Lawton had made sure the word had gone out within the Bureau that someone near and dear to their own team had been abducted, and their brothers and sisters in arms had heeded the call and come without hesitation.
Ross and Ethan had caught back up with them as well, finding nothing at Eric’s primary residence that would lead to his current whereabouts. Now they all huddled in an impromptu conference in the dead of night, trying to make the best use of their increased numbers and strength.
Noah called Gabriel’s attention back to the brief discussion Garrett was leading, as they poured over a map highlighting the last three houses they’d yet to search. Gabriel had been lost in thought, wondering where Emily was and if she was uninjured. Wondering also if she’d yet had a chance to escape Eric’s clutches as the night wore on. Emily was a fighter, despite the toll the last months had taken, and Gabriel had no doubt that given the slightest opening, she’d take it and run.
“Hold on,” Garrett paused in what he was saying and answered his phone. He looked at the map while he processed what he was hearing and he nodded, then muttered that he was placing his cell on speaker. “Braden’s on the line with new information,” he said and slid the phone atop the map that was stretched out on the hood of the SUV.
“Tell us, Braden,” Noah urged him. He stepped closer and settled his hands on his waist, ready for something. Anything.
“Got a lead that I think is promising. Listen and give me your opinion. I’ve had time while you guys were searching the first three properties to dig back further into Eric’s phone records, both from his two legit cells and the one prepaid he’s got. And I think I found an overlap – a place where he messed up,” Braden supplied, a smile clearly heard in his voice. He sounded as relieved as they all felt.
“Eric called from the location of the fifth house you’re moving in on, about four months ago. He used his own personal cell that day, and it was only once. He was actually talking to Becca, if you can believe it. Then, he used the prepaid to call from that same address just under two months ago. I know it doesn’t sound like a lot, but at this point, it’s the only address we can tie him to. And I hate to make such a decision, but my gut’s telling me you guys should skip the fourth and sixth addresses and all hit the fifth. Now,” Braden added determinedly.
“Oh, and Gabe…” he said, pausing and waiting for Gabriel to answer him.
“Yes?” Gabriel replied.
“I know you and Noah are ready to dole out this guy’s due, but let Garrett and Lawton take him down. Hell, place Ross in front of you if you have to.”
“Hey!” Ross protested.
“Just don’t lose your careers because of this sick fuck,” Braden continued, completely ignoring Ross. “Don’t.”
“We have no intention of doing anything other than getting Emily away from him,” Gabriel replied. “But thank you anyway, Braden. And thanks for getting us a lead. I know you’re working under extreme pressure.”
“It’s all the lead we’ve got. Now follow it,” Braden said decisively.
“We could split and each team take a house, or we could converge on the fifth residence,” said one from the Dalton team, named Mark. “It’s your call, because she’s yours. Tell us and we follow.”
“Gabe?” Garrett asked, turning to face him. “This is yours and Noah’s decision. It has to be.”
Gabriel stared fixedly at Noah and watched a veritable storm play out in his friend’s eyes. Noah was just as torn as he, but the longer they delayed, the longer Emily remained in Eric’s clutches. So, he took a deep breath and said, “I think we should go with Braden’s data. He’s never missed the mark, and I don’t think he has tonight either. Noah?”
“I agree. The fifth house it is. All of us,” Noah nodded. He reached out and clasped Gabriel’s forearm. He pressed his lips together in a firm, grim line, praying that he had not just sealed Emily’s fate and thereby theirs as well with the choice he’d made.
“All right,” Garrett sighed. “Let’s have the Atlanta team split and hit the fourth and sixth houses when they land. Kaden, patch them through to Braden while we’re en route to the fifth place, and have him give them directions. They’re coming with a larger number, so they can handle the divide. And then we’ll have coverage everywhere.”
“Will do,” Kaden agreed immediately.
“We’re rolling out!” Gabriel called to the assembled agents. “One house, one target. We need the Chattanooga team to take the home’s rear, the Dalton team to flank left and right, and our team will go straight in the front door. Keep your cells on, and Braden will send updated information as he gets it. Emily is our primary objective, but we need the perpetrator alive as well, if at all possible. Let’s go!” he urged again, ready to see this through and get Emily out of the hell she was most assuredly living through. And like Noah, Gabriel prayed in earnest that they’d made the right decision as they took seats in an SUV once again.
Emily shifted on the bed and tried to roll to her left side, out of Eric’s arms. He hadn’t budged an inch since she’d turned the light off hours ago, and she was still firmly anchored to his body, unable to put any distance between them. But as she moved, so too did he. He followed and spooned against her, making Emily grimace from the forced closeness.
When she attempted to move her elbow under her, so she could lever herself up, she felt Eric’s arm flex around her waist and he pulled her back against his muscular chest. She knew then that he was just as awake as she was. Had he slept at all?
“Emily,” he murmured right by her ear, “what are you doing?”
“I need to go to the bathroom,” she lied without hesitation.
His arm immediately relaxed and he lifted his hand to sweep it over her hair. “Why didn’t you wake me and let me know? I told you I’d see to your care.”
“I didn’t want to interrupt your sleep,” she answered.
“Telling me you have needs is not an interruption, sweetheart.” Eric nuzzled a little closer and ran his nose along her neck, inhaling her scent as he did so. “I like this. You in my arms.”
She remained silent, trying quickly to formulate a new plan.
“Do you, Emily? Like this, too?”
“It’s new to me. I’m not accustomed to a man in my bed.” It was all she could manage to say. Hell no, she didn’t like it! And she had minutes before her window of opportunity ran out. Emily felt it as surely as she did the air moving in and out of her lungs.
Erick laughed softly, his breath blowing across her exposed skin and making her shiver. But he took it as an indication of her attraction to his supposed ardor and pressed his lips to her neck.
And that was all she could take. All she would allow.
Emily lunged for the lamp and managed to wrap her hands around its base before Eric could stop her. She sent it crashing down over his head while her legs were already swinging out from under the covers. She didn’t spare him a backwards glance as she snagged her clothes from the chair and wrenched the door open wide.
She reached the living room as a crash sounded in the bedroom, and she could just envision Eric trying to stagger to his feet. Emily dropped her clothes at her feet and took a second lamp in hand, smashing the sliding glass door as she swung the light with all her strength. She could hear Eric thumping down the hall, and she had just enough time to grab her jeans and shirt and run through the impromptu doorway she’d created.
Jagged pieces of glass caught both of her upper arms and legs. She felt the immediate burn of the cuts inflicted there, but Emily didn’t let it slow her down. She ran as if the devil himself was behind her, because he was. She heard Eric yelling her name as he broke more pieces of glass away, so his much larger body would fit through the opening. But Emily just clutched her clothes to her chest and fled into the cold, dense forest.
She pushed herself as she never had before, knowing that she needed speed and distance in the initial stage of this run. Eric was in top shape himself, and she had no doub
t that his long legs would help him eat up the terrain. But she’d also out distanced Noah and Gabriel almost every time she’d run with them for prolonged periods of time, and Emily knew if she could leave them behind, then she could damn well leave Eric in her wake.
The lack of shoes quickly proved a major impediment, for it seemed every stick, bramble, and briar wanted to catch her socks and trip her up. But Emily was determined not to be the cliché woman who always falls in movies or books when her pursuer was gaining. So, she just shook off the obstacles as they came along and pushed her body harder.
Soon, she heard only the sound of her own breathing as it evened out, and not Eric crashing through the underbrush behind her. She wanted to pause and swap her clothing, but Emily knew that not enough time had passed. By her estimate, she’d only been running for fifteen minutes, twenty tops, and that was simply not enough of a lead for her to feel secure.
With the limited moonlight illuminating the terrain, she almost missed the steep incline looming ahead. Emily had seconds to turn and skirt around it, feeling her balance falter as she teetered on the small ravine’s edge. Where in the hell was she, Emily wondered?
She could make out a ledge that would allow her entrance to the lower elevation, so she took it, still intent on working her way in a straight line away from the cabin and Eric. As her legs stretched out and she streaked down into the new landscape, Emily reached for the hem of the nightgown. She whipped it over her head as she continued to run. With great effort she managed to slip her t-shirt over her head, and then she had a decision to make. Stop and get her jeans on, or keep going?
Keep going, her mind and gut screamed. And so she did.
On and on Emily ran until she worked her way out of the small valley and peaked on the other side, seeing that she was now near the lake. This, she knew. She’d spent her entire life visiting this body of water, and she felt a surge of relief pass through her. Familiar landmarks were what she needed, and now she had one. A big one.
Emily took a risk and paused only long enough to slip into her jeans and then she was off again. She reached into her back pocket and took out the hair band she kept there. Emily placed her long hair into a tight ponytail while her feet ate up the distance, and then she slid her engagement ring back on her finger. She found her first genuine smile since this nightmare had bloomed in full and it gave her hope.
Hope that she could do this. No matter how long she had to run, she would get home.
She didn’t dare sprint along the shore, because if Eric was anywhere nearby, he’d surely see her in such an exposed, open space. Rather, Emily ran just in the edge of the woods, using the shoreline only as a source of direction, not a destination. A substantial branch caught her suddenly just above her left eye, and she bit her lip to keep from crying out at the instantaneous pain that splintered through her skull. Her vision blurred from the tears that came unbidden after the abrupt injury.
Shake it off and keep going, Emily told herself. This is nothing! Nothing! This was not the time nor place to stop and bemoan a bruise. She would have far worse done to her if Eric caught up, Emily told herself. And those images were enough to make her pace stay steady and unwavering.
After another twenty minutes, Emily heard vehicles nearby and knew then that she had to make another choice. Keep to the trees or take a chance and see if there was someone passing by whom she might trust enough to stop and take her home.
Emily was truthful enough to admit that she was in no shape to make such a decision. Not just physically, but mentally. She was not ready to trust another soul with her safety, even if she needed their help most desperately. But if she tried to run from the lake to Noah and Gabriel’s house, she’d be running for hours. They were almost twenty-five miles from where she was, and though Emily hated to admit it, there was an odd stitch in her side that she normally never experienced when she ran.
She slowed her gait enough to look down at her left side and she gasped to see her shirt soaked through with blood there. Emily looked herself over more thoroughly and realized both of her upper arms were in the same shape, blood covering the fabric in heavy, dark streaks. Even her jeans bore the stains of other injuries she’d sustained. The glass door, she thought back, realizing she had picked up more cuts from the jagged edges than she’d known.
The recognition of her physical state solidified her plan, though she detested it. Emily blew out a sigh of resignation and changed her course. She began to run as fast as her legs would carry her away from the lake and towards the road. She’d have to lay low and choose which vehicle she waved over. Pick the wrong one, and she could very well be at the mercy of another idiot who’d do her grave harm. God save her, Emily prayed, as she picked her way through the ever-thickening underbrush, as quickly as she could.
“What in the hell?” Garrett muttered as he came to an abrupt stop along the dirt drive he was traversing. Every light within the small cabin just ahead of them was on, including its outer flood lights. It shone like a beacon there in the middle of the forest.
Gabriel and Noah weren’t waiting for confirmation that they’d finally hit upon the correct location, because everything in their hearts and minds was screaming that Emily was close. They both opened their rear doors and were out of the SUV with their guns drawn before Garrett could cut the engine off. But Lawton and Kaden were there to head them off, each man stepping in front of their teammates to ensure they used caution so no one died that night.
“Move!” Gabriel ground out, staring Lawton down with a ferocious glare.
“Absolutely not!” Lawton bit back. “Go in there half-cocked, and you’ll get Emily and yourself killed. Not happening, Gabe. By the book, as we always do, or you and Noah stay here. This is non-negotiable.”
Gabriel growled and turned away for a moment, then he finally ran a hand through his hair and gave a curt nod. Lawton only slapped his shoulder and then gave the hand signal for each team to take up position and move in. Their additional reinforcements flanked the rear and sides as instructed, and then their team converged on the cabin’s front door.
No sounds could be heard from within the house, though everyone surrounding it strained to hear even the slightest movement from behind its walls. Lawton gave the final countdown silently with his fingers in the air, and when he hit zero, he and Garrett kicked in the front door and entered one after the other. Gabriel and Noah were right on their heels, with the remainder of their team only a step behind.
They spread out rapidly, searching each room within the small abode, and found evidence immediately which pointed to a struggle and possible flight of the home’s inhabitants. Noah was the first to step into the bedroom that Emily had been forced to rest in, but Gabriel entered next. Their eyes took in the smashed lamp and blood splattered across the pristine white linens. Gabriel glanced at Noah, who was pointing to the door on the other side of the room. Gabe nodded and they walked to it together.
Noah swept the closet door open, while Gabriel kept his gun trained on the small hiding space. Emily was not there, but it was clear the garments hanging in front of them had been purchased for her. They were her size and there were so many sheer sleeping gowns. Both men wanted to rip them to shreds, just to purge the raw anger billowing off of them in waves.
“Damn,” Kaden muttered behind them, and they both turned in unison to see that he was looking at their find. “This guy is one sick fuck. I checked under the bed, nothing there. Come with me though, we’ve got something for you to see in the living room.”
As they stepped into the hallway, Gabriel noticed Ross and Ethan coming out of the bathroom with evidence bags in their gloved hands. Noah arched an eyebrow at them in question. Ross took the silent directive and he held the bag up for them to see.
“Found multiple bottles of prescription painkillers in there. As well as syringes filled with, I’m guessing, the more potent sedative Becca helped Eric acquire. We’ll get this stuff tested, but the caps on the syringes match in color
to the one we found on your garage floor,” Ross said evenly, though his jaw flexed.
Gabriel shook his head and looked ahead as they turned the corner into the small living room. He knew immediately what had gone down there, without one word of explanation or conjecture. Garrett slapped his chest with a pair of gloves and then handed another set to Noah.
Members of the Chattanooga team were already pouring over the evidence, snapping pictures and documenting everything, while the Dalton team had flashlights and were scouring the ground looking for footprints that they might all follow. Noah moved to the shattered glass door and knelt down on one knee.
“She took some glass to her arms and legs from the looks of all this blood,” he said brokenly.
“If Emily hit Eric over the head with that lamp in the bedroom, she had very little time to break this one and then get out,” Gabriel said in way of acknowledgement. “And I doubt Em had time to find another object to knock out the jagged pieces around the edge, before she jumped through and ran.”
“Got footprints out here!” called Deborah, an agent from Dalton. “Two sets. And a sheriff department’s cruiser tucked into the trees.”
Everyone moved in Deborah’s direction without delay. They ignored Eric’s car and headed for the trail he and Emily had left behind. Multiple beams illuminated the area, and it was clear that one set of prints was much smaller than the other and lacked treads.
“There are no treads here. Emily has no shoes on!” Noah gasped. “Son of a bitch! That will slow her down significantly. And it looks like Eric has boots on from these tracks.”
“I’m thinking she has socks on, at least. No ridges in the indentations here to suggest that she’s barefoot,” Deborah observed. “That will give her a little protection from the forest floor. You said earlier that Emily is an extremely fast runner?”
Theirs To Claim (Predatory Desires Book 1) Page 36