by Regan Black
A calm certainty washed over her. “You will die,” she told him. “If Major Riley doesn’t kill you, I will.”
The driver only laughed.
* * *
Matt’s ears were ringing. It was all he could hear. The traffic and sirens were a distant memory. Smoke and dirt choked the air, making it hard to breathe. His vision was blurry. He kept blinking, but he couldn’t be sure if the problem was weather, haze or something worse.
He tasted blood in his mouth and felt the stickiness of it on his shirt and hands. Voices started to cut through the incessant clanging in his head. Familiar voices mixed with those of strangers. Some called his name, and others called him by rank.
As Matt struggled to get his bearings, he started to recall what had happened and what he’d been trying to do. “Sh-shot,” he stammered in the direction of the nearest voice. “Tire was shot.”
“Yes, sir. Stay with me, Major Riley.”
As if he had a choice. “Motorcycle.” He pushed the word out through a throat full of gravel. “Silver s-sedan.”
“We know, sir. Stay still for me now.”
“Uh-huh.” Feeling was coming back into his legs and arms, along with the chaotic, fractured images from that last second before he lost control of the car and the sedan sped away.
“My f-family.” He coughed, wheezed.
“Notifications in process, sir. Hold on.”
A loud and mechanical ratcheting sound jarred him. Someone had covered his face with a blanket or coat to shield his face. Though he tried, he couldn’t move his arms to push it out of the way. He had to move, had to get back on the trail of that sedan. “Kidnapped my family.”
At last the pressure on his chest released. His arms were free and he could pull air deep into his chest. First responders helped him from the car and helped him stand. With every inhale of the cool, clear air, his mind and vision cleared a little more.
“My family was kidnapped,” he said, his voice firmer, more familiar in his ears.
The paramedic pushing an oxygen mask to his face murmured some comforting nonsense. Matt resisted, looking around for a state trooper or someone who might listen. “I’m fine. My family’s in danger.”
Slowly, he started registering the scene. He was in the center median, surrounded by emergency vehicles. His car wasn’t visible from his position near the ambulance. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see it anyway.
“Any other cars involved?”
“No, sir. Not sure how you managed it, but good job.”
Well, he’d done something right. Still, it stung that the sedan and the attacker on the motorcycle got away. “Any witnesses to the motorcycle that attacked me?”
“Sir, my job is you.” The paramedic cut away his shirt sleeve, tracking the origin of the bleeding.
“Where’s my phone?”
“No idea, sir.” The paramedic found the wound and plucked out a shard of glass and started cleaning the wound.
“I’m fine.” Matt squirmed away, wincing at the aches and weak spots. He’d taken fire on deployments, been in the thick of it when a convoy had been attacked. Though he was scraped up, nothing was broken. Adrenaline could mask serious symptoms, sure. He didn’t care. Right now only Caleb and Bethany mattered.
He grabbed the first state trooper he saw. “Matt Riley. My family was taken against their will from—”
“Yes, sir. I’ve been briefed. We have units in pursuit.”
Matt almost took comfort in that. “I need to be in pursuit, as well.”
The trooper’s jaw worked in thought. “Do you know where they were taken?”
Matt shook his head.
“Then I say you’ve pursued enough, sir. My orders are to get you to a hospital.”
“Do you have a wife?” Matt demanded. “Kids?”
“Yes. Both,” the trooper replied.
“In my shoes, would you let someone else handle it while you were still alive and fit?”
The trooper sighed. “No. But Major Riley, you’re not fit.”
“A security team was tracking my son’s cell phone signal.”
“I’ve been told to reassure you that they are still tracking that signal. I’ve also been asked to keep you right here if you refused transport to a hospital.”
“Beg your pardon?”
The trooper pointed to the sky. A helicopter rotor sounded overhead. Belatedly, Matt realized the traffic on the interstate had been cleared away to make room for the helicopter to land.
A lanky man hopped out and jogged over, bent at the waist until he was clear of the rotor wash. He stood upright and Matt felt a spark of hope. “Alex.”
“They tell me you’re being a pain in the ass after heroically throwing your car into the median to prevent a pileup.”
“There was a motorcycle.” Matt didn’t find that a good enough excuse for allowing an enemy to surprise him.
Alex listened to him explain the ambush as he checked over Matt as much as the paramedics had done. “All right,” he decided. “You have backup now. Ready to get this done?”
Matt nodded and turned to thank the trooper before heading to the helicopter with Alex.
As the pilot lifted them up and away from the highway, Matt studied the scene below. Angry black lines marred the pavement and carved ruts through the median, ending at his car. The Camaro looked as if a giant had smashed it. It really was a miracle he’d managed to prevent any other personal or property damage.
“Awful courteous of you,” Alex said, his gaze on the scene below. “Avoiding collateral damage.”
“Someone must have seen the biker who shot out my tire.”
“The troopers will deal with that. You and I have bigger fish to fry.”
“Caleb’s phone is still showing up?” Matt asked.
“Yes. I’m guessing they haven’t taken time to search him. The team will continue to narrow down possible routes and destinations while you and I prepare for the rescue.”
Matt wanted to argue, to insist they use the helicopter to get a visual on Caleb and Bethany, but he’d tried it his way.
“She was in the car. The silver sedan,” he said. “I saw her just before...” He wanted to believe he’d see them both again. Then something worse occurred to him. “What if she thinks I’m dead?”
“That can only work in our favor,” Alex replied.
“Why?”
“Because that will just make her angrier, and she has a spine of steel. She’ll keep them both alive.”
The helicopter set down again, this time at a small airfield. Matt had no real idea where they were as he followed Alex and two other men from the security force toward the fabricated building that served as the airfield office.
“Between Knudson and your dad,” Alex began, “we can access whatever we need with little more than a phone call.”
What he needed was a plan to successfully rescue Bethany and Caleb. “Does anyone have any hard intel to work with?”
“According to the radio chatter we picked up, you are still the desired target.” Alex scrubbed a hand over his face, his expression grim. “Your dad already received a video of your crash.”
Matt swore.
“Agreed. Caleb’s phone is still moving too fast for him to be on foot.”
“Which means whoever is behind this won’t stop, even if it looks like I died,” Matt said.
“Correct.”
Losing Bethany and Caleb would destroy him. His parents, too. They were already locked in and delighted to be grandparents.
“The phone is still, sir,” A technician reported to Alex.
Matt turned toward the uniformed woman sitting in front of a laptop. “Show me.”
She pointed to a secondary monitor, pulling up an aerial image of the location on the internet. A few seconds later, she had
the location pin overlaid on the image. “Less than thirty miles off the interstate,” she reported. “By accident or design, this is a remote corner of a national park.”
Alex whistled. “Score one for the home team.”
Matt agreed. The charges would mount if crimes were committed on federal property. He just wanted to make sure the crimes didn’t involve any injury. He made a mental note of the location, his mind swiftly transitioning to weapons and communications options. “How soon can we get there?”
“Park rangers and state troopers can be diverted immediately,” Alex began. At Matt’s glare, he reconsidered. “Fine. I’ll direct them to set up roadblocks well back from the phone’s location. You can ride along with my rescue team.”
“Better.” As a father, Matt resisted the implications that he could pose a threat to the rescue. As a soldier, he understood he was a risk.
Alex pulled Matt aside as the team moved to gear up. “If we only find the phone, can you keep it together?”
“I’m a rock,” Matt lied.
Alex rolled his eyes. “I’ll shoot you in the leg before I let you do something stupid. Hear me?”
“You’ve been watching too many movies,” Matt said. “Save your bullets for the kidnappers.”
Chapter 13
Bethany and Caleb had been hauled out of the car and shoved into a drafty little cabin in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. Two folding chairs, a card table and an empty fireplace were the sum total of the amenities in the single room. Other than the door, there was one narrow window in the bathroom, too small for even Caleb to crawl through. Over the door was a surveillance camera, the red power light glowing. Someone was watching.
She had a general idea of where they were, based on where they’d been taken, the eventual exit from the interstate and the backroads to this location. The driver stood as a guard outside, occasionally giving a status report to someone on the other end of the radio. He’d patted them down and found and destroyed Caleb’s phone, but he hadn’t seemed worried about it and he hadn’t done anything else to restrain them.
The man clearly saw a weak woman and a cowed boy. She was happy to be underestimated.
Caleb hadn’t spoken more than a few words since Matt’s car had gone off the road. As much as she wanted to give him more comfort, she knew everything she said might be overheard.
Twice she’d shouted through the door for water or food and been denied.
“Try to sleep,” she murmured to Caleb as they sat side by side, huddled up for warmth. They’d tucked themselves into the corner under the camera to limit the access of whoever watched them.
“Are they gonna kill us?” he asked, sounding defeated.
“No,” she said fiercely. “We’ll get out of here alive.”
“They killed Dad.”
“They did not.” If she let her mind slip down a path into a world where Matt was dead, she’d be paralyzed. “Your father is a soldier. A highly trained warrior. He’s been through every survival school and skill training available. He’s been deployed multiple times and overcome all sorts of trouble on dangerous missions. Bullets haven’t stopped him yet,” she reminded him. She could go on and on about his intelligence, bravery and perseverance, but she summed it up with, “He’s alive.”
“’Kay.” Caleb dropped his head to her shoulder.
She’d been biding her time, trying to get a feel for the cadence and frequency of the guard’s check-ins. Not knowing the reasons behind this entire mess made it difficult to predict anything their captor might do next. Didn’t matter. She’d decided they would not be moved from this location against their will.
She judged their guard as being low in the pecking order, based solely on the radio interactions. As the hours ticked by, she started to wonder if all three of them were meant to be abandoned out here.
It didn’t much matter what anyone else had in mind. She’d put her trust in Matt’s determination and resiliency, along with her own capabilities. At the first opportunity, she and Caleb would overpower the guard and steal the car. It was their best option.
“You asleep?” she asked.
“Nah.”
“Good. Here’s what we’re going to do.” In a whisper, she outlined her plans allowing for every contingency she could think of.
Caleb quietly repeated the plans back to her, promising to head toward the interstate or follow the river south if he came across that first.
“Whatever happens, your only goal is escape.” She squeezed his hand. “Clear?”
He nodded.
“We’ll move right after the next radio check-in.”
* * *
They were closing in on two hours with no movement on Caleb’s phone. Matt started wondering if it had been found by the kidnappers and discarded. They could be anywhere by now. No. He had to shove his mind away from that abyss, close out any stray thought that someone had stolen his family.
While strapping into his tactical gear and checking his weapons and ammunition load, he imagined eviscerating the person behind this. It seemed a fair price to exact on whoever had been keeping his stomach in knots all this time.
“Think she’ll marry you when this is done?” Alex asked.
He had no idea. Dialed into the rescue, he couldn’t even tap into the normal level of pre-mission bravado and camaraderie with the small, lethal team.
They were probably breaking laws on several levels. Not his problem. Alex had coordinated those details and all Matt could do was give thanks. Over and over. He put his mind on how good it would feel to have Bethany and Caleb in sight, to hug them close.
Whether or not she ever agreed to marry him, his heart was hers. If they survived this, he would probably be foolish enough to propose again. If she said yes, he’d be the happiest man alive. If she turned him down, he resigned himself to the fact that he’d try again.
The team fanned out, picking their way in relative silence through the forest to the remote cabin. The tools they had in play had shown one cooling vehicle and three heat signatures. Two in the cabin, one loitering outside.
Although the scout reported no sign of traps, the team continued to move with caution.
What was the goal of the person pulling this stunt? Matt wondered as inch by inch they closed in. All three of them had been threatened indirectly and directly, plus the vandalism of his sister’s car. The bland warning his father had received still carried the most weight with the investigators, so why were the people who meant the most to Matt out here in the woods?
Alex gave the signal to halt.
“New contact,” came a voice over his headset. “Broadcast signal in play. Tracing transmission.”
Matt crept up beside Alex. “What’s that mean?” He knew what it meant in combat, but couldn’t put it into context out here.
His friend shifted, silent as a shadow. “Whatever is going on in that cabin is being broadcast out.” Alex confirmed his worst fears. “Wi-Fi relay, most likely.”
Matt peered up into the trees, but there were simply too many layers of dark on more darkness to pinpoint a small piece of tech.
“Torture,” Matt murmured.
“No signs of that,” Alex warned. “Easy.”
“Not here,” Matt said. “The broadcast. He’s going to use it to torture Dad. Or me.”
Alex’s features turned stony under the camouflage paint he’d applied to his face for the mission. “Not happening.” His grip on Matt’s shoulder was firm and steady.
Matt nodded once in agreement. Words were beyond him now. He needed action. Swift, decisive and preferably deadly.
They’d just started to move on the cabin and lone guard when a quiet engine rumbled up the road. Matt’s heart pounded against his ribs as they waited for the vehicle to pass. It didn’t. Instead, headlights sliced through the night and it rolled to a stop a
t the bottom of the slope, not far from the sedan. As close to the cabin as a vehicle could get.
One man got out and hiked the rather steep hill with ease. He greeted the man at the cabin door. Their voices were too low to be overheard and they seemed in no rush to move. It seemed like an eternity before the scout reported the cars were unguarded.
Knowing the numbers, Alex signaled the team to move. Matt stayed in position at his friend’s shoulder as the others subdued and cuffed the guards. It was over without a single bullet fired or punch thrown.
Matt would appreciate that more later, if the investigators could get them to talk. Right now he wanted to be sure the two people inside the cabin were his.
“Go, go, go.” Alex said.
Matt didn’t need any further encouragement. He surged into the cabin, his gaze landing on Bethany and Caleb as he shouted their names.
They scrambled to their feet and rushed him. Relief coursed through his system as the three of them embraced. He kissed Caleb’s hair, heedless of the tears tracking down his face.
“You’re all right?” He stepped back, pushing them to arm’s length for a good, long look.
“We’re fine.” Bethany slid back, her arms holding him in a long hug. “We were about to escape—”
Suddenly the cabin door slammed shut and the light overhead popped with a sizzle. In the darkness, Matt and Caleb lunged for the door, but it was locked.
“Welcome to the party,” a silky male voice filtered through a speaker.
Bethany gave a startled scream and Matt shoved her and Caleb behind him.
The voice laughed. “There’s nowhere to run, Major Riley. The cabin is rigged to blow.” A flame sparked in the fireplace, following a trail of accelerant around the opening, snaking out along the edges of the room. Smoke started to build, curling toward the ceiling. “You can die slowly, or show some compassion and take the lives of your son and his mother. Personally, I’m hoping for some brave heroics to share with your father.”
