Target For Ransom

by Laura Scott

  Heaven help him, he wasn’t sure.

  “What do we need? I’ll get it,” Diana said, pushing her door open.

  “No, stay here.” He lightly caught her arm to prevent her from getting out. He couldn’t explain his wariness, but he was all for trusting his instincts. “I promise I’ll be back in a few minutes. And you can watch through the window for me.”

  She glared at him for a moment, then relented, closing her car door and settling back in her seat. His black T-shirt hid most of the blood, but he intended to find a restroom to finish cleaning up the wound.

  The bright lights made him squint. The restrooms were in the back, and he headed there first. It didn’t take long to clean up, and he was relieved the bullet hadn’t caused much damage. When that was finished, he grabbed a couple of throwaway phones, dressings, and over-the-counter painkillers.

  The woman behind the register eyed him warily as he checked out. He forced a smile, trying to put her at ease.

  She did not look reassured.

  He paid for everything in cash, then headed back out to the SUV, stopping short when he recognized Sun in the driver’s seat of another SUV parked beside it.

  Sun lowered the driver’s side window. “Get in. We’re leaving that SUV here.”

  Seeing Diana already settled in the passenger seat, he had little choice but to climb in behind Sun. “How did you find us?”

  “Followed you from the motel.” Sun backed out of the parking spot and took a right-hand turn out of the parking lot.

  “There wasn’t anyone behind us,” he protested.

  “I drove without lights.” Sun met his gaze in the rearview mirror. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left without telling you. I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to grab a rideshare to head over to where you left the SUV. The one in the parking area not far from the first warehouse explosion, remember?”

  “Yeah,” he admitted slowly. “But what made you think of that?”

  She shrugged. “That’s just the way my brain is wired. We needed another vehicle, so I went to get it. On the way back, I tried to find someplace that was open twenty-four seven to pick up something to eat. By the time I reached the motel, I noticed you and Diana driving away in an SUV.”

  He narrowed his gaze. “You really think I missed you tailing us because you were driving without lights?”

  “Yes, I do.” Sun made another turn, then headed toward the interstate. “I believe that was also how we were followed after the US Marshal contacted Diana.”

  He tried to think back at how he’d checked the rearview mirror. Maybe it was possible to tail someone in the middle of the night, driving without lights and keeping a safe distance back. Still, he was more observant than most.

  “Are you hungry?” Diana asked from the passenger seat. “Sun brought bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits. They’re cold but still edible.”

  He hesitated, hoping, praying Sun was right and they were finally out of danger. He winced when Sun hit the gas pedal, taking them to freeway speeds in a nanosecond, wishing he was the one behind the wheel. “Why not.”

  Diana handed him a sandwich. It was cold, but he ate it anyway. He frowned when he saw Sun take the lane that indicated they were heading back toward Baltimore. “Where are we going?”

  “I found the location of another warehouse,” Sun said in a calm voice. “I was going to check it out myself but figured you’d want to be there to check it out.”

  Another warehouse? He sat up straighter in his seat. “Which one?”

  “United Secrets, Inc.” Sun met his gaze in the mirror again. “It’s in Baltimore, not that far from the place known as Freedom Shoppes.”

  He tried to take heart in the fact that Freedom Shoppes hadn’t exploded the way American Lumber had, but it wasn’t easy. “Three of the locations have been found in Baltimore. That can’t be a coincidence.”

  “I concur.” Sun kept her gaze on the road. “We need to stay there until we find all the warehouses with suspicious names.”

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It bothered him that they were heading away from the DC area. Deep down, he knew Washington, DC, was the key to this mess. The main target for the terrorists.

  New York had a higher population, but DC was the epitome of what terrorists despised. Government and rules. The President of the United States.

  There was no way they could get close to the White House. But there were plenty of other places to go. Other areas they could infiltrate to make a statement.

  To make their presence known.

  He closed his eyes, conflicted by his priorities. Who could blame him for putting his daughter first? Granted, he hadn’t known about Bryn, but now that he did, he absolutely couldn’t allow anything to happen to her.

  But what about his duty to his country? To his city? The place most politicians called home? Most Americans had a love/hate relationship with politicians, yet mass disaster involving those who manage the country would result in unprecedented chaos.

  As he and Sloan Dryer had discovered just a few months ago.

  Sloan and Natalia were deep in another case, working undercover to get to one of the main members of the Russian Mafia, but he wanted to pull them off their current assignment and bring them in on this.

  He and Sun needed all the help they could get.

  Especially since he couldn’t ignore the suffocating sense of doom hanging over him.

  * * *

  September 10 – 6:01 a.m. – Baltimore, MD

  “Wake up, little one.” Meira’s whispered words caused Bryn to blink up at her sluggishly. She had no idea if it was nighttime or morning because of the blindfold.

  Wait a minute. She could see shapes in the dim light. The light?

  The blindfold was off!

  Bryn froze, wondering what was going on. Had she accidentally pulled it off and Meira hadn’t noticed? Or had the woman tending to her taken it off herself?

  “Time to eat.” Meira pushed the usual bowl of pasty crud into her hands.

  Bryn looked down, seeing for the first time the contents of what she’d been forced to eat. Then she looked up at Meira. The woman’s kind dark eyes could be seen through the mesh of her burka. “Eat,” she repeated.

  Meira had removed the blindfold. Bryn swallowed hard, trying to understand if this was a good thing or a bad one.

  “My blindfold. I . . . thought they were watching us,” she whispered, lifting the bowl and taking a bite of the gloppy stuff. It tasted blah, as usual. But since she was hungry, she continued eating.

  “Yes. We must be prepared.” Up close, the woman was younger than Bryn had imagined, even with the heavy dark cloak and burka she wore. Meira patted the pocket of her jeans where Bryn had hidden the sharpened plastic spoon. “Prepared.”

  Bryn froze as the implication of her words sank deep. “You mean . . . we’re going to try to escape?”

  Meira tipped her head in a slight nod. “When the time is right.”

  “Good.” Bryn set the bowl aside, but Meira stopped her.

  “Eat for strength,” she whispered.

  Bryn reluctantly did as she was told, although her mind was whirling. As much as she’d longed for this moment, spidery threads of fear snaked their way into her mind.

  What if they couldn’t do it? A woman and a child going up against a big man? Maybe more than one big man? What if they couldn’t escape? What if they did manage to get away but ended up captured by the icky men again? He would be so angry.

  Bryn knew that if they were captured, the horrible slap would become something far worse.

  The gloppy stuff lodged in her throat, making her gag.

  “Easy,” Meira murmured, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “When the time is right.”

  She nodded and forced herself to swallow hard and keep eating. Meira was right. They had to be smart about this. They had to make sure they chose the right moment to make their move.

  Bryn t
old herself that being out on the streets had to be better than being locked up in this cold dark room. The sound of the foghorn could be heard in the distance, and Bryn wondered how far they were from the water.

  She’d helped her mother with the boat plenty of times. Maybe she and Meira could steal one to help them escape. The icky men wouldn’t think to search for them on a boat.

  Would they?

  Bryn finished her meal and handed the empty bowl to Meira. The woman took the bowl to the other side of the room. Bryn noticed the stupid bucket she was forced to use as a toilet was in the other corner.

  As if sensing what she needed, Meira came back over to escort her to the bucket.

  “Maybe we can use this to throw in stinky man’s face,” she whispered.

  The woman’s eyes crinkled as if she were smiling. “We will use whatever we need.”

  Bryn felt better knowing that she and Meira were in this together. When she was finished, she sat again on the edge of her pallet, holding the sharpened spoon in the palm of her hand.

  And waited.

  * * *

  September 10 – 6:17 a.m. – Baltimore, MD

  Sun had made good time, he’d give her that much. Jordan watched as she navigated the streets down to the warehouse district.

  “We should park and go on foot,” he suggested.

  “After I do a quick drive-by.” Sun kept her gaze on the road. Traffic was already picking up, despite the early hour. All too soon, they’d hit the height of rush hour and be crawling at a sloth’s pace.

  He peered through the window, searching the warehouses for a hint of anything labeled United Secrets. But like the others, the signs were missing, old, or faded. Not one of them said anything near to what they were looking for.

  “There, the building covered in peeling blue paint,” Sun said.

  Blue as in red, white, and blue? Not very original. Still, he stared at the warehouse jammed between two other buildings, much like American Lumber had been. Sun drove as slowly as she dared, and he stared until the building was out of sight.

  There hadn’t been a brand-new padlock on the door.

  Because he’d missed it? Or because it wasn’t there? And if it wasn’t there, what did that mean? So far the other two warehouses they’d identified had one.

  His heart raced. The lack of a padlock might mean they’d finally found Bryn.

  “Okay, now that we’ve seen it, I’m going to find a place to park. We’ll go in on foot to investigate.” Sun turned left at the next intersection, then turned again, until she found a public parking lot.

  Even at this early hour, it was nearly full. She drove in, paid the fee, and maneuvered into a spot. Then she turned in her seat to see him.

  “It’s daylight, so we need to be careful not to draw unwanted attention,” she said. “Three of us can’t go at the same time.”

  “I’m not staying here,” Diana quickly interjected.

  Sun glanced at him. He stifled a sigh. “You allowed us to go by ourselves last time, remember? We only want to take a look. If Bryn is inside, we’ll come back to get you.”

  Diana’s gaze clung to his. “Promise?”

  He nodded. “Yes. I’m very aware that Bryn will be most comfortable with you.”

  She slowly nodded. “Okay, then.”

  He slid out of the car as Sun did the same. “Let’s approach from opposite sides.”

  Sun nodded.

  After leaving the parking area, they split up. Jordan felt very much out of place as he strolled past the various warehouses. Large trucks rolled by, the drivers often looking at him with what he felt was suspicion.

  He paused at the corner, waiting for a moment before peeking around the corner.

  A man wearing traditional Islamic garb came out from one of the buildings.

  Jordan instantly stepped back, his heart hammering. He debated between making a grab for the guy or retracing his steps to put distance between them.

  Distance won. He moved swiftly, searching for a place to hide. But there was nothing. The sound of the potential terrorist’s footsteps grew louder behind him.

  Any second now, the guy might see him and recognize him.

  Chapter Eleven

  September 10 – 6:19 a.m. – Baltimore, MD

  Diana couldn’t sit still, her mind whirling with possibilities. She pushed open the car door and stood, trying to get a glimpse of Jordan or Sun. She caught glimpses of people milling around, but not Jordan or Sun.

  The overcast sky above only added to the gloom.

  She paced back and forth in the parking lot, then wandered farther away from the vehicle in the direction Jordan had taken. So what if he’d told her to stay in the car? Bryn was her daughter, and she needed to know what was going on.

  Even if the news wasn’t good. The last two warehouses hadn’t produced anything of value regarding Bryn’s whereabouts.

  The third could be the charm.

  She found herself quickening her pace, anxious to get a glimpse of Jordan. When he abruptly rounded a corner, heading straight toward her, she abruptly stopped. The intense look in his dark eyes scared her.

  Instinctively, she began to run toward him, her heart lodged in her throat making it impossible to speak. Recognizing her, he picked up his pace. When he was within arm’s reach, he hauled her into his arms and crushed her close.

  “Wh-what . . .” she managed.

  “Shh.” He covered her mouth in a searing kiss. Taken by surprise, she found herself kissing him back, reveling in the passion they’d once shared while hanging on to his broad shoulders as if she might drown if she let him go.

  The kiss went on for what seemed like endless minutes. Memories of happier times flooded her. Before her mother’s family had shown their true murderous intent.

  Before the terrible explosion and car crash that had nearly taken her life and Jordan’s.

  When they both needed to breathe, he lifted his head far enough to rest his forehead against hers. She gasped, feeling a bit like she’d run a marathon. Was it her heart or his that hammered so against her chest?

  She opened her mouth to speak.

  “Shh,” he whispered again. “Not now.”

  She didn’t understand what had gotten into him, then she heard the sound of footsteps. She froze, her chest squeezing with fear. Who was there behind them? One of Bryn’s kidnappers? She clutched Jordan’s shoulders in a deathlike grip.

  “It’s okay,” Jordan murmured in her ear. “We’re okay. He’s leaving.”

  He who? She wanted to ask a myriad of questions, but then she heard for herself the sounds of footsteps growing more distant.

  Until she couldn’t hear anything at all.

  Jordan lifted his head, then straightened enough to look down into her eyes. “Thanks for coming when you did.”

  “I . . . you’re welcome.” She flushed with embarrassment. Here she’d thought Jordan had kissed her because he’d wanted to, but now she understood that he’d been merely playing the role of a man greeting his lover to throw off whoever the person had been behind them.

  “Diana.” Jordan lifted his hand to cup her cheek. “I kissed you because I wanted to.”

  She wanted to believe him but forced herself to take a step back. “Yes, because you wanted to throw off whoever that person might be.”

  “No, that’s not it,” he countered, a flash of annoyance crossing his features. “I could have just held you in my arms to accomplish that. I kissed you because I wanted to. From the moment you walked back into my life.”

  “Does this mean you believe I didn’t betray you?”

  He shrugged. “If you say you didn’t tell your family where we were hiding, then I believe you. Besides, it doesn’t matter.”

  Yes, it did matter. She wanted, needed him to believe her. She stared at him for a long second, then changed the subject. “Any idea who was behind you?”

  Jordan let out a sigh and shook his head. “No, but he was dressed in traditional
Islamic garb and emerged from one of the warehouses. I couldn’t afford to take a chance that he might be Bryn’s kidnapper and recognize me.”

  A flash of hope hit hard. “You think Bryn’s here in one of these warehouses?”

  “I haven’t gotten close enough to check, although Sun may already be there.” He lightly caressed her cheek, then stepped back and caught her hand in his. “Let’s go.”

  Jordan’s warm hand helped keep her emotions in check as they headed back toward the faded blue building sandwiched between two others.

  Up ahead, she saw Sun hovering near the doorway of the building. Jordan walked faster, and Diana kept pace.

  “Find something?” he asked as they approached.

  “No new padlock,” Sun said. “But there is an oddly shaped doorbell on the front of the door.”

  “What kind of doorbell?” Diana frowned. “One that requires some sort of secret code to get inside?”

  Sun hesitated. “I’m not sure. I don’t have a good feeling about it.” She gestured toward the door. “See for yourself, but don’t touch it.”

  She glanced at the elaborate rather ornate frame surrounding what appeared to be a push button doorbell. “I don’t understand, why is this suspicious?”

  “We know American Lumbar had a padlock on it that may have contained a bomb since the structure exploded practically in our faces,” Sun pointed out. “I have a feeling this is a decoy, something that invites a person to press the button, which may lead to another explosion.”

  Diana instinctively took a hasty step back, swallowing hard. “Is there a way to test it?”

  “With a bomb-sniffing dog, maybe,” Jordan said. He glanced at Sun. “Did you get a good look at the guy who came out from one of these doorways?”

  “Not a good look at his face, but I can guarantee that he didn’t come out of the blue building.” Sun gestured with her hand. “He came from that one.”

  Diana stayed close to Jordan’s side as he walked toward the building Sun indicated. This doorway didn’t have a padlock or an ornate doorbell. When Jordan lifted his hand, she quickly stopped him. “Wait. I’m not sure this is a good idea.”