“We can stand here and argue about it, or you can accept that we’re going to fucking help you. What’s it going to be?”
Travis ground his teeth together. It was almost Christmas, and they should be with their families. Except Ethan had no one, not anymore. Travis didn’t know Mason well enough, but if the kid was anything like the rest of them, he probably didn’t have someone keeping the light on.
“Fine. We got to book a plane to Tahoe. Tonight.”
Hang in there, baby, we’re coming for you.
Bliss huddled under the old, moth-eaten blankets. She’d unearthed them from the pile of discarded things in the crevices of the shelter Daniel had left her in. The wind had picked up since the sun set, and icy fingers found their way through every crack and joint in the structure.
Her teeth chattered so loud she feared she might not be able to hear anything approaching. Frozen teardrops still clung to her lashes, but she didn’t bother wiping them away. Instead, she gently examined the business end of a stick she’d salvaged. It wasn’t old or rotten. For the last indeterminable span of time she’d worn one end down into something like a spear.
She wasn’t kidding herself. Even with a collection of stones and her spear wouldn’t deter anything set on eating or killing her. All she had to do was hold on. If she could just hold herself together, Travis would save her. She had to believe he was out there under the same night sky looking for her, otherwise, what hope did she have?
Daniel placed the last child in the half-circle. He smiled at the beautiful, shining faces. He was asking a lot of them to be up this early, but it was worth it. They needed to learn what they were. It was time they knew they weren’t just men and women.
They were gods.
And today they would receive a master lesson in where they stood with the rest of humanity.
He held up his finger to his lips, willing the children to be quiet. Of course they were excited, why wouldn’t they be? Most had only seen his wives. Until now, they weren’t old enough to understand what they were.
The little voices hushed.
They knew what would happen next. Last night he’d let them all watch as he studied his test subject in the dark. She’d never noticed the night vision camera bolted to the top of the structure. In his long years, he saw plenty of subjects attempt to thwart their fate, so her efforts were nothing new. Just one more habit to be broken. Until it accepted its fate.
He grabbed the side of the A-frame and pulled.
The structure splintered and cracked apart.
The subject yelped and screamed. The chain clanged as she scrambled to the side, breaking free from the debris.
She never made it to her feet.
Daniel grabbed her hair and thunked her head against the tree.
She lost her grip on the makeshift weapon and curled in on herself, huddling in the snow like the animal she was.
He crouched next to her. Unlike this subject, he didn’t need a weapon. He was the weapon. He was the creator of her fate.
“Oh my God.” She gulped and stared at his children.
“Look at me,” he snapped.
Her gaze returned to his face. Her pupils were slightly dilated, her focus off. Probably from the knocks to the head she’d taken yesterday and today. Well, that was her fault.
“Children, look at it.” He reached out and pinched her chin between his fingers, directing her to look up so they could see her throat. “This is what we rule over. We make them listen. We make them what we want them to be. This one will be the mother of our subjects. What?”
Daniel tilted his head to catch the faintest of voices.
“No, she will not give you a brother. She’s not worthy of that.” He spat at her feet and stood. “She’ll give us more subjects. More playthings.”
Travis peered into the darkened ranger station. Just his luck people got Christmas Eve off. Tahoe City was blanketed in new snow, and the police were spread too thin this holiday season to be of much help.
They were on their own.
Snow crunched as Ethan approached, phone in hand and a frown on his face.
“Can’t get anyone on the horn about a chopper,” he said.
“What about a small plane? There’s got to be someone who’d want to earn a buck,” Mason suggested. The kid was showing a surprising amount of ingenuity. Too bad the holidays rendered every solution a moot point.
“Nah.” Ethan shook his head. “They’re all short-staffed and grounded thanks to last night’s ice storm. Maybe we could get someone from the south side of the lake though. Sounds like they just got a dusting of powder.”
“Where are the ATV rentals?” Travis asked.
“I don’t know. Let’s find out.” Mason pulled out his phone.
Damn. Google. Why hadn’t he thought of that?
Travis’ brain was seriously scrambled. He should be focused, but every other second his mind went back to last night when he held Bliss. When she pulled him back to bed instead of kicking him out.
This was all his fault.
“Why ATVs?” Ethan asked.
“Daniel used an ATV to dispose of the bodies in a ravine. It was missing from the property when the cops swarmed the place. Grayson said the RV was pulling a trailer with a tarp on it. I’m guessing that was either supplies or the ATV.”
“Why the hell are you just mentioning this?” Ethan scowled.
“Sorry, it was in here.” Travis pointed to his head.
“You’ve got to get your head out of your ass,” Ethan said.
“There’s a bunch of ATV trails around the south side of the lake,” Mason announced. He turned his phone around and showed them a cluster of red dots.
“Let’s hit the road,” Travis said.
“What else haven’t you told us?” Ethan asked, falling into line next to Travis on their way back to the SUV rental. “Start at the beginning.”
“Which beginning?” Travis asked.
“The very beginning. We’ve got a drive ahead of us.”
The very beginning was almost a decade ago. Maybe longer. There was no telling how many bodies littered Daniel Campbell’s past. If they didn’t find her, Bliss could be next.
4.
Bliss hauled the bundle of straw and thatch over the burrow she’d made for herself out of rocks and packed snow. It was slow going. She couldn’t feel her hands, and most of her clothing was either caked in ice or soaked. The handcuffs were the worst. Solid bands of freezing cold metal she couldn’t escape from.
One more step.
One more handful of snow.
One more rock.
Since Daniel had scared her awake that morning, that had been her mantra. One more.
Bliss had never been one for the outdoors. She liked her comfortable apartment and her cushy bed. Beyond trying to stay warm, she didn’t know what else she could do. The stick spear had been her great, innovative idea, but even that was gone now, buried in the pile of rubble that had been the A-frame hut.
All during the trip in the RV she’d imagined a bloody, horrible death, full of screaming and pain. Freezing hadn’t been on her radar until last night. Now, even with the sun reaching its zenith, she couldn’t feel her toes.
Hell of a way to spend Christmas Eve.
At least Wendy was safe. The silver lining, if there was one, was that Bliss stood a better chance of surviving the elements than her sister. If there was ever a time to love her fuller figure, it was now. In her place, Wendy might already be dead.
“On your knees.”
Bliss cringed and turned toward the voice. She hadn’t heard Daniel’s approach, not with all the noise the chain made.
“I said, on your knees!” Daniel took two ground-eating strides toward her and lifted his hand.
“Okay, okay!” She dropped to her knees, hands lifted to ward off the blow.
He pulled back at the last second, slapping one hand into the other. She cringed anyway and curled her hands into fists. Fighting back hadn’t gotten he
r anywhere, so she needed to play along and hope she lived. At least she knew he didn’t intend to kill her yet. Just have her raped for his sadistic pleasure. It would take time to put his plan into motion, so all she needed to do was hang on. Just a little while longer.
Daniel muttered something under his breath and turned to face the tree. He produced a single key—not the one to her cuffs—and unlocked her tether.
“Come on. Keep up.” He jerked the chain, pulling her off balance.
Bliss threw out her hands to brace herself but still got a face full of snow. The chain rattled over the ground. She scrambled to her feet, partly crawling until she got them under her. Her frozen, numb limbs screamed at her, but she couldn’t take it easy now. Just a few more minutes on her feet, and then she could collapse. Granted, she didn’t know what was at the end of this walk.
It couldn’t be that bad, could it? Her kidnapper hadn’t had time to gather new atrocities to throw at her.
He led her back to the RV. She almost wept when he opened the door and attached the end of her chain to the chair leg of the passenger seat.
“Inside,” Daniel snapped.
Inside meant the jar babies and Daniel, but it also meant warmth, maybe a potty break and water, if she were lucky. She climbed into the RV, squeezing past Daniel, and stopped on the top stair, her jaw hanging open.
It was worse.
A body—a man—lay on the rolling metal table bolted to the floor. Blood dripped off the side. Her stomach churned, and she tasted bile.
Another man was on the floor, wearing a pair of handcuffs. He groaned, curled up on his side. Blood stained his clothes, and there was a gash on his forehead.
The man on the table gasped, and blood bubbled up between his lips.
“Oh my God,” Bliss whispered. She gripped the side of the built-in shelves.
“Yes, I am your god.” Daniel grinned at her. “Now we can get started.”
He walked to the other end of the RV. Metal cabinets stood open, each displaying their gruesome wears. Knives, kitchen utensils, tools—she didn’t want to know what he used them for.
“Patch his head up.” Daniel gestured to the man lying on the floor.
Bliss glanced around until she saw a small, black case with gauze sticking out of it. She could let the man die and postpone her torture. The idea repulsed her. She grabbed the case and hobbled around the table, keeping her distance from the body.
Where was Travis?
She’d thought for sure he’d find her in a day, maybe two. But...what if he wasn’t looking? The only reason he’d gone looking for Wendy was because the FBI asked him to, and Grayson paid him. No one would shell out that kind of money for her. What if this was it—stitching up Daniel’s victims, being tortured, and worse?
What would be the price of survival?
Could she pay it?
Travis glanced at his phone.
Ryan Brooks’ name flashed across the screen, and the device buzzed.
Again.
Travis rejected the call and pocketed the phone.
“The feds?” Ethan asked.
“Yeah. You’d guess they’d be off for the holidays or something,” Travis muttered.
They’d hit each ATV rental on the off chance one would be open on Christmas Eve, but no dice. Their leads were running out and Grayson wasn’t accepting his calls. The forecast tonight was for more snow. Any trail they might find would be covered up, and Daniel Campbell would get away.
Travis pulled into a scenic turn-off overlooking the bay and slammed his fist into the dash.
“Dude, it’s a rental,” Ethan said.
Mason was passed out in the back seat. They were chasing ghosts across the mountains. They weren’t going to find Bliss. Not at this rate.
“We’re too far behind him,” Travis said. He bit his thumbnail and stared out at the water.
“What do you want us to do?” Ethan turned toward him.
“In his position, what would we do?” Travis asked.
“Get out of the country.” Ethan snorted.
“At this point the only way Daniel could get out of the country would be to cross into Canada or Mexico. He’s on the do not fly list. So do we head for Canada and hope to find him?”
Ethan blew out a breath and laced his finger together behind his head.
“If I took Nate I’d never make it over any border. Amber Alerts would be everywhere, so I wouldn’t make it five counties over. The best thing to do would be to lay low, go off grid.”
“Should I know something?” Travis asked. He knew his buddy was taking the separation hard, but kidnapping his son was a whole other thing.
“No, just saying that if I wanted to take Nate and get away with it, that’s what I’d do.” Ethan shrugged.
“Talked to him?”
“Yeah, while we were waiting for the truck at the airport Molly let me talk to him a bit.”
“Good.” Travis nodded. “So, if we were Daniel, a wanted man with his mug all over the news, chances are he’d need to do the same thing.”
“Didn’t you say you think he’s been up here before?”
“Yeah, it would make sense. He got out of Dodge fast on a direct route to his hiding grounds.”
“Okay, so he’s probably thinking he’ll winter up here. He’s in an RV, so he either needs to plug up someplace or have a generator. He’ll need to be in proximity to supplies.”
“He’s not the hunting type. He might string people up and kill them, but he’s not a hunter. He’ll need to be near a store, but not anything too big. He’s got the ATV so he doesn’t have to move the RV so long as the weather is good.”
Travis glanced in his rearview mirror. A cop car pulled off the two-lane highway behind them, easing closer.
“Company,” he said.
Ethan leaned back and frogged Mason in the thigh. The kid shouted and grabbed his leg, growling at Ethan.
“Fuck. What?” Mason snapped.
“Cops,” Travis said.
“What did you do now, Ration?” Mason turned in his seat, rubbing his thigh. “Where are we again?”
“Emerald Bay, off Lake Tahoe,” Travis replied. He watched the cop stroll up the passenger’s side in the mirrors.
“What’s he doing?” Mason asked.
“Don’t know.” Travis pushed the button and lowered Ethan’s window.
The officer stopped and pulled his sunglasses off, squinting in the afternoon light.
“Afternoon, officer,” Ethan said.
Travis nodded.
“You boys okay?” The officer had to be around his mid-to-late thirties, not all that much older than Travis or Ethan.
“Yeah, just taking in the sights.” Ethan gestured at the impressive view beyond them.
“You guys here on holiday, or on your way somewhere?” The officer was looking for something. What, Travis didn’t know.
“We’re looking for someone.” Travis slipped the photograph of Bliss out of his pocket and a photocopied image of David Campbell’s license. “This is Bliss and David Campbell. You might have seen something about him on the news in the last twelve hours or so.”
The officer took David’s picture and whistled.
“I’m Travis, this is Ethan and Mason. We work for a private security company and have been working with the FBI on this case.”
“Wish it was nice to meet you boys like this. I’m Sergeant Matt Farrow. Heard about this guy. You think he’s here?” He handed the pictures back to Ethan, who passed them to Travis. “Got some ID on you?”
“Yes, sir.” Ethan collected Mason’s driver’s license and passed them to Travis. “We tracked Daniel close to the state line. Made a guess he might be in the area.”
“Anyone fitting his description roll into town in a late model Winnebago?” Travis asked. Chances were the officer didn’t know anything, but he had to hope.
“Sorry, haven’t seen many RVs lately.” Matt leaned against the door of the SUV.
; It was the answer he expected, but it was still disappointing to hear.
“Two local guys did go missing this morning, though. That’s why I stopped to see what you were up to,” Matt said.
“Two guys?” Travis perked up. “How do you know they went missing?”
“Friends of friends. Couple of cousins. Their truck was found on the side of the road, and no one knows where they are.”
“Where’d that happen?” Travis pulled out his phone. “Can you show me on here?”
“You think this is related?” Matt took the phone and tapped around on the screen.
“This guy’s killed at least forty people that we know of. Probably more. He doesn’t have much of a cooling-off period.” Travis wasn’t willing to lump the disappearances up in Bliss’ kidnapping yet, but it was worth looking into.
“Their truck was found here.” Matt turned the screen back to them.
“That’s not that far,” Ethan muttered.
“What’s this?” Travis pointed to an odd dot on the screen.
“That’s the Bayview Trailhead,” Matt replied.
“Are there ATV trails?” Travis’ stomach knotted.
“Yeah, some go all the way out to Cascade Lake.”
Holy shit.
Of course.
Lake Tahoe was a major pull. But the smaller lake off to the south end? Miles of forest and seclusion?
It was perfect.
Somewhere out there, Bliss was waiting for him.
“Officer, I need you to call this number. Tell the FBI agent who answers everything you’ve told me.” Travis scribbled Ryan Brooks’ cell phone down on a bit of paper. He didn’t have time to call it all in.
“I can’t let you boys go out there if this guy is that dangerous.” Matt took the paper and frowned.
The hell he could. Travis wasn’t asking for permission.
“Travis?” Ethan held up his hand and looked at Matt. “I get it, you’re the local law enforcement, and we’re a truck full of guys you don’t know from Adam. It’s Christmas Eve. I’m guessing you’ve got a family. We’re about to go track this guy down. Do you really want to go with us? Or would you rather spend a bit calling around, checking us out, and give us a head start on this trouble?”
Matt frowned, clearly waging a war of rules and regulations in his head. Travis shifted in his seat, ready to just gas it and be gone.
Dangerous Attraction: Part Two (Aegis Group) Page 3