Heartthrob (The Bennett Brothers 3)

There’s a sharp knock then my door opens. Another uniformed officer is standing there. “I may have something. You’re going to want to hear this.” He holds up a listening device, his eyes sweeping the room. “In private,” he adds.

“Play it,” I demand.

He hesitates too long. Nick reaches out and snatches the device, handing it to one of the officers questioning us.

The sound starts out stifled, but it’s easy to hear the teary emotions in the woman’s voice.

“I was in the supply closet… um… making out with Clint. Things were getting heated and… um… when he froze. There was a faint vibration against my upper thigh where he was pressed. He moved away and pulled something out of his pocket. I was too confused to see what it was. Without a word, he grabbed a bag stashed in the corner and disappeared. It took me a few minutes to gather my wits, and I went straight to the bathroom. While I was in there, I got angry and sent him a text. Immediately, the message came back as undeliverable. I tried twice more, thinking my service was bad, and the same thing happened. We have been communicating for weeks, and this has never happened.”

“Who’s the woman in the interview?” one of the officers that have been with me for the last twenty minutes asks.

“Her name is Lora. She’s been a nurse here for over a year,” I answer. “Clint’s doing an internship here. They hooked up a while ago, but I was under the impression it ended. She’s wasn’t his only one.” I go on to explain the months of gossip, tears, and finally peace when it came to his playboy ways.

“Might be something, might be nothing, but we’ll talk to him,” the man says.

“We can’t find him. He’s unaccounted for. His badge was swiped at the employee exit thirty seconds before Claire was taken,” the officer at the door declares.

At his announcement, rage explodes inside. I’m on my feet, edging by everyone and sprinting to the area where the staff is being interviewed. Evie is at the nurses’ station, her cheeks tear-stained and face a ghostly white. The few women around her look the same.

“Evie, I need you to speak to every nurse that screwed around with Clint. Have them tell the officers everything they know. Fuck discretion, every detail.”

A few gasps sound out, but I don’t glance to see who. Shaw and Nick flank my side, their presence giving little comfort.

“We can’t be sure it was him,” Nick tries to reason.

“Two minutes ago, he wasn’t on my radar. Now, I feel it in my goddammed soul he’s got her.”

“Why? What is she to him?” Shaw questions roughly.

“That’s what we have to figure out.”

The range of emotions I’ve experienced in the last two hours hits an all-time high as Detective Flores tells me we still have nothing. We’ve prepared for a kidnap-for-ransom situation, but there’s been no contact. It took all of forty-five minutes for him and his team to decide this was an isolated incident, and no one else in the hospital was in immediate danger. The alarm status has been decreased to code two.

My family, including my parents and Claire’s parents, have been through intense questioning as the detectives try to find a reason for Claire’s abduction. So far, there are only theories, speculations, and hypotheticals. All the women are a mess, to say the least, but Kelly has retreated into a shell of agony. Mitch isn’t much better, but he’s trying his best to be strong.

The hospital has been able to keep Claire’s name from the press who are outside waiting for information. It’s been a challenge because of the traffic in our department, but none of the children or parents know it was Claire, and the staff has been sequestered. Since it’s only a matter of time before her name leaks, the legal team and hospital administrator are preparing a press conference with the help of the police captain. They’d like to wait until more information is available. I don’t agree. I want her name and picture plastered everywhere. Lucky for me, my brothers feel the same.

The door to the conference room opens, and Bizzy and Shaw slip through with another officer. At this point, I gave up keeping track of their names.

“Everything was perfect. Nothing was out of place. Legal documents and investments in the safe. No jewelry missing. The cash Mathis mentioned was exactly where he said it would be. We brought photos for Mathis to tell us if anything seems off,” Shaw tells Detective Flores and hands a folder to me.

I glance through the pictures, confirming that the condo is exactly as Claire leaves it. Clint didn’t take her there for anything.

“Mathis, I found this on the dresser, in her jewelry box.” Bizzy holds out her hand, the diamond engagement ring in the middle of her palm. My heart seizes for the hundredth time. I take it, twirling it between my fingers, and swallow the burn in my throat. I chuckle, not with humor, but pain. Claire didn’t want to wear her ring to work because she was terrified it’d get messed up.

“Thanks, Biz.”

“I also brought a chain. A lot of nurses wear their rings around their necks. Maybe you want it—”

“Put it on me,” I cut her off abruptly, handing back the ring.

She slides it on the chain and fastens it around my neck, squeezing my shoulder.

I’m done with this shit. Time to take matters into my own hands. I glare at Shaw, and his eyes flare with understanding. He leaves without a word, going to find Nick. Bizzy gives another squeeze, knowing what’s coming.

Detective Flores’s phone rings, and he brings it to his ear, his gaze trained on me. He listens, with each passing second his eyes growing harder. Bizzy whimpers, and I stand, putting my arm around her shoulder. His head hangs, and he talks in Spanish, too fast and fluent for me to catch any word.

After he hangs up, he turns his back and gives the officers in the room low instructions and they take off.