Armored Attraction

by Janie Crouch

  It was also an ideal place for some sort of shady deal to go down. There wouldn’t be any car traffic at this time of year, and boats could get to it easily.

  Liam muted his end of the phone so the noise wouldn’t come through the other side, but kept his ear to it in case Karine or Vanessa said anything.

  The situation had just gone from bad to nearly impossible.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Vanessa recognized their location as McBrien drove over the bridge. This was the place where she and Liam had almost died two nights ago. Although it was on the other side of Nags Head, by boat it wasn’t all that far from where Liam and the team were.

  If she could just let him know her location... She had no idea if the phone was even working.

  McBrien parked the car and dragged them out of the backseat and toward a boat. Karine did her best to help hide the phone by walking as close behind Vanessa as possible.

  The sheriff moved in front of them as they walked out to the small dock where the boat was tied off. Vanessa pressed the phone into Karine’s hands.

  “Put it in my pocket,” she whispered. There was no way Vanessa could maneuver her arms to slide it into the front pocket of the loose shorts she was wearing.

  “Shut up back there,” McBrien barked.

  “She’s scared, McBrien. Just chill out.”

  The sheriff turned to glare at them. “She should be scared.”

  Let him glower. Karine had gotten the phone into Vanessa’s pocket. It was still open and still running, as far as Vanessa knew. She had heard something at the beginning of the call that she was pretty sure was Liam, but there was only silence now. She was going to keep the call open in case that would help him.

  McBrien dragged them onto the boat. The same one that held the girls. Vanessa looked at Karine. The girl’s face held no color whatsoever. Vanessa couldn’t imagine what a nightmare it must be for her to be coming back here.

  As the boat pulled away, McBrien unlocked their handcuffs. “I don’t think there is any need for those, but they can go right back on if there is any sort of problem.”

  Vanessa nodded and immediately put her arms around Karine. She wouldn’t give McBrien any reason to use the cuffs again. If they jumped overboard—when they jumped overboard—it would be critical for their arms not to be locked behind their backs.

  The girls were nowhere to be seen, probably still captive below. Vanessa saw two men besides McBrien. One was driving the boat and the other made his way over to the sheriff.

  “I thought you said you were going to kill them,” the man said to McBrien.

  Vanessa’s arms tightened around Karine.

  McBrien rolled his eyes. “Relax, Anderson, we can still get rid of them if we need to. But I thought it was better to see if we could get more money for them from the buyers. Especially since we’re going to have to lie low on shipments for a while. The heat is too high. Going to be too high for a long time.”

  So this was Anderson, the guy Webb had mentioned. Karine refused to look at him, huddled into Vanessa. If Vanessa had a gun right now, she would probably kill all the men on this boat.

  But she didn’t have a gun; she only had her wits, a terrified teenager attached to her side and more traumatized girls in the hull of the boat.

  She prayed Liam was on the open line of the phone in her pocket. She had to try to help him. Get McBrien talking so hopefully Liam would have a clue as to where they were.

  “It must have made you pretty nervous when Liam and I were out here so close to the action the other night. Was it you who rammed the car off the bridge?” she ask the sheriff.

  “No.” He actually chuckled. “That was Anderson here. He didn’t know who you were at the time, just knew you were snooping around where you didn’t belong.”

  “What about Webb? He was out there, too. You didn’t try to kill him.”

  Anderson finally spoke up. “Webb always checks out Riker’s Island after he goes to Sally’s diner on Thursday nights. He’s nothing if not a creature of habit. We knew about Webb, expected him. We just didn’t know about you. Were you following Webb or on to the location?”

  “We were following Webb, actually. We thought he was behind this.”

  “See, Anderson, all that for naught.” McBrien slapped the other man on his back. “I told you drowning them was overkill. They were after Webb the whole time. As if he is intelligent enough to get away with something like this.”

  “So he’s not in on this with you?” Vanessa figured her best bet was still to play as dumb as possible. Not give away any clues about what they knew or didn’t know, or where Liam was.

  “Really, he didn’t come blubbering to you in his normal Boy Scout way? I’m surprised. I would’ve thought he’d report back to you as soon as possible once he heard me on the phone.”

  “I don’t know.” Vanessa shrugged. “Liam was going into Norfolk to tell them his theory. Get backup or whatever. I haven’t seen him or Webb since we were at the sheriff’s office.”

  “Do you hear that, McBrien? This place is going to be swarming with cops soon.” Anderson was pacing, agitated.

  McBrien frowned, narrowing his eyes. “They know nothing. Have nothing. Nobody can tie us to anything that has happened.”

  “But what about Webb? And her boyfriend, the Omega agent guy?”

  “They can’t prove anything. As long as you don’t say anything or do anything stupid, we’ll be fine. I’ve got measures in place to cover us.”

  Anderson looked ready to crack right now. Vanessa knew he’d never be able to hold up against Liam once questioning began. Liam would uncover the truth.

  Vanessa and Karine might not be around to see it, but Liam would make sure these men paid for their crimes. That was comforting. Not much, but a little.

  The boat slowed. They had to be close to where McBrien planned to meet the buyers.

  “How did you find us at the house?” Vanessa asked him. In part to stall but also because she was interested.

  “Once I figured out your boyfriend was an Omega agent, I figured there was no way he was here just to see you.” McBrien shrugged. “No offense.”

  Vanessa didn’t respond.

  “I figured if this one—” he pointed at Karine “—was anywhere, it must be with you guys. It’s off season, not a lot of rentals. Easy enough to find one rented by Andrea Gordon, who just happens to also be an Omega agent. It would be quite a coincidence to have two Omega agents vacationing here on the same weekend.”

  “That Omega agent we were staying with just went out to get some groceries. She’ll be back. Soon. And will be looking for us.”

  McBrien didn’t look concerned. “I guess she’ll wonder where you guys went.”

  “It will seem very suspicious.”

  “Not with the footage Anderson has concocted. We’ll just add a little clip of you in there in the doctored footage of the burglary-murder. Then basically it will look like you waited for your chance and then you ran.”

  Vanessa had to admit, McBrien seemed to have thought everything through. His job as sheriff already gave him a platform from which to declare his innocence. Without Vanessa and Karine around to directly accuse him of anything, all evidence against him would be circumstantial at best.

  “I see the buyers, boss.” The big man behind the wheel spoke for the first time.

  McBrien looked down at his watch. “Good. Right on time. Pull up. I’ll bring them on here to look at the merchandise.” He turned to Anderson. “You and Paul get the girls ready below. I’ll keep these two with me.

  He grabbed Vanessa with one arm and Karine with the other, separating them. Vanessa struggled and McBrien backhanded her. She felt blood pool in her mouth.

  McBrien smiled. “The buyers might like a little appetizer
before the main meal.”

  * * *

  “I’VE GOT TWO boats in my sight, Liam,” Derek said.

  Liam had hooked the phone to his ear via an earbud so he could hear what was going on at the other end over the motor of the Zodiac.

  Vanessa and Karine were still alive. The relief Liam had felt at hearing Vanessa’s voice had overwhelmed him. He couldn’t hear her well, but he realized she was trying to give them clues as to where McBrien was holding them. She didn’t realize he could track Karine’s phone.

  Damn McBrien. The man was smart. And he was right; without Vanessa and Karine’s testimony, they didn’t have very much on him. Even the call Liam was overhearing would probably prove worthless in court. There were too many factors distorting the sound. Any good lawyer would argue that what Liam thought he heard was actually something else.

  But that didn’t matter because Liam very much planned to have Vanessa and Karine alive and well to testify against McBrien.

  Joe had slowed the Zodiac and was now using the quieter trolling motor. About a hundred yards from both boats, they stopped completely. This was as close as they could get without being heard, even with the choppy waves from the storm coming up. They were already pushing it.

  They watched with their night-vision goggles as the two boats moved next to each other. Liam disconnected the call and took his earpiece out. He couldn’t take the phone into the water with him, although he hated to lose the connection. Now was the time for action.

  Rage boiled through him as he saw McBrien roughly separate Vanessa and Karine, then hit Vanessa in the face for some reason. She staggered but didn’t fall.

  Liam took a step toward them on the Zodiac, unable to help himself. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch,” he said.

  “Keep focused, Liam,” Derek muttered, having seen what happened. “If you don’t, you won’t be able to make the smart decisions. The decisions that are going to get everyone out of here safely.”

  “He just backhanded her.” Liam could barely get the words out around his clenched jaw. “You have no idea—”

  “I have no idea?” Derek cut him off. Even in the dark Liam could see the other man’s raised eyebrow. Derek did know. He knew exactly what Liam was going through. Just six months ago a drug lord had held Derek’s wife, Molly, at gunpoint and had hurt her without Derek being able to do anything about it. Had hurt her worse than just a backhand.

  “I’m sorry. I just—” Liam bit off the words. “It’s hard to not rush in there guns blazing.”

  Derek nodded. “I know. But we get Vanessa out just like we got Molly out. By being smart.”

  “Um, just want to remind you that Liam also drove a vehicle through Molly’s front door. Not sure exactly how smart that was,” Joe commented.

  “Shut up, Joe.” Liam’s words held no sting. “We got the job done. That’s what counts.”

  And they would get the job done now. Liam took a deep breath and pushed his rage deep down. He’d pull it back out if and when he needed it. “We infiltrate from the back. Get the girls out. Maybe seeing us pound on their captors might help them trust us a little. Once we’ve secured the area, gotten the girls in the water, I’m going to go up to the front. I’ll handle that. Remember, quiet until there are no other options.”

  “Roger that,” Joe responded.

  The men readied themselves and their weapons, knowing this was the perfect time to move with the chaos of both boats coming together. It would be loud and rocky. And since their Zodiac was nearly impossible to detect in the darkness of the water—thank God for a moonless, stormy night—McBrien and his men would have no reason to be suspicious.

  All three men entered the water with no sound and swam quietly toward the rear of McBrien’s boat. Liam and Joe silently treaded water, weapons raised, as Derek made it up the ladder. He then took out his weapon and covered Liam then Joe as they followed.

  Liam could hear McBrien talking in the front of the boat. The thought of Vanessa there with him, with people who were here to buy and sell other humans, made him sick.

  Derek communicated via hand signal that he was about to open the door leading to the galley. This was it. They had to get down there quietly and take out the two men before either of them could alert McBrien.

  At the slightest crack of the door, they could hear girls crying. Joe’s faced hardened as Liam gave him the nod to go forward. Liam followed, with Derek bringing up the rear, facing the back door so no one could sneak up on them.

  The smell of unwashed flesh and human waste was overpowering as they moved farther into the galley. This hull was meant for two people for a couple days at most, not seven girls for nearly a week.

  Joe rounded a corner—a tiny hall that housed probably a restroom and closet—and kept his weapon and eyes focused in front of him, giving a signal with his hand that what he could see was clear. In standard procedure, Liam moved past Joe into the forward-most position. He took a few more steps up to the corner.

  He brought his head around and then back in an instant.

  The two men weren’t paying any attention to the back of the room. They were too busy scoffing and gawking at the girls as they threw clothes at them and told them to change. The girls didn’t understand and most were crying.

  The youngest one—good Lord, she could only be eight or nine—was far in the back, obviously being protected by the other older girls. From where she sat on the floor, she could see Liam. She stared at him with big, dark eyes.

  Liam gestured for her to be quiet, but had no idea if she knew what he meant. She just kept staring.

  It was time for the attack. Every moment they wasted, they could lose the element of surprise. He felt Joe and Derek flank him. With hand signals he told them he would take the man furthest away and Joe was to take the one closest. Derek would continue to guard the door behind them.

  This had to be quiet and fast. Anything else would probably cost Vanessa and Karine their lives.

  On his count Liam and Joe flew around the corner. Both kidnappers had weapons they reached for but never even got close to getting them out.

  From the corner of his eye Liam could see Joe take down Anderson. A quick uppercut to the jaw, followed by a hard right, had the man dropping to the floor. A third hit to the face knocked Anderson completely out.

  Liam’s target was much bigger. Liam shot a modified karate chop to the guy’s throat, in essence rendering him voiceless. With him unable to warn anyone, Liam completed the process of taking the perp out. He couldn’t deny that every blow felt good. Even when the man was on the floor, Liam kept punching him. When he thought about what this guy had done to Karine, to these girls—

  “Liam, enough, man.” Joe’s hand on his shoulder stopped him. Liam looked over, almost startled to see him there.

  “He’s out,” Joe continued. “Let’s get the girls off the boat.”

  Yes, that was the most important thing. Focus, Goetz. “Yeah, secure these two and let’s get going.”

  He turned to face the girls, who were all staring at him with terrified eyes.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Watching him pound someone into the floor, even one of their captors, probably had not helped him establish any trust with the girls. But Liam couldn’t do anything about that now.

  “We help,” he said slowly, softly. He wanted to use the shortest sentence possible, since he wasn’t sure how much English anyone knew, if any.

  None of them was crying or screaming, but none of them ran in his direction, either.

  “Karine sent us.”

  He had their attention.

  “Karine?” one of the oldest girls said. “She is alive?”

  “Yes,” Liam said, smiling as gently as he could. “But we need to get out of here now.”

  He waited whi
le the girl explained what was going on in their native tongue.

  “We must go. Swim to our boat,” he told them.

  “No, too far?” the same girl said. “Sharks. The man told us there were sharks.”

  They didn’t have time for this, but the last thing Liam wanted was seven hysterical girls on his hands. They were barely holding it together as it was.

  “What’s your name?” Liam asked the older girl.

  “Julia,” she responded softly, the j sounding like a hoo.

  “Julia, no sharks,” Liam said. “I promise.” He was telling the truth. There might be some out in the ocean, but there wouldn’t be any in the bay.

  Julia spoke to the other girls again. After a few seconds they nodded. All except for the little one, who began crying.

  “What’s wrong?” Liam asked.

  “Liam, we’ve got to go. McBrien is going to be looking for these guys any minute,” Derek said softly from the doorway.

  Joe stood from tying and gagging the two men. “I’m ready. They’re secure.”

  “Why is she crying?” Liam asked about the little girl.

  “She doesn’t know how swim.”

  Liam met Joe’s eyes. “Can you carry the little one? Derek can lead the others. I have to get to Vanessa and Karine.”

  “No problem,” Joe said, making his way toward the little girl.

  She immediately jumped back and began sobbing.

  “No, no. Shh,” Joe said, backing up.

  “Can you tell her he’s going to carry her in the water, to the safe boat?” Liam asked Julia. “Joe is very strong and very kind. He will not let anything happen to her.”

  Julia crouched near the little girl and obviously tried to explain, but the girl just cried harder. She kept pointing to Liam.

  Joe walked over to Liam, putting more distance between him and the little girl, since his nearness seemed to upset her.

  “Liam, we’re going to have to subdue her if she doesn’t calm down,” Joe said. “I hate to do that, but it might be the only way.”