Worth the Risk (COBRA Securities Book 21)

by Velvet Vaughn

  His stomach roiled, and it wasn’t from the fast-food burger he ingested an hour ago when he stopped to let Kilo out to do his business. It was from the thought of seeing Vanessa again after all these years. Would she even remember him? Probably, since he’d humiliated her. He’d be lucky if she didn’t land a solid fist in his belly.

  Many times over the years, her image slipped into his thoughts. Mort talked about her often, and pictures of various stages of her life were on display around his office, but Quinn hadn’t seen her in person since that fateful evening.

  Pulling into the lot of a strip mall, he dialed the number Mort texted him for Vanessa’s assistant. He figured it would be better to show up unannounced than give her advance notice of his arrival.

  “Hello?”

  “Todd Morris?”

  “Yes, this is Todd. Who is this?”

  “My name is Quinn Billings. I got your number from Morton Lacroix.”

  “Vanessa’s dad. What can I help you with, Quinn?”

  “Mort’s worried about Vanessa’s plans to rescue a dog tomorrow. He asked me to come to talk her out of it.”

  “You’re too late.”

  “She decided against going?” Good, he could turn around and head home without having to see her. Interestingly, it wasn’t relief he felt but disappointment.

  “No, she left today instead. She’s out in the middle of the woods right now.”

  Quinn sighed. It looked like he’d be going for a nighttime hike.

  #

  Vanessa froze. Despite her careful planning, she’d been caught red-handed. Her error had been assuming the men who arrived in the van were the only occupants. Apparently, at least one person had been inside the underground bunker. “Go. Run away.” She gave the dog a sturdy nudge. Showing more life than he had the entire time she surveilled him, he listened to her and disappeared into the undergrowth.

  Slowly turning her head, her eyes locked on the gun the man waved threateningly before he lifted his light and blinded her again. She threw up a hand to shield her vision.

  “Who are you?”

  “I was out hiking and noticed the dog. He looked hungry. I was going to feed him.”

  “Hiking? In the dark with no flashlight or pack?” His tone was skeptical. “You say you were going to feed him, but I don’t see any food.”

  “My bag is over there.” She gestured in the general vicinity. “I wanted to make sure he was okay before I fed him. I wasn’t sure he was even alive.” She hoped he caught the judgmental tone in her voice. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get going.”

  “You aren’t going anywhere.” Strong fingers latched onto her arm, and he roughly jerked her upright. With a shove, he forced her in front of him with the gun pressing into her back. She couldn’t help but glance over at the freshly dug grave. Mistake. The man noticed. He wrenched her arm to stop her before spinning her around.

  “How long have you been out here?”

  “As I said, I just hiked by.”

  She gasped when he reached up and jerked off her hat, tossing it aside. Her hair tumbled down her shoulders. A brutal hand whirled her around and urged her forward again. She was getting tired of him touching her. The gun dug into her spine as she navigated the steps. As soon as they entered the cabin, he grabbed a roll of duct tape from a table and made quick work of securing her hands and feet before shoving her onto a couch.

  When his grubby fingers roamed her body, acid churned in her stomach. She would not let him rape her. “Don’t touch me.”

  “Shut up, or I’ll tape your mouth, too.”

  Suddenly his hands were gone, but her relief was short-lived. He found her cell phone.

  “Give me the code,” he insisted.

  She hesitated. The videos were on there. If he found them, he’d most likely kill her.

  With a growl, he lurched forward and wrapped a beefy hand around her neck. Her eyes rounded as she gasped for air. Reaching in a pocket with his other hand, he whipped out a knife and pressed it against her cheek. “Give me the code, or I’ll start cutting off body parts.”

  She didn’t doubt him at all. With no other choice, she recited the numbers. The pressure around her neck released, and she sucked in air. He picked up the phone from where it’d fallen on the floor and keyed in her passcode. Though she couldn’t see what he was doing, she knew the moment he found the videos. His eyes widened and then narrowed. With lightning-fast movement, he jammed his gun against her forehead, digging hard enough to draw blood. Her heart tried to beat right out of her chest.

  “Who are you? Are you a fed?”

  She shook her head as tears leaked from her eyes. “No. I’m not a federal agent or a cop.”

  He waved the phone. “Then why did you film us?”

  “I told you, I was out hiking. I saw the interaction. I thought it might be something I could post on social media, you know, get some hits. I’m always trying to increase my following.” Her forced smile faltered. “I had no idea I’d record a murder.”

  His eyes were mere slits now. “You said you just hiked by, but this,” he wiggled the phone for emphasis, “happened hours ago.”

  Oh, damn. She was in so much trouble. There was no way to explain that away. She settled for a portion of the truth. “I did see the dog, and I was going to help him, but then all the people arrived. I waited for an opportunity to go to him. Before I could, that happened,” she indicated the phone. “I’ve never seen anyone murdered before. I was paralyzed with fear.” Stone cold fact.

  He studied her, silently gauging her story. Finally, he spoke. “As much as I want to blow a hole in your skull and bury you beside Reggie, I have a better idea.”

  She didn’t like the sound of that one bit.

  Raking her body with an assessing gaze, she fought the urge to shudder. She would not let him know how scared she was. The endless stream of tears did that on their own.

  “You’re older than the norm, but you ain’t ugly. Someone might want you,” he said cryptically. “Get up.”

  Struggling upright with her limbs bound, she stood on wobbly legs and almost tipped over. She sputtered when he lowered his shoulder, slammed it into her stomach, and tossed her over his back. Breath sawed in and out of her lungs as he turned for the door and headed outside. Crouching down, he shoved leaves aside, keyed a code in the lock and opened the hidden door.

  She wanted to see what was inside the bunker, but not this way.

  Chapter Five

  It was hard for Vanessa to see where the man was taking her from her upside-down perspective. The steps were solid concrete, and the air was noticeably cooler the further they descended underground. Her head jerked up at the sound of someone crying. As they continued forward, the sobbing grew louder. “Shut the hell up,” her captor yelled as they passed a room. She craned her neck to see inside to no avail.

  He carried her into another room. “Move over,” he ordered a young girl. Chains jingled as she scurried to do as instructed.

  Vanessa let out a gasp when he unceremoniously tossed her on a threadbare mattress. Despite the drop, the cushion hardly gave, indicating shot springs. Before she realized his intent, the man slit the tape around her feet and snapped a manacle around one ankle. Her gaze followed the length of the chain to find it anchored into the wall. He didn’t bother removing the tape around her wrists. Then he was gone.

  Struggling to sit up, she focused on the other occupants. Five girls of various ethnicities: Caucasian, African American and Asian descent. Though they were young, they wore artfully applied makeup, and their hair was skillfully styled, reminding her of pictures she’d seen of children whose parents forced them into beauty pageants at an early age. The difference was that there were no charming smiles or dimple-faced grins. These girls looked equal parts terrified and resigned sitting on soiled mattresses with their feet chained to the wall. The room stank of urine and vomit and sweat. And fear.

  A chill raked her body. She didn’t like the thoug
hts swirling in her brain.

  “What’s your name?” she asked the child sitting closest to her.

  “Carla.”

  “Hi, Carla. I’m Vanessa. How old are you?”

  “Eight.”

  Eight years old. What the hell was going on in the bunker? “Do you know where you are?” Carla shook her head, brown curls bobbing. “Do you know what state?”

  “Texas.”

  “Is that where you’re from?” Carla nodded. She would not tell the girl she wasn’t in Texas anymore. “How did you got here?”

  “A man brought me.”

  “Do you know him?”

  “No.”

  “How did he find you?”

  “My stepdad gave me to him.”

  Vanessa felt fury bubble up inside her, molten and dangerous. She battled to hide her reaction to the words. Carla didn’t need any more anxiety. “What about your mom?”

  “She died.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Me, too.” The tone of her voice indicated that she’d given up all hope.

  “Do you know how long you’ve been here?” It would be hard to tell days with no windows or clocks.

  “No, they give us shots to make us sleep.”

  She was most likely drugged for the trip north, too. “Have you been chained in here the entire time?”

  She looked down at her hands. “I had to take a shower, and then a woman fixed my hair and put makeup on me.” A blush crept up her neck. “Then I had to stand in front of cameras.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “They wouldn’t let me wear clothes.”

  A vile, disgusting picture started to form in her head. Her earlier fury turned to rage. She tempered it to keep from frightening Carla. “Did they tell you why you had to do that?”

  “No, but I overheard one of the men saying they would get big bucks for me.”

  Bile rose in her throat. They were auctioning the girls to the highest bidder. She thought mistreating dogs was terrible—this was so much worse.

  Testing the strength of the chain, she plotted ways to escape to save them all. It was securely attached to the wall. Maybe she could find something to pick the lock—not that she’d ever attempted such a feat before. She loved cop dramas on television, and the actors made it look so easy. First, she needed the use of her fingers.

  Holding out her bound hands, she asked, “Carla, can you find the end of the tape and remove it for me?”

  Frantically shaking her head, Carla crab-crawled away. “I’ll get in trouble.”

  “No one will know you did it, I promise.”

  Carla retreated further until her chain extended to the max. She was obviously terrified, so Vanessa wouldn’t push her. Using her teeth, she tried tearing the strip without success. Giving up, she searched the floor for anything to use to jimmy the lock. Luck was on her side when she spotted a bobby pin a few feet away. Reaching out with her unbound leg, she stretched until her inner thigh muscles screamed in protest. Success! She slowly dragged her foot until the pin was within reach.

  Before she could grab it, footsteps sounded in the hall. Jerking upright, she scooted against the wall as her kidnapper returned with the redheaded giant and the man she recognized but couldn’t place. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the other girls cowering in fear. Oh, to have her taser right now. Or better yet, a gun.

  The giant stepped closer and studied her with narrowed eyes. She refused to show fear, so she stared right back, memorizing his face to describe him in great detail to a sketch artist.

  Lips between his bushy beard and mustache twitched. “She’s got some fire in her.” He turned to her kidnapper. “You’re right. She’ll fetch a good price.”

  Heartbeat pounding, she prepared to fight for her life when her kidnapper approached. Her eyes rounded in surprise when he stabbed a needle in her arm through her shirt. Shock had her gasping for breath as whatever drug he injected started to take effect, and her eyelids drooped. She thought she saw a woman enter. The other girls began crying and screaming, but her body wouldn’t respond when she tried to move. She needed to do something, save them somehow. Ultimately the drug was too powerful. She felt her body slowly slide down until her head hit the mattress. Then it was lights out.

  #

  Following Todd’s directions, Quinn found the lot where Vanessa parked her Jeep. With only a general idea of where he was headed, he wasn’t feeling overly optimistic he’d find her, especially in the dark.

  It had taken serious negotiation skills to pry the information from Vanessa’s assistant. Todd wanted to come with Quinn and tried holding the directions as his bargaining chip. Quinn didn’t know him or his abilities, but he couldn’t afford to be responsible for another person when he was trying to rescue one. Todd finally admitted that he might not be capable of keeping up with Quinn, so he gave him all the information he needed to start his search.

  After Kilo hopped out, Quinn secured a harness around him that included a headlamp to illuminate the path in front of him. Then he added some last-minute additions to his backpack: weapons. He didn’t know what kind of threat he might face, so he stocked up. After hefting the pack over his shoulders and securing the straps, he headed to Vanessa’s vehicle. Bending over, he felt around the rear driver’s side tire well for the magnetic case Todd told him about, locating it easily. Unlocking the door of her Jeep, he found a sweater in the back seat. Kilo wasn’t specifically a tracker, but he’d been taught, so Quinn felt comfortable that he’d be able to catch Vanessa’s scent. Canines possessed over two hundred twenty million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to around five million in humans. The portion of their brains devoted to smells was forty times greater, too. Holding the garment under Kilo’s snout, he gave him the command to find.

  With a flashlight in hand, he set off behind his dog, wishing he’d thought to bring night vision goggles. Kilo slanted his nose to the ground, following Vanessa’s likely path. The Malinois set a brisk pace, forcing Quinn to jog to keep up with him. The pack added quite a few pounds, but he’d trained with heavier equipment in the Army, and he kept up with his conditioning.

  The canopy of leaves overhead blocked out any moonlight, making visibility close to zero. They covered almost two miles when Kilo veered off the path. “Halt.” Kilo stopped and rested while Quinn surveyed the area. Lights glowed brightly on the porch and through several windows of a cabin. Not wanting to be seen, he flicked off his flashlight and Kilo’s headlamp.

  There was enough luminosity to make out the spot where a dog had been kept, but it was now empty. Had Vanessa succeeded in freeing him? If so, why hadn’t she returned home? Kilo was insistent that her scent led to this area, so she’d been here at some point. Maybe she was lost in the woods.

  Before deciding his next course of action, he needed to check the cabin and make sure she wasn’t inside. He started to order Kilo to stay put, but the dog ventured away and then sat, indicating a hit. Quinn followed him to find a backpack propped against a tree. Crouching down, he checked the contents. He was pretty confident it was Vanessa’s when he located a keychain with the slogan, ‘Don’t piss me off, neutering is part of my job.’ Her driver’s license confirmed it. If her pack was here, so was she.

  Quinn picked it up and stealthily made his way closer with Kilo at his side. He spotted security cameras monitoring the front of the house, but there were none in the back. Before approaching the house, he placed both backpacks on the ground and instructed Kilo to stand guard. He would alert Quinn if someone snuck up behind him. After another check of the surrounding area, he eased to the first window and chanced a look. It was an empty bedroom with two twin beds and nothing else. He was surprised to find the window unlocked, but he needed to get a headcount before he ventured inside. Next was a bathroom, followed by another unoccupied bedroom sporting two sets of bunks. He moved to the next window. The living area featured a small kitchen, a table surrounded by six chairs, a seating area with two couches and a wood stove. It wa
s also empty, but lights blazed. Someone had been here recently. Nothing in the house looked worthy of the security system except for the gigantic flat-screen television mounted on a wall.

  Where was Vanessa?

  Sidling back to the first bedroom, he eased the window open and hefted himself inside. A thorough inspection of the cabin proved that it was indeed vacant. His gaze snagged on a piece of wood paneling hanging open. Sliding on latex gloves from his pocket, he opened it to reveal an elaborate security system featuring six monitors. Wow. “Someone has something to hide,” he murmured. Two screens played live footage from wide-angle cameras trained on the forest in front of the house. Another one mounted on the porch aimed inside the cabin, taping his every move. The other three feeds looked like they were installed in a basement. Two switched viewpoints every five seconds, while the other one was stationary. His eyes narrowed, and he leaned closer to one of the monitors. His stomach dropped to his feet. A woman was lying on a mattress with her foot chained to the wall. He couldn’t make out her face, but she was dressed in all black. He’d wager his savings account it was Vanessa. He needed to find that room.

  After a comprehensive search, he didn’t uncover a staircase, hidden or otherwise, leading to a basement. Returning to the security system, he pulled out a keyboard and rewound the footage on the outside camera that covered the side of the house. He stopped when he found Vanessa crouched down with the dog. His head jerked back when a hatch opened in the ground, and a man appeared. It was completely disguised. He’d been hunting for a basement when he should’ve been looking for an outside cellar.

  The man forced Vanessa inside the cabin at gunpoint. Hitting the pause button, he switched to the porch camera and rewound to the spot where the man bound her hands and feet. A haze of red colored his vision when he started groping her but dimmed a bit when he pulled out her cell phone. Still, he’d make the man pay for touching her. The red returned darker than ever when he wrapped his hand around her neck and then threatened her with a knife. Whatever she said worked because he released her and then picked up her phone again. She must’ve given him her passcode. His back was to the camera, so Quinn couldn’t read his expression, but he suddenly pointed his gun at her again. The look of stark fear on Vanessa’s face had Quinn shaking with fury. She struggled to her feet, and then the man hauled her over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift and lugged her outside.