by Becca Van
You’re not screwed, Nyssa. You’re dead!
* * * *
An alarm sounded on Bryden’s cell phone. He glanced at it, frowning, and turned away from the kitchen table where he and the other Elite Dragons were going over maps.
“What is it?” Coulter called.
“Not sure.” His senses were on alert, though, and his heartbeat had picked up. The alarm signaled a loss of reception on one of their tracking devices, but everyone who was wearing an earring was present. Everyone except Nyssa.
He rushed over to his laptop and punched in his password. He’d lost all data on Nyssa’s whereabouts. Feeling frantic, he switched to the video feeds from the clinic. The reception area was empty. So was the hallway. But in Jones’s office…
“Codi! Linton!” he roared. “You need to see this!”
His brothers ran into the room with Coulter close on their heels. Bryden realized that he’d jumped out of his chair. His body shook with the tension of staying still when all he wanted was to load up his weapons and run to Nyssa’s rescue.
“That bastard has Nyssa,” Bryden snarled. “Get Ward in there now!”
Coulter placed a hand on Bryden’s shoulder. “Show us.”
Bryden replayed the footage of Jones jabbing Nyssa with a syringe. They all watched her fall to the hard wooden floor. Bryden saw red as the fucker just left her there without a care then dragged her out by her hair. Just as Bryden had, Codi and Linton made sounds of distress as they watched the bastard rip the earring from her torn earlobe. It seemed to have happened by accident, but the damage was done. The transmitter had been crushed under Jones’s shoe, and the last they saw of Nyssa was as she was dragged out the back door. Blood was dripping down her jaw and neck as well as over her lips and chin. Ward wouldn’t even know she was gone since he had taken a position out front of the clinic about a hundred yards down the street so he couldn’t be seen from the windows. Access to the backyard was around the corner on another street.
“He’s mine,” Codi snarled. He ran to his room, grabbed his gear, and headed toward the front door.
“Wait.” Trace gripped Codi’s shoulder. “You can’t go in yet.”
“He’s right,” Coulter interjected. “We have to wait until after the package is delivered tomorrow. If we go after him, then Smith will get away and this will never end.”
“We can’t just leave her at the mercy of those assholes,” Bryden snapped.
“You’re right, we can’t. Load up. We’re moving out. Trace, Corbin, and I are heading to Creston. Linton, you need to stay here with Codi, Stedman, Ward, and Bronsin. They’ll follow you in tomorrow. Bryden, go to the clinic. Take Seton, Wolf, and Lander with you, meet up with Ward, and let him know what’s happened and tell him to get his ass back here. See if you can get a reading on Nyssa and follow it, but don’t go in until I say so. You hear?”
“Yeah, I hear you,” Bryden snarled.
“Okay, let’s go.” Seton nudged Bryden. He gave one last look over his shoulder at Codi and Linton and followed his teammates to the back fence. They jumped it with ease and headed to Seton’s truck, which was hidden behind Nyssa’s house.
Bryden was on pins the whole time he was in the back of Seton’s truck, but he kept a cool head, barely. Now that things were accelerating, he couldn’t afford to let his emotions rule. He had to keep it together for Nyssa’s sake.
When Seton pulled up out of sight of the clinic, Bryden was the first one out of the truck.
“Hold up, Bryden,” Wolf said as he got out the other side. “We need to keep out of sight in case the place is being watched. We’ll go in the back way. Lander, go and find Ward and then get back here quick.”
Bryden gave a nod and headed off. He kept to the shadows so he wouldn’t be seen. The gates to the yard were wide open. He cautiously scanned the area and lowered his shields. When he ascertained there was no one on the property, he headed in. The back door was wide open, too. Drawing his gun, he entered the building and went straight to the reception area. The front door was locked and the blinds pulled down. Nyssa’s computer was still on. The fucker hadn’t even bothered to shut it off. He met Ward, Seton, Wolf, and Lander in Jones’s office.
On the floor behind the guest chair was a printout of one of the patients’ records.
“Fuck! He must have caught her printing out information.” Wolf picked up the paper.
“That’s not the only reason he wanted Nyssa. He had to have a buyer set up for one or more of her organs,” Bryden said.
“Shit! Do you think he’s gotten far?” Lander asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe he just didn’t want to leave any loose ends before he skipped town. But I don’t think that’s likely.” Bryden stared at the blood marring the wood floor. “I’m going to rip that fucker’s head off with my bare hands.”
“Take a deep breath, man.” Seton thumped him on the back. “You have to concentrate on getting to Nyssa now.”
Bryden took a few deep breaths to gain control and then sorted through the room.
“I think he’s taking her to the same rendezvous as the other two kidnapped women. Look at the map on his wall. He has colored pins stuck in it, and if you follow the pattern, it’s leading straight to Canada.”
“Do you think he’s heading to Creston, too?” Lander asked.
“That would be my guess.”
Bryden prayed that Nyssa was okay. She had been hurt and bleeding, but as least she was still alive. For now.
* * * *
Nyssa came awake with a start, but her body didn’t move. She was so cold. Her eyelids opened and she could move her eyeballs but that was about all. Taking in her surroundings she realized she was in some sort of metal box and she began to panic.
Besides her clothes there was only metal beneath her. The cold had penetrated her to the core, making her fingers and toes feel almost numb. God, she would die from lack of oxygen before they arrived wherever they were going. Light flicked past her head and she moved her eyes up. She would have sagged with relief if she had been able to move. There were holes in the panel near her head. Thank you, God. Listening intently, she could just make out the drone of an engine. Am I in a car? Her lips were dry and caked with blood and her nose and face were throbbing, but she was alive.
She had no idea how long she’d been out and wished she could contact her men. Even though she had the receiver in her ear she knew it wouldn’t work without the rest of the device. Do they even know I’m missing? Of course they do, Nyssa. Codi was supposed to pick you up. Surely it’s after five thirty now?
The faint droning slowed and then stopped and a car door slammed closed. Oh God, is this it? Is this where he is going to kill me and cut me up?
And then she heard more voices. It sounded like Jones was arguing with someone. Another sound and the voices were clear.
“I told you, I’m transporting a cadaver. Surely you don’t want to look at the body.”
“Open it up,” a voice commanded.
The lid to her metal tomb was lifted and a stranger peered in at her. Nyssa wouldn’t have even had time to blink, if she had been capable of such an action, before the lid was slammed closed again.
“That’s pretty freaky. Usually the eyes are taped closed. She was a pretty little thing. What happened to her?”
“Car accident. Major head injuries.”
“Why wasn’t the body cleaned up?”
“The parents didn’t want strangers working on her. They have family in the funeral parlor business.”
“Makes sense I guess. Okay, you’re free to cross the border. Welcome to Canada.”
Canada? Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. Wait! Don’t panic yet, Nyssa. Coulter, Trace, and Corbin were heading to…Where was that again? Cressick? No! Preston? No! Creston. Yeah, Creston. Her fear dissipated slightly. They were going to be in Creston, Canada, and when Linton contacted them with more information they were going to go in with guns a-blazin’.
Please, please, ple
ase, let that be where Jones is taking me!
Chapter Twelve
Friday, 6:00 a.m.
Linton pulled the truck into the yard of the warehouse, lowered his mental shields, and scanned as he got out. He hoped to feel that Nyssa was close by, but he could pick up no trace of her presence. Dammit. It was probably for the best, though. If he felt Nyssa, he’d go in guns blazing no matter the consequences. The doors to the warehouse building were wide open, and as he walked toward them, two men met him.
“I’m Linton Wade, and you are?”
“David Jones, this is Douglas Smith.” Jones offered his hand.
Couldn’t they think of better names? Why use the surnames Smith and Jones more than once? These assholes didn’t look like doctors. Maybe they were using their real names. They were probably just lackeys hired by Marcus Keaton and John Golding, aliases Dr. Jones and Dr. Smith. Didn’t criminals have an imagination? Hmm, and they’re both nervous. I wonder why?
“Do you have the package?”
“Yeah, it’s a biggun’. You’d better back your truck up to the doors so we can load it up.”
Linton did as told and then watched as “Smith” and “Jones” loaded a large metal box. It was welded shut as well as padlocked on both ends and one side but it had breathing holes in one end. He could feel the fear emanating from inside the box and wanted to kill these two bastards where they stood, but he couldn’t. It would jeopardize the whole mission if he did, and even though he felt bad at having to leave the two women inside, he would do what he had to. Linton made a show of examining the padlocks. “Won’t they want me to open this up when I get to the border?”
“We were told you can get anything across,” Smith said.
“There’s no need for you to open it either.” Jones narrowed his eyes.
Linton shrugged as if this wasn’t suspicious. “Okay, I’d better get going if I’m to get to Canada by the deadline.”
He had arrived at the warehouse early in case his cargo was the two missing women. He had hoped to be able to release them from whatever prison they had been stashed in, but it seemed that wasn’t meant to be. But he would make damn sure they were as comfortable as possible on the long trip to his destination.
“Safe trip.” Jones smirked.
Linton got into the truck and drove away. As soon as he was out of sight of the warehouse, he called the sheriff.
Once he asked the sheriff to arrest the two men at the warehouse, he pulled up to a gas station and bought two large bottles of water and grabbed a handful of straws. When he was clear of town he pulled into a rest area where he was to meet Codi, Stedman, Ward, and Bronsin and climbed into the back of the truck with the bottles. He glanced at his comrades-in-arms but ignored them. He wasn’t about to blow their cover because he might need them as backup. He saw their grim expressions when he climbed into the bed of the truck.
“Are you all right, ladies?” Linton asked, but there was no answer. “Okay, I’m going to presume you’ve been drugged. My name is Linton. I’d let you out if I could, but there is another woman missing, and if we are going to get to her safely, I have to leave you where you are. I’m sorry.
“If I break the weld on the seals the people on the other end will see and start shooting. I’m not sure what would happen to you if they see that the box has been tampered with. It would take too much time to let you out, weigh the box down, and weld it shut again. I don’t have an arc welder handy, and to be honest it would take too long to bring someone with those skills to us. I have a deadline to meet and the life of another woman to save.
“Try not to worry. As soon as everything goes down we will let you out, but for now we have a long trip ahead of us. I have to drive you across the border into Canada and meet with the leaders of this ring. Please don’t be scared. I’m part of an elite black operatives group, and we will get you out of this safely.
“I’m going to push a straw through the holes. I have water for you, but don’t drink too much. I don’t want you getting sick. I’ll stop regularly and give you more. Okay?”
Linton sighed. He wished they could answer him. He wanted to know that they were all right. After pushing four straws together to make one long one, he inserted it into one bottle and threaded it through the hole. He only hoped it was long enough. Watching the bottle he saw the water level drop. Thank you, God. When he thought it was enough for now, he withdrew the straw and moved across to another hole. Again the water level dropped. He looked at his comrades-in-arms and saw the fury and helplessness on their faces.
“Okay, ladies. Just try and get some rest. The weather is cool and staying that way today, so you shouldn’t dehydrate too much. I’ll stop again in a couple of hours.”
Linton got back in the driver’s seat and headed for Creston. Codi, Stedman, Ward, and Bronsin followed behind but kept at a distance, so they wouldn’t be seen as traveling together. He didn’t think they were being followed, but he wasn’t about to risk the lives of the women he was transporting or Nyssa’s life.
* * * *
Bryden, Seton, Wolf, and Lander had traveled through the night hoping to get close enough to the vehicle Nyssa was in so they could follow it, but as the hours passed, the emotions Bryden had been reading got fainter and fainter. He’d lost her. Pain sliced through his chest at letting her down, but the effects of keeping his shields down had left him exhausted.
“Don’t give up, Bryden. We’ll get her out.” Seton looked at him in the rearview mirror.
“We just have to be patient, man.” Wolf gripped his shoulder. “We’ll meet up with Coulter, Trace, and Corbin, and when the call comes in from Linton we’ll be the first ones in.”
“That fucker shouldn’t have been able to take her in the first place. I thought by setting her up with the tracking and communication device that she would be safe.”
“You couldn’t have predicted that he’d accidentally rip the device from her ear. It’s not your fault, Bryden. From what you said, he planned to take her from the start.”
“We should never have asked her to do this.”
“It wouldn’t have made any difference, bro. Nyssa was going to be abducted no matter what. At least we’ll be able to get her out faster than the other two missing women. God knows what they’ve been through.” Lander sighed.
* * * *
Bryden glanced at his cell when it rang. Finally Linton was calling after he and the rest of the team had been waiting on pins for hours on end. He and the others had met up with his team leaders thirty minutes previously, and they were all now sitting in their hotel room in Creston, Canada. “Do you have the location?”
“Yeah,” Linton replied and gave him the address. “I have the two missing women.”
“Hang on and I’ll put you on speakerphone. Coulter, Trace, and Corbin and the rest of the team will want to hear this.”
Fury began to boil in Bryden’s gut as Linton described how he’d had to transport the two missing women. Is that how Nyssa has been transported?
“I should be on location within forty minutes. I put the pedal to the metal a few times, but I made sure the women were okay.”
“Just give us time to reconnoiter and set up. Call back when you’re close,” Coulter ordered.
“Will do.” Linton disconnected the call.
“Lock ’em and load ’em, boys. We’re heading out.”
Bryden led the way to the truck. He was going to rescue the love of his life, and if he had to give his own to keep her safe…so be it!
* * * *
Linton flashed his badge at the border patrol officers and was waved through. As soon as he was clear of the traffic, he pulled onto the side of the road. It was time to give the women another drink.
He climbed into the back of the truck. “Can you move or talk yet?”
“Yes,” came a faint reply.
“Are you all right?”
“We’ll be okay,” the other woman said. “We’ve lasted for weeks with those assholes
. We can endure a few more hours.”
“Good. Okay, I’m going to give you some more water.” Linton poked the straw through a hole and explained things as the women drank. “You probably heard me talking to the border patrol. We are approximately ten minutes out of Creston, so it won’t be long before you’re out of there. I have to deliver you to a warehouse not far from the town center.” A whimper of fear made him pause. “Please don’t be scared. I have team members already surrounding the place, and as soon as I have handed you over, we will be storming in and taking these fuckers down.
“Sorry about the language. We are going to leave you in the box until we’ve arrested everyone and, as I said, they’ll see if the welds are broken. Plus I don’t want you getting in the line of fire. I’ll make sure the box is out of the way. Just try and stay calm and remember we will get you out as soon as we can. There will be paramedics on standby, too.”
“Thank you,” a woman sobbed out.
“Okay, let’s get this over and done with. The sooner I hand you over the sooner this will end.”
“God bless you and keep you safe.”
Linton felt a knot of emotion form in his throat. He was trained to do this and would be fine. He was wearing a Kevlar vest beneath his shirt and had concealed weapons. What worried him most was Nyssa. Would she get caught in the crossfire? Not if I can help it.
* * * *
The drug was wearing off, and she was so scared and cold that her whole body was shaking. Nyssa heard the drone of the engine slow once more and then the vehicle stopped. A car door slammed and then she heard the sound of doors close to her opening.
“Dr. Jones. You have the package I see.”
“Yes. She was very easy to take, didn’t give me any trouble at all.”
