When they finished eating, Belle’s eyelids drooped. Kelley put her arm around the girl’s shoulders and brought her close so that her head rested on Kelley’s chest. She gently rocked Belle until the girl’s lips parted and her breathing came deep and even.
Likely Belle had the phone in one of her front pockets. Kelley wanted to get it from her, but now wasn’t the time. She needed to get the phone from Belle when Taynor and Rocha were nowhere around.
Even though she was exhausted and beat up from everything that had happened that day, Kelley was wide-awake. She watched Taynor and Rocha as they talked. Rocha was clearly a leader who was used to things going his way. He had a constant nasty and ferocious expression. Taynor was obviously intimidated and looked like he was attempting to walk on eggshells with everything he did or said.
Rocha’s phone rang and he answered, barking out the words. “Give me some good news.” He listened to whoever was on the other end. The scowl on his face faded to be replaced by a smile of satisfaction. “Good,” Rocha finally said. “Bring it to me.”
He walked away from Kelley until she could no longer hear what Rocha was saying. She had a feeling he was giving directions and didn’t want Kelley to hear.
After he disconnected the call, Rocha shoved the phone into his pocket. “Darrell,” Rocha called out and Taynor reappeared. Rocha inclined his head to Kelley and Belle. “Tie them up and do a better job this time.”
Taynor and Rocha walked toward Kelley and Belle. Kelley gently shook Belle. “Wake up, honey,” she said right before Taynor grabbed Kelley by her upper arm and jerked her to her feet.
He practically dragged her toward a support beam. Several feet away she saw an old pickaxe. Could she get to it and use it to get away with Belle from Taynor and Rocha?
Taynor shoved her down next to the support beam with such force that she landed hard on her tailbone and jarred her head against the beam. She had the fleeting thought that when this was all over she really did need a vacation.
I will escape, she said fiercely in her mind. With Belle…and we’ll both be safe.
Rocha dragged a sobbing Belle to the support beam and then Taynor was tying Kelley and Belle back-to-back with the beam between them.
Eventually, Kelley pretended to fall asleep while the men spoke to each other. Or rather, while Rocha did all the talking. For a long time she watched them from beneath her lashes. She thought again of the pick and wondered if she could get it whenever the men fell asleep. But it would be unwieldy and the men had at least one handgun.
Most of the time Rocha spoke too quietly for her to hear anything. Every now and then, he would go on a rant, raging about the men who had snitched on him, and who he was going to have killed once he was in Mexico. He planned on sending an assassin to do his dirty work. Apparently he wasn’t planning on returning to the States for a while, choosing to remain hidden in Mexico until the dust settled.
While the men thought she was sleeping, Kelley worked at the rope around her wrists that were tied behind her. When Taynor had bound her, she’d done her best to push her arms outward so that the rope would be at least a little loose when he finished. However, he had tied it so tightly that having any slack was impossible and the rope was nearly cutting off her circulation.
Still, Kelley worked at the rope, ceaselessly trying to remove it. Her wrists had already been rubbed raw from her earlier efforts and her eyes watered as the pain turned into a fiery burn. She was certain they were bleeding by now. Gradually her body numbed from the pain. She was exhausted and her head pounded, but she couldn’t give up.
With her head still bowed as if in sleep, Kelley kept an eye on Rocha and Taynor. Eventually they fell silent and she saw that they had fallen asleep. Taynor was on the ground and leaning up against one of the truck’s tires, his head to the side and his mouth open as he snored. Rocha was sitting on the ground, too, his back to a hay bale, his arms folded and his chin resting on his chest.
Kelley was nearly overcome with exhaustion but she couldn’t give up. Wouldn’t give up. As the rope started to give, new life flooded into her. She glanced again at the pickaxe. She was so exhausted, her aches and pains screaming, that she didn’t know if she could wield it well enough to save herself and Belle.
She felt Belle stir as her elbow brushed Kelley’s. “Belle,” Kelley whispered. “Are you awake?”
“Yes.” The girl sounded sleepy.
Kelley was nearly out of the rope, adrenaline making her heart beat faster. “Which of your pockets is the phone in?”
“My front pocket,” the girl said. “The left one. But I can’t get it ’cause my hands are tied.”
“I’m going to put my hand in your pocket in a moment and take it.” The rope slid off Kelley’s wrists as she spoke. “Then I’m calling my partner.”
“Okay,” Belle said.
With her eyes still on Taynor and Rocha, Kelley scooted a few inches to her right, Belle’s left. She reached around the support beam, groping for Belle and finally touching her leg. She moved her fingers up until she felt the lump in Belle’s pocket. She found the opening to the pocket and eased her fingers inside until she touched the cool, hard shell of the phone.
In moments, Kelley had her hand wrapped around the device and brought it up to her side. She opened the flip phone and keyed in Reese’s cell number as she continued to glance at the two men.
She heard a faint ring and brought the phone to her ear, praying that Reese was alive.
Chapter 19
Reese and John maintained their vigil at the border, watching every vehicle that passed by. Many trucks had crossed the line but none that were refrigerated. Every time a truck approached the border, Reese had to hold back from going to the Mexican agents and demanding to search every vehicle himself. It wouldn’t do any good—the agents had already refused his help.
Darkness closed in and Reese dragged his hand down his face. His entire body ached from being wound so tightly. The accident had a hand in the aches and pains he felt, but for the most part he ignored it all. His thoughts were focused on Kelley.
John stared out the window as a rusted Blazer with a broken taillight approached the border.
Reese’s phone rang. He picked it up off the seat, glanced at the caller ID, and saw a number he didn’t recognize.
“Detective McBride,” he answered and heard the tiredness and frustration in his own voice.
“Reese.” An urgent whisper came over the phone and his heart jerked as he realized it was Kelley.
“Kelley.” Reese straightened in his seat and glanced at John whose attention had swiveled to him. “Are you all right, honey? Where are you?”
“I don’t know where we are.” Her voice sounded tight. “But if Belle heard correctly, we’re still in Arizona, near the Mexico border.”
“Thank God.” Reese gripped his phone so tightly that his knuckles ached. “How did you get hold of a phone?”
“It’s Belle’s. Rocha and Taynor obviously didn’t think to check her pockets,” Kelley whispered. “Can’t talk long. The battery is low and Rocha and Taynor are close.”
“Are you in a refrigerated truck?” Reese asked.
“We were in hidden compartments in the floor of a truck that transports ice cream from Mexico into Arizona,” she said. “They’re going to switch to something else. I don’t know what, yet.”
“What can you tell me about where you are right now?” he asked urgently.
“We’re in a barn, so the truck is hidden,” she said. “I’m pretty sure this place is abandoned because the barn looks like it’s falling apart.”
“They’re in an abandoned barn,” Reese said to John who grabbed the radio and started relaying the information.
An edge of fear that he’d never heard in Kelley’s voice accompanied her inner strength as she continued, “Just in case…there’s something I want to tell you.”
“We’re going to find you.” He heard the ferocity in his words as he interrupted her
, not wanting her to consider defeat in any way.
“I love you, Reese.” She sounded choked up as she spoke. “I think I always have.”
It struck him like a punch to his heart, as if he might never see her again. He refused to believe it or let it happen. “I love you, Kelley. I will find you.”
The line went silent.
“Kelley?” he nearly shouted her name. “Kelley.”
The phone beeped in his ear, telling him the call had been disconnected.
“Shit.” His mind raced. Had she been caught on the phone or had she severed the connection because Rocha or Taynor had come near her? The battery could even have gone dead.
Her words repeated in his mind over and over. “I love you, Reese.”
“They’re somewhere here in the valley,” he said to John. “Now that we know Kelley and Belle are here, we’ll be able to get the local police to set up road blocks before any vehicles can get close to the border.”
“It’s not going to be easy finding the barn with it being so dark out,” John said. “Not to mention we have no idea how close or how far away they may be.”
Reese gave a grim nod. He and John spent the next fifteen minutes contacting sources and making plans.
As soon as it was arranged, they drove to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection airfield where they parked so that they could board a helicopter to search for possible locations where Rocha and Taynor could be holding Kelley and Belle.
The whir of the helicopter’s rotors was nearly deafening as Reese and John kept their heads down and hurried to the copter. They boarded and were given headphones to cut out the roar and to allow communication between Reese, John, and the two Border Patrol agents who were with them, one of whom was the pilot. The pilot was Ben Holloway and the other Border Patrol agent was Jorge Munoz.
It had been some time since Reese had been in a helicopter, and he’d never been too crazy about flying in them. He had a swooping sensation in his gut as they lifted from the pad and took off, but his mind was solely focused on Kelley and finding her. Little else mattered.
The helicopter’s searchlight swept over the ground as they covered territory around Douglas. Most of the locations with barns big enough to house a refrigerated truck had occupied homes on the property, the barns seeming to be in good repair. According to Kelley, the barn that they were in was in poor condition.
The area was so large that there was a lot of territory to cover. The longer it took, the tighter Reese’s gut seemed to twist and the harder he clenched his jaws and his fists. He had to rein in his emotions if he was going to keep a clear head.
All four of them peered out into the night, searching…searching. It was so damned dark.
Some time later, Agent Munoz said, “I think I’ve found something.” He gestured to the east. “Right there.”
Agent Holloway did a flyby, and Reese’s throat grew tight as he looked at the dark barn that Agent Munoz pointed out. It was hard to tell in the darkness, but it looked weathered and dilapidated. A house was close to the barn, but with its weed-choked yard, the front door hanging by its hinges, and the roof that was caved in on the west side, it was no doubt abandoned.
Munoz called it in before looking over his shoulder at Reese. “Border Patrol and the sheriff’s department are on their way.”
Holloway circled the barn and house. Reese saw no activity and the barn was dark, not even the slightest glow peeking through the boards. If Taynor and Rocha were holding Belle and Kelley in this barn, they must have had all lights off.
The barn was so far from Douglas that it took twenty minutes for the Border Patrol to arrive, followed by the sheriff’s department. Reese had never taken his eyes off of the barn, so he was certain that if their quarry was there, they hadn’t left.
When their backup arrived, Holloway lowered the helicopter so that it hovered a few feet above the ground, the wind from the rotors stirring dust and grass. Reese, John, and Munoz jumped out of the copter while Holloway guided the craft into the air again and circled the barn, the searchlight illuminating the barn.
John, Reese, and Munoz joined the Border Patrol agents, the sheriff, and his deputies. The Border Patrol agents had two German shepherds trained to detect humans and drugs.
Reese was a long way from his own jurisdiction so as much as he wanted to take charge he had to let the sheriff be in control.
Sheriff Pike appeared to be a good man who was serious and determined to rescue Kelley and the girl. He broke the agents and deputies into teams to cover the back and front. Reese and John were with Agent Munoz and Deputy Carlyle and would enter from the front of the barn. Reese would take the lead on his team.
Bulletproof vests were distributed and strapped on and they came up with two extra for Reese and John.
The night was cool and quiet, the silence broken only by a pack of coyotes yipping in the distance. Stars sparkled overhead in a glittering swathe across the dark sky, and the moon was silvery and bright.
John and Reese moved to one side of the huge barn doors while Munoz and Carlyle took the other side. Like the other men, Reese held his weapon in a two-handed grip, ready for anything that might greet them from inside the barn.
Reese waited for the signal that everyone was in place. Reese shouted “Police!” as the doors were shoved open. At the same time, the team from the backside of the barn broke in, also with shouts of “Police!”
Nothing was inside the barn.
No truck, no men, no Kelley, no Belle. There was no sign that anyone had been here for years.
Reese felt like he’d been punched to the gut. Where were Kelley and Belle? The men worked their way through the barn, checking the hayloft as well as the stalls.
Nothing.
Reese dragged his hand down his face. He cursed beneath his breath and turned to John.
“I was so damned sure they were here.” Reese holstered his Glock. “Damn it,” he growled.
John rested his hand on Reese’s shoulder. “We’ll find them.”
Resisting shrugging off John’s hand, Reese took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “We’ll just keep looking.”
“You should get some rest.” John removed his hand from Reese’s shoulder and glanced at the time on his phone. “It’s closing in on two a.m.”
“I don’t have time.” Reese started out of the barn. “They could be heading across the border even as we speak.”
John nodded. “Then we’d better get to searching.”
Reese’s phone vibrated in its holster. He always kept it on vibrate when necessary, during times like this. He pulled the phone out of his pocket to see that he had a text message and went to his message screen. His heart squeezed when he saw that the phone number on the text was the one Kelley had called him from earlier.
He clicked on the message and read it.
They’re getting ready to move us. An hour ago Rocha saw a searchlight and it spooked him. Don’t know where we’re being taken.
Reese read through the message twice then handed his phone to John who scanned it.
When John looked up, he said, “They must have been in one of the other barns that we passed before coming to this one.”
“My thoughts exactly. We’ve got to get to them before they move out.” Reese turned and jogged to where Sheriff Pike was talking with a couple of his deputies.
Reese explained about the text. Pike nodded. “We’ll be ready when you locate the next target.”
After Reese caught up with Agent Munoz, John joined them and they hurried to the helicopter where Holloway had found a place to land in a grassy field. They ducked beneath the rotors and climbed into the craft.
As the helicopter rose, Reese prayed they would find the location where Kelley and Belle were and soon.
* * * * *
Rocha started the big truck and turned the headlights on, nearly blinding Kelley. Kelley had just shoved the phone into her front pocket and she prayed he hadn’t seen her. Rocha climbed ou
t of the truck, his newly shaved head gleaming in the headlights.
Taynor approached Rocha. “What now?”
“Get the bitch and the girl into the back.” Rocha gave a nod in the direction of the refrigerated truck. “We gotta get the fuck out of here before that helicopter comes back.”
Kelley glanced at the pick again. Could she get to it before Taynor got to her? No, she didn’t have enough time. She set her jaw as Taynor came toward her to take the bindings off of her wrists. When he saw that her wrists were already untied, he narrowed his gaze. With a furious expression, he swung his foot, and kicked her in the side with his boot.
She cried out, nearly doubling over as pain shot through her side and her chest. He’d kicked her so hard she briefly wondered if he’d cracked one of her ribs.
“I’ll teach you to get out of your fucking ropes.” He swung his foot back again but Kelley managed to roll out of his way.
“They fell off.” She scrambled away, her eyes watering and her body screaming from the pain. “I could have left, but I stayed.”
“Get the bitch into the truck like I told you,” Rocha shouted. “Now.”
Taynor walked over to Kelley, grabbed her by her hair and jerked her to her feet. Stars burst in her mind and she felt momentarily dizzy as it felt like fire seared her lacerated scalp. Warm blood trickled down the side of her face as the head wound reopened.
He pushed her away from him and she stumbled out of the glow of headlights, every ache in her body seeming to come alive. Her mind once again clouded from pain and she had to struggle to remain upright.
This sonofabitch was going to pay as soon as she had the opportunity. Rocha had woken when Kelley had been on the phone with Reese and she’d barely been able to put the phone away before he looked over at her. He’d kicked Taynor’s thigh, forcing him awake.
Later, when Rocha was ranting about the helicopter and needing to leave, she’d had the opportunity to text Reese. Hopefully the call and the text would be enough to save Belle and herself.
Made for You Page 15
