by Laura Scott
How many other people had to die? Please, God, not Noelle and Kaitlin.
Caleb buried his face in his hands, wishing that he could trade places with them. He’d do anything to keep them safe.
Anything.
“Caleb? Come on, buddy, you need to pull yourself together.” Declan’s hand was heavy on his shoulder. “Check your phone. Has she responded to your text message?”
A flicker of hope burned through the heavy veil of despair. He slowly rose to his feet and pulled the phone out of his pocket to peer at the screen. “Not yet.”
“Look over here—see the spray pattern on this vent?” Declan practically dragged Caleb over to the back corner of the basement. “Smells like wasp spray, most likely from the canister upstairs. It looks like Noelle tried to fight back and escape.”
He stared at the spray pattern, admiring Noelle’s spunk. He forced himself to think like the cop he once was. The cop he still was, deep in his heart and soul. “I see what you mean,” he admitted. “And look at the way those boxes are knocked askew. She and Kaitlin must have been hiding here. Let’s go back up to the kitchen.”
Upstairs, Caleb carefully examined the area, trying to visualize what had taken place. “There’s a thin smear of blood here,” he said, gesturing to the rust-colored stain on the oak molding around the doorframe. He fought to keep his tone steady. “Must belong to Noelle or Kaitlin since they aren’t here and obviously were trying to get away.”
“I see it,” Declan said in a grim tone.
The thought of his daughter being hurt made his stomach cramp painfully. “We have to find them, Deck.”
“We will.”
He knew his buddy was trying to reassure him, to keep him from going over the edge, but as Caleb stood there, it was obvious they had no clues. Nothing to go on. No way of knowing who Brickner’s accomplice might be.
“Maybe we should go back to that building where we last saw Brickner,” Declan said, breaking the long silence.
Caleb brightened at that thought. “Yeah, why not? At least then we can grab him and force him to tell us where Noelle and Kaitlin are.”
“Not exactly,” Declan drawled. “Take a deep breath, Caleb. This isn’t the time to overreact.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to yell at Deck, since the guy clearly had no clue what it felt like to have your daughter and the woman you cared for in danger, but he was sidetracked by his vibrating phone. His flash of anger subsided as he grabbed the phone and quickly read the text message.
Heading north on hwy 33.
His heart leaped in his chest. “It’s Noelle! We have to get in the car. She’s giving us directions.”
They hurried outside and jumped back in Deck’s vehicle. “Highway 33 is only seven miles from here,” Caleb said. “Maybe they’re not that far ahead of us.”
“Tell her that we’re on the way,” Declan said as he concentrated on driving.
He was already in the process of doing that. We’re on the road, keep the info coming.
After sending the text he stared at the phone, praying for a response, even though he knew that Noelle wasn’t about to take any chance of getting caught.
The fact that she was able to text him at all was a good sign. The guy who’d taken them must not have searched her, so he must not realize she had a phone. Hopefully that meant that Noelle’s injury wasn’t too bad. Unless the blood had come from Kaitlin? No, don’t go there. Imaging his daughter hurt would only paralyze him.
He needed to think positive. Wasn’t that what prayer was all about? To believe that God was watching over them?
“Junction Highway 33 up ahead,” Declan said, breaking into his thoughts.
As much as he wanted to keep texting Noelle, he managed to refrain, unwilling to increase the possibility of getting caught. All they needed was to know her ultimate destination.
A familiar landmark caught his eye. “Deck, isn’t this close to where we last saw Brickner?”
“Yeah, actually we came in from the other direction, but this is the same area.” Declan didn’t take his eyes off the road. “Caleb, he could be taking them to Brickner.”
“Good.” Caleb didn’t bother to hide his satisfaction. “If that’s true we should be able to blow this case wide open.”
“Maybe we should call for backup,” Declan said.
He glared at his buddy. “You’re kidding, right? Have you forgotten there’s a warrant out for my arrest? What makes you think anyone will believe me?”
“I believe you and I’m sure we could get Isaac to back us up,” Deck said stubbornly. “We can’t do this alone, Caleb.”
Panic gripped him by the throat. Would Declan betray him now, calling for backup when they were so close?
His phone vibrated again. “‘In a truck, at a four-car garage,’” he read Noelle’s text out loud.
“That’s the same place we saw Brickner,” Declan said, pushing hard on the accelerator. “At least now we know where we’re going and we should be able to get there in less than ten minutes.”
Caleb texted that information back to Noelle but he didn’t feel any better knowing Noelle and Kaitlin’s destination. Because if Brickner was out there waiting for them, he wasn’t alone. He likely had a lot of help.
He and Deck would be seriously outnumbered. Not to mention out-armed. Deck had his service weapon, but Caleb didn’t have anything other than a Swiss Army knife.
Maybe Declan was right. Maybe they really did need some backup. And Isaac was a decent guy, someone he once considered a friend.
As much as he hadn’t planned on trusting anyone within the sheriff’s department, he couldn’t deny that he’d do anything, even sacrifice his own life if necessary, to save Noelle and Kaitlin.
And if that meant he was arrested and tossed in jail for the rest of his life, then so be it.
He was about to tell Declan to go ahead and call for backup, when Deck eased on the brakes.
“I think the building is up ahead. We should probably go in on foot from here.”
“I’ll go,” Caleb said. “There’s no sense in both of us going. I’ll stall until you get backup in place.”
Declan looked as if he might argue, but Caleb wasn’t going to sit around. He opened the car door and slid out, shutting it quietly behind him.
Declan was smart. He’d do what needed to be done.
And so would Caleb.
THIRTEEN
Noelle held Kaitlin close as the thug who’d kidnapped them drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, obviously waiting for someone to come out of the garage building to meet him. She’d managed to text Caleb a few details about where they were, but that didn’t mean he’d be able to find them.
Kaitlin had stopped crying about fifteen minutes ago, after she’d soothed her fears as best she could. Noelle could only hope that the little girl was feeling a little better. She sensed the thug who’d taken them would not be happy if Kaitlin started throwing up again. Her greatest fear was that he’d do something to hurt Kaitlin, just to make her shut up.
A man came out of the building and walked toward the black truck. She thought he might be Brickner, but it was difficult to tell. The thug in the truck held his gun on her and gestured to the door. “Get out.”
She swallowed hard and fumbled for the door handle while keeping a tight grip on Kaitlin. The door was heavy and she had to push it with her foot to get it open.
“Well, if it isn’t Miss Whitman and O’Malley’s daughter.” The man’s voice was low and once again she tried to get a good look at him. But he remained in the shadows. She suspected, although she couldn’t see it, that he had a gun, too. “So glad you could join us.”
As if they had a choice? She did her best to control the flash of anger.
There was no
way to even consider making a run for it, considering the two men were armed, so she slid awkwardly to the ground, still holding Kaitlin. The truck was high off the ground and she stumbled a bit when she landed on the pavement. The child was getting heavy, but she ignored the cramping of her arm muscles.
“Take several steps forward,” the man standing in the shadows commanded.
Noelle did as she was told, resisting the urge to glance around for any sign of Caleb or Declan. Even if the two men were somewhere close by, which she highly doubted, they certainly wouldn’t be easily seen. She needed to figure out how to stall long enough for help to arrive.
“What do you want?” she asked as she cautiously approached the stranger. “I don’t understand what’s going on. Why did you bring us here?”
“I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out for yourself,” he said in a scathing tone. He must have been closer than she realized because suddenly he was gripping her arm hard enough to leave bruises. He forcibly dragged her toward a side door on the building. “No? Guess you’re not too smart, are you? Obviously we need the kid to lure O’Malley out of hiding. You’re nothing more than a glorified babysitter.”
Knowing the truth should have made her feel better, but it didn’t. She had no idea how she and Kaitlin could manage to escape, or if Declan and Caleb would be able to find them.
The only good thing was that the stranger, who she was now convinced was Brickner, probably wouldn’t kill them yet. He’d wait until Caleb arrived. But she wished she hadn’t sent Caleb the text messages. She felt certain he would give up his life for his daughter.
The only problem was that they would likely all die here. No way would Brickner let Noelle and Kaitlin go, even if Caleb did show up.
She wanted to text Caleb to let him know it was a trap, but she didn’t dare do anything that would catch Brickner’s attention. He roughly dragged her into the large building, which conveniently didn’t appear to have any windows. There were a few lightbulbs hanging off the ceiling though, so it wasn’t completely dark. In the light, she could make out the familiar face of Marc Brickner. He wasn’t trying to hide his face now, so obviously he intended to kill them all.
She glanced around the building, realizing that it was smaller on the inside compared to the outside. Then she realized that there was a wall dividing the large space in half. Their half was mostly empty except for another black truck parked off to the side. She stared at the wall, wondering what was located on the other side. More men with weapons? Probably. She couldn’t afford to assume there weren’t others around.
“Sit over there,” Brickner said, giving her a slight shove toward the farthest corner of the building.
He released her arm and she resisted the urge to rub her bruised flesh. She sat down in the corner, the concrete floor definitely uncomfortable, not that she planned to complain. When Brickner moved away she lowered her mouth to Kaitlin’s ear. “How are you feeling?” she asked in a whisper. “Does your tummy still hurt?”
“A little,” Kaitlin whispered back. “Can I eat a cracker?”
Noelle was surprised to realize that Kaitlin had managed to hang on to her package of crackers, although they were likely crushed into millions of small pieces after everything they’d been through. But if the crackers helped settle the child’s stomach, she was all for it. “Sure,” she responded.
Brickner and the thug who’d found them at Declan’s house were standing together near the truck, talking in low voices. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but that didn’t matter. While their attention was otherwise occupied, she risked sending another text message to Caleb.
Stay away, it’s a trap.
She felt a little better after sending the message. Surely Declan wouldn’t let Caleb do anything foolish. Kaitlin nibbled on a cracker while Noelle glanced around the interior of the building, searching for anything that she could potentially use as a weapon.
But there was nothing.
“I’m thirsty,” Kaitlin whispered.
“I’ll ask for something,” she reassured the girl. Raising her voice she called out to the two men. “Excuse me, but Kaitlin’s been sick, and I’d like to give her some white soda so she doesn’t throw up again.”
The two men swung around to face her and she shivered at the frank malice reflected in the eyes of the thug she’d sprayed with wasp killer. Even in the dim lighting she could see that his eyes were red and swollen from the harsh chemicals. If she hadn’t been blinded by his flashlight, she might have actually managed to get away.
“This isn’t a hotel,” Brickner said with a dark scowl.
“I know, but if she gets sick, the whole place will reek like vomit,” she pointed out. “Why would you want that?”
There was a long pause before Brickner turned to the guy next to him. “Ray, get the kid a soda.”
Ray didn’t look at all happy to be the gopher but he threw her one last look before he disappeared, she assumed, to the room on the other side of the wall.
After a few minutes Ray returned carrying a can of white soda. Brickner held his gun on her as Ray handed it to her. Up close the damage to his eyes looked even worse. “You’ll pay for what you did to me,” he said in his low, evil voice.
She swallowed hard, imagining the worst as she took the soda can from him, avoiding his gaze. She opened the can and held it for Kaitlin.
As thirsty as Noelle was, she decided to hold off drinking any of the soda herself. For one thing, she didn’t see a bathroom anywhere. And for another, she didn’t want to catch Kaitlin’s bug. Besides, it was far more important for Kaitlin to remain hydrated than it was for her.
She had no illusions about how this might end up.
Kaitlin only took a few sips before pushing the can away. The little girl looked sleepy and Noelle hoped the child could manage to get some rest.
“Close your eyes. I’m right here,” she said softly. “We’re safe here for now.”
“I love you, Noa.”
Her throat closed and it took her a minute to respond. “I love you, too.”
She hugged Kaitlin on her lap, running a soothing hand down the child’s back, softly reassuring her that they’d be fine. Kaitlin seemed to believe her and soon the child’s eyelids fluttered closed. Noelle sighed and leaned back against the coarse two-by-fours which made up the walls of the building.
Closing her eyes, she prayed.
Please, Lord, keep Kaitlin safe in Your care and Caleb, too. Amen.
* * *
Caleb forced himself to move slowly, even though adrenaline coursed through his bloodstream, making him want to run as quickly as possible. He knew Deck was calling for backup but there was no way in the world he could sit around waiting for their backup to arrive. Right now, his only thought was to find a way to convince Brickner to release Noelle and Kaitlin in order to take him instead.
The garagelike building came into view and he kept hidden among the trees and shrubs as much as possible. He racked his brain for some sort of viable plan, but so far he didn’t have much. Without a weapon he couldn’t even the odds in his favor. If he was captured and taken inside the building, where he was sure they were holding Noelle and Kaitlin, he might be able to use the knife. If Brickner didn’t search him and find it.
Too many “ifs” for comfort.
When he was about twenty yards away, his cell phone vibrated with an incoming message. He glanced at the screen, expecting an update from Deck, but the message was from Noelle.
Stay away, it’s a trap.
He stared at the message with a mixture of relief and exasperation. It was great that she was trying to warn him, but did she really think he would stay away, leaving her and his daughter to face Brickner alone?
Yeah, right. Not hardly.
I’m coming, he texted back.
; With grim determination he crept closer to the building, trying to think of a way to force Brickner’s hand. He wasn’t armed, but Brickner didn’t know that. Maybe, just maybe, he could bluff his way in.
But if that didn’t work, he’d have to come up with a plan B.
* * *
Caleb waited at the corner of the building, not far from where the black truck was parked, for what seemed like forever. A glance at his watch confirmed only ten minutes had passed. Just when he was about to throw a few rocks toward the building to draw someone out, the side door opened and a tall, broad-shouldered figure came out and headed toward the black truck.
He was beginning to think that Brickner required all his goons to drive black trucks, to keep anyone from figuring out which truck Brickner might be in. Did this guy realize that he was being used as a patsy to keep Brickner’s identity secret? Probably not.
Caleb waited until the guy had gotten inside the car and drove away before he made his move. There could obviously be other men inside, but there was at least one less person that he’d have to deal with. He sent Deck a quick text letting him know that the guy who’d taken Noelle and Kaitlin was leaving in the truck. With any luck, Deck and his backup team could arrest the guy and from there, they could potentially get him to squeal on Brickner.
Caleb left the corner of the building and made his way to the small group of trees that were located at a right angle to the building. When he was situated, he dug a rock from his pocket and heaved it with all his might at the garage door located on the side of the building, choosing the door closest to where the guy had just left the building. The rock hit the garage door with a resounding crack.
He thought he heard some activity coming from inside the building, including a few loud bangs. Then the side door opened and he saw Brickner standing there, holding a gun to Kaitlin’s head.