by Rebecca Deel
Doors slammed outside the plane and caught Brenna’s attention. Eli and Jon?
Grace pivoted and walked to the open door. “Bring them up here,” she called. “Hurry. We don’t have much time.”
Heart slamming against her chest wall, Brenna sat up straighter. A familiar voice cried, “Leave her alone.” Dana. She leaped to her feet.
Grace swung the gun back in her direction. “Sit down or I’ll tell my men to break Dana’s neck.”
Brenna dropped to the edge of the seat, gritted her teeth, glaring at the woman who had caused her and Dana so many weeks of misery.
The sound of struggles, a slap, a cry of pain, reached Brenna’s ears. Her body vibrated with the need to race for the door and help because she knew Dana was fighting her captors. She listened, prayed for her sister’s successful bid for freedom, even if it meant she would be left in the hands of Scarlett Group.
Another slap of flesh hitting flesh. Then silence.
Heavy footsteps thumped on metal stairs outside the door and in stepped the man who dragged her into this nightmare, carrying a still struggling Dana, one hand clamped over her mouth, the other around her waist.
“Dana.” Brenna leaped to her feet again, heedless this time of Grace’s gun.
Dana stilled. Her gaze searched the plane’s interior until she saw Brenna. Her eyes widened. Skyscraper promised. She shouldn’t have trusted him. Tears filled her eyes and spilled over, falling in a waterfall of love and regret. She would have been willing to do anything to keep Brenna out of this nightmare. Now, it was too late. They would never let either of them go. And what kind of hope did Julie have to survive this?
Grace thrust a gun inches from her face. “Stop fighting or your sister dies.”
Her eyes narrowed. So, it was true. Her so-called friend was a traitor. How could she have been so stupid? Why didn’t she see the truth before now? She nodded and made a conscious effort to relax her muscles. Skyscraper released her.
Dana staggered, caught her balance and walked to Brenna on trembling legs. She threw her arms around her sister and hugged her. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I begged them to leave you alone.”
“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” Brenna murmured into her ear.
Dana shook her head.
Sirens screamed in the distance and sounded closer by the second.
“Thank God,” Brenna whispered. “I think we may have help in a couple of minutes.”
“We need to get off the ground,” Grace said, her words clipped. “Get the other one in here.”
Dana released her grip on her sister and swiveled toward the door. “No, Grace. Leave Julie here.”
“Why should I do that? She’s worth at least $20,000, more if she’s still untouched.”
Dana’s stomach lurched at the reduction of human life to dollar terms. “You don’t need her.” She glanced at Brenna. Her sister gave a slight nod, knowing where she was going with this without a verbal explanation. A swell of admiration bloomed in her chest. Her sister had more courage than anyone she knew. Except Jon. She pushed aside the sharp spear of hurt as Dana realized that she might never see him again. “You have both of us. Julie is just a scared kid, and your bozos have kept her so drugged up the last few weeks she’s weak, sick.”
Grace scowled, turned to glare at Skyscraper. “Is this true?”
He shrugged. “She wouldn’t stop begging us to call her mother. She drove us crazy. It was either keep her knocked out or kill her.”
The police sirens grew louder by the second. Dana’s heart raced. Could this nightmare finally be over? Surely Grace and her thugs realized they didn’t stand a chance against the police. Jon’s beloved face flashed into her mind, his dark gaze intent. She couldn’t wait to see him. Maybe he would hold her for a minute. Or two. A lifetime. Dana blinked back the tears. She would give almost anything to have a chance at building a life with him.
Grace strode to the open doorway, peered out into the deepening twilight and uttered a curse. “Drop her and get in here,” she yelled at Ape man.
Panic grew in Dana’s gut. The police weren’t close enough. Even she could tell that from the sound of the sirens. Her gaze sought Brenna’s. The same horror dawned on her face. Their rescuers might not make it in time to stop the plane from taking off. And only God knew where Grace would take them.
Ape man pounded up the stairs at a dead run, reached back, hauled up the stairs and secured the door.
Grace nodded in Dana’s direction. “Restrain her. If she resists, kill them both.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“There it is.” Eli lowered the window on the SUV and listened to the whine of the Lear jet’s engine. “She’s powering up. Go, Cal.”
The SUV leaped forward, joining the other police cars surging onto the tarmac. Fury exploded in Eli’s gut as the plane taxied down the runway, gathered speed until the craft lifted off, its wheels missing a patrol car by inches. “No!” Eli slammed his fist on the console.
“Get the registration,” Jon snapped.
Eli ripped open his Go bag, yanked out a pair of binoculars. He shoved Brenna to the back of his mind and focused his attention on the plane’s tail section. He spat out the registration numbers and twisted in the seat.
Jon was already repeating the information into his cell phone. Eternal seconds later, his partner’s face showed satisfaction. He nodded at Eli. “Zane has them. He’s tracking, but they are changing call signs like most women change shoes.”
Cal’s head jerked around for a second. “That’s impossible.”
Jon gave a mirthless laugh. “He says if he didn’t know what to look for, he’d assume it was a glitch in the software.”
“Tell him to contact the FAA,” Cal said.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Do you really want to know?” Eli asked. “This way you have deniability if anything goes wrong.”
Cal scowled over his shoulder before returning his attention to the tarmac. He leaned closer to the windshield, pointed. “What’s that?”
Eli focused the binoculars on the mound in the middle of the tarmac behind a white van. He frowned. Clothes? The closer the SUV came to the mound, dread grew greater until he drew in a sharp breath. “It’s a woman.”
“Who?” Jon asked, his voice tight.
“Not ours.” Eli dropped the binoculars into his bag and released his safety belt. “Blond hair.”
When Cal slowed enough, Eli and Jon bailed out. Eli ran to the woman while Jon circled the van, weapon up and ready. Blond hair covered her face, her body shuddering with quiet sobs.
Eli dropped to his knees. “Sweetheart, my name is Eli. Can you tell me if you’re injured anywhere?”
A soft gasp and a trembling hand reached out. “Help me.”
“That’s what we’re here for.” Eli clasped her hand, brushed aside the strands of hair covering her face, and smiled. “Julie, I know a couple people who will be very happy to see your beautiful face.”
“How do you know me?”
Cal dropped to one knee beside the girl. He grinned. “Hello, Julie. My name’s Cal. I’m with the Nashville police. I’ve been looking for you for weeks and so has your mother.” He pivoted on one foot and asked one of the deputies to call for an ambulance.
Eli squeezed Julie’s hand gently. “Sweetheart, I’m a friend of Dana Cole. We’ve been looking for Dana and her sister, Brenna. Did you see them?”
More tears. “Dana. They forced her onto the plane.” She started to shiver despite the lingering heat and humidity.
Jon ran to the SUV and grabbed a blanket from the back.
Once he draped the cover over the girl, Eli sat beside Julie, still holding her hand. “You didn’t see Dana’s sister?”
“No, but I heard those creeps talking about another woman already on the plane.”
His gut clenched. The other woman had to be Brenna. Some of the deputies had already left the tarmac, headed in the direction
of the house and surrounding buildings on the chance Brenna was still on the Garibaldi estate, but he knew in his gut that the love of his life was trapped on that plane, scared to death. “Why did they leave you here on the tarmac? Are you injured?” He scanned her body for blood stains, saw nothing. Didn’t mean those creeps hadn’t hurt her.
“They didn’t touch me.” She stopped, anguish filling her eyes. “At least I don’t think so. They kept me drugged. What if they did something while I was out of it?”
“You’re going to be okay, Julie,” Cal said. “No one will hurt you now. The doctors at the hospital will take good care of you. Can you tell us why they left you here?”
“They made us ride in a van to the plane. Dana told me to act like I was still unconscious.”
“Why?”
“I begged her not to do it, but she wouldn’t listen.” Julie started sobbing once more.
Eli rubbed his thumb over Julie’s knuckles, dragging her attention from the depths of her anguish back to him. “We’ll find Dana and free her. We need your help to do that, Julie.” He waited for the teen to calm herself enough to answer more questions. “What was Dana’s plan?”
“She told them I was too sick, that she could bring them twice as much money. I told her not to do it, that my mom would pay whatever they asked.”
Eli’s gaze shot to Jon. His friend’s eyes glittered in the fading light, face a mask of stone. Julie didn’t understand the stakes, but Dana had. She’d figured out what lay in store for her and Julie, and she did the only thing she could to free the teenager. He blinked away the mist gathering in his eyes. Dana Cole had more guts than almost anyone he’d ever met in spite of the fear that must be almost consuming her at her possible future.
“Is that what happened when you reached the plane?”
“I don’t know. I tried to be dead weight. Dana fought the tall one, but he slapped her a few times.”
Jon’s fists clenched so hard his knuckles shone stark white through his skin.
“The other one dragged me out of the van and was taking me to the plane’s stairs when some woman yelled at him to drop me and get in the plane.”
“Did you see what she looked like?” Cal asked.
Eli stiffened and glared at the detective. Still pursuing his theory of Brenna’s guilt? Cal raised an eyebrow at him, dared him to protest the question. He knew it needed answering. Didn’t mean he liked the smear on his girl. He’d plant a fist in Cal’s face after he rescued Brenna.
“Not really. I couldn’t make out her features, just the blond hair. She sort of sounded like Dana’s friend Grace.” She frowned. “But that doesn’t make sense. Why would Grace be on that plane?”
Eli felt like kissing the teen, but figured he’d scare her to death after what she had already been through. Blond hair indicated someone other than Brenna. Julie’s tentative identification confirmed Grace’s involvement.
“Did you hear any names or where they were headed?”
Julie shook her head. “When can I see my mom?”
An ambulance siren wailed in the distance. “As soon as we load you into the ambulance, I’ll call your mother and have her meet you at the hospital.” Cal smiled. “This is one phone call I’m looking forward to making.”
“Could you . . . ?” Julie stopped, bit her lip.
“What?” Cal prompted. “You can ask me anything. If I can’t take care of it, I’ll find someone who will.”
“Could you go to the hospital with me?” Tears flowed down her cheeks. “I don’t want to go by myself.”
“You bet.” He patted her shoulder. “I don’t have jurisdiction in this county, anyway.” Cal waved over the approaching ambulance. He dug out his SUV keys and tossed them to Eli. “Take my ride and leave it at the airport. Make them pay, buddy.”
“Count on it.” Eli lifted Julie’s hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. “I’m going after Dana, sweetheart. Anything you need from me before I leave?”
“Just bring her home safe.”
Eli squeezed her hand, nodded. “Would you like me to call your boyfriend, Chad?”
“That would be great. I missed him so much.”
Yeah, Eli knew how she felt. He missed Brenna so much his heart ached. He rose and stepped back as EMTs raced to the girl’s prone form.
In the SUV, Eli turned the key in the ignition and drove off the tarmac. “Time to rock the boat, Jon.”
“What do we need?” Brent Maddox asked.
For a moment, Eli’s throat closed off with the force of his emotions. Maddox had included himself to head the teams the moment he’d learned what transpired at the airstrip. “Everything.” Eli intended to hit the Scarlett Group with a full-scale assault if they couldn’t free Brenna and Dana by stealth. As soon as the Zoo Crew knew where to land, Eli and Jon would have two full teams at their backs, ready to take the women with fire power if necessary.
“RPGs?”
“Oh, yeah.” Eli weaved through the twilight traffic, lights flashing, siren blaring, pedal to the floor. “This is a pitch black op, Brent. I don’t know where that plane is headed, but I’m not handing this mission off to local law enforcement or military.” He and Jon had trusted the wrong people the last time they tangled with human traffickers and arrived too late to save any of them. Not going to happen this time, especially not with Brenna’s and Dana’s lives at stake.
“I understand. If questions arise, I’ll handle it. Anything else?”
Eli drew in a ragged breath. “Nothing matters but the safety of the women.”
Maddox remained silent a moment. “Like that, is it?”
“Yes.” He tossed a quick glance at his partner. His next words might represent his feelings alone, but doubted it. Jon may not have acknowledged to himself how he felt, but the emotions were there all the same. “For both of us.”
“We’re wheels up in two hours. Need that much time to refuel the bird, load our supplies, and mobilize Teams 1 and 2.” Maddox ended the call.
“Two hours,” Eli said to Jon. “Are the tags still working?”
“Yeah, but not much longer.”
He checked the time. Another hour at most and the batteries would run out. “Which direction is the plane headed?”
“Southwest. No deviation in course.”
Eli thought about that for a few minutes. “Mexico?”
“Maybe.” Jon looked up from his computer screen. “They have to refuel. That bird doesn’t have the tanks to get across the border without refueling.”
“And if you were on the run with the law on your tail, you couldn’t land at an airport. Grace must know the cops have alerted the FAA and, through them, airport security across the country.” Eli tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “Where would you go to refuel?”
“One of Sartelli’s other landing strips.”
“Do you know where they are?”
“No. I can find them, but it would take longer than we have.”
Eli glanced behind him and crossed three lanes of traffic to a chorus of horns and tire squeals. “I know a quicker way to learn the information we need. Call Cal. Find out where Sartelli is right now. Tell him to have the undercover guys look the other way a few minutes. I’m not leaving Sartelli without that information, no matter how I have to get it.”
“You two, on your feet.”
Brenna rose, still unsteady from the drug and air turbulence. She helped Dana to her feet and, after a shove from Grace, they staggered down the aisle toward the back of the plane. What now?
An NFL-sized man waited in front of a closed door, an ugly glitter in his gaze.
Dana stopped, a shudder wracking her frame, her gaze fixed on the thug at the door. Brenna watched the interchange, a sick feeling in her stomach. Oh, man, had he raped her? But her sister said the kidnappers didn’t hurt her. Maybe Dana lied. It wasn’t as if the sisters had discussed what happened to Dana in detail. There hadn’t been time. Yet. Before too much longer, she would weasel the inform
ation from her sister.
He opened the door, grabbed Dana by the arm and shoved her inside the room. Grace prodded Brenna in the back with the gun.
“You’re next.”
On trembling legs, she walked into the darkened room illuminated by light from the cabin. She froze a few steps beyond the doorway. Her shadow fell across the single piece of furniture in the room. A king-sized bed. Her throat tightened and she wondered if Grace planned to let the thugs entertain themselves at their expense during the hours before they reached their destination.
Dana turned around, her face an impassive mask. “Grace, please, take Brenna back to the cabin. If our friendship meant anything to you, don’t let this creep touch her.”
He laughed at her. “Scared? You should be.”
Brenna’s breath caught. “Dana, no.”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” Grace said. “I have something much more special in mind for the two of you. You ladies are going to be a gift for my lover. After he tires of you, he can sell you or kill you. I don’t really care which he chooses.” Grace nodded to the thug. “Restrain them.” She turned away, stopped. “There’s no phone. The door is locked from the outside and the room is soundproof. It’s pointless to try escaping on this plane anyway. You have nowhere to run.”
The thug removed the zip ties, tossed Brenna and Dana on the bed and replaced the plastic restraints with metal handcuffs attached to chains which were fastened to the wall. With deep laughter that sent chills over Brenna’s body, he closed and locked the door, leaving them alone in the dark.
She yanked on the chains, tested how much play she had, and scooted close to the middle of the bed. Her foot touched Dana’s. She pulled back and thumped her sister’s foot with the side of hers.
“Ouch. What was that for?”
“Don’t do that again.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Offer yourself as a sacrifice for me. We fight them together, Dana. If we stick together, we can beat them.”