7:20 P.M.
Outside Coffee and Conversation
Denver, Colorado
Before Caitlin could make her legs move, someone grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the pavement. The tight pressure of the arm across her upper abdomen squeezed the wind out of her.
She couldn’t breathe.
She could only kick her feet, all the while making airless gasps like a fish waiting to be clubbed over the head and gutted. The dim evening turned to blackest night. Pain and confusion blinded her to her surroundings. If only she could catch her breath, she’d scream. There must be someone nearby to hear.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Caitlin?” A man growled the words into her ear.
Grady.
The sound of his voice did wonders for her—it cleared her head and restored her will to fight. His breath stank of booze. He must’ve been drinking earlier. She butted her head back and felt her scalp bang against his teeth. Her ears rang from the impact.
“Christ, Caitlin!”
Grady’s arm loosened, and she sucked in a deep breath. “Put me down or I’ll scream.” Then reason returned, and she screamed without waiting for his response. “Help! Somebody help me!”
His hand clamped over her mouth. “Shut up, you stupid bitch. I’m trying to help you. You’re stumbling around on the street like a drunken whore. What the hell are you on?”
She didn’t know.
But the way the world was spinning out of control she was definitely on something. And Grady sounded . . . pissed off . . . and confused. Sincere. For a split second, her body relaxed in his arms, but then she remembered: this was Grady.
Master manipulator.
He could persuade a drowning man to open his mouth lest he die of thirst.
Again, she reared her head back, but the more she struggled the more his grip tightened around her. She felt his powerful fingers digging into her flesh like gloved talons. Again, she screamed, but this time his hand already covered her mouth, silencing her. Somehow, she got one of her legs between his thighs and wrapped one foot around his ankle. He stumbled, and she nearly freed herself.
Her feet touched the pavement.
She pulled in more breaths.
Her vision was blurry, but not as dark now.
Up ahead, she saw a shadowy figure. The walls of an alley seemed to be closing in on her. Had Grady carried her here, or had she turned into an alley before he came up behind her?
She couldn’t remember.
“Caitlin, Caitlin, Caitlin.” That boozy breath and the gloved hand suffocated her. “I’m going to remove my hand, but please don’t scream. It’s me. Grady. I’d never hurt you, you know that.”
His hand relaxed over her lips.
She bit down hard, tasting leather and reveled in the crunch of his bony fingers.
“Whore!” He dropped her feet fully on the ground and spun her around. His expression was black as the night. He released her waist, drew back his fist . . . and belted her in the face.
Bastard.
She raised her knee and drove it square into his groin.
He grabbed her by the hair. Dragged her down the alleyway.
Her scalp was on fire. She kicked his shins and karate-chopped his hand.
Whimpering, he released her so suddenly she fell facedown on the concrete. Wet sticky fluid dripped down her forehead, finding its way into her eyes, turning the world into a bloodred haze.
Grady got hold of her ankle.
She saw her shoe, kicked to the ground, and grabbed it. Slammed the heel into Grady’s ear.
He yowled then tried to protect his head with his hands.
Now!
She catapulted to her feet and ran like hell.
Chapter 44
Tuesday, October 29
9:40 A.M.
Boulder, Colorado
“It’s not Grady.” Caity extended her arms and flipped a purple and green mile-a-minute afghan off her shoulders. Her sleeves were rolled up, revealing a number of bruises and some swelling where her stitches had opened.
Spense had to look away to keep his emotions in check. If he got anywhere near Webber, he’d take him apart bone by bone, consequences be damned.
So it was probably good Hatcher had insisted on coming to Boulder to interview Caity in the comfort of her own home, though Spense suspected there was more to it than consideration for her cuts and scrapes. As far as Hatcher’s commander was concerned, both Spense and Caity were still blackballed from the case. And after what happened last night, if Grady Webber did turn out to be their UNSUB, neither of them could get near him without jeopardizing the investigation.
Hatcher shoved himself off the couch and climbed to his feet. “Look, Caitlin, I appreciate your input. But, I have to respectfully disagree.”
Last night, after Caity ran out of that alley and straight into the arms of a beat cop, Grady Webber had been cuffed and hauled down to the city jail where, after an initial advisement, he was now awaiting his preliminary hearing on assault and battery charges.