She took it from his hand and smiled. “Thank you, Sam. I really appreciate this.”
He nodded and headed down the stairs back to the Bentley, leaving her alone in the spacious house.
She walked through the living room to the back deck and stepped out of the sliding glass doors. The breeze caught her hair and flipped it around her head.
The gentle sounds of the waves rolling in soothed fraught nerves. She raised her shoulders then relaxed them with a great big sigh.
A lawn chair beckoned, and she couldn’t resist sinking down onto it. She propped her feet up and gazed out over the stained waters of the gulf.
Remembering she needed to call Pop and give him a better explanation than that she just wasn’t coming in, she dug around in her pocket for her cell phone and hoped she got service this far out of Galveston.
“Why are you calling on the cell?” Pop asked when he answered.
She smiled. “Because I’m not at home.”
“Everything okay? I assumed you were sick. You don’t sound sick, but you don’t sound okay either.”
“I’m fine,” she managed in a wavery voice. “I just need…I need a vacation, Pop. I hope you don’t mind me taking a few days. I know I should have planned ahead but—”
He cut her off before she could delve further into her explanation. “You don’t need to justify a vacation to me, girl,” he said gruffly. “You deserve one, and you should take it. I don’t want to see you in here for a week at least.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, though she’d already committed to doing just that.
“We’ll manage just fine around here. Coffee won’t be worth a damn, but we’ll get by.”
She laughed. “Thanks, Pop. You’re the best.”
“You just take care. You haven’t been yourself lately.”
“I love you,” she said softly.
“Love you too, girl.”
Gray left the office and tore out of the parking lot like he was heading to a fire. He needed to call Mick and tell him things had escalated and that Samuels was most assuredly in Houston or close, but first, he had to make sure Faith was okay and square things with her.
He saw her car still in the parking lot and wheeled in beside it. He rushed to her door and knocked loudly. When he got no response, he knocked again. “Faith, it’s Gray. Open the door. It’s important.”
Again he waited but got no response. Dread tightened his chest. Her car was here. Why wasn’t she answering the door?
He knocked one more time in case she was in the shower and waited several long seconds. Then he did what any other cop would do in the situation. He kicked the door in.
It flew open and hit the opposing wall with a bang. He rushed in, wishing like hell he’d brought his gun. Her apartment was dark. Not a single light was on. The only sound he could hear was the humming of the refrigerator.
He hurried through the apartment, searching each room, but came up empty. Panic surged in his stomach, leaving him with a nauseated feeling. Where the f**k was she? Had Samuels already gotten to her?
He raced back out to his truck and pulled out his cell phone. He called Mick on his way back to the office. Hopefully Pop or Connor could provide a perfectly sane reason why Faith’s car was at her apartment and she was not.
When Mick picked up, Gray quickly outlined the letter he’d intercepted. Mick’s breathing hitched up several notches.
“He’s there. I knew the son of a bitch wouldn’t be able to resist hitting the daughter up for money. This is a perfect opportunity, Gray. We can use her as bait, draw Samuels out and nail his ass to the wall.”
“Whoa, wait just a damn minute, Mick. We aren’t using Faith as bait. Use your head. She’s an innocent victim here. No way I’d place her in that kind of danger.”
“You use your damn head,” Mick growled. “She’s our best chance at nailing this bastard. You shouldn’t even think twice. You know it’s a good idea.”
Gray had to swallow the angry retort. He sucked in a breath and tried to remain calm. “Mick, you’re worked up. You need to calm down and think rationally about this. No way catching Samuels is worth putting an innocent woman in harm’s way.”
“You’re thinking with your goddamn dick,” Mick said furiously.
“I will not involve Faith in this,” Gray ground out. “I think it’s best that I go to Pop and tell him everything. Get his help. He has a daughter to protect, and we have a killer to catch. We can bring in the local authorities and do this by the book.”
A string of curses erupted over the line.
Gray gritted his teeth and counted to ten. “I’m right, and you know it, Mick. I can’t believe you’d even consider using Faith like that. You’ve lost all perspective. I think you should step away and let me handle this.”
Silence fell over the line. “No, no, you’re right of course. Do what you need to do. I’m coming down there. I can be there in five hours. I’ll call you when I get in.”
Gray started to say that it wasn’t necessary, and actually preferable if Mick stayed in Dallas, but Mick had already hung up.
Gray bit out a curse and tossed the phone onto his seat.
He’d screwed everything up. Mick was way over the line, and Gray should have seen it before. He never should have let Mick talk him into this crazy-ass scheme.
But a small voice inside his head reminded him that if Mick hadn’t asked him to come down, Faith would still be in danger. A danger that no one would know about if Gray wasn’t here. If he could just find her before Samuels did, if he hadn’t already, then he could make things right. And make damn sure she stayed safe.
When he arrived back at the office, he barreled down the hallway to Pop’s doorway. He threw open the door and met with the irritated stares of Pop, Connor and Nathan.
“Where’s Faith?” Gray demanded as he strode in.
Pop quickly pushed the speakerphone button and picked up the receiver. Then he covered the mouthpiece with his hand and glared at Gray.
“This is an important call,” Pop bit out.
Gray put his hands on Pop’s desk, ignoring Nathan and Connor, and leaned toward Pop. “Faith could be in a lot of danger. Do you know where she is?”
“I’ll have to get back to you,” Pop said right before he hung up the phone.