Forever Alexa (Book Four In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series) by Cate Beauman Page A

development in Abby’s case was the road they would be traveling, it was bound to be long and ugly. If Abby was still alive, she was going to be a mess when they found her—if they found her. The call had been made north of Baltimore an hour ago. She could be anywhere by now.
    He stood, wanting to talk to Ethan and begin formulating a plan, but it was late. First thing in the morning he would start making his calls. He wouldn’t be leaving Abby’s fate in Detective Canon’s hands. Jackson read between the lines just fine. Abby and the other young women weren’t on his list of priorities unless they were going to help him bring down the Mid-Atlantic sex ring, which was highly doubtful. Abby was taking a backseat to politics and pretty promotions. That wasn’t acceptable.
    He twisted off the gooseneck lamp and started down the hall, carrying the snoring puppy. How was he going to tell Alex? How could he get her hopes up with news that Abby might be alive only to dash them with the rest?
    He turned into his room and laid Mutt on the small bed he’d made out of a couple of spare blankets. Mutt gave him a half-hearted tail wag before he rolled to his back and went to sleep. “You definitely have the right idea,” Jackson muttered as he stood and pulled off his shirt, tossing it across the room in the general direction of the hamper. Abby’s situation was bad, as bad as it got, but his hands were tied for now. He needed access to Ethan’s fancy computers before he could do anything more.
    Yawning, he sat on the edge of his bed, ready to rest his exhausted mind. A few hours of sleep for everyone would only help in the end. He settled himself against the pillow and closed his eyes until Alex’s sniffling and unsteady breaths registered. He got up and walked across the hall. “Alex?”
    “I’m okay. Go ahead and get some sleep.”
    Her words came out in between tearful shudders. She was anything but okay. Sighing, aching for her, he made his way to her side of the bed and sat down. “I was hoping you were going to get some decent shut-eye.”
    She sat up, sniffed again, and pulled a tissue from the box by the side of the bed. “I tried. I dozed off for a while. She swiped the tissue over her damp cheeks and blew her nose. “Is this real, Jack? Is Abby really gone?”
    He closed his eyes in defense against her shattered gaze. How the hell should he answer? He needed to tell her. It was better to get it over with. “I talked to Detective Canon.”
    Alex tossed the tissue in the trash.
    “He shared some interesting news.”
    She paused as she reached for another tissue. “What did he say?”
    “Alex.” He took her hand. “There’s a chance…” He blew out a breath. “There’s a chance Abby’s still alive.”
    She clutched his fingers in a vise grip. “What?”
    “Detective Canon and a team of Federal Agents believe Abby might be alive.”
    “Detective Canon told you she’s alive ?”
    He nodded, watching her struggle with disbelief. “Could be.”
    “I don’t understand. How? I heard them kill her. Her screams just stopped. God. God.” Her lip wobbled, and she pulled her hand free to cover her face. “I can’t stop hearing her scream. I think that alone might destroy me.”
    He moved closer, wrapped his arm around her slumped shoulders, and pressed her head to his chest. “I’m sorry, Alex. I’m so sorry I’m messing with your emotions like this.”
    “I don’t know what to do anymore. I can hardly breathe. I have such a heavy weight on my chest. I keep replaying the phone call—that computer voice, the creepy laugh, the silence.”
    His arm tightened around her as he struggled to find a way to tell her the rest. Clenching his jaw, he looked at the ceiling. “They don’t have anything conclusive one way or the other, but evidence from the scene of the trace is pointing to her being alive.”
    She looked at him again. “I don’t understand.”
    “The cops were able to triangulate a