by Janie Crouch
“I will.”
“And call me as soon as you’ve got them so I can bring Karine to see them.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Liam gave her a crooked smile and she felt her stomach do a little somersault.
She felt her phone buzz. Andrea was here to get her. It was just as well; Vanessa couldn’t watch them prep any more. Every weapon she saw just reminded her of how much danger they would be in.
The sun was going down. They would be leaving soon. She said her goodbyes to Joe and Derek, and Liam walked her out to her car. He greeted Andrea and Karine.
“Tonight,” he told Karine. “We’re going to get the other girls out tonight. We know where they’re going to be.”
“Good,” Karine said. “Thank you, Mr. Liam.”
“Andrea will bring you as soon as we have them. We will probably need to meet at the hospital. That’s the best place for them to go.”
Karine flinched but nodded.
“It will be safe for them there. I promise.”
“Okay.”
Liam smiled at her. “Right now you and Vanessa are going to stay at the house. I’ll call her first thing when you can see them.”
He turned to Vanessa and opened the back door to the car for her. “Text me when you’re at the house so I know you’re okay.”
She reached up and grabbed the center of his tight black shirt, pulling him closer. “Be. Careful.”
She knew she had already said it, but she couldn’t stop herself from saying it again.
“I will. Promise. This time tomorrow we’ll be finishing up the conversation from the kitchen.”
The one where he’d admitted to having been involved with a lot of women? She wasn’t sure she wanted that. But she was willing to discuss darn near anything with him if it meant he was back safely.
“Deal,” she whispered.
He kissed her softly. Sweetly.
Vanessa forced herself to step back. She had to leave now or she was never going to. She smiled at him and got in the car.
It was good that Andrea was driving, watching for anyone who might be following, because Vanessa was pretty much useless. Someone could’ve been directly behind them, high beams blazing, and Vanessa probably wouldn’t have noticed. She was too busy thinking about Liam.
She just wanted this to be over. Wanted those girls to be safe. Wanted him and his friends to be safe, also.
Vanessa forced herself to focus. Liam and the team seemed more than prepared. They had all the equipment—under-water, above-water—they needed. When he had been in the army and she had waited at home, she’d never doubted his abilities. She wasn’t going to start doubting them now.
The trip to the house Andrea had rented was made in silence, everyone focused on their own thoughts. It wasn’t long before they pulled up there.
“You gals wait here while I secure the building,” Andrea told them, leaving the car running. She took out her weapon—just as Liam had done every time they’d entered her apartment—and disappeared inside.
She was back in just over a minute.
“All clear,” she said then smiled at Vanessa. “There’s no reason to think this place has been compromised, and there definitely wasn’t anybody tailing us, but precaution.”
Vanessa smiled back. “I understand.” She wasn’t willing to take any chances with Karine’s safety, either.
Andrea walked Vanessa and Karine in the front door. The two women had obviously made themselves comfortable here. Karine immediately kicked off her shoes and headed straight for the fridge.
“I’ve basically been allowing her to eat whatever she wants, whenever she wants,” Andrea whispered. “I figured, after everything, there couldn’t be any real harm in that.”
“Absolutely agree. Gallons of ice cream can probably help soothe any trauma. Or at least much more so than vegetables.”
“She’s been doing pretty well. Has woken up crying a few times and spends a lot of her time looking out at the water. But she’s keeping it together. She’s strong.”
Vanessa nodded and watched Karine plop down on the couch, yogurt in hand—at least it wasn’t ice cream—and turn on the television. “She’s amazing.”
“She’ll have to heal on her own timetable. Nobody can set that for her,” Andrea said, and then walked into the kitchen herself.
Sounded as though Andrea knew that from experience. She’d like to get to know the other woman better, but now wasn’t the time.
“Okay, I’m going to meet Webb and help coordinate the Coast Guard’s efforts.” Andrea grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. “We want to catch McBrien and his buddies, but we also want the buyers, too. You guys stay here and wait for our call.”
“How long do you think it will be?” Vanessa asked.
“It’s hard to say. These types of ops have a lot of factors, and any one of them can affect the timetable. I would tell you to go to sleep, but I know you won’t. But it will be after midnight, probably, before Karine will be able to see the girls.”
If we can get the girls out alive. Andrea’s eyes said it and Vanessa was glad she didn’t say the actual words.
“After the call, someone will come get you to take you to them, okay?”
Vanessa watched as Andrea made her way over to Karine. She hugged the girl and whispered something to her. Karine nodded then sat back down.
“Follow behind me and lock the door,” Andrea told Vanessa. “I know it doesn’t have to be said, but don’t decide to go for a walk or swim or anything. Just stay inside until we come for you.”
Vanessa rolled her eyes. “Yeah, no worries. We’ll binge watch some sitcoms or something if we can’t sleep.”
She knew she wouldn’t sleep a wink. Not until she knew the girls were free and Liam was okay.
She locked and bolted the door behind Andrea then headed back into the living room. Karine was staring blankly ahead of her, yogurt still in her hand.
“You doing all right?” Vanessa asked as she sat slowly next to the girl on the couch.
“I hope everyone will be okay,” Karine said.
“Liam is the very best, honey. His friends are, too. They’ll get the girls out.”
Karine nodded and scooted closer to Vanessa. “Okay, good.”
“You’ll need to be ready to see them and reassure them in the hospital. Do you want to go to sleep? Get some rest while you can?”
“No,” the girl whispered. “I cannot sleep. It is hard to sleep always, but tonight I know I cannot.”
Vanessa understood. “Then we’ll just watch TV, okay? If we fall asleep, that’s fine. If not, that’s okay, too. What do you want to watch?”
Vanessa changed into shorts and a T-shirt before they searched through the channels until they found reruns of The Brady Bunch. When the channel promised they’d be playing the show all night, Vanessa and Karine settled back on the couch.
Vanessa lost count of how many episodes they’d watched—six? seven?—when she was about to ask Karine if they should turn to something else. No matter what decade the show was viewed, Jan was still so annoying.
Vanessa shot off the couch when she heard a voice behind them.
“It’s so good to see young people watching something wholesome like The Brady Bunch rather than the smut normally found on television.”
It was Sheriff McBrien. And he had his gun pointing right at them.
Chapter Twenty-One
Karine immediately began crying and cowering behind Vanessa. Vanessa put an arm around the girl and kept her pressed up to her back.
“You here to arrest me again, Sheriff? A gun isn’t really necessary.”
“I think we both know we’re way past arresting. That’s not really going to work at all.”
Vanessa forc
ed herself to look the older man in the eye without flinching. “How did you find us?”
“Webb.”
Vanessa blanched; she couldn’t help it. “Webb’s working with you?”
McBrien rolled his eyes. “No. I can barely stand having that goodie-goodie around at the office, much less during personal business.”
Vanessa tightened her arm around Karine. She wouldn’t let this man hurt her again.
“Evidently he overheard a call today. Would’ve gotten away with it, too, if I hadn’t had to go back into my office five minutes after the first time. Secretary asked if I had run into Webb, since evidently he’d been in there the first time.”
Vanessa didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to confirm any details for McBrien.
“He was hiding in my private bathroom, I think. Normally that would just slightly annoy me.” He gestured toward Karine behind Vanessa. “But with missy here getting away, and your Omega Sector boyfriend showing up, I couldn’t just assume Webb was ignorant of what was going on.”
He took a step toward Vanessa and she took a step back with Karine.
“I should just kill you now, but I’m too greedy. I want the money I can get for her.” McBrien’s face took on an ugly hue. “Plus, I might be able to get a bonus for you. You’re pretty old as far as these things go, but I’m sure our buyers could find a use for you.”
Karine began silently sobbing behind her. Vanessa had to force herself not to retch. She would not give in to fear. “Liam will stop you.”
“You mean Special Agent Goetz, who is on his way to Harper’s Cove? Yeah, sorry to tell you, once I knew Webb had heard me, I changed the location of the meeting with the buyers. Goetz can check the cove all he wants. We won’t be there.”
Vanessa had to figure out a way to get a message to Liam, but McBrien was having none of that.
“I’ll need your phone, Miss Epperson.”
Vanessa backed away again, but McBrien rushed forward, grabbed her by her shirt and threw her to the floor. Then he grabbed Karine.
The girl began sobbing louder.
“Shut up. You’re the root of all my problems.” He raised a fist in front of Karine. “Your phone, Vanessa, or the buyers will get one girl with quite a few bruises. Although I’m sure they’ll be all right with that.”
Karine’s face was ghostly pale.
“No, don’t hurt her.” Vanessa scrambled to her feet. “Here’s my phone. Here.”
She thrust it at him and rushed to Karine, grabbing her away from him. She put her arms around the girl, trying to protect her even though Karine was almost as tall as she was.
McBrien threw her phone to the floor and stomped on it. It broke into pieces. Useless.
How would she contact Liam now?
McBrien pulled out handcuffs, cuffed both of them with their arms behind their backs, and pulled them to the front door.
He got right in Vanessa’s face. “I’m here in uniform with a patrol car. If you scream, I will tell people you’re on drugs and then I will make the next few hours of your life as miserable as humanly possible.” He pointed to Karine. “I will make hers even worse. Got it?”
Vanessa nodded.
“Quiet,” he said to Karine, who nodded. He obviously didn’t know how well Karine spoke English.
There was no one around for them to yell to on the walk to the car anyway; not that Vanessa would’ve risked it. McBrien had real nerve showing up in an official sheriff’s vehicle as if he wasn’t committing some of the most heinous crimes possible. But he was smart; it was the perfect cover.
If he could get Vanessa and Karine and the other girls to the buyers, they’d be gone forever and the only bit of evidence against McBrien would be a convoluted recording that didn’t directly mention any crimes.
If he couldn’t get Vanessa and Karine to the buyers, all he’d need to do was shoot them and say they’d come at him in a life-threatening manner and he had to defend himself. After all, there was already a recording of Karine killing someone else.
They were in trouble and Vanessa could not figure out how to get out of this. The only option she could see was to try to tackle McBrien herself while Karine ran. It wasn’t a great plan. McBrien probably had six inches and seventy-five pounds on her, not to mention the added handicap of both her and Karine having their hands cuffed behind their backs.
But she knew if she let McBrien get them on whatever boat he was taking them to, she’d never be able to get Karine safely off again.
Vanessa didn’t even let herself think about the other girls. There was nothing she could do to help them now. All she could do was try to save Karine’s life.
She felt the girl push closer to her where they sat in the back of the squad car and wished she could put her arm around her. Not that it would be much comfort in this situation.
Karine pushed up against her again and Vanessa looked over at her.
“I’m sorry, honey. I know you’re scared,” she whispered.
Karine pushed up against her again and whispered something, but Vanessa didn’t know what.
“Just be ready to run when I make my move,” Vanessa said in the lowest voice possible. “Run as fast as you can.”
Vanessa doubted it would be enough. But it was their only option.
Karine shook her head and brushed up against her again.
“Hey, shut up back there,” McBrien told them. “Or I can break your jaws and make you shut up.”
Vanessa looked over at Karine. Hopefully the girl had heard her and understood the plan. Despite McBrien’s threats, she seemed to be keeping it together, although she kept pressing against Vanessa.
Then Vanessa felt Karine’s hand touch hers from behind them. She had to hold her arms at an awkward angle to make the contact, and Vanessa knew she must be terrified to want human contact enough to hurt herself for it.
She felt Karine press something into her hand. Karine wasn’t looking for contact at all.
She was giving Vanessa her phone.
McBrien had assumed Karine didn’t have one. Heck, Vanessa had even forgotten about it in the chaos.
There were only so many numbers programmed into the phone Liam had given the girl. Hers. Andrea’s. Liam’s. It was a cheap, prepaid flip phone and Vanessa wasn’t entirely sure about the buttons. She felt out the number pad as carefully as she could with her fingers and then pressed what she thought was the 2 and Send.
She didn’t know if they were the right buttons. She didn’t know if it was even the right phone being called. She didn’t know if Liam would even have his phone on, since he was in the middle of a mission where silence was important.
Those were a lot of ifs.
But it was their only chance.
* * *
SITTING IN THE middle of Harper’s Cove, low in the Zodiac, everyone wearing night-vision goggles to see in case the boat with the girls also wasn’t using any lights, Liam knew something was wrong.
“There should’ve been movement by now. From somewhere,” he muttered.
There was no sign of the boat with the girls; no sign of the buyers. No sign of anyone out here.
“Even with the storm we’ve got pretty good visual, Liam,” Derek said. “If there was someone out here, we’d be able to see them.”
“Maybe something got changed. Time. Place,” Joe said.
Maybe McBrien and his buddies had reconsidered and decided to just cut their losses and kill the girls.
Nobody said it, but all three men were thinking it.
Liam got out his phone. “I’m going to call Andrea. Maybe she’s heard something from Webb.”
Liam got his phone out of the waterproof casing attached to his specialized wet suit. As he reached to press Andrea’s stored number, he was surprised when his p
hone buzzed in his hand.
Karine.
Why was she calling him?
He brought the phone to his ear. “Karine?”
Nothing.
“Karine?” he said again.
They were safe at the house. Maybe she butt-dialed him by accident, but Liam wasn’t taking any chances.
Both Derek and Joe were watching him. “Call Vanessa,” he told Joe. “I don’t want to hang up here in case this is a problem.”
He turned to Derek. “Get Andrea or Webb or someone to go to the house.”
Both men were already ripping out their phones to make the calls.
“Karine?” Liam said again, keeping his voice quiet, since he wasn’t sure of the situation. If this was just an accidental call, she would realize it soon.
But the fact that they were sitting in an empty cove, with no missing girls in sight, made Liam believe this was not just an accidental call. He kept his ear to the phone as the other men made their contacts. Derek was soon talking to Andrea, but Joe almost immediately had his phone back down.
“Vanessa’s went straight to voice mail.”
Damn it.
“I had a tracker app put on Karine’s phone, just in case she went out somewhere and got lost.” He gave Joe the information. “Find out where she is.”
Joe started running the phone-finding app on his own device. Derek disconnected his call.
“Andrea is on her way to the house now. She should be there in less than ten minutes,” Derek reported.
“Has she been able to contact Vanessa or Karine?”
“No. She’s going to keep trying.”
“I’ve got a ping on Karine’s phone,” Joe said. “She’s not at the house, that’s for sure.”
Liam muttered a curse under his breath.
“They’re in a moving vehicle heading toward the water,” Joe said.
Derek started the engine on the Zodiac. Not the silent one, the big one. Built for speed.
“Which direction?” he asked.
“Looks like, based on your report, near that island where your car was pushed off the bridge.”
“That’s not too far from here by water,” Liam said, pointing to the direction they needed to go. “It’s around the inlet.”
