by Rebecca Deel
“That’s right.”
“When?”
“Two nights ago. That’s when I met Zane.”
“Fast work, Claire. You captured the interest of a great guy right off.” This from Dana.
“Not everyone is as slow on the uptake as you were, sis,” Brenna said.
“Hey, I couldn’t help it,” she protested. “I never expected Jon to be interested in me.”
“Sugar, only an idiot wouldn’t be interested in you.” Eli winked at her, which caused his sister-in-law to blush like crazy. “Jon’s a smart guy. I taught him all I know.”
“Good job, Claire.” Darcy leaned against Rio’s side. “Zane is funny, wicked smart, and relentless.”
“Relentless?”
“Oh, yeah,” Eli agreed. “Zane doesn’t give up on anything.”
“What are you feeding us tomorrow night, Darcy?” Lily asked.
“Chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. Sound good?”
“Can’t wait. Need us to bring anything?” Her cheeks turned pink. “I can’t cook, but Remy’s awesome in the kitchen. I will happily volunteer his services.”
“Unless you want to drink iced green tea, bring soft drinks or regular tea for yourselves.”
“We can do that. How about dessert?”
Rio chuckled. “Still got that sweet tooth, Lily?”
“So I eat like a two-year-old. I burn it off.”
“Bring whatever you would like,” Darcy said.
Claire nudged Lily with her elbow. “Chocolate?”
“Is there anything else?”
That brought another round of laughter from the women and groans from Eli and Rio.
“Where’s the bathroom?” Claire whispered to Lily. “I have a feeling we might be here a while.”
“Come on. I’ll show you.”
“You can just give me directions.” Durango had Adam’s team under surveillance, after all. What could go wrong?
“No, Claire, I can’t. Zane would chew me up and spit me out for that. Your safety is my responsibility.” She indicated a door on the other side of the kitchen with a nod of her head. “Let’s go.”
With a sigh, she motioned for Lily to go ahead. Her bodyguard took her responsibilities seriously.
They walked through the door and into a corridor. To the right was the lobby of the gym. Lily turned left. They walked about one hundred feet and Claire saw the door for the women’s bathroom.
“Let me check before you walk in all the way. Wait at the door.”
Claire stood near the door until her friend had checked the small lounge area and each stall. Once Lily gave her the all-clear, the other woman stepped into the hallway. Soon, Claire dried her hands and opened the door to the hall.
Lily straightened. “I think Zane is in the gym.”
They set off in that direction. Before they’d gone more than a few feet, a displacement of air was Claire’s only warning that someone was behind her. A hard hand clamped over her mouth and an iron bar of an arm yanked her back against a rock-solid chest. The only thing she knew for sure was the man imprisoning her wasn’t Zane.
She started to fight, and realized her boyfriend was right when he said she’d been lucky to get away from the other kidnappers. This guy was much better trained than the creeps who grabbed her before. Everything she tried was ineffective.
Lily spun, gun in her hand and aimed at the man holding Claire. “Let her go, Simmons.”
“I have my orders.”
“So do I. I’m not letting you take her.”
“She won’t be harmed. I give you my word.”
“Yeah, like I’m going to believe anything you tell me.” Lily raised her voice. “Remy! Got a problem here.”
The hold on Claire tightened to the point she could barely breathe. Movement behind Lily caused Simmons to shift Claire’s body to cover himself better. Yeah, good luck with that. She was about half of his size and weight.
Remy eased up beside his wife, weapon in hand. “What’s going on, Simmons?”
“What’s it look like? I’m taking her with me.”
He shook his head. “Can’t let you do it, man. You know how this is going down.”
Simmons snorted as Claire drew in a ragged breath. “No one will shoot me. Too afraid to hit the woman.”
“Claire!” Zane raced into the hall, followed closely by Josh. “She doesn’t know anything, Simmons. You know what will happen if you take her.”
“Stay back, Murphy. This doesn’t concern you.”
Zane stopped. “Claire is my girlfriend, Simmons. She’s Adam’s sister. You don’t want to do this.”
“You want a hostage, take one of us,” Lily said, easing to the left.
“Don’t move,” he yelled. “You know better than to offer someone else as a hostage. It’s her or no one.”
“Who wants her?” Josh asked.
“Back off, Cahill.”
Josh glanced over his shoulder. “Alex?”
“Locked on.”
Claire felt an immediate change in her captor. Every muscle in his body seemed to turn to stone. His breathing sped up and a shudder wracked his body. She detected the acrid scent of fear. This guy was scared to death of Alex Morgan. Why?
“What does Collins have on you?” Zane asked.
Simmons jerked, probably not enough for Zane and the others to notice, but Claire felt it. Confirmation of Adam’s discovery by Collins? Had to be the case. As far as Claire knew, she’d never run across the man. The only connection she had to him was through her brother. Again, she took heart in knowing if she was still a target, then Adam was alive. At least for now. But for how long?
The operative holding her backed down the corridor. “Where’s Smith?”
“Busy with your buddy,” Remy said. “You need to stop, Simmons. You’re not leaving with her.”
“Yeah? Who’s going to stop me?” No one said anything. Simmons gave a harsh laugh. “That’s what I thought. All that whispered hype about Durango ain’t nothing but an exaggerated lie. You’re no better than the rest of us.”
“Where’s Quinn?” Josh asked.
“Knocked him out. Pathetically easy,” he bragged, still dragging her backward.
Simmons must be taking her to an exit from the building. She needed to slow him down, but how? Claire thrashed her head hard enough to free her mouth. She bit down on his forefinger, hard.
Simmons roared in pain, yanked his hand free, and slammed his fist into the side of her face.
Claire’s vision turned black around the edges. Simmons reached behind his back.
“Gun!” Lily yelled.
Thunder boomed in the hallway and suddenly Claire fell to the floor. Someone snatched her from the tile. Despite the pain from the punch, she fought the hands holding her.
“It’s Remy, sugar. Stay still. Josh, is there somewhere to lay her down?”
“Infirmary is the fourth door on the right. Rio, I need you here. Keep Simmons alive.”
“Copy that, Major.”
“Eli, find Quinn.”
“On it.”
A sigh from Durango’s leader. “I’ve got calls to make.”
Then Claire was being carried away from the chaos and scent of blood.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Zane raced down the hallway, close on Remy’s heels. The other operative maneuvered Claire through the infirmary door and laid her on a twin-sized bed placed against the wall. A padded table much as you would see in a doctor’s office occupied the center of the room. The wall opposite the bed was covered with cabinets which Zane figured were filled with first aid stuff. Any serious injuries, like the gunshot wound in Simmons’ shoulder, would be treated at the local hospital. He imagined Rio reigned supreme in this room.
“Claire.” He wrapped his hand around hers. “I’m turning your face toward the light.”
She lifted one eyelid. “Do you have to? Got a feeling it won’t be pretty.”
“I need to see h
ow much damage Simmons did, baby. You may need a hospital.” Hopefully not. She was so small, though. He was afraid Simmons had enough strength to fracture one of the bones in Claire’s face.
“No hospital,” Claire insisted.
“Not making any promises here, sweetheart.” He turned her head gently so the light shone on her fair skin, skin now a bright red over her cheekbone. He whistled.
“That good, huh?” she asked.
“You’ll have another bruise.” He’d love to return the favor. Simmons deserved that and more for hurting Claire.
“Nice to know I have a matched set.”
Zane glanced around the room and noticed a refrigerator with the freezer compartment on the bottom. “I’ll be right back.” He crossed the room and opened the freezer. Ah, just as he’d hoped. Cold packs.
After grabbing one of the smaller packs and a handful of paper towels, Zane returned to Claire’s side and laid the wrapped pack across her cheek.
“What happened to Simmons?” she asked.
“He pulled a weapon. Alex didn’t have a choice but to shoot him. Simmons could have killed you or someone else in that hallway.”
“Will he survive?”
“Probably. Alex hit his shoulder. If the bullet hit a bone, it could have ricocheted and caused damage we can’t see.”
“This is crazy. Three attempts to kidnap me in as many days. What would have happened if Simmons had taken me away from here?”
Zane didn’t want her to know the truth, especially if the kidnappers were following the orders of Peter Collins. His gaze rested on her face a moment. “Are you sure you want to know?”
“I think I have to. Tell me.”
“If Collins is behind these attempts, then Simmons would have taken you to a prearranged location, maybe even his compound in Belize. You would have arrived relatively unhurt and been taken to where Adam could see you. Then Collins’ henchmen would do whatever was necessary to you to get your brother to spill the information they want.”
“And afterward?”
“Collins would kill both of you. He doesn’t leave witnesses behind.”
She blew out a breath. “You don’t believe in pulling punches, do you?”
“We have a motto in the SEALs. The only easy day is yesterday. Going easy on us would have gotten us killed. Telling you a hard truth today might save your life tomorrow.”
“Simmons reacted to the name Collins.”
A cold knot formed in Zane’s belly. He tightened his fingers around hers. “How do you know?”
“Bone deep fear has a distinct scent.”
He sighed. “I was afraid of that. Collins is probably behind everything.”
“Any way to prove it?”
“I need some time at my keyboard.” He scowled. “If I wasn’t fake fired from Fortress, I could use my setup in the comm center. Between Jon and I, we’ll make do. Our main priority is finding Adam.” Sirens cut off abruptly and running footsteps sounded nearby. “Sounds like the local police and EMTs are here.”
“I suppose the police will talk to me.”
“Definitely.”
“Before three days ago, I had no interaction with law enforcement except from a distance. Now I’m becoming too well acquainted with police procedures, especially the interviews. I’d rather be a police photographer than be on this end of things.”
“I can imagine. You’d probably enjoy the job as long as you could balance it with other types of photography. No question you have an eye for detail. How does your cheek feel?”
“Like somebody punched me, thank you very much.”
He chuckled. “I’m glad you haven’t lost your sense of humor.”
“Another kidnapping attempt, and I might. I’m tired of strange men trying to carry me off.”
Footsteps approached the doorway. Between one heartbeat and the next, Zane released her hand and had his weapon up and aimed at the open doorway.
A tall, muscular man with coal black hair, brown eyes, and copper complexion stopped in the threshold. His lips twitched. “Zane Murphy?”
Weapon steady, Zane gave a short nod. “And you are?”
“Ethan Blackhawk, Otter Creek police chief.”
He relaxed. “You’re Josh’s brother-in-law and boss.” Zane returned the weapon to his holster.
“That’s right.” Blackhawk’s gaze shifted to Claire. “Are you able to answer questions, Ms. Walker?”
“Sure.”
When she started to sit up, Zane nudged her back down. “Let’s give that ice pack five more minutes to work.”
The police chief grabbed a rolling stool and sat in Claire’s line of sight. “Tell me what happened with Simmons.”
“How far back do I go?”
“As far as you need to be comfortable starting your story.”
“Do you know what happened to Claire in Nashville?” Zane asked.
Blackhawk’s eyebrows rose. “No. This incident is connected to something else?”
“We think so.” He turned to Claire. “Start at the beginning, baby.”
Between the two of them, they explained the sequence of events, starting with the initial kidnapping attempt. At the mention of Peter Collins and his possible role, Blackhawk’s face hardened. Guess Zane shouldn’t have been surprised. Josh’s brother-in-law was sharp. From what he understood, the police chief stayed up on the latest information in law enforcement, especially things that might impact his town. Zane couldn’t imagine that Otter Creek was a hotbed of heroin sales and addicts, but you never knew what would take root in a town and try to take over.
“Let me get this straight. Peter Collins, the heroin kingpin, probably has one of your operatives, and he wants Claire to pressure her brother to talk.”
“That’s right.”
“What information does he want?”
“It’s classified.”
Blackhawk looked disgusted. “Of course it is. Are you positive this isn’t related to Claire instead of her brother?”
Zane’s gaze shifted back to the woman with an ice pack pressed to her face. “No. We haven’t had time to talk about what she might have seen or photographed that drew Collins’ attention.”
“Photographed?”
“I’m a professional photographer. Zane, if you show me a picture of Collins, I can at least eliminate the possibility that I photographed him by mistake. I have a good memory for faces.”
“I’ll take care of that as soon as we return to the house.”
“Isn’t Collins based out of the country?” Blackhawk asked.
“Belize. As far as we know, he hasn’t returned to the U.S. in months. But we know it’s not difficult for someone with the money and connections Collins has to enter the country unseen.”
“Do you know where Adam is?”
“Jon Smith and I are looking for any mention of him or hints that Collins knows Adam’s identity and acted on the knowledge. We haven’t had time to work today. I wanted Claire out of Nashville. She’s a magnet for trouble.”
“Hey,” Claire protested. “Not my fault.”
“Can’t blame you for wanting the lady safe.” Blackhawk’s gaze rested on Zane a moment. “You expected trouble tonight.”
A statement, not a question. Smart man. “I expected, hoped for, a reaction. I didn’t expect Simmons to grab her.”
“Why did he try?” Claire frowned. “You wouldn’t have let him take me.”
“Not a chance. Collins blackmailed or bought him. A little time with my laptop and I’ll be able to tell you which it is.”
“Should I expect more trouble?” Blackhawk asked, a wry smile curving his lips.
“Wouldn’t hurt.” Zane raised Claire to a sitting position and took the ice pack from her. Once he returned the pack to the freezer, Zane crossed the room to her side.
“All right, Ms. Walker, let’s go through everything again.” The policeman pulled out a notebook and pen. “This time through, I’ll stop you to ask questions for clarif
ication.”
“Fine. And call me Claire.”
He nodded. “If you will call me Ethan. Start at the beginning.”
Near the end of the second recounting, Rio walked in, balling rubber gloves. He tossed them in the bin for hazardous waste, along with a small plastic bag. The medic walked to the sink, washed his hands, then leaned against the counter while he waited for Claire to finish.
When she wound down, Rio tilted her face to the light. He winced. “That will be colorful in a few hours.” He pressed lightly, ignoring her hiss of pain and Zane’s scowl. “You’ll live. I don’t feel anything amiss. Might be wise to have x-rays done, just in case.”
“No, thank you. Hate hospitals and prefer to avoid them.”
He grinned. “I hear that same sentiment from Darcy.”
“How is Simmons?” Zane asked.
“Headed for the hospital and surgery.”
“Will he make it?” This from Blackhawk.
“He was stable when he rolled out of here, Ethan.”
The police chief grunted. “Good sign. Guess we can add one more person to those on the kidnapping posse. Simmons is looking at hard time for this. Zane, if you want my help, you have to level with me. I don’t know what you need or why. I can overlook a few minor things. Alex shooting Simmons is not minor. I don’t want a push back descending on my town and my people without being prepared for it. If that happens, I’ll come after you and Maddox. Nobody plays in my territory without me knowing details.” His lips curled. “Not even the feds.”
His gut tightened. Zane wanted to tell Josh’s brother-in-law everything. He’d been part of the Special Forces community. Blackhawk could be trusted. However, only Maddox could authorize Zane to share the information Blackhawk wanted. “That’s above my pay grade.”
An eyebrow rose. “From what I understand, you don’t have a pay grade at the moment.”
“Don’t believe everything you hear.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. In the meantime, have Maddox contact me. I’d rather work from the top down.” His gaze shifted to Claire. “If you think of anything else helpful, call me. If you recognize Collins or his henchmen, or anything else out of the ordinary happens while you’re in town, I need to know about it.”