Midnight Angel

by Betst St Amant

  He needed a plan—whether the Lord was willing to help him or not.

  Or his partner, for that matter, who wasn’t answering the phone. He snapped the phone shut, wishing he could throw it across the room too, but he’d need it later.

  He had to think.

  “Is everything OK?” Rita bustled into the living room, coming to an abrupt stop as she saw the damage to the wall. “Carsten. What happened?”

  “They have her.” He still couldn’t believe she’d been snatched while he’d been right there on the other end of the line. And all she’d told him was that she’d been heading south. Darn her pride!

  Rita’s eyes opened wide. “Who has who?”

  “They have Madison. I don’t know who, or where she is. When I called her, she was on her cellphone heading south.” He ran his hands over his jaw, his two day stubble bristling under his fingers. “I told her about Mitch, hoping that’d convince her to come back here. The next thing I know, a deep voice commands her to drop the phone and then we lost our connection.”

  Rita pressed a hand to her heart. “Should we call the police? Put out a search bulletin?”

  “Already done. Now I’ve got to head the same direction and pray I can get a lead on the way.” Carsten withdrew his hands from his face, realizing for the first time the blood on his knuckles. Then he took in the damage to the wall and groaned. “Sorry, Rita. I’ll fix that.”

  “It’s all right, my boy.” Rita handed Carsten the rag she had been holding so he could wipe his hands. “I know that you’ll have Madison back here to finish fixing up and decorating this place in no time.” Her steady tone proved she actually meant it. He wished he could be as certain.

  Carsten wiped his hands and tucked the rag in his pocket. “I’m glad you have faith in me.” “I’m going to look around Madison’s room before I leave. Maybe she left a clue as to where she was going. Grab that note for me that she left you.” He doubted it would reveal anything he hadn’t already considered a dozen times, but just in case. Besides, Rita looked as if she could use an assignment.

  He took the stairs two at a time. Stepping into Madison’s guest room, he took a deep breath, filling his senses with her remaining presence. The room still carried the distinct smell of her perfume.

  Carsten released the air in his lungs and began a thorough search. He pulled open every drawer and even looked under the bed. Though she had left a lot behind, he found nothing to go by. Lord? Anything?

  Conviction pricked at his urge to pray only when he was truly desperate. Would God even hear him?

  The angel Shan had sent from the office toppled to the floor as he set the mattress back down onto the frame. Thunk.

  Carsten frowned and walked around the side of the bed to pick it up. Why would a stuffed doll make such a loud noise?

  He picked up the doll then perched himself on the edge of the mattress, turning the angel over and over in his hands. It felt heavier than he would have imagined. Carsten was no fool, he’d seen enough in his career to know that when his instinct told him something was amiss, something was amiss. But what?

  He reached into his jeans for a pocketknife. He flipped open the blade and cut into the fabric of the doll’s dress, praying Madison would forgive him for destroying her stuffed angel if his guess wasn’t correct.

  He wasn’t disappointed.

  Carsten pulled out some of the cotton stuffing and stared. The diamond was the size of a walnut. The sun streaming through the window reflected off its surface and sent patterns of light dancing across the ceiling.

  “I think I just realized why your apartment was ransacked, Madison.” He spoke the words with a mixture of awe and dismay. It was easy to see why someone would want the jewel back at any cost. The thing had to be worth a fortune.

  How in the world had she come into possession of it?

  Adrenaline along with a surge of unfiltered fear for Madison’s safety urged him into action. He mumbled a quick prayer of thanks as he stuffed the diamond back into the angel. He’d deal with his prayer life later.

  He hurried down the stairs. “Rita! We’ve got trouble.”

  He had answers now—one of which he didn’t like at all. The motivation behind the kidnapping put Madison into greater danger than he’d initially feared.

  Maybe he’d figure out his prayer life

  ~*~

  They drove for what felt like an eternity. Time passed in increments too slow to measure. Finally, the car pulled to a stop, and Madison heard the drivers’ side door open once again.

  She accidentally hit her head as she got out of the car, still blindfolded. “Ow!” Her sharp cry of distress came out unintentionally. She didn’t want to look weak to her captor. She reached up to rub the offended spot.

  “Ssh!” A voice hissed in her ear. She cringed and bit her lip, determined to keep silent as she was ushered forward. Another door opened, and she stepped from the sunlight into darkness. Cold seeped over her skin. They were inside a building. A cold, damp building.

  She stumbled over something and the grip on her arm tightened. “There’s a staircase,” the voice offered gruffly.

  Madison groped her way down the steps, wishing with all her heart she could see where she was going. She had tried to keep mental notes about what she had felt and heard since her abductor had blindfolded her, but it was all a blur now. She couldn’t get back to the bus station if her life depended on it.

  And it might.

  Scraping echoed from across the room. Madison lifted her head in surprise. What was that? Someone else was here? She didn’t know if that brought her relief or more fear.

  A voice, different than the first one, began speaking softly, but in a harsh and condescending tone. She couldn’t make out the words and didn’t know whether they were directed at her.

  Madison shifted her weight, her pulse racing. The grip on her arm eased a bit, but she refused to relax. Her muscles were wound tighter than coiled springs. She had to stay ready, alert…prepared.

  But for what? Various scenarios flashed through her mind, each worse than the one before. She shivered.

  “Remove the blindfold,” the deep voice ordered loudly. “Tie her hands.”

  Madison held her breath, and suddenly she could see. She was standing in a dark, sparsely furnished room, with only two chairs and a small desk occupying the far side. It looked to be a basement. Her shoulders slumped as she realized the lack of windows.

  She noticed that the two men in front of her looked similar. Brothers? Cousins? Madison hoped she wasn’t going to be sticking around long enough to find out those kinds of details.

  She clenched her teeth as the thin one tied her hands behind her back with the blindfold.

  Wait a minute. She could see them. Her heart sank. How could the men let her live if she could identify them?

  Fresh fear coursed through her veins in a dark wave, and a sour taste filled her mouth. She had to do something.

  “Why am I here?” She lifted her chin and tried to look confidant, despite the fact that her hands were shaking in their bindings.

  The bigger man laughed, an evil sound, one she never wanted to hear again. It would haunt her dreams for months—assuming she lived that long. “You really don’t know, do you?”

  The man closest to her chuckled, too, though it sounded more forced. Was he not a ready volunteer to this kidnapping? He seemed to be going through the motions, not enjoying the scene before him like the bigger one.

  “You have something that we need back.” The bigger man walked closer to Madison with exaggerated patience, speaking slowly and deliberately as if she were stupid. He finished his sentence so close to her face she could feel his breath on her cheeks. She flinched as the strong smell of cigar smoke penetrated the air. If they had removed her blindfold in order to increase the intimidation factor, it was unfortunately working.

  “And we’re not patient men. I hope your family is feeling…cooperative.” A slow grin spread across his broad j
aw.

  They were holding her for ransom?

  She tasted the resentment that bubbled from the depths of her past. It was just one more reason to despise being Teddy Lawrence’s daughter. What had he gotten her into?

  The urge to throw a major pity party swept her up and almost consumed. Why couldn’t she have had a normal father? One that took her to get ice cream and taught her how to ride a bike and panicked when she got her driver’s license? Not one that hired guardians behind her back, lied regularly, and got her kidnapped?

  “Have a seat, sweetheart. We have a few calls to make to Daddy.” The man picked up his phone and waved it at her.

  She remained standing in defiance. “I’m fine standing.”

  The older man shot the younger one a look, and then with three long strides he was once again standing directly in front of her. He raised his hand and threatened to slap her. Madison instinctively ducked, heart in her throat.

  “The next one won’t be a warning. Sit down!” A vein popped out on his forehead. He wasn’t kidding.

  Fear clenching her heart in a vise, Madison slid down against the wall to a sitting position. Don’t you dare cry!

  She focused on the smaller man as the second one began dialing across the basement. This guy, her actual kidnapper, seemed much less intense. Maybe she could gain his sympathy.

  The more she studied him, the more it seemed that he was an unwillingly participant in this charade. His jerky movements and constant eye darting proved as much.

  “Hey.” Madison whispered to him, after a quick glance at the older man on the phone. “I didn’t mean to make him mad.”

  The younger guy looked across the room with a nervous expression. He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Oh, he’s not mad. Not yet, anyway.”

  Great.

  Madison subtly studied the man in front of her. He seemed to be suffering from a permanent caffeine overdose—

  constantly moving, rocking on his heels, shuffling his feet. He looked like a person consumed by guilt, or perhaps shame. She felt a twinge of sorrow for the guy. It evaporated quickly as she remembered the feel of the gun pressed against her ribcage.

  She cleared her throat. “Are you brothers?” She dared to ask. That would explain a lot. The look on his face answered her question, though his lips said nothing. He turned away.

  Madison racked her brain, hoping to get some kind of leverage out of the information she had gathered. Her mind was a blank. How could she use the knowledge to free herself? Could she turn one brother against the other?

  Feeling completely helpless, she rested her head against the wall behind her. It was in God’s hands. At the moment, there was nothing she could do to help herself.

  So she prayed

  And kicked herself for her pride having gotten her into this mess.

  21

  Carsten grabbed for the ringing phone in the passenger seat beside him Was it Madison? “Hallo?” His heart hammered in his chest. She had to be OK, had to be safe…

  “I would fire you, but I need you to get my daughter back.”

  Carsten bit his tongue in an effort to check his words at Teddy Lawrence’s comment. He was stressed and emotionally wired, and the last thing he wanted to do was exchange insults with Madison’s father. Getting her back, that needed to be his only concern.

  He released a quick breath. “What do you know?”

  “I know I just received a call from someone demanding a hefty ransom. What I don’t know is why you had yet to inform me that Madison is missing!” Carsten could hear the strain in Teddy’s voice.

  “Is that all they want?” Carsten held his breath, purposely ignoring Teddy’s other question. Maybe the diamond wasn’t involved. Maybe they just wanted some cash and this whole ordeal could be settled.

  “They also mentioned something about a diamond Madison had taken from them. I assume you know more about that than I do, too.” Sarcasm dripped from the older man’s voice.

  Carsten’s heart sunk. He knew it couldn’t have been that easy. “I found it a little while ago.” He paused, bracing for the worst. “What were the instructions?”

  “One million dollars in cash by midnight tomorrow.” Teddy’s tone was stressed. “They’re going to call back with the location.”

  Carsten gathered his resolve. He was a professional. He would treat this like any other case. The fact that he loved the woman involved was irrelevant. The goal was to get her home safely. Anything past that was just a bonus.

  Not that Madison would give him the time of day after what he’d done to her. She might need rescuing from the kidnappers, but he doubted she needed a knight in shining armor to save her heart. That wall was proving impenetrable.

  “You screwed up, Carsten.” Teddy’s harsh words brought him back to the present.

  He counted to three before responding with a clenched fist at his side. “Sir, with all due respect, she left the ranch on her own.”

  “Under your watch.”

  Carsten pressed his lips together to hold back another sharp retort. He couldn’t argue. Madison was in danger, and it was his fault. In trying to give Madison her space after their big fight, he’d not watched her closely enough. He could accept that it was his responsibility.

  But he wouldn’t accept it was the end of the story.

  He could fix this. He had to. Determination tinged with desperation filled his senses. This didn’t have to end the same way. It might be too late for his dad, but it wasn’t too late for Madison.

  “We’ll get her back.”

  “I have no doubt of that.” Now Lawrence sounded steely—more like the powerful, wealthy man he was. “I hope you realize this changes our financial agreement.”

  Carsten shut his eyes in an effort to control his rage. He couldn’t believe what Lawrence had just said. Was he more concerned about money than about his daughter’s welfare? What kind of father was he? The last thing on Carsten’s mind was the fee Teddy Lawrence promised him in exchange for keeping Madison in the dark about their arrangement. Carsten only wanted Maddie safe. He wanted to see her smile again, hear her laughter tease the air between them, feel her lips against his…

  “I’m aware of that, and I couldn’t care less about the money. My concern is getting Madison safely home.”

  “Then you’ll have no problem getting the money together for the ransom.”

  Carsten’s jaw dropped. “Sir?” His heartbeat hammered out a frantic rhythm. Surely, he had misunderstood.

  “Madison was your responsibility. You let her down. I expect you to have the million dollars as requested.”

  The man must be joking. Carsten closed his eyes. “I don’t have that kind of cash, Mr. Lawrence.” Not even close. What game was this man playing?

  “I’ve paid you for your services to this point. Use that for starters, and I suggest you find the rest as soon as possible. I’ll call you when I hear back about the location.”

  Carsten looked at the phone in surprise as the click sounded on the other line, disconnecting the call. How could a father be that heartless? His daughter was being held for ransom, and he refused to pay?

  Shock waves reverberated through Carsten’s mind. Maybe Madison was right about her father after all. Who could do such a thing? What would happen if Carsten couldn’t come up with the cash? Would Teddy pay then?

  He couldn’t assume.

  Carsten sat for a moment, staring at the phone in his hand, mentally reviewing his bank account. Then he released a heavy sigh and stood up. He knew what he had to do.

  ~*~

  Madison shifted positions in the uncomfortable chair, her hands still tied behind her back. Joseph and Lance, as she had come to discover their names during one of their frequent arguments, had allowed her to move into the chair when she started complaining about the cold floor. She’d been sincere, though had been partly curious how far she could push them and exactly how heartless they were. She needed to learn her boundaries with those two, quick.

/>   Joseph and Lance now talked in hushed tones from across the room. But not hushed enough. She stared at the ceiling, pretending not to listen, and cast occasional sidelong glances their direction.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’s too much money.” Lance shook his head, and then immediately backed down when Joseph muttered a response too softly for Madison to catch.

  “The girl’s not even his own daughter. What if he doesn’t pay?” Lance questioned loudly.

  Madison’s eyes widened. She wasn’t what?

  Joseph shushed his brother, and glanced in Madison’s direction. She quickly arranged her features to show complete nonchalance, though her heart threatened to burst out of her chest. The room spun, and she closed her eyes briefly. The talking resumed, this time too quietly for her to hear.

  Madison’s mind raced. What were they talking about? He had just spoken to her dad on the phone. What did he mean, not her real father?

  She struggled to believe they were mistaken, but what if they weren’t? She forced the thought to the back of her mind. Whether the statement was true didn’t matter at the moment. She needed to focus on her current predicament. Like getting out of there. She cast a look around the room again, but came up with no new ideas. There were no windows, and the only door was inches away from the two brothers. She searched for anything she could use as a weapon, but saw nothing that would give her any power over the two men.

  Madison rubbed her bound wrists against her pants, wishing the rope didn’t itch so badly. It was already leaving a splotchy red rash on her hands. She fought the urge to cough. Would they give her a drink if she asked? It had also been hours since she ate half of the biscuit from the bus station. She chose to ignore her empty stomach for now, but decided she needed water or she would dehydrate on the spot.

  “Excuse me.” She cleared her throat, and the two men across the room stopped talking abruptly and looked in her direction.

  Joseph raised his eyebrows.

  Was that permission to speak? She swallowed hard. “I was wondering if I could have a glass of water.”