I floored the truck, blowing through stop signs as I made my way across town. I dared Jason to pull me over. I made it to Genevieve’s in record time, skidding to a stop in her driveway. The front door stood wide open, and the bright flowers lining her walkway were trampled to nothing. Petals were scattered, and there were gouges in the dirt surrounding them.
Glock in hand, safety off, I shut down all of my emotions and slowly approached. “Obvious signs of a struggle at the front of the house. The door is wide open.”
“Stand down. Perps may still be on-premises,” Carter’s deep voice resonated from my earpiece.
“Negative, there is no sign of movement in the house,” I replied. Like hell I was going to stand down. Help was at least an hour out, and a lot could happen in that time frame. My body hugged Genevieve’s car to the corner of the porch, and I was constantly sweeping my gaze from the door to the front picture windows to the side of the house and back, searching for any sign of movement or of where they could have taken her. “No sign of life at the front of the house. I am going in.”
“Negative, Evans, stand down!” Carter barked. “Reinforcements are two clicks out.”
“Not close enough.” I stepped over the threshold, peering right, front, then left. It was a dumb move. If someone was hiding behind the door, they could have easily disarmed me. I went with my gut, knowing deep down the house was clear, and they were well on their way to some remote location. Once I verified the house was empty, I clicked on the safety and holstered my weapon. “Come on, Genevieve. You’re a smart girl. Where’re the clues?”
The living room was trashed. The recliner was tipped over, the coffee table flipped, a lamp busted on the floor next to the end table. The food they must have been eating was strewn everywhere. The girls struggled, which was a good sign…I hoped. Genevieve’s purse was still sitting on a kitchen chair, her phone hidden just inside the zipper. That ruled out trying to track her through GPS.
“Damnit.”
“Evans, report. What did you find?”
“Her phone is sittin’ in her purse in the kitchen. GPS tracking is out.” I scanned the rooms again, only then noticing a corner of paper under the sofa. I bent over and tugged until it came free. Thick, confident black writing filled the page. My stomach dropped as I read the message.
Sheriff Whatley, if you want her alive, bring what is owed us. You have until sundown.
“Fuck!” I relayed the note to Carter.
“Do you have any clue as to where he would meet them?”
“The only place I can think of is where I followed him to the other night. I found out the road he turned down leads to an old abandoned quarry.”
“It is a start. Leave the note. He will not be far behind you since someone just contacted him. Wait and follow him. I will send back up on ahead to the quarry. Let’s hope you are right, or we may miss our window.” Carter began typing, and the line went silent.
“Fuck that.” I stormed out of the house and jumped back in my truck.
“Bro, I highly suggest you do as Carter says. If you don’t, you will fuck up the whole op,” Brody’s voice cracked in my ear. “This is bigger than just a simple kidnapping.”
“Not to me.” I took a couple deep breaths. I knew logically that if Carter was involved, it went deeper than a deal gone wrong, but my gut-deep need to protect the woman who would become my sub spurred me to be reckless.
“Brian, push the emotions aside. Trust me. Trust Carter. We will do everythin’ we can to find and extract Genevieve and her friend. Carter has years of experience, and you need to follow his lead.”
I pushed my emotions down once again and nodded. “Fine. I will wait.”
“Good. We are almost in position. Contact when the suspect is on his way.”
I backed out of the driveway and parked two blocks away beneath the same broken streetlight to wait. Jason didn’t make me wait long. He flew by in his Lexus and screeched into the driveway. He left the car running as he jumped out and ran into the house. He reappeared a few minutes later with a large brown duffel bag. He stopped to close and lock the house and strode toward his car. He threw the bag in the back, pausing as his gaze swept the area around him before slipping back into the car and reversing out of the driveway.
“Suspect arrived, spent about five minutes in the house, and emerged with a large brown duffel bag. He is on the move. I am following.”
“Roger that. Stay back and do not spook him. We are in position. Two vehicles are parked in the quarry lot: one black SUV and one black utility van. No windows but, heat signatures show four bodies: one in the SUV and four in the van. It is too risky to try and take out the SUV driver at the moment, unsure of firepower within the van. Egghead, send us GPS tracking on Brian.”
“10-4,” Brody replied.
“We will follow your progress, Evans. Be smart and do not do anything stupid.”
“10-4. I will not do anything stupid as long as you save my girl.”
“That’s the plan.”
The coms went silent. I focused on staying four car lengths or more behind Jason’s taillights. I followed until he turned onto the same road as before.
“Hold position, Evans, let his taillights fade. Cut your headlights and then follow,” Carter’s sharp orders were whispered over the coms.
I pulled onto the shoulder of the road and cut my headlights. I watched as the red of Jason’s taillights faded around the bend in the road. At the same moment, the moon emerged from behind a cloud giving just enough light to navigate the road.
“He is past the curve. I am heading in.” The road was bordered on each side by cornfields, the stalks still tall and green.
“10-4. Take it slow. Your purpose is to provide an obstacle in case they get spooked and try to run. We do not need a dust cloud announcing your approach.”
Carter was right; even in the dark, if I drove too fast, the moon would reflect off of the dust and give away my approach. If I took it slow, what little dust I kicked up would be hidden by the crops.
“Suspect in sight. The SUV driver is getting out,” a foreign voice alerted. I held my breath waiting for the next report, my knuckles white on the steering wheel as I focused on going slow.
“I do not have sound. Adjust to the left,” the same unknown voice snapped. “There. Good. Recording. Everyone hold position.”
“Evans, I need you to stop one hundred feet past the bend. There is a void of shadow there that will hide you in plain sight,” Carter’s clipped voice whispered across the coms.
“10-4.” I pushed the words past the lump of anxiety and a bit of fear forming in my throat.
“Hold, we need more.” I didn’t know who the fuck that was, but I knew if his need for more put Genevieve at further risk, I would rip his head off and shove it up his ass.
“Bodies in the van are moving. We cannot wait much longer.” Carter’s authority rang through the coms.
“Just a few more minutes. We do not have enough.”
“You have enough, and we both know it,” Carter’s annoyance oozed from his words. “Team one, go!”
“Carter, if you disobey my direct order, I’ll have your ass!” I smiled at the stupidity of whoever this guy was.