“Men?” Reese’s focus grew clearer. “How many? What did they look like?”
“One other male.” John looked at a notebook he was holding. “Late twenties to early thirties, small mustache, olive skin, slender but looks like he might work out.”
“I’ve got to find her.” Reese looked around for a vehicle he could commandeer and started toward a black SUV.
“We’ll find Kelley.” John caught Reese by his upper arm. “You just got knocked out cold in an accident and you shouldn’t be driving.”
“Fuck that.” Reese jerked his arm away from his stepbrother. “I’m not resting until I find her. We’re losing time.”
“You’re not going anywhere, Reese,” John said, a hard note in his tone. “You’re injured.”
Reese narrowed his eyes. “Try and stop me.” He strode away for the black SUV.
“Give me a minute.” John caught up to Reese and blocked his way. “I’ll drive.”
Reese thought about telling John to fuck off and get out of his way, but bit back the words.
John gave Reese a hard look and Reese clenched his jaw before he said, “Hurry.”
It took only a couple of minutes for John to turn over command of the scene. He got the keys to the black SUV from another detective and he and Reese climbed in.
“According to witnesses, they headed toward I-17.” John guided the SUV in that direction. “But like I said, there’s been no sign of them.”
“You saw the message Zip wrote.” Reese gritted his teeth. “They’re headed toward the Mexican border in Douglas. We need to get there before they can cross.”
“I figured as much, too.” John looked at Reese. “That’s where we’ll go. We’ll have to hope that they have no idea Zip could have tipped us off.”
They climbed into the vehicle and put on their seatbelts. Lights flashing, John drove the truck away from the scene, rushing through town with the sirens on. He didn’t cut the sirens or lights until they reached open road and embarked on the six-hour drive to Douglas.
During the drive, Reese felt like he was going to crawl out of his skin. He and John kept in frequent contact with law enforcement. Every available officer was searching from the air and ground. When it came to a kidnapped officer of the law, the manhunt mobilized all agencies and was even more intense than if it would have been if it were a civilian. Roadblocks had been set up and every vehicle was being stopped and searched.
According to all law enforcement agencies involved, there was no sign of the brown car or anyone matching Taynor’s and the other man’s descriptions. Nor was anyone seen matching Kelley’s description. Reese had no doubt the men had ditched the vehicle and were in another one, and somehow had Kelley hidden.
“For all we know they could be back in Prescott.” Reese clenched his fist on his knee. “Hiding out until they think it’s safe to go.”
“Could be.” John adjusted his hands on the steering wheel. “Frankly we could be headed in the wrong direction. For all we know, Taynor went north.”
Reese pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger as he thought about it. He raised his head and lowered his hand. “We know that Taynor and Rocha were planning on taking the shipment of women and girls to the Mexican border.”
“Although we don’t know exactly how they planned to accomplish that without being caught,” John said.
“They had to know they’d never get across the border with that semi.” Reese considered the problem. “So how could they stash eight females and get them into Mexico?”
John and Reese looked at each other. “Whatever the method was, that could be the way they’re taking Belle and Kelley,” John said.
“For all we know, they could have planned on taking them in numerous vehicles,” Reese said. “But trunks are being opened, backs of trucks searched, and K-9s have been deployed and can detect people who may be stashed somewhere inside the vehicle.”
John’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. “It’s easier smuggling humans into Mexico than out, but security is fairly tight.”
Reese considered the problem. “It could be easy to pay off the Mexican customs agents.”
“I don’t doubt it,” John said.
“So it could be one or multiple vehicles.” Reese blew out his breath. “We’re not any closer to figuring this damned thing out than we were before.”
“We’ll find her.” John looked at Reese. “They won’t get away with this.”
Reese glanced out the window at the scenery speeding by. No, the bastards wouldn’t get away with it. “I’m going to find them one way or another.”
“I’m right here with you,” John said. “Every damned step of the way. Petrova’s like family.”
It came out before Reese could stop it. “She’s more than family to me.”
John gave him a sharp look. “Are you telling me that your relationship has gone beyond work?”
“Yes.” Reese pushed his hand through his hair. “Up until recently, we’ve always had a strictly working relationship. Then things…changed.”
“Have you told the captain?” John asked.
Reese shook his head. “Not yet.”
John looked back at the road. “Do you plan to anytime soon?”
“We’ll pick the right time.” Reese nodded. “It’ll be soon. After we find Kelley.”
“You couldn’t have picked a better woman,” John said quietly.
Reese didn’t need anyone to tell him that fact.
In a way, even though she’d been working by his side for two years, he’d just found her. He wasn’t about to lose her now.
* * * * *
Kelley woke with a start and opened her eyes. She was in total darkness. She felt disoriented, confused, and chilled. Her body ached from head to toe and she had a splitting headache. What was going on?
She tried to move but her ankles and wrists were bound and walls pressed in around her, above her, below her. Her heart beat faster and she felt claustrophobic. She recognized the signs of panic as her pulse hiked.
Where was she? What had happened?
Icy chills shot through her as memories started to come to her, one after another. The accident…Reese so still…
And then being kidnapped…drugged…and locked in a compartment at the bottom of a refrigerated truck.
And being taken to Mexico to ultimately be sold to someone in South America.
Sold.
She shuddered, her gut twisting at the thought.
The effects of the drug had faded but she still felt out of it. Still, even through the strands of fog, she knew that she was coming around to herself again. She prayed that it wasn’t too late.
Where were she, Belle, and their captors? How close to the border? Had they already crossed?
She swallowed. If they were in Mexico it would be that much harder to escape and get back to the border. She prayed they were still in the U.S.
How much time had passed? Long enough that the effects of the drug were wearing off was all she knew.
Was Reese following? Dear God, he had to have survived the accident and he had to be searching for her. He had seen Zip’s note, so he had to be certain that she was being taken to Mexico.
It was all she could do to hold those thoughts in her mind to give her hope.
Kelley started to work at the rope that bound her hands so tightly. The rope cut into her wrists, but they didn’t seem to be knotted particularly well. Taynor might not have been the greatest at tying knots or he believed that the effects of the drug would last.
Jaw set, she fought to loosen the rope. She’d start to feel herself drifting and she’d have to force herself to bring her focus back around. Her wrists felt like they were being rubbed raw by the rough rope as she tried to get it off.
The compartment gently rocked her back and forth as she struggled. If she allowed it, the sensation could lull her to asleep again.
Frustration grew inside her until finally she felt a litt
le give in the rope. But it wasn’t enough. Her chest ached from fear welling inside her.
The rope slipped a little more and she worked at it all the harder. Moments later, the rope slid off her wrists.
She hurried to take off the gag and then let out a rush of air. As she did, she realized that she’d never had a problem breathing in the cramped space. She’d been too out of it to care when she’d first been put into the compartment.
What if she called to Belle? Would the girl hear her? Or would she risk being heard by Taynor and Rocha? Then she remembered that Taynor had planned to climb into a compartment himself to avoid being caught.
No, she couldn’t risk calling out.
Wriggling and squirming, she tried reached for her ankles in the cramped space. She’d been put into a small compartment, and even though she was petite, there wasn’t a lot of room to bend. It took a while but with one hand she finally reached the rope that so tightly bound her ankles. It didn’t take her as long to undo the knot around her ankles as it had for her wrists.
She placed her palms on the metal plate that was currently her ceiling in the refrigerated section of the truck’s floor. It was smooth, with no seams that she could find. Of course the seams were there. She just couldn’t feel them.
Using her hands and knees, she tried pushing up against her ceiling, but it wouldn’t budge, not even a fraction.
Anger started a slow burn in her chest. She’d tried desperately not to fall prey to her emotions, but it was all becoming too much. The compartment felt like it was closing in on her and soon she would be unable to breathe. Her rational mind knew that the air supply would probably be just fine, but she couldn’t push away that niggling fear.
The silence around her was so complete that her ears rang with it. She was in a soundproof insulated space. She wondered if the truck also had something to mask odor that was strong enough to keep K-9s from smelling humans. But then they were probably not as worried about humans being smuggled into Mexico from the United States as opposed to smuggling from Mexico into the U.S.
Although, it was possible that this same truck was used to smuggle Mexican Nationals into the U.S., and then traffic U.S. citizens into Mexico.
The drug had worn off considerably more and she was becoming more aware of the pain in her head from the accident and every ache in her body. Her shoulder, where she’d been shot, felt like it had been wrenched somewhere along the way.
She let out her breath, trying to decide what to attempt next when the swaying of the compartment stopped. She was certain the vehicle had come to a halt.
Her breathing came faster and she prayed someone had found her.
Chapter 17
Reese felt like slamming his fist into a brick wall. As wound up as he was, he could probably do some serious damage to a wall, not to mention his fist. His head ached from the injury sustained in the accident and more than likely it ached from frustration, too. He didn’t have any water so he dry-swallowed a couple of Tylenol that he found in a bottle in the glove compartment.
John glanced from the road to look at Reese. “It could be they’re still in Prescott.”
“My gut tells me they’re on their way to the border by now.” Reese’s entire body was so tense that he felt like his control would snap. “We’ve got to find them before they cross.”
As John drove, Reese tried to work everything over in his mind. During the trip down to the southern part of the state, Reese had called in every favor he could think of, making contact with his sources and pressing them for information.
So far nothing. Not a damned thing.
The first person he’d called was his brother, Garrett. As a private investigator, Garrett had his own sources and unconventional ways of finding information, ways that weren’t as readily available to the police department. Garrett also had methods of making his sources talk that Reese couldn’t legally use. Reese was holding out hope that Garrett would come up with something.
“We’re going to have to make a quick stop for fuel. We’re running on empty.” John broke into Reese’s thoughts as he pulled the SUV off the highway onto the Benson exit they needed to take to get to Douglas. He drove into a gas station that was across from a McDonald’s. “Tell you what. You gas up the SUV and I’ll run across the street and grab us a couple of Big Macs, fries, and drinks.”
Reese wanted to argue that they didn’t have time to stop for any reason. But there was no arguing that they weren’t going to get anywhere if they didn’t stop for gas. And they wouldn’t be at peak performance if they didn’t fuel their bodies, too.
“Make mine a double bacon cheeseburger with a large Dr. Pepper and large fries,” Reese said as John started to climb out. “Two of the burgers.”
“You’ve got it.” John gave a nod before jogging across the street.
Filling the SUV’s large fuel tank took some time, and Reese’s body ached with the need for action. He dragged his palm down his face as he waited, his patience waning. He winced when his hand rubbed over a large laceration on his temple. In the rush to find Kelley, he hadn’t allowed himself to dwell on injuries he had sustained from the accident.
Fact was that his entire body ached, including his hand with the missing fingers. The ghost pains were almost as bad as all of his new injuries. At least he hadn’t fractured anything in the accident—not that he knew of.
Benson was a good seventy miles from Douglas and the Mexican border and there was still no sign of the bastards who’d taken Kelley. Hell, law enforcement agencies still had no idea what kind of vehicle Taynor and Rocha were in.
In his gut, Reese was sure that they were headed in the right direction. They just needed a break. He wondered, not for the first time, if Belle was being smuggled with Kelley.
Finally the SUV’s tank was full. John returned, carrying two white McDonald’s bags and two large drinks just as Reese took the receipt from the pump.
Reese stood by the driver’s side door as he tucked the receipt into his wallet. “I’ll drive.”
John shook his head as he handed Reese one of the fast food bags and a drink. “I’ve already made it clear to you. You were knocked out, which means you’ve got a concussion and you’re not driving. Personally, I’d like to reach our destination. Alive.”
With a scowl, Reese took the bag and headed to the passenger side of the SUV. He didn’t like the feeling of being out of control with any of this one damned bit. Driving always made him feel more in control than sitting in the passenger seat letting someone else have the wheel.
They climbed into the SUV. After Reese strapped in, he dug into his bag and pulled out one of the bacon cheeseburgers. He unwrapped it and took a big bite. He chewed and swallowed, and realized that John had been right about getting some food into him. He hadn’t had anything since breakfast, at least eight hours ago.
Reese managed to get both cheeseburgers and all of his fries down as he made more calls. Somewhere they had to get a break.
When they were fifteen miles from Douglas and the Mexican border, they were no closer to figuring out where Kelley was and what kind of vehicle she might have been smuggled in.
John glanced from the road to Reese. “Where do you want to start first?” John asked before looking at the road again.
Reese dragged his hand down his face. “Head to the border. One of our contacts has got to call with information that will help us find Rocha and Kelley.”
John guided the SUV toward the Mexican border. “You never know, we might see something suspicious while we keep an eye out.”
With a nod, Reese said, “That’s what I’m counting on.”
* * * * *
In case Rocha or Taynor was coming to check on her, Kelley hurried to tie the gag around her head and slipped the ropes onto her wrists. It was so cramped in the compartment that she could barely get the gag tied and ropes back on her wrists. She didn’t have time to put the ropes over her ankles.
Metal scraped metal as the lid of the c
ompartment started to slide away. Light and chilled air rushed in along with the sound of the motor running. Kelley closed her eyes and let her head loll to the side to make it appear as though she was still drugged and out cold.
“Should we give her another shot?” Taynor said aloud and Kelley had to keep herself from reacting. No, damn it. No more shots.
“Nah.” Rocha’s voice. “Getting low on the shit we drugged her with. We’d have to use something different. We’ll have her across the border in twenty minutes and she’ll still be too drugged to do anything. We don’t want to give her too much.”
Kelley felt a small measure of relief. They weren’t across the border yet and they weren’t going to give her another shot.
“I think we should just kill the bitch.” Taynor spoke in a harsh growl. “After what she’s done—”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Rocha said with a hard edge to his words. “When we deliver her to the buyer, she’ll pay. She’ll be nothing but a whore to whoever wants to fuck her.” Rocha gave a harsh laugh. “The buyer likes to loan out his whores and he’s going to like this one. We will see the bitch pay. It will be worse for her than killing her.”
Kelley’s entire body started to tighten and she had to fight to keep any expression off her face and to look relaxed from the drugs.
A phone rang and Kelley heard Rocha answer, “What?” Silence as Rocha listened. “How the fuck did they find out?” he said after a moment. Another pause. “Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Taynor asked.
“One of my men told me that fucker, Zip, left a note after I blew a hole in his gut,” Rocha said. “The message told the cops we’re headed for the border.”
“Shit,” Taynor said.
“They’ll be waiting for us,” Rocha said with fury in his voice.
“Cops don’t know what we’re driving,” Taynor said.
Rocha let out a sound like a growl. “Unless Zip told them.”
“I don’t think Zip knew,” Taynor said.
“He knew.” Rocha practically spat the words. “It was one of the reasons why I shut him up permanently, before he spilled anything else to the cops. Should have shot him in the head.”
Made for You Page 13
