Free KNOX: Volume 3 by Cassia Leo Page B

being good at what I do. That’s how mistakes are made.
    I step out of the office and head straight for the door to the stairwell. Hiding in a stairwell isn’t my usual coping method. Usually, when something’s bothering me, I’ll hit the gym or the shooting range. But this isn’t the kind of unease that can be worked off.
    I’ve never felt more lost in my life. Rebecca has been gone for less than forty-eight hours and it’s rendered me almost completely useless. Maybe I wouldn’t feel so lost if I didn’t feel so responsible.
    It happened right after she got that phone call from Lita’s mother in Poughkeepsie. A phone call I’m convinced she was forced to make. Because the first thing Rebecca wanted to do after that call ended was to go straight to the police station.
    I tried to convince her not to go.
    “You can’t go to the police station.” I grabbed her arm to stop her from storming out of the apartment. “I can’t go in there with you. You’ll be totally unprotected. Just wait a while. Wait for the police to contact you.”
    “I can’t wait! My best friend has been kidnapped! Do you not understand? Every second counts.” She pauses for a moment as her face contorts with anger. “Did you do this?”
    “What?”
    “Is this part of your fucking vendetta? Did you take her?”
    “You’re talking crazy now.”  
    I grip her arm tighter as she tries to free herself. I can’t let her go to the police station in this state. She’s liable to mention my name in a fit of rage.
    “I’m talking crazy? You’re the one who — ”
    I twirl her around and clap my hand over her mouth before she can say anything about Charlie. Her lips continue to move against the palm of my hand as she protests. Then I remember why we came to her apartment today: so she could take a pregnancy test.
    I slowly remove my hand from her mouth and she attempts to stomp on my foot with her spiked heel. I move my foot away and she grunts in frustration when her heel comes down on the carpet.
    Keeping my arms locked tightly around her waist, I lean in to whisper in her ear. “Baby, you have to keep your voice down. You can’t shout about stuff like that here.”
    She let’s out a soft whimper and begins to sob. “I never wanted any of this to happen. I just wanted to help my dad.”
    “I know, sweetheart. I know.” I spin her around and brush her tears away as I kiss her forehead. “You have to trust me. I’m going to find your friend.”
    “But I need to talk to them. See if there’s any information I have that can help. We were supposed to meet for brunch today. They need to know that.”  
    I grit my teeth because I know I’m not going to convince her to stay away from the station today. She’s in law enforcement. She knows the first twenty-four hours in any abduction case are the most crucial. And she’s right that every second and every piece of information counts during that time. I have to let her go.
    She was only at the station a few minutes before someone grabbed her in the elevator. They took her down to the sub level garage, stuffed her in the trunk of a police car, and sped off.
    I haven’t been able to get my hands on the surveillance footage, but that’s my next mission. Not that I think the footage will reveal anything I don’t already know. This whole abduction scheme has Tony Angelo written all over it.
    He knows I’m getting close to tracking him down and he’s panicking. He’s trying to gain the upper hand. He doesn’t know I’ll always have the upper hand as long as he doesn’t know my true identity. He’ll continue to underestimate my commitment to bringing him down. My commitment to Rebecca.
    Right now, Tony thinks taking Rebecca will raise John’s hackles. He thinks I’m just the schmuck that John hired to keep him safely hidden. He’s right about John being riled up. I had to talk him out of launching an all-out assault on Tony’s family. But Tony’s wrong about me. Rebecca’s