Don’t Keep Silent

by Don't Keep Silent (epub)

  For the person on the other end of that call to come for her and . . . do what he wanted with her.

  The helicopter lifted off.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

  Saturday, 10:15 p.m.

  Samara Davidson’s Home

  Samara opened her laptop and, while waiting for it to boot up, glanced out the window. “Not a good time to be searching for someone.” Then her striking eyes found and held Liam’s. “You care deeply for her.”

  “You’ve got that wrong. I’m working with her to find Zoey.”

  Her smile told him she didn’t believe him. Her attention returned to the laptop. “Wayne has been embezzling from the company.”

  Ivan gasped. “What? That can’t be. Here, let me see.” He whipped the laptop around and stared at it. “This is all gibberish to me. How do you know?”

  Seriously? “And how is that going to help me find Rae?”

  “Patience.” Her tone was firm. She tapped on the keyboard again. “I’ve been compiling a file on him. I wasn’t sure about any of it, but if you remember, Ivan, he was the one who initially brought Simon and Enzo in for those helicopter rides.”

  She scrolled through images of Wayne with Simon and Enzo, and then of Wayne with only Enzo over the last few years since Simon went missing.

  “You’ve been following him?”

  “I’ve wanted to find a way to help Zoey. To save her. To bring her home. In the meantime, life has passed us all by and she has built another life away from me. Like the old saying, ‘Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.’ But your friend”—she directed her words to Ivan—“Wayne is still friends with the man whose brother stalked her and chased her away. And he’s been embezzling from me.”

  Did her tone border on accusing Ivan?

  “Why didn’t you say anything?” Ivan appeared hurt, and his voice rose. “You could have told me, Sam.”

  Tears filled her eyes. “I was waiting, hoping for a way to bring her back. I didn’t know her stalker was dead. I thought he was still out there.”

  Samara didn’t suspect Ivan was involved with Wayne, then. Liam cleared his throat. “Enzo and a big player in the trafficking business are working together. Drugs and human trafficking. I believe he’s trafficking women—let’s call it an exclusive high-mountain club—and laundering money through the new resort he’s heavily invested in. This pilot, Wayne, he could be working for either of them and could also have been blackmailed to commit heinous crimes. It wouldn’t be the first time Fox has used those techniques. Someone even tried to kill us. Does Wayne drive a Hummer?”

  Samara and Ivan shared a look. Ivan slowly nodded.

  “Where would Wayne take Rae? What would he do with her?”

  Samara’s cell rang. She glanced at the screen and snatched the cell. Hands shaking, she eyed both of them to keep quiet as she whispered, “Yes?”

  She broke out in a laughing sob. “Oh, baby. You’re alive. Are you okay? Where are you?”

  Samara put the phone on speaker.

  “Mom, listen. I’m safe. I’m with Alan and Callie. We’re safe. But you could be in danger because of what I’ve done. Please get out of the house. Go somewhere. I’m going to go to the police, but I have to make sure everyone I love is out of harm’s way first.”

  Liam understood that strategy.

  “Mom?”

  Liam spoke up. “Rae is missing, Zoey. I need your help. Where would she be taken?”

  The irony wasn’t lost on him. He’d started this with Rae to search for a missing Zoey. Now he needed Zoey to find his missing Rae.

  “I think I know where she is,” Zoey said. “I . . . I was there too, briefly. But let me check.” Zoey’s fingers clacked on a keyboard. “Someone has checked in to the Morning Glory cabin tonight.”

  “Wait. How do you know this?” Liam asked.

  “It’s a long story. Me and this trafficking ring go way back. I hacked into their system a long time ago. They’re branching out in this area.”

  Liam couldn’t wait to hear that story but only after Rae was home and safe. “Okay, then. Who checked in?”

  “A man checked in under the name ‘Powder Keg.’ And I know who Powder Keg is. Mom knows. Ivan knows him.”

  “Powder Keg is Wayne,” Samara said. “Tawny, he’s embezzled from us. We were thinking he could be the one who took Rae. But how can you be sure she’s there?”

  “I can’t be 100 percent sure. But if he’s checked in and Rae’s missing, that could mean he took her. That’s how this operation works. Men can spend a weekend at a private cabin with a beautiful woman of their choice. Come to the Saddleback Mountain Ski Resort for skiing and then an unforgettable tryst in an exotic cabin. You can pick your cabin on the website—one that can only be accessed on the dark web.

  “Runaways and young women are the easiest—they fear for their lives and the lives of their families. But people like me or Rae, if we get in the way, which probably isn’t that often, we’re used . . . then disposed of. There’s nothing you can do tonight until the blizzard blows through. Maybe even tomorrow.”

  He’d given Kelvin a similar warning about the blizzard, that he should send backup before it was too late.

  Was it too late for Liam to help Rae?

  “I brought this on her,” Zoey said. “So I’m going to do what I can. I’m going to try to persuade the man behind all of this to let her go. Mom, the rest of the books. There should be eight of them. You sent me four already. I have those now. Pull them from the shelves. Do exactly as I say. Look at the book’s number in the series.”

  Samara pulled the Zane Williams books from the bookshelf and laid them out in order. “Now what?”

  “Using paper and pencil, rub over the impression inside the covers. Remember to keep the words in order as you retrieve them. That’s crucial.”

  Ivan opened a drawer under the counter and pulled out a pad and a pencil, then set them on the counter.

  Samara ran her fingers along the inside of the first book cover and nodded. “I understand now.”

  After ripping a page from the pad, she pressed the paper over the inside of the cover. Then she turned the pencil sideways and rubbed until letters appeared.

  “What do these novels have to do with anything?” Samara asked. “What do they mean?”

  “Each of the twelve paperbacks holds one word of a thirteen-word passcode to open cryptocurrency holding money I took from one of Simon’s operations—the money actually belonged to Malcom Fox. I think that’s why Simon was killed.”

  That made sense. Zoey hadn’t killed him, at least directly.

  Samara finished getting the impressions and ordering the words based on the order of the books in the Benedict Jaynes adventure series. She read them off. “Jackhammer, battle, guardian, use, stormy, grande, and ready.”

  “But that’s only seven,” Zoey said. “I need one more.”

  Oh no. “Rae took one of them.”

  “Not good. We’ll have to get our hands on that book for the password. I hold the last one in my head. I’ll give them the passwords, all except for the last one, if they will release her. I’m going to make contact now.” And she hung up.

  He wasn’t in on all this cryptocurrency stuff and hoped Zoey knew what she was doing.

  “Don’t worry,” Samara said. “She’s always been weirdly brilliant.”

  He nodded. “So, she’s making contact and going to offer leverage to free Rae. We don’t even know who has her.” And if this wasn’t Malcom’s doing, then Liam could very well have signed Zoey’s death certificate. He fought that familiar nausea.

  God, what path do I take? Which one was the right one? Only a few days ago he’d prayed for God to open doors. They’d all blown up.

  But now he needed only one door. The right door to take him to Rae. Before he took the first step to fly in the face of Malcom’s threats,
he needed to call Kelvin to see if he’d made any progress securing his family’s safety.

  Just like he’d given the code to Kelvin, Heath and Austin would both know what his text meant when no one else would.

  Liam had to know. “Ivan, can I use your cell phone?”

  Ivan scrunched his face and handed it over. “Sure.”

  Liam didn’t know if Ivan’s phone was also compromised, given his proximity to the situation, but it was all he had, and Liam had to know if his family was safe. He’d trusted Kelvin to make things happen for him.

  He texted his brothers in a group.

  How’s the fishing?

  He hoped the message got out since the weather could mess with the cell signals.

  Samara spread out a large map on the counter. Frowning, she shook her head. “In two hours, it’s going to be a whiteout. It’s dark. You can’t do this. You’re going to get lost or killed.”

  Ivan put his hand on Liam’s shoulder. “If she’s there, no one else is getting in or out until the storm has passed.”

  “What? You expect me to leave her there until the storm passes?” Liam’s heart was already in his throat.

  He thought back to their earlier phone conversation with Zoey. Her words would haunt him for the rest of his life. “But people like me or Rae, if we get in the way, which probably isn’t that often, we’re used . . . then disposed of.”

  “I have to go. I have to try. I grew up in this country. I’ve been out in blizzards before.” Barefooted and running from an angry father. If Rae was even there, she might not be alone, and Liam couldn’t bear to think what could be happening to her. Tomorrow could be too late.

  His phone buzzed.

  Heath had texted.

  Fishing was bad, really bad, until we found ourselves a nice, quiet fishing hole.

  Liam breathed a sigh of relief.

  Austin replied shortly after with a similar message.

  Next Liam texted Kelvin since he depended on him to protect Evelyn.

  How’s the fishing?

  The fishing is great. It’s the best ice fishing I’ve done in a while.

  They were all safe then.

  All except Rae.

  “I’m going with you,” Ivan said. “I have a cousin who lives off-grid out there somewhere. He goes by Chuck. No one knows his real name or about his existence there, except for a few people, including me. He isn’t that far from this place. We could stop there and maybe hike in. Snowmobiles are out back. I have the trailer to haul them.”

  Panic cinched tighter around Liam’s chest. What if she wasn’t there, and he wasted all this time to get there? This endeavor could take him much too long as it was, and the blizzard didn’t help.

  “What about a helicopter? Don’t you fly them?”

  “Nah. That’s Wayne’s job. We have other pilots. No one is going to take a helicopter out in this weather. But I know this country too. Together we can do this.”

  Samara stepped in front of him. “Ivan, are you sure?”

  The big man softened. He leaned in and kissed her, then he held her arms and looked into her eyes. “I love you.”

  “Don’t say that as if you’re not coming back.” She hung her head, then lifted it again, her eyes glistening. “I . . . Yes, to the question you asked earlier.”

  “It takes a crisis for you to answer me?” He chuckled. “All these years and finally I can make you my wife.”

  “I said yes because Tawny is okay. She’s going to be okay. I couldn’t think of anything else until I knew that for sure.”

  Liam didn’t want to poke holes in Samara’s belief, but if Zoey held the last piece of that code in her head, she was still very much in danger.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

  Bridger-Teton National Forest

  Rae paced the living room. She’d thrown another log on the fire so she would be warm enough. After finding a flashlight, she’d looked through the place. It was elegant and cozy—like the Saddleback Resort. Same designer? A beautiful carving of a geothermal pool had been carved in the logs. There was nothing she could use for a weapon. Someone had been here before her though. Someone had torn something from the walls.

  Maybe she could somehow set the whole place on fire and someone would see the fire and help would come.

  Right. The blizzard stood in the way of help getting to her.

  The wind had picked up and was howling eerily through the home. The fire flickered in the fireplace almost as though it might go out. She held her breath. That couldn’t happen, could it?

  She plopped on the sofa and thought about the words she’d heard Wayne say.

  Awful words.

  This cabin was one of the places used. Had Zoey been here?

  Rae fought back tears. She had to find a way out of here. What could she do?

  God, am I going to die here? Is this my war zone? Am I going to die on this battlefield?

  The wind’s howl twisted with another sound. Rae sat up and angled her head. What was that? A snowmobile?

  Panic seized her. That couldn’t be. No one was going to come out here during this storm.

  She rushed to the window but couldn’t make anything out. How was it possible someone was out there in this? Was this person coming to kill her?

  Her knees shook—what would he do before he killed her? She had to act now. She glanced around the cabin. She rushed back into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. She tried to push the heavy pine bed over to block the door, but it barely budged. The mattress. She lifted the mattress and shouldered it over to the door.

  Then while this person tried to get in, she would climb out the window and take his vehicle.

  Yes! That was it.

  With her heart pounding, she rushed to the window and unlocked it. It was stuck. Either nailed or glued or maybe it wasn’t even meant to open. She grabbed the quilt and wrapped it around her elbow, then shoved it against the glass. Again and again.

  The front door shut. Someone was in the house.

  Fear threatened to weaken her limbs. She wouldn’t succumb to that. Rae kept working on the window. There was no other way. Finally a crack. Then it shattered.

  Using the quilt to protect her from the broken glass, Rae climbed through the window and landed in snow that went up to her waist.

  Inside, someone pounded on her bedroom door. “Rae Burke, let me in. I’m here to help you!”

  The voice was vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t risk it. She pushed through the deep snow without her coat—that had been taken from her to prevent her from going far.

  Even if she got on that snowmobile, how would she survive? Still, she pushed on—walking around the house, huffing as she pushed through the snow. Her legs and feet were already growing numb. She made it to the front of the cabin and there . . .

  A snowmobile.

  She had to get away from here. Staying wasn’t an option. She would die and be tortured first if she stayed. Rae sucked cold air deep into her lungs and pushed forward, her heart hammering against her ribs. She made her way to the snowmobile, keeping her bearings only because of the dim light spilling from the cabin. The snow was coming down hard all around her, making it difficult to see.

  A pelt, as if hail had struck the machine, drew her attention. Gas spilled from a hole in the tank.

  A bullet? Had someone intended to shoot the tank? Or had she been their intended target and they missed?

  CHAPTER SIXTY

  Get down!”

  Rae was thrown into the snow, rock-solid muscle covering her. “Stay down.”

  The voice was the same one who’d shouted through the bedroom door that he’d come to help her. Who was he?

  “What now?”

  “Keep low, crawl if you have to, and go back into the cabin. I’ll cover you. Now, go!” Gunfire rang out, muted by the blizzard.

  Rae crawled quickly a
nd scrambled into the living room. The man rushed in behind her, and crouching, he kicked the door shut. Bullets sprayed the door.

  He shoved her down and urged her over to the other side of the sofa. She glanced up at him to get a better look.

  At the sight of his face, she gasped. “You’re Enzo Astor’s bodyguard.”

  Great. She was no safer here than she’d been out there.

  He held a weapon at high ready—close to his head, aiming upward. “I’m his bodyguard, yes, but I’m undercover FBI.”

  “Undercover?”

  “When Enzo learned that Wayne had brought you here instead of to him as requested, he was furious.”

  “Did he send you to get me?”

  “Yes, but I’m not taking you back to him. I’m here to get you out of this before something happens to you.”

  “So, you’re blowing your cover?”

  “Maybe. It depends on what happens next.”

  What was it with her and causing agents to blow their covers? She was grateful, but she was worried about Liam and why he hadn’t come for her. Obviously, Wayne had disposed of her cell, so she couldn’t be followed.

  “What happens next?” she asked.

  “I had planned to wait out the storm, at least until it died down a bit and then we would leave, but with an active shooter closing in, everything has changed. We had planned to wait for the storm to pass, and then—” He rubbed his chin as if he reconsidered sharing more.

  “We? Wait a minute . . . the FBI is going to raid his home.”

  “Yes. I tried to protect the girls. To get them out. But someone got to one of them and killed her.” Thick emotion edged his tone.

  “Who? The girl whose body was recently found?”

  He nodded. “But now we have to wait to raid—the timing has to work so no one escapes. The blizzard interfered with our plans.”