They were led from the storage closet and into the larger room.
“Bring them over here,” a man instructed and Bree bristled at the familiarity of his voice.
Lenny pushed them both forward. As two of his goons moved out of the way, Bree finally got a good look at the man behind all of the attempts on her life and the abduction of her sister.
Mayor Don Baxter.
* * *
“Are you certain it was Baxter?” Josh asked Simmons after Lawson put him on speakerphone.
“I’m sure,” Simmons said. “He wasn’t even hiding. He drove right up to the garage and got out. The men at the doors didn’t even flinch as he walked inside.”
The sheriff’s office door swung open and Cecile rushed outside to join them in the parking lot where they’d gathered around the phone. “I just called his house and his wife said he was working late.”
“He’d have enough power to push the sale of foreclosed land through to his own shell company without raising any red flags,” Colby stated.
Josh stepped away from the group, his shoulders slumped. “He’s been in my office nearly every week pushing me to do something about drug trafficking in the county. Why would he do that if he was the one doing the trafficking?”
“To keep you occupied?” Cecile suggested. “That way, you’d be too busy with paperwork to do anything about his operation.”
“Or maybe he came by to gather information and provide false leads,” Lawson said, thinking about the way he’d sent them scrambling with the information about the biker gang.
Josh nodded. “I’d better alert everyone else about this new development. We don’t want there to be any confusion about which side he’s on when we enter that compound.”
The group dispersed and Lawson got back into his truck. He’d seen indignation and anger brewing on his brother’s face and he didn’t blame him. Baxter had played them all for a fool, but that ended today.
Baxter’s time was running out fast. The full weight of the Courtland County Sheriff’s Office was coming at him.
It was time to snatch Bree and Ashlee from his clutches and bring them home.
* * *
“Well, well, well,” Baxter said as he faced down Bree. “When my men here told me you’d come alone, I couldn’t believe it.” He glanced into the duffel bag she’d brought and smiled. “Thanks for the money. It’s nice to have the amount returned, although it wasn’t really what we were after. Travis had a notebook with some incriminating evidence inside that he was planning to turn over to the DEA. Of course, we couldn’t let that happen. None of our usual persuasion tactics worked so we had to take something he cared about, Bree, in order to motivate him to return it. We assumed it would be in the bag with the money he was also returning, but my contact at the sheriff’s office already confirmed that it wasn’t there. I hoped you knew something about our missing item.”
Learning he had a contact at the sheriff’s office surprised her, but she’d already known he was sneaky and deceptive. “That day at the sheriff’s office, you pretended not to know me, but that was a lie.”
“Yes, but I had no idea about the amnesia. That was a surprise to me. It was then I realized we needed to send you another message about having kidnapped your sister.”
“And the tip about the biker gang?”
“Just a small lie to throw Josh and Cecile and Lawson off my scent. It worked, too. And speaking of them, how did you manage to get away from the Avery brothers?”
“I sneaked away. They didn’t know I was coming.”
“Very smart of you, Ashlee.”
She bit back her anger at this cruel, two-faced man who’d deceived the Avery family. “I don’t know anything about that notebook, but I do know where Travis liked to hide things.”
He gave her an intrigued smile. “Go on, I’m listening.”
“I can take you there. It’s not far.”
She’d expected him to jump on her offer, but he was cautious. “But you won’t, will you?” he asked.
“I will. Once you let my sister go.”
“I can’t do that, Ashlee. She’s my best chance at finding what Travis took from us.”
“No, she’s not. I am. You see, you’ve had the wrong sister this entire time. Your goons messed up. They kidnapped Ashlee, not Bree. That’s why she couldn’t tell you anything about Travis. She didn’t know anything.”
He looked surprised, but glanced behind her to her sister then back to Bree, and understanding dawned on his face. “But you do, Bree?”
She nodded. “That’s right, Mayor Baxter. And I’m willing to take you there on the condition that you let Ashlee go.”
Bree watched him, hoping for some sort of agreement on his part. He looked her up and down, sizing her up as he considered her offer. She stood firm and prayed he would take it. It was her only chance of getting Ashlee, who was sobbing behind her, out of this mess alive.
A phone rang. Lenny answered it, then approached Baxter. “Sir, it’s the deputy. Says it’s important. It can’t wait.”
Baxter turned away from Bree and took the call, holding it to his ear as he listened to the person on the other end. “I understand.” He ended the call and handed the phone back to Lenny.
“I’d like very much to take you up on your offer, Bree, but I’m afraid I can’t.” He pulled out his gun, then turned and fired at Ashlee. Bree screamed as Ashlee fell to the ground, clutching her leg as blood spilled between her fingers. Bree darted to her, but Lenny grabbed her and pulled her away.
“Why did you do that?” Bree cried, noting the pain in Ashlee’s face along with paleness from the growing blood loss. Anguish flooded her and she aimed it all at Baxter. “I said I would help you—you didn’t have to do that. She needs a doctor. I’m not going to show you a thing unless you take her to a doctor.”
Baxter ignored her. “Lenny, put her in my car.” He turned back to one of his goons. “If she tells me what I want to know, have one of your men drop her sister in front of the hospital. If she doesn’t, let her bleed out, then dump her on the property somewhere and let the coyotes do what they do.”
“No!” Bree cried. Her eyes hadn’t moved from her sister.
Ashlee reached out a hand for Bree. “No, don’t take her. Bree, don’t tell them anything. They’ll kill me regardless. Don’t do it.”
Lenny half dragged, half carried Bree out the side door as other men dragged Ashlee away. He shoved Bree into the backseat of an SUV. Baxter slid in beside her, his gun still raised and pointed at her as Lenny climbed into the driver’s seat, started the SUV and took off.
“It’s up to you,” Baxter said. “Tell me what I want to know and maybe she can live. Don’t and you’re both dead.”
Bree stared at him as they drove off. She didn’t believe Baxter had any intention of getting her sister to the hospital. And, if her sister was dead, she might as well be dead, too.
* * *
The sound of gunfire inside the building forced them into action sooner than they’d planned. Lawson heard his brother’s voice on the radio yell, “Breach! Breach! Breach!”
He moved toward the building, gun raised, along with Cecile and other deputies. They burst into the building as a group of men in the corner began shooting.
The gunfight was over in less than a minute as the overwhelmed drug runners dropped their weapons and pleaded surrender.
“We give up,” one of the men shouted, encouraging the others to come out with their hands raised. “Don’t shoot.”
Josh motioned for several deputies to cuff the men as the others trained their weapons on the shooters.
“Go clear the rest of the building,” Josh commanded, and Lawson joined Colby as they searched the remaining rooms in the garage.
He pushed open every door, praying to find Bree behind each one. He shoved open the las
t in the hallway and held his breath. A woman lay in a heap on the floor. She was holding her leg and blood was pooling on the floor around her.
Bree.
He hurried to her, putting away his gun and turning her over before recognizing the dress she’d been wearing in the video.
Not Bree. Ashlee.
“How bad is it?” he rasped.
“He shot me, Lawson, and he took Bree.”
“Who took her? Baxter?” He stood and called for an ambulance. She needed to be treated right away.
She nodded. “She told him she thought she knew where Travis might have hidden something.”
“What is it, Ashlee? What do they want?”
“A notebook. He said Travis had incriminating evidence about their operation that he was going to turn over to the DEA.” Pain crept into her eyes and she held her leg. “Where is she, Lawson?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find her,” he promised.
It was a promise he intended to keep.
Colby stopped in the doorway. “Is it...?”
“It’s Ashlee. Any sign of Bree? She was last seen with Baxter.”
Colby shook his head. “The rest of the building is clear. She’s not here.”
Colby knelt and tried to stop the bleeding in Ashlee’s leg. Meanwhile, Lawson’s mind was racing with worry. If Baxter had Bree, then once she told him what he wanted to know, he would have no more use for her.
“There’s something else,” Ashlee said between gasps of pain. “Baxter received a phone call just a minute before you arrived. He said the caller was a deputy. I think he told Baxter you all were coming. He knew to get out of the building fast.”
Lawson locked eyes with his brother, then hurried from the room to find Josh. If what Ashlee was saying was true, there was a mole in the sheriff’s office.
* * *
Bree sobbed into her hands as they drove, bumping along through abandoned fields. They weren’t on a road.
Baxter shoved his gun into her side. “Now tell me what I want to know.”
“Why did you have to shoot her?” she cried, determined not to tell this man anything. “You didn’t have to do that. I was going to cooperate.”
“I thought you needed some encouragement.”
She stared at him and knew he had no intention of allowing her or Ashlee to survive. She should have known better than to think she could bargain with him. He’d only be able to keep up his persona as the good, trustworthy mayor if he killed both of them to keep his secret safe. She made herself a promise. He would get no information from her. The notebook Travis had stolen would remain hidden. Let him shoot her. She had nothing else to live for—she’d ruined her life through years of bad choices and she’d caused her sister’s death.
He must have noticed that determination rising inside her because he changed tactics. “Tell me what I want to know or your sister won’t make it to a hospital.” When that didn’t work, he changed strategies again. “Then maybe I’ll drive to Silver Star next and kill your boyfriend.”
Bree gasped and felt herself die inside. He’d already proved he wasn’t afraid to kill. She still remembered how Ashlee had writhed in pain from the gunshot and how no one had moved to help her. Lawson could handle himself, but he wouldn’t see Baxter coming. He didn’t know the man was crooked.
“Good, good,” he said, seeing that she was softening. “Now tell me where Travis liked to hide things.”
“And you’ll give me your word that you’ll leave Lawson alone.”
“You tell me what I want to know and Lawson will be fine.”
“I can’t promise it is there, but Travis always thought this particular hiding spot was brilliant. He kept everything important there.”
“Where are we going, Bree?”
“An old cave at the east end of my grandparents’ property. Travis, Ashlee and I used to play and hide in it as kids.”
Baxter ordered Lenny to head in that direction.
Bree stared at the landscape through the SUV’s windows. It was just what she remembered from when she was a kid. She’d spent a lot of time on this land. She knew it and had loved it once—she hadn’t realized how much until it had been taken from them.
“How much farther?” Baxter demanded.
“Keep going until we reach a group of trees. Then we’ll have to walk the rest of the way.”
He nodded and Lenny kept driving until they reached the familiar cluster. She got out and headed for the trees, the others following behind. By now, she was certain Ashlee was dead. She had no illusions that Baxter would keep her alive, either, once she’d led them to the cave, but she would do whatever she had to to keep him from turning his attention toward Lawson. Lawson deserved a happy life with someone who loved him the way he deserved. She’d been fooling herself into believing it could ever be her.
She motioned behind some brush. “Here’s the cave. Travis always used it to store things he didn’t want to have stolen. He loved the idea of having a cave of his own.”
Lenny pushed aside the brush and Baxter shone his flashlight into the small opening. “Wasn’t he afraid of wild animals?”
“It’s too small for most larger prey and the opening is covered.”
Baxter motioned for Lenny to go inside first. The henchman grabbed the flashlight, got down on his hands and knees and crawled inside.
“You’d better hope it’s there,” he growled as Lenny pushed his large frame into the small opening.
But Bree was done being intimidated by him. “I can’t do anything about it not being there. If it’s not here, then I don’t know where it is. There’s nothing you can do to me to change that.”
“This was in there,” Lenny stated, backing out and handing Baxter a lockbox.
Baxter grabbed it, then shot at the lock until it gave. He took out a black notebook and tossed the box. He skimmed through the pages and smiled happily. He had what they’d come for.
Bree couldn’t believe that was worth killing for. She couldn’t resist asking, “So what’s in the notebook that’s so important?”
“This book has the names of all our clients and our safe houses. If Travis had given this to the feds, our operation would have been compromised. He said he wanted to turn his life around the way you did and maybe win you back.”
Tears pressed her eyes. So Travis had been trying to get clean. That was some comfort to her.
“Did you kill him?”
“No. I would have gotten what I wanted from him before I killed him. It was like the police said. An accidental overdose.”
“Fine. You got what you wanted. Now, let me leave. You don’t even have to drive me back to town. I’ll walk.”
He slid the notebook into his jacket pocket. “Not so fast, Bree. We can’t just let you leave. You know that, don’t you? You’ve seen my face and you know about our operation. You’re a witness. I can’t let you go.”
Her stomach sank, even though it was what she’d expected. She’d just hoped... Well, it had probably been stupid of her to hope in the first place. But she had to at least try to persuade him, for her sister’s sake if not for her own.
“My sister. You promised you’d get her help.”
“I’m sure she’s fine. That call I took was from my guy in the sheriff’s office alerting me that they were about to surround the place. I imagine they’re there by now and Ashlee has been safely rescued.”
Tears slipped down her face. She wasn’t even sure if it was because her sister had been rescued or because Lawson and the others had come searching for them. Whichever it was, she wanted to believe what Baxter said was true—and really, why would he lie about that?
But then she realized just how coldhearted he could be. “You left your men back at the barn to be ambushed without even warning them, didn’t you?”
He
shrugged. “I’m part of a bigger organization. Most of those guys were brought in from outside of town. I can’t afford to risk my own life for people I hardly know.”
A shiver ran through her at his hard logic. He wouldn’t blink at killing her, either. “What are you going to do with me?”
“First, you’re my insurance out of this county. I’m sure your sister was quick to tell the sheriff about me. I can’t stay as mayor anymore—and I’ll need a hostage to cover my exit. After that, who knows? I have some friends who dabble in trafficking more than drugs. I imagine someone as pretty as you would fetch a nice price on that market.”
Bree shuddered at the thought. She would rather he just shoot her. She very nearly told him so, but knew it wouldn’t make a difference. If killing her would save his own skin, he’d do it without hesitation. At this moment, he needed her alive to protect himself—and nothing she said would matter more to him than his own survival.
Lenny grabbed her arms and forced her back to the SUV, into the backseat. She wasn’t surprised to be two-timed by Baxter. She’d never believed he was going to let her go. Never for one moment.
But she decided as the SUV roared to life that she was going to go down fighting. She didn’t really want to die. She wanted to live, wanted the chance to finally do something good with her life. Even if she could never be with Lawson, even if she was certain he would take one look at her and shun her for the mess she’d made, she wasn’t going to just let these men win without a fight. She knew how ruthless they could be. No telling what they might do to her if she didn’t escape. She’d worked so hard to get her life back after all those years of watching it sour and worsen, bit by bit. She’d found faith, she’d found herself—and she wasn’t willing to let that go. Her life was a gift that God had given her, and she wasn’t going to let these men take it away.
Bree glanced out at the landscape as they passed it. Now was her chance to get free while she was unbound. They hadn’t even forced her to put on her seat belt for the drive. She had all the landscape to escape into—and she knew these hills better than any of these men.
Texas Twin Abduction Page 16