“We’re going to find her.” It was the same mantra both he and Alex had repeated to each other since this nightmare began. It was what he had to believe. That at the end of the day, Jenna was going to come back to them.
“And you’re sure it’s someone she met out on call?” Nurse Nancy glanced at him, her face scrunched up. It was bad enough their staff had to worry about keeping residents safe. Now they would have to wonder about their own safety. It was not a kind reality.
“That’s where Jenna said she remembered him from.”
Nancy waved her keycard over a sensor pad and let them into the emergency department. People hustled to and fro, but there was an added element of tension in the air Trevor sensed immediately.
“Ah, they’re here already.” Nancy hurried them over to the main nurse station.
A collection of people in plain clothes stood around who did not appear to be patients. A few Trevor recognized as Jenna’s fellow EMT and paramedics. His partner was waiting, too. The old man looked none too happy about this, and why wouldn’t he be? Trevor was supposed to be learning from him. Not chasing a new case without him.
“Detective Walters has some questions and a sketch for everyone to look at.” Nancy turned toward him, the air of expectancy, that he was going to fix this, weighing heavily on him.
“It’s a very rough sketch,” he warned before turning his phone around to show everyone. “We think his name starts with a W, and he had access to propofol, or a similar drug. The other victim said Jenna made a lot of comments about the needle being short. Like it was something she wouldn’t have normally used at the hospital.”
“What kind of short? Or small? Maybe it was the needle gauge?” A woman in jeans and a t-shirt with wild curling hair leaned in closer.
“No, she was specific. Said the needle was short. Like, an inch or two long.”
“Inch long?” another guy said. He was an ambulance driver Trevor had seen around scenes before.
“There are a lot of animal needles that are small like that,” the curly haired nurse said.
“Propofol you said?” Nancy frowned.
“Yeah.”
“There was a...” Nancy glanced at the others and shut her mouth.
“You mean Mike? The resident that got fired?” Curls slanted a glance Nancy’s way. “Pretty sure we all know he got fired for stealing shit.”
“Mike? What’s his story?” Trevor needed a lead. Anything tangible he could follow.
Nancy pressed her lips together into a tight line. Clearly something she didn’t want to talk about.
“Rumor is—rumor mind you.” Curls glanced at Nancy before looking back at him. “He got fired for stealing. Drugs. Supplies. You name it. He was running a prescription drug thing. It started when he was in college. The cops followed him here and busted him. We’ve had several of his buyers show up looking to score, hitting up nurses, stuff like that. A lot of them are going into withdrawal and ending up in the ER.”
“Any of them have a name that starts with a W? Or look like this?”
“Couldn’t say, sorry.” Curls shrugged. Man, she was a looker, too. The kind of girl he’d try to take out, if he wasn’t hooked on Long Legs.
An EMT at the back of the group squinted at the picture.
“Aziz?” Trevor thrust the phone at the man. Aziz was one of the guys who’d tried out and failed at the SWAT position, but not for a lack of effort. SWAT needed a paramedic’s advanced knowledge for the kind of tense situations they faced.
“I want to say I’ve seen him before.” Aziz nodded at Curls. “And you’re right, I think he was one of Mike’s buyers.”
“I am neither confirming or denying Mike’s situation.” Nancy wrung her hands together. If it was true that their suspect had got his fix from Jenna’s hospital, it was going to create a nightmare for them.
“Any chance Mike could be it?” Curls shrugged. “I mean an M is just an upside down W.”
“No, Mike doesn’t look anything like that picture.” Aziz pointed at the image.
“What about William?” Detective Parson said.
“William?” Trevor glanced at his partner.
Parson wiggled his phone at Trevor.
Their suspect list.
Trevor turned his phone around and pulled up the email with the suspect pool. Sure enough, there was a Barney William Bradshaw on the list. What were the chances a fairly young guy wouldn’t want to share a name with a purple dinosaur?
“Thanks for your help.” Trevor nodded at his partner.
“That’s it?” Curls asked.
“If we’re lucky, yes.”
“Keep us updated,” Nancy said as Trevor and Parson strode out the doors.
“You know what Barney does?” Parson said under his breath.
“What?”
“I just looked him up. He works for a bird rescue.”
“They said animal needles might be that short.”
“Let’s check him out. Call your friend.”
Trevor prayed they had a break. That this was how they found Jenna.
He jabbed at Alex’s contact and hoped his friend wasn’t wading through red tape at the station.
“What?” Alex said.
“We have him. We know who he is. Barney William Bradshaw. That’s the stalker. We’ve got him, Alex.”
24.
JENNA STRUGGLED TO breathe past the congestion blocking her airflow. She’d never been one for allergies, but down pillows and blankets had always made her itch. With this many birds around, it was a minor miracle she hadn’t broken out in hives. Yet.
She twisted her wrists, trying to stretch the tape more. So far she’d worked several inches of slack into it, but heat and sweat could do that. Her skin was rubbed raw in several places. The sting of pain was a small price to pay in the scheme of things. She couldn’t sit on her hands and wait for Alex to find her.
Her best estimation was that it was close to eight or nine at night. The sun was gone, and the sky had faded to an inky black, which meant they weren’t in town or even the city. They were somewhere remote. And probably hard to find, or else Alex would have been there already.
Getting out of here was up to her.
She straightened and breathed deep, drawing the oxygen deep down into her lungs. It was getting harder to do.
Almost there.
Her hands were almost free.
She tilted her head to the side and listened. She hadn’t heard another soul stir in a while.
It was now. She had to get out of here before William came back for her. Whatever he had in store, she didn’t want to wait around and see what it was.
One more deep breath and she hunched over, twisting her arms until she could leverage her arms against the chair. She pulled, grunted and squeezed her eyes shut, as if that would throw the odds in her favor. Sweat slickened her skin. She wiggled and twisted her right hand, working it through the proverbial eye of the needle that was the tape.
She got the knuckle of her thumb through and it felt as though the bindings constricted, pinching the nerves and cutting off the flow of blood. She whimpered and tapped her toes as the nerves up and down her arm screamed at her.
Another breath and she yanked for all she was worth. The adhesive had long since come off on her skin, leaving fibers and plastic behind. It scraped over her abused hand as she broke free.
Jenna dropped her arms to her sides, exhausted and still struggling against the lingering effects of the sedative.
Her arms were numb, her shoulders wrenched nearly out of socket and she was pretty sure the throbbing in her hand meant she’d broken something. A tear trickled down her cheek. Her whole arm throbbed Yup. Something was broken.
She pulled at the knot holding her gag in place. It only took a few tugs before she was able to spat it out. She tipped her head back and breathed through her mouth, which should have provided her with more relief. Yet it didn’t. Which meant her throat had begun to swell shut. The allergi
c reaction must be worse than she’d realized
It was pastime to get out of here.
Jenna felt the rope binding her to the chair, searching for a knot or a tie or something to release her.
Outside, something scraped against the shed door.
She stilled, staring through the darkness at the silver doorknob, and held her breath.
Keys jangled on the other side.
No!
Jenna clawed at the rope and tried to kick her leg free, but her right hand was almost useless now, her fingers struggling to work.
The door swung inward and a single person stood silhouetted by a security light over head.
ALEX SAT DOWN AND gripped the arm rests, or else the chair might roll out from under him.
They had a name.
“Alex?” Trevor said through the phone.
“I’m here.” Alex cleared his throat and grasped the computer mouse. “Barney Bradshaw. I’m looking him up now.”
He rushed to perform the search, tapping his fingers on the keys, watching the search bar creep across the screen.
Finally a mug shot, a laundry list of information and charges on Barney William Bradshaw filled the screen.
Fucking douchbag was going down.
“I’ve got a home address and—shit.” Alex’s mouth dried up
“What? I’m almost there. What is it?” Trevor yelled through the phone.
“He works at that bird rescue north of town, off 35.”
“I’m going to hang up, put in the call to mobilize two SWAT units, one to William’s house, the other to his work place.”
“The house was foreclosed on.”
“Then we’re going to the bird rescue. She’ll be there, Alex. We will get her.”
Alex hoped she was. That it wasn’t too late. He knew the statistics and the chances this could go wrong, but he still had to have faith. That after everything Jenna had been through this time, he could save her. He could fix it.
He put the phone down. Internal Affairs would say he couldn’t participate, that he was too close to the case, and they were right. But there was no way in hell he was going to let someone else save Jenna. Besides, no one could tell him not to go if he wasn’t around to hear it.
He grabbed his keys and headed for the door, the aviary address stuck in his brain. Yeah, he’d get his ass chewed out later, but Jenna was worth it. Trevor would figure it out as would the rest of the guys. And not a damn one would do anything different.
The night was oppressively warm, the sky clear as he strode through the parking lot.
Liam strode toward him, no doubt on his way into the building. All the guys were hanging around, ready on deck for when or if, Jenna needed them.
“Found her yet?” Liam asked.
Alex didn’t want to answer, didn’t want to stop or even acknowledge his friend, but that would take more time.
“Trevor has a suspect and an address. I think you’re headed there now.” Alex thumbed over his shoulder.
“Where are you going?” Liam paused, head tilted to the side. He played a convincing dumb, country boy, but it was an act. One Alex was well acquainted with.
“Out to my truck for my notes.” A lie.
“You’re going there now.” Liam hooked his thumbs in his belt.
“Didn’t say that.”
“Come on, tell me to my face you aren’t going before someone can tell you not to.”
Alex couldn’t bring himself to tell that lie.
“Fine. Let’s go.” Liam turned. “Let me grab my gear first.”
“You—what?” Alex quick stepped to catch up.
“Jenna is one of ours. Of course it’s going to be an all-in situation getting her out of there. And you need someone to watch your back. So come on. The others will be right behind us.”
Alex walked to his truck, glancing over his shoulder at Liam digging his tactical gear out of the tool box attached to his pickup. What good had he ever done to merit these people in his life?
A SUV barreled down the short drive to the front of the station and jerked to a stop along the curb.
Travis was here.
Which meant Alex needed to leave.
Liam opened the rear door, tossed in his gear, the gun case for his sniper rifle and a large canvas bag.
“You brought the suit?” Alex twisted.
“Figured it couldn’t hurt.” Liam jumped in the passenger seat and started stripping off his belt and uniform shirt. As a sniper, Liam needed to become invisible and he couldn’t do that if his clothing caught the light at all.
“You’re probably going to get written up for this.” Alex gassed the truck, sending it shooting out of the parking lot and onto the empty street.
“I doubt it. Sam’s got egg on his face over this. He’s going to do everything he can to make sure this gets taken care of then goes away quietly.”
“Goes away? This is Ransom, you know? Where the men gossip like school girls.”
“We’re concerned about each other. You’re one of us.” Liam flashed him a momentary grin before he pulled the undershirt for his tactical gear on. The dark, green sports fabric made the body armor bearable in the worst of the heat. “What are we headed into?”
“Suspect is one Barney William Bradshaw. He works at a bird rescue north of town. Has a prescription drug addiction. And we know he’s armed and has assaulted Jenna once before.”
“Damn. Watch, we’ll get there and Jenna will have already kicked his ass.” Liam chuckled.
Alex wasn’t in the mood for jokes. His focus narrowed to the road, with the highway just ahead. Time was slipping away, and they didn’t know if Jenna’s was running out.
“When we get there, let’s look around. Get a feel for the place. Then you find a perch and I’ll go in.”
“You don’t want to wait for the others?”
“Do you think we have that luxury?”
“Probably not.” Liam grimaced.
“Alright then.”
“What do we do if things go south?”
Alex blew out a breath. It was something he didn’t want to consider, but it was his job to prepare for the worst.
“I’ll distract him. You shoot him.” He glanced at Liam. “You get the shot, take it. Consider that an order.”
Alex’s grip tightened on the wheel. He’d had to make that call only three times in his career, now it was four. A call like that went against everything he stood for. To serve and protect was in his blood. But if it was William or Jenna, he’d save her, and damn his soul.
JENNA PLODDED FORWARD, one foot in front of the other. It was dark enough she couldn’t always tell what was in front of her if she was going to run into another chain link fence or a tree. She didn’t dare turn to look behind her, not that she needed to. William hadn’t lowered the gun yet. For once he was doing something smart and keeping his distance. If he got in close, she felt reasonably certain she could wrestle the gun away from him, even one-handed.
“Keep moving,” William snapped.
“I’m trying. I can barely see.”
“Stop stalling. I said move!” He pushed her with the flat of his palm, shoving her forward.
Jenna stumbled a few steps and stole a glance back at him, but the shadows were too thick.
They were far enough out in the country that the trees blocked the view of any city lights. It was just her—and her stalker. Just the word, stalker, stabbed her heart with a new wave of panic. But there was nowhere to run to. Least not that she could see. Yet.
William was a junkie. They weren’t known to be the most detail oriented types. There had to be a hole in his plan. Like using tape to restrain her instead of something more durable. There would be an out. A way to escape.
Where was Alex?
What she wouldn’t give to see him ride in here on a ballistic truck in full SWAT gear. A true knight in green armor. He was out there, searching for her, that she didn’t doubt. But unless Sterling woke up or William le
ft some damning evidence behind, it would take time. Time she might not have. So she needed to keep her eyes open for an opportunity to get away. Call for help.
William kept her on a dirt path that led away from the warren of smaller bird sanctuaries. She glimpsed space between the cages that wasn’t fenced off. Avenues of escape. She just needed to find the right one.
“What are we doing out here, William?” She needed him to see her as a real person again. Someone he could connect to.
“You’re going to listen to me for once.”
“I am listening. I’ve always listened for you.” She paused at a turn in the path and glanced back at William.
“You’re lying.” He thrust the gun at her. “Keep moving.”
“I’m not lying. You used to come into my house while I was sleeping, didn’t you? I heard you. I listened for you. I’ve always known you were there.” The words curdled her stomach and her hands trembled, but she got them out. In a combat situation she would appeal to her captor’s sense of humanity. Now she was flying by the seat of her pants, hoping she didn’t utter a wrong word.
She couldn’t make out his features, but his posture changed. He lowered the gun, so he was aiming from the hip and he tilted his head.
All human beings wanted to be wanted. To be loved. William was no different. It was in how he displayed that desire, how he violated her person, her ability to choose, that was wrong.
“If you loved me, you wouldn’t have ran to him.”
She heard the click of the safety switching off over the sleepy murmurs of the birds. Her insides trembled, quaking to her core.
He wasn’t buying her words. And now she was pretty damn sure he meant to shoot her.
“Keep walking.”
Jenna kept walking. The habitats were getting larger, with a bit of space between them. She needed to run for it. To try to get away.
“I’ve been with you through the nightmares. The bad days. I’ve left you gifts. I’ve picked up after you. We had something, Jenna. Something real. And what do you do? What did you do? You went to another man. Another man!” He kicked a chain link fence as they passed another sizable enclosure.
Fighting Redemption: A Small Town Romantic Suspense (Texas SWAT Book 1) Page 26