by Dani Pettrey
“Anything’s better than a wet suit or the hospital gown the nurses offered.”
Caleb arched a brow.
“Don’t ask.” He’d change as soon as he sent Caleb to the marina.
An ER nurse approached, the squeak of her shoes giving her away before she reached them.
Finn turned in time to see her frown.
“We need to keep this hall clear,” she said.
Not happy, but understanding, Finn led the way to the double doors leading out of the ER. He moved to hit the square silver button that opened the doors but was too late. They swung open from the other side and a gurney pushed through.
His eyes widened at the sight of Gabby laid out on the stretcher.
What on earth?
A very panicked Kenzie followed inches behind.
“What happened? Is she okay?” he said, realizing the stupidity of his question. Of course she wasn’t okay or she wouldn’t be in the ER on a stretcher being rushed toward a room.
He rushed alongside her and Kenzie, his pulse quickening.
Gabby’s pale skin was covered with a damp sheen of perspiration. She was unconscious. A lump caught in his throat, adrenaline burning through his veins.
“She got bit by a snake,” Kenzie said.
The nurse pushed the gurney into an open room. Dr. Kent rushed in, examining the bite on Gabby’s leg. “Snakebite,” he said. “Let’s get some antivenom in her ASAP.”
Finn gripped Gabby’s limp hand. “It’ll be okay, sweetheart,” he said over the nurse’s shoulder as she directed him out of the room. He swallowed, warmth flaring through his body, sweat moistening his skin.
Please, Lord, let her be okay. I love her so much.
“We’re going to need you to stay out in the waiting room,” the nurse said, shutting the glass doors and pulling the privacy curtain closed.
A fear he hadn’t known since Cody disappeared into the sea shook him.
seventy-one
A weary-looking Dr. Blotny entered the room where they’d been pacing.
She pulled off her surgical cap, clutching it in her hands.
Finn’s muscles tensed. Please be good news.
“He came through surgery fine,” Blotny said, and Finn’s tight muscles relaxed a bit. “He’s a strong one,” she continued. “He’s still under anesthesia in post-op. As soon as he wakes and we get him transferred to a room, I’ll let you see him.”
Shaking with adrenaline despite the good news, he asked, “Gabby Rowley came in with a snakebite? She’s with Dr. Kent.”
“I’ll see what I can find out.”
“Thank you.”
Heaviness sank into his bones, and he struggled to gulp in a solid intake of air.
Thank you, Lord, that Noah is okay. Please let Gabby be too.
“It’s going to be all right,” Rissi said, rubbing his nearly numb arm as the room spun.
He nodded.
“We should pray,” she said.
They stood in a circle, holding hands.
“Caleb, will you pray?”
“Of course. Father, thank you that Noah came through surgery strong, and that he’s going to be okay. Let Gabby respond well to the antivenom. Please let her come through this. Be with her and with us. In Jesus’ name we pray.”
“Amen,” Rissi said. giving Finn’s hand a squeeze before letting go. “Logan and Emmalyne send their love. They wanted to be here. . . .”
“They are needed at the station so they can work on tracking down Marv.” Finn shook his head. “I still can’t believe he attacked Noah.”
“Any idea who the second man was?” Caleb asked as he took a seat.
“It was hard to see. It happened so fast, but based on build, it could have been Mo.”
Caleb shook his head. “I can’t believe they would harm you guys.”
Rissi raked a hand through her hair. “It’s unreal.”
Finn swallowed. “I know.”
“I’d better call Mom,” Kenzie said. “She’s staying with Fiona and Owen.”
Finn rested a hand on her arm. “Can we run through what happened first?”
“Of course. Gabby was investigating a commercial hangar at the airport.”
Finn frowned. She’d violated her promise to him, but he probably should have expected it if she found a new clue to investigate.
“What was in it?”
“I don’t really know, but when I pulled up in front, the doors were open and I saw a plane and a bunch of crates and plastic storage containers.”
“Did she say anything about what she found?”
“She was babbling by the time she got to the car, but she said ‘Snake,’ asked me if I saw him, and then mumbled something like ‘Co’ before she blacked out.”
“Co?”
“It could be the name of the person she saw,” Rissi offered.
Kenzie continued, “I briefly saw a man—tall, dark hair—but I was so focused on Gabby, I didn’t really get a good look.”
Finn raked a hand through his hair. “Cole Nelson or Dr. Cohen . . .” He rattled off the names Gabby might know from town, but none made sense given the circumstances.
“I’ll head to the warehouse,” Caleb said, his shoulders stiffening. “Kenzie, can you tell me where to go?”
“I’d be happy to.”
“Thanks, Caleb,” Finn said. “Keep me posted.”
Caleb nodded. “You too. Let me know as soon as you get an update on Gabby.”
“Rissi . . .” Finn looked to her. “You should go too.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I want whoever’s responsible for this caught.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Watch out for snakes.”
Rissi tensed. “I don’t even want to think about it.”
Everyone had a thing, and snakes were Rissi’s. Just like rats gave him the heebie-jeebies. It was embarrassing but true.
Finn paced the ten-by-ten room after his teammates left.
Fear and a chill swept through him as he waited with Kenzie. The second hand ticked on the round wall clock in sync with his palpitating heart.
Please, Father, it’s been so long without much change. Please let her pull through. I can’t lose her.
seventy-two
An hour passed before Dr. Kent entered the waiting room. “Gabby’s stable,” he said.
Kenzie squealed and thanked Jesus. The adrenaline that had gushed through Finn’s coiled muscles, pumping his heartbeat through his ears and chest, released with a painful whoosh.
Thank you, Jesus.
He fought the urge to drop to his knees in gratitude—at least until Dr. Kent was done talking.
“Can we see her?” He needed to be near her.
“Once she’s settled in her room, but I should warn you, she’s still unconscious.”
He swallowed, the motion feeling like jagged shards scraping his raw throat. “Is that . . . ?”
“Normal,” Dr. Kent said before Finn could finish. “Her body has been through a lot. Between the effects of the pain meds and the antivenom to counteract the poison, it’s not surprising. Her body needs rest, but she should wake before too long.” Dr. Kent lowered his clipboard by his side. “I’ll have Pam, the head RN in the ward Gabby will be in, notify you when you can visit her.”
“Thank you.” He shook the doc’s hand. Gratitude flowed inside, nearly to the point of tears. The man had saved the woman he loved.
After a brief visit with Noah, Kenzie decided to head home to relieve Nana Jo. She said her mom was anxious to get to the hospital, and her children wanted her to be there when they went to bed.
Finn went down to the cafeteria, his stomach growling. It was after seven, and he hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
The cell phone Rissi had brought to replace his, which was still on the stolen dive boat, rang. “Walker.”
“It’s Caleb.”
“Did you find anything?
”
“Try the jackpot. You should see this place. Jewels like the necklace we found at Eric Jacobs’s place, artwork like you found at the Laytons’, salvaged treasure like you found at Marv’s . . . And here’s where it gets really funky—exotic animals.”
“Like the snake that bit Gabby?”
“And a panther.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. Looks like he’s been slightly sedated. Probably in an attempt to keep him subdued.”
“Any idea who the warehouse belongs to?”
“Logan found the lease. It’s under Litman Limited.”
“Shocking.” Finn shook his head on an exhale.
“Emmy is also working the scene. Hopefully, we’ll soon get prints.”
“Keep me posted.”
“Will do. We called in the FBI’s art-theft department, as this is really their jurisdiction, but given its ties to our case, they’re playing nice.”
“Good.”
“Rissi decided she should take a Coast Guard dive contingent and retrieve Layton’s body before the sun went down. They just transferred his body to Hadley.”
“Excellent.”
“He said he’d perform the autopsy first thing tomorrow.”
Maybe the Layton case was finally wrapping up so they could shift all their focus to catching Fuentes. “Any sign of Marv or Mo?”
“Looks like Marv is in the wind, but we’ve got Mo in custody.”
“Has he talked?”
“Not yet, but I think we’ll get there. I sicced Caleb on him.”
Next to Rissi, he was the best at reading people and getting under their skin.
“How are Gabby and Noah doing?”
Finn updated him.
“That’s a relief.”
It’d be even more of one when she woke.
After eating, Finn finally got the okay to visit Gabby. He bought a bouquet of flowers, so they were the first thing she would see. The name or word she’d muttered still ticked through his mind. No one with either a first name or last name that started with Co made any sense. He was anxious for her to wake up so she could elaborate and they could get the person responsible. He was anxious for her to wake, period.
He knocked on her door just in case she’d awakened, but upon no answer, he stepped inside. The room was dim and quiet. He moved around the corner and found an empty bed.
Bathroom?
He strode to the dark restroom, praying she’d gone in and skipped turning on the light. His heart thumped in his chest. He knocked on the bathroom door. “Gabby?”
No answer.
He knocked harder. “Gabby?”
Nothing.
“I’m coming in,” he said, perspiration beading on his brow.
He stepped inside to find it empty.
He raced out to the nurses’ station, praying they’d taken her somewhere—perhaps for testing.
“Gabby Rowley?” he said, his breath catching in his throat.
“Sir?” The woman looked up from the nurses’ station.
“She’s not in her room. Was she moved?”
“Not that I’m aware. Let me check with Pam.” She picked up the phone and dialed. “Hey, Pam, did Gabby Rowley go for tests? She’s not in her room.”
Finn held his breath.
She hung up. “Pam’s on the way. She said Gabby wasn’t moved anywhere.”
The hallway spun, and Finn raced back to Gabby’s room, searching for any clue of where she might have gone.
Pam rushed in, her eyes wide. “I don’t know where she is. I have the nurses checking all the rooms. She may have woken disoriented and got out of bed to wander. We hadn’t changed her into a gown yet, so she might not be easily noticed as a patient in her clothes.”
He flashed his badge. “I need the hospital sealed off immediately. Call security and get it done. Tell them I’m coming down now.” He ran for the stairs, not willing to wait for the elevator. His heart racing with his pace, he flew down the stairs, and he dialed Caleb as he sped down the hall for the security office.
“Eason?”
“Gabby’s gone.”
“What?”
“They can’t find her, and its possible someone took her. Noah asked her to wear a tracker in her locket after her last escapade. It should be tracking from his phone, which is in his car at the marina lot. I need you to get it ASAP.”
“On it,” Caleb said.
“Have Logan take over with Mo and press him hard. We need answers now.”
Finn rushed into the security office, and the two guards stood. He flashed his badge. His breath coming in short spurts, he blurted out the pertinent information.
seventy-three
Gabby woke to utter darkness. She blinked. Had the snakebite taken her vision? Her pulse quickened.
She moved her arms, but something fastened them behind her back. She tugged against the restraint as it bit into her wrist.
Some kind of plastic strap?
She shifted her head, and fabric chafed her cheek.
Her chest tightened.
Someone had her.
A car engine roared beneath her. She jostled in the seat as the car sped over railroad tracks.
She swallowed, her throat constricting.
Shock riddled through her once again that Paul was the man behind Litman Limited. Had he intercepted Kenzie’s car? Where was her sister now?
“She’s awake,” a man said, his voice familiar. From the warehouse. The tall man with dark hair. “The Collector will be pleased. It’s far more exciting killing someone who’s awake.”
Finn paced back and forth in front of the hospital’s security screens replaying the footage from the past hour.
Pumping his hands in and out of fists, he waited for Caleb’s call. What was taking so long to retrieve Noah’s phone?
“There,” he said as a dark sedan caught his eye. “Can you zoom in on the license plate?”
“You got it.” Pete, the security guard running the footage, did as he’d asked.
Finn studied the plate. It was the same sedan that had picked Fletcher up at the hospital.
He checked his phone again. No missed calls. His leg bounced. Come on, Caleb.
Pete resumed scrolling through the footage, and Finn’s chest seized as an unconscious Gabby was rolled out the ambulance bay door by a tall, dark-haired man.
The driver of the sedan got out, and both looked to be sure no one was watching. The dark-haired man lifted Gabby up and shoved her into the car’s backseat. Kenzie rushed into the footage.
He swallowed, his jaw clenching. Not Kenzie too.
The driver pulled his gun out of his shoulder harness and aimed it at her. She raised her hands, and the man shoved her toward the car. Then he slammed his elbow into her neck, knocking her out, and shoved her limp body in the car beside Gabby.
The car screeched out of the lot.
His muscles coiled as the car with Gabby and Kenzie disappeared from view.
His cell rang, and he nearly dropped it in a rush to answer.
“I’ve got a location,” Caleb said. “But I have no clue what’s out there.”
Finn’s brow pinched. “Out where?”
“It looks like the location is at the tip of Tangier Island, where it juts out into the ocean.”
“There aren’t any houses or other buildings that far south, are there?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
Finn clutched the phone. Had they, whoever they were, taken Gabby and Kenzie out in the middle of nowhere to kill them?
He swallowed the bile burning up his throat.
“I’ll direct everyone to those coordinates,” Caleb said.
“Roger that.” He turned to Pete. “Thanks for your help. I’ll be back for the footage.”
“I hope you reach them in time,” Pete said, his voice trailing off as Finn rushed for the parking lot and Rissi’s car, which she’d been kind enough to leave for him.
Keys jangled in his
grip as he bolted for the red Fiat.
Please let me reach them in time, his soul cried.
A hand closed around Gabby’s upper arm in a viselike grip, digging into her flesh.
The man dragged her from the car. She pitched forward, her face colliding with hard-packed earth. A sea breeze riffled her hood. She was near the water, but where?
The man hauled her to her feet and shoved her forward.
“Both of you, walk!”
Both? Heat rushed up her neck despite the cool air. Please don’t let it be Kenzie.
She couldn’t do more than grunt with the thick tape across her mouth.
A female grunt sounded back.
Her head spun. What had she gotten her sister into?
seventy-four
Light flooded her eyes as the fabric was nipped from her head.
She blinked to find Paul standing in front of her.
She lunged for him, but someone grabbed her from behind, jerking her back. His hands clamped on her arms.
“I told you she was a feisty one.”
Fuentes?
He walked into her line of sight. “Hello, Gabrielle. I told you that you’d pay for what you did.” He tore the tape off her mouth in one painful swipe, but she refused to cry out.
“What I did?” she said, her gaze landing on the crystal chandelier overhead. Chandelier? Marble statues lined the hall, along with . . . She squinted. Was that a Degas?
Kenzie murmured behind her, and Gabby spun around. A man held her hard against his chest, his 9mm pressing into her ribs.
She swallowed the heavy lump in her throat. “Kenzie!” She struggled to break free of the man’s grasp.
Kenzie’s hood was still on, but she recognized her sister all the same.
Paul lifted his chin, and the man gripping her sister tore off her hood.
Kenzie’s wide, tear-filled eyes locked on Gabby.
If I have to die, so be it, but please not Kenzie.
A smug smile curled on Fuentes’s face, a jagged scar running along his right cheek.
Gabby lunged at him.
“Enough!” Fuentes roared, backhanding her with blistering force, jarring her back.