“Hello?”
“Ryan, it’s me. Listen, I don’t have much time. Mathis left during the night. He’s after Dylan. Don’t let him take him.”
“Okay, baby. Can you tell me where you are? Who is the other man who has you?”
“The guys who tried to take Dylan are here.” I hear Lester come in. It sounds like he’s talking to Travis, but I don’t want to risk it. “I’ve got to go. I love you.”
I don’t wait for him to reply before hanging up. I quickly hurry down the hall and into my room. It’s almost dark. Trevor will probably be back soon. I’m not sure if it would be best to try to leave tonight or in the morning. Tonight, the darkness would give me some protection from being seen, but it will be warmer in the morning.
I don’t want to wait. I’ll do it tonight after everyone is asleep. Trevor hasn’t locked me in since the second day. At least I think it was the second day. I’m not exactly sure how long it’s been, but Trevor has gone to work four times and was here all day once. So I’m guessing five, possibly six days. I’m not sure how long I was out.
It’s well past midnight when I finally get up the courage to try to leave. I tiptoe to the kitchen and find it empty. Trevor always hangs his coat by the back door so I grab it and his keys. If I can’t get to his car, I can at least stop him from leaving. Carefully, I open the door and close it softly behind me. I take a few seconds to let my eyes adjust to the darkness. I have to admit it really is pretty out here. It’s so far removed from the city that you can see every star in the sky. The natural light they provide is enough that I can see clearly for miles.
Carefully, I make my way around to the front of the house. There's no garage, so Trevor's car just sits in the driveway. It should be easy enough, but I'm not going to use the automatic buttons on the remote in case they make noises. The last thing I need is for one of them to come out here.
As I'm putting the key into the lock, I hear the gravel crunch. My heart sinks to my feet. There's nowhere for me to go. I know that, but I'm still going to try. I look behind me and see Travis and Trevor.
“What are you doing, love?” Trevor asks.
“Um, Trevor, I just really want to get some stuff from home. I'm uncomfortable not having my things. Can't I just run home?”
He smiles. “No, you can't just run home, it’s midnight, Shayla. Your home is here now; I'll buy you anything you need. You don't need that life anymore.”
He steps closer and I step back. My heart is pounding too quickly, but I don't let it stop me as I take off running from them. I'm so glad I started running with Ryan. My endurance is better than they expect. I turn to look as I run. They are a good thirty feet behind me, but Trevor is gaining on me. I scream. It's such a stupid response, but my fear and adrenaline are sky rocketing. I press on towards the trees.
The forest is about ten feet in front of me when I'm tackled to the ground. Trevor roughly turns me over on my back and pins me to the ground with my arms over my head and his legs pinning mine down. He's breathing just as hard as me. I expect him to be furious but he smiles at me.
“You know, chasing you is pretty exhilarating.” I struggle to get away from him, but he holds me tightly. “You're not getting away, Shayla. I told you, you're mine.”
“Let me go!” I yell. I shove and thrash around as much as I can, but he doesn't budge. His grip tightens painfully. “You're hurting me.”
He laughs. “Stop struggling.” I comply. He jumps up and pulls me with him, never letting go of my wrist. “Let's go.” He jerks me hard, but I don't budge. He turns to glare at me. “You're making me angry, Shayla.” He jerks me again, but I pull back away from him. His grip slips and I take off for the woods.
“Shayla!”
I can hear his heavy foot falls as he runs into the forest after me. I have no clue where I might be, but I can hear a stream to one side of me. I avoid the water, I can swim, but not well enough to get away if I had to, plus it’s freezing out here. I run as fast as I can to my left. Praying it's the direction the road may be in.
“Shayla!” He's closer. I try to pick up my speed, but trip and fall. My skirt is caught on something. “I will find you.” I tug but it won't come loose. I take it off. I have long johns on and it'll be easier to run without the big skirt in my way.
I run a little farther and stop, hiding behind a huge oak tree and listen. He hasn't taunted me in several minutes. Nothing. I hear nothing. Slowly, I move from my spot behind the tree to continue heading away from him. Only, I'm met with a white t-shirted chest as I step out into the open. How did I miss him? He grabs me roughly by the upper arms. I scream, kicking any part of him I can reach. His grip tightens on me as he growls menacingly in my ear.
“Stop fighting me or I'll let my cousin cut your son up in front of you.”
“Dylan,” I whisper as everything fades to black.
Chapter Fifteen
Ryan
There’s a sense of relief knowing that Dylan is with the Thorns. Maybe that’s not the way a parent should feel, but in a situation like this, it helps me focus on finding Shayla and not worrying about my son’s whereabouts.
I pour myself a cup of coffee and head over to our makeshift work station. “Talk to me,” I tell Riley as I sit across from him.
He scratches his head and scrunches up his face. A look I’ve seen him have a million times when he’s got something, but unsure about it. “Well, there’s not much in the way of extended family on the Mathis side, but his mother had a sister who had a few kids. I’m having some trouble finding one of their names. It’s a little odd, but it does happen sometimes. If they are born out of state or a different country, they might be logged in differently, or if they have a different father. I’ll find out though. I do know that the two kids are both girls, so they are less likely to be suspects. You heard a man’s voice.”
“Yeah, but that doesn't mean there’s not a woman involved. Is there any other family?”
“He’s got a second cousin, again on the mom’s side. Her name is brought up a few times as Mathis’ lawyer. I’m still checking on whether she had any children. It looks like her husband was also a lawyer, but passed away about fifteen years ago. I was able to go through his history, and as far as I can tell he never fathered any children and had no cases involving anyone in the Mathis family.”
“If she’s a second cousin, what happened to her parents?”
He clicks away for a few minutes. “The McAdams, that’s the mother’s maiden name, died in a car accident in Florida about thirty-eight years ago. They only had the one daughter, Rachel. It looks like she lived with the Mathis’ until she went off to college. There’s no other mention of her in any way until her name shows up as his lawyer.”
“I’m sure she was his lawyer during sentencing?” I ask.
“Yep, she was. It was both she and her partner, Clinton Reyes.”
“Who filed the paperwork to get Mathis released?” I’m not sure if there’s an actual connection, but it’s worth checking into.
“Um … Reyes, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t in on it. I’m sure she at least knew about it. They worked the case together.”
“See if you can pull up McAdams’ family records, maybe she had a kid before she got married. If she did, it’s probably our best lead for now.”
“On it,” he replies and all I hear is clicking. He makes some sort of grunt before glancing up at me. “It looks like someone deliberately hid her family. It’s an encrypted file. Probably the best job I’ve seen in a long time.”
“You can break it though, right?”
He snorts. “Of course I can.”
I can’t help the grin that spreads on my face. Riley is the best computer guy I know. He was hacking into FBI mainframes in his spare time at fifteen. That’s why he ended up going into the military. His family wanted to ‘set him straight’. It worked to a point, now he just does everything legally. Well, for the most part.
“Ryan,” Marsh says as he an
d Paul make their way into the room.
“Yeah?”
He motions for me to get up. “We have a lead. There’s a warehouse about an hour from here. A body of a woman was found with an origami fox.”
I’m on my feet, swinging my coat around my shoulders before he can even finish his sentence. I know it’s not Shay, but it could lead to her.
It takes us about forty minutes to make it to the warehouse. The scene is much like the last one, cops and medical personnel everywhere, a body lying on the concrete. She looks to have been dropped from the top of the warehouse. Her legs and arms are at unnatural angles. She does match Shayla’s description, blonde hair, about five-six, with blue eyes. We need to catch this guy before more innocent woman are murdered.
“Detective Jacobs?” A tiny pale woman more than a foot shorter than me with too large for her face glasses asks.
“Yes.”
She sticks out her hand to shake mine. “I’m Medical Examiner Tracy Lipz. I understand you’re investigating some similar cases?”
“Yes, we’ve found two other bodies in the surrounding areas.”
“Right, well you should know that this girl wasn’t killed here. She has trace evidence under her nails. It appears to be grass and some small pebbles. There’s also some possible tissue under her nails. Most likely from where she scratched her assailant. I’ll know more in a few hours. I’ve already sent it to my lab.” She shoves her glasses up onto her nose, then hands me a card. “Here’s my card. Can I get your number so I can call you with the results?”
“Yeah, of course.” I grab one of my own cards, making sure to write my personal number on there as well.
We examine the scene for a good hour, taking our own pictures and samples. We also take the origami fox with us to examine. The sheriff here is much more accommodating than the chief was, thankfully. We wrap up with the local detective working the case before getting back into the SUV to head to my house; we have a lot to go over.
I stare at the stupid fox in the crime scene bag for a long time. He’s toying with me, I know that. But this time, he’s slipped up. He left DNA evidence. This could be exactly what we need to put him behind bars for good. That is if I don’t kill him first. I’d much rather kill him. Carefully, without taking the fox out of the bag, I unfold the paper. I stare in disbelief as I unwrap it to reveal a photo of Shayla. She’s sleeping. Her face is bruised and bloody. I growl squeezing the bag tightly in my hand.
“Hey, hey, let go before you destroy the evidence. What is it?” Paul asks, taking the evidence bag from me.
“It’s her,” I bark at him.
Paul is quiet for a few minutes. “This is good. I mean, obviously it’s horrible she’s hurt, but she’s alive. There’s a newspaper. It has today’s date on it. The M.E. already told us that the woman was killed last night.”
“I knew Shayla was alive. He won’t kill her until I’m right there to watch.”
“Then we have time. Time is a good thing.”
“The longer she’s there, the more chance there is that he’ll go too far and kill her on accident.”
“He won’t do that,” Paul assures me and then sets the bag back down. “Personally, I feel this other person that’s working with him likely has something to do with Shayla.”
“What makes you say that?” I ask.
“It’s just a hunch.” He notices my scowl and continues, “He's never worked with anyone before, for his killings anyway.”
“I guess that's possible. We'll know once we figure out who the person is.”
We continue searching for about an hour when Howard, one of Linc’s men, yells, “I found it!”
I jump up from my chair and hurry across the room to where Howard has set up his station. “What’s the name?” I ask
“Does the name Trevor Daniels mean anything to you?” he asks.
I stand there in stunned silence for several long moments before turning and picking up the chair beside me and flinging it as hard as I can into the closest wall, barely missing Smith.
“That bastard is going to die!” I growl before marching out to my SUV.
I ignore the yells coming from my men as I start the truck and speed my way to the hospital. I barely have my vehicle in park before jumping out and running into the building. I head straight for the nurses station in the O.R., figuring that’s where he’ll be.
“Where’s Daniels?” I ask Julie.
She jumps as I startle her. She looks at me with wide shocked eyes before she points behind me. I turn to see him casually walking up the hallway without a care or worry. Well, that’s about to change.
“Daniels!” He looks up. His eyes grow big for a second before he schools his features to mild curiosity.
He smiles. “Detective, what a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?”
By the time he finishes talking, he’s about a foot from me. I take a short step forward and deck him, hitting him as hard as I can in the face. In fact, I swear I can hear the bones in his nose crunch as my fist makes contact. He stumbles back, landing on the ground.
“What the hell was that for?” Trevor spits blood onto the white floor.
“Where is she?” I yell. I reach down, grab him by the collar, and slam him into the wall. “Tell me where Shayla is right now. I know you have her. I know Mathis is your cousin!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he insists. I slam him hard into the wall again.
“Don’t lie to me. I have proof. I know you’re his cousin and I know you took her.”
He looks behind me and smiles. “You’re out of time,” he says sinisterly right before I’m jerked back from him by Marsh and Smith.
I fight against their hold with all that I have, but once Paul and Riley join in, there’s no way I can beat them. “Tell me where she is?” I demand.
“Doctor Daniels, are you okay?” I turn to see one of the hospital security guards.
Daniels adjusts his coat and picks up his fallen files. “I'm fine. Thank you. Detective Jacobs was just leaving.”
I roughly shake the guys off me. I've calmed down marginally, but I will find answers. I say nothing as I turn and walk away from my men, though they follow me immediately. We walk out to the front of the hospital. I turn to Paul.
“Follow him.” He nods.
“What's your plan, Ryan?” Marsh asks.
I stand there for a long moment, thinking. I don't know what my plan is. I just know that he has her and I will stop at nothing to get her back. He will be dead for this.
“To kill him,” I say blandly, walking away.
They run to catch up with me. “That's not a plan and you know it. We need to think this through and have a set idea of what is going to happen. You can't let your emotions take over. The safety of Shayla is more important than your bloodlust.” I turn towards Marsh, causing him to stop short to keep from running right into me.
“Fine. Here's your plan. You get your ass out of my sight and start looking for my girl. You do everything in your power to find her. You kill whoever gets in your way. You don't stop until she's back in my arms.”
“Ryan!” he yells as I take off running down the road. I have no idea where my car has ended up, but right now I just need to blow off steam.
I run the ten miles back to my house and by the time I'm there, I've calmed down enough to know I’ve been irrational. The house is pretty quiet as I enter it; each person seems to be in his or her own little world. Riley and Howard are typing away on their laptops, Marsh and Linc are talking quietly over the maps. Smith and Paul are missing, hopefully tailing Daniels.
I run my hands through my hair as I address the room. “I'm sorry. I acted completely unprofessional and irrational. I should have never approached Trevor, and I'm sure I've compromised this mission and put Shay in even more danger.” Saying the words aloud makes it so much more real. Tears well up in my eyes as I continue, “I can't seem to separate my personal feelings on this. Marsh, I need y
ou to take lead.”
“No one expects you to be infallible, Ryan. I'll take lead if that's what you really want, but don’t doubt your detective skills. You can lead this team to a successful rescue, of that I am certain.”
Linc clears his throat. “I've been where you are, Ryan. This isn't easy, but I think we have some good resources and two excellent IT guys over there. We can find her and bring her home safely.”
“I agree,” Riley pipes in. “I've been going through every bit of info I can find on Trevor and his family. His father was from an area up north, about two hours from here. Which fits in with the area we'd originally thought they might be hiding her. His great, great grandparents owned a huge area of land around the turn of last century. Each of the original children were deeded a piece of the land, which they in turn gave to their own children. So by the time Trevor's grandmother inherited her piece, there was roughly 300 acres left. It should be fairly easy to navigate that amount of space.”
“Is there a house or anything?” I ask.
“Not according to any records, but we could get Jon to do a flyover. If we can find a house, it sure would make this a heck of a lot easier. I'm sure Mathis has surveillance of some sort as well. I should be able to hack just about any system they have and if I can't, this guy can. His skills surpass mine by a long shot.” He thumbs behind himself to Howard.
“I don’t know about surpass, but I will do my best for you, sir.” Howard seems nervous as he pushes his glasses back up his nose.
I’m overwhelmed with the support of my team, but I really shouldn’t be. They are dedicated to a fault. “Thanks. Let’s get on this first thing in the morning. I don’t want her there any longer than necessary."
I leave the men to work and head over to the Thorns to see Dylan. I barely knock before the door opens. “You look awful, is everything … Oh God, please don’t tell me she’s gone?” Gail’s eyes begin to tear up. I reach out and clasp her arms, giving them a gentle squeeze.
Vengeance (Oak Grove Suspense Book 1) Page 22
