The Perfect Couple (Last Stand #4)(59)
Author: Brenda Novak

Her prison was so quiet, so isolated. It was as if they’d locked her into a different universe.

Finally giving up, she curled into herself, and the crudely made marks on the baseboard near the mattress began to blur as her eyes filled with tears.

She couldn’t survive sixty-six days like this; she couldn’t survive another week.

"Mommy, where are you?" she whispered. She wasn’t sure how long it’d been since she’d called her mother Mommy, but she felt so young and frightened. "I want you," she said, pleading with the silence.

And then she heard something that came to her as more of a vibration.

At first she couldn’t tell what that vibration signified, but when she pressed her ear to the floor again, she could tell that someone was shouting.

"Colin! Hey! Your cars are in the driveway, so where the hell are ya?

Tiff?"

"Dad? Stay downstairs! Tiff’s not dressed," came the equally loud response and, a moment later, footsteps pounded down the stairs.

"Whatever happened to knocking, for God’s sake?" she heard Colin snap before his voice dropped too low for her to make out the words.

Shoving herself into a sitting position, Sam began to shiver. Someone besides Colin and Tiffany was definitely in the house. It was time to draw the attention of their guest.

But if Colin’s dad came to see what was going on, would he take her side–or his?

Chapter 23

Colin couldn’t believe it. What was his father doing stopping by unannounced? Paddy knew Colin and Tiffany valued their privacy. Almost every visit occurred at Paddy’s smallish tract house in Antelope, and that was how Colin liked it. That was the only way the relationship could work.

At Easter, Paddy’s new wife, Sheryl, had said it’d be nice if Colin and Tiffany would host dinner at their place for a change, but Paddy had immediately responded by telling her to shut up and get them all a beer. He’d seen how easily Colin had cut Tina, his real mother, out of his life. He wasn’t about to push Colin. He was too busy trying to make up for allowing Tina to get away with what she did when Colin was little. At least he and Colin were still on speaking terms. Colin’s sister had sided with their mother and, after the divorce, refused to communicate with him or Paddy.

Colin didn’t like his stepmother much more than he liked his own mother. But she was a decent cook and, because she didn’t enjoy serving them, he gained some satisfaction in making her do it practically every holiday. Being on friendly terms with his father enabled him to use his father’s vacation cabin, too, which had proved to be a great perk. Some of his fondest memories involved torturing his second pet at the cabin. Her remains were even buried up there.

"What’re you doing here?" he asked as soon as he reached the living room.

His father stood in front of the fireplace, staring up at the photograph that’d been taken for their wedding announcements. He turned and watched as Colin finished pulling on his shirt. Colin had Zoe tied up, the video camera positioned just right, and had barely removed his clothes when he’d heard his father’s voice. Being interrupted at a moment like that was beyond enraging. But at least he’d heard Paddy before the old man surprised him in the bedroom.

His father didn’t seem to care that he’d dropped by at an inconvenient time. He shoved a shaking hand through his short gray hair, which was still thick despite his age, and met Colin’s impatient eyes. "I need to talk to you."

Colin couldn’t help glancing toward the stairs. He had all his toys ready, was eager to see how long Zoe could survive what he had in store for her, how she’d react to the pain and degradation–and now this. "Can’t it wait?" he said.

"No."

Son of a bitch! Something was obviously wrong, but Colin didn’t want to hear about it right now. It probably had to do with his little sister. Paddy had been trying to reconcile with Courtney for the past two years. He wanted to apologize and make up, but she either avoided his calls or changed her number.

Paddy was getting so damn soft in his old age, Colin thought. Where was the man who used to let Tina beat on him at the drop of a hat? There were times he’d even held Colin down for her. A man like that deserved to reap what he’d sown, didn’t he? He couldn’t start whining at this late date; it wasn’t fair.

"Okay, what’s up? Spit it out," he said.

"I’m sorry. I–you’ll have to apologize to Tiffany for me. I’m not even sure I should’ve come here, but…"

Colin realized he’d pulled his shirt on wrong side out and corrected it.

"But what?"

"I just saw something on television that has me…concerned," he admitted.

He’d seen something on TV? Who gave a rat’s ass about that? "If this is about politics–"

"No. It’s about you, Colin."

"What does anything on TV have to do with me?"

"I hope nothing."

Colin slouched on the sofa. "You’re being really cryptic, you know that?"

His father waved toward the stairs. "Could you get Tiffany to come down for a minute? I think she should be in on this."

"Tiffany’s not interested, Dad. She’s waiting for me in bed, okay?

She’s not coming down just because you saw something you didn’t like on TV. Now, explain what’s going on or get the hell out of here, because you just interrupted some of the best sex of my life."

Paddy’s chest lifted as he drew breath. "A boy was found wandering in the woods."

Colin hadn’t expected his father to connect him to Rover. In his obsession with Zoe and his irritation over being interrupted before he could even touch her, he’d almost forgotten his last pet.

Fear suddenly offset his irritation, but he wasn’t stupid enough to show it. "I saw that myself, a couple nights ago. Poor kid. Has he come out of his coma?"

"No. They’re not sure he ever will."

"That’s tragic. But…" Colin gestured as if Paddy had him at a loss. "I don’t understand. You came all the way over here to tell me some sad story about a teenage boy?"

"They showed a map, pinpointing where the boy was found."

"And?"

"It was right by Mike’s cabin."

Colin’s erection had long since disappeared. He adjusted himself, acting as though he wasn’t worried, but he was. He had reason to be. "Who’s Mike?"

"My friend from work, remember? He took over management of the lawn-mower shop when your useless stepbrother got mad and walked out on me."

"Oh, right. Mike."

"I set it up for you and Tiffany to rent his cabin a couple years ago because I already had Sheryl’s family staying in mine. You wanted to go camping for a week."