“I’ll meet you in back,” Mick said, keeping his head down so no one could read his lips.
Two minutes later he was getting off of the elevator, two floors above his own. Then he took the stairs down and entered his hallway. Empty. He’d still make it quick because someone could be staking out the place from a neighboring unit. Of course, if there was an officer stationed inside, he was screwed.
He stopped one door shy of his own and fumbled with his keys for a long moment, hopefully giving any spies time to relax and turn away. Then he stepped over to his own door. It was boarded over where the police had used the battering ram to open it yesterday, but the lock was intact. He entered his condo, quickly shutting the door behind him.
Within a few seconds, he secured the GPS tracking device. He also snagged a box of ammunition before hightailing it out the door and down the back stairs to where Dan was idling.
“Everything okay out here?” he asked as he slid into the passenger seat.
“Not sure.” Dan pulled away from the curb and onto the main street. “The power company van did a drive-by. I’ll keep an eye out for a tail. How about on your end?”
“So far so good.” Mick checked the tracking device, resting his hand on his knee to keep it from shaking. Thank God the bracelet’s transmitter was still working. What would he have done if there’d been no way to find her? “She’s just south of Leesburg. Head up to 50.” Not knowing whether she was alive, injured, or dead was messing with his head.
He refused to think about it, otherwise he’d have Dan redlining the engine to get there. Unfortunately, they needed to fly under police radar. They rode in silence until Dan merged onto Highway 50.
“You were there when Rob was killed too, but no one’s been following you, right?”
Dan nodded and looked back to switch lanes. “If they were, they were invisible.”
“I should have warned you before talking to Longstreet,” Mick said, “but I didn’t want to give away my location. I’m sorry.”
Dan didn’t respond right away, and Mick started to worry. If he did manage to break the story, Dan and the rest of the team would be at the center of a firestorm of reporters, controversy, and outrage.
The silence stretched for a long moment before Dan cleared his throat and gripped the steering wheel. “Look, I’m not proud of what happened out there, but we did the right thing in the end. Frankly, it might be a relief to have it all out in the open.” He glanced at Mick. “Secrets eat at you, you know?”
Hell yeah, he knew.
“And,” Dan continued, “if Rob’s death was part of a cover-up for whatever the hell those guys were doing, then they deserve to be punished for it, even if some of the shit rubs off on us.”
What the hell did he say to that? Dan’s attitude humbled him. Beyond the window, newer subdivisions of oversized houses and townhomes spread across the old farm fields and forested land, part of the never-ending sprawl of D.C. Around here, people barely blinked at a ninety-minute commute.
“Are you going to call Kurt?” Dan asked, breaking the silence.
Now there was an awkward situation. “I don’t want to get him into any more trouble. I’m sure he’s already dealing with the fallout from last night.”
“My guess is that he’d like to redeem himself after his guys fucked up,” Dan put in.
Mick rubbed his forehead. “I don’t want him to get more involved. He’s put enough on the line for me already.” He glanced at Dan, well aware that his friend was also risking charges for helping him out. “I couldn’t do this without you,” he said. Inadequate, but true enough.
“I’d be pissed if you tried.” Dan gestured to the tracker. “Now where do we get off?”
“Highway 15, north. Then it looks like the location is about a mile off the main road.” He couldn’t think of the dot as Jenna. It needed to be a nameless, faceless red blip. Otherwise his total helplessness and his overactive brain’s disturbing imagination would drive him mad.
He stared at the blinking circle that hadn’t moved since he pulled it up on the screen, hoping like hell that the bracelet was still attached to Jenna, that she was still breathing.
His jaw already hurt from the teeth-clenching workout he’d been giving it since the moment the van sped away with her. It would be a miracle if he had any molars left by the end of the day.
The blip flashed reassuringly. And again. Mick timed his heartbeat and his breathing to it. Blink. Blink.
And then it disappeared.
Jenna watched the door shut behind Pointy Chin and then gasped.
Tara was curled into a ball in the corner that had been hidden by the open door, staring at her in disbelief. “Jenna!” she whispered, awkwardly pushing to her feet.
Jenna could hardly believe her eyes. Tara was here. For about two seconds, she was ecstatic. But then it registered: Both of them were tied up. It was hardly good news.
She tried to sit up, but her hands were still bound behind her, and the awkward angle hurt her shoulders. Using her stomach muscles—like doing crunches at the gym—she struggled into an upright position. Every part of her ached.
Fear flooded her gut, bringing with it too many unanswerable questions. What were the men going to do to them? Was Mick alive? Could they escape somehow?
“Let me get that tape off,” Tara said quietly. Turning away from her, Tara reached back with her trussed-up hands, grabbed the edge of the tape with her fingertips, and gave it a quick jerk.
“Ouch.” Damn, that hurt.
“Free lip wax,” Tara quipped without humor as she turned to face her again.
“Tara, I was so worried about you. What are you doing here?”
Her friend gave her a rueful smile. “Have you ever noticed my poor choices when it comes to men?”
Jenna kept her voice low. “Well, now that you mention it…”
“Unfortunately, Colin was no exception. He wants me to trust him, but I don’t even trust my own judgment anymore. I really thought he might be the one, and now look at me.” Tears shone in Tara’s eyes as she recounted what had happened over the last few days and the repeated lies that had brought her to this house. “I want so badly to believe that he really cares about me and has my best interests at heart. But this is pretty damning.” She turned and raised her tied-together wrists.
“I’m sorry,” Jenna said, wishing she could hug her. “I reported your disappearance to the police, but other than your tip about Leesburg, I didn’t know where to start.”
“I knew you’d get it!” Tara rose and sat next to Jenna on the bed, snuggling up next to her in an approximation of a hug without arms. “What I don’t understand is why you’re here. Colin told me they were keeping tabs on you and Mick, but not why.”
Jenna’s tongue was thick and dry, and her throat hurt, but it was good to finally be able to share her ordeal. She covered the highlights of the last few days, the photos she’d found, and the basics of Rob’s death.
With every sentence, Tara’s eyes grew wider and her face paled. “I had no idea,” she said in a near whisper. “I wonder if Colin was involved in the smuggling or if keeping tabs on you was just a side job for him?” She stared at the wall. “He already admitted he was using me as an inside source.” Her head fell back and she groaned. “I’m such an idiot. Remind me of that when we get out of this. I’m going celibate.”
“Speaking of getting out…” Jenna scanned the room. A window looked out onto the tree-covered hills behind the house. Other than the bed, the only furnishings were a small steamer trunk and a yard-sale-quality painting of a waterfall that hung over the bed. “There has to be a way.”
No one knew where they were, and she had a sinking feeling that their captors weren’t planning on letting them get out of here alive.
Tara stood. “We’re both tied up.” She glanced at Jenna. “And you can’t even walk.”
She slowly paced the room, eyes darting everywhere. “I don’t see any sharp objects that we can u
se to cut our bindings.” Getting up close, she examined the oil painting hanging crookedly on the wall. “No glass besides the window.”
“Any idea how long they’ll leave us alone?” Jenna asked.
“Nope. I guess until this Ghost guy arrives.”
“All right. Let me see your wrists.”
Tara stood with her back to Jenna. Her wrists were red where the zip ties had cut into them. The ties were made of wide, heavy-duty plastic that was notched on one side. Too tough to break, especially without leverage or some sharp object they could use to cut through the material.
But plastic could melt.
Jenna’s gaze traveled the room. The light bulb would probably burn her friend’s hands before it melted through the plastic. What she needed was friction from something thin but strong. Like—yes!—the cord on the mini-blinds.
“Help me hop over to the window,” Jenna said. “I have an idea.”
The blinds had been pulled all the way up, and three nylon cords hung loose, capped with plastic beads. Jenna swiveled and reached back for one of the cords, glancing out the window first to make sure none of the guys were outside watching them.
“What are you doing?” Tara asked.
“Turn around so I can thread this through your cuffs. I’m going to try to saw through them.”
Tara complied. “I think I see where you’re going with this,” she said, a note of excitement in her voice. “If it works I’m going to start calling you MacGyver.”
“I’d say keep your fingers crossed, but they’re probably too numb for you to manage it.” Jenna fumbled trying to press the bead between the plastic and Tara’s skin, especially since she couldn’t see what she was doing, and her own fingers were tingling from a lack of circulation.
Finally, she got the cord through and pulled it tight. “Okay,” Jenna said. “I need to get this moving quickly, but I don’t have a good way to pull it in the other direction, so I need you to get really close. I’ll pull it taut, and when I say ‘go,’ you walk away quickly, keeping tension on the plastic the whole time.
“Got it.”
“Go.”
Tara took four quick steps, but when they came up against the end of the string nothing happened. She walked in front of Jenna, her back facing her. “Did it even make a dent?”
Jenna examined the white plastic. “Yes!” she hissed, her heart giving a small leap of triumph. A small portion of the tie had worn away. “Let’s try again.”
It took three more tries before Tara’s hands flew apart and she stumbled into the bed. She pumped her fist and covered her mouth, presumably to hold back a whoop of joy. Then she signaled to Jenna to turn around too. “Your turn,” she said quietly, a small smile playing on her lips as she rubbed her shoulders and wrists.
With Tara sawing the cord back and forth, Jenna’s hands came free in less than a minute. Ignoring the painful prickling in her shoulders and hands, she immediately set to work on the plastic binding her ankles. With free hands, she had so many more options. The plastic cuffs didn’t have any metal reinforcement in the clasp, so they’d be easy to defeat.
With the tip of one of her broken hand restraints, Jenna pushed against the tiny burr that prevented the notches from slipping loose. While holding that down, she managed to pull the loop free. She could have had Tara use that method on her wrists, but it didn’t matter now. They were free.
Unfortunately, that was the easy part. Now they had to somehow get out the window and away from the house without being detected.
Tara bent over Jenna and grabbed her right hand, turning it palm up. “What happened?” she asked, staring at the red, crusted blood.
“That’s a souvenir from the last time I jumped out a window. Maybe an hour ago. Or two?” She’d forgotten about her damaged palms in their hurry to free themselves, but now the pain slammed home again and she sucked in a deep breath. “How many guys were here when you arrived?”
“None, it was just me and Colin.”
“So, there are five total. Which means we can’t go out the door.”
Tara nodded her agreement. “But the window’s going to make noise even if we manage to open it instead of breaking it. We probably won’t make it far. They all have guns.”
“What if we don’t run?” Jenna pointed to the large bed with its draping spread.
“I don’t have a better idea.”
The window frame looked like it was probably painted shut, but there was one lucky break. The glass didn’t have mullions like the windows of so many homes in the area did, so they should be able to break it. Jenna took off her fleece jacket and placed it on the floor under the window, then pulled the heavily framed oil painting from the wall, her muscles still protesting. “Get under the bed.”
Her friend hesitated. “But—“
“Just do it. There’s nothing you can do to help except hide.” Jenna would have said she’d never been this scared in her life before, but the last week had brought her through more terror than she’d ever thought possible. At this point, it was a tiny increase in her fear quotient rather than a large spike.
Maybe she was starting to understand how Mick and Rob had operated under stress for all those years.
With a deep breath, she hefted the frame and aimed the corner at the center of the glass pane. Taking three strides, she lunged forward with all her might and shattered the window. It gave way so quickly that she hit the wall and dropped the painting onto the grass outside, grabbing the ledge to stop her momentum.
The guards would be there any second, so she used the jacket to knock out any large shards and laid it across the sill to make it look like they had gone over. The blood she left behind from the cuts on her forearms should be convincing as long as she didn’t leave a trail across the floor to the bed.
With any luck, the men would think they’d gone around the side of the house and into the group of trees that ran up the ridge of the nearest hill.
Heart pounding as each second stretched out like an hour, Jenna pushed off the wall and dove under the bed as silently as possible. She huddled next to Tara and reached out to stop the quilt from swaying.
Time sped back up. Two seconds later, the door burst open, slamming against the far wall. “What the fuck?” one of the men yelled. “She’s out!” His feet pounded away and a brief cacophony of shouts and scraping chairs came from the front room. “Go, go!”
Tara and Jenna looked at each other, neither daring to breathe or move until the house was silent. Jenna pressed her cheek to the floor to look into the room.
She had to bite her tongue not to cry out.
In the doorway, she could just make out a pair of tan combat boots.
Please, please go away.
“You two are even smarter than I thought,” Colin said, dashing her hopes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“COME ON OUT,” COLIN commanded.
Tara slid out from under the bed and balled her hands into fists so he wouldn’t see how much she was shaking. She and Jenna had come so close to escaping. Everyone else had fallen for their plan. Why did Colin, of all people, have to be the one to catch them?
She glared at the man who’d made her so happy. Thanks to him, she’d betrayed Jenna and Mick and given her body and heart to a criminal.
He lowered the rifle that crossed his chest, but kept one finger near the trigger. “If you go out the front, you might have a chance, but you have to hurry. The guys will circle back around once they realize you’re not in the trees.”
His words didn’t make sense. Why was he telling them how to get away?
“Quickly,” he said, impatience threading his deep voice. He pulled Tara toward the door, gesturing for Jenna to follow them.
“Let go of me.” She tugged back. “What are you doing?”
He stared at her. “I’m sorry. I screwed everything up. I know you’re confused, but you have to trust me. I’m trying to help.”
She wanted to believe him, but he’d burn
ed her before. Badly.
“Tara.” Jenna touched her arm. “We don’t have a choice. He’s our only chance now.”
Good point. Tara nodded and followed Colin from the bedroom.
“Let me check the area first.” He pointed to the wall just inside the front door and went out onto the porch.
Tara’s heart thundered in her chest, three beats for every second he was outside.
Thirty beats later, he popped his head back in. “Head down the driveway toward the road and find a house or passing car. I’ll cover you until you get around the bend. When the others come back this way, I’ll try to keep them off your trail.”
As she passed through the door, he grabbed her arm and pulled her close.
“I wasn’t lying about my feelings, Tara. I wish things could have been different between us.”
Tears burned against her eyelids, but she refused to let them fall. “Me too,” she replied, without meeting his gaze. She shook her arm and he released her without further protest.
She ran after Jenna and didn’t look back.
Mick tapped the screen of the GPS unit. Where was the dot? He closed his eyes. No more dot meant the bracelet wasn’t transmitting anymore. That was all. But damn if his heart wasn’t going haywire. He sat forward in his seat, peering through the windshield for any signs that might lead him to Jenna.
She had to be alive. He couldn’t contemplate any other option.
He cleared his throat and pointed to the turn. “According to where I last saw the dot, she should be at the end of this driveway coming up. Let’s stop here.”
Dan pulled off the road and parked behind a group of overgrown bushes. Maple trees and tall hedges lined the curving drive. They checked their weapons as they left the Land Rover and jogged in silence, partially hidden by the untended growth. A tractor droned in the distance and the air smelled of cut hay and manure.
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