Snowbound Security

by Beverly Long

He was quickly sorting through the options. It had to have happened before they left Colorado. Jennie or Paddie could have done it. But why? They were helping them in every way possible. Where else had they been? At the hospital. Laura had spent the night at his mother’s house. Again, it just wasn’t feasible that his mom or Charro would do anything to hurt him.

  Peter. Peter who had joined them for lunch and then unexpectedly returned later in the afternoon, ostensibly to visit his dad but had left before doing so.

  Left with Laura. Walked out to his car at the same time.

  But why would he have done this? Why would he have wanted to track Laura and then abduct her? What the hell did he intend to do with her?

  Peter was a lazy, cheap son of a bitch, but Rico didn’t think he was a criminal. But he might have done something to make a quick buck.

  Rico realized his hand was shaking as he dialed his phone. His brother-in-law answered on the third ring. “Hi, Rico.”

  “I found the tracking device that you put in Laura’s purse,” he said.

  He could hear the man suck in a breath. But he said nothing.

  “Laura is missing. I need to find her, Peter. And you need to tell me what the hell is going on.”

  Still, the man said nothing.

  “Peter, I will bankrupt myself making sure that you never, ever see your son or daughter again.”

  “This isn’t about Laura,” Peter said. “Nobody cares about her. It’s about you.”

  “Who?” Rico demanded. “Who has her?”

  “I don’t know. It was the two guys who came to the house that one day, looking for your address. I talked to them for a while. The one guy never said a word but the other guy, well, he and I sort of connected. I got the impression he wasn’t your biggest fan.”

  And that would have appealed to Peter.

  “He said that if you were ever in the area, that I should let him know. Said it was worth a grand to them. When Charro told me you were coming to see your dad, I gave him a call.”

  “Who are these men?” he demanded.

  “I really don’t know. When I got home from lunch at the hospital, they were at the house. Said that they wanted to mess with you a little and that all I needed to do was put the tracking device in your vehicle and they’d up the offer by another grand. That’s all they said. Mess with you a little. I didn’t know anything about taking somebody. This is not my fault.”

  He wanted to wring his brother-in-law’s neck. “So you put it in Laura’s purse.”

  “Yeah, well, I couldn’t figure out a way to get it in your car because it was locked, but I figured the next best thing was to drop it in Laura’s bag. She was going to be in your car. Same difference.”

  If he’d hated before, he’d never hated anyone the way he hated his brother-in-law.

  “Hey, I’m sorry if things aren’t going well. If it helps, I did hear the one call the other one Gilly.”

  * * *

  Laura heard the door next door open and shut and sure enough, in seconds, the door to her room was opening. Tributary came in. She had her gun.

  Laura made a head motion toward the bathroom and opened her eyes wide, to give the woman a sense that it was an emergency.

  The woman sighed but then pulled a small utility knife from her pocket and freed just her legs. “Make it snappy,” she said. “We have to get out of here.”

  Laura tried to talk but the tape on her mouth made it impossible. She kept going, making a series of unintelligible sounds. She could tell it was irritating the woman.

  Tributary reached up and ripped off the tape. “What?” she demanded.

  “I was wondering if your mother, Mora, knows what’s happening here,” Laura said.

  She could see that she’d shocked the woman. But she recovered fast. “Gilly doesn’t say much but I guess when he does, he’s right. We are going to have to kill you. And we can’t do it here because these rooms were rented under our names.”

  There was no way she was going anywhere else with these people. Her best shot was to get outside, attract some attention from another guest. And it was easier to fight one person than three. Now was her opportunity.

  Laura bent forward and rammed her shoulder into Tributary’s middle, knocking the wind out of her and propelling her back onto the bed. The gun clattered to the floor but didn’t go off. She turned, ran for the door and fumbled just a second too long with the knob because out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tributary behind her, holding a lamp.

  Then it felt as if her head was splitting apart when the woman hit her with it.

  * * *

  Rico hung up from his call with Peter and immediately dialed Mora Rambeilla’s cell phone. When she answered, she seemed like a washed-out version of the woman he’d known. Her voice was tiny, almost timid. “Yes,” she said.

  “Mora, why did you call the Wingman Security offices and leave a cryptic warning that I needed to be careful.”

  “I didn’t do that,” she denied.

  “I know it was you, Mora. And I need to know why.”

  “There’s just stuff going on.”

  “The woman I love was taken from a vehicle that she and I were driving. I think your children did it, Mora. I need you to tell me if I’m right.”

  “Oh, God,” she sobbed. “I’ve been so afraid. None of them are answering their phones. They’re so...” Her voice trailed off.

  “Keep talking,” he said.

  “They’re so angry. I found out that they were behind the threats. My three greedy children. It wasn’t enough that I was basically supporting all of them still, they wanted more. They wanted control of the business. They thought if I got scared enough, I’d want to walk away from it. And it would be theirs. I confronted them. Told them that they were all off the payroll—that the gravy train had pulled into the station and was parked for good. Told my sons to get their things and move out.”

  Rico now understood her sudden cancellation of the security contract. But it still didn’t make sense. “Why are they angry with me? I had nothing to do with any of this.”

  Mora was silent. “I think it’s because I told them that I’d learned a great deal by spending time with you. That they would never have the fortitude, the drive or the values that you possessed. I told them that I was sorry that you weren’t my son but that instead, I’d been saddled with them.” She sobbed. “It was a horrible thing to say but they’d done a horrible thing. I wanted to hurt them.”

  “Mora,” he said.

  “I know, I know. But they’re like their father in so many ways. So vengeful. They were driving the boat that caused your skiing accident.”

  Spawn of Satan. The whole bunch.

  “I called your office because they’ve all disappeared. I had to warn you but I didn’t want you to know it was me.”

  He felt as if his legs might not hold him. Laura was in trouble because this woman’s children were angry that she liked him better than them. It was ludicrous.

  But he’d known from the beginning that they weren’t quite right. Now he had to stop them before they did something terrible.

  “Your children are in Nashville, Tennessee.”

  “I know that,” she said.

  “How do you know that? Have you been in contact with them?”

  “No. My name is still on their credit card accounts. It’s only fitting since I pay the bill. I saw the transaction come through for a hotel in Nashville.”

  He felt the first glimmer of hope.

  “Where, Mora? Where?”

  Chapter 22

  It felt as if she was on a carnival ride. And that she was about to throw up.

  She couldn’t see anything, and for one second thought her head injury had caused her to be blind. But then realized that there was something over her eyes, some kind of material. It felt
like silk and she thought it likely was the scarf that Tributary had been wearing around her neck. They’d put the tape back over her mouth. Her hands were still tied in front of her and her ankles were tied together.

  If she threw up, she’d likely choke to death on her own vomit.

  Then, suddenly, she realized it wasn’t a ride. No, she was being carried. Somebody had her feet and somebody else had their hands under her armpits. She was swaying, her middle sagging down.

  And with a jerk, it stopped and...oh, damn, that hurt. They’d tossed her to the ground. She could smell dirt and could feel sharp gravel pressing into her back.

  “Shoot her.”

  That was Tributary.

  “No. You shoot her.” A male voice. Had to be either Gilly or Duggar.

  They went back and forth for a minute. And then a new voice. “Just give me the gun. I’ll do it.”

  * * *

  As they sped toward the motel, Detective Phillips fed the description of the car the Rambeilla offspring were driving to a police dispatcher. Rico listened but he mostly prayed. Please let her be okay. Please let me be in time.

  Then the detective called ahead to the hotel, got connected to the manager. After explaining the situation, the manager provided the room numbers for the two rooms that the credit card had paid for. Detective Phillips relayed that information to his dispatcher and requested backup.

  When they pulled into the lot, Rico scanned the vehicles there. His stomach dropped. There was no two-year-old Volvo in the lot. He had his hand on the door handle as the car rolled to a stop.

  “Don’t get ahead of me,” Detective Phillips warned.

  “Then go fast,” Rico said.

  To the detective’s credit, he didn’t mess around and within a minute, he led a team of four up the stairs to the second floor. Rico stayed behind them but not by much.

  They knocked on the first door and announced their presence. No answer. Same with the door next to it. Detective Phillips took the key the manager had provided and opened both doors.

  Both rooms were empty. No sign of Laura.

  Except...there was discarded rope lying next to a desk chair. Rope that could have been used to tie somebody up.

  He knew it would ultimately be photographed and collected for the possibility of DNA evidence. But none of that did him any good.

  Laura had been here. Then taken.

  Be smart and fight hard. His dad’s parting words.

  He called Mora. “They’re not at the hotel,” he said. “Where else in Nashville would they go?”

  “I don’t know, Rico. I would tell you if I did. I don’t want them to hurt that poor woman.”

  “They’re driving Gilly’s car,” he said.

  “Yes. I told you that. The Volvo.”

  “You also told me once that Gilly didn’t ever let anybody else drive his car.”

  “That’s right. Gilly likes to do two things—drive his car and hunt for mushrooms.”

  Hunt for mushrooms. That was right. Gilly who rarely said anything had once talked for several minutes about foraging for mushrooms in the woods. Said that was his favorite place, where he always felt calm. He waved his arm and got Detective Phillips’s attention. “Closest woods or forest?” he asked.

  The detective conferred quickly with the others. “Bancroft Timbers. It’s maybe three miles that way.”

  “Let’s go,” he said. “Thank you, Mora,” he said and hung up.

  “You and I’ll go,” Detective Phillips said. “The others will stay here and canvas the other travelers. Maybe they saw something.”

  He nodded. Canvassing took time and he didn’t think they had much of that.

  * * *

  Laura would have begged if she could have. Begged for herself, for Hannah, for Rico. For the life that they might have had, the joy that might have been theirs.

  Rico would protect Hannah. She knew he would. And she had to be content with that. Content to leave them behind.

  She heard rustling and assumed they were passing the gun.

  Waited for the shot.

  * * *

  “Put your gun down,” Detective Phillips bellowed.

  And for a minute, Rico didn’t think Gilly Rambeilla was going to do it. And he steadied his own gun on the man.

  He could see Laura on the ground. Tied up but alive. She was going to stay that way.

  “Everybody stand still,” Detective Phillips said, as he edged closer. “Nobody needs to get hurt.”

  And the three Rambeilla children did what they were told. The minute Gilly’s gun was on the ground, Rico was past him.

  “Laura. Sweetheart. We’ve got you.” Unsure of her injuries, he undid the scarf around her eyes. Pulled the tape off her mouth. “Are you hurt?”

  “Just a little bump on my head,” she said. She smiled at him.

  He felt the back of her head and got scared all over again. She had a knot. “We need an ambulance,” he yelled.

  “I’m fine,” she said. “I only see one of you. And where are your crutches?”

  He pulled the pocketknife that he always carried out of his jeans and quickly cut the ropes around her wrists and ankles. Then put an arm behind her and helped her sit up. “I thought I’d lost you,” he said. “And I just couldn’t imagine going on without you.”

  “Never,” she said.

  “Marry me, Laura. Be my wife. Be my love. I want you and Hannah to be my family.”

  “Where would we live?”

  “Wherever you want. Somewhere you can be a physical therapist again. Indiana. Tennessee. Nevada. Colorado. On the damn moon. I don’t care. As long as you and Hannah are there.”

  “Rankin?”

  “Long story and I’ll tell you every detail once we get your head checked. But let’s just say that you’re never going to have to worry about him again.”

  He could hear the sound of an approaching siren.

  “Gilly, Duggar and Tributary. Who would have thought?” she said.

  “They wanted to hurt me. All because they were mad after Mora compared them to me.”

  “She liked you best.” She reached up and touched his face. “Of course she did. Rico, only a fool would feel differently.”

  “I love you. I haven’t said it before because I didn’t want to pressure you. But I know we can make this work. I know I can be a good husband, a good father.”

  “Who would doubt that?” she asked. “I love you, too,” she said. “This isn’t a hard decision, Rico. It’s—” she smiled at him “—easy-peasy.”

  * * * * *

  Look for the next book in Beverly Long’s WINGMAN SECURITY miniseries later this year.

  And don’t miss the previous books in the series:

  BODYGUARD REUNION

  POWER PLAY

  Available now wherever

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  Colton P.I. Protector

  by Regan Black

  Chapter 1

  In her office at the Red Ridge K9 Training Center, Danica Gage finished the reports for the day and shut down her computer. From the kennels, she heard the faint whining of the newest arrivals, two Belgian Malinois puppies. At three months old, they were beginning their journey to become working dogs. Danica loved this first stage when the goal was to teach a dog basic obedience and uncover the inherent strengths.

  Whenever new dogs arrived, they were often lonely from leaving their mother and littermates, and uncertain about the new surroundings. This pair was no exception. The staff always scheduled an overnight trainer to supervise and ease the transition. Working these shifts, just her and the dogs and the expansive quiet of the South Dakota nights, gave Danica a deep sense of peace and purpose.

  The puppies had been snuggled together when she’d been in the kennels half an hour ago to give a fully trained protection dog named Nico one last walk for the night. Also a Malinois, he was solid black and all the more intimidating for it. At this stage of his precise training, he was allowed only limited contact with a few members of the staff while he waited for the assignment of a permanent handler. Danica hoped it didn’t take long. Nico was one of the smartest dogs she’d had the privilege to support and he needed to get to work. With his inherent pride and defensive drive, the dog would be an asset to any handler or security team.

  She opened the door between the offices and the kennels and the whining turned to a keening plea. She smiled as the puppies scrambled to the front gate. Other dogs nearby woke to the noise, but only one or two gave any verbal reaction when they saw Danica. The puppies, however, were wide awake and ready to go. Typical of their breed, this pair was bright and eager, their intelligent eyes gleaming from dark-masked faces. The tan fur still had plenty of puppy-fluff in it and on the rare occasions when they were still, she indulged in petting the soft coats.