RESCUED

by Lyz Kelley

  She eased away from the gate. “What do you want?” The demand emerged as a parched squeak. She couldn’t swallow.

  Brutus stood in front of her, growling, snapping his teeth, but his behavior didn’t frighten her. He was doing what he was bred to do: protect.

  Tattoo man retrieved a gun out of the back of his pants. “I came to play.” His mouth twisted into a snarling smile.

  Karly moved toward the back wall and glanced at the dog door. She’d never fit. “I don’t want to play.”

  “That’s too bad.” He aimed the gun at Brutus. “Come out now, coño, or I shoot the dog.”

  No. She held out a hand. “Don’t shoot.” Her mind raced to find options.

  Tattoo man rotated the gun sideways, his index finger resting on top. “Come on, then. I don’t have all day.”

  Karly moved to the gate. “You promise not to shoot?”

  “I promise.” He took a step back. His black and yellow tattooed face reminded her of a serpent’s head... fitting, since his blood must be pure, unadulterated venom.

  She lifted the gate latch and, as she started to swing the gate open, she drew upon every ounce of willpower she could find and slammed it wide open, knocking him back.

  Run. Her mind screamed.

  She fought for air.

  Pop. Pop. Brutus, nooooo. Pop. Hedge!

  The screaming cries of the dogs nearly destroyed her.

  What have I done?

  Blood pooled around Brutus’s head. Both dogs lay on the floor, unmoving.

  When the stalker took a step in her direction, she yanked the container of dog food over and bolted for the front door.

  Boom-boom-boom. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears.

  She grabbed the front door handle and pushed. Locked. Key? Where were the keys? The office.

  Her feet slapped against the linoleum floor while she pulled the phone out of her back pocket. She tried to run and dial at the same time, but messed up, hit the delete key and tried again.

  Tattoo man’s cackles thickened the air around her, making breathing and moving hard.

  Grabbing her keys, she turned. All she could see was a wall of man in the hallway. She raced into her office and locked the door. She tried again to phone for help, but the cell slipped out of her hands and hit the floor.

  Grief over Brutus and Hedge nearly drowned her, but the handle of the office door jiggled.

  Window. Get out. Now.

  Dragging the chair over to the filing cabinet, she stood on the chair seat.

  Pop. Pop. Pop. Bullets splintered the door.

  She shoved with all her might to push open the window, but it wouldn’t budge. Her hands shook as she tried the latch again. Just as the window gave way, a hand closed around her ankle.

  “Let’s play.”

  “No.” She kicked back, “Stay away from me.”

  Another hand grabbed her other leg and yanked hard.

  Her grip on the window slipped.

  A scream welled from her core, but she lost her balance, bounced off the chair, and collapsed on the floor, the breath knocked out of her.

  Tattoo man grabbed her hair and gave it a painful twist. “No more running.”

  “P-please let me go.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m going to let you go. In fact, I’m going to make you disappear.”

  Disappear?

  He crushed her phone with the heel of his boot. All hope of rescue was gone. Terror paralyzed her, body and mind.

  “Come on. Let’s go play.”

  He hauled her to her feet. With his arm around her neck, his gun to her head, she didn’t dare move. He pushed her toward the back entrance.

  “Please don’t hurt me. Where are you taking me?”

  His hot breath made the skin on the back of her neck shrivel away from him. “I’m taking you to paradise.”

  She gagged, swamped by the foul odors of tobacco and licorice on his breath.

  Noooo. This can’t be happening.

  “Move! That way.”

  The back door was coming up fast. Don’t let him take you. The defense instructor’s instructions came back. Fight. Kick. Punch. Anything to get away.

  Two steps away from the door, she mentally prepared. She could do this. She would survive.

  A prick on her neck made her swat at the sting. She looked behind her.

  “Easy there, coño.”

  “What did you just do?”

  “I sent you to paradise.”

  The room dimmed.

  Legs turned to water.

  Can’t swallow.

  No… Oh, God, no.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Thad had reached his limit. He needed a Karly fix. He drove to Helper Shelter and parked in front. For only a split second, he thought about leaving, ’cause she mentioned something about feeling smothered the day before, but…

  “Oh, what the hell?” He opened the truck door and slid out. Maybe he could help Karly clear her desk for the day—the fun way.

  He headed for the entrance, but he spotted Mara. She was holding onto the metal fence on the side of the building. Buddy stood behind her, the canine’s body nudged up against her back legs, his stance rigid and tense.

  “Hey, Mara? It’s Thad.” He called from twenty yards. “Are you okay?”

  As he neared, she focused her phone at him. Her tear-streaked face answered his question.

  “Joe,” she said, her mouth trembling, “Thad just arrived. What do you need him to do?”

  “Tell him to stay with you. I’m two minutes away,” the sheriff’s voice growled from the phone.

  “Okay.” She pulled her arms closer to her chest, the phone’s camera still connected to her husband.

  In the distance, Thad could hear the sirens coming from the ridge. The frantic barks coming from the kennel drew his attention.

  Just past Mara’s shoulder, he spotted the bumper of Karly’s truck. An ominous feeling swelled and started to cut off his air, and his vision narrowed, turning gray at the edges. He fought the effect and forced himself to focus on the present.

  His eyes centered on Mara. “Where’s Karly?”

  “I don’t know. I think he took her.” Mara’s hands shook, her voice small and lost.

  His heart slammed against his rib cage and pounded with anger. “Who? Who’s taken her?”

  “The same guy who’s been stalking me. When I got here, I smelled him and called Joey.”

  “Stay here. I can see the emergency lights. Your husband’s almost here.”

  The voices in his head quieted. His breath evened. His senses became hyper-sharp as he ran toward the back and entered through the storage area, scanning, assessing, processing. He didn’t touch anything, only absorbed the placement, smell, details of the evidence. His mind played a possible scene. Karly entered through the back, but someone had been waiting for her. He could smell stale cigarette smoke.

  Oh, God, Karly I warned you. I should have insisted on better locks.

  The kennel room door, normally closed, was open. Thad lifted an animal catch-pole off the shelf. Slowly, he opened the door with his foot. At a quick glance, it looked as though Karly had opened one of the kennel gates to slow the intruder down, or she had to open the gate to get out, he didn’t know which.

  One dog lay dead.

  Another wounded.

  He crouched and brushed a careful hand down the border collie’s wounded flank, his hands shaking with anger and sorrow. There was blood. Lots of blood, but the collie’s wound didn’t look life-threatening. He studied the splatter. The blood seemed to be contained within the kennel area.

  Stay calm, he pleaded with himself silently, and moved on. He peered around the corner, down the office hall. No blood. She’s okay. Karly's okay. No blood.

  Spilled dog food scattered across the hall made him pause.

  Good girl. You’re trying to slow him down. Buy some time.

  A few crushed nuggets by the front entrance indicated she’d tried and f
ailed to get the door open. What did you do next, Karly? What came next? Show me.

  He rounded the corner, taking in the reception desk, then he saw it. Her office door handle shot full of holes.

  His breathing stopped.

  Forced his feet to move.

  One step. Two steps.

  He pushed the door open.

  The desk was shoved aside. Paper littered the floor. By the back wall, Thad found her cell phone smashed.

  No blood. There’s no blood. She’s alive.

  His held breath barreled out of his lungs with the speed of a bullet.

  Anger. Revenge. Fear.

  I’m going to get you back, Karly. No matter what it takes, I’ll bring you home.

  His body buzzed with a cocktail of emotions, but he let the anger burn away the fear. He swallowed to engage and concentrate his senses. See what needed to be seen. He backed out of the office slowly and returned to the kennel area and the wounded border collie, grabbing a towel from the shelf as he passed.

  “Thad?” a male voice called.

  “In here,” Thad replied. He applied pressure to the dog’s hind leg, and stroked his head.

  Karly would want this.

  She’d want him to take care of her animals.

  He glanced over his shoulder at the sound of footsteps.

  “Sheriff. Whoever took Karly is gone. Based on what I saw, she put up one hell of a fight.” He pointed. “The shepherd over there is dead. This one will be okay if we can get him to a vet.”

  “Karly’s blood?”

  There was blood splatter across the floor, now on his clothes, his hands. “Don’t think so. There’s no blood in her office. Karly's still alive. She made it to her office before she was captured.” Thad pointed to a pool of blood. “That’s her partial footprint there. The evidence leads toward the back door, not toward her office. She did her best to leave us a clue, and I’m sure she walked out of here on her own.”

  “Good observation. I think you’re right. There just might be an opening on my staff for someone like you.”

  “I know that look.” The flicker of the sheriff’s eyes made Thad’s gut churn. “My captain got it any time he didn’t want to tell us something. What is it you’re not saying?”

  “I need to make a phone call,” Joe turned to leave, but Thad stood and grabbed him by the sleeve.

  “You know something, and I want to know what it is.”

  “This isn't just about Karly. This is big. We need to call in backup.”

  Big? What the hell does that mean?

  Thad leaned in. “We need to start looking for Karly—now! You knew there was a threat, and you did nothing to protect her.” Explosive anger made his voice low and ominous. “You closed off that ridge for a reason, so I went to have a look. There are tracks on the ridge heading west. I didn’t have time before, but I bet if I follow them, I’ll find Karly.”

  Joe’s jaw muscles pulsed. “You go anywhere near that ridge, I’ll have you arrested.”

  Thad took a step back. “Then you find her. Bring her back. Close off the highway. Roads. Call in the state troopers. Do whatever you need to do, but get her back.” He crouched to attend to the dog to deflect the sheriff’s reproach.

  “Joey?” Mara called as she walked in through the open door.

  “Don’t come in here. This is a crime scene.”

  Mara’s hand gripped the doorframe. “Fine. I’ll stay here, but I have something to say.” She lifted her chin. “For the past two years, you've been mighty secretive. I've never asked you for details. I’ve never pushed. I won’t ask now. However, as your wife and as part of this community, I’d like to remind you that Karly is one of ours.” She reached to smooth Buddy’s hackles, to ease her service dog’s concern. “More than that, she's my friend and business partner. If I find out Karly’s been taken because of whatever you’ve been so secretive about lately, and there was something we could have done to prevent it, then you might not want to come home for a while, because I will say things you don’t want to hear.”

  “Mara—”

  “No.” She held out her hand. “Call the FBI or DEA or CIA, or whomever you’ve been having your secret late-night calls with, and get them here, right now.”

  Joe placed a hand on the back of his neck and squeezed. “Mara, what you’re asking is risky. What’s going on here is bigger than big. I don’t know everyone involved. Shit. I don’t even know who to trust. Certainly no one in this town.”

  “That’s not true. There are plenty of people in this town you can trust,” Mara said.

  Go, Mara. Thad stood to add his presence and support.

  “If there are people you don’t trust in the department,” Mara lifted her defiant chin another inch, “have them come here and process the scene. It’ll get them out of the way, and keep them focused. Brianne is safe. Your mom picked her up. Camilla’s on her way here. If we hear or sense anything odd, I’ll call you. Plus, no one will think twice about me carrying my cell phone around. I’ll record everything.” Mara waved her phone in the air.

  “Call Tony now. I want your brother here as well.” Joe gave Thad a once-over. “You up for some surveillance?”

  Surveillance? “Always.” But if I see Karly, screw the surveillance.

  “Good. I’ll put a call into Chase and Rivers and have them meet at your place.”

  “Sounds good.”

  That makes four. Thad had been in the covert operations long enough to know that six was the optimal number, but for Karly, he’d go alone if he had to. “I ran into General Bryant at the Tool Shed, before I came here. Ashley’s dad knows tactical operations. He and Bill Mason should be able to help. That makes six.”

  “What about Grant Newhall, Jenna’s husband?” Mara asked.

  Joe shook his head. “No. Newhall doesn’t have military or first responder training. Everyone else does.”

  Mara shook her head. “Okay, I get that, but I don’t want anything to happen to you. I know you. If Sam’s killer slips through because you don’t have enough people, you’ll never forgive yourself. For the past four days, you’ve been tense. Something’s happening. I can feel it.”

  “Woman, you’re too smart for your own safety.”

  “Based on your reaction, I’d say you don’t think they have taken Karly far. Am I right?” Mara stepped closer, but it took a couple of tries before she found and placed her hand on her husband’s forearm. “You saved me once. You can save Karly.”

  “Faster than a speeding bullet, right?” Joe planted a kiss on the end of Mara’s nose.

  What did you get this town into? Thad paced away before he let his adolescent anger return and he took a swing at the guy.

  Joe turned to Thad. “Don't do anything stupid, or start searching on your own. I think I know where Karly is being held. I’m waiting for confirmation now. If I’m right, we’ll definitely need as much backup as possible.”

  Thad stood. “If you know where she is, let’s go.”

  “You don’t know who we’re dealing with, and I do. You go up there now, you’ll get shot before you even get close to that place. There are cameras everywhere. Believe me when I say these people are your worst nightmare. If you go charging into that compound, you and everyone inside will be killed, including Karly. There already are several lives in jeopardy. Give me time to make a few phone calls, and get a solid plan together. We’ll meet at your cabin. There are people in this town watching, so you need to keep this quiet. Trust no one.”

  Does that include you?

  Joe’s eyes darkened, and he assessed Thad. “We’ll get Karly home safe. You just need to trust me.”

  “You just said to trust no one.”

  Joe’s face turned into a block of granite with deep grooves and lines. “I know you want Karly back. So do I.”

  “Then stop trying to convince me to stay put and call in your backup.”

  “Thad?”

  “I heard you. I’ll stick tight, but I’m warning you
—if something happens to Karly, that’s on you.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Twenty-one minutes later a car, a couple of trucks, and a patrol cruiser pulled up his drive.

  Thad stood on his porch. The what-if monsters plagued his every thought.

  What if Joe is wrong?

  What if Karly has been moved out of town? Out of the state?

  What if she’s hurt and needs help?

  What if…

  Joe was the first out of his car. Gabrielle, the DEA agent he’d seen before, came next. The rest followed. A couple of feet from the cabin, Joe tossed Thad a Kevlar vest and helmet. “Put those on. You might need them, and no arguments. I have more equipment you’ll need in my trunk.”

  “Yes, sir.” Thad rolled the lighter than normal vest over to study the label. His startled gaze met Joe’s. “What’s a small-town sheriff doing with the good stuff? The military can’t even get this gear.”

  “Wait until you see what’s in my trunk. I’ve been stocking up. Where we’re going, we’ll need every advantage we can get.”

  Thad assessed the men walking up the gravel path behind Joe. The air practically crackled with energy.

  “Thad,” Chase nodded curtly.

  Thad held out his hand to Chase, then Rivers. As usual, Rivers didn’t say anything, just studied his face. Rivers, who always saw a whole lot more than anyone else noticed.

  Bill Mason followed, along with Ashley Bryant’s father. Bill had mentioned General Bryant preferred to go by the name Dale.

  “Gentlemen.” Thankfully, Joe’s voice sounded more confident than Thad felt. “I’d like to introduce you to Special Agent Gabrielle Dalton. She’s part of a Joint Task Force team that has been assigned to Elkridge.”

  She’s not just here to observe.

  “Call me Gabby,” she said, studying each individual, assessing the newly formed team. “I’ve just got word from our inside contact. Karly is safe. There are no plans at this time to relocate. Our contact has bought us some time. So let’s take the time to map out a plan.”