“Who’s the doctor?”
“Me.” His smile was faint.
“Yeah, right.”
“Wanna play?” he asked.
“What? Doctor?” Shannon gazed at him in surprise.
He snorted. “Okay, bad joke. I just thought maybe we should lighten up.”
She lifted an eyebrow.
“I’ve been so focused, so…tense and single-minded, I haven’t been able to step away from what’s going on and look at it with a broader scope.” His eyes narrowed. “Don’t get me wrong, my sole purpose here is to find my daughter and get her back safely. But I think because I’ve been so tunnel-visioned, I may have missed the big picture and that larger view might help me locate Dani.
“And you’re involve
d,” he went on. “The center…”
His mind was working in new circles, gears turning, ideas running through his head quickly. Shannon saw it in his eyes.
“Look, whether we like it or not, you and I, we’re in this together. He’s forcing us to work as a team and I think we shouldn’t fight it.”
“Have you been?”
“Hell, yes. I wanted to rush in here all full of myself, with a sense of fatherly duty and determination. I wanted to find my kid myself. I was sick to death of the police and FBI and waiting around for the abductor to make a move. I was friggin’ John Wayne! But it hasn’t worked out that way and it’s probably because the bastard who took my kid is counting on me acting just like that. In a way, I’ve been playing into his hands…And you have, too. So we have to keep at it, but with cool heads, look at this thing with a hard, new eye, be one step ahead instead of behind.
“It’s hard. Damned hard. This is my kid we’re talking about. The son of a bitch has dropped me to my knees and I have to wonder why. It’s not about me, I don’t think, but it is about you. So that’s the angle we have to examine.” He sobered. “I’m not going to kid you, Shannon, this part is going to be rough.”
“Like it’s been a picnic so far.”
His eyes held hers and all of his attempts at lightheartedness drained away. “I hate to say it, but you could be right, maybe what we’ve gone through, what Dani’s endured, is a picnic compared to what he has planned for us from here on in.”
He followed his quarry from a distance.
Ever vigilant.
Ever wary.
No one could catch him, not yet, not when he was so close to his ultimate goal. Parking his truck several blocks away, he jogged through the night, then waited in the shadows, hidden by the shrubbery that surrounded the old mission. The groundskeeper had watered and the smell of damp earth reached his nostrils, a welcome scent on this hot, dry night. His every muscle was taut, his nerve endings singing in anticipation, and he felt an edgy little worry as well. The girl…Something was up with that damned kid. He sensed it and because of her, the little brat, his enjoyment of the night wasn’t as heightened as usual. He couldn’t savor this ritual, one he’d been planning for years, as much as he would have liked. It angered him. Having the kid around was getting to him. The kid gave him the creeps—the way she mutely stared at him, studied his every move, and when she did talk, the questions.
But soon it wouldn’t matter.
Just another day or two at the most.
Then he’d get rid of her.
He felt a little tinge of satisfaction at that. After she’d served his purpose, she’d be of no use to him. Then he’d take care of her.
But, now, as the night thickened around him, he had to concentrate on this task. Finally, after waiting and planning so long, he would extract some well-deserved vengeance.
It would be an intricate two-step as he’d had to adjust his timetable. No more stretching things out. He couldn’t trust the kid and he was running out of patience, couldn’t wait for the ultimate goal.
Tonight would be full of surprises…
His gaze trained on the street in front of a small, well-kept cottage, he saw the familiar car approach and park in its usual spot.
So predictable.