by Sable Hunter
“I hear voices, Boss.” Waters headed toward the noise. “They must be in the back.” Walking down the hall, Kane heard Isaac growling in displeasure at somebody. Grateful to know his friend was alive and well, Kane called. “Isaac! Where in sam-hill are you?”
“Down here.”
“I didn’t remember a basement,” Kane muttered. And as he descended the stairs, he was amazed. Isaac had built himself a playroom, a sexual playground of the BDSM variety. ‘Well, that son-of-a-gun.’ He didn’t have time to contemplate all the ramifications before he saw a man, Keszey, trussed up like a Christmas turkey. “Well, looks like you have made a citizen’s arrest, Black Bart.” He smiled slyly at his friend. At once, they took Keszey into custody, handcuffing him and the deputy led him out, but not before he got an eyeful of his surroundings.
“Well hell, McCoy, I should have known. All that black leather you wear makes sense now. What are you, some kind of a Marquis de Sade wannabe?”
Isaac didn’t bat an eye. “I’m a Dom, Kane, a sexual Dominant.” He said it so matter-of-factly that Kane sobered.
“Sounds kinky.” Understatement.
“I expect you to keep your mouth shut about this and tell your deputy to do the same. This is my private business and I want it to stay that way.”
“If that’s the way you want it.” Kane wasn’t a gossip. “And I’ll talk to Waters. He’s a loner. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble out of him.” About that time, Kane’s radio went off.
“Sheriff. What? Damn! But, we just caught him at Hardbodies. How could he have been in two places at once? What did you say?”
Isaac watched Kane turn white as a sheet.
“What’s wrong? Is there something going on at Tebow?” The way their luck was running, he wouldn’t be surprised.
“It’s my Lilibet. She left your ranch a few minutes ago. Whoever was bringing her home, Rick Morton, had an accident, something about more cattle on the road. And now she’s missing.” He bounded up the stairs with Isaac right in behind him. “She was supposed to stay there till I could pick her up, but we had one miscommunication after another. Fuck! I knew something was wrong. Let’s head to the ranch and find out what’s going on.”
“I’ll be right behind you as soon as I’ve locked up here,” Isaac assured him. Kane only paused to give Waters an idea of what was going on before he headed out toward Tebow. Looking for the spot where Jacob had reported some type of an accident, Kane slowed way down, then he saw it. Slamming on his breaks, he pulled over and got out, his heart in his chest. One of Lilibet’s little canvas shoes was laying in the dust and beside it was a locket he’d given her, a little diamond locket. “Oh, Baby, what’s happened to you?”
He held the diamond necklace in his hand and vowed to find her. Fear like he’d never known before welled up inside of Kane. Going to the truck, he radioed for help. Something had happened here and he needed assistance. If he could get a team out to check for tire tracks and someone to question Morton, that would be a good start. Brien, her brother, would have to be brought in, if they could find him. Lilibet believed her brother to be innocent, but he might have information they could use. All of the pieces of the puzzle needed to be examined and analyzed. In his gut, Kane figured someone was putting the screws to Brien, and Lilibet was just a pawn in a get-rich scheme. But as for him, he had a secret weapon. And her name was Cady Renaud.
On the way to the ranch, Kane phoned Lance to ask if Morton had shown up. He hadn’t. But he did find out that the youngest McCoy, Nathan, was nowhere to be found. Hell! Was the world going crazy? Could Nathan have been snatched at the same time as Lilibet? Kane didn’t doubt anything.
At Tebow, the McCoys were ready for battle. All the brothers had rallied. As Kane joined them, he knew he looked shell-shocked.
Noah saw his face and immediately went to him. “What’s wrong? Have you heard anything?”
Kane couldn’t help it. He just blurted out his troubles. “I’ve called in reinforcements. Some crazy son-of-a-bitch has got my girl. And it’s not Keszey. Isaac and I have him.” The news of Keszey’s capture was noted, but there was no time to rejoice. “Any word on Nathan?” Before anyone could answer, he looked straight at Cady. “Can you help?”
“I’m sure I can.” None of the other family paid them much attention. They were communicating with their ranch hands on walkie-talkies and Aron was even handing out loaded rifles. He meant business. Kane hastily threw a map on the desk and Cady ran to get her pendulum. When she returned, she looked at the Sheriff. “I need something of Lilibet’s.” Kane handed her the tiny locket. He knew the drill. She went to the map and began to concentrate, dangling the amethyst pendulum over the paper. She was upset, so her hand shook. Clutching the gold necklace in her left hand, she focused on Lilibet and the place on the map that Kane said she may have disappeared from. Slowly, ever so slowly the pendulum began to swing left. “She’s been taken toward Austin. If you hurry, you’ll find her.” The words were barely out of Cady’s mouth before Kane was out the door.
Damn! Austin wasn’t that big, but I-35 sliced through its middle and could take you to Dallas if you turned north, or San Antonio or Houston if you headed south. Radioing his crew, he relayed the information. “I want a checkpoint put up on Highway 16 before it hits I-10. If they’re headed to Austin, they’ll have to go through Fredericksburg, but we’ll cover both possibilities.” He headed that way, flipping on his siren to make the best time.
“Sherriff, I know you’re worried about Lilibet, but there’s a wreck about a mile ahead of you on Highway 16. I think you should stop.”
Kane knew his job, but dammit all. This was an emergency. His emergency. Still, he couldn’t ignore people if they needed help. “Nobody else is in the vicinity who can handle this for me?”
The dispatcher paused, and Kane knew he didn’t want to hear the rest. “It’s your ex-wife, Sir. And her little boy was with her. I think you’d better stop.”
“Hell!” He slammed his fist on the steering wheel. Looking in the distance, he saw the flashing lights of the patrol cars and the ambulance. As he drew closer, he saw Lisa’s Lexus turned over on its side, crumpled and smoking. There was a smashed eight wheeler in the ditch. The driver didn’t appear to be hurt. Kane pulled over and took off at a run. The EMT’s were working over Lisa and he could tell it was bad. She was covered with blood and they were working to get her loaded on a stretcher. “Where’s the little boy?” His son was his first concern.
“The child’s already in the ambulance, Sheriff.” A young man pointed the way. “He’s going to be okay, but may need a unit of blood.”
Kane put a hand on the paramedic’s shoulder. “Listen to me, carefully. I’m in the middle of an APB situation. But, that little boy may be my son. And if he needs blood, I have several units already stored in the blood-bank. It’s a requirement for our civil servants. If he’s a match, you see that he gets it. Okay?”
To give the young man credit, he never blinked an eye. “Yes, Sir. You can count on me, Sir.”
“Sheriff!” Another EMT called him over to where Lisa lay. “She wants to talk to you.” The paramedic shook his head, indicating they didn’t have much time. Kane had seen a lot of accidents, but he never grew cold to other folk’s pain. And even though this woman had hurt him and caused him immeasurable heartache, he had no desire to watch her die.
“Lisa…” He knelt beside her and touched her hand. After all, they had been married. “We’re gonna get you to the hospital. They say Dwayne will be fine.”
His ex-wife’s face was misshapen and bruised. One eye was swollen shut. When she tried to whisper, blood was on her lips. “I’m sorry, Kane,” she began. “I told Lili...your fiancé…I let her think we were sleeping together.” Kane didn’t want to hear this. Her confession was making him sick. “She saw Dwayne. She thinks...” A fit of coughing hal
ted her painful words.
“Sorry Sir, we’ve got to go.” Kane stepped back. Lisa’s head had turned to one side and he couldn’t even tell if she was breathing. They would probably have to call her passing before they made it into town. As he walked to his truck, he prayed he would find Lilibet soon. Wherever she was, she thought he’d betrayed her. Wherever she was, his Lilibet thought that he didn’t love her. And that would never do. He would make it right with her, one way or the other.
* * *
Lilibet struggled, but she was getting nowhere. The ropes were cutting into her wrists, and she didn’t know if the dampness she felt running down her palms was sweat or blood. A whimper of frustration echoed in the blackness of the car trunk. She thanked God the weather wasn’t as hot as it had been a week or two ago or she would have suffocated or expired from heat exhaustion by now. For a few heartbeats she laid still and quiet, desperately trying to hear a voice or a clue to where she was and what was going on.
Why was this happening? What had she done that would make someone treat her like this? She had nothing of value. Her mind hurt trying to solve an unsolvable puzzle. The blow to her head had made her mind all muddled. Gradually, she remembered. They wanted money from Kane, for her. This knowledge caused her to struggle anew. It had to have something to do with Brien. A wave of nauseated terror swept over her. Was he all right?
Footsteps crunching on gravel made her jerk her head and when the trunk was thrown open she had to rejoice at the rush of fresh air. She blinked, but there was no sunlight to blind her. It was night.
“Pull her out and get her in the motel room. Then hide the car, and bring me that tracphone and let’s see how much Saucier wants his woman back.” The tip of a knife grazed her leg and she felt the ropes at her ankles being cut. Rough hands grabbed her shoulder and yanked her out of her small prison. Lilibet almost cried when pinpoints of agony swept up her legs as they tried to hold up her weight. “Stand up, Bitch! No one’s gonna carry your cripple ass!”
As the feeling came back into her feet and legs, Lilibet realized one of her precious shoes was missing. How odd that she would mourn a shoe, when her very life was in danger? “Kane, Kane!” she groaned. “I need you.”
“We’re about to phone him.” The gruff bald-headed man sneered. “Can I give him a message for you?” Morton, the man she’d trusted, led her, stumbling across the parking lot. Lilibet glanced around, hoping someone would see her plight and intervene. But these two weren’t stupid. They’d parked between a dumpster and a straight box truck which was high enough to hide them as they moved toward the door.
“Yes.” She found a bit of courage and answered the creep. “Tell him to bring a dump truck. There’s a lot of garbage here that needs to be hauled off.” Her smart words were met with a sharp slap across her face. The stinging pain almost made her feel better. She was alive and Lilibet was determined to stay that way, if only to live long enough to see these two behind bars. And to see Kane again, if he wanted her, that is.
The bald-headed man appeared to be the ring leader. He opened the door of a room and held it while Morton led her in. He slung her across the bed and she wondered if rape was on his mind. Lilibet inched over to the side, as far away from them as she could get. Morton looked at her and licked his lips. A cell phone buzzing drew their attention, and for that she was grateful.
They turned away from her and then she heard one of them curse and kick the front door. “Damn! It’s a good thing we stopped here. There was a barricade less than a mile down the road. The cops are stopping everybody. And I’ll give you one guess what they’re looking for.”
Lilibet strained to hear more, but both men had stepped outside. She wished they’d untied her hands before they left. If she didn’t get to the bathroom soon it was going to be too late. Shutting her eyes, she reminded herself she was still alive and Kane was looking for her. That was all that mattered.
* * *
“That’s right, Tindall, this is damn personal. She’s my fiancé.” Kane stood at the road block and considered his options.
The Austin department had come to his aid, but they’d come up empty. “We’ve stopped every vehicle for the past hour. How long do you want us to keep this up?” There was sympathy in the other man’s voice, but a decision had to be made.
“They should’ve been here by now.” He had great faith in Cady, and if she believed Lilibet had been taken toward Austin, so did he. “Either they went in another direction, or…” A thought occurred to him. “Or they stopped somewhere on the way.” Before he could wrap his mind around that thought, his cell phone rang. “Sheriff, here.”
“Dispatch put me right through, Saucier.”
The voice sounded familiar, and something about it made Kane’s hackles rise. ”Who is this?” he demanded.
“Your worst nightmare.” Was the answer. “I have your girlfriend, Sheriff. And if you ever want to see her again, you’d better listen carefully.”
Chapter Twelve
Every decision he had made, both good and bad, had led him to this moment. Kane knew he’d left the family fold for good reasons, but one can never escape the type of legacy the Saucier family had built. Money wasn’t the root of all evil, but it sure had caused him trouble in his lifetime. Wealth wasn’t something Kane hungered for. And turning his back on his family’s fortune had not been a hard decision. Now because of a madman, he might have to go to his father and ask for a huge amount of money. Hanks had demanded five million dollars for Lilibet and that was four million nine hundred and fifty thousand more than he had to his name.
Conflicting emotions warred in his breast. Negotiating with kidnappers was not something he liked to do. Paying a ransom was not an action he advocated. Depending on police work and his badge to solve problems was his first inclination. The only difference—and it was a big one—was that this time the life on the line was Lilibet’s, and that made all the difference in the world. Five million dollars was a lot of money in anybody’s estimation, but if that was what it took to save his love’s life, it would be a small price to pay. But before he called his father, he had one more card to play.
* * *
She listened to the men talking in the bedroom. They’d stuffed her in the bathroom while they made their phone calls. The door wasn’t locked and they had untied her hands and feet. For some reason, they never considered that she might try to escape. Just because she had a limp didn’t make her helpless. Lilibet didn’t consider herself to be handicapped. She just wasn’t as fast or graceful as everyone else. But she did have a brain and plenty of grit, and sometimes that was more important than a perfect body.
It was going to take a bit of luck, but if Lilibet saw an opportunity to get away, she was going to take it. There were three of them and one of her, but she’d always enjoyed a challenge. Standing with her ear to the door, she strained to hear anything that would give her a clue to what was going on. Despite everything that had happened, she still had faith in Kane. More importantly, she had faith in herself. Not everything about the last few days made sense. Looking down at her hand with its broken nails and raw scrapes, she saw the ring Kane had given her. She still didn’t know what was going on with Kane’s ex-wife or the little boy, but she chose to believe in the love she’d seen in Kane’s eyes when he’d slipped this ring on her finger.
Standing up, she looked at herself in the mirror. There was nothing beautiful about the image gazing back at her. Smudges of dirt streaked her face and her hair was matted with blood and grease. The trunk of the car had been filthy and now she looked and smelled like diesel and oil. It crossed her mind to wash up, but she didn’t want to drown out any noise her captors might make. Footsteps walking across the floor made her jump back, and when the door opened, Lilibet gasped. “Brien!”
* * *
Word had come from Tebow. Cady was in the hospital. She’d been ele
ctrocuted, but she would survive. Kane hated to bother her, but this was just too important. He needed to know if she could tell him anything else about Lilibet’s location. Time was of the essence, but he intended to check on the little boy while he was there. His heart was torn. Kane wished he were two people. There just wasn’t enough of him to go around. Whipping into the emergency room parking lot, he rushed into the hospital and headed to the information desk. He was just about to ask where Cady Renaud’s room was when one of the doctors called for him.
“Sheriff, we’re glad you’re here. We need you to sign some papers concerning the little boy.” He followed him, anxious to know what was going on. “You’re listed as legal guardian, in case...in case...“
“I know my ex-wife is dead, Doctor.” There was no joy in his voice. This whole mess was a tragedy. “What’s this about?”
“You gave your verbal permission to the paramedic for the blood transfusion, but we need your signature to make it legal.” Kane understood the need for proper paperwork, and even though he was in a hurry, he was glad to sign the papers.
“The paramedic did tell you I had some units of blood in storage here? You used those to save the child, didn’t you?” Since he couldn’t be at the little boy’s side, just knowing he’d helped in some way was a comfort.
The doctor looked perplexed, like he didn’t want to be the one to explain. “No one told you? I’m sorry. Someone was supposed to call.”
“No one told me what?” Kane was getting impatient.
