by Rita Herron
Lucas and Harrison exchanged looks as the news anchor recited phone numbers for the Bureau and the sheriff’s office.
Lucas moved quickly to extricate Charlotte from Ingram, who’d shown up at the interview like a vulture stalking his prey. The minute they’d arrived, he’d accosted her with a dozen questions about her condition and the health of the three girls they’d rescued. Lucas had threatened him with an harassment charge and steered Charlotte to Ingram’s competitor.
“Just tell us—”
“That’s enough.” Lucas shoved Ingram away with a feral look. “Leave her alone.” He quickly ushered Charlotte into the hall away from the creep.
“You did great, Charlotte,” Lucas said, the pride in his voice sincere.
“I just hope it works and someone calls in. Evie was strong when she was with the other girls, but on her own, she may crumble.”
Lucas escorted her to the elevator, then out the front door. They’d already set up a plan. He would leave her on the sidewalk to retrieve the SUV, but Harrison was watching. They’d also attached a wire inside Charlotte’s shirt just in case something went wrong and someone from Shetland tried to grab her.
“Stay on the curb,” Lucas said, close to her ear. “I’ll get the car.”
Car horns blared from the morning traffic, pedestrians’ chatter and footsteps adding to the noise.
Charlotte worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “I’m not about to try to cross the street yet.”
Her comment reminded him of her limitations and the challenges she faced.
He didn’t care. He would be there to help her if she let him.
* * *
CHARLOTTE CLENCHED HER hands by her side, silently reassuring herself that she was safe. Lucas and Harrison were professionals. If something went wrong, she was wearing a wire so they could trace her.
She took a deep breath for courage. She just hoped her TV plea did some good. Hopefully someone in Tumbleweed would see sweet Evie’s picture and come forward with information to help them.
If not, and someone from the group targeted her again, she’d try to get them to talk and reveal where they’d taken Evie.
She’d do anything to save that girl.
Wind whooshed as cars raced by. Brakes squealed. Someone shouted behind her. A horn honked. Birds twittered from the tops of the trees close by. A semitruck roared past. Loud music blared from another car.
The town was alive and bustling with noise and people. Someone brushed her side as they passed. She stumbled and clawed for balance.
Tires screeched again. Another horn. Then another push. This time someone touched her back. Not gently either—they gave her a shove.
The sound of car breaks squealing rent the air. Then hard fingers closed around her arm and she pitched forward. Another shove and she tried to scream.
A hand covered her mouth and a pungent odor clogged her nose. Her eyes burned and she gagged, choking for air.
Then the world tilted and spun, and she fell into the darkness.
* * *
PANIC SHOT THROUGH Lucas as he rounded the corner with the SUV and spotted a man in black drag Charlotte into the back of a van.
Harrison darted from the overhang of the building at a dead run and tried to stop what was happening. But the men were too quick, and the van sped off.
They had discussed this scenario, but talking about it hadn’t prepared him for the visceral fear that engulfed him at seeing Charlotte in the hands of these monsters.
What if they killed her before he could save her?
He braked and slowed just enough for Harrison to jump in the passenger side. His jaw was tight, his eyes focused on the van as it swerved through traffic.
Lucas sped up, weaving between cars to follow. He’d outfitted the SUV with a siren and he flipped it on.
He could not lose Charlotte.
“They’re taking a right up there,” Harrison said.
“Got it.” Lucas slammed on his horn and maneuvered around a fender bender clogging traffic. By the time he made it to the turn, the van had disappeared.
He pressed the accelerator to the floor, determined not to lose the van as it roared down a side road and sped into the wilderness.
Just as he rounded a corner, a white van pulled out. He swerved to avoid hitting it. A gunshot blasted the side of his SUV, and he cursed and spun the SUV around.
Harrison ducked to avoid being hit and the passenger window exploded, glass spraying. His brother pulled his gun, leaned out the window and fired at the van.
The van backed up, then a shooter fired back as the van roared straight toward them. Lucas jerked the SUV to the right but the van slammed into his side and sent him into a spin.
Cursing, he tried to regain control, but the SUV rammed into a boulder, the front crunching as the vehicle screeched to a stop. He and Harrison acted on instinct, threw their car doors open and jumped out, taking cover behind the doors.
He fired at the van and Harrison did the same. He hit the windshield and Harrison aimed for the tires, but a spray of bullets forced them to take cover again. Then the van’s engine roared, the driver backed up and spun in the opposite direction.
Lucas darted from behind the door and fired at the tires, desperate to stop them from escaping, but dust and gravel spewed behind the van and it raced away.
He and Harrison chased after it, repeatedly firing, but a cloud of dust swirled in a blinding fog as it disappeared.
“Dammit,” Lucas said. “That was a setup.”
“They figured we’d be watching her,” Harrison agreed.
Panic ripped at Lucas. “We can’t lose her, Harrison.”
Harrison wiped dust and sweat from his forehead. “We won’t. She’s wired.”
Lucas nodded, although these guys were professionals. If they’d expected her interview was a setup, they might also anticipate a wire.
He punched Keenan’s number. If they found that wire and destroyed it, they’d lose contact with Charlotte.
Then they might never find her.
* * *
CHARLOTTE STIRRED, her head throbbing. She blinked, trying to orient herself, but the darkness consumed her.
They were moving. Traffic noises outside echoed loudly. A horn honking. She was thrown sideways and pain ricocheted through her shoulders as she hit the wall of the vehicle. A van.
Was this the same one the men had used to carry Evie in?
Tears of panic and terror burned her eyes. Where was poor little Evie? Had they already sold her and forced her to have sex with the sick man who’d purchased her?
The van careened to the right and she clawed at the floor to keep from sliding, but lost her grip and slammed against the other side.
Fighting panic, she tried to make a mental plan. They hadn’t bound her hands or feet, so when they finally stopped she could try to escape.
But...how could she run when she couldn’t see where she was headed?
Frustration mingled with fear, but she choked it back. Lucas and Harrison were watching. They had probably followed the van.
When her abductors stopped, they would storm the men and force them to tell them where Evie was being held.
Grasping on to hope, she blinked back tears. The Hawk brothers would save her. Then they’d rescue Evie and bring her back home, and she and the other girls would be reunited.
Tries squealed and the van suddenly lurched to a stop. She hit the side of the interior again, and gritted her teeth to keep from screaming as the back door of the van screeched open.
A faint stream of light filtered through the darkness, and pain splintered Charlotte’s temple. She rubbed her forehead, but the light flickered then faded just as a hard, cold hand jerked her arm.
“What are we going to do with her?”
“Check her for
a wire,” a second man ordered.
Charlotte bit back a cry as they dragged her from the back. One of them ripped at her shirt. She tried to fight, but he shoved her up against something rough—a tree, she realized.
Then he tore the wire from inside her shirt and pressed the tip of his gun to her head.
* * *
LUCAS HAD NEVER been so terrified in his life. They’d lost Charlotte.
“They just stopped,” Keenan told him over the phone. “The signal is there, but they’re no longer moving.”
“Send me the coordinates.”
“On the way.”
A second later, he received the text and turned to Harrison. While he’d called Keenan, Harrison had worked on the SUV to make sure it was drivable.
“It’s a little rough,” Harrison said, noting the broken window and dents in the front.
“Doesn’t matter. We don’t have time to wait on another vehicle. Keenan says they’ve stopped.” Which could mean anything.
They were transferring vehicles. Leaving Charlotte at a specified location.
Or...
No...he couldn’t let his mind go there.
“I’m checking out a couple of leads that came in on that tip line,” Keenan said. “Maybe Charlotte’s interview did some good and prompted someone to come forward.”
He hoped so, but more often than not, going public triggered countless crank calls, false leads, even false confessions from attention seekers.
He tossed Harrison the keys. “You drive. Keenan is checking out a couple of leads.”
Harrison caught the keys in one hand then slid into the driver’s seat. Lucas jumped in the passenger side and buckled up as Harrison sped onto the road.
He gave Harrison directions, and they raced down a side road that seemed to lead nowhere. Rough terrain, then more ranches and farmland spread before them. The mountains stood in the far distance.
It seemed like forever but finally Harrison veered onto a dirt road that disappeared into a wooded section.
Lucas’s pulse raced. This remote location wasn’t a good sign.
He scanned the area as Harrison came to an abrupt stop. “This is it.”
His brother’s concerned expression mirrored the fear clawing at Lucas.
Lucas scoped out the area in search of a house or cabin, but there were no buildings in sight.
He and Harrison opened their doors with caution, prepared for another ambush. The trees rustled in the wind as leaves rained down.
His gun at the ready, Lucas glanced into the woods in search of a shooter, but everything seemed quiet.
“There are tire marks,” Harrison said, pointing to the ground. “They stopped here, then it looks like they turned around and left again.”
“But this is where Keenan traced the wire.”
A dark foreboding swept over Lucas.
Either the kidnappers had stopped here and stripped off the wire or...they’d killed Charlotte and dumped her body in the woods.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“We have to make sure she’s not here,” Lucas said, his throat thick with fear.
Harrison nodded grimly, then they both began to comb the area. Weeds and trees so thick and close together they almost touched made it difficult to see, but in the next hour they searched every inch of space within a mile radius.
Sweat dampened Lucas’s forehead, and he swiped at it with his sleeve, relieved that he hadn’t found Charlotte’s body. If she was still alive, they had a chance to save her.
He had to save her. She meant more to him than any woman ever had or ever would.
His phone buzzed on his hip. He quickly checked it and connected. “Keenan, they found Charlotte’s wire and dumped it here, but we haven’t found her. Please tell me you have something.”
“I’m not sure but it’s an address you should check out. It came in on an anonymous tip.”
“What is it?”
“A ranch about thirty miles from where you are now.”
“Do you know who sent you the tip?”
“No, but I’m trying to trace the IP address. I’ll keep you posted. I’m sending you the coordinates now.”
They ended the call, then Lucas motioned to Harrison to get back in the car. By the time his brother had started the SUV, the directions came through. He relayed the information to Harrison, and a frown marred his face.
“I know where that is,” Harrison said as he reached for his phone. “It’s another property that Stanley took over when Wilson Channing died.”
“That might mean that Stanley is involved.”
Harrison nodded, then tossed Lucas his phone. “Call the deputy and tell him I said to pick up Stanley. If he knows something, he’s going to tell us this time.”
Lucas made the call while Harrison sped onto what appeared to be a deserted road. Scrub brush and cacti dotted the landscape, with an occasional abandoned or run-down house along the way.
Lucas’s heart hammered as they finally neared the ranch. Harrison slowed, and they assessed the property from a distance.
Lucas used binoculars to get a better look. “I see a Mercedes and a BMW and a dark van.”
“Someone’s there then,” Harrison said. “Do you see any of the kidnappers?”
Lucas sucked in a sharp breath. “Actually, one just got out of the van. God...he has Charlotte.”
Harrison pulled the SUV into the woods between a clump of trees. “She look okay?”
“She’s alive,” he said when she beat at the man’s back with her fists.
He removed his weapon from his holster, retrieved extra ammunition from the glove compartment and reloaded his gun. “Let’s go get her.”
Harrison checked his own weapon, and they eased from the SUV. They crept through the edge of the woods, senses alert in case the men had surveillance cameras on the premises or someone stationed as a guard.
They inched their way up to the big two-story farmhouse. Three guest cabins were situated on the property. The bastards could be using the cabins as a brothel.
Disgust turned his stomach. Harrison motioned that he would cause a distraction to draw out one or more of the men. They had no idea how many were inside, so Lucas nodded agreement and gestured that he’d go around back and look inside.
Harrison picked up a rock from the ground and threw it toward the van parked by the house. It pinged off the metal, then he threw another one.
Seconds later, two armed men stormed outside. Harrison raised his gun and shouted. “Drop it. You’re under arrest.”
The men whirled on Harrison and opened fire, and Harrison shot back. Lucas raced around to the back of the house and inched to the door. He peeked through the back window into a large kitchen, which was set up with a bar and plenty of booze.
Shots echoed from the front, and he prayed Harrison was safe as he crept into the house.
A big man with tattoos just like Charlotte had described raced down the steps in killer mode, his gun at the ready.
Lucas aimed his gun. “Move and I’ll shoot.”
The bastard whipped around and fired at Lucas. He released a shot, nailing the brute in the forehead. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second, then the big lug tumbled headfirst down the steps and collapsed on the wood floor at the bottom.
A scream echoed from above, and Lucas grabbed the man’s gun and carried it with him as he raced up the steps. Behind him, the front door swung open.
He pivoted, gun aimed, ready to kill the other men, but Harrison stood in the entrance. “They’re down.”
Lucas gestured to the man on the floor then pointed up the steps. Harrison followed on his tail as Lucas climbed the steps. A cry sounded from the right, and he veered toward it.
Harrison went left to check the other rooms, and Lucas inched toward the rooms on
the right. He peered inside one, and his stomach revolted. Two teenage girls were tied to beds, both drugged and out of it.
Not Evie or Charlotte, though. He would come back for these girls.
He inched toward the next room and heard a sob. Then Charlotte’s voice. “Shh, Evie, it’ll be all right.”
Relief surged through him, and he pushed open the door. Another man stood with a gun aimed at Charlotte and Evie. He glared at Lucas, a warning that he’d shoot them if Lucas made a move.
Lucas didn’t hesitate. He put a bullet between the man’s eyes. Evie screamed and Charlotte hugged the girl to her and rocked her as Lucas stalked toward them.
“It’s me, Charlotte,” Lucas said. “The men are all dead.”
Charlotte was trembling, soothing Evie, and he dropped to his knees and pulled them both against him.
Her tears came in a rush, and he held her tight. He didn’t know what he would have done if he’d been too late and he’d lost her.
* * *
CHARLOTTE COULDN’T CONTAIN her emotions. She’d lived in fear the past few days, but the nightmare was finally over and Evie was safe.
She hugged the girl and Lucas at the same time, grateful they were all alive.
When she’d heard the gunfire, she’d been terrified that he’d been killed trying to save her.
He rubbed her back and pressed kisses in her hair. “Are you okay, Charlotte?”
She nodded against him. “I was terrified you’d been shot.”
“No, I’m good.” He lifted his head. “Evie, are you all right?”
“I am now,” the girl said, her voice filled with anger. “What about the others?”
“They’re at the hospital, but they’re fine,” Charlotte assured her.
Footsteps sounded, then Harrison’s voice. “I’ve called for a couple of ambulances and CSI. There are four other girls here.”
Lucas helped Charlotte and Evie stand. “Let’s go outside and wait for the medics.”
“Bronson called,” Harrison said. “He just brought Stanley in. Said the man confessed that he knew about the trafficking ring. He’s the one who called in the tip. He wants a deal for helping us.”
