by Rebecca Deel
Blondie crouched beside her. “Barone won’t always be around. Sometime soon, he won’t need you anymore. Then you’ll be mine. Maybe you won’t mind as much as you pretend. Your boyfriend isn’t much of a man. The coward hasn’t even bothered to track you down yet.” He smiled. “You don’t have to worry about that with me. I’ll always find you and bring you back. You won’t like the punishment, but I will.”
Zoe glared at him. “Simon is more man than you’ll ever be. He has honor and integrity. You’re nothing but two-bit thug with a bad attitude, a gun, and a pea-sized brain.”
Before she could draw in a breath, Blondie slapped her. Zoe’s head whipped to the left as something crashed to the floor and broke. Pain radiated from her cheekbone in waves. Despite Blondie using his open hand to hit her, Zoe saw stars and wondered if she was going to pass out again. From the feel of her jaw, Barone had slugged her to knock her out for transport to this place, then hauled her away from the Murray home.
“Hey,” Barone yelled up the stairs. “Everything okay up there?”
Blondie’s eyes glittered. “Yeah, she’s fine.” He leaned close enough to whisper, “But not for long.” He stroked the top button of her shirt. “You’re going to pay.” He stalked from the room, slamming the door behind him.
Zoe blinked away the tears in her eyes. She could cry later when she had an ice pack pressed to her face and Simon’s arms around her. Man, she missed him so much she could barely draw in a breath.
She sat up to resume the work on the zip ties when her foot slid on something. She glanced down. A shard of ceramic. Her eyes widened. Would the broken piece have enough of a sharp edge to cut through the plastic?
Only one way to find out. Zoe used the edge of her shoe to maneuver the shard toward her hands. She twisted and turned, pushing the ceramic close enough to grasp.
Zoe’s breath puffed out as though she’d run a marathon. Nice. Who knew twisting yourself into a pretzel winded you? After a moment, she positioned the piece so a sharp edge lay against the plastic and began to saw.
“Come on,” she muttered after a while. “Give way already.” Minutes later, the restraint broke and Zoe’s hands were free.
She scrambled to her feet and hurried to the closest window. Back pressed against the wall, she moved the curtain enough to see that this was the side of the cabin with a straight drop to the ground. Wonder Woman could do it. Unfortunately, Zoe wasn’t a superhero.
Ducking under the window frame so she wouldn’t be visible to someone on the ground, she crossed the room to the other window and wanted to scream in frustration. That window faced the front of the house where two men stood.
Zoe eyed the door. She didn’t remember Blondie locking the door and realized the lock was on her side of the doorknob. She could get out, but big deal? From the sounds of the continuing argument downstairs, this time over the best ways to handle Simon, there were several men on the first floor. She would never escape by using the main stairwell.
Did this place have stairs at the back of the house? With her luck, they led into the kitchen, a place where one or more of the guards could be drinking coffee or eating a snack. No, if back stairs existed, they would be her last resort.
If her prison was at the front of the house, there must be other rooms on the other side of the hallway. Those rooms might give her a better option for escaping from Barone and his cronies. If she put enough distance between her and the creeps, there were plenty of places to hide and wait for daylight or for Simon.
Knowing she didn’t have much time before either Curly or Blondie returned, Zoe twisted the knob. She eased the door open an inch and waited to see if someone noticed that she was free.
After a moment, she concluded that she was safe. Opening the door wider, Zoe peered down the hall toward the stairs. No guards on this level. She saw a closed door across the hall and decided it wasn’t safe to open. What if one of Barone’s men was asleep in there? Another room to the left had an open door. She would try that one.
Zoe slipped into the hall and hurried into the darkened room. She didn’t see or hear anyone. Although she hated to close the door and alert one of the men to a change, she hated even more to leave herself vulnerable. Maybe she could find a weapon to protect herself even if an escape route wasn’t available.
Decision made, Zoe closed and locked the door, then went to the window. No escape. Straight down. She glanced to the right and spotted French doors. A balcony?
Heart beating faster, she unlocked the French door and opened it a fraction. Cool night air rushed into the room and made her doubly glad she’d shut the door to the hall. Definitely a balcony or a deck. She opened the door wider and checked for guards standing on the wooden surface. The balcony was empty.
Zoe stepped out and closed the door behind her. She glanced around. Although the guards weren’t in evidence on the ground, she knew that wouldn’t last long. The men were thorough and seemed to know what they were doing.
No stairs. The balcony was enclosed. However, a large tree was close enough for Zoe to grab one of the branches. She’d never been a tree climber. Guess she was going to learn. Anything to escape Curly and Blondie and their pals.
Zoe heard a noise from below and lay flat on the wooden surface of the balcony, hoping she wouldn’t be seen. The lighting was dim on this side of the house, something she knew Simon wouldn’t have allowed if this were his place.
Soon, the guard disappeared around the side of the house. Zoe popped up, reached for the tree limb, and hauled herself onto the rough surface. Inch by inch, she felt her way to the trunk of the tree, then reached for the next lower branch with the toe of her tennis shoe. She was so getting hiking boots before the week was out.
Zoe made her way carefully to the ground. Now what? She glanced around. Not seeing or hearing a guard, she mimicked what she’d observed of Simon’s movements during their mission the night before. She hugged the shadows, careful not to step on something that would break or crack and give away her position.
Urgency drove her to move faster. Curly or Blondie would check on her soon. Once they knew she was gone, they’d sound the alarm and she would have a bunch of thugs on her trail.
Zoe reached the safety of the woods when a shout came from the house. She glanced over her shoulder. Her heart sank. Time was up.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Simon activated his comm system. “In position,” he murmured, gaze locked on the 6,000-square-foot cabin where his woman was being held against her will. Someone would pay for taking Zoe. Barone would pay more for hurting her. Before he left the house, Naomi had informed Simon that Barone punched Zoe in the face.
“Hold,” Trent whispered.
Simon scanned the area, skin prickling. Where were the guards? Barone should have posted guards to alert him to unwanted visitors. Only a fool would assume that Simon and his teammates wouldn’t track Zoe. Were the guards good enough that Bravo and Ethan missed them or were they gone?
Grabbing his NVGs, Simon studied the cabin. Two people moved about freely on the first floor. A ball of ice formed in his gut. Neither one appeared to be Zoe.
He scanned the top floor again. No heat signatures. Had Barone moved Zoe when Ashton didn’t check in?
Jaw clenched, Simon vowed to capture one of the men left behind and force him to divulge where Barone took Zoe. He didn’t care what kind of force was necessary to learn the truth.
Ethan’s voice sounded over the comm system. “I located several sets of footprints leading away from the cabin. One set belongs to Zoe.”
Simon froze. “Trent?” His voice came out rough, gut screaming that Zoe was in trouble. He had to find her.
“Ethan, location?”
“Back of the cabin, west corner at the tree line.”
“Simon, go.”
He skirted the perimeter of the structure, hugging the shadows to avoid alerting the two clowns in the cabin that Bravo had located their hideout. They must have a way to communicate w
ith Barone.
When he located Ethan, the police chief pointed at the prints in the dirt. “Zoe has several men after her.” He turned to Simon, expression grim. “She won’t be able to elude them for long.”
And when they found her, they would be furious. Remembering the sheer brutality highlighted in Blake Barone’s background, Simon activated his comm system. “Looks like Zoe escaped. The rest of the men must be combing the area for her.”
“Copy. Five minutes. We need to secure the guards before we go after Zoe. Do not proceed until the cabin is secured.”
Simon’s hands fisted. “Copy.”
While they waited, Ethan studied the footprints while Simon scouted the area for more indications of the direction Zoe went. How ironic that one woman ignited an all-out search when Barone or one of his men could have handled the search with a second person for backup.
“Eight or nine men are on her trail,” Ethan murmured. “They’ll split up and run her to ground.”
“You’re not helping.”
“You can handle the truth better than a pretty lie.” Dark eyes glanced his way. “Zoe is smart. She’ll do her best to protect herself and she has an excellent motive to survive. You.”
Simon hoped that would be enough, but going up against a Special Forces unit without protection or experience was a recipe for failure.
At the five-minute mark, the rest of Bravo joined them. Trent glanced at Simon. “You and Ethan take point. Stay on Zoe’s trail. The rest of us will peel off to track the rest of them. Zoe is your only priority.”
“Yes, sir.” He set off with Ethan, following the smaller footprints in the dirt. Simon’s tracking skills weren’t in the same class as Ethan’s, but he recognized the place where Zoe realized the thugs were on her trail. Her tread patterns became more distinctive with a kickout in the heel digging deeper when his girl began to run.
Simon fought the need to sprint after her, forcing himself to consider what he was seeing with cool logic. She was using as much hard surface as she could find to lose her pursuers. Unfortunately, she left enough prints behind to gain a few minutes before the men caught her trail again. About three hundred yards further, Barone and his merry band of thugs split up to cut off Zoe’s escape routes.
Simon glanced over his shoulder as Trent divided the rest of his team. Although they were outnumbered, Bravo thrived in games of cat-and-mouse. Still, tracking down more than one opponent would slow their progress. Simon didn’t want to contemplate the possibility that Barone’s men seeded this area with IEDs. The men didn’t seem to be avoiding one particular direction. If he was smart, Barone left himself and his men an escape route. If there was a safe zone, Simon prayed Zoe stayed inside the boundaries.
When he and Ethan broke from the trees, Simon oriented himself and sucked in a breath, dread coiling in his gut. Ethan glanced back at him, eyebrows raised. “There’s a gorge half a mile from here with a steep drop to the river. In the darkness, Zoe might not see it until it was too late.” Or she wouldn’t have a choice. Barone might force her over the edge to rid himself of a problem.
He activated his comm system and informed the others about the gorge, receiving four clicks in silent acknowledgment. The information would be enough for his teammates. They could take care of themselves. Zoe needed help derailing the goons on her trail.
Simon was surprised that she’d eluded her pursuers this long. Was Barone toying with Zoe, heightening her fear before pouncing? Based on his profile, Barone wasn’t above using psychological torture to get what he wanted.
“Ethan, how many men are tracking her?”
“Three.”
“One of them has to be Barone. He wouldn’t leave her recapture to an underling. That leaves six who are circling to cut her off.”
They continued in silence. Although Simon wanted Ethan to push the pace, they risked missing a sign of her passage through the area and having to retrace their steps to pick up her trail again if they were wrong. Zoe couldn’t afford for them to make a mistake.
The closer they moved to the gorge, the more Simon’s fear grew until the urgency to find Zoe before Barone or his cronies did consumed him.
When they were close to the edge of the gorge, a woman screamed. Zoe! Simon surged ahead of Ethan and raced toward the sound of male laughter.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Zoe glared at Barone, fighting against Blondie’s hold. Seconds later, his hold shifted and Blondie brandished a knife in front of her face.
“I like my women to fight,” he growled. “Makes it more enjoyable.”
“For who?” she muttered.
“Me.”
Her attention swung to Barone. “Let me go,” she demanded.
“Sorry, pretty lady,” he said, not sounding sorry in the least. “You’re too valuable to release.”
“What do you want?” Despite knowing the answer to her question, Simon needed time to find her. In other words, she had to stall Blake Barone.
“Your boyfriend,” he said in answer to her question. “You’re the bait.”
Blondie dragged Zoe tighter against his chest. “You promised to give her to me. I don’t want to wait until later.”
His boss looked thoughtful a moment, then shook his head. “Too dangerous to have you distracted.”
A snort from the man holding her caged against his body. “You don’t have anything to worry about. Whoever told you Murray and his team were an elite unit didn’t know squat. Murray should have been here long before now even with the surprises we left behind to slow him down.” Blondie nuzzled Zoe’s temple. “You’ll find out what a real man is like soon, sweet cheeks.”
Eww! She turned her face away, disgusted and terrified that he would do what he wanted as soon as Barone’s back was turned. Simon was coming. The question was if he would arrive in time to spare her from this thug’s intentions.
Unfortunately, Curly stood on her left side, a grin on his swarthy face, black eyes glittering. “She don’t want you, man. She prefers a real man like me.”
Curly was right. She did prefer a real man—Simon. Zoe caught movement in the trees. She dropped her gaze and fought in earnest.
The shadowy figure didn’t move like an animal. Providing a distraction was the only thing she could do to help. Was the mysterious figure Simon? She couldn’t be sure.
The terrible threesome laughed again at her futile struggles. “You’re wasting your strength,” Barone said, a smirk on his face. “You’ll need your strength later because Jenks is all about obedience and pain.”
That she could believe.
A noise to her right had the three men pivoting that direction. Jenks kept her squarely in front of his body, the jerk. Barone and Curly had weapons in their hands, aimed that direction.
Zoe waited for another noise or for movement on her left where she’d seen the shadow figure. Unfortunately, Zoe’s new position prevented her from seeing the progress of the operative closing in.
Another noise came from the right in the trees. Barone frowned and glanced at Curly. “Check it out.”
The thug took off for the trees and melted into the darkness. A moment later, a muffled thump sounded. Barone stiffened. “Hatcher?” he called.
Nothing broke the silence aside from the night breeze.
A scowl. “Hatcher.”
Tension filled Jenks’ body. “Something’s wrong.”
Barone sent the man a derisive look. “You think?” He waited another moment and called out again. When he received no response, Barone glanced at Jenks. “Give her to me and find Hatcher. Be alert.”
“I’m not planning on napping in the dirt,” he growled as he shoved Zoe into Barone’s arms. “Remember who she belongs to, Barone. I want her in good shape. I’ve got plans for sweet Zoe.”
“Move,” Barone snapped.
Jenks slid his knife away, palmed his gun, and headed for the trees where his cohort had disappeared.
Barone dragged Zoe farther from the trees. She
twisted to free herself from his hold. Barone countered every movement until she was pinned so tight against him that she couldn’t move. Great. How could she help herself and the operatives now?
Zoe’s attention shifted to the left. Though the area was shrouded in darkness, she had the impression of a vast open space. A ravine? If she could free herself, a ravine offered ample places to hide until Simon or one of his friends found her.
But the space felt bigger than a ditch. The lack of light frustrated her. Distraction. She needed to distract Barone from his intense focus. Physically fighting this Special Forces soldier wasn’t an option. His hold was unbreakable. That left breaking his concentration. “If you want to survive this night, let me go.”
Barone gave a rough laugh. “Trying to scare me is a waste of your time. I don’t scare, sweetheart, and I’m certainly not afraid of your boyfriend. He’s all talk and no action.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself.” Simon stepped out from the stand of trees, although he was still in the shadows. “Let her go, Barone. You want me, not her.”
“Look who finally showed up to the party late. Simon Murray, the coward responsible for sending my uncle to prison.”
“Matteo sent himself to prison by breaking the law.”
“He was taking care of his family.” The muscles in Barone’s body hardened.
“By selling weapons illegally. How many innocent families were torn apart by your uncle’s business? Too many to count, Barone.”
“Stop talking about Uncle Matteo.” He pressed a gun to Zoe’s temple. “Get over here, Murray, or I’ll kill your woman in front of you.”
“And lose your only leverage? I don’t think so. If you shoot her, I will kill you before you take another breath.”
Barone stilled. “She’ll still be dead and you’ll have to live with the knowledge that you’re to blame.”