Mountain Hideaway

by Christy Barritt

  How had they been discovered? Was it because of the computer transmission? Had she led the men here? Had she invited death into this place of safety?

  “Don’t do it, Tessa,” Zach said, his voice scratchy and low.

  “Nice to see you could join us,” the man said.

  Three other men appeared in the room, all with guns in their hands. There was no way she could handle all of them. The moment she pulled the trigger, someone else with a gun would shoot her and then Zach. It was a no-win situation.

  “How’d you find us?” she asked, her gaze flinging from Zach to the man holding the gun beside him.

  “Did you think we wouldn’t notice if someone got onto our server? We hired the best IT guys, just in case you tried to do something like that again. As soon as you logged in, we traced your location.”

  Her heart twisted with grief. This was her fault.

  And what about Trent? Was he in danger now, too?

  “What we can’t figure out is why you logged on. Certainly you’re smart enough to know we removed all of that information that was on there,” the man continued.

  She shrugged, trying to keep a cool head. “I have my reasons.”

  “Maybe you should start sharing.” The man cocked the gun and shoved it into Zach’s temple.

  “No!” she shouted, fear pulsing through her. “He’s done nothing wrong. I’m the one you want.”

  “Don’t listen to them, Tessa,” Zach said.

  “This is my battle, Zach. Not yours. Not Trent’s.” She said the words with resignation. But she knew they were true. She couldn’t live with herself if someone died because of her.

  “Smart thinking,” the man with the gun muttered. “Now put your weapon down.”

  Slowly, Tessa lowered it to the floor and then rose again with her hands in the air. “Let him go.”

  The man motioned to his thugs. Two of them grabbed Tessa and zip-tied her arms behind her with more than necessary roughness. She squirmed in discomfort.

  This was it, she realized. The moment when she couldn’t go back. The moment when she had to face her greatest fears.

  Her eyes connected with Zach’s and she saw the concern there. This wasn’t what Trent would have wanted. But she had no other choice. No one else was going to get killed because of her.

  The man in charge took the butt of his gun and slammed it into Zach’s head. Tessa sucked in a quick breath, alarm rushing through her. As Zach’s head slumped, she let out a moan.

  She started to lunge toward him, but the man beside her jerked her back.

  “Let’s go,” the man in charge said.

  Tessa took one last fleeting glance at Zach before the men dragged her out the door and into a waiting SUV.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Trent drove faster than he should have. But he had to get to Tessa before Leo’s men did. He’d tried calling Zach back, but there had been no answer. His blood pressure heightened to unhealthy levels as he imagined what might be happening.

  He swerved into the driveway and saw an eerily calm house ahead. As he jumped from the driver’s seat, he drew his gun. He crept around to the back of the house and saw the broken window.

  That was when his fears were confirmed. Something bad had happened here.

  He hurried to the back door, surveyed the area on the other side of the glass. It appeared to be clear. He quietly opened it and stepped inside.

  Silence greeted him.

  He had a feeling everyone was gone, but he still had to be careful.

  At least in the kitchen, there was no evidence of a struggle. As he stepped into the dining room, he didn’t see blood or broken furniture. But the twisted feeling remained in his gut.

  He searched each room as he traveled down the hall.

  That was when he spotted Zach.

  His friend lay on the floor, his arms tied, a chair behind him. Blood streamed from his forehead, his eye was swollen and he seemed to just be returning to consciousness.

  Trent rushed toward him and untied his arms.

  “They got her. I’m sorry,” his friend croaked.

  “We need to get you to a hospital.”

  “I’ll be okay. We have to find her. They’ll kill her, Trent.”

  Zach’s words ignited something in him. His feelings for Tessa had grown quickly. But that didn’t mean they were any less real. He couldn’t lose someone else he was beginning to care about.

  His thoughts flashed through his mind at an alarming rate. He was charged up and ready to find her. But where?

  “I’m going with you.” Zach pulled himself up with a wince.

  “I can’t ask you to do that.”

  “I’m not giving you a choice.”

  Trent accepted this with a quick nod. There was no time to argue. “Okay, let’s go, then.”

  Trent’s mind raced as he hurried to the van. Not the fastest vehicle, but it would have to work.

  They climbed in, and as he cranked the engine, he turned toward Zach. “Tell me what you know.”

  “There were six of them. They all had guns. And they were unapologetic.”

  “Any hints on where they went?” He pulled onto the road.

  “No idea.”

  Certainly they hadn’t taken Tessa back to the gallery. But where else would they have taken her?

  He thought back and remembered that address they’d found in the car they’d taken from the fake cops. Could they have taken her there? He didn’t know, but he didn’t have any other ideas at the moment.

  “Can you pull up Wilmington Heights, Virginia, on your phone?” he asked Zach.

  “I know where that is. Probably forty-five minutes from here. Why?”

  “It’s my best guess as to where they might have gone. We found an address in the car when those men impersonating police officers arrested us. How far do you think it is from the art gallery in DC?”

  “Maybe fifteen minutes?”

  The idea solidified in his mind. It was worth a shot.

  He prayed he was right.

  * * *

  Tessa couldn’t see where they were taking her. They’d thrown something over her head, a black bag of some sort. She was in the trunk, where she couldn’t even hear their conversation, except for occasional laughter. These men were enjoying their job a little too much.

  At first, she tried to pay attention to every bump, every turn. But after a while, she lost track. There were too many twists and turns, and she felt as if she’d been in the trunk for hours.

  She steadied her breathing. How long had it been? An hour? Less? More?

  She’d lost her sense of time.

  The moment she stopped paying attention to the things she had control over was the moment panic started creeping in. That was when she started imagining seeing Leo again and thinking about what he might do with her.

  He’d be angry. He’d had a long time to let his anger simmer, too. It had most likely only increased with time.

  Think, Tessa. Think. Remain in control.

  Where would they be taking her?

  They were too smart to go to Leo’s house, or any of his registered properties, for that matter.

  Finally, the car rolled to a stop. Another surge of panic started in her. Her heart raced as she prepared to face the unknown.

  She felt the trunk open as a whoosh of air rushed inside. Then strong hands grabbed her and jerked her from the vehicle. Despite the fact that her legs felt like gelatin, she managed to stand.

  Two men pulled her down a sidewalk. She couldn’t walk fast enough to keep up. Then she heard a door open and she was shoved inside a building. They led her across a slick floor.

  Pay attention, Tessa.

  She could smell motor oil. Maybe cinnamon. Someone was talking in the distance.

  The space was still cold, even though she was inside now.

  Based on the echo of footsteps, she imagined the space to be open, airy and uncluttered.

  Was she in a warehouse of some sort?
/>   Finally, someone shoved her into a chair. She flinched as her back hit the wood there.

  Then the bag over her head was snatched away.

  She blinked at the bright light. Squinted at the men surrounding her. Squinted when she saw...Leo.

  * * *

  Trent pulled into the town of Wilmington Springs. He remembered the address Tessa had read to him. 123 Arnold Drive.

  “Bad news,” Zach said. “There is no 123 Arnold Drive.”

  “They had to use an address to register the car with the DMV.”

  “You know people fake documents like that all the time, right?”

  Trent nodded, coming to a stop at a red light and resisting the urge to punch his steering wheel with frustration. “Yeah, I know.”

  “We’ve got to think. Maybe the address they chose has some kind of significance.”

  Trent racked his brain, trying to remember that conversation. “There was a name associated with it. Tom Tracy.”

  “I’ll look him up and see if I can find out anything.” Zach punched something into his phone. “What do you know? There is a Tom Tracy living in Wilmington Heights.”

  “Address?”

  “Looks like it’s 121 Arthur Avenue. It’s so similar that no one would probably think twice about it if he was pulled over.”

  “Clever. Now tell me how to get there.”

  They zipped down the road, the tension between Trent’s shoulders growing by the moment. He needed a plan for what he would do when he got there. Zach was too injured to help. Which left Trent pretty much on his own.

  He had confidence in his abilities, but he had to be smart. One man against at least six—probably more—was a bad idea.

  “Zach, I need you to call my friend with the FBI.”

  “You know they might arrest her, right?”

  “I know. But without backup she’ll be dead. I have hope that when they hear her story, they’ll understand. I know Leo has planted evidence against Tessa. But there’s a lot of proof here to convict Leo, too.”

  “Okay,” Zach said, raising his phone to make the call.

  Trent slowed as they pulled up to an aluminum-sided building in the distance. A chain-link fence, at least nine feet high, surrounded it, and there were no other structures around.

  This looked like the perfect place for Leo and his men to plan their nefarious operations.

  He pulled off the road and into the woods, hopefully where no one would spot them.

  “Zach, if anything happens, I need you to turn this over to the authorities.” Trent slid the jump drive into his friend’s hand. At least if he and Tessa didn’t make it out of this, Leo could still pay for his actions and they could save the lives of thousands of people by unveiling these terrorists and their plans.

  “Trent, you should wait until backup gets here.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t. Tessa could be in there. Waiting could mean losing her.”

  Zach stared at him a moment before letting out a breath. “Let’s go, then.”

  “You’re staying here. With this jump drive. You’re not in a position to help me right now. I think you have some broken ribs and maybe even a concussion. The best thing you can do for me is to be a lookout.”

  Zach winced as if pain rushed through him again. Finally, he nodded. “Okay. Be careful, man. I’ll be praying.”

  “Okay.”

  Trent stepped out, ready to save the woman he loved.

  * * *

  “Well, hello, my darling,” Leo crooned, a wickedly charming smile on his face.

  Tessa didn’t even try to hold back her sneer. She jerked against the zip ties that kept her in her chair, knowing it would do no good. His face was not a welcome one.

  He ran a finger down her jawline. “You left so abruptly all those months ago. I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye.”

  Leo looked as slick as ever. He had thick blond hair, perfect teeth and tanned skin that looked as fake as his smile. His clothes were expensive, and he had cultured motions.

  She pulled away from his touch. “That’s because I never wanted to see you again.”

  “Well, you don’t always get what you want, do you?” He dropped his hand back to his side.

  “Why’d you bring me here?”

  “Isn’t that obvious? To make you pay.”

  “Just kill me,” she seethed.

  “That would be too easy.”

  “You just want to revel in your supposed brilliance.”

  The smile disappeared from his face. He slid his fingers to the base of her neck and tightened them. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you? What did you do with all of the information you stole from me?”

  She tried to suck in a breath, but he squeezed out her ability to speak. She pushed back her panic, though. She wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. Not yet.

  “I don’t have it,” she croaked.

  “Then, where is it?”

  “It’s gone.”

  “Do I need to do something to jolt your memory?” He leaned closer, his glare deepening.

  How could she have ever thought he was handsome? He was conniving and selfish. “I couldn’t let you kill innocent people. Thousands of them. Millions, maybe. There were things at stake more important than my safety.”

  He let go of her and coolly walked away, letting out a detached laugh. “I have to admit, you still impress me. Just like you did when we were engaged.”

  “That was my first mistake.”

  His laugh increased. “And you’re still feisty. I feared you might lose some of your spirit. I always thought we were good together.”

  “You’re delusional.”

  “We could still be good together, you know. We could forget all of this. Go and live our happy-ever-after together. What do you think?”

  The thought turned her stomach. “I think you’re crazy.”

  “Have it your way, then. My way was much more enjoyable.” He paced in front of her and his gaze burned into her. “You did a better job hiding than I thought you would. I figured my men would find you the first week you were gone. There are so many means to track people nowadays after all.”

  “You were very clever, keeping tabs on my mom. I’m surprised she didn’t see through you. The one thing I still don’t understand is this—why? Why would you side with men who want to kill? Why would you go through all of this trouble?”

  “Do you know what kind of money is available when you smuggle blueprints for weapons of mass destruction, drones and chemical agents?”

  “But you’re already rich.”

  “One can never have too much money,” he said.

  “This has to be about more than that.” She simply couldn’t fathom someone going to these extremes to obtain more cash. Then again, money had never had a big appeal for her like it did for some.

  “Enough talking.” He abruptly snapped back into homicidal-maniac mode. “I’ve thought long and hard about this. Bernard is going to help you understand what a waste of time and resources your betrayal has been. Bernard.”

  A man stepped forward. He didn’t look as imposing as she might have thought. In fact, he appeared to be less than five feet tall. He was scrawny, with greasy hair and a receding hairline.

  Then he flashed his knife.

  Blood rushed through Tessa as she braced herself for whatever was about to come.

  TWENTY-TWO

  Trent managed to find an unlatched door. He stepped into a warehouse type of building that had been broken up into smaller spaces. The lights were dim and fluorescent, creating a subtle buzz.

  He held his gun close as he gently closed the door behind him. He didn’t see anyone, but he had to be careful.

  Somewhere in the distance he heard murmuring.

  What was this place used for? Was this where they ensured the artwork actually contained blueprints for top secret weapons? Was this place where all of the operations were based?

  He didn’t have time to ponder it now.<
br />
  Footsteps came closer.

  He pressed himself against the wall near the corner, his heart rate increasing with anticipation. Just as a man stepped toward the door, Trent brought the butt of his gun down on his head. With a moan, the man sank to the floor, out cold.

  He grabbed the man’s gun and slid it into the back of his waistband. One man down; how many more to go? He wished he knew.

  Cautiously he moved forward. If Zach had called his contact with the FBI, then there was a possibility they could be here as soon as ten or fifteen minutes. That was good, because time was of the essence here.

  He heard voices coming his way—at least two different people. He ducked into a room—a dark room with various boxes lined against the wall. And paintings. There were paintings in here.

  He peered through the crack in the door and saw Leo passing.

  “What are you going to do with her once we’re done?” the other man asked.

  “Dispose of her body,” Leo said. “I’m thinking the ocean. Make it look like a suicide. With any luck, her body will be sucked out to sea and no one will ever find it.”

  “What about that man who’s been traveling with her?”

  “We can take care of him. He’ll be tougher because of his connections with law enforcement. If he makes any accusations against us, we’ll deny it. It’s not as if he has any proof.”

  The men’s voices faded, but the fire inside Trent grew. He had to get to Tessa. Now.

  Once the hallway was silent again, he stepped out. He kept his steps light as he headed toward the opposite end of the building.

  The voices he’d heard in the distance became louder. He was getting closer.

  Finally, he paused outside a door.

  A scream sounded inside.

  Tessa.

  That was Tessa.

  He had to get to her.

  * * *

  When Tessa felt the knife prick the skin on her wrist and then saw the red blood appear, she couldn’t stop the scream from surging out from her throat. She could try to be tough all she wanted, but pain was pain.

  With a new faith in Christ, she wasn’t afraid of death. However, the process of dying seemed terrifying. Besides, when she thought of her family, she had a reason to live. When she thought about Trent, she knew she wanted more than anything to explore what a relationship with him might be like.