“Find her!” Sophie yelled against the sound of the blades as Reagan nodded to Nabi and leapt into the private helicopter of the Ali Rahman family and took off.
* * *
“Jud has Layne.”
Three simple words had the power to destroy Walker. “What?” Walker asked a white-faced Miles.
“He has my daughter,” he said though clenched teeth even as his hands shook.
“Where is he?” Walker was grabbing his gun and heading for the door. Cade and Cy pulled him back.
“We don’t know,” Cade said gently.
“I’m gathering all the information now,” Nash explained. “We need to move to security.”
Silently, Walker followed as the group left the house and walked to the nearby security complex on Desert Sun Farm. He turned his head as he heard a helicopter taking off.
“Reagan,” Cy said without looking back. “Gemma and Morgan haven’t had luck finding the car, so Reagan is our eye in the sky. She’ll find them.”
Miles’s phone rang, and he answered it before the first ring was complete. “Honey, are you okay?” Walker held his breath as he watched Miles go from pale white to flushed red. His hand fisted at his side as he listened. Everyone was quiet. And everyone’s heart broke at the sobbing they could hear over the phone.
“It’s okay, Morgan. You’re so brave. You did everything you could,” Miles said gently. “Have Gemma bring you to the security complex at Mo and Dani’s. Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?”
“Find our daughter,” Walker heard Morgan order before Miles hung up.
“What can we do?” Mo asked as he, Dani, Zain, and Mila rushed into the office. “We got the text Piper sent.”
“Dylan will arrive in two hours,” Pierce called out as he slid into the room. “I figured you all were here.”
Cole looked at his phone. “Ryan will be here in fifteen minutes. Jackson will be here with his partners, Talon Bainbridge and Lucas Sharpe, in two hours as well. They’re FBI hostage rescuers,” Cole told Walker.
“Abby will be here in an hour and a half,” Bridget reported, hurrying in and stopping by Ahmed’s side.
“Have everyone meet here,” Mo said as Nash sent out the text.
Two hours seemed like an eternity. How could Walker sit there for two hours waiting for backup? Didn’t they have enough backup already?
“We need a plan, you know that,” Miles said quietly, so no one else heard them. As they were all talking, Miles had moved to Walker’s side. Walker nodded, not trusting himself to answer. The pain of losing Layne was so strong he thought he’d throw up.
Sophie was the next one to run into the building. Nash put his arms around her, but she shrugged him off. “Something wasn’t right,” Sophie said, raising her voice to get their attention. “And I think I figured it out.”
“What?” Walker asked as he pushed forward to be able to talk to Sophie.
“I had given Layne two weapons that she’d hidden on her body. And Piper had given her a bulletproof jacket. We all know Layne can fight. But she didn’t. Not even when Jud hit Aunt Morgan,” Sophie said. Everyone looked to Miles and the pain was clear in his eyes.
“Instead, Layne told Aunt Morgan ‘tell my sister I’ll see her soon.’” Sophie stopped talking and looked expectantly at Walker.
“She let herself be taken on purpose.” Walker ran a hand over his hair.
“What? Why?” Pierce asked.
“To save my sister, Edie. Dammit!” Walker slammed his hand against the nearest wall.
“It was a smart move,” Nash said quietly but confidently. “You’re going to kill Jud. And when you do, you’d never be able to find your sister. Now she has Layne to protect her, and you can focus all your attention on Jud.”
It may be the truth, but Walker didn’t want to hear it. All he could think about was Jud had the two women he loved the most.
* * *
Layne counted. She counted in five-minute increments as they drove. So far they had driven forty minutes. The road had been bumpy at first, as if Jud had cut across a field. Then there had been some twists and turns and then she could finally tell they were on a highway of some kind. There were plenty of places to hide within thirty minutes of Keeneston. She could be headed in any direction. Either way, she knew with each minute that passed they were getting closer to Edie. She just needed to keep her wits about her until then. So she counted.
* * *
“I found her and have been following the car. I think we’re getting close to stopping,” Reagan’s voice crackled over the intercom and into the room. Everyone gasped as Walker and Miles looked at the map showing the GPS of the helicopter.
“Are they still moving?” Walker asked.
“Affirmative. They’re heading into Western Kentucky. They’re fifteen minutes from Elizabethtown and are getting off the interstate onto a small country road heading south.”
“What’s in Western Kentucky?” Walker wondered. He wasn’t familiar with the region.
“Caves,” Jace said from the back of the room. “The whole state sits on limestone, but we have massive underground systems in that area. Jud could be hiding Edie in one of them, which would make finding her almost impossible unless Reagan can find the entrance.”
“That has to be it,” Colton agreed. “We explored them all the time as teenagers.”
“I’d forgotten about that,” Cade said.
“Do you know where they could be going?” Walker asked as Jace shook his head.
“No, but if you can find a map of the cave systems to underlay with the street maps and Reagan’s GPS, I can probably narrow it down.”
“Then what?” Morgan asked as she clutched her husband’s hand.
“Then we divide and conquer,” Walker said coldly. He knew what he’d have to do. He would have to stay here and take on Jud. Not going after Edie and Layne would nearly kill him, but Jud had to be taken down. “I’ll stay here and take care of Jud while Miles and his brothers rescue my sister and Layne.”
“Here you go, Jace,” Nabi said as the group looked up at the large screen hanging on the wall.
“There’s an extensive cave system here,” he said, pointing to a section on the map. “It was used for mining and it’s private land. That’s all there really is in that direction. At least according to the maps.”
“They’re slowing down,” Reagan reported over the coms.
“Are you flying lights out?” Nabi asked her.
“Sure am. And I’m high up. They shouldn’t be able to hear me,” Reagan responded. “Okay, they’re pulling into what looks like an old driveway, but I don’t see a house of any kind. I do see plenty of cars about a mile up that dirt road.”
Nabi was already working the computers. In seconds, he had the deed and the map for the property pulled up. “It’s part of those mines you were talking about,” Nabi said to Jace. “But it’s hundreds of acres.”
“The entrance will be near where they’re parked. Who are the owners?” Jace asked.
“Dead. An estate owns the property, and the executor lives in California. They haven’t paid taxes on it in three years. It’s essentially abandoned,” Nabi responded.
Walker nodded to himself. “It makes sense.”
“What does?” Miles asked.
“Jud would have done a records search for abandoned property when looking for a place to keep Edie. I thought it would be closer, but it seemed like an easy drive. He would never bring Edie to me. It was never his intention, but he’d have to have someone with her, just in case he needed to show me he was going to kill her to get me to do whatever it is he wants. If he were in Keeneston, then you all would have found him too soon. This way he feels he’s safely out of reach. He’s been planning this the whole time. I thought he wouldn’t move Edie until tonight, but he probably moved her right after he sent that picture to Layne.”
“We have movement,” Reagan said and the room went still as they looked up at the map
. “Nabi, I’m going to video in with my phone.”
“Go ahead,” Nabi confirmed as he connected his phone to the large screen. Reagan’s call came in and the screen turned dark as Reagan pointed it toward the cars pulling to a stop.
Walker was used to looking at drone footage, so it was easy for him to read the images. The lights from the car showed a door built into a mound of earth. It would have been near impossible to see from the air without the cars parked there.
Walker watched as someone, probably Jud, got out of the passenger door and went around to the trunk. It was hard to see in the dark what was going on, but soon they all saw a timid and stumbling Layne being pulled into the headlights. There was a knock on the door, and Layne was shoved inside. Walker’s heart broke. He wanted to fight. He wanted to get there and save her, but he had to force himself to observe.
Jud and a passenger stood talking to someone at the door before the door was pulled open wide and six men hurried out to meet Jud and his cohort.
“What’s going on?” Morgan asked.
“They’re talking. I see nine men,” Reagan responded. The Keeneston group silently watched as Jud and his men talked and looked at a large piece of paper spread out on the hood of the car. Men moved from behind the door to outside, carrying bulletproof vests and weapons. Jud was preparing to make his move.
25
Layne whimpered as she was dragged from the trunk. She didn’t fight. Instead, she cowered. The men didn’t look at her twice as Jud shoved her through the hidden door in the hillside with her arms tied behind her back with a zip cord. The smell of earth, rock, and stagnant air hit her hard as another man grabbed her arm.
“Who do we have here? She’s a pretty one, too.”
“She’s Walker’s flavor of the month. He always did like the pretty ones. Dumb as rocks, but they knew their way around a bed,” Jud responded with a chuckle. “Gather the men. It’s time to go over the plan one more time, and then we’ll be set for life. Dumb bimbos on our arms as we sit on our own private island.”
“Hooyah!” the man holding Layne yelled, echoing down what looked to be a mining corridor. Lanterns lit the way as the man dragged her deeper into the caves. The walls were lined with old beams, and her feet hit mining cart rail tracks as they went farther down.
A man reading a book came into view, lit by lanterns on each side of the thick door he was leaning against. He looked at Layne and grinned. “Walker is going to be pissed. We have both the women in his life, and he’ll have to die knowing they’re at our mercy.”
“Screw mercy.” The man holding her laughed as he squeezed her arm tight. “Is your name Mercy?”
Layne shrunk back and turned to escape his grasp as he laughed. Her muscles bunched and her adrenaline rose as she suppressed all her instincts to fight. She needed to find Edie first.
“Come on.” Layne heard someone yell from the entrance of the mine. “Boss is ready for us.”
The door opened and Layne was shoved inside. “Sit tight and maybe I’ll show you some mercy of my own when we finish our operation.”
Layne stumbled inside, and the door was slammed shut. She looked around the dark room; only one lantern was inside it. There were shelves and a massive six-foot-tall steel safe in the room. Layne squinted, thinking she saw something in the shadows.
“Edie? Edie Greene?”
The shadows moved as a dirty woman stepped into the glow of the single lantern in the middle of the room. “It’s Edie Wecker. Who are you?”
“I’m Layne Davies. Your brother sent me.”
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, Reagan broke into the conversation Walker was having with Miles and Ahmed. “They’re on the move.”
Walker turned to the screen and watched the men break into two groups before getting into two SUVs—four in one and five in the other. A man came out of the tunnel, watched them leave, and went back inside, shutting the door leading to Layne and possibly Edie. The cars turned and headed down the dirt road toward the main road and Keeneston. They were coming for him, and he was more than ready.
“What do you want me to do?” Reagan asked.
“Is there a place you can land?” Cy asked his daughter.
“I’d have to land a couple miles away. I’d lose eyes on the door. If I land here, they’ll know it,” Reagan replied.
“Stay in position. We’ll report back in a minute with a team to help you,” Cy said before turning to Walker and Miles. “It’s your sister and um, girlfriend, and your daughter. You two have the final say. I suggest sending Marshall and me in to rescue them.”
Walker looked to Miles. They both knew it wasn’t going to be Walker. He had his own battle to handle.
* * *
“Walker? Walker sent you?” Edie gasped, her voice harsh after many days of silence. “Is my brother alive?” Edie stumbled forward and clutched Layne’s arm. Her hair was so dirty and tangled Layne couldn’t tell if her hair was really brown or if it was the dirt. Her face was streaked with dirt as well. Her clothes smelled, and her white shirt was stained with the clay color of the dirt floor. But from what Layne could see, there were no bruises or signs of beatings.
“Yes, he’s alive. He survived Jud’s attempt to murder him by jumping from the bridge of the boat and finding a life raft. He was afloat at sea for a week until a Greek shipping boat found him. He went to Shadows Landing where Gavin helped him.”
Edie began to sob as she collapsed to her knees, holding tight to Layne’s upper arm. “I knew he couldn’t be dead. I just knew it. But they forced me to bury him. Why didn’t Gavin or Tinsley or someone tell me?”
“They were trying to protect you. Walker was going to call you, but these men were in Shadows Landing. I’m from Keeneston, Kentucky. It’s fifty minutes from here. Gavin is my cousin, and he found me at a conference in Charleston. He knew Walker had to get out of town, so I brought him to Kentucky to recuperate from the gunshot wound to his leg.”
Edie looked up; the dirt on her face was streaked with tears now. “Is he okay?”
“He is. But now we need to get out of here.”
Edie shook her head. “I’ve tried. This room appears to be where they kept the gold, or gems, or whatever it was they were mining for. There’s a guard outside the door and I’m sure there are others. I haven’t left this room since I got here except to go to the bathroom in the next room over. It’s horrendous in there.”
“I’ll take care of that. But first, will you please reach down my shirt? Attached to my bra strap is a knife. I need you to get it and cut me free. They may be mercenaries, but they’ve completely underestimated me.” Layne grinned. “Don’t make the same mistake, okay?”
Edie nodded and stood up. She found the knife and opened it. “I could kill them for what they’ve put Walker and me through.”
Layne turned her back toward the light so Edie could see to cut the tie. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they pay.”
With a satisfying snap, the plastic zip cord broke and Layne was free. She turned and smiled at Edie as she took the knife from her. “Your brother is a SEAL. Your husband was a SEAL. I need you to be as tough as they are for me. Can you do that?”
Resolve and determination filled Edie’s face. “I can.”
“Does the guard open the door when you ask to go to the bathroom?”
Edie nodded. “Yes. Do you need me to do that?”
Layne shook her head. “No. I need you to scream, then bang on the door. Tell them I tripped in the dark and hit my head when I fell. Do exactly what he says, and I’ll handle the rest. Can you do that?”
Edie nodded. “Tell me when you’re ready.”
Layne looked around the room for the darkest point. She pushed up the sleeve of the jacket Piper had given her and sliced the soft skin of the underside of her forearm. She wiped the blood with her hand and smeared it onto her forehead by her hairline and then lay down with her head next to the stone wall. Layne held the knife in her hand behind he
r and took a deep breath. She wasn’t looking forward to what she had to do, but she’d be damned if that stopped her.
“Okay, Edie. Go.”
Edie screamed her head off and ran toward the door. She pounded against it with more strength than Layne thought she had. “Help! The girl hit her head, and she’s not waking up!”
The door was unlocked and it slowly opened as Edie began to cry. “Help her! Oh, God, there’s so much blood.”
The man had a gun pointed at Edie as he looked into the room. Edie pointed to where Layne was. “She tripped with her hands tied behind her. She couldn’t break her fall. She went head first into the wall.”
“Sit against the wall. There,” the guard ordered as Edie backed up to the far wall. “Sit down and put your hands on your head. And shut the hell up.”
Edie gulped down her cries and did as ordered. Layne waited until she felt the man kneel next to her. She heard him transfer his gun to his left hand as he used his right to feel for a pulse at her neck.
In a swift motion, Layne used her left hand to grab the gun and with her right she shoved the blade up through his ribs and into his heart. His eyes bugged, his mouth opened, and Layne twisted the blade. With a shove, she pushed him back as she ripped the gun from his hand. He fell on his back with the knife, buried to the hilt, sticking up from his chest.
At least this time Layne didn’t throw up. Adrenaline shoved her to her feet as Edie slowly stood and looked at the open door. “You did it.”
Layne leaned down and pulled the knife from the man’s chest. “One down. You doing okay?”
Edie took a deep breath. “I’ll do anything to get to my brother.”
“Good,” Layne answered, handing her the man’s gun. “Do you know how to use this?”
Forever Devoted Page 18
