by A. K. Evans
“What did he say?” Logan wondered.
“He said he was doing what he had to do to keep them safe,” I replied.
“Someone’s hanging something over him,” one of the guys whose name I didn’t know announced. When he spoke, though, I took him in because he was the largest man in the room.
Tall.
Really tall.
And built like a tank.
“Let’s get to work and see if we can find what this guy did for fun,” Levi suggested.
When the guys rose from their seats, I looked up at Cruz and debated whether or not to ask what I wanted to ask him. As if reading my mind, Cruz asked, “What’s the matter?”
“I was just wondering if you’d mind introducing me to your friends,” I explained.
He smiled at me and stopped the guys before they walked out of the conference room. “Hey guys, can you hang tight a minute?”
They stopped and waited.
“Lexi wants to meet you all,” he started. Their faces gentled as they turned their attention toward me.
Cruz held his hand out and pointed out, “I think you know Dom from the day you were here when I burned you.”
I gave Dom a nod and corrected Cruz. “You mean when I burned myself.”
He ignored my comment and moved to the next guy. Pointing to him, he said, “This is Pierce Reynolds.”
“Hey, babe. Way to be quick on your feet yesterday,” Pierce praised my actions.
“Thank you, Pierce. It’s nice to meet you.”
Cruz pointed to the massive guy who looked like he could crush you with just one hand and introduced him. “This is Lorenzo De Luca.”
Lorenzo.
The one who was with Cruz last night. The one who sat in the truck and listened as Cruz shouted at Levi about me being raped.
Lorenzo’s face got even softer, but I saw no judgement or disgust in his expression. Knowing Cruz and the type of guy he was, it was no surprise that he kept the company of people who wouldn’t blame you for something that wasn’t your fault.
“I’m happy you were there for Cruz last night,” I said, offering him a friendly smile.
“No problem,” he returned. “If the roles were reversed, he’d do the same. Mostly, all that matters is that we got there on time and you’re home safe now.”
“Thank you.”
At that, the guys filed out of the room and went to work. Levi and Cruz chatted for a few minutes while I hung with Logan. He let me know that he didn’t tell anyone else in the family about what happened to me last night. I told him I was going to be seeing our parents on Sunday, so I’d let them know then. In the meantime, I was going to go try to stop by Nikki and Luke’s place sometime later in the evening after I knew she’d be home from work.
I’d kept something important from my family once before and I regretted it. I had no intentions of doing it again. To top it off, surprisingly, it wasn’t like I was feeling any major emotional distress over it.
Cruz finished up with Levi and the two of us decided, along with Logan, to go out for lunch together. I knew he was trying hard not to let it show, but Logan was really struggling with everything that had happened. After lunch, I hugged Logan goodbye and told him I was going to see to it that we got in with Dr. Lane early next week. Thankfully, he didn’t argue. In fact, he agreed it was necessary.
Once Cruz and I were back in his truck, he confirmed, “Are you alright with going back to get your car now?”
“Yeah, I’d rather do that now before it gets too late,” I started. “When you were talking with Levi, though, I told Logan that I was planning to go to Luke and Nikki’s place tonight. Do you mind going with me?”
“Not at all,” he responded as he turned out of the parking lot and started driving toward WAAR.
“Thanks. Where are we staying tonight?”
Cruz shrugged his shoulders. “Doesn’t matter to me. I’m good as long as you’re sleeping next to me.”
“Your place,” I decided as we pulled into the parking lot where my car sat. Before I got out of the truck, I asked, “Can we stop at my apartment so I can pick up a few things first though?”
“Sure. We can leave your car there, too. There’s no sense in you driving to my place separately.”
That worked for me. “Ok.”
With our plans decided, I got out and hopped in my car. We drove to my place, where I packed up a few things before Cruz drove us to his place. On the way, I called Luke and confirmed that he and Nikki were going to be around later in the evening.
Since we had time before we’d need to leave his place, Cruz and I found a creative way to spend it.
A couple hours later, I told Luke and Nikki what happened roughly twenty-four hours before. They were shocked, but relieved I was sitting there.
When Cruz and I got back to his place relatively late that night, we were both exhausted. Climbing into bed, Cruz tucked me close to his side, kissed the bare skin at my shoulder, and whispered, “Love you, Princess.”
“Love you, too, Captain.”
“Do you want the good news or the bad news?”
I looked up from my desk and saw Trent standing in the doorway.
It was late Wednesday afternoon. Monday was my first full day back after taking off last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I spent those days mostly with Lexi. After spending most of the day running around on Friday visiting the station, stopping into the office, picking up her car, and visiting with both of her brothers, we spent a quiet day together on Saturday. On Sunday, Lexi had plans to meet up with her mom, so I dropped her off at her parents’ place for a few hours while I came to the office to get some work done. She called me when she was ready to leave and I went back to pick her up.
She’d been staying at my house since Thursday night and her car was back at her apartment. I didn’t mind driving her around and she seemed content with it. The truth was that I was still very unsettled about the whole situation. The WPD had three guys in custody, but were no further along in solving the case.
While it seemed that money would be the reason behind what was happening, it didn’t make sense that Grant got involved for that reason. He was the senior vice president of a major corporation and he made a ton of money. Given what we learned about him over the last few days from Logan and by doing some further research into him, he was a devoted husband and a loving father.
I couldn’t deny that I’d been feeling particularly frustrated over the course of the last several weeks. Once this situation escalated to the point that Lexi was targeted, frustrated was no longer the word to described how I felt. I was angry. Lexi seemed to be handling the situation remarkably well, but I waited each day for her to break down. I began wondering if the time was going to come where she would suddenly realize how lucky she was that we were able to get to her in time. And, if I was being honest, it had me acting particularly cautious around her. I simply didn’t want to bring that pain on her.
Of course, there was the possibility that I was waiting around for something that wasn’t going to happen. On Monday, Lexi did go to visit with Dr. Lane. Logan met her there. He had already been consumed with so much guilt over her rape. With this new situation thrown into the mix, he was feeling particularly responsible for it. It was my hope that the meeting was not only going to help Logan, but also Lexi if there was anything mentally harmful lingering there for her.
With everything happening in my head, I wasn’t sure I wanted the bad news that Trent had to deliver.
“Give me something good,” I answered.
“They got them.”
“What?”
His arms were folded over his chest as he leaned into the door jamb with one ankle crossed in front of the other. Aside from that, he had a smug look plastered on his face. He explained, “I’m guessing you’re going to be receiving a call from Detective Baines sometime soon.”
“They found the women?” I pushed for more information.
Trent nodded and clarified
, “I’ve been following the updates that are coming through the system I rigged up to monitor what was happening out in Colorado. All of the women were rescued.”
“All of them. Are you telling me that every missing woman associated with this case been recovered?”
“Every single one of them.”
Good news.
I needed that.
Unfortunately, I guess I needed to know the bad.
“So, what don’t I want to hear?”
He sighed. “They’ve got the women, but there were no suspects recovered.”
I sat back in my chair and exhaled. “We’re back at square one then.”
“Looks like it,” Trent maintained. “There was enough information to lead them there, but I’m guessing they had an idea the authorities were on to them. They left quick. And the women are so terrified, they’re not saying much.”
“Anything else?”
He shook his head, a wave of disappointment washing over his face.
Just then, my cell phone rang. I assumed it was Detective Baines, but looked at the display and saw Pierce’s number.
“Reynolds?” I started. “What’s up?”
“I need back up. Grant Chambers’ residence. His daughters got home from school twenty minutes ago. His wife left shortly after lunch, but hasn’t returned home yet. Two black SUVs just pulled up, four men got out.”
“On it,” I returned, already moving to the door. “You got anyone with you?”
“Negative. I called Locke before you; I knew he was close. He’s five minutes out.”
“We’re five minutes behind him. Be smart,” I instructed before disconnecting the call.
Looking at Trent, I declared, “Trouble just drove up to the Chambers’ home.”
I gave him the details as quickly as I could as Levi walked up.
“Let’s move,” Levi ordered.
At that point, Dom and Lorenzo were already moving to the front door. I called out to them and Dom yelled back, “Locke called and briefed us.”
Dom and Lorenzo pulled out of the lot ahead of me; Levi was behind me. No sooner did we pull out when Trent called all of us and informed us that the GPS tracker on Pierce’s vehicle was on the move.
Trent got Pierce in on the call.
“They walked up to the door, one of the girls opened and was immediately hauled out. Two of the men barged inside, found the other girl, and carried her out.”
“Any witnesses that you noticed?”
“That neighborhood is quiet. Everyone is at work.”
We stayed connected throughout the drive until Pierce finally informed us, “We’re outside Mile High Motorsports.”
“What?” I asked, utterly confused. “What the hell are they doing there?”
Noting I was still five minutes out from the destination, I ordered, “Michaels, bring Logan Townsend in on this call.”
Not even a minute later, I heard, “Hello?”
“Logan, it’s Cruz.”
“Is Lexi ok?” he instantly worried.
“She’s fine. Do you know anything about Mile High Motorsports?”
“I don’t know what shady shit they’re into, but they sell stuff ridiculously cheap and do awful work. The legitimate businesses in the industry wouldn’t be able to sustain themselves at the prices those guys sell at. My guess is they do it all as a cover for something illegal.”
“Do you have a name for the owner?”
“They call him Slick; I have no idea what his real name is.”
“I’ll see what I can find out,” Trent chimed in.
Pulling up behind where Pierce and Holden were parked, I announced “I’ve got to go, Logan. Thanks for your help.”
“No problem,” he responded before disconnecting.
The guys and I were all out of the car, keeping ourselves hidden, getting an update from Pierce.
“It looks like it’s normal business hours right now, so there have been customers going in and out through the front door. They pulled around the backside of the building. Nobody here would know they had those girls.”
We quickly came up with a plan and put it into action. First, Dom and Holden were going to go in through the front door and check out the place. They were both interested in motorsports, so they’d be able to pull off playing the part of potential clients. Once we got confirmation from them from inside, we’d figure out how to implement our plan for going in through the back to get the girls.
A few minutes after they were inside, Holden sent us text updates and let us know that there was still one other customer inside who was paying for some parts. Thankfully, there were only two guys working in the front showroom, though. We had no clue how many people were working in the garage and who, if anyone, was in the warehouse.
While we waited for more news from our guys inside, Levi grabbed our attention. “Back of the building. Three guys walking to the black SUVs. Are they the ones from the Chambers’ residence, Reynolds?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “Looks like one guy is hanging back with the girls.”
“De Luca,” Levi called. “You’re with me. We’ll follow them.”
Levi and Lorenzo took off behind the SUVs just as Holden came outside.
With a grin on his face, he shared, “Dom’s getting a tour.”
“How’d he manage to pull that off?” Pierce asked.
Holden shrugged his shoulders and threw out, “You know him. He can bullshit with the best of them.”
“Why are you out here?”
“I told them I needed to step out and call my wife before I made any purchases.”
“You don’t have a wife,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, but they don’t know that and it’s a perfectly plausible excuse. These guys hear it all the time.”
Pierce put his phone to his ear and waited a minute before he said, “Three of our four guys in the SUVs just came out the back. Holden’s with us. If you’re good in there, we’re heading in through the back.”
We waited a moment while Pierce listened.
Pulling the phone away from the side of his head, he looked at us and confirmed, “Dom’s good.”
The three of us moved to the back of the building and found the door had been left propped open. This led us to believe that someone would be returning.
Looking in, I could see Grant’s daughters bound to chairs, crying and terrified. There was nobody else around; however, I couldn’t see the rest of the space.
Just as I was about to cautiously open the door and look around, a guy in a suit walked over to where the girls were sitting.
“That’s one of the guys that picked them up,” Pierce hissed.
Suddenly, he started speaking and, thankfully, he was doing it loud enough for us to hear.
“There’s no need to cry,” he taunted them. “I expect Mommy is going to do what she needs to do to see to it that you get home safe tonight.”
“Who are you? What do you want from our mom?” one of the girls asked.
He laughed and clarified, “I don’t want anything from her. My boss wants what your father owes him.”
“Our dad is away on business,” the other girl cried. “Who is your boss?”
He walked over closer to her, pressed his fingers to her forehead, and pushed her hair back from her face. “Darling, your father is not away on business. He’s been in prison since last weekend.”
“What?” she whispered.
He nodded at the girls and explained, “Yeah, he was about to deliver something for my boss that would have helped to repay his debt, but the delivery was foiled. My boss is done waiting for his payment, and since dear old Daddy is unavailable now, we’re just going to have to get your mom to pay up.”
“What debt? I…I don’t understand.”
“Your dad loves to gamble,” he started. “And it just so happens he’s lost a lot of money that he needs to pay back.”
Gambling debt. That explained it.
Moving his hand
to the other sister’s cheek, he wondered, “So, how much do you think you’re worth? Will Mommy pay the four million two hundred and sixty-three thousand dollars owed for the two of you? Or are we going to have to auction you off?”
The girls’ eyes rounded and I’d had enough.
“Tell Michaels to call it in,” I ordered.
Once the call was made, I wasted no time. I moved in quickly and quietly, doing my best to remain focused on him, but also wanting to take in my surroundings. I knew my guys would cover me, though. I was only a few steps away when I caught the attention of the guy. He tried to pull out his weapon, but he wasn’t fast enough. I managed to take him down and neutralize him. There was nobody else in the warehouse.
By the time I looked up, Pierce and Holden already had the girls free and were moving them out. I decided to collect more information.
“Who’s your boss?”
No response.
“I hate to break it to you, but protecting him at this point isn’t going to do you any good. The police are on their way. If you give me a name, I might be willing to talk them into taking it easy on you for cooperating.”
Still nothing.
“Is it Slick?”
He reacted. It was quick, but it was enough.
“Where can I find him?”
Just then, I heard the sirens in the distance.
“Looks like your time is just about up,” I goaded him. “This is your last chance to help yourself.”
“Fuck you!”
Realizing I wasn’t going to get anywhere with him, I shrugged my shoulders and stood. “Suit yourself.”
Minutes later, the place was swarming with cops, questioning the girls, cuffing the guy I’d taken down who still refused to talk, and talking with the sales guys in the showroom. Detective Baines arrived on the scene and sought me out.
“Mrs. Chambers was at the station when she got a text showing her daughters bound to chairs,” he informed me.
“Wait,” I started. “She was there before the text came in?”
He nodded and explained, “Apparently, she got home and realized her daughters weren’t there. Her eldest daughter’s car was there, but neither of the girls were. She was alarmed, but called them first. When their phones started ringing inside the house and they were nowhere to be found, she knew something wasn’t right.”
