d probably work through the night. I didn’t think I’d see her this morning as she’d be sleeping.”
Liam dropped his mug on the counter and bolted out. Aleksei cursed and followed him as they ran downstairs. Liam went directly to where Catriona had slept the night before and opened the door. The room was untouched, the bed made. Her travel bag was still there on the dresser, and Liam didn’t know if he should be reassured or scared out of his mind.
“Where is she?”
Aleksei searched the bathroom and shook his head. “I need my phone to check the security system.”
“Way ahead of you, big guy.” Deva came in eyes on his phone. “Just went through the log, and it shows someone going out an hour and a half ago using the temporary code you gave Liam. It must be Catriona. By entering the code on her way out, it prevented the alarm from triggering. She must’ve memorized it when Alek gave it to you.”
“Why would she leave by herself? She knows we’re on lockdown, damn it!” Aleksei looked about ready to smash something.
“She has a cell phone. Let me call her.” Catriona had given him her cell phone number, and he’d given her his, but when he dialed it, he went right to voicemail. “Catriona, it’s me. Where are you? Call me back as soon as you get this.”
Deva angled her head. “You’re lucky she’s not me. With that tone, I’d never call you back.”
Aleksei kissed her brow as he came to stand beside her. “Check the perimeter cameras at that time. We may not have a lot of details, but we’ll see if our little nun was alone and where she headed.”
Liam clenched his jaw as all was going way too slow. “Aren’t you worried?”
Deva sighed. “Yes, we’re worried. But it seems that she left on her own. Unless you consider her your prisoner, you can’t lock her up, Liam.”
Her words angered her even more; he’d promised Gabrielle he’d protect her.
“That’s her.”
