To the Moon and Back

by Becca Van

  She had no idea what was in store for her, but none of it was going to be good.

  No matter what she endured, though, she would fight with everything she had until she had no breath left in her lungs. Jodi would die fighting for another chance to see the men who’d stolen her heart, for another possibility to tell them one more time how much she loved them.

  * * * *

  “This lock’s been tampered with,” Walt said as he met his brothers’ eyes. “There are scratch marks on the steel.”

  “Let me get my kit from the car and we’ll dust for prints,” Deputy Jalen Donnybrook said.

  “I’ll get it,” his brother and fellow deputy, Dante, stated.

  “Did Talia have any other information?” Deputy Mica Donnybrook asked.

  Walt rubbed at the back of his neck while shaking his head. “There was nothing to tell. When she arrived for work the place was already empty.”

  “Fuck!” Emmet spat out. “There has to be some way we can find a lead and follow a fucking trail.”

  “Do you think this is related to what was going on at Jodi’s place?” Dirk asked.

  “It has to be,” Walt said as he stood up straighter. He was cursing himself for not radioing dispatch and asking for another unit to be sent to his woman’s rental to keep an eye on things. “Let’s go.” He nodded to his brothers, then he headed out.

  “Wait!” Jalen said. “You can’t go out there by yourselves without any back up. You have no idea what or who you’re dealing with. For all we know, there could be armed men ready and waiting for you.”

  “We’ll be careful,” Emmet stated. “We can’t just stand around here with our thumbs up our asses. Our woman is missing and we have to do something to find her.”

  “Take Mica and Dante with you,” Jalen ordered.

  “We’ll follow,” Mica said.

  Walt, his brothers, and the two Donnybrook men raced for their vehicles out on the street. He gave Talia and her men, who were gathered on the pavement, a cursory glance as he got into his car, starting the ignition after tugging his seatbelt on and locking it in place, before pulling out onto the road.

  Mica drove behind him at a safe distance and as soon as Walt could, he pressed his foot to the gas pedal and sped toward Jodi’s previous home. He was so scared and angry, he kept his jaw clamped tight, afraid if he spoke again he was going to start shouting.

  He was pissed at himself for giving in and letting the love of his life talk him into letting her go back to work. If he’d held his ground she would have been locked up safe in his house.

  If she wasn’t at the other property, he had no idea where to start looking next. He just hoped that Jalen found something to give him and his brothers a lead so they could find Jodi before it was way too late.

  If she died, he’d never forgive himself, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to survive without her.

  Surely, God wouldn’t be so cruel as to snatch her away from him and his brothers when they’d only just found her.

  Please, keep her safe. Please, please, please.

  Chapter Twenty

  Jodi shook when she heard and felt the car slow down. She tried to keep her breathing deep and even hoping her abductor would think she was still unconscious if he stopped, but it was harder than she’d thought it would be. Her heart was racing with her flight or fight instincts, which were pushing adrenaline through her veins.

  She heard gravel crunching under the tires after the car turned and she bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from moaning when the back wheel near her head bumped down into what felt like a pothole. Her whole body jostled and the drums in her head got louder. Bile rise up her esophagus, but she swallowed it back down.

  Her heart missed a beat when the car stopped and silence filled the interior of the vehicle. Hot and cold shudders ripped up her back, sweat sheened over her skin, and once more she tried to push her terror aside and get control of her rapid pants. The back door near her feet opened and cool breezed drifted over her body, making her feel colder than she already was.

  Even though she had nowhere to go and couldn’t run since she was trussed up with tape, she also wasn’t going to take what happened next lying down. Tautening her muscles as she prepared to fight, she waited for the perfect opportunity to make her move.

  A large calloused hand grasped her leg just above one of her ankles in a bruising grip, and she made her move. She tugged her legs up closer to her body, and as she opened her eyes to find her assailant, she kicked out. Her feet connected with the bastard’s chin and his head snapped back and up.

  When she saw him stumble back a step, she thought she’d won and knocked him out, but he shook his head as if shaking off the pain from her kick and smiled at her maliciously.

  Although she tried to kick him again, he was too strong and he’d learnt his lesson. This time, he grabbed her with two hands and pulled her from the car. She grappled for the seatbelt as she slid across the seat hoping to hold onto something to stop her momentum, but she was too slow and with her wrists bound together behind her back her reach was limited.

  The bastard paused when just her shoulders rested on the edge of the seat and then with another evil smile her way, he yanked on her legs hard. She fell with a muffled scream, one of her shoulders hitting the step of the vehicle, and she felt her shoulder pop.

  The agony was worse than the pounding in her head. Tears welled and rolled down her face, and she held her breath, hoping against hope that the excruciating pain would recede before she barfed.

  Wooziness assailed her, and though she tried to hold onto her consciousness, the darkness closed in and once more swallowed her whole.

  * * * *

  Emmet’s emotions were warring from anger to fear and back again. He’d face down the enemy as a soldier with cold calculation, and though he tried to call on his military training, he couldn’t seem control his feelings. Jodi was missing and hurt, and he felt sick to his stomach. His muscles were pumped and ready for action, and while they were hopefully heading into enemy zone, none of them could be certain.

  Walt slowed his patrol car, maneuvered it over to the side of the road a mile from Jodi’s rental home, and the other patrol cars parked, too. He was out of his car with his gun in his hand seconds later.

  Mica and Dante Donnybrook stepped up beside him and started giving commands. Emmet was glad the other two deputies where here to tell him and his brothers what to do, because right now he wasn’t sure he’d be able to think logically.

  “Mica and I will take the front. Walt, you take the back. Dirk and Emmet, you can cover either side of the house. Keep quiet and out of sight. We don’t want anyone getting their heads blown off,” Dante stated.

  Seconds later, the five of them were on the move, jogging down the side of the road toward the rental. They all slowed when they got closer, being stealthier in case there were eyes watching from any of the windows.

  There was an older model car in the driveway parked close to the house, but Emmet ignored the vehicle as he crept forward and to the right side of the building. Dirk headed left, and Walt snuck with his brother as they all hurried to get into position.

  Emmet ducked walked under windows carefully peeking into each room as he passed them by before moving on to the next. His gritted his teeth in frustration, mentally cursing when he’d cleared all the rooms on this side of the house. He wished he, his brother, and the Donnybrook men had coms on them. Sure, they had their standard issue walkie talkies with them but he was worried whoever was inside would hear if he started speaking. It would have made all their lives that much easier if they’d been able to communicate quietly.

  As much as he wanted to scope out the rest of the house, he remained where he was with his back pressed to the side of the home so he was out of sight. He needed to cover this side just in case whoever was inside tried to climb out one of the windows.

  His finger twitched on the trigger of his police issued weapon. If the bastard s
o much as showed his face, he was a dead man.

  * * * *

  Jodi came to with a gasp and wished she hadn’t. She was hurting all over and wanted the oblivion on unconsciousness so she wouldn’t be feeling so much agony, but she was awake. No matter how much she wished herself asleep again, she knew it wasn’t going to happen.

  She gazed about the room with narrowed eyes and familiarity washed over her. This had been her home until someone had terrorized her and destroyed all her belongings. She was sitting on a lone dining room chair in the center of what used to be her living room.

  Anger bubbled up in her chest and warmed her blood. She thought about her abusive uncle and the foster parents who hadn’t given a shit about her aside from the money she’d brought into their homes thanks the government. She’d been exploited by so many people. People who didn’t have a compassionate bone in their bodies and only cared about themselves. Only cared about the money her presence in their home brought in. The people who worked in the system were so snowed under with work, they didn’t have the time, inclination or the energy to check up on their placements. She was angry at them too for leaving her in untenable situations.

  She’d been physically abused by one of her foster parents and sexually molested by her uncle. She was so angry but she built that anger until she was in a full blown rage. A rage that she’d never felt before and left her trembling. She fed her fury more until she was sure there was steam coming out of her ears, and she was shaking with wrath.

  Footsteps sounded behind her, and she wished she could get to her feet, turn around, and confront the fucker who’d cold cocked and kidnapped her, but she couldn’t. While she’d been out for the count the asshole had wound tape around her legs and the seat of the chair, tethering her to it.

  She might have been enraged, but there was no way she could fight when she was tied up.

  Jodi hoped and prayed that Talia had arrived at work and, when her friend found her missing, that she’d called 9-1-1 or her guys. She had no idea what time it was or how long she’d been unconscious, but surely it was close to the time Talia would get to the shop.

  She closed her eyes and for the first time in her life she prayed, but she couldn’t seem to get past the first word.

  Please. Please. Please, somebody help me.

  The footsteps got louder as they drew closer, and then a man was standing in front of her grinning down at her, but again, the smile held no humor. She frowned up at him and tried to figure out who he was.

  He reached up, tugged the cap from his head, and removed his sunglasses. Jodi widened her eyes and gasped when she saw who it was who’d hurt and abducted her. She shook her head, but immediately stopped when the movement made her headache worsen, but a little blurry vision and the thumping behind her skull was nowhere near as bad as the agony ripping into her shoulder. She’d been too afraid to look down and try to take stock of her injuries in case she’d ended up throwing up.

  The bastard in front of her chuckled with sincere amusement for the first time. “I see I’ve shocked you.” He stepped closer to her as the humor faded from his face. “You’re going to tell me what you’ve done with the packages. If you’re a good girl and give me what I want, I might let you walk out of here alive.” He plucked at the edges of the tape covering her mouth, then ripped it off, taking some of her skin with the adhesive. He folded the sticky sides together then tossed it to the floor.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she answered after she got her breath back. Her lips and the skin under her nose felt hot and abraded, but she had bigger things to worry about.

  “Don’t fucking lie to me,” he snarled just before he backhanded her across the face.

  A moan elicited from her mouth before she could stop it, tears flowed down her cheek, and this time when her belly churned and saliva pooled in her mouth she knew she was going to be sick. Instead of turning her head to the side and leaning over as far as she could so she didn’t end up covered in her own vomit, Jodi slumped forward toward him, opened her mouth and spewed all over her kidnapper. She heaved and retched until her stomach muscles hurt and there was nothing left in her belly.

  “Fuck!” he growled.

  She lifted her gaze to his and almost smiled when she saw disgust on his face. When he gagged as he backed away from her she couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

  She was tied to a chair, one shoulder probably broken, or at the very least dislocated, a headache from hell making her head throb with no way to escape and stinking of her own vomit.

  Jodi had nothing left to lose.

  * * * *

  Since there was only one window on this side of the house that led to the master bedroom, which he’d ascertained was already empty, Dirk decided to move to the back with Walt.

  Just as he rounded the corner of the house and saw his brother quietly opening the internal access door to the laundry and mudroom, he heard a man yelling from inside the house.

  Walt met Dirk’s gaze and with a nod, they entered the house, his brother in point position. Although Dirk hoped the asshole inside didn’t try and dash to the bedroom to escape since he was supposed to be watching it, there was no way in hell he was going to go back outside standing around while twiddling his thumbs.

  He needed to be in the action, to be involved in taking this fucker down and saving his woman.

  “Disgusting fucking cunt,” the guy said angrily.

  Dirk frowned trying to remember where he’d heard that voice before. It was damned fucking familiar, but he didn’t have time to try and work it out. After the asshole’s statement, he knew that Jodi had to be in here somewhere. A quick glance at his watch told him he and Walt only had ninety seconds to make their move before the Donnybrook brothers came through the front door.

  The hallway wasn’t long, but it was enough for him and Walt to remain hidden from the fucker’s eyes.

  When the motherfucker started talking again, he and his brother stopped moving to listen, which was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do in his life. He wanted to go in there with guns blazing, but he also wanted to know what the fuck this was all about.

  “I know you found it. You think I don’t know you were having money troubles? You found the wads of cash, didn’t you? You probably found the bricks, too. How the fuck else could you afford to refurbish your shop from an internet café to a gourmet food store? Tell me where the rest of the fucking money and drugs are or I’ll blow your fucking brains out.”

  Everything seemed to snap into place at once. The identity of the voice, how the perpetrators had avoided getting caught by him, his brothers, and the other law officers, and why there’d never been any evidence or DNA left behind.

  They were hunting one of their own.

  * * * *

  “You’re insane. I didn’t find any money or drugs. I had another woman approach me with a great business idea and she bought into the business,” Jodi yelled back. “If there was cash and drugs hidden in this house, either the previous tenant found it or the landlord did. Did you think that it might not even be here?”

  She was so angry she was shaking, but that was a good thing in her mind, since her wrath helped to keep her mind off of how sick she was feeling and how much pain she was in. If she let the other stuff come to the front of her mind, she probably would have passed out again. She was barely keeping herself from sliding off the chair as it was. The only thing holding her up was the tape holding her in the seat.

  “Have you looked in the attic?” she asked softly.

  If she could get the bastard out of the room, she might have the chance to escape. It didn’t matter that she was tied down, or that she couldn’t use her hands. She’d throw herself through a fucking window if she had to, consequences and more injuries be damned. If she could get out of the house she might survive this after all.

  She had to try. She’d do anything to survive so she could see her three handsome men again.

  “I’ve alr
eady looked. There’s nothing up there but junk.”

  “Maybe he hid it in the walls,” she muttered wearily. Jodi was barely hanging on to consciousness but she was scared if she gave into to the beckoning pain free oblivion, the prick would put the gun to her head again and pull the trigger.

  * * * *

  As soon as Emmet heard shouting from inside the house he was on the move. He heard a crash from the front and knew that Mica and Dante had infiltrated the home through the front door.

  He sprinted around to the front since it was closer and froze when he entered the living room behind his colleagues. The sight that met his eyes was shocking, and the rage he’d been trying to keep at bay surged to the fore.

  His fucking partner was standing behind Jodi with a gun to her head. He wanted to take the shot, but if he did, Jodi could end up getting a bullet through the brain. The thought made his weak knees tremble and almost buckle.

  After pulling in a couple of deep breaths and calling on his training as a Marine, he began to sidle along the floor hoping to get into a position where he could take the shot.

  “Stop moving or I’ll fucking kill her,” Giff shouted.

  Emmet instantly stilled.

  “Put your weapons on the floor and kick them toward me,” his partner ordered.

  Though it went against everything in him, Emmet slowly bent, his eyes never leaving Gifford’s as he placed his gun on the floor before he nudged it toward the other man. Dante and Mica did the same. All three of them straightened, raised their hands in the air in surrender, and froze.

  Emmet hoped the fucker didn’t work out that Dirk and Walt were here, too. Right now, Giff was holding a stacked deck and there was nothing he, Dante, or Mica could do.