Jake came close to putting a dent in his hood with his fist. Well, he’d asked. He suddenly hated her mother with a fierceness he’d never felt before in his life for anyone.
“Maria.” He gathered her into his arms and let his touch speak the words he couldn’t find. She curled into him and he felt like he was holding a fragile kitten, but even that was deceiving. She’d fooled them all, even her brother. She’d put on a front, a magic act that had them believing she was untouched by the horrors of being Lovey Dovey’s daughter. But the scars were there if one only looked deep enough.
“You’re not going to tell Logan, are you?” she asked, her voice muffled by the press of his shoulder against her mouth.
He wanted to, wanted to shout his rage at her mother, the cop, even the boss. “Did you ever tell anyone?”
She shook her head. “Who was there to tell? The police?”
“Your brother would have been a good start, but I get why you think you couldn’t. What’s the cop’s name?”
“Why, so you can kill him?”
“I won’t, I’ll just beat him to within an inch of his life.” And then maybe kill him.
“I don’t know his name. Never did, never wanted to.”
That was just too damn bad. He walked to the passenger side and opened the door. “Let’s go see the police. After that, we’ll talk about why you want to find the girl.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Jake refused to let Detective Nolan take Maria into an interrogation room without him. He couldn’t complain that Nolan was mistreating her. The man had been nothing but gentle with her. After the detective took photos of her face and arm, he had insisted on talking to Maria alone. She’d grabbed Jake’s hand, panic in her eyes, and the cop had given Jake a look that said go away. Jake returned a look that said not happening.
So there he was, sitting in a room with army-gray paint peeling off the walls, listening to Maria once again explain how she’d been beaten up, and doing his best not to put a hole in the table with his fist. He’d almost done that when the detective had removed the clothes from the plastic bag and Maria’s face had drained of color on seeing them.
“I didn’t remember there being that much blood,” she murmured.
When she finished and Nolan ran out of questions, Jake pulled out a business card, sliding it across the table. “It would be best if you found this bastard before I do. Keep me updated.”
“Mr. Buchanan, I strongly advise you to return home and let the police do their job. Do not try to do it for us. You’ll only end up getting hurt.”
Jake couldn’t help his snort. He snatched the card back from Nolan’s hand and wrote a number on the back, then returned it. “I would suggest you note the name K2 Special Services on the front, then call the number on the back and ask who we are. Once you do, you’ll understand why I respectfully decline your advice.”
Nolan started to admonish Maria for not calling the police right away. Jake stood and cut him off. “If you need to reach us, my cell number’s on the front of my card.”
As they walked down the hallway, Jake called Jamie Turner, swore him to secrecy, and promised to fill him in later. But for now, he asked him to answer Detective Nolan’s questions about K2 if he should call.
“Do you think the detective will be able to find the girl?” Maria asked as they exited the station.
“Maybe, given enough time. If he can get a search warrant, he might get lucky and find her name or a clue when they search Fortunada’s house.” Jake put his hand on her back and steered her toward his car.
“What do you mean if he can get a search warrant?” she asked as he pulled away from the station.
“And here I thought you were a student of the law. Unless they can find the girl, it’s your word against his. They’ll probably bring him in for questioning first. That is, if he’s stupid enough to hang around. Did you mark his face, put scratches on his arms? That’ll help.”
“I don’t know. I didn’t stay long enough to check, but I’m sure I did. I need to go to my apartment.”
Jake glanced at her. “Since he knows where you live, you do know you can’t stay there.”
“I have no desire to until I know he’s behind bars. I need clothes and stuff, and we have to get Mouse. Then we have to go get Sally.”
“Seriously, you have a mouse?”
She laughed. “No, a cat named Mouse.”