Special Agent's Surrender

He frowned thoughtfully. “Can you think of anyone in your personal life who might be angry with you?”

“No, nobody,” she said firmly. “You know me, Tom. I don’t make enemies.”

“What about professionally? Any problems at the office?”

“I’m a Realtor, for goodness’ sake. I work for myself and I make people happy.” She set the cup on the edge of the desk with trembling fingers.

At that moment Caleb returned to the office. “I didn’t see any sign of anyone, but I did a cursory check of the car and grabbed your purse,” he said to Layla. He handed her the oversize bag and then turned to Tom. “I also found this in the backseat.” He held up a plastic bag with a syringe in it.

“Oh, my God, what’s that?” Layla asked as a new horror washed over her. “That’s not mine,” she exclaimed. “I don’t do drugs of any kind.”

“I don’t know what’s in it, but it looks fully loaded,” Caleb replied.

Tom rose from his chair and motioned Caleb out of the room. “Excuse us for just a minute,” he said as he and Caleb walked out into the hallway.

Left alone, Layla’s anxiety flew off the charts as she grappled with what had just happened to her. She couldn’t imagine anyone hating her enough to try to strangle her. She even got along well with her ex-boyfriends.

Sure, she knew that a lot of people in town thought she was shallow and superficial, brash and a bit of a wise-mouth. She also knew that there were some who probably thought she was a bit loose, but Layla was the first to admit that she made a lot of mistakes when it came to men.

Even as she thought about her personal life she knew the truth, and the truth was far more terrifying than an ex-boyfriend.

She reached for the cup and took another sip of the coffee, but the warmth of the brew didn’t begin to touch the chill that had taken up residency in her bones.

What happened now? Did she just get into her car and go home? The idea of being alone in her house terrified her. What if he knew where she lived? What if he came back to finish the job?

Other women had recently disappeared in the town of Black Rock. A new chill took possession of her body at this thought. They’d disappeared and never been seen again.

Tom returned to the room and sat at his desk, a sober expression on his handsome face. “Layla, you know about the missing women we’ve had in the last couple of months.”

“Of course,” she replied. “I was just thinking about that.” There had been four women who had disappeared from Black Rock in the last four months or so, including Tom’s own sister, Deputy Brittany Grayson. “It was him, wasn’t it?” Her heart beat so fast she felt slightly nauseous. This was the truth she hadn’t wanted to think about.

Tom nodded. “Caleb and I think maybe it’s possible you were intended to be number five.”

His words hung in the air between them as she stared at him in horror. Nobody knew what had happened to the women who had disappeared but the general opinion of everyone in town was that they were all dead.

“We think that all the women were taken from their cars. Most people don’t look in their backseats when they get behind the wheel. I would guess that the syringe is filled with something that would knock a person unconscious. He was probably going to choke you unconscious and then administer the drug.”

“Or it could have killed me instantly,” she said. Her throat began to hurt again, as if in response to their conversation.

He hesitated a moment, his eyes flashing darkly. “We’ll know more about that after we send it to the lab.”

“So, what happens now?” she finally managed to ask.

“As terrible as this experience has been for you, this could be the break we’ve been waiting for. We’re keeping your car and will go through it with a fine-tooth comb to see if the attacker left anything behind besides that syringe. Hopefully we’ll get some hair or fiber or fingerprints that will lead us to an arrest.”

“And what about me?” she asked.

“I’ve called Benjamin. He’s going to come by and take you by your house to get some things then we’re going to stash you in a cabin out at the ranch until we’re certain you aren’t in any danger.”

“A cabin?” She didn’t know about any cabin located on the Grayson property.

He nodded. “It’s kind of a family secret, an old caretaker’s cottage that my parents renovated years ago.”

“What about my cat?”

Tom frowned. “You have a neighbor or somebody who can take care of him while you’re gone for a couple of days? Either that or we can see if Larry Norwood can board him.”

Layla set the coffee cup on the desk and then leaned back once again, finding it difficult to comprehend everything that was happening. “The only person I’d trust to take care of Mr. Whiskers is Portia and she’s allergic.” Portia Perez was Layla’s best friend and Caleb’s fiancеe. “I guess it would be okay to board him for a couple of days. I’m sure Larry would take good care of him.”

Larry Norwood was the town veterinarian and Layla was comforted by the fact that he seemed like a nice guy who loved animals. Mr. Whiskers already knew the vet, for Larry’s office was where she took the cat for checkups and shots.

“I’ll see that he’s taken care of,” Tom assured her. “The important thing is to get you someplace safe until we can figure out exactly what’s going on.” He leaned forward, his dark eyes piercing into her. “Layla, is there anything else you can tell me about the man who attacked you?”

She thought of those terrifying moments in the car when she’d been certain death was a mere heartbeat away. “Nothing,” she finally replied. “It all happened so fast. All I can tell you is that he was strong.”

“If you think of anything else, if you think of anyone who might have a reason to harm you, let me know. In the meantime all I need from you is that you tell nobody where we’re putting you, and I mean nobody, and that you stay put until we know the danger has passed.”

The idea of staying in a cabin alone was nerve-racking, but the thought of going back to her house all alone was absolutely terrifying. “If the culprit is who you think it is, then maybe he won’t bother me again since I managed to get away.”

“Maybe, or it’s possible that he’ll be more determined than ever to get to you.”

A tiny laugh escaped her. “Thanks for the reassurance.”

“I’m not going to waste my breath giving you false assurances,” he replied. “There’s no way to know if this is tied to the other disappearances or not. We don’t have enough information right now to know what’s going on. But, the one thing I don’t want to do is minimize the possible danger.” His mouth was set in a grim line. “I don’t want to lose another woman in this town.”

“I don’t want to be the one you lose,” she replied. “I know it’s hard to believe coming from me, but I’ll do whatever you tell me to do, Tom.”

At that moment Benjamin appeared in the doorway. Benjamin was another of Tom’s brothers who worked as a deputy, but rumor had it he intended to quit his deputy duties in the spring and focus on ranching and Edie Burnett, the new woman in his life.

“Layla, heard you’ve had a bit of a rough night,” he said.

She forced a smile. “That would be the understatement of the year.”

“You ready to head out?”

She looked at Tom, who nodded his assent. “I’ll be in touch to let you know what’s going on. And don’t worry about your cat. I’ll see he gets to Norwood’s later tonight or first thing in the morning.”

She stood in an uneven stance minus one shoe. “Can I get my other high heel from the car?” she asked.

“It’s evidence,” Tom replied. “I’m hoping that if you managed to hit him and break some skin then we might have some DNA on the shoe.”

She took off the shoe she still wore and then looked at Benjamin. “Then I guess I’m ready to go.” A new burst of fear swept through her as she realized she wasn’t going home to Mr. Whiskers and her own bed, but rather was in effect going into protective custody.

It took only ten minutes for Benjamin to get her from the sheriff’s office to her small house. She’d always felt safe in the three-bedroom ranch house she’d bought five years before. But she didn’t feel safe now. The shadows in the rooms suddenly felt ominous and she jumped at every ordinary noise. She was grateful to have Benjamin with her.

She packed a large suitcase of the things she considered essential, kissed Mr. Whiskers goodbye and then they were back in Benjamin’s truck and on their way to his ranch.

The adrenaline that had pumped through her from the moment the arm had wrapped around her neck eased away, leaving a gnawing fear that had her shaky.