by Becca Van
He lifted her up and placed her back in the middle of the bed and then stood up. “See you when we get back, sunshine.”
“Stay safe,” Nicole called out.
Chapter Eleven
Nicole rolled onto her side again. She couldn’t sleep, because she was worried about her men. She’d spent the day at the main house with May, Prue and Sara but had come back home to her own room for the night. Now she wished she’d thought to ask to spend the night in the guest room so she wouldn’t feel so alone. She’d only spent one night sleeping in between her men and she’d been content and felt like she was home when sandwiched in the middle of them. Now she felt cold since they weren’t here.
Finally deciding it was futile to continue trying to sleep, she pushed the covers aside and pulled her sweat pants beneath the large T-shirt she had pilfered from Rand’s dresser drawer. She liked sleeping in her men’s shirts and alternated from Ty’s to Brom’s and Rand’s shirts each night. Even though they were clean when she put them on, she imagined she could smell their scents on the soft cotton material and it gave her comfort and security. As if they were here with her and she was wrapped up in their safe and loving arms.
After the kiss she’d shared with each of her men before they left, she realized that they cared for her more than what they’d said. She loved them so much and wanted to spend the rest of her life with them and hoped they wanted the same. She suspected they did after kissing her good-bye with such emotion, but it would have been nice to hear each of them say the words she was longing to hear.
She walked into the kitchen, deciding a cup of green tea may help her settle, and put the kettle on. Just as she was reaching into the cupboard for a mug she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She spun around and her breath froze in her lungs.
Standing in the doorway was the ranch hand, Abe, who had been fired after hitting her and he was holding a gun, pointing it straight at her. She clutched the mug tightly and then lifted her arm, intending to throw it at the bastard.
“Don’t,” he snapped, “or I’ll put a bullet in your leg. Put the cup down.”
Nicole realized her hands were shaking when she placed the mug on the counter. Her legs were also trembling and felt like they wouldn’t hold her up much longer.
“We are going to go to your bedroom and you are going to put shoes on and pack a bag. Make sure you get everything, because you won’t be coming back.”
Nicole took a tentative step toward him and looked around for something to use as a weapon while she walked. But now that she was away from the kitchen, there was nothing. Not that a knife would have saved her anyway. A blade was no comparison to a bullet.
He stepped aside as he came closer and she rushed past him, afraid he would shoot her at any moment. Nicole stumbled a couple of times as she hurried down the hall on shaky legs, but when she got to the bedroom she grabbed the door and slung it toward the door jamb, hoping she would have time to lock it and keep him out.
But he was right on her heels and caught it before the lock could engage. She backed away as he came toward her, gun held high, pointing right at her head.
“Try something like that again and I’ll shoot you now. Get packing.”
Nicole pulled a bag from the closet and since it wasn’t hers hoped her men didn’t mind. She nearly laughed hysterically at that thought, but was able to contain it, barely. It didn’t matter about one measly bag, what mattered was her being able to escape the stupid ranch hand.
When her men found out he had taken her, she knew they would come after her, and him. As far as she was concerned Abe was a dead man walking but would she still be alive when they came?
She packed the few clothes she had, leaving the new ones she’d picked out with May in the top dresser drawer. Unless Abe went searching through everything he wouldn’t know she had left some things behind. Nicole wobbled into the bathroom and got her toothbrush and toothpaste but instead of picking up her hairbrush she left it sitting on the side of the vanity and took one of the spare new combs from the cupboard beneath.
Hopefully her men would be able to connect to her by holding it or a strand of her hair and come get her. She had never been gladder that the Bayhard men had told her about their empathetic abilities than right now. That gave her something to cling to, and that hope that they would find her would give her the courage she needed to do anything she could to survive.
When she was done, he shoved the gun into her lower back and pushed hard. “Let’s go. Don’t make any sound or I’ll put a bullet in you. No one will hear the gunshot because I have a silencer on the gun. One way or another, we’re leaving. It’s up to you whether you’ll be leaving with a bullet hole in you.”
Nicole stepped out the back door and glanced toward the main house. The lights were off and she knew that Sara and May would be safe if she did what she was told. She would wait until they were far away from the ranch before she tried to escape. The last thing she wanted was for May or Sara to get hurt because of her.
“Walk down the driveway and when you get to the end, turn left,” Abe said in a low voice close to her ear.
A shudder of revulsion swept over her, but she did what he said. By the time they reached the end of the drive, she was panting heavily and it had nothing to do with her late-night exercise. Nicole was scared out of her wits, but she was determined to get free. She had three men she loved to get back to and spend the rest of her life with and she wasn’t about to let some angry, demented fucker take that away from her.
She had no idea what Abe wanted with her and she really didn’t want to know, but she was going to fight him to the very end, and if it took her very last breath, then so be it.
At least she would have gone out in a blaze of glory.
* * * *
Brom and the rest of the Elite Dragoons had spent the afternoon walking through the town of Gillette, Wyoming, with their mental walls down. He was tired, hungry and pissed off. They had arrived in town a little over three hours ago and had headed straight out to search the town, but he hadn’t felt anything out of the ordinary. He just hoped this didn’t turn out to be a futile endeavor and they found where Yumi was hiding out. Whit and his brothers had headed for the sheriff’s office and then they, too, had begun to walk the streets of Gillette. Each of them were able to communicate, since they all had all-in-one tracking and communicating devices in their now pierced ears and they could also send mental pictures to each individual team member if they wished, but none of the others had contacted him so far. He wanted to grab some take-out, head back to the hotel and fill his growling belly, but until their team leaders said to finish up, he would continue walking.
Another hour passed before Whit’s voice sounded clearly in his ear. “Let’s all head back to our rooms. Grab some food on your way and meet in our room.”
Brom sighed with relief and turned back. It would take him about fifteen minutes to get back to the hotel, since he had been walking in a grid pattern in town, but he was sure looking forward to some food and then a hot shower.
When everyone was sitting on whatever they could find in Whit, Dalt, and Hay’s room they all began to eat. Whit told them the local sheriff hadn’t found anything on Yumi or his cohorts but he and his deputies would keep vigilant.
“Did any of you feel anything?” Whit asked around a mouthful of burger and then continued chewing.
Negative was the reply all around. Brom placed the last bite from his hamburger into his mouth and waded up the paper and hurled it toward the trash can in frustration. He got the paper in but it didn’t help to relieve any of his tension. Tomorrow would be more of the same and so could the day after, if they didn’t find something to look into soon. The worst part of going on missions was the scoping out and waiting. He was usually the most patient of his brothers, but for some reason he was feeling very anxious. Maybe it was because he wanted to be back at the ranch with Nicole. He and his brothers had only just really started their relationship wi
th her and until he knew how she felt about them, he was going to stay on pins. Although from the kiss they had shared before the team had left, she definitely felt more than lust toward them.
He now wished he had opened up and told her how he felt. That way he hopefully would have known for sure what she was feeling for them.
Hay drew every eye when he began to speak. “We’ll have all day tomorrow to reconnoiter with our shields down. I want to be out by 0700 hours. Cal, I want you, Fletch, and Law to drive out to the rural part of town. Drive through some residential neighborhoods with your shields down and you all should be able to pick up on anything if there is something to feel. The rest of us can start where we finished up today and work our way to the outskirts of town. Are there any questions?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“All right.” Whit stood and stretched his muscles. “Get as much sleep as you can and we’ll see you in the morning.”
Brom followed his brothers out and into their own room. Ty sat up on his bed and flicked through the TV channels. Rand was already taking a shower and when he was done, that’s what Brom would do. As he stared at the TV screen, he tried to relax, but for some reason he was full of nervous energy. If it would have made their mission shorter, he would have been out walking the town tonight, but they were all tired after a long drive and using their empathy skills as they searched for four hours straight. To be at his best tomorrow he was going to have to calm down and try to sleep, but he knew he was going to have trouble. He had a knot in his gut and it wouldn’t let go. Whether that was a prelude to finding their man or to danger, he didn’t know. But hopefully by tomorrow night they would all be on their way back home.
* * * *
Nicole had driven the asshole’s truck for nearly twenty minutes before he directed her to pull into the parking lot of the Sky Dancer Casino in Belcourt. She turned off the ignition and handed over the key. She was planning to make a run for it when he got out of the truck, but the bastard wasn’t as stupid as he looked. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her across the bench seat and out the passenger side door.
“Get your bag, bitch.”
Nicole moved on shaky legs to the bed of the truck and reached over for her bag. When she had the handles in her hand she froze as she felt the hard metal of the barrel of the gun push painfully into her back.
“Don’t even think about trying anything. If you draw attention to yourself I’ll shoot whoever comes to help you. Do you understand?”
Nicole nodded and shook with fear and cold. She didn’t doubt for one minute that Abe would shoot someone because of her. The eyes were the window to the soul, or so the saying went, but when she looked into Abe’s eyes all she saw was evil and insanity.
As she walked into the casino and headed for the elevator like Abe told her, she figured he must have hidden the gun in his jacket pocket, because no one was looking at them with suspicion or fear. He shoved her into the empty lift when the doors opened and punched the button for the first floor. Nicole knew that Abe would have to sleep sometime and when he did, she was leaving. He couldn’t keep his eyes on her 24/7 and for that she was thankful. The fear she had been fighting with began to lessen and hope that she would soon be free of the crazy bastard filled her chest. Maybe she would be back on the ranch before her men even knew she had been missing.
Abe gave her another shove after checking the hallway was clear and then he pushed her down to the end of it. He knocked on the door in front of him seven times, four knocks and then a pause, another two knocks and another pause, and then one knock.
The door opened and Nicole felt all the blood drain from her face. Standing in front of her was a tall muscular Asian man. Although she hadn’t seen him before, it brought back all the fear she had felt when being held captive in Chadron by the Japanese Underworld criminals. She went to step back, but she bumped into Abe. The Asian man grabbed her wrist with brutal force and pulled her into the room. Abe followed and closed the door behind him.
The brute practically threw her toward the small sofa and Nicole cried out as her knee connected with the wooden frame, but she clamped her mouth shut and sat down on the cushion. The door to a bedroom in the suite opened and an immaculately dressed Asian business man entered the living area.
“Mr. Stone, I see you were able to get the woman. Did you have any trouble?” the business man asked in accented English.
“No, Mr. Itou, no trouble at all. In fact the men were already gone.”
“Good,” Mr. Itou replied with a smarmy smile and turned toward the brute. “Sota, give Mr. Stone his payment.”
Sota bowed in deference to his boss and as he straightened, Nicole saw the gleam of metal as he raised a gun. A small pop was the only noise she heard before Abe Stone fell to the floor with a bullet between his eyes. Nicole watched with sick fascination as blood spread out into a pool around Abe’s head and she covered her mouth to stop herself from being ill. Her whole body was shaking and she was so cold she didn’t think she’d ever be warm again. She shoved to her feet, heading toward the gun Abe had been holding but had fallen to the floor when he died. She took no more than a step before her hair was snagged in a cruel hurtful grip and a massive arm wrapped around her chest, pinning her arms to her sides.
She cried out when her head was yanked back in an unnatural angle, causing pain to radiate up and down her spine. Just as she looked up and met Sota’s eyes he stabbed her neck with a needle and pushed the plunger. Nicole’s eyesight got blurry and unnatural warmth traveled through her blood stream. She tried to keep her eyes open, but her eyelids felt as if they were heavy weights.
The last thing she heard before the drug took her down was Japanese.
* * * *
Ty, his brothers, and the rest of the team were just about to leave Whit’s room when his cell phone rang. Whit held up his hand to stop them all and answered his phone.
“What’s up?”
As Whit listened to whoever was on the other end of his phone, his gaze swept the room and looked at Ty, Rand, and Brom then back to Ty, where his gaze stayed. The more Whit listened, the more anxious Ty became. His gut roiled with a sick nervousness he’d never experienced before and he wondered what was happening.
“Can you get us a police escort? If we put the pedal to the metal, we don’t want to have to deal with the local law stopping us along the way.” Whit listened again and gave a nod, then spoke again. “Good. Thanks, Coulter. Keep your women and kids safe.”
“Go and pack up. We’re heading home,” Whit commanded.
Ty wanted to ask but waited since he knew Whit hadn’t finished. He didn’t have to wait long.
“Nicole’s missing.”
Ty watched Whit’s lips move but he couldn’t hear anything. His ears were ringing and his knees nearly gave way with fear for his woman’s safety. He didn’t remember moving, but the next thing he knew, he had Whit’s shirt gripped in his fist. Brom and Rand stepped forward and held his arms down at his side with force.
He took a few deep breaths and tried to get his fear and rage under control and then with great effort met his team leader’s eyes again. “Sorry.”
“No problem,” Whit replied.
“Tell me,” Ty said in a hoarse voice.
“Nicole didn’t turn up for breakfast as expected and May began to get worried. She sent Sara over to get her but when no one answered, Sara tried the door and found it unlocked. She went inside and saw a mug out on the counter with a teabag lying beside it. After checking the bedroom and the closet, and she found that some of Nicole’s things are missing she went back home and called Coulter.
“Coulter has Stedman, Ward, and Bronsin Tiltman out looking for her. If she is projecting her emotions, Bronsin should be able to hone in on them and find her.”
“Was there any sign of a break in or a scuffle?” Rand asked.
“No.” Whit sighed. “But there were footprints leading to and from the house. The first set of prints belongs to a m
ale. The second set belonged to Nicole. She didn’t leave by choice, she was taken.”
“Fuck,” Brom roared. “We have to move and now.”
“Yes, we do.” Whit placed a restraining hand on Brom’s shoulder. “We are going to be speeding all the way home. Coulter has already contacted Tony Sullivan and he has contacted the highway patrol as well as the local authorities in each town en-route home. We shouldn’t be stopped.”
“Who would know that we weren’t there and where to find the ranch in the first place?” Thorpe Lathan asked.
Ty looked at Rand, Brom, and then back to Whit. Whit along with his brothers as well and Ty and his brothers all answered simultaneously. “Abe Stone.”
“Get moving,” Hay commanded. “We’ll meet at the trucks in five. Dalton, call Coulter and tell him about Abe.”
Ty and his brothers rushed out of the room and were at the truck three minutes later. They already had their engine running when the others came out of their rooms. Dalton headed toward their truck so Ty wound down his window.
“Coulter has Trace and Corbin looking for Abe. If he’s close, they’ll find him. If they call with anything, I’ll let you know.” Dalt tapped his stud earring and then got into his truck with Whit and Hay.
Ty peeled out of the parking lot and pushed his foot to the floor. He needed to get to Nicole.
Chapter Twelve
Trace answered his cell when Coulter called. He didn’t bother speaking but put it to his ear and listened. He glanced at Corbin, who was in the driver’s seat of the truck.
“Head to the Sky Dancer Casino in Belcourt. Abe Stone’s body was found in one of their rooms,” Trace informed Corbin. “Keep me posted, Coult.”
