Hanging his head for a moment, gathering his thoughts, he looked back into her face. “A year ago I was practicing in another state, but had been applying for jobs here in the area because my mom was sick.” Seeing the doubt in her eyes, he continued, “Yes Annie. I did have a mom in the area and she was sick. I received a communication from what I thought was another vet and came in for an interview. When I met with Xavier for the first time, I had no idea who or what he was.
“He said he needed a veterinarian to help with dogs that were part of his business. He made it sound like they were guard dogs in training. He made it sound so legitimate.” His voice trailed off as though his thoughts had moved into the past. Remembering.
“He offered a lot of money and I thought it would be a great transition. I could make decent money, help with mom, and keep practicing veterinary medicine in a private setting for a while.” Shaking his head, “Jesus, I thought I’d found the perfect solution.”
“When did you realize it wasn’t what you thought?”
Sucking in a huge breath and letting it out slowly, “It only took a couple of weeks. At first they had me just seeing dogs they brought in. They made sure I got paid and they even took over mom’s medical expenses which had drained her bank account dry and had almost drained mine dry as well. By the time I ever saw this place I was firmly in their control.
“Annie, you have to believe me when I say that the first time I was brought here I became physically sick. I barely made it to the woods before I lost my lunch.”
“Why did you stay? You could have told the police. You could have done something.”
“I did do something, Annie.” He saw her angry glare but plunged on. “I needed the money. If I said anything, they would kill me, and then where would mom be? I had to play their game to keep things going. But I did the best I could. I inoculated these dogs, I treated their injuries, I made sure they had food and water. And I tried to get them to do surgery to remove the drugs without hacking them open.”
At that, Annie’s eyes filled with tears, all of the fight going out of her. How can I judge him? Would I have done differently? “How is your mom now?”
Looking her directly in the eyes, he confessed, “She died a few months back. I had money to pay off the creditors, pay for a funeral, and get her affairs settled.”
The questioning look she gave him had him nodding in understanding. “You’re wondering why I didn’t stop then?”
He gave a rude snort before answering. “By then, they had me in your clinic. I had gotten close to you, Suzanne, and Leon. They manage to get people to do things they want by threatening things that matter.”
“Oh my God. They threatened you by using us?” her voice shook.
Nodding, he looked sadder than she thought she had ever seen anyone look.
“Yeah. That kept me doing their dirty work while still trying to do the best I could for the animals.”
Seeing her look of understanding, he quickly replied, “Oh Annie. I’m no hero. I’m probably just a huge coward, but I knew I was already damned. I might as well keep being damned to keep them away from you all.”
Looking around, she began to wiggle seeing how tightly she was tied. “Can you move your arms at all?” Annie asked.
Eyebrows raised in question, he shook his head as he attempted to move. “Why?”
“I can feel the rough wood where my hands are tied to the beam. Maybe I can break through the ropes,” she answered, as she began moving her arms in an awkward jerk, wincing as the pain in her shoulder increased.
The activity in the yard had increased as wooden crates were being taken from the barn and loaded into the back of the vans. They heard a shout, “Get this in the vans first and then we’ll have a truck in to load the dogs in a couple of hours.”
Looking at each other, the unspoken threat hung between them. Would they still be alive in a couple of hours?
Chapter 28
Matt watched Shane stand in front of the map projected onto the screen, his eyes staring, roving over the area. Silent. Steely. And Matt knew, in agony.
Walking over he placed his hand on Shane’s shoulder. “The intel’s comin’ in man. Just a little bit longer.”
“I keep thinkin’ this fuckin’ map is suddenly gonna have a huge star on it that’ll just scream out and tell me where she is.”
“I know, but Shane, you gotta keep your shit pulled together.”
Shane swung his narrowed eyes around to Matt’s, but before he could speak Matt jumped in.
“I know, man. I don’t have what you and Annie have, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get this. What I’m telling you is that you’ve got to hold it together so that when we head out you don’t go wild and make it worse for her.”
At that, Shane dropped his head as he stared at his boots for a moment. “Lived that shit. Know that shit. She can’t handle that. No fuckin’ way.”
Matt, quiet, let his friend get it out.
Lifting his gaze back to Matt’s, Shane continued, “I saw men killed for doin’ something the wrong way. I saw women slapped just for lookin’ at someone. And that was nothing.” Pulling in a shaky breath, he said, “I saw women taken, mostly with their own will, gettin’ fucked in some corner. But then after one had her, the others would join in, and it was obvious that wasn’t what any woman wanted. Those animals didn’t care. They took what they wanted and if you wanted to stay alive, you let them take.”
His eyes went back to the map. “Jesus, fuck. I can’t believe they’ve got her.” This time his voice cracked and Matt put his hand on the back of Shane’s neck and squeezed.
“Stay strong for her. We’re gonna get her and she’s gonna need you.”
Matt and Shane turned around as the doors behind them opened and two men walked in. Shane felt his breath leave his body in a rush. Tom Rivers and Jake Campbell, old friends from his academy days and now detectives with a neighboring city’s police force, came stalking in and straight to Shane. Tall and well-built, both men made an imposing sight – one that Shane was glad to see.
Tom stopped directly in front of Shane and wrapped his hand around his friend’s neck keeping his eyes on Shane’s agony-filled expression. “Tony called. Jake and I dropped everything and we’re here. Unofficial. Just two friends visiting some old academy friends. But. We. Are. Here.” Leaning in closely, he got right in Shane’s face and said, “I know, man. I know.”
Shane greeted his Fairfield friends, staggered that they had come. He battled back the emotions that threatened to choke him as he held onto Tom before grabbing Jake in a bear hug as well.
Suddenly the room around them began to erupt in activity once again. Gabe shouted out, “The county sheriff’s office just raided two of the puppy-mills in the area and came up with nothing on Doctor Donavan. The third one looks like it may be it. The sheriff is gatherin’ his men and will wait for us.”
Tony came in speaking, “Just got off the phone with your chief. Since it is in the county and not the city he has no jurisdiction, but DEA is heading out that way as well as FBI. Tom, Jake. Good to see you. You two are here visiting old friends and just helping out. Shane, you and Matt have no legal authority in this case now, which your chief wants to make sure you remember.”
Shane’s steely blue gaze met Tony’s. “You think I give one fuck about jurisdiction?”
Tony put his hand up in defense. “Shane, we’ve been friends a long time. I’m just reminding you that if you go rogue, you could lose your job and your pension.”
The room was full of testosterone on high alert as Shane leaned in closer to Tony. “Then I guess I’m gonna kiss my fuckin’ pension away.”
A tiny smile cracked the corners of Tony’s lips as he said, “Well then. Welcome aboard to Alverez Security.”
“Got the rendezvous coordinates,” came the shout from Vinny, as a red circle appeared on the map. It looked to be deep in the woods, near the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
“Let’s roll
,” Tony shouted as all of the men began suiting up and heading out. Kevlar vests, guns, revolvers, night goggles, stun guns, were all quickly grabbed and each man hefted up a large duffle bag. Tony looked at Shane and Matt then nodded toward two filled duffle bags on the floor. “Yours,” he stated, and they grabbed them on their way out of the door.
The men piled into huge black SUVs with tinted windows. Pulling out of the security garage underneath the building, they headed west.
Finally. Shane felt better with his body active instead of just his mind going over and over all of the ways they could hurt Annie. Lock it down. Lock that shit down. Focus. One goal, one reason to live. Get her out. Then get the mother-fuckers that took her.
* * *
Several hours had passed and the activity in the compound had not decreased. As soon as one van was loaded with crates from the barn and driven away, another one would pull up and the loading would resume. As best as Annie could tell, five van-loads has already left.
The sun was beginning to set as it was just peeking over the trees, sending long, filtering rays through the barn-loft slats. Anne’s eyes traveled back to the dog cages behind the barn, stacked four high, each barely allowing the dog to stand. Even from where she was at she could tell that many of them were sick, probably from the cramped and soiled conditions.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Carl’s voice cut through her musings.
Annie’s eyes darted back to his face as she raised her eyebrow in silent questioning.
“Honest to God, Annie. This place was worse when I first got here. At least I convinced them to spend some money on feeding and keeping the dogs in good condition.”
“What for? So they would have an easier time ingesting drugs before traveling in horrible conditions only to be hacked up in the end?”
Grimacing, Carl just shook his head. “I didn’t know what to do. Mom needed so much medical equipment and nursing care. Jesus, all I ever wanted to do was practice veterinary medicine, you know?”
Annie sighed. “Yeah, I know. Me too.”
“It costs so fucking much money and no one ever thinks about that,” he said, looking more dejected than she had ever seen. “I had so many bills and then mom’s added on were overwhelming. God, I thought when I met Xavier I had hit the mother lode. A private vet job, money to pay off loans and mom’s care.” His voice cracked, “Jesus, how fucked can it all have gotten.”
“Carl, we can’t give up. I know Shane is tearing up the countryside looking for us. He’ll have the police and I know the DEA are involved and I’m sure his friend Tony has his security men on it as well.”
He lifted his tired eyes to her face as she implored him to see the light at the end of the tunnel. “Annie, the odds of the cavalry coming are pretty slim. Why do you think no one has found this place before? It’s hidden. Secret. Buried. Jesus, we’ll be dead before they find us.”
Annie tore her gaze away from his, focusing on the dog crates below. Chewing on her bottom lip, she said simply, “I may not be able to get out of here alive, but I’d love to set those dogs free before I go.”
Continuing to rub the thin rope holding her hands behind her against one of the rough beams in the loft, the rope finally snapped and her hands were free.
He looked at her, wide eyed in surprise, his mouth working but nothing coming out. Her body achy and stiff, she winced silently as she moved over to his back to remove his rope as well.
“Annie, I want out of here as much as you, but how?”
“I don’t know Carl,” she hissed. “You think I’m used to planning something like this?” She managed to get his rope loosened enough for him to work his hands free. The activity below was still humming. “You’ve been here. You tell me how to get out of this. Together we should be able to figure out something.”
They both sat silently for a moment, continuing to think as Carl drug his hand across his face, dejection pouring off of him. Looking back up at her, he said, “Don’t you get it? I’m screwed.”
“Not if we get away,” she answered back in frustration. “What is wrong with you? Why are you giving up without a fight?”
“I’m a dead man,” his voice broke as he pressed his fingers to his lips in an effort to still the shaking. “Either they kill me or I go to prison for assisting in drug trafficking. Either way, I’m dead.”
A loud voice from below interrupted their thoughts. “Just two more loads and we’re done.”
Annie squatted next to him, thinking back to all of the fun they had had in the clinic with Suzanne and Leon. The animals he cared for. Walking Suzanne safely to her car. Taking her hands, she cupped his face. “You’re a good person, Carl.”
At this his eyes sought hers, the questions evident in their depths, so she continued. “You’re a good person who got duped into a bad situation. The police will take that into consideration, I’m sure of it. Especially if we get away and you can provide evidence against them. You don’t give up. Don’t give up on me and don’t give up on yourself.”
She continued to hold his face before wrapping her arms around him, instinctively knowing that he had been holding this all in for a long time. She heard him sniffle, then clear his throat as he leaned back away from her.
“The woods around here are thick. That’s one of the reason’s I heard them say they picked this place. If we can get out of the barn undetected and make it to the woods, we might be able to hide there.”
Pulling back away from him she smiled. “It’s almost completely dark and they are still occupied. Let’s try now.”
Silently crawling to the far side of the barn loft, they felt for rotten boards that could be removed easily. They found that most of the side slats were fairly loose, but pondered the noise that would be made when they tried to move them.
Carl quickly said, “When they finish loading a vans they start it up and that makes a lot of noise in the barn until the van pulls away. Sit like this and be ready to kick when I say so.” He positioned himself so that he was laying on his back, propped up on his arms with his legs bent and feet against the old wood. Annie quickly mimicked his position.
In less than a moment they heard the sound of the next van’s engine starting and Carl whispered, “Now.” With the barn’s interior reverberating with the sound of the van’s engine as the van was pulling out, they both kicked several boards away from the wall of the loft’s wall. The boards cracked and gave way, splintering into pieces. Scrambling up, they quickly pulled the pieces away, leaving a gap large enough for them to slip through.
Looking at each other, Annie couldn’t help but grin while Carl shook his head.
“We’re not clear yet,” he reminded her.
“Yeah, well, we’re not tied to a barn post waiting to be killed right now either,” she whispered back, peeking through the hole in the wall.
The drop-off from the barn was about twelve feet down to the ground. “Let me go first and then I can try to break your fall,” Carl said. Annie nodded and moved back from the hole. She watched as he disappeared through the broken slats and then quickly crawled back over to peer down. Sighing in relief, she saw that he was on his hands and knees but was quickly standing and turning back to her. Listening carefully to see if they had been detected, she quietly scooted to the edge of the hole, letting her legs dangle out of the barn loft. Glancing quickly down, she saw him raise his arms up toward her, nodding in her direction.
She slid out while twisting her body so that she was now completely dangling out of the loft, just holding on with her hands.
“Come on. I’ve got you,” she heard Carl whisper. Letting go she dropped into his arms and they both fell backwards onto the ground. Free! We did it!
* * *
The men from Tony’s security team had joined forces with the local sheriff’s office that had been greatly understaffed for this type of maneuver, as well as with the DEA agents. Not one for normally sharing, the DEA wanted this case wrapped up so tightly they were willing
to get all the help they could as long as they retained jurisdiction.
The task force was spread out in the woods completely surrounding the compound. There were DEA agents several miles away capturing each van as they came down the road, quickly taking down the drivers and members and confiscating each van-load of drugs and equipment. Moving them swiftly away from the road, they set up to grab the next one that would be coming.
Shane was making his way toward the cabin, feeling certain that would be where Annie was being held. Crouching behind the cages of dogs, he stealthily maneuvered to the side when he saw several men come out and head toward the barn. Xavier Thomas. Shane’s body became tight with even more anger, recognizing the man responsible for most of the drug trafficking in the area and more personally, what happened with Sarge. Xavier’s cold, calculating orders had ended the life of several men as Shane had witnessed. And now he had Annie. Tonight, mother fucker. You die.
“Is this the last van?” Xavier called out to one of the men closest to him.
“Yes, sir. Just loading the last one now. Should pull out in about 10 minutes,” came the reply.
Giving his next round of orders, Xavier spoke to the same man. “Get the prisoners out of the barn loft and bring them back here. I think a very public execution will be perfect for the police to find.”
Shane’s blood ran cold as Xavier chuckled. Glancing toward the barn, he shifted his stance behind the crates and began to move toward the barn, away from the cabin. “Moving toward the barn,” he whispered into his mic. “Roger that,” came Tony’s reply.
He noticed that Matt, Jake, and Tom were maneuvering with him. They wanted the gang as much as anyone, but for them…it was all about Annie.
Staying in the woods as he crept around, Shane’s heart nearly stopped, when peering through the night goggles, he saw two figures jumping from the upper level of the barn. The first was a man, but the second figure was definitely a woman. Annie. Thank fuck, she’s alive. Feeling a touch on his shoulder, he glanced around to see that Matt, Jake, and Tom were focused on them as well. “Get her. I’m goin’ after Xavier.”
Love's Taming (The Love's Series) Page 25