Slowly, Blake’s visits had tapered off until they ceased. Linc hadn’t said much, but Chloe figured something had happened. Something bad.
Then bits and pieces had filtered down to her and she’d filed the information away. Now she pulled it from the dusty mental file cabinet and thought about her teenage crush.
She hadn’t seen him in forever, even though she knew he and Linc got together on a regular basis now that both of them had returned to Columbia. She also knew they worked together occasionally, because her ears perked up each time Linc mentioned him.
At some point about four years ago, Blake’s wife had left him and had taken their daughter with her. It had been a nasty separation, and after an intense custody battle, Aimee was awarded primary custody of Rachel and Blake had thrown himself into his job with a vengeance.
And then Aimee had died in a car wreck and Blake had finally gotten custody of his then fourteen-year-old daughter.
Chloe glanced at the clock on the wall and frowned. Rachel had been gone a good fifteen minutes. She stepped outside and looked for a familiar face. And her eyes landed on one. Not the one she wanted to see. What was he doing here? His back was to her, but she recognized him instantly.
Jordan Crestwood. SWAT member, friend to Derek and Brady. Ex-boyfriend to Chloe. She grimaced and almost ducked back inside, but she needed to ask about Rachel.
“Hey, Eve,” she called to the nurse behind the desk.
“Yes?”
Jordan turned too.
“Have you seen the girl that walked out of here twenty minutes ago?”
“I saw her at the restroom door, but I got called away. It’s been a bit crazy around here, sorry.”
“I know.” Chloe walked down to the bathroom and knocked. “Rachel?”
No answer.
She tried again. “Rachel? You okay?”
More silence. With a bad feeling growing in her midsection, she tried the door and the knob turned easily. Chloe pushed the door open and stared into the empty bathroom.
“Hey, Chloe,” Jordan said from behind her. “It’s been a while.”
The bad feeling grew into a massive ball of dreaded certainty.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“She’s gone.”
6
Blake pushed through the emergency room doors, absently noting the smell of antiseptic and cleaning product. All hospitals smelled the same, but only one held his daughter. He hurried to flash his badge at the woman who controlled the button that would let him in.
“It’s a regular law enforcement convention around here tonight,” she said.
Nodding his thanks, he headed to the back. Room 2, Chloe had said. He turned the corner and found her standing in the hall talking to Linc, two police officers, and hospital security. Linc straightened from his position against the wall.
“Where’s Rachel?” Blake asked.
Chloe turned, tension in every line of her body. “We don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know!” All eyes turned on him. He took a deep breath. “Sorry. Sorry.”
Chloe took his arm and directed him toward the room. Linc followed.
“Chloe?” a male voice called.
Blake stopped as she turned, annoyance tightening her face. “Jordan, I don’t have time right now, okay?”
“Sure, I get it. Later?”
“Probably not.” She shut the door and turned to Blake and Linc. “Rachel said she needed to go to the restroom. She went and that’s the last I saw of her. I asked hospital security if they would pull footage so we can see what happened. That should be here at any moment.”
“Is she hurt? Is it her blood sugar? Why is she here?” All he wanted was to see for himself that she was safe.
Chloe shot a look at Linc, and Blake appreciated the man’s blank expression. But he could see Chloe wasn’t fooled. She crossed her arms. “Blake, how long has Rachel been missing?”
He flinched. “What do you mean?”
“She was found on a tractor trailer with sixteen other human trafficking victims. How long has she been missing, and why hasn’t there been a missing persons report filed on her? Why doesn’t anyone know she’s been gone?”
For the first time in his life, Blake thought he might actually pass out. Spots danced before his eyes and his head spun. Chloe placed her hands on his chest and gave him a gentle push. He sank into the chair behind him and turned to the one person he’d trusted with Rachel’s life. “Human trafficking, Linc? I don’t understand. That’s not possible. How does that fit with the text? With everything?”
Linc frowned. “I have no idea. Let’s see what the security cameras show.”
“What text?” Chloe asked.
A knock on the door brought Blake’s head up. He avoided Chloe’s question for now. Monique Pascal, with hospital security, walked in carrying a laptop. “I’ve got your footage here if you want to take a look.”
“Absolutely.”
She already had it ready to play. A tap of one key set the video in motion.
Blake saw his daughter come out of the room where he now sat and walk to the restroom. She paused at the door, looked both ways, then slipped inside. When she opened the door a minute and fifty-three seconds later, she looked left, and paused. She stood there for a good two minutes, had a quick exchange with a nurse at the station, who then looked away and rushed off. Rachel hurried down the hall with a brief stop in front of room 4. A nurse came out of the room a few seconds later, looked at her cart, shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.
“What’s that about?” Blake asked.
“An insulin pen went missing with Rachel,” Chloe said. “The nurse was bringing it, along with meds for a couple of other patients, and got called by an occupant as she passed by room 4. The nurse popped her head in to tell her she’d be right back. When she turned around, the pen was gone.”
“What about her PDM device?”
“She doesn’t have it.”
He groaned. “Okay, but at least she has the pen for extra insulin. So, where’s she going?”
“Here.” Monique tapped another key. “She went out the front door.” Rachel stepped into the revolving door and disappeared. “Then,” Monique said. “Here. I caught up with her on the parking garage camera.”
The computer screen blipped, then another video appeared. Rachel went to the stairwell and the door shut behind her.
His heart thudded and he broke into a cold sweat. She’d left under her own power, but why?
And the human trafficking thing? She’d been found in a trailer with other girls? Why would they do that when they needed her as leverage?
Because they thought they had him? That he would kill the judge and they never intended to let her go because she could identify them?
Maybe.
“But—” Blake said.
Monique raised a hand, cutting him off. “I’ve got one more shot.” She clicked the keyboard, then pressed play once again.
Rachel exiting the stairwell door. She walked across the parking lot, dodging cars. And then she wasn’t there.
“Where’d she go now?” Chloe asked.
Monique shook her head. “I don’t know for sure, but watch this.” She zoomed in on a red Suburban. Movement. The back window opening? No, it was already open. Rachel’s face appeared for a blip of a second before disappearing once more. “I think she got in the back of that Suburban. And before you ask, I tried getting a plate, but it was mostly obscured by mud or something. I did get two letters. GN.”
“I’m on that,” Linc said. He got on his phone while the others processed what they’d just seen Rachel do.
Chloe cleared her throat. “So, do we consider her a runaway now?”
“No,” Linc said with a glance at Blake.
Blake pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m . . . I don’t know what to think about this.” He looked up. “She’s a smart girl. Street smart in addition to brainy smart, but I have
no idea why she’d leave.” His lips tightened. “Unless it was to avoid me.”
“What was her demeanor when she was here in the room with you?” Linc asked Chloe.
“Scared. Angry. Secretive.” She frowned. “She told me her name was Beth.”
“What?” Blake asked.
“Yes.”
“But why?”
“I don’t know. But, uh . . . at first she didn’t want to call you.”
“Of course she didn’t.” He swallowed and shoved his hands into his front pockets. “She hates me.”
“Actually, she seemed to be more worried about you than anything else. She said she was afraid to tell me who she was because they would kill you. From what I understand, some of the other girls have the same concerns for their family members. Although, most have been convinced to tell who they are. But Rachel was really scared to do so.”
Blake shook his head and raked a hand through his hair. So, Rachel did care about him. Then why was she so angry with him? What had changed in the last year to cause her to turn against him so vehemently?
“Blake?”
He blinked. He’d been so lost in thought he’d missed her question. “What?”
“Why do you think she hates you?”
“I’m not sure, because she won’t give me the full story. Her attitude is like, ‘If you’re too stupid to figure it out, you don’t deserve to know’—but about a year ago, she started calling me Blake. As far as I can tell, her mother convinced her that I’m pretty much worthless and the reason I wasn’t around the last few years was because I didn’t care enough to be there. And while it’s not true, I can’t seem to make her believe otherwise.” That was probably part of it, but there was more. He just didn’t know what, and Rachel wouldn’t tell him. “So . . . right now, we don’t talk much. She spends all of her time either hanging out with Lindsey, her best friend, or at the pool, swimming. She’s on the long-distance swim team. Wants to go to the Olympics . . .” He shook his head. “That’s pretty much the only thing that hasn’t changed since her mother died. Bottom line is, Rachel hates me and I don’t know why or what to do about it.”
“And yet . . . ,” Chloe said.
“And yet what?” Blake asked.
Chloe gave a slight shrug. “She punched your number in my phone.”
“It only rang once. She hung up, didn’t she?”
“Yes, but—”
“She knew Chloe would call the number back,” Linc said. “Or that you would call the number that showed up on your screen.”
Blake pursed his lips. “You think she was reaching out?”
“I think she wanted to,” Chloe said. “I think she’s trying to ask for help without actually asking for it.”
He rubbed a hand down his face and turned to Linc. “We have to find her.”
“We won’t stop until we do,” Linc said.
Exactly what they’d all said about the St. Johns’ niece, Penny. And they were still looking.
“Linc?” Chloe waited until her brother looked up and met her gaze. “Rachel had on Penny’s shirt. The one she was wearing when she disappeared.”
He blinked. “You asked her about it?”
“Of course. It was the main reason I sought her out. She said it was in a box in the house where she and the other girls were kept.”
“Could she tell you where the house was?”
“No.”
He sighed. “Maybe one of the other girls will be more help.”
“How are they?”
“Getting checked out and questioned. We’ve pried parents’ names from a few more of them. We’ve got three holdouts still terrified to tell us who to call. We’ll run fingerprints and see what we can turn up. When the girls disappeared, crime scene techs probably processed their rooms and put the information into NCIC, so we’ll see if we can get a match that way. It’s going to be a long night for them. For all of us.”
“Lindsey,” Blake said. “Where’s Lindsey?”
Chloe frowned. “Who?”
“I was so focused on Rachel, I didn’t think to ask if you’d found Lindsey as well. She and Rachel are best friends and disappeared the same day. I’m sure they were together. Lindsey’s been all over the news. Her mother has been calling me every day, trying to talk to Rachel. I’ve had a beast of a time putting her off.”
“Wait a minute,” Chloe said. “She doesn’t know Rachel’s missing too? I’m confused.”
Blake fell silent and Linc shoved his hands into his front pockets. Chloe’s eyes darted back and forth between the two men. “What’s going on? Why are you being so mysterious?”
“Rachel’s disappearance is more than what it looks like on the surface,” Blake finally said.
“Okay.” She crossed her arms, ready to listen.
“I . . .” He shot a look at Linc, who shrugged. Blake seemed to come to a decision. He straightened and pulled his phone from his pocket. “Shortly after Rachel and Lindsey were taken, I got this text.” He tapped his screen and handed her the phone.
She looked at it and lifted her gaze to meet his. “Whoa.”
“Yes.”
“But, why?”
“I’m one of the marshals assigned to Ben Worthington. Before I even knew something was wrong, I received a text that they’d taken Rachel and more instructions would be forthcoming, but in the meantime, I was to wait. So I did—and then brought Linc in to help when I couldn’t wait any longer. I found out about Lindsey later that night. Then nothing for a week. I got the most recent text this morning. The gist of it is that they want me to kill the judge.”
She gasped. “Or they kill Rachel?”
“Yes.”
“Whoa.” As lethal as he looked at this moment, Chloe figured if he got his hands on whoever had taken Rachel, that person would sorely regret doing so. “So, what’s our next move?”
“Our?” Linc asked.
“I’m in this now.” She let a grim smile curve her lips. “And I have a dog that can track more than just drugs as long as I have a scent item.”
“True.” He crossed his arms and frowned. “All right, Chloe, you talk to Skye once she’s awake and see if she can add any details to Rachel’s account. And see if she knows why Rachel would disappear like she has.”
“On it. What are you guys going to do?”
“Talk to our supervisors and figure out a plan to nail some human traffickers.”
Rachel’s breath left her lungs when Carson finally pulled the Suburban to a stop. She curled tighter into herself. He’d been on the phone with someone most of the way, discussing the fact that she was missing and how he promised to find her. She shuddered and swallowed back the nausea that had lodged itself in her throat.
Please don’t come back here, please don’t come back here.
With her eyes squeezed shut, she waited. If he was going to find her, she didn’t want to see it coming.
His door slammed and she flinched. This was it. If he came to the back, she was done.
But nothing happened.
The back didn’t open.
No rough hands grabbed at her.
No harsh shouts filled the air.
A slow breath left her. Tremors shook her, and for a good five minutes, she simply stayed put trying to gather the nerve to climb out of the back of the vehicle.
Or maybe she should wait until dark.
No. There was always the chance he’d come back to get something. Slowly she slid out from underneath the tarp and edged to the tailgate. She shoved aside paint supplies and another tarp, along with several flyers advertising an art auction, and a box of protein bars. Hesitating for a brief second, she finally slid two of the bars into her pocket and slipped out the window.
Once her feet were on the ground, she stayed low behind the Suburban, shivering as a gust of wind blew her hair across her face. Pushing it aside, she drew in a deep breath and peered around the edge of the vehicle. All looked quiet. But what if someone was looking out a window
? She shivered and looked across the distance to the ramshackle barn. A haven. Her escape.
But the open expanse between the vehicle and the building terrified her. No, she couldn’t chance it. Not in the light of day. If she got caught . . .
No, getting caught wasn’t an option. She needed to get out while the getting was good and find a place to hide. Unfortunately, there wasn’t one nearby. She’d have to risk being discovered by hiding in the only place available.
Without another thought, she scrambled under the Suburban and tucked her arms beneath her. It would be cold, but she’d wait until dark when no one would see her running across the field to the barn. Cold was better than trapped in a cage again.
Once in the barn, she’d see if she could figure out where she was, find a phone, and call Blake.
7
Blake shoved back from the conference table located in the FBI’s office on Westpark Boulevard and crossed his arms. This day had gone from worse to circling the drain. JoAnn sat to his left, and Chloe, who had just walked in with Hank, sat across from him. She raised a brow.
Linc tilted his head at Blake. “You okay?”
“No. It’ll be dark in less than thirty minutes and we’re no closer to finding Rachel than we were six hours ago.” He raked a hand through his already mussed hair for probably the thousandth time and stood to pace the office. “It’s supposed to snow, you know.”
“It’s Columbia, it’s not going to snow,” JoAnn said. She twirled a pen in her right hand.
“We’ll watch the weather, but I’m inclined to agree with JoAnn.” Linc sighed. “All right. We’ve all acquired a bit of information in the last few hours, let’s go over what we’ve got. Rachel was taken, along with her best friend, Lindsey, a little more than a week ago. You received a text the day of her disappearance, then nothing until today when they told you to kill the judge.”
“Right.” Blake rubbed a hand down his face. “And then today, Rachel shows up in a truckload of human trafficking victims.” He glanced at Chloe. “You spoke with Skye Harper, the girl Rachel was so concerned about?”
“Yes. I had to wait for her to wake up from the anesthesia, but she was able to talk a bit.”
Called to Protect Page 6
