Charlotte’s heart squeezed until it ached.
“Stop it!” Lisa cried. “We’re going to get in trouble. They’ll come shoot us like they did Mandy when she tried to run away.”
“Mandy?” Charlotte and James exchanged a look. The human blood on the leaves... That poor kid. She hadn’t been as lucky as Karen.
“We should go,” James said, casting a swift glance at the stairs.
Charlotte eyed the teary Lisa and recalcitrant Jenny. “Might be easier to call Harlan and have him come down here with backup.”
“You still got your phone? Mine’s probably busted.”
“It’s upstairs in my purse. I’ll use my mike to contact Harlan.”
“Good. Because mine fell in the tumble down the stairs.”
Charlotte removed the small black disc tucked into her gown. “Officer Hanson to Sheriff Sampson.”
Nothing. Not even a whisper of static. Charlotte blew into the mouthpiece. “Testing, testing.”
“Damn it,” James muttered. “I’ll go search for my dropped phone under the stairs. There’s an off-chance it’s not smashed to smithereens.”
Charlotte put a hand on Amy’s and Lisa’s shoulders, guiding them to the cot where Jenny lay. “Let’s go talk to Jenny a minute.”
They offered no resistance, as docile as lambs, and stood close by while she sat on the cot beside Jenny. Tentatively, Charlotte touched one of Jenny’s delicate cuffed ankles. Besides being bound, she wore ridiculous sequined high heels. “Why the leg cuffs?” she asked. The others weren’t cuffed.
“She tried to run away the first night,” Amy volunteered. “She didn’t even make it out of the house before they caught her.”
Charlotte could only imagine the severe punishment for that defiance. No wonder she was so scared to try to escape again. “Jenny. Are you afraid to leave? You know me. I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Jenny’s face was buried in a blanket and she vehemently shook her head. “No. I won’t go.”
“Why not?”
“Because.” Sobs shook her body.
“Because why?”
Jenny suddenly sat up and faced her. “I’ve done...bad things with bad men.”
“It’s not your fault, sweetie.”
“Yes, it is. I-I’m a bad girl. I ran away from home and then...they got me.”
Charlotte wrapped her arms around Jenny and laid her cheek on the top of Jenny’s head. “Shh. It’s okay.”
“But my mom... I don’t want her to know.”
“Tanya just wants you home. She misses you terribly and has been out of her mind with worry.”
Jenny turned her head to the wall, refusing to listen. It was going to take lots of time and therapy to get this child over the brainwashing and abuse. And she’d been troubled to begin with. Tanya had finally admitted to her that Jenny had threatened suicide several times after her father had left home. But Charlotte didn’t have time or therapist skills. Every second they spent in the basement meant the odds of rescue dramatically decreased.
Lisa suddenly screamed and cowered to the ground. Amy’s mouth opened in horror. Charlotte’s stomach cartwheeled as she jumped up from the cot and whirled around.
Footsteps creaked on the wooden stairs. Through the open step slats flashed a pair of shiny men’s shoes and gray flannel pants. James heard it, too and ran to the stairs.
Richard Stowers stepped down and faced them, a gun drawn.
Charlotte blinked. This Richard was deadly sober. The affable albeit lecherous drunk from earlier at the party had transformed into a maleficent, hard column of a man whose eyes shone with a vicious intent. Or—more likely—this was no transformation, but an unmasking of his true self. The show of drunkenness might have been just that—an act to throw people off. It had certainly fooled her.
“Had a feeling I’d find you two down here,” Richard said coolly. “Maddie might have underestimated y’all, but I didn’t.”
The utter calm of his voice was all the more terrifying for its unruffled focus. This was a man who could not be reasoned with or distracted.
James stepped in front of her and raised his gun. Charlotte maneuvered to his side. If they went down, they went down together.
“Drop it,” Richard ordered.
“Hell, no. We appear to be at a standoff.”
Amy let out a banshee wail that echoed in the chamber like an explosion. Richard turned his head a fraction to determine the cause of the noise.
This was Charlotte’s chance.
She dived toward Richard’s knees. He stumbled backward half a step. Time slowed and her whole body attuned to every nuance of detail—
The stiff fabric of Richard’s pants.
Amy’s wails.
James shouting her name.
The thundering of her own heart in her ears.
A whoosh of air as Richard raised his arm.
His furious dark eyes intent on killing.
The cylindrical chamber of metal pointed at her head.
She’d always known it would come to this one day. But she didn’t shut her eyes and she didn’t regret her decision. Her mantra was always to see a job through to the end. No matter what.
Another swoosh of air and Richard was falling. Charlotte swiftly rolled toward the back wall. Richard’s gun fired. An explosion of smoke and noise assaulted her senses—but no bullet ripped into her flesh. She was unharmed.
James jumped on top of Richard and landed a solid punch to the man’s gut. The gun fell out of Richard’s hand and she picked it up, scrambling to her feet. “Stop fighting, Richard. Or I’ll shoot.”
The men stilled and eyed her, Richard gaping in surprise, and James with a grin.
“No need for that,” James said. “Stowers is going to play nice now.” He grabbed an arm and twisted it behind Richard. “Roll onto your stomach and put your hands behind your back.”
“Damn you both,” Richard ground out harshly. “It’s not over yet. Do you hear me? This is my house. And those bitches back there are mine, too.”
Charlotte’s anger rose to match his. “They aren’t bitches and they don’t belong to anybody.”
James slapped the cuffs on Stowers’s wrists.
Richard bent his knees and managed a sitting position. “They’ve already been bought and paid for. This isn’t over yet. You’ll never make it out of here with those whores.”
“Shut your mouth,” James warned, grabbing a fistful of the man’s starched shirt. “Unless you want me to gag you like I did your guards.”
Richard glowered but kept his mouth shut as James frisked him for weapons. He pulled out a cell phone from Richard’s pocket and tossed it to Charlotte.
“Give me that back,” Richard cried out. “You’ve no right to search my house like you did. When my lawyer’s through with you—Hey!”
James pulled off the tie from around Stowerses’ neck. “You had your chance.”
Charlotte smiled grimly as James gagged the guy. Actually, the threat of his lawyers was a problem, but she’d cross that bridge later and she damn sure wasn’t going to let the bastard know she was worried.
“I expect nothing but commendations from law enforcement for breaking this case,” she boasted.
James stood and raised a brow at her. “After all, we did hear the victims cry for help when we entered the house to escort a guest to their room. I’d say that gave us a right to investigate.”
Nothing but muffled curses escaped from Stowers’s gag.
“Go on and take the girls upstairs and let Harlan knows what’s happening,” James said.
“But I can’t get Jenny to agree to leave, and her feet are cuffed anyway.”
“Then you go ahead and take the other two while I deal with Jenny. If I have to carry her out of here screaming, then that�
�s what I’ll do.”
“Okay. Lisa, Amy, let’s get out of here.” Charlotte walked over to Jenny’s cot and ran a hand through her blond hair. “Officer Tedder’s going to carry you out. You can trust him, okay?”
Jenny’s entire body started to shake. “No! Just leave me alone.”
Charlotte dropped her hand and stared at her, unsure what to do.
James sank to his knees by Jenny and cocked his head toward the stairs, signaling for Charlotte to leave.
Taking Lisa and Amy by the hand, Charlotte ushered them across the basement. At the foot of the stairs, she glanced back once more.
James nodded. “I won’t leave without Jenny,” he promised.
And she believed him. He’d take a bullet before he broke that vow. Something fierce and warm and wonderful pulsed through her body. A feeling she’d never expected to happen again. She loved James. Loved and trusted him with a deep faith she hadn’t imagined possible. She wanted to tell him, but now wasn’t the right time or place. These girls desperately needed to get away.
“I know you will,” she called out. Charlotte let go of Amy’s and Lisa’s hands. “I’ll go first. Stay close to me and follow my orders.”
The girls nodded in understanding, their eyes huge with fear.
They rapidly climbed the stairs. Each moment, Charlotte expected Maddie or one of her guards to appear at the open door. But the utility room was blessedly empty and she waved her hand at Amy and Lisa to follow her.
Charlotte gave them an encouraging smile, then turned toward the doorway and caught sight of her purse where she’d stashed it earlier behind the dryer. Quickly Charlotte dug out her phone and punched in Harlan’s number.
They were so close to rescuing Jenny and the girls. All that was left was to find Harlan and get backup in place before arresting Maddie and Richard. Their guests were in for a real surprise tonight. This year’s fund-raising event would be remembered for years to come.
Now if she could just get Harlan to answer the phone.
Chapter Sixteen
“It’s time to go.”
James strove for a firm yet gentle tone with the traumatized Jenny.
“You don’t get it. They’ll catch us and kill us.”
How must it feel to be sixteen years old and think you’re forever doomed to a life of sexual slavery? To not be able to see help when it was in front of your very eyes?
He took her hand. “We’re going. Whatever it takes, I’m going to make sure you leave here and never come back. I don’t want to force you, but if that’s what I need to do, so be it.”
“No.” She shrank further from him. “You can’t make me and if—”
Enough. He’d wasted a good five minutes trying to gain her cooperation and it wasn’t working. James quickly uncuffed her leg irons, then put one arm under her knees and the other across her back, lifting her effortlessly. Jenny gasped and he placed a finger against her lips. “Not another word,” he said sternly.
She blinked at him and slowly nodded. It hurt to use that tone with her, but her life was more important than hurt feelings. He crossed the room with the light burden in his arms, relieved tonight was almost over.
James started up the steps, but paused on the third rung. Sharp, staccato footsteps sounded above, from behind the door. Not the soft padding Charlotte made with her flats. The steps grew louder.
Jenny whimpered and turned her face into his chest, afraid of who it might be.
He wasn’t so thrilled himself. His only options were to turn back and hide Jenny while he attacked their confronter—or push ahead at full speed and perhaps catch the guard off balance. Too late to retreat, he decided. Press on.
James plowed forward, but Jenny had a different reaction to the danger. She reached her hands out to either side, clinging to the walls in an attempt to slow him down. She twisted and squirmed in his arms, surprisingly feisty. The desperate always managed to draw strength when panicked.
A figure appeared at the top of the stairs—tall, dark and deadly.
“What’s this?” Maddie asked with a hiss.
It looked like Maddie, same red outfit and elegant veneer, but her eyes were bereft of even a speck of human warmth. They crackled with aggrieved outrage. She didn’t wait for an answer. “You’re not going anywhere with my property.”
She raised a pistol at them. “Turn around and go downstairs.”
If Jenny wasn’t in his arms, he’d take his chances—rush Maddie and knock her to the ground. But she was, and he’d do anything to keep her safe.
“Be reasonable, Mrs. Stowers. Your home’s crawling with law enforcement and they’ll be here at any moment.”
Where the hell was Harlan? There’d been plenty of time for Charlotte to have alerted him. His skin flushed hot, then cold. Had something happened to Charlotte?
“Bullshit,” she said flatly.
The profanity startled him. He’d thought her much too cultured and uptight to be coarse. “Nobody’s coming to save either of you. Now move it.”
He wouldn’t turn his back on Maddie. Too dangerous. Instead, he slowly descended one step. The longer he delayed entrapment in the basement, the better.
Maddie slammed the door shut and waved her gun. “If I shoot, my aim’s at the girl.”
Jenny’s nails dug through his shirt as she clung to him, her body tense and shaking.
“I’m going,” he reassured Maddie. “This is between us. Leave Jenny out of it.”
Another step down and still no hint of the cavalry coming to save them. He had to face this alone.
The scent of violets grew strong as Maddie closed in. The clamor of bells spun in his mind, a dizzying vortex of sound.
It was happening all over again. His skin burned as though he was back in Bagram, and his body felt lightweight and unbalanced. He stumbled on the last step and fell backward.
Get it together. Don’t hurt Jenny.
He held tight onto her thin frame, absorbing the impact of the cement floor as they tumbled. “Stay behind me,” he whispered to Jenny, grabbing her hand and pulling her behind him as he rose to his feet.
Maddie was closing in. He watched as she scanned the room and caught sight of the guards and her husband bound and gagged on the floor.
“Richard?” Her lips curled and her patrician nose flared. “You incompetent fool. What the fuck are you doing down here? You should have sent me to handle this situation.”
She waved her gun at the guards, shaking her head in disgust. “I’ll deal with the two of you later.”
It was clear who was in control of the trafficking ring. And it wasn’t Richard Stowers.
Maddie turned her back on the hapless men and focused her attention on the matter at hand. “It won’t do you any good to hide behind the cop, Jenny. Did you really think you were going to get away? Come out and face me. Time I taught you a real lesson in obedience.”
James slightly raised his arms to the side, shielding Jenny.
“Give it up, Maddie. Cooperate with me now and it will go better for you.”
Her lips curled into a sneer. “That might have worked on these idiots—” she half-turned and waved her gun at Richard and the guards “—but your empty threats don’t scare me one iota.”
Jenny slipped beneath his right arm and shuffled forward.
“I’ll be good,” she said around the sobs that wracked her slender body. She dropped to her knees. “Please don’t kill us.”
“You’ll be the first to die. It’s you they’ve been searching for all along. You’ve been way too much trouble.”
She means to gun us both down.
Death permeated the room, settling its dreaded weight on his shoulders. The last seconds of his life played out before him. Had Charlotte made it to safety with the other two girls? He hoped that would be some consolation to
her when she discovered their bodies.
“Kill me. Let her go,” he said in a last-ditch effort to bargain for Jenny’s life. “She’s your—” he stumbled over the next word “—property. Wouldn’t want to miss recouping on your investment, would you?”
He stepped in front of Jenny again as Maddie wavered, clearly weighing the options. Would her greed win over her caution in leaving a witness to his murder? Once Jenny was sold and her ownership transferred to another person, Maddie would no longer have any control over what Jenny might say in the future.
Footsteps pounded down the basement steps and he turned.
Charlotte’s voice floated down. “James? Backup’s on the way. Where have you—”
She stopped short at the sight of Maddie’s gun.
James squeezed his eyes shut momentarily and groaned. Why had she come back downstairs alone? That wasn’t the plan.
Maddie frowned. “Hands up. Come on down and join the crowd, Detective Charlotte Helms. Yes, that’s right. I know who you are.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened as she approached, hands held high. “How long have you known my real identity?”
Charlotte was playing his same game. Keep Maddie engaged, keep her talking, until help arrived.
If they were coming at all.
“Since day one,” Maddie said crisply. “That bitch, Karen Hicks, tipped you off about our operation. I intend to make her pay for that, too.”
“I don’t know anyone by that name,” Charlotte said. James admired her loyalty. She’d go to her death and not reveal an informant’s name.
“Liar! I thought when Larry fired you, you’d go away. Should have known better.”
“Larry?” Charlotte’s brows drew together and then smoothed.
“That’s right. Your very own Captain Burkhart. He’s kept us protected for years.”
Damn. Burkhart was in for one serious ass-kicking—that is, if he ever got out of this freaking basement.
“Son of a bitch,” Charlotte breathed.
Heavy footfalls rained down from the room above. Had Harlan arrived with backup—or was it more of the Stowerses’ guards?
Appalachian Abduction (Lavender Mountain Book 2; Appalachian Magic) Page 17