Still no Izzy. He returned to the place where he’d lost her. How had she vanished so quickly?
He studied the church for a brief second, then gunned the motor and turned into the parking lot. Where could she have gone? It was like someone had simply snatched her and the vehicle and simply vanished. Since that wasn’t possible, he drove slowly around the perimeter of the parking lot that led around to the other side of the building.
And there she was. Or at least there his car was.
She’d parked in one of the back parking spaces not being used by the voters crowding the area. Ryan pulled up next to the vehicle and climbed out of his borrowed unmarked car. A quick look in through the window told him what he’d already suspected.
She wasn’t in the driver’s seat.
So where had she gone? Had she taken off on foot?
No. Someone had picked her up and she’d left her phone on the front seat. His gut clenched.
He’d lost her.
Izzy had followed Gabby’s directions to the letter. Drive to the church and park, facing the police vehicle toward the wooded area behind the back of the building. She’d had a feeling Gabby planned to pick her up and make her leave her phone and she’d racked her brain on how to leave a trail someone could follow once they found the vehicle.
The transfer to Gabby’s car had taken less than a minute and then they were off, driving away from the direction from which she’d come.
“Tell me how to save my father.”
Gabby shot her a pleading look and glanced at the rearview mirror. “I can’t. I don’t know.” She tapped her ear and Izzy understood. They were listening. Probably through the Bluetooth function of the vehicle. “Did you bring the iPad?” Gabby asked.
“Yes.” Izzy pulled it from where she’d tucked it into the waistband of her pants. It had taken some maneuvering, but she’d managed to do it without Charice or anyone seeing her. While she was on the floor in front of the open cabinet, she’d pulled a sheet from the stack of printer paper and grabbed a pen from the cup on the desk. She’d written the note to Ryan, folded it, and then tried to figure out how to pass it to him without sparking interest in her interaction with him.
It hadn’t been hard to bring the tears to the surface. And Ryan had reacted like she’d expected him to. With a hug of comfort. She’d deliberately pulled on his pockets in a desperate attempt to make sure he checked them. Lifting his keys had been easy, as they’d been halfway out of his pocket anyway.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“A little out-of-the-way place that no one knows about.”
“Owned by who?”
“I … I don’t know.” Another frightened glance at the mirror.
Fear curled inside her. The fact that Gabby hadn’t tied her up or blindfolded her told Izzy that the threat against her father was real. Gabby knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t try anything without getting what she needed to save her father. But not only was the threat against her father real if Izzy didn’t cooperate, the threat to Izzy was also real. They weren’t going to just let her go once they got to where they were going. No blindfold, no one other than Gabby to pick her up. What did that mean?
“Gabby, just drive me to the police station. I’ll help you.”
Her friend’s eyes filled with tears that leaked onto her cheeks. She shook her head and gripped the steering wheel. “I can’t,” she whispered.
“What does he have on you?”
“He?”
“Yes.”
“N-Nothing.”
“Who is he?” she asked. “I think I at least deserve to know who’s going to kill me,” she said.
Gabby gasped. “He’s not going to kill you. He said he just needed you out of the way for the plan to work.”
Frowning, Izzy racked her brain and came up empty. “What plan?”
“I don’t know. I’m sorry.”
“Gab—”
Her jaw hardened and she sent another frantic glance to the rearview mirror. “No, I can’t. Please, please, be quiet.”
Izzy fell silent. Not because Gabby begged her to, but because she needed to think.
They drove for the next half hour in silence and Izzy decided that someone was definitely pulling her friend’s strings. Someone had terrorized her into being their puppet—and with having her be the one to pick up the money from Bianchi and have the money trail leading back to her, it was obvious they were setting her up to take the fall should they be caught.
Now Izzy had to figure out how to escape without putting her father in danger—and figure out what they’d threatened Gabby with. Maybe that they’d hurt Mick?
While Izzy didn’t know their final destination, the signs indicated Lake Wateree.
Gabby finally turned down a wooded road that led to a small house set on about two acres of property. Through the trees, Izzy spotted a lake in back, with a large basketball court–sized yard sloping gently down to it. Wind shook the few trees near the house, bending them with its force. Clouds had rolled in and it looked like a thunderstorm would soon hit. Izzy wondered if she could somehow use that to her advantage.
“Who owns this place?” she asked.
“I don’t know that either. He didn’t tell me.”
Izzy was going to have to go with the flow for now. She had no way of knowing if the person watching her father was still there, waiting for Gabby to give the word to shoot or stand down or what.
“Those weren’t your words on the phone call getting me here, were they? You were reading something.”
Gabby nodded.
“What did you mean by you’ll give me the information that I need to save my dad? Don’t you just mean you’ll call off your sniper as long as I help you do whatever it is you need me to do?”
“I don’t know, Izzy! I don’t know what he’s doing or why he’s doing it. He’s obsessed with you and he’s—” She snapped her lips shut and tears streamed down her cheeks. “Come on. Get out, please.”
Izzy went cold, but obeyed. She opened the door and stepped out. “Mick’s behind this, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” Gabby whispered. “And I’ll protect you as much as I can, I promise.”
Mick Sinclair. She hadn’t realized it until now, but he was a bigger nightmare than Lamar Young would ever be. To Young, she’d been a job. But for Mick, this was personal.
Gabby’s tears streamed. “I’m so sorry, Izzy, you’re a cop. I was hoping you could help me.”
“Tell me. Fast. We’re not in the car so he can’t hear us.”
She shot a terrified glance at the house. “Mick and the guy I was seeing were just using me. To get as much information about the election as they could get.”
“Why?”
“Get in here!”
The shout came from behind the open front door and Gabby flinched. The voice was familiar, but Izzy couldn’t place it. She took Izzy’s hand and led her toward the house.
Izzy slowed the pace, trying to gain as much information as she could. “What are they threatening you with to get you to cooperate?”
“My mother. They’ll kill my mother.”
That would do it. Gabby adored her mother. And Mick hated her because she saw right through him. Izzy had no doubt he’d follow through on his threat if he had to.
“Move it! Now!”
Gabby hurried her along. Kidnapped twice in less than two years. Izzy wondered how many people could say that. A fat raindrop landed on her cheek and she giggled as the wind whipped around her. She walked into the house and Gabby glanced at her with a puzzled look.
Izzy realized she was borderline hysterical and clamped her lips together. She had no time for that and forced herself to calm. She had to stay cool and in control of her emotions—her fear. Once indoors, she saw that the home was a typical ranch. Probably three bedrooms and two baths. Den straight ahead through the foyer, formal living room to the right, and kitchen off the den.
And a basement off the kitchen
.
She noted all of this as Gabby directed her toward the den.
And when she stepped into the room, she stopped and stared. Tobias Freeman, the man who’d killed Kevin, stood next to the recliner, a gun pointed at her. He tossed the duct tape to Gabby. “Secure her and be quick about it.”
“I’ll do it.”
Izzy froze at the familiar voice and fear crystallized in her blood. She prayed she could keep it from showing on her face. Gabby had told her Mick was there, and Izzy had tried to prepare herself for it in the few seconds it took them to get into the house. But there was no preparation for coming face-to-face with one’s biggest terror. Turning, she watched Mick Sinclair walk into the room, and the cold smile on his face nearly sent her to her knees.
32
Ryan ran a hand through his hair. It was now two o’clock in the afternoon and he still didn’t know where Izzy was—or how to find her. CSU was combing the vehicle, but Ryan didn’t hold out hope they’d find anything. Izzy had driven here under her own power and she’d probably gotten into the other car without protest.
A fact that the security camera on the church would probably verify once the church’s security team finished pulling it up.
Her phone lay on the front seat. Where was her weapon? He tried the door. Locked. She’d probably locked her gun in the glove compartment. He had no doubt her captor wouldn’t allow her to bring it with her, and she’d make it as hard as possible to steal.
Brady swung into the parking lot and climbed out of his vehicle. Ryan frowned as the man limped over. “Where is she?”
“Gone. Charice is working with church security to get the footage from that camera.” He pointed to the corner of the building.
“You lost her.”
“Yeah.” Ryan placed his hands on his hips and waited for the man to rake him over the coals for losing his sister.
Surprisingly, he didn’t.
One of the CSU team members walked over holding a large rock.
Ryan’s heart dipped. “Blood?”
“No, not at all. It was jammed in the GPS launcher.”
“What?”
“Yeah. It was weird enough I thought I’d mention it to you.”
“That’s my girl,” Ryan muttered. “It was jammed because she wanted to bring attention to it.”
Ryan hoofed it over to the front of his police vehicle and crouched in front of the grill. About a year ago, all law enforcement vehicles had been equipped with a GPS launcher that enabled officers to “tag” a vehicle that refused to pull over.
High-speed chases were dangerous for everyone involved, including innocent motorists. Once tagged, the officer simply backed off and used the computer to track the vehicle via the GPS “bullet” fired from the machine.
Ryan slapped the hood of the car. “A bullet’s missing. Let’s get those coordinates for that.” He turned and patted the CSU member’s shoulder. “Good work.”
“Thanks.”
Now he just had to pray Izzy still had the bullet on her somewhere and that Gabby wouldn’t come across it before they could get a lock on it.
Charice stepped out of the church and hurried over to him. “I’ve got the footage. It’s grainy, but you can see what went down.” She handed him her phone and he tapped the screen to play the video.
Izzy’s car pulled into the parking lot and into the spot. People moved in and out of the building. Voters. Ryan kept his focus on Izzy. She got out of the car when another car pulled in beside her. She ducked down at the front of his vehicle with just her head showing.
Making sure Gabby wasn’t going to shoot her? More like she was buying time, getting the rock to jam the GPS launcher open. She stayed at the front of the vehicle for another moment. Jamming the launcher?
Gabby never got out of her car, but Izzy stood when the woman rolled her window down. The two talked for another moment and Izzy gestured as she spoke. Gabby responded. Then Izzy pulled her ponytail tighter, walked over to Gabby’s vehicle and got in. And then they were gone.
“Smart,” Charice said when Ryan explained what she’d done.
“Yes. Let’s hope it’s smart enough and we can find her before Gabby and whoever she’s working with decide they don’t need her anymore.”
Izzy’s hands were taped in front of her. Mick had patted her down, her glare not affecting him in the least. She’d left her phone and her weapon in Ryan’s car per Gabby’s order, but at least the GPS bullet she’d slid from the launcher was still in Gabby’s vehicle.
Ryan had been following her. As soon as he realized he’d lost her, the search would commence. They’d find his abandoned car at some point, she just hoped it was sooner rather than later.
Unsure who she was going to be facing once they arrived at their destination, Izzy had decided the best place for the bullet was in the car. She’d dropped it into the small storage bin on the door and prayed it wouldn’t roll around. Fortunately, old napkins had been left there and all of Gabby’s turning hadn’t dislodged the thing from the middle of them.
Now Gabby and Freeman were basically ignoring her while Mick’s stare made her decidedly uneasy. They hadn’t taped her mouth, just her hands and feet. She’d managed to work the tape slightly loose around her ankles, but there was nothing she could do about her hands.
Mick stood. “I’m going to check outside.”
Freeman frowned at him. “There’s nothing outside. Stay put and watch her.”
“You don’t tell me what to do.” Mick’s nostrils flared and his lips tightened.
“I do until the rest of the money comes in. If you want your share, you’ll do what I say. Now, keep an eye on her and shut up.”
Hefting the weapon from his waistband, Mick trailed the barrel down Izzy’s cheek. She refused to flinch or look away, even as revulsion curled in her belly. Mick seemed to lose interest at her lack of reaction, shot a glare toward Freeman, then walked toward the door. “My sister might bow and scrape at your every demand, but I don’t. I’ll be outside for a few minutes.”
Gabby’s eyes darted nervously between her brother and Freeman, but she didn’t say anything. When Mick finally closed the door behind him, Freeman threw his glass across the room. Gabby jumped. “This is your fault, you stupid woman!”
“Toby, stop—”
His hand shot out and caught Gabby on her right cheek. She cried out and went to her knees. Izzy winced. The backhanded hit had to sting.
“Get up,” he ordered. “Then sit down and shut up. I didn’t think I needed to tie you up, but I will.”
Gabby crawled to the chair and pulled herself into it. Freeman returned to the table and went back to whatever it was he was working on.
Carefully, afraid one of them would look up from the table and catch her, she propped her elbows on her thighs, then leaned her head against her hands and palmed her eyes.
Izzy frowned and listened. The fact that they weren’t trying to hide anything from her meant they didn’t plan to let her live. Or at least Freeman didn’t. Mick might want her alive, but she was pretty sure she might prefer death to what he had planned. And she was relatively sure that Toby didn’t plan to let Gabby live either.
“Numbers one, two, three, and four need to be taken out,” he muttered into his phone. “They’re closest to the stage. Once that path is cleared, it’s all open.”
“What are you talking about?” Gabby said, her voice shaking, hand pressed to her fiery red cheek.
“You don’t need to know. Tell Mick to get back in here.”
With a sigh, Gabby went to the door and disappeared. Mick reentered and Freeman motioned for him to sit and pointed to the paper in front of him. Izzy noticed Gabby kept her wounded cheek out of her brother’s line of sight as she joined Izzy on the couch.
“You got these covered?” Freeman asked Mick.
“Yeah, man, they’re covered. How many times you want to go over it?”
Izzy braced herself at the explosive look on Toby’s face. But
he held on to his rage and jabbed the paper. “These four back here and off to the side—numbers sixteen, twelve, twenty-three, and—” He paused with a glance at Izzy. “We’ve already taken care of number twenty, but they’ll probably replace her. These right here won’t be in the way. By the time they react, it’ll all be over. The others will have to be neutralized, though.”
Izzy froze. Number twenty? What were the numbers? They obviously referred to people. People they needed to neutralize?
Derek’s list instantly came to mind. She was number twenty on the list that Derek had sent her. They had to be talking about that list?
“I got it,” Mick said and pulled his laptop from a bag and booted it up. “If you’re so worried about it, why don’t you check in with everyone and make sure they’ve got the plan down.”
“What plan?” Izzy asked.
“None of your business,” Freeman said without bothering to look up. Mick glared at her.
Gabby whimpered and Izzy reached out to clasp her hands in hers. They were cold and trembling. The woman was terrified.
While the men were otherwise occupied, Izzy gave Gabby’s fingers a squeeze, then let go and lowered her head again to her hands. She found the seam of the tape with her tongue, then tried to grab it with her teeth. She managed to lift a corner.
“What are you doing?”
She dragged her hands down her face and met Freeman’s eyes. “Praying.”
“Well, stop.”
“Right.”
He rolled his eyes and went back to his laptop. This time Mick didn’t bother looking up. Izzy went back to work on the tape. Only to stop and lower her hands when Gabby reached over and started helping her loosen it. It made a slight rasp as it released and Izzy coughed. “Could I have some water?”
“I’ll get it,” Gabby said. She rose and went into the kitchen.
“When do you get the rest of your money?” Izzy asked.
“As soon as the election results come in declaring Melissa the winner,” Mick said.
“What if Eric wins?”
“He won’t. Not if he cares about what happens to his family.”
Izzy sucked in a breath. “You had him throw the election by threatening his family.”
Oath of Honor Page 25
