Ethan looked her over and leered. “You look good enough to eat.”
Liz laughed, feeling better, and picked out a corner table so they could talk while Ethan put in their order.
When he sat next to Liz and set two drinks down on the table he started explaining what had happened. “Gabe finally found the man Gary hired. Gabe is like a dog with a bone. Once he is on to a lead he won’t let go. Gabe and I arrested the man this morning. He lived in St. Clair. All those so-called business meetings were about Gary paying the guy to vandalize your store and scare you. Gary didn’t want to hurt you. He wanted you to stop liking the town so you could move away with him. The guy confessed and is in jail in St. Clair.”
“Gary was so determined for us to be a couple and get my dad to back him in business, but to go to these lengths is just plain scary, Ethan. There has to be something wrong with him.” Liz frowned, fe
eling a little scared at the new Gary they were discovering. He obviously had some screws loose.
“I guess Gary figured he was too smart to ever get caught since he had alibis, and he figured if you were fed up with this town you would want to leave. Ryan went to pick him up and we were hoping to get the full story out of him. Or rather, I was willing to intimidate the full story out of him, but as Stella told you, he is nowhere to be found,” Ethan explained. “The police in St. Clair know what’s going on and have his picture since he spent so much time there. We will find him.”
Liz sipped on her cola and smiled. Ethan would scare the pants off anybody but especially a jerk like Gary. She wished she could be there to see that scene.
“What has you smiling?” Ethan asked, leaning into her and talking softly. “Me?”
“Sort of, I was thinking of how scared Gary would be with your interrogation skills, and I was wishing I could be there to see it. What a jerk!”
Ethan laughed. “I can’t wait to find the little weasel. He is so snobby that he hasn’t made very many friends here, so I know someone will turn him in if they see him driving around town in his flashy car.”
Their order came so they ate their dinner quietly and listened to the music. Liz felt relaxed until she saw Melissa, Lori, and Emma come in. She silently groaned to herself and could only hope they didn’t spot her and Ethan. She wasn’t afraid of them but they liked to start trouble. It kept their little clique the center of attention which they liked. Lacy and Stella called them the Drama Queen Clique. Emma had given Ryan a hard time and tried to start trouble with Lacy but Ryan had nipped it in the bud.
Unfortunately luck wasn’t going to be on her side this time. Melissa spotted Ethan and whispered in Emma’s ear then walked over to them dressed in a skimpy top and short skirt like the rest of her friends. Liz wondered if they ever got cold dressed so scantily.
“Did you come to dance with me, Ethan?” she said, ignoring Liz completely. “You know how much I love to dance with you. You’ve been neglecting me lately, you bad boy.” She pouted, caressing his arm up and down.
Liz looked at Ethan, waiting for his answer. He obviously knew Melissa well and didn’t bother to tell her. Ethan swallowed hard, looking at Liz first and wincing when he saw the anger on Liz’s face then over at Melissa who already had her hands on his arm, pulling on him to get up and dance with her. “Not today, Melissa. I am on a date right now.”
Melissa looked at Liz and arched her eyebrows and laughed out loud as if he just told a joke. “Really? Isn’t she a little, um, tiny and uptight for your taste, Ethan? You know you prefer someone like me, so why are you wasting your time trying to make me jealous?”
Liz gasped and almost stood up to yell at Melissa but at the last minute she decided to see how Ethan would handle the situation so she stayed quiet. Would he tell Melissa he was in a relationship with Liz? He finally spoke into the tense atmosphere. “This isn’t the place for a drama scene, so let’s all just chill out and behave like ladies.”
That was it? No defending her or telling Melissa to bug off? Liz felt her temper rising and she stood up and looked at Melissa. “Maybe you’re right, Melissa. I’m sure he prefers large, easy women like you so here he is. Go and dance your hearts out!”
Liz stomped off, ignoring Ethan calling her name. Why did she keep forgetting that men were jerks? It was the story of her life. As soon as she believed in one his true colors came out. Liz walked out into the cold, realizing she left her coat and purse behind but she wasn’t going back there to see Melissa’s face of triumph. At least her dress was thick. Liz walked quickly toward her apartment. Someone came up behind her and tapped her shoulder. Liz turned, thinking it was Ethan, but she was surprised to see Gary standing there smiling at her. “Finally, I found you, Elizabeth.”
“Gary?” she answered, puzzled, and saw him take a cloth out of his pocket. Before she could protest or fight back he put it over her mouth and she fainted into his arms.
Chapter 12
Ethan spoke frantically into his cell phone talking to Ryan. “I’m telling you, I’ve already spent the last hour searching the streets and her place. She is nowhere to be found, Ryan. Something had to have happened or I wouldn’t be calling you to see if she is with Lacy.”
“Lacy is right here next to me and she already said she hasn’t heard from Liz. I am on my way and we’ll search for her, so calm down. Call Gabe and Logan, too. The more people searching the sooner we will find her.”
Ethan hung up feeling his stomach tied up in knots. He quickly called Gabe and Logan and explained to them what had happened and they agreed to start searching for her and to gather as many volunteers as they could.
He could kick himself. He really messed up again. He should have reacted differently with Melissa, but he wasn’t thinking of how Liz would feel and he should have put Liz first no matter what. Liz was precious to him. He felt more for her in the short time he knew her then in the two years he had been married. Sure, he had danced and flirted with Melissa occasionally, who hadn’t? But he never took up her many offers for sex. He knew Melissa was a bitch but she was nice to any male. He was only trying to diffuse the situation quietly without attracting attention. Ethan knew if he said he preferred Liz, Melissa would not just walk away quietly. She would have picked on Liz and brought Emma and Lori into it and it would have blown into an ugly scene. Now he was afraid Liz had run into Gary. If something happened to her he’d never forgive himself. He was beginning to realize that life without Liz was not something he wanted to face. It was starting to freeze out here but none of that mattered to him. All he cared about was finding Liz. He was sure Gary had taken her or he would have found her by now. Appledale had a lot of wooded area and he remembered they had found Lacy in the woods when she had been kidnapped, but Gary didn’t strike him as the type to be hiding in the dark or cold. No, he would take her to a building but where? Despite the overwhelming panic that was setting in he was determined to do everything in his power to find Liz and keep her in his life permanently. He walked over to Main Street to meet up with Gabe, Logan, and Ryan. Ethan didn’t care how long it took. He was not giving up until he found his woman.
* * * *
Liz woke up feeling fuzzy. Where was she? She couldn’t remember what happened. She lifted her head and realized her arms and legs wouldn’t move. Liz glanced over and saw they were tied with rope to a bed post. What the hell? She glanced down, thankful she was still dressed, but her shoes were off. Whose bed was she in?
Liz remembered the scene with Melissa and Ethan at Thorn’s and walking out. Gary had grabbed her! She remembered now.
“Gary, where are you?” Liz yelled, pulling on her arm restraints, but they were too tight.
“I’m right here, my sweet. There’s no need to yell,” he answered cheerfully as if he hadn’t just kidnapped her right off the street. His mind must have snapped. Liz wanted to yell at him but she didn’t want to piss him off either. There was no telling what he would do. He had to be insane and she had to think carefully so she wouldn’t antagonize him. She wasn’t ready to die!
Liz took a deep breath, feeling a panic attack coming. She needed to come up with a good plan to get herself out of this. Ethan probably didn’t even notice she was gone, that rat! How long had she been here?