Zero Trace
Page 24
Zoey realized he’d had no hesitation because he’d meant what he said earlier—he was all in. And so was she.
“I love you, Gage Sanderson, even if you are a crazy commando.” She reached around and swatted his ass. “Now get to work. I’m hungry.”
He chuckled as everyone around him whistled.
“Hey, loverboy!”
Zoey tightened as she realized the winning orphan team was calling Gage “loverboy.” She snickered. He tightened the arm around her waist and playfully kissed her before looking up at the three-man team.
“We’ve got a deal for you,” the man said.
“Oh?”
“Put us on your team for this exercise. If we win, we’ll forego the vacation and you give us two weeks to prove we’re the team for you.” Ramon stood with his arms crossed and a cocky grin on his face. “We won’t disappoint.”
Zoey tightened. Doug, Ramon, and Pierce had come to The Arsenal as a group shortly after Vi’s mess ended. They’d spent over ten years in the service together and had quickly proven themselves a hell of a unit during their short stint with The Arsenal. A lot of the team leaders had contemplated putting one of them on a team, but the three men hadn’t wanted to be separated.
Gage’s jaw tightened. “Four men isn’t a good-sized unit. We’d need a fifth.”
“Fair enough. Your pick.”
They trusted his judgment. More importantly, they wanted him as their leader enough to declare their desire in front of everyone and risk rejection.
Zoey squeezed Gage’s hand.
“Let’s kick ass in the cornfield and go from there,” Gage suggested.
“Fair enough,” Ramon said.
“No fair! Triple Threat’s cheating,” someone called out.
“They’re thinking outside the box and being smart,” Jesse said. He looked over at Gage. “Your call. You couldn’t do better than the Triple Threat. Thought about taking Pierce for my team, but they’ve been together too long. Separating them seemed wrong.”
“They’re good. Some of the best I’ve worked with,” Gage admitted. He looked at the three men across the way. “Let’s do this. But when we win, we’re taking the leave. I’ve got a woman to romance.”
Everyone laughed. Heat rose in Zoey’s cheeks when he kissed her once again. Pleasure spiraled through her as she wished she hadn’t added the final phase where the locals got to take on The Arsenal. The event would last most of the day.
“Take ’em down quick,” Zoey ordered.
“Your wish is my command,” he replied with a grin.
Kamren, Momma Mason, Ellie, TJ, and DJ showed up as the teams huddled to decide who went through first. Zoey had done her part and could now kick back and enjoy watching her man kick ass with his new potential team.
“I should have thought of the Triple Threat. They’re perfect for Gage’s team,” she muttered.
“They’re the only ones who found me,” Kamren said.
“Only ’cause you gave yourself up,” Ellie said. “Shep got too close to DJ.”
The woman’s eyes cut to the filthy boy. “As much as I hate to miss seeing Dallas’s team doing their thing, I need to get DJ over to the farmhouse so we can clean him up.”
“Nonsense. Ellie and I can take the boys over there to get them cleaned up. Stay and watch the teams,” Momma Mason said. “You worked hard. Enjoy the rest.”
Zoey doubted Gage’s team would go in anytime soon. She had time, and she wanted a moment alone with Ellie to make sure she was okay after what all had happened yesterday. “I’ll go with you. Let me tell Gage where we’ll be.”
She headed to the huddle and wound her arms around Gage’s waist. Head against his back, she smiled at the three men who’d called her man loverboy. She hoped the nickname stuck, but she doubted Gage would let that happen. “I’m gonna go to the farmhouse with Ellie and Momma Mason. We’ve gotta scrub the boys down. Don’t start kicking ass until I’m back.”
Gage turned in her embrace and grinned. “I’ll try not to. Love you.”
“Love you more,” she declared. She turned and headed toward Momma Mason’s SUV where the boys were being buckled in. Ellie climbed into the back seat with the boys, which left Zoey riding shotgun, since Momma Mason was driving.
She buckled in and looked over her right shoulder at Ellie as the woman seat-belted into the seat behind her. “You okay?”
“Never better,” the woman admitted. “Thank you for yesterday. I’m sorry I was such a mess.”
“Please don’t apologize, Ellie. We all have bad days, but yesterday shouldn’t have ever happened. You’re so good at your job we let you down and didn’t see you were floundering,” Zoey said. “I doubt it’ll happen again.”
“I still can’t believe you got in their faces like that,” the woman whispered.
“Oh, child, you did good,” Momma Mason declared. “I heard all about you setting them straight. It’s about time someone did. I told Nolan weeks ago our sweet Ellie needed help.”
“Help?” Zoey asked.
“Jesse’s hiring an assistant for me,” the woman said. “She’ll answer phones and file so I can do my work without interruption. And I got a raise. A huge one. He…”
Jesse and Ellie talked. Zoey had a thousand questions, but they’d have to wait. The boys were chatting wildly between themselves about the cornfield maze. The vehicle trudged through Marville. Kamren’s farmhouse was on a small farm-to-market road on the other side of the small town.
Small towns in Texas weren’t all that small when you added in the massive amount of farm and ranch land owned by some of the residents. Marville didn’t have many in-town residents; a passel of farmers and ranchers declared it their home for lack of any other options.
“That’s weird,” Ellie muttered from the back seat.
“What’s weird?” Zoey asked, raising her voice to get above the excited chatter of two boys who’d just kicked commando butt.
“The cell towers must be down. I don’t have a signal.”
“Cells don’t work at this turn,” Ellie commented.
Before Zoey could respond, Momma Mason gasped. A huge truck plowed into the SUV from the driver’s side and shoved them into the bar ditch. Adrenaline surged within her veins as the grind of metal filled her ears.
The vehicle spun over and over and over.
Metal crunched with each hard impact. The ear-piercing sound echoed around her.
Airbags. The side impact hadn’t deployed them, but Momma Mason’s side of the vehicle was…blood. The woman was unconscious and pinned beneath the broken metal. The truck had…
No time.
This wasn’t an accident. Voices rose outside the vehicle.
“Get that fat-assed, rainbow bitch up here.”
Terror stole the air from her lungs. Zoey lunged for the glove compartment. All commando vehicles had weapons.
This isn’t a commando car.
The realization thundered through her as a new burst of adrenaline filled her. There was nothing of use in the compartment. Think. Think. Think.
“I’m going to unbuckle you, TJ. I want you to crawl over to me,” Ellie said. “Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”
As her friend checked on the shell-shocked boys in the back seat, Zoey focused on the fact that someone had shoved them off the side of the road. The SUV had rolled over and was upside-down in a deeper-than-normal gulley. An old creek bed. This wasn’t an accident. The repetitive thought from before sent her into action.
“Ellie, I need you and TJ to listen to me. You three get out of the SUV and hide in the ditch. Now.” When they didn’t move, she turned. “Now.”
“We need to get Momma Mason out first,” Ellie argued.
“She’s pinned and unconscious. There’s nothing we can do for her if we’re dead. Those assholes who hit us didn’t do it by mistake. You need to hide and do it now. There’ll be time to save Momma Mason and get help later.”
Assuming we’re alive.
Plan.
She needed one, and fast.
“Fuck, that rolled farther than I expected.”
“You idiot. I wanted her alive not dead.”
That voice. Son of a bitch. That was Edward Cherling.
“Cherling. Sara’s dad,” she said. “He’s here for her.”
“Wasn’t he in jail?”
“He must’ve made bail.” Pain shot along Zoey’s back when she reached into the back seat and took the whirlybird toy drone Jacob had given DJ. The boy watched her as she stuck the toy into her cleavage. The boy’s watchful, quiet gaze denoted his terror.
Most little boys would be crying, but not TJ and DJ. They’d learned the value of silence when in danger. The older boy watched, too.
“Go. Hide. Now!”
The back door opened, and Ellie slid out. DJ and TJ followed. Zoey hoped to hell the three weren’t injured from the vehicle’s impact. Most of it was…
Momma Mason.
She’d taken the brunt of the impact on her side.
The woman’s head was bleeding. Gnarled metal was crunched in too near her left hip and leg. Zoey checked for a vital sign, but the passenger’s side door was opened and she was savagely ripped from the vehicle.
She kicked, punched, and screamed. The more noise and fight she put up, the more attention she’d draw. Keep focus away from the kids, it was her sole objective at the moment.
Tears tumbled down her cheeks.
Pain shot along her jaw.
“Shut up, bitch!” Cherling grabbed her hair. “Where’s my daughter?”
“Go to hell.” She spat in his face.
He punched her. Her head slapped backward onto the hard ground. Dizziness assailed her as she blinked and looked around. Two men were with Cherling. One had his gaze to the road, likely making sure they weren’t being seen. The other was peering into the destroyed SUV.
Weapons.
They had guns.
“You’re supposed to be in jail.” She spat blood as she glared up at Cherling.
“I made bail. Barely. You’re the one who took the money, aren’t you? Ian said you’re real sharp with a computer.” Cherling hauled her forward by her hair. Sharp, stabbing sensations radiated from the tight grip in her hair. “You’re coming with me. You’re gonna talk, one way or another.”
“What about her?” the man asked as he pointed in at Momma Mason.
“Kill her. Leave her. I don’t give a shit.”
“Mike said there were five. Three bitches and two kids. We’re missing some,” the man said. “We’ve got witnesses.”
“I don’t give a shit. I want them to know I’ve got this stupid, worthless cow. I’ll trade her for my daughter. Get in the truck. We’re leaving,” the man growled.
Zoey prayed the boys and Ellie would get Momma Mason help. Tears sprang to her eyes. The whirlybird could track her. Would DJ remember? No matter. Kamren would notice the kid didn’t have it. Jacob had given the toy drone to the youngest Mason. It was GPS enabled.
Gage would find her.
All she had to do was be smart. She was loads of that.
All she had to do was be brave. She wasn’t so much that, but she’d fake it.
They’d find her.
Something was wrong. Gage chewed on the thought a couple seconds more, then glanced down at his phone.
“Problem?” Doug asked.
“She’s not answering,” Gage answered. “She always answers.”
“Reception isn’t great in my area of town,” Kamren said as she walked up. “You want me to go check on them?”
They hadn’t been gone long, but Gage couldn’t shake the feeling. Jesus. He was gonna be one of those protective bastards, no matter what he did. Little Bit would kick his ass if he sent Kamren to check on her.
He was half tempted to go himself, but he knew he was being a paranoid bastard.
An alarm sounded from where Vi and Mary were set up. Gage’s gaze darted that direction, but he was already in motion.
“What the hell?” Vi’s startled gaze pitched his brain into high gear. “What location is this?”
“Near the turnoff to Kamren’s,” Mary said. “Two teams to Kamren’s. Now. Quarter-click from the farm-to-market road. TJ’s at the drone station nearest Kamren’s farm waving us down.”
Smart kid.
Gage watched as Vi undocked one of the drones from the perch. The kid nodded and tore off in an all-out run. Jesus. Zoey watched as the drone followed the boy, his little arms moved like his dad taught him. The kid loved running with the teams, learning from his dad.
“He’s headed back down the road to the cut-off. We couldn’t get a tower there because the reception was too bad,” Kamren said. “I’m going with you, Dallas.”
The two tore off with Dallas’s team in tow. Jesse’s was already sprinting to a vehicle. Gage glanced at the three men he’d partnered with. They all hauled ass into a truck.
They’d all put on coms to start the next round of games. He clicked his on as Pierce tore off after Dallas and Jesse’s crew. Other trucks were pulling out behind theirs.
Gage grabbed the standard-issue headgear from under the seat so he could see through the drone’s visual. The display showed TJ sprinting. The kid was hobbling but showing no signs of stopping. So damn strong.
And terrified.
“Fuck,” Dallas clipped as his black double-cab truck appeared in the drone’s field of vision. Dallas vaulted from the driver’s seat and had barely crouched before he took the full impact of TJ’s weight.
“They took her. Bad men took Z. I wanted to fight, but Ellie made me hide like Z ordered. Grandma’s hurt.”
Someone took Zoey. Gage let the fact settle in his brain. It was as though the center of his universe had collapsed within itself as he processed what could be happening to her.
Fuck.
He rubbed at his chest, which ached as though he’d taken a bullet center mass without a vest. If anything happened to her…
No.
Emotions had no place in war. Whoever had taken Zoey was about to experience Gage’s nuclear wage because no one hurt someone he loved. He’d do anything necessary to get her back. He locked away the desperation, the fear, and every other emotion except one: rage.
Hang on, Little Bit. I’m gonna find you.
“Come on, Little Man. Show us where.” Dallas picked his son up and got back into the vehicle.
“Find out what kind of vehicle. What color,” Mary ordered.
The man repeated the question, and the muffled answer came through the com. Dallas repeated, “Dark blue truck, big enough to slam Mom’s SUV.”
“We don’t have any dark blue trucks on the footage being relayed from drone towers, so it didn’t go back through Marville.”
Fuck.
“Which means it’s heading south. That area’s not covered yet,” Jesse said.
“There’s another farm-to-market loop road off the main road that curves southeast. It spills onto the road to San Antonio,” Dallas said.
Gage listened as the women coordinated teams into positions. They arrived shortly after the other two vehicles. Jesse and his team were at the overturned vehicle. Gage vaulted down the ditch and entered the fray.
A blood-covered Ellie popped her head out of the vehicle. Her widened gaze landed on Jesse. “I was afraid to move her. She’s pinned. I couldn’t get her out. I think I stopped the bleeding, but I don’t know for sure.”
“Come on out, Peanut,” Jesse whispered. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” she sniffled. “I tried to help her. I’m sorry I couldn’t get her out. She’s unconscious again, but she’s woken up a couple times.”
Kamren came running over with DJ wrapped around her monkey style. The little boy was crying, as was his big brother now that the adrenaline had dumped. Dallas clutch
ed TJ.
Jesse separated from Ellie and headed into the vehicle to assess injuries. Gage’s gut tightened.
“It’s Mom. Get emergency dispatch here. We’ll need to cut her out. Impact was near the driver’s side, front-tire wheel base.” Jesse’s voice was raised, but focused. “Tourniquet applied to bleeding leg wound. Severe hip trauma. Concussion. Likely broken leg.”
Fuck.
“Tell us about Zoey,” Gage ordered.
“Cherling,” Ellie said. “Him and two men.”
“Reports are coming in. Locals four miles down from your current location report a helicopter taking off,” Vi said.
Gage ran his hand through his hair. “How is he out?”
“Judge set bail. He wasn’t deemed a flight risk,” Mary said. “We should have been notified.”
“Tell me there’s a way to track her,” Gage ordered.
“If you would’ve let me lo-jack everyone there’d be a way,” Bree added into the com.
“Fuck!”
“This isn’t an I-told-you-so-moment,” Jesse quipped. “What’s the fuel range of the chopper? Let’s get teams en route to all possible airports within that radius. Speaking of choppers, where is Life Flight?”
“ETA is five minutes,” Mary said.
“Whirlie! I want my whirlie!” DJ’s shouted wail startled Gage since he couldn’t remember ever hearing the young boy throw a tantrum.
“Hey, bud. I’ll look for it as soon we have Grandma helped, okay?” Dallas looked back at the crumpled car. Worry ravaged his face.
“Z took it!” DJ shouted, his voice hiked. Tears spilled down his face.
“Z took your whirlie bird? The one Jacob gave you?” Kamren asked as she touched the boy’s face. Dallas rubbed his back.
The boy nodded.
“Calling Jacob,” Cord said.
“I’m missing something,” Gage said.
“Jacob and some of his MIT buddies made a batch of children’s drones with GPS. He gave one to DJ,” Dallas said.
Gage had seen the kid carrying the thing around, but he hadn’t realized it had GPS.