by Angi Morgan
His heart stopped just like it had the day the doctor told him there was no hope for Gwen. He couldn’t move. Tracey’s free hand joined his, pulling her closer to the phone. Whose hand was shaking now?
“Wherever you’re hiding from the cops, you have fifteen minutes to get to Lovers Leap. Don’t be late.” Click.
“Do you know where Lovers Leap is, Josh?” Tracey shook his arm. “Isn’t it over by Cameron Park?”
“Yeah. Sure. I know where it’s at.”
“Then let’s get moving.” She tugged on his arm.
“I can’t seem to move.”
“What’s wrong?” Even in the low golden light from the public restroom he could see her concern. She moved to his side, tugged his arm around her shoulders. “Come on. Just lean on me and I’ll get you to the truck.”
It was slow going, but she managed it. It felt like they used all fifteen minutes of their time, but a glance at his watch told him they still had ten.
“Shock. I think you’re in shock and I’m not sure what I can do.” She turned the engine over.
“Drive. I’ll... I’ll be okay when we get there.”
He needed to see his kids. Needed to get Tracey there to take care of them. Needed to do whatever these crazy bastards wanted him to, so they’d be free.
Whatever the price. Whatever it took.
* * *
“ARE YOU HAVING a heart attack?” She split her focus from the dark road to Josh’s pale face.
“I’m okay. Just drive. You have to get to the opposite side of Lake Waco.” Josh braced himself in the truck. He rubbed his upper arm, kept it across his chest.
And he was scaring her more than the phone call.
“I think I know where I’m going. You really don’t look okay.”
“I will be by the time you get there. Quit driving like an old lady.”
“Quit trying to change the subject. Do you hurt anywhere? Is your arm numb?”
“I told you I’m not having a heart attack.” His voice was stronger and he pushed his hand against the ceiling as she took a corner a little too sharply. “Whatever it was it’s gone. Your driving has scared the life back into my limbs.”
Panic attack. Thinking it was okay. Saying it aloud might just make it begin again. She’d never tell. Josh’s men didn’t need to know that the major of Company F was human.
“Is there any of that soda left? Maybe you need sugar or something?” They were nearing Cameron Park and she had to change her thoughts to what was going to happen. “What if they take me and the kids?”
“Your first priority is the twins. In fact, that’s your only priority. Your only responsibility. No matter what they do to me, say about me, or threaten me.” Josh shook his head and swallowed hard.
“The same goes for me, Josh. You do whatever it takes to keep Jackson and Sage alive.”
“Remember, they seemed a little scared about dealing with Jackson. If you can convince them to drop him off at a hospital, then do it.”
“I will.” She gave the keys to Josh. He didn’t look as pale as when they were at the last parking lot.
“Why did they all call each other Mack? It’s confusing.”
“Or smart. They call everyone Mack so no real names are used. They wear masks so we can’t identify their faces. Hopefully that gives them the security they need not to kill us. So refer to them by body type or what they do. Like the one that gives the orders. He can be In-Charge Mack.”
“Is that what you do with the Rangers?” She nervously looked around the park and raced on before he could answer. “No one’s here. I wonder if we should get out.”
“They’re here. There’s no vehicle close by. That means they didn’t bring the kids. One’s on the back side of the restroom building. Another has a rifle behind the north pillar of the pavilion.”
The phone was in the seat between them. It buzzed with a text message for her to get out of the car and go with Mack. The second message told Josh to stay.
She tried to brush it off, but admitted, “Josh I’m... I’m scared.”
“So am I. I want you to remember this. I’ll insist on a video chat when we make contact. They might force you to say whatever they want. I need to know that you and the kids are really okay. So if it’s true, then tell me...”
“Something just we know. It’ll have to be short.”
“Right.”
Tracey was nervous. For her, it would be unusual to say I love you. It was on the tip of her tongue to admit that. Thinking like a criminal wasn’t her forte, but she understood that they might force her to say those words.
“Let’s keep it as simple as possible. Tell me you think you left the whiskey bottle on the counter if you’re okay and still in Waco. If you’re not okay, play with your ring. If you don’t think you’re in Waco, then put the whiskey in a friend’s house. Can you remember that? Totally off the wall for them, memorable for us.”
“What do I say if you can’t see me playing with my ring?”
“Say that you wish we hadn’t ditched your bodyguards.” He smiled and took her hand in his and tugged her across the seat. “Come on over here to get out. I can always get back inside if they order me to.”
He defied their instructions when his feet hit the ground. Turning to help her from the truck, he pulled her into his arms. Their lips meshed and melted together from the heat of the unknown to come. It was a kiss of desperation, representing all the confusion she’d been feeling for months.
Shoes were hitting pavement behind her. Men were running toward them. She’d already experienced how brutal these men could be.
“You need to be in one piece if you’re going to rescue us,” she whispered to the man she was falling in love with. Before any of the kidnappers could grab her she got her hands on Jackson’s emergency kit, juice and snacks inside.
Josh cupped her face with his hands. “You’re the bravest woman I’ve ever known. There’s no way to thank you.” He gently kissed her again.
This kiss felt like goodbye. Sweet, gentle, not rushed in desperation or as fast as her heart that was pounding like it would explode.
The men pulled them apart, taking Jackson’s bag from her. “Stop. Jackson needs that.”
“But you don’t. We’ll give you what you need when you need it.” Tracey fell back a step trying to get out of his way. It was the man who’d hit her. The man who’d been talking to them over the phone...In-Charge Mack.
His cruel eyes peeked through the green ski mask. But they weren’t looking at her. No, they watched Josh. They scanned him from head to toe, sizing him up just before shoving him into the side of the truck. Hard.
“When I give an order you better follow it. Don’t push me, Major Parker,” In-Charge Mack screamed. “Take her to the van.”
Birds flew overhead as the world began to brighten. She couldn’t see the sun yet, but it was that golden moment where you knew the world was about to be brilliant. She also knew—before his hand raised—that In-Charge Mack intended to hit Josh. It was part of the man’s makeup.
The gloved hand moved.
“Stop!” Her hand moved, too. Directly in the path of In-Charge Mack’s arm, catching part of the force and slowing him down. “You put me in the hospital. Don’t you need Josh without a concussion?”
In-Charge Mack’s hand struck as quickly as a snake taking out its prey. The force sent Tracey stumbling into Mack with the rifle. She couldn’t see, but she heard the scuffle, the curses, the “don’t hurt her” before Josh was restrained by two other men.
“I’m okay. It’s okay,” she said as quickly as she could force her jaw to move. She looked back at Josh straining at his captors, then at the man who’d hit her. “You need both of us, remember?”
“What I don’t need is you talking at al
l.” He gestured with a nod and thrust his chin toward the bike path.
The man who’d grabbed her, slung the rifle over his shoulder and latched on to her arm again. Jerking her toward the park area, she stumbled often from watching Josh instead of the path. When she could no longer see him, she looked in front of her just in time to miss a tree.
The sun was up. Light was forcing the darkness to the shadows. Fairly symbolic for their journey today. She needed good to triumph. She needed hope because they were on their own. Somehow she’d get the twins out of this mire and keep them safe until their dad came home.
* * *
THE INSTINCT TO be free was tremendous. The two men holding Josh weren’t weaklings by any definition, but he didn’t try. He saw the cloth. Then they poured liquid over it. He jerked to the side avoiding their effort to bring him forward.
Chloroform?
Maybe his hunch about the plane wasn’t so far off after all. If they felt like they needed him to be out cold for a while, then whatever he was doing wasn’t nearby. One of the extras joining the party was digging around the emergency supplies they’d brought. Tracey must have dropped them when she’d been hit.
“Hey! Jackson needs the stuff in that bag.”
“Don’t worry about your kid. That’s why the babysitter’s here.”
“Shut up, Mack,” instructed the ringleader. “Put the juice back in the bag and take it to the other Mack.”
The guy giving all the orders approached him with the cloth and bottle.
“Look, tell me Jackson’s still okay. Is he alert? Talking? How’s Sage? Just tell me and I’ll behave. No problem. There’s no reason to knock me out.”
“Your kid is fine.”
The guy running the show nodded to the men holding Josh. They planted their feet and tightened their grips. It might be inevitable, but he wouldn’t just stand there and inhale peaceably.
Chapter Eleven
Blindfolded. Tracey swore the man driving her to wherever the twins were being held was lost. They had to be close by. It felt like he literally drove in circles. No one had mentioned Jackson or Sage. She thought they’d been joined in the van by a second person back at the park, but the one who’d escorted her could have been mumbling to himself.
You’re the bravest woman I’ve ever known.
A lie. Gwen had been that woman. Strong and fearless in the face of death. But Tracey wasn’t going to take Josh’s words lightly. She couldn’t forget that he’d said them, any more than she could ignore that he was saying goodbye.
The van stopped and so did her thoughts about Josh. Now it was about Jackson. Every piece of knowledge she’d learned and could remember about diabetes would be important.
They’d kept such a close eye on Jackson before yesterday, that he hadn’t had any close calls since his initial diagnosis. They even monitored Sage regularly to make certain juvenile diabetes wasn’t in her future. There was no guarantee, but they wouldn’t be unprepared.
“Get out.”
“Can I take off the—”
“Just scoot to the edge and I’ll take you inside.”
She did what they said. She didn’t hear anything unusual. It was still very early in the morning, but there were few natural sounds. She thought she heard the faint—sort of blurry—noise of cars on I-35. The low hum could be heard from multiple spots—and miles throughout Waco. At least she’d be able to find her way to safety.
The twins...your only priority. Your only responsibility.
The men each held one elbow and led her through a series of hallways. She assumed they were hallways. She heard keys in locks, dead bolts turning, doors opening and shutting. Three to be exact.
Inside there wasn’t any noise. It was like the world had turned off. Then the blindfold was removed and she blinked in the bright sun reflecting into a mirror. She was still blinking when the fourth door was opened and she was pushed inside. Jackson’s emergency bag was tossed in after her.
Thank goodness.
She expected a dark, dingy place. Maybe full of cobwebs or a couple of mice running around. She’d completely forgotten about the video that showed the kids playing with a room full of toys.
They were everywhere. Plastic kitchens complete with pots and pans. Lawn mowers that blew bubbles. A table where they could build a LEGO kingdom on top. Stuffed animals piled in a corner.
Where were the kids?
Who would buy all these toys for a kidnapping? What would be the purpose? She looked closer at them and noticed they were all clean, but very well-used. They were probably from garage sales or thrift shops. Wherever they’d been purchased, no one would remember the person.
But where were the kids?
She picked up one of the many stuffed animals and sat in a chair made for children. Two mostly eaten sandwiches were on the table. Two bottles of water, barely touched, sat next to them. She spotted Sage’s backpack under a giant bear. Next to it, her gold glitter slipper.
Tracey crossed the room and bent to pick it up. There, huddled under the pile of used stuffed toys, with their eyes squeezed tightly shut, were the twins. Relief washed over her, but she had to remain calm. Even a little excitement might overtax Jackson’s blood sugar at this point.
“Hey kidlets, it’s Trace Trace,” she whispered, afraid to scare them.
Stuffed giraffes, dinosaurs, bears and alligators flew in all directions as the kids scrambled to their feet. Their backpacks were looped around their shoulders, ready to walk through the door. Shoes on the wrong feet meant they’d been off at least once.
Grape jelly was at the corner of Sage’s mouth. But the most important thing was that Jackson looked alert and safe.
“Are you okay?”
She opened her arms and they flew into a hug. The relief she felt that they were both alive and okay... She couldn’t think of words to describe the emotion.
“Can we go now, Trace Trace?” Jackson asked. “Where’s Daddy?”
“I want to go, too,” Sage said. “Why didn’t Daddy come get us?”
“Have you had breakfast? Are you really okay?” She turned to Jackson again, gauging his eyes, looking for any indicators that his blood sugar was too low. “Do you have a headache or feel nauseous?”
“Nope.”
“He’s been good.” Sage lifted her hand to her mouth, trying to whisper to Tracey—it didn’t work. “I hid the candy they gave us in the oven.”
“Oh, I knew where you put it. But I didn’t want to get sick if there wasn’t anybody here to take care of me.”
“Sage, hon, run and get that bag with Jackson’s medicine stuff.”
The little girl skipped over and skipped back. Both children seemed okay on the outside.
“Do we have to stay?” Sage whined, deservingly so.
“For a little while longer.” Tracey pulled the materials she needed to test Jackson’s blood sugar from the bag.
The little darling was so used to the routine that he sat with his finger extended, ready for the testing. She put a fresh needle into the lancing device, and took a test strip from the container.
Sage tore the alcohol wipe package open and handed it to her. They all lived with this disease. They’d had their share of ups and downs, but they stayed on top of it.
“I love you guys. Do you know that?” She wiped off the extended finger, punched the button, dropped the droplet of blood on the strip and placed it in the meter.
Two little heads bobbed up and down. She hid her anxiousness waiting on the results. He was in the safe zone, ready to eat his breakfast and start his day.
Thank God.
“Have you two been alone all this time?”
“Nu-uh.”
“Some guy sits with a mask all over his face. Says he’s hot.” Sage was th
e talker, the observant one, the storyteller. “Then he leaves and comes back sometimes.”
“Sometimes he tries to play,” Jackson added. “That guy came in with his phone one time. ’Member?”
“Yeah, but he wasn’t fun. He was angry and mean.”
They sat in the chairs next to her at the table. She put a banana on each little plastic plate. Wiped out the glasses as best as she could and poured a little bit of juice in them. She noticed that one of the juice bottles was missing so she kept a third of the bottle, placing it back in the bag.
“So, eat and I’ll get some crackers.”
“For breakfast?” they said together.
“There’s nothing wrong with bananas and crackers.”
“Aren’t you eating?” Jackson asked, peeling one section and turning the banana sideways for a bite. He left it there, like a giant smile, then posed until she acknowledged him.
He swallowed his bite and laughed, showing the mashed banana on his tongue. Sage said “yuck,” and then they all three laughed, making Tracey want to cry. How could any of this be funny? But if she didn’t laugh and act as if it was, then they’d get anxious and stressed.
Stress was bad for blood sugar.
Very bad.
Laughing, playing and maybe casually looking for a way out of this room. That’s what their day would be. Maybe the man who was scary and mean would stay away.
Maybe if they were really lucky, Josh would haul all the mean Macks to jail. Then the Parker family could all live happily ever after.
“I want to go home, Trace Trace.”
“I know, Jackson. And we will. But while we’re here, what do you want to play?”
“Princesses. I thought of something first, so we play my game.” Sage darted around looking through the toy pile for princess gear.
“I don’t feel like playing.” Jackson crawled into her lap and rested his head on her shoulder.
She wasn’t going to panic. His level was within normal range. He was outside his routine and would be tired even if he didn’t have diabetes. “Okay. Sage, would it be okay if I just told you a story?”
