by Jennie Marts
As they passed by where they sat, Zoey heard her grandfather say, “Oh shucks, dear. We’re out of time. We need to get on our way if we’re going to get up early and see Pikes Peak in the morning.”
One of the bikers passed him a pipe. “Ah, you don’t have to go yet. It’s still early and that old mountain will be there all day.”
Edna must have got the hint, because she picked up her handbag and stood. “Oh he’s just using that as his excuse. He probably needs to get going ‘cause he’s got a hemorrhoid that’s been bothering him.” She patted one of the bikers on the arm. “You know you just can’t enjoy yourself when you’ve got troubles with the old pooper.”
The biker nodded. Evidently it’s hard to argue when a hemorrhoid was involved.
They passed the group of twenty-somethings on their way out the door, and Zoey was worried one of the boys was going to fall out of his chair, he was laughing so hard.
The night air had cooled off as they stepped onto the sidewalk, and Zoey was thankful for the flannel shirt. The air felt crisp and clean, and she filled her lungs with it, happy to be free of the smoke-filled room.
She checked her watch. It was getting close to eight.
They needed to get back to Edna’s so she’d be there when Mac stopped by. She wondered if showing up at this establishment and sneaking into the cash-counting room fell under Mac’s guidelines of trying not to tip their hat. Somehow she doubted it.
Edna and Johnny stepped out of the bar and let the door shut behind them. He turned their way. “We’re headed west if you ladies would like a ride.”
Staying in character, Zoey nodded her head. “Sure, that’d be cool.”
They crossed the parking lot and climbed into Johnny’s car.
A nervous bubble of laughter escaped her lips, and Zoey leaned forward clutching her stomach as hysterical giggles overcame her. “I can’t believe you used a hemorrhoid as your excuse to get out of there.”
The car erupted in laughter.
“I didn’t care what she used,” Johnny said. “I would have started talking about my prostate as long as we could leave.”
“My head was a little spinny from all that smoke,” Edna explained between giggles. “It was the first thing that popped into my head.”
Edna sat in the front and seemed to be laughing quite hard. Zoey leaned forward and peered over the back seat. “Gram, are you stoned?”
“Oh no.” Edna giggled again. “Well, I don’t know. Maybe a little. I only did a couple of those hit thingies, but I didn’t actually inhale.”
Where have I heard that before?
“So what did you see?” Sunny asked. “When you went in to the back room? You said you saw Leon, and then you sure hustled us out of there quick.”
The laughter in the car died, and Johnny turned toward her. “You saw Leon? Did he see you?”
Zoey nodded. “Yeah, just for a second, but I don’t think he recognized me. And I’m sure I’ve never seen him before.”
“Well, crap-cakes,” Edna said. “Then this was all for nothing. We didn’t learn anything.”
“Not necessarily. A big guy caught me and told me to get out of there. That’s what freaked me out. I did recognize him.”
Sunny gasped. “You did? From where?”
“From Cavelli Commerce. He looked different though because he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt instead of a suit.”
“Are you sure it was the same guy?”
“Yeah, I recognized the wing tattoo on his wrist.”
Johnny leaned forward and started the engine. “We need to get out of here.”
Before he could put the car in gear, the rear passenger door was pulled open, and the man she’d just been describing yanked Zoey from the car.
Struggling against him, she tried to scream, but he covered her mouth with his meaty hand. He pulled her toward a black SUV that was parked nearby. The engine was running and the back door stood open—waiting to take Zoey into its lair.
Flashes of information flew through her brain as she tried to remember the tips they’d learned when she took a women’s defense class last year. She tried to butt her head back, but she only met with a hard muscled chest. He was so much taller than her and had her lifted completely off the ground, so the option of stamping on his feet was out. Kicking at his shins, her sneakers were ineffective.
His arms squeezed her tighter to him, his huge biceps crushing her lungs.
Her heart pounded against her chest as she tried to breathe—the panic threatening to take over as she realized there was nothing she could do.
She was powerless against his strength.
A banshee scream came from her grandfather’s car as the front door flew open, and Edna emerged, a can of pepper spray held in her hands.
She shot a stream toward the big man, but he had already pushed her back so the vapor fell short of its mark.
Still the bitter spray hung in the air, burning Zoey’s eyes as well. Tears fell as she squinted against the caustic mist.
“SHIT!” Her captor had released one arm to shove at Edna and now drew that arm across his eyes. “That shit burns!”
Even with one arm, he still held her immobile, and he tried to shove her into the backseat of the waiting SUV.
Kicking out her legs, she tried to push against the door frame, but he grabbed a chunk of her hair, pulling it as she cried out in pain.
“Get in the car, or I will hurt you then come back for the old lady.”
Sobbing in defeat, she relaxed against him. She would never let anything happen to Edna.
He shoved her into the back seat, shifting to pull her arm against her back. Her face pressed against the expensive leather seat, and she knew it would take little effort for him to snap the bone in her arm.
Slamming the door, the SUV sped away, the whole incident taking probably less than thirty seconds.
Thirty seconds of fear and pain.
Panic rose like bile in her throat as she imagined the terror yet to come.
Chapter Eleven
Mac’s tires squealed as he flew into the parking lot of The Joint.
He was too late.
A burly man had just shoved a woman into the back of a black SUV.
He recognized Johnny’s car and had seen Edna try to pepper spray the man so even though the woman had long dark hair, he knew in his gut that it had to be Zoey.
Edna turned at the sound of his tires. She must have recognized him because her arms flailed in panic as she screamed and directed him toward the SUV. Through his open window, Mac could hear her screaming to go after Zoey.
He didn’t even stop. The bumper of the squad car scraped the concrete as he drove off the curb in pursuit of the black SUV. The windows were tinted so he couldn’t see in the back. He knew one guy had grabbed Zoey and one guy was driving but didn’t know if anyone else was inside the vehicle.
He hit the siren and pressed firmer on the accelerator. His heart beat hard against his chest, and all of his focus was on not losing the SUV.
The truck sped up, flying through a red light. A man in a red Toyota skidded sideways as he swerved to avoid colliding with the SUV. The man blared his horn and yelled a few choice words at the black vehicle.
Luckily Pleasant Valley was a small town and didn’t have much traffic. They only had a few actual stoplights. He hoped the sound of his siren would have the locals getting out of the way. The last thing he wanted was for someone else to get hurt.
He couldn’t let himself think about what they would do to Zoey if he didn’t catch them.
Please Lord, don’t let them have hurt her already.
Or worse.
No—he wouldn’t go there. Couldn’t go there.
She was alive when the guy shoved her into the back of the SUV—he’d be damned if he didn’t make sure she was alive when she came out.
The black vehicle was slipping further away. They’d passed the city limits and were heading into the mountains. The road curved,
and the SUV turned onto a dirt road. Dust flew into the window of his car as he skidded around the curve.
No other cars were around, and he knew he had to act fast so he wouldn’t lose them. He pulled his gun from its holster. He didn’t want to engage in gunfire, but his options were limited.
If he fired first and got a clean shot at the tire, he could hopefully disable the vehicle and have a shot at getting Zoey out of there.
He stuck the gun out the window, aimed and fired.
Damn! He missed. He fired again.
A hand holding a gun poked out the back window and returned fire.
A bullet pinged off the side of the car. Way too close.
He swerved back and forth, making his car a harder target to hit. But also making it harder to aim at the vehicle in front of him. He didn’t want to take a chance at hitting Zoey by mistake.
He fired again, this time aiming for the arm sticking out the window. Direct hit! The man dropped the gun and pulled his arm inside.
Another shot. Aimed at the tires. Another hit.
A loud burst sounded as the tire blew, and the SUV went into a skid. It hit the soft shoulder of the dirt road and tipped off the side.
Mac watched in horror as the car rolled upside down. He braked to a stop, his own car skidding in the gravel. Gun drawn, he raced for the overturned SUV.
The tires were still spinning, and the windows had shattered on impact. He could see the driver’s head slumped against the window frame. His eyes were closed, and a nasty cut tore across his forehead. Mac prayed he was unconscious. And that he stayed that way.
A woman’s arms, then the back of her head, appeared as she tried to pull herself out of the broken back window.
Mac registered the black hair and the tattooed arm. What the hell? Had he made a mistake? Was the woman in the car not Zoey?
Then she tipped her head up, and Mac saw her face. Looked into the eyes of the woman who had been filling his thoughts and haunting his dreams.
“I got you, Zoey.” He holstered his gun then reached for her arms, pulling her out of the SUV.
She clung to him as he dragged her body through the window.
Almost there.
She screamed as a meaty hand reached through the window and grabbed her ankle pulling her back into the car.
Kicking against the hand, she tried to break free of its grasp.
Mac stepped forward and stomped on it, the heel of his boot crushing the man’s hand. He heard a howl of pain, and the hand released Zoey’s leg.
He didn’t think, didn’t stop to ask if she was okay. Instead, he swooped her into his arms, cradling her body against his and raced to the squad car. He pulled open the passenger door and set her inside then ran around the back of the vehicle.
A shot rang through the air, and a bullet shattered one of the siren lights.
Mac heard Zoey scream as he dropped to the ground. “Get down!”
From under the SUV, he could see a black-sleeved arm holding a gun emerge from the driver’s window. Damn. He must not have stayed as unconscious as Mac had hoped he would.
Mac pulled his gun and scooted to the back corner of the car trying to shield himself as much as possible. He’d left the driver’s side door of the squad car open and the engine on as he’d raced for the SUV and he sent up a silent prayer of thanks.
From a crouched position, he leaned forward, aimed, and fired off three quick shots at the SUV then raced for the door and slid into the seat. In one movement, he pulled the door shut and threw the car into gear.
Zoey had squeezed herself on to the floor of the passenger side. “Go! Go!” She screamed and covered her head as another shot hit the front window of the car. A ragged hole appeared in the windshield as the bullet ripped through and tore into the fabric of the front seat.
The tires spun in the gravel as they tried to gain purchase, then the car shot forward, barreling down the dirt road and away from the wrecked SUV.
Mac careened around the corner, turning back on to the highway and the speedometer climbed as he raced up the mountain.
He glanced down at Zoey. “You okay?”
Her face was pale and streaks of black eyeliner ran down her cheeks. A ribbon of blood had started to dry on the side of her face from a cut above her eyebrow. She pulled herself into the seat. “I’m okay.”
Her voice was shaky but steady, and she reached to pull off the dark-haired wig.
Mac glanced at her quickly as he sped past a blue car. “Maybe you’d better leave it on, in case they’re looking for a blonde-haired woman. I almost didn’t recognize you myself.”
“You didn’t even know it was me? You just head into a high-speed car chase and almost get shot for all the girls?” She tried to sound funny, but her voice broke and she covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook as she let loose a sob.
She looked over at him. “Thank you, Mac. Thank you so much. If you hadn’t shown up—I think they were going to kill me.” Emotion threatened to overtake her again, and she took a deep breath.
The console was between them, but he reached out and grabbed her hand. He wished he could pull the car over and haul her into his lap. He would have given anything to take her into his arms right now and feel her solidness against him—for her comfort, as well as his own. “It’s okay, Zoey. You’re safe now. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”
Anger and fear and a fierce protectiveness filled him. He knew he would do anything to keep her safe. Damn it—this was exactly what he didn’t want. He didn’t want to be responsible for another person. Didn’t want to have her rely on him, trust in him, believe in him, believe that he would protect her.
Because he didn’t know if he could. And it would hurt more to let her down. It was easier to focus on his anger. He dropped her hand. “I don’t understand how they got ahold of you in the first place. You knew Leon was connected to the guy that broke into your place. What the hell were you thinking going to his bar? Were you trying to get yourself killed?”
He heard her sharp intake of breath and knew his words were probably too harsh. But he didn’t care. He focused on the road and flew by another car.
“No, of course not.” She twisted her hands in her lap. “You’re right. It was stupid and irresponsible. We were just trying to help. We thought if we went in there in disguise that I could maybe get a look at this Leon guy—see if maybe I recognized him.”
“And did you? See him, I mean?”
“Yes, he was in the back room, along with a couple of other guys. They were counting money with these machines, and they all had guns. That’s when we got out of there. But they must have somehow figured out it was me, because before we could pull out of the parking lot, they grabbed me.” Her voice trembled again with the memory. “They told me if I didn’t go with them, they would hurt my grandmother.”
His heart softened—just a little—he was still mad—but he could tell she was just as mad at herself. “Speaking of your grandmother, you should probably call her and tell her you’re okay.”
“Good idea.” She dug her cell phone out of her front pocket. “I can’t believe it didn’t fall out of my pocket.” She pressed some keys on the phone and held it to her ear.
“Hello, Zoey?” Edna voice boomed. She spoke so loudly into the phone, he could clearly hear her words.
“Hi, Grandma. Are you okay?”
“ME? Land’s sake, child—I’m fine. I’m worried about you. Are you all right?”
Zoey lightly touched his arm. “Yes, I’m okay. Mac saved me.”
“Praise the Lord. Tell Mac next time I see him I plan to kiss him right on the mouth.”
Holy hell—that was not something he would look forward to.
Zoey laughed. In the time he’d known her, he knew one thing Edna could be counted on for—she could always make you laugh.
“Where are you? Is he bringing you back to the house?” Edna asked.
“No.” He answered before Zoey could ask. “T
ell her I’m taking you somewhere safe. And we’re getting rid of your cell phone, so she won’t be able to contact you.” He rubbed his hand over his head. “I guess somebody should probably know where we are. Tell her to tell Johnny that I’m taking you to the place we had his bachelor party.”
Zoey gave him a strange look but relayed the message.
“He’s taking you to hide out in a stripper club?” Edna voice rose even higher than before.
“No, of course not.” She covered the phone with her hand. “You’re not really taking me to a strip club to hide out, are you?”
He shook his head. “No. But you need to have her thank Johnny for sending me that text telling me where you all were. He’s the reason I showed up at The Joint when I did.”
Zoey’s eyes widened. “I didn’t realize he’d texted you.”
“Yeah, well I wish you would have been the one to text me. I would rather have heard from you that you were in trouble.” He turned back to the road. Why had he just said that? It had been his first thought when he got the text from Johnny, but he hadn’t meant to share that thought with her.
She relayed the message to Edna.
He pulled off the highway and into the lot of a convenience store. Pulling around to the back of the store, he parked and killed the engine. “Tell her you gotta go. You can call her again when it’s safe.”
She nodded. “I’ve got to go now, Grandma. I love you, and I’ll call you again when I can. Don’t worry about me. I’m with Mac. He’ll protect me.”
Her words stung like barbs in his heart. Could he protect her? His track record in that department hadn’t proved too great in the past.
He held out his hand for her phone. “We’ve got to get rid of it, just in case they’re tracking it.”
She handed it to him. “That’s fine. It’s insured.”
He got out of the car, dropped the phone to the ground and smashed it with his boot. He picked up the shattered remains and tossed them in the dumpster behind the store. “Come on,” he said, opening her car door and helping her out.
She limped forward, and for the first time he noticed the tears in her pants and the smears of blood around her knee.