All the Pretty People by Barbara Freethy

Author:Barbara Freethy [Freethy, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fog City Publishing

After Jenny left, I finished my lunch, grabbed the emergency credit card from the kitchen drawer as well as an extra car key, and called a cab. I probably could have asked Jenny for a ride to Willie's, but then I would have had to explain why I'd gone there and who I was with, and I couldn't go through all that again.

Despite Jenny's warning about Drake, I had already promised to help him, and I intended to do that. First, I wanted to get my car.

I arrived at Willie's a little before two. The bar was open, but there were only a few cars in the lot. I slid behind the wheel quickly, feeling nervous about being in the area by myself. Then I drove a few blocks to the public parking lot across from the restaurant.

When I entered the Crab Pot, I didn't see Sylvie in the dining room, just a hostess and a couple of servers I didn't recognize. I jogged up the stairs to the apartment. The door was partly open, so I knocked, then walked in.

"Drake?" I called out.

The man standing by the coffee table whirled around, but it wasn't Drake; it was his father, Holt Maddox.

Holt stared at me in shock, his eyes oddly unfocused. He was still a big man, but he looked much older than I remembered, and his hair had turned completely white. He was holding a photograph in his hand. I could see it was one of Melanie, the same one that had been on the missing posters that had been all around town ten years ago.

"You," he said, his expression shifting. "Where is she? Where did you leave her?"

"What?" I asked, surprised by his questions, by his aggressive tone.

He stalked forward, and I instinctively backed up. But I hit the wall, and there was nowhere else to go.

"Melanie. You know where she is. Tell me. I have to get to her."

"I—I don't know where she is," I stuttered.

He moved so close I could feel his breath on my cheek.

"It's going to rain again," he said. "She'll be cold and scared. Tell me where she is. You know."

"I don't know."

"You do." The photo dropped as he put his hands on my shoulders, pressing me against the wall. "Tell me now."

I saw the desperation and anger in his gaze. His hands were gripping me so tightly, I could feel the bruises forming.

"I'm sorry. I can't. Please let me go."

"Tell me where my little girl is," he ordered again. "Or I will make you very sorry."

There was murderous intent in his eyes. I needed to get away. "Mr. Maddox, please. It's me, Willow. I'm Melanie's friend. I love her."

"No. You did this to her. You need to talk."

He pressed me harder against the wall and a terrible fear ran through me.

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