by Barbara Gee
The impact of the mop-bucket half full of water also knocked the breath out of her, and she stayed on all fours, trying desperately to inhale. She was still half in the doorway, and the heavy metal door swung back and hit her, causing her to tumble onto her side, her knees caught in the opening. She wanted to scream for help, just in case anyone was out for an evening walk and might hear, but she couldn’t draw enough air into her lungs.
Pulling her feet from the door, she attempted to get up, but then it flew open again and Jake came hurtling through, throwing himself on top of her and holding her down. His weight pinned her to the pavement face down, and made taking another breath impossible.
He cursed at her as she fought him hard, but she was already feeling light headed and it didn’t take him long to regain the upper hand. Jamming his knees in her back he held her down and grabbed her arms. She managed to pull them out of his grasp but he countered by leaning over and pinning her wrists to the ground.
“I’ll snap your spine if you don’t settle down,” he said ominously, one knee pressing harder against the small of her back. “Don’t think I can’t do it, either. I’ve got two hundred fifty pounds that says I can.”
Jolene didn’t know about the snapping part, but there was no question he could do some major damage. She reluctantly stopped struggling and he lifted her arms up behind her and wrapped a hand around her wrists.
“That’s better. Now stay still, or I’ll pull this zip tie so tight your hands will all but fall off before we get to our destination.”
Jolene didn’t fight, but she did everything she could to keep her wrists as far apart as possible. Jake didn’t appear to be very experienced in the kidnapping field, so she hoped to be able to get some slack in the zip tie without him noticing. He fumbled with it, his big fingers making it hard for him to get the end stuck into the zip. When he finally pulled it closed, Jolene thought maybe she’d succeeded in keeping it loose enough. She quickly distracted him so he wouldn’t check.
“Where are you going to take me?” she wheezed.
“Don’t know yet. I’ll find out once I let my new friend know we’re on our way. Now shut up and get up.” Jake stood up, panting, and with the removal of his weight, Jolene was finally able to draw in deep breaths of much needed oxygen. He rolled her onto her back with the toe of his shoe. His nose was still leaking blood from her head butt, and his eyes were furious.
“Don’t do this, Jake,” she said as he yanked her to her feet. Beyond his head, Jolene thought she saw movement in the small greenspace between the buildings, on the very bench where she and Boone had sat not long ago. Hope bloomed and she looked away quickly, so as to not alert Jake. She opened her mouth to scream, but Jake read her intention and drove his fist into her stomach, causing her to lose her breath all over again. He shoved her toward a car parked in the far corner of the parking lot, where the security lights mounted on the side of the building didn’t reach.
She couldn’t get in the car with him, Jolene knew that. She’d participated in several self-defense courses, and the instructors always drilled that into everyone. Do everything possible to avoid getting in the vehicle.
Jake shoved her again. Jolene took one step, then went limp and fell back to the pavement. He cursed yet again and kicked her in the ribs. “Get up you stupid bitch.”
She refused and he kicked her a second and third time, then grabbed her ankles and started dragging her to the car. “You wanna do this the hard way, huh? Fine with me. I’m not the one who’s gonna end up hurt.”
Jolene tried again to call out, managing to get out one pitifully weak ‘help’ before he smacked her across the face. He leaned over her, his eyes squinted almost shut in his anger.
“Do it again,” he dared her. “Come on, Jolene, holler again. See what happens.”
She turned her head to the side, spitting out blood from where the inside of her cheek had been cut against her teeth. He resumed dragging her, and Jolene felt hot tears running from the corners of her eyes back into her hair. Getting in his car was the last thing she wanted to do, but he was just too powerful and she couldn’t see how to prevent it.
Had there really been someone on that bench, or had it just been desperate wishful thinking? Please, Lord, please let someone be here.
Jake dragged her behind his car and dug his keys out of a pocket. He wiped his nose with his sleeve and sniffed, wincing. His gaze was malevolent as he reached down and picked her up like a ragdoll, pinning her against the trunk lid.
“You’re gonna pay for this broken nose, Jolene. If we get to the drop off point before my new friend, I’ll have plenty of time to make you—oof.”
Jake’s hold suddenly loosened and Jolene twisted away from him, doing her best to catch herself before she hit the ground. With her bound wrists she was only partially successful and she felt the impact in her left shoulder. She ignored the pain and rolled away from the commotion, toward the front of the car. She couldn’t see what was going on in the back, but she heard the unmistakable sound of fists hitting flesh, over and over, accompanied by grunts of pain.
She couldn’t tell if Jake was the one landing the punches, or whoever had intervened. If it was Jake, she didn’t have much time. She desperately twisted her hands back and forth, ignoring the pain from the plastic cutting into her skin. The zip tie was definitely looser than Jake had intended, and she worked her right wrist hard against it, pulling her thumb in and making her hand as narrow as possible as she tried to slide it free.
“Jolene, is that you?” The voice was a scared whisper, coming from up by the hood.
Jolene gritted her teeth and yanked her hand as hard as she could, feeling it finally slide free of the restraint. She wasted no time scrambling toward the voice as the fight continued.
“It’s me, who are you? I’ve got to get my phone. It’s in my purse over by my car. Please help me get it.”
“It’s Andi. I’ll help you, but I have to help Charlie first. He told me to stay back but I can’t. I have to go to him.” The other woman’s voice was shaky but determined.
Jolene tried to steady her own breathing and concentrate. “Thank God you’re here, Andi. But we have to get to the phone, it’s the best way to get help.” Before she could pick herself up to try make a run for her purse, a heavy body hit the ground, and the sound of the punches stopped.
“Andi?” Charlie was breathing hard, but his voice was strong. “You there, Andi? Give me that belt you’re wearing. Quick.”
“Charlie!” Andi stood and rushed to him, fumbling to unfasten the thin leather belt she was wearing with her tunic style top. “Are you okay?”
Jolene pushed herself to her feet, groaning softly at the pain in her shoulder and ribs. She shuffled to where Charlie was winding the belt tightly around Jake’s wrists. The bigger man seemed to be completely out, but who knew how long that would last. Charlie was wise to restrain him while he could. He stood sturdily on his prosthetics, and if Jolene hadn’t known he was a double amputee, she’d have never guessed it.
After securing Jake’s wrists with Andi’s belt, Charlie whipped his own belt from his jeans and wrapped it around Jake’s ankles. He looked over at Jolene, still panting.
“Too bad you’re not wearing a belt, too. I’d like to hog tie the bastard.” He put his hands on his hips and surveyed the big man at his feet. “What was going on here, anyway?”
“I’ll tell you, but first I have to get to my phone. I have to call Tucker Simon, it’s important.” Jolene leaned over, resting her palms on her knees. “I can’t run, Andi. Please, can you go get my purse? I dropped it just outside the gym door. Get my phone out of the front pocket.”
Andi darted over to retrieve the bag, digging out the phone as she ran back to Jolene. “Do you want me to call him?” she asked.
Jolene held out her hand. “I can do it. Just stay here, okay? Both of you. We might need your help again.”
Charlie opened the car door so the interior light illuminated t
hings a little. Jolene’s fingers were trembling, but Tuck was at the top of her recent call list and with one tap his phone was ringing. Jolene put the phone on speaker and slowly lowered herself to sit on the ground, using the car for support.
“Hey, Jolene. What’s up?”
She closed her eyes in relief when she heard the familiar voice. “Tuck, I need your help. I think I can take you to the blackmailer, or someone who’s working for him, but we have to move fast.”
“Wait, what are you talking about, Jo? Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. Just get Ryan and come to the gym parking lot. Now, Tuck. We have to hurry. I’ll tell you more when you get here.”
“On my way. I’ll call Ryan and have him meet us. Be there in about three minutes.”
Jolene hung up and let her head fall forward. She felt dizzy and nauseous but she had to stay coherent. This was too important.
“Andi? Charlie?” she said weakly.
They both came over. Andi knelt beside her, while Charlie stood close by.
“Tuck is on his way. I don’t have time to tell you everything, but Jake was taking me to a drop-off point somewhere, to meet someone who I think was paying him a lot of money. It’s all tied up with Boone. His father was being blackmailed, and Boone found out about it and hired a PI to find out who was doing it.”
Jolene paused and slowly straightened her back, only to slump over again when the pain in her ribs was too much. She continued the story, forcing her discomfort to the back of her mind.
“Now we believe that person is trying to stop Boone before he can be identified. I think if Tuck can get to where Jake was supposed to take me, he can arrest whoever shows up there, and hopefully find out who he’s working for.”
“Where was he taking you?” Charlie asked.
“He was going to get the location once he had me in his car and was away from the ranch. If we can get Jake’s phone and figure out who to call, I think we can pull this off. Charlie, can you see if it’s in his pocket? I hope he doesn’t have a passcode.”
Andi gently turned Jolene’s face toward her. “You’re hurt, Jolene. We need to get you to the hospital.”
“Not yet. I have to talk to Tuck. And I have to go with him.”
“What should we do with this piece of scum?” Charlie asked, reaching into Jake’s pocket. The big man was moaning softly as he started to come to. “Call the police?”
“We’ll ask Tuck.” Jolene looked up at Charlie and couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you, Charlie. You quite possibly saved my life.”
He gave her a crooked smile in return “You’re lucky I went to the trouble after all those tough workouts you put me through.”
Jolene laughed, then regretted it when the pain in her ribs grew white hot. She grabbed onto Andi’s hand and gritted her teeth until it subsided enough to focus once more on the matter at hand.
“Is Tuck coming? Do you see any headlights on the road from the main ranch house?”
Charlie turned and squinted in that direction. “He’s coming, or someone is, and fast.”
“That has to be Tuck,” Jolene said, relieved. She noticed Charlie flexing his right hand, and she looked over at Andi. “He’s going to need to get that hand seen. Maybe both of them. He pummeled the piece of scum pretty good, judging from the number of punches I heard him land.”
Andi looked up at her husband. Even in the dim light, Jolene could see the smile on the other girl’s face.
“I’ll make sure he’s taken care of,” Andi promised, pride in her voice.
Tuck’s Lexus came screeching into the parking lot, slowing to a more moderate pace when he spotted them in the corner. He was out of his seat as soon as the car jerked to a stop.
“Jolene.” He hurried over, shining a flashlight on the three of them. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“Careful, Tuck, don’t trip over the big guy tied up behind the car.”
“What the—okay, Jo, I think you’d better tell me what’s going on.”
She introduced him to Andi and Charlie, then gave a succinct summary of what had taken place, along with her plan for catching whoever was planning to take delivery of her.
“He could tell us who the blackmailer is, Tuck. He might even be the blackmailer. We can’t afford not to find out. We’ll figure out who to call by looking at Jake’s recent contacts. Once we know the drop-off point, we’ve got him. I’ll go along so he can see I’m in the car. I can distract him by screaming or kicking the window or something, and by the time he notices you’re not who he was expecting, it’ll be too late. You’ll already have your gun pulled.”
“I was with you up until that part,” Tuck told her. “You can’t go, Jolene. You’re obviously injured worse than you’re letting on. You can’t even sit up straight.”
“It’s just my ribs. I can handle it.”
“I could go and pretend to be her,” Andi said bravely. “My hair color isn’t right, but I can stay in the dark in the back seat. It might fool him long enough.”
Tuck shook his head. “I don’t want to involve you or Jolene in this. Neither of you are trained, and it could backfire.” He looked over at Charlie. “But judging from the state of the guy trussed up and moaning on the ground back there, you’re pretty well trained in what I need. If you’re up for it, I sure could use you.”
“I’m up for it, but not sure I can pass for a girl,” Charlie said with a wry smile.
“If you’re not claustrophobic, I’m thinking you can ride in the trunk.” He patted Jake’s car. “We’ll have to take this in case Jake has already described what he’ll be driving. But the trunk is nice and roomy, and I doubt we’ll have to go too far. If you’re banging on the trunk when we arrive, the person waiting will naturally head back there, wanting to see the goods. I’ll pop the lid and you can greet him however you see fit.”
“What if he has a gun?” Andi asked worriedly.
“I’ll watch for that,” Tuck assured her.
“Tuck is FBI,” Jolene told the girl. “He knows what he’s doing.”
Charlie handed Tuck the phone he’d taken from Jake’s pocket.
“No passcode, that’s good,” Tuck muttered. He opened the recent call list. “The name at the top shows as ‘Big Money.’ I assume that’s who we want.” He pocketed the phone and leaned down, grabbing Jake’s ankles and pulling him clear of the car. “You ready?” he asked, raising a brow in Charlie’s direction.
“You bet.”
* * *
Ryan’s car pulled up beside Tuck’s, and the other agent got out just as fast as his colleague had.
“Hey, Ry,” Tuck said in greeting. “Charlie and I have to get going. We have a chance to get someone connected to the blackmailer. Jolene will fill you in.”
“Wait, where are you going? You sure you don’t need me to come with you?” Ryan asked, frowning in the dim light.
“You’re needed here. Get the lowdown from Jolene, make sure she gets medical attention, and get that guy inside and locked up somewhere. It’s Jake Overby.”
“The maintenance guy?” Ryan asked.
“Yeah. When he comes to, start questioning him. We’re looking for anything on the person who’s paying him to kidnap Jolene.” Tuck walked to the back of the car. “Call Maddy and Libby when you get a chance, too. They’re probably freaking out about our sudden exit. Understandably so.”
Ryan looked over at Jake. “I take it he doesn’t need medical attention?”
“He’s just beat up a little,” Charlie said, climbing into the trunk of the car. “He’ll be fine.”
When Charlie was as comfortable as possible, Tuck locked him in and took off. Ryan turned to Jolene, concern in his eyes.
“How badly are you hurt? Should I call an ambulance, or drive you to the hospital myself?”
Jolene shook her head. She hated the idea of going to the hospital and trying to explain what had happened, but she also knew she likely had several cracked or broken ribs and possibly a
concussion from Jake’s vicious backhand, meaning the hospital was probably inevitable at some point. Then she had an idea.
“Remember the clinic in Barlow where Tuck went after you guys fought it out with the guys from back east trying to get Maddy and Libby? Do you think the doctor would come in for me? If he’ll open the place up, I can tell you everything on the way there.”
Ryan thought about that, then took out his phone. “Let me call Libby and tell her you’re gonna be okay, and I’ll have her look up the doc’s home number. Then she can call Maddy and let her know what’s going on.”
A few minutes later he had called the doctor, who was willing to meet them at his clinic as soon as they could get there. Andi and Ryan drug the half-awake Jake inside the gym and locked him in an empty storage room, where no one would hear him should he decide to start yelling. Then they helped Jolene get into Ryan’s car.
Jolene felt dizzy and sick, and she just wanted to close her eyes and sleep. That wasn’t an option, however, as Ryan wanted to hear the whole story, in vivid detail. He asked lots of questions, and Jolene knew he wished he was with Tuck and Charlie rather than being stuck babysitting her.
Just before they reached the clinic, Ryan’s phone rang. It was Tuck, reporting that their meeting place had been set at a side entrance to the county fairgrounds, which was deserted this time of year. Tuck and Charlie were ten minutes away.
“I’d feel better if they had backup,” Jolene said tensely.
“Tuck will be on his toes, don’t worry. Sounds like the guy is already there, waiting for them. He probably drove around while he was waiting for the call from Jake, looking for a good location for the meet up. That place is on a side road that’s only used for the fair, so there won’t be any traffic going past. I’m guessing there’s a light there, though, so he’ll be able to see who’s approaching.”
“Tuck isn’t worried about the guy figuring out he’s not Jake? He doesn’t think the phone call gave it away?”