by Donna Grant
She had less than thirty seconds to spare when she finally reached the thirty-mile mark and jerked the vehicle’s wheel to pull over. She slammed on the brakes, but that sent her phone flying off the center console to the floorboard.
Marlee let out a string of curses as she bent over, using her hands to search for it. She happened to glance up and saw that she was moving. With another string of curses, she put the SUV in park and opened the door to find the phone. Once she had it, she hit redial on her last accepted call.
“Cutting it close,” the man said as he answered.
She closed her eyes while trying to get herself under control. Getting angry with him would get her nowhere. “I’m here. What next?”
“You’re going to ditch whatever vehicle you’re in. Do it somewhere it can’t be found easily. Destroy the phone while you’re at it. Then start walking north.”
Marlee looked in the direction he mentioned. “It’s nothing but woods. And it’s raining.”
“Then bring an umbrella. But get moving. Time is running out.”
“I have another time limit? What is it this time?”
The man laughed. “Why would I tell you and make it easy?”
“Where north do I go?”
“I recommend you get a move on. Tick-tock.”
Marlee let out a scream of frustration when the line went dead. She slammed her hands repeatedly on the steering wheel as tears coursed down her face. Her hands shook as she thought about her parents. She wanted to send them a quick text, but she didn’t dare. Cooper’s life was on the line.
She sniffed and wiped the tears from her face. No matter how much she wanted to tell her parents goodbye, she couldn’t. And maybe that was for the best. If she told them, it might do more harm than good. Both of her parents were in a fragile state right now. A call from her, telling them that she might die, could be the very thing that killed them.
Marlee took in a steadying breath and glanced around for a place to dump the Suburban. She put to memory exactly where she was and shifted the vehicle into drive then pulled back onto the road, looking through the rain for somewhere to put the SUV. She drove about half a mile before she found what she was looking for. The ditch was so steep that it would be easy for a car to go off the side where no one could see it, especially with the rain.
She backed up, thankful that the road was all but deserted at the moment. Then she put it in neutral and got out, immediately drenched and missing the warmth of the interior. She turned the wheel just enough to send the Suburban down the embankment and into the ravine. But if she thought it would be easy, she was sorely mistaken. She pushed against the large SUV with all her might, struggling to move it even an inch. Finally, she realized she didn’t have the strength to get it to budge.
“Shit,” she murmured, shivering as she got back in and out of the wet and cold.
Marlee left the door open as she put it in drive and let her foot off the brake. The Suburban began to move. She raised her foot off some more, and the vehicle picked up momentum. Just before it went over the side, Marlee jumped out. Except her feet slipped on the pebbles on the shoulder, and she landed hard, the phone slipping from her hands. As soon as she fell, she rolled, the back tire of the SUV barely missing her foot. She heard a crunch as the vehicle ran over her phone.
She pressed her forehead against the pavement for a moment to catch her breath. She had managed to keep from being wounded and had destroyed her phone as she was supposed to. She jumped up and ran across the road. She moved into the trees but worked her way back to where she had been when the man had told her to head north. She wasn’t a runner by any means, and soon, she had a stitch in her side. At least she was no longer shivering.
No matter how much she hurt, she didn’t stop to even walk. She kept moving as fast as she could. Once she got to where she’d taken the call, she then pivoted north and ran even faster. All the while, hearing the man’s tick-tock in her head.
And regretting not telling Cooper that she loved him.
Chapter 40
With nothing but time, Cooper walked the entire warehouse. The rain pelted the metal roof, causing a loud din of noise. The warehouse wasn’t overly large, and unfortunately, it appeared it had recently been cleaned out. It was obviously one of the buildings the city council wanted to begin renovations on. Which meant he had absolutely nothing to use as a weapon or to free himself.
And with that realization came all sorts of thoughts. Things he wished he had told his mom, stuff he wished he had done with Jace, Caleb, and Brice. But most importantly, how he wished he had told Marlee how he really felt.
Cooper hated not knowing if Jace was alive or dead. By the gunman’s reaction, there was a good chance that Jace had been killed, and that tore Cooper up. His best friend had needed him, and he hadn’t been there to help. If anyone should have known to look around the property for potential threats, it was Cooper. Why hadn’t he?
Because he’d been too wrapped up in thoughts of Marlee and helping her solve the case so they could figure out what their next step was. That’s what had gotten his friend killed. Cooper would have to live with that for the rest of his life.
He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. His abductor hadn’t wanted him dead—at least not yet. There was a real chance that outcome was coming sooner rather than later. Otherwise, why lock him up? It had to be to lure Marlee out. But Cooper knew she wouldn’t fall for anything like that. Nor would any of his friends allow it. They’d keep her protected.
That was the only thing that kept him from going insane.
Cooper glanced at his shoulder that still throbbed. The tourniquet he’d fashioned hadn’t stopped the bleeding entirely. He could feel it leaking into his shirt, but at least his lifeblood was no longer pouring out. He closed his eyes for a moment and slid to the floor.
Instantly, his mind conjured an image of Marlee from the night before when they had gone to bed together. Neither had asked the other, they had simply gone. They hadn’t talked with words, even though there was so much he’d wanted to say to her. Instead, they had spoken through touch and kisses.
The feel of her hands on his body had been heavenly. She’d brought him pleasure the likes of which he’d never experienced before. He’d wanted to give her that same feeling. Watching her climax, seeing the pleasure flow over her face, hearing her cries of ecstasy, and feeling her clench around his cock was something he wanted to revel in for the rest of his life.
After, she had curled up beside him, her head on his chest, and her arm flung over him as he played with her hair. In seconds, she was fast asleep. He hadn’t woken her to speak then. It had felt too good to just hold her. Sometime soon after, he had fallen asleep, as well.
Cooper’s eyes snapped open. He’d heard something. He was sure of it. At least, he thought he had. He’d been in a state between sleep and wakefulness so he couldn’t be positive. It might have been a dream, but he thought there had been a loud bang.
He climbed uneasily to his feet and looked around the warehouse again. Once more, there was nothing. The rain had tapered off a bit, however. Cooper decided to try the doors again. Maybe someone would pass by and hear him. It was too bad the windows were so high up, or he might try and climb out one.
The first door was the same as before. The second one caused him to hesitate before touching it, however. He was sure there hadn’t been wires there the first time he tried to escape.
Cooper squatted down beside the door and investigated the wiring that ran from the bottom up to the top corner. The moment he spotted the switch for the bomb, he took a step back. Had that been there before? He’d been too riddled with pain and the desire to get out to be sure.
He quickly checked the other two doors once more, but neither of them appeared to have been tampered with. So why this door? There had to be a reason. Was it the only one his friends could use to free Cooper? Right now, that didn’t matter. What mattered was that he needed to stay near it to ma
ke sure that no one tried to open it.
* * *
“Where are you?” Stella asked the moment the call from Chuck came in.
The deep voice she recognized said, “I’m taking care of a few last-minute details.”
“Is everyone out of town?”
“Martin is helping me with a few things, but he’s just about to leave. We’ll be the only two left. And after the meeting tonight, we’ll be gone, too.”
Stella looked around the house. She was leaving with nothing more than her suitcase that was already in the car, but the place felt empty. As if this was the last time she would ever see it. And that was likely the truth. The houses she had were all paid for and furnished, so she just had to show up.
“Stella?” Chuck called.
She licked her lips. “Sorry. I’m just unsettled by the meeting being pushed back and the rest.”
“By the rest, you mean Marlee.”
Stella rolled her eyes. “Yes, I mean Marlee.”
“Has anyone been by the house?”
“No one. It’s like she didn’t tell the authorities. Or maybe she did, and they’re just waiting to come at me in one huge rush.”
Chuck made a sound. “No one is going to touch you. I give you my word.”
“You can’t make that kind of promise.”
“I did, and I have. Now, stay there until I arrive. Okay?”
She sat on the couch, feeling better than she had in hours. “Okay. I’ll be here. Just hurry. The sooner I get out of this place, the better.”
“I’m in total agreement on that one.”
* * *
Jace sat on the bed in the motel room, pleased that his head no longer felt as if it were split open. The pain was still there, but it had lessened enough that the room wasn’t spinning anymore. The aspirin he’d taken had done very little to diminish the pain, but since that was all he was willing to take, he couldn’t gripe about it. Karl and Marina were still there, skulking around him as if waiting for him to fall on his face.
Which was a very real possibility.
Dammit.
He looked over to find Danny talking to one of his deputies. Danny glanced his way, his face lined with concern. Jace pushed to his feet to go to him, but the sheriff held up a hand, telling him to wait.
Being hurt sucked. Jace didn’t want to wait, but he also wasn’t sure if he could actually walk the twenty feet to the door without someone’s help. It reminded him too much of his time as a prisoner of war—and no one wanted him to go down that road. Thankfully, his thoughts halted as Danny approached.
“Did you find Cooper?” Jace asked.
Danny shook his head. “Not yet. Do you know if Marlee was headed anywhere this morning?”
“Cooper wanted her to remain at the ranch. That’s why both of us came to the motel.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“What’s going on?”
The sheriff put his hands on his hips and looked down. “Marlee is missing. It seems she took Abby’s Suburban without telling anyone.”
“The asshole that hit me and took Cooper must have called her.”
Danny raised his brows and nodded. “That’s exactly what we think happened. And it looks like he did it with your phone.”
Jace thought back to when he’d tried to use his phone. He’d assumed it had fallen from his pocket when he was hit, and he hadn’t wasted time looking for it. “The guy took it from me, and I didn’t know it.”
“Hey, you were hit hard on the head. You can’t expect to think of everything.”
“I should’ve told you I didn’t have my phone,” he argued.
Danny quirked a brow at him. “And I should’ve asked where it was earlier.”
“Please tell me you’re tracking my phone and Marlee’s.”
“We were.”
Jace closed his eyes for a second and sighed. “They turned off, didn’t they?”
“Right about the time Marlee called your phone. The conversation was brief. We did get a ping on both locations from towers. They’re in the area.”
“Well, at least there’s that.” But was it enough?
Danny sat on the second bed and looked at Jace. “Everyone is being brought to the ranch, including your parents.”
“The threat is that bad, huh?”
“He tried to kill you,” Danny stated in a firm tone. “He shot Cooper and took him, and he lured Marlee out. At the very least, he wants Marlee dead.”
“Cooper will never get over it if she’s killed.” Jace swallowed, his mouth dry. “Not to open old wounds, but do you think this is like what happened to you?”
Danny shook his head. “I’ve already thought about that and talked it over with Ryan. This is different. I’m not saying they won’t torture Cooper, but I think their main target is Marlee. Not that that helps or matters.”
“No, it does. What now?”
“We head to the ranch with the others. Your parents are worried sick, and they want to see you. Not to mention, I think it’ll help everyone if they can see you’re okay.”
Jace put his hands on his thighs. “Danny, you’ve done a great many things for us, and I know you and Ryan are doing everything you can right now. But that’s my best friend out there. He’s in trouble, along with the woman he loves. I’m going to do anything I can to make sure both of them come out of this alive.”
“I know that. I also know that no matter what Ryan and I may tell all of you, you’re going to do what y’all always do, which is be there for each other and get the job done.”
Jace had thought Danny would tell him to stay out of the way, but he actually got the opposite.
“Come on,” the sheriff said. “Let’s get to the ranch.”
* * *
Marlee held on to the side with the stitch in it and desperately tried to keep herself moving. Her mind told her body to run, but her body could no longer respond properly. It was all she could do to keep putting one foot in front of the other. She was so cold, she couldn’t stop shivering.
She had no idea how long she had been going north. She never wore a watch because she always had her phone, but with that gone, she could only guess at the time. And with the clouds and rain, she couldn’t even figure out where the sun was.
Her head dropped back so she could see through the tree branches, hoping for a glimpse of the sun. Instead, the toe of her shoe caught on something, and she pitched forward. She attempted to catch herself with her hands, even as she saw the big root sticking out of the ground.
Chapter 41
“What about Cooper’s phone?” Caleb asked.
Ryan shook his head. “We’ve already tried it. It’s either destroyed or turned off. There’s no way to track it.”
Jace sat in Clayton’s office with the others. It felt wrong that Cooper wasn’t with them. Everything about the entire situation was wrong.
Abby had her kids, Jace’s parents, Cooper’s mom, Naomi and Nate, Audrey, and Skylar in another part of the house. Not that it did much good. Everyone knew why they had been brought there and what was going on.
“Jace?” Ryan asked. “Do you have any ideas?”
He started to shake his head but then stopped. “I do, actually. Cash.”
“Why didn’t we think of that?” Caleb asked as he looked at Brice.
Danny held out his phone to Jace. “Do you know his number?”
“Yep.”
In moments, Jace listened as the phone rang, waiting for Cash to pick up. Just when Jace thought it would go to voicemail, Cash answered. Jace quickly filled him in on what was going on.
“I’m not far. I can be there in a couple of hours. Quicker even, maybe,” Cash told him.
Jace gave a thumbs up to the room to let them know. “I don’t care how you get here, just get here.”
Less than an hour later, someone buzzed for entrance at the gate of the ranch, and Cash said his name. Jace couldn’t believe that he had gotten there so quickly, but he was glad
Cash had. And the man came prepared.
He walked in carrying a hard, black bag that looked like a cross between a suitcase and a briefcase. His gaze landed on Jace first. “You okay?”
“It looks worse than it is,” Jace said.
Clayton held out his hand to Cash. “Jace is lying. It’s that bad. Come in. Glad to have you.”
Jace took more pills for his headache, hoping it would alleviate the pain, but he knew it was wishful thinking. What really bothered him was that he wasn’t any good to Cooper right now, not in his current condition anyway.
He rubbed his eyes and dropped his hand to find Ryan staring at him. The police chief was the kind of man who noticed everything. Which is what made him so damn hard to beat at poker. Ryan gave him a nod before turning his attention to Danny, who was telling everyone that the sheriff’s department had set up a perimeter around the county, stopping all vehicles. Other deputies were on the lookout for any signs of Cooper, Marlee, or Stella Pearson.
“Additionally, the department notified OnStar to locate Abby’s Suburban,” Ryan added. “I’m hoping we hear something from them soon since we can’t track the phones.”
Jace leaned a shoulder against the wall. “Marlee will have ditched the SUV by now. Regardless, we need to find it. If it’s in a parking lot, we can see what other cars are missing. If it’s elsewhere, there’s a good chance a car was waiting for her or she’s on foot.”
“I agree with Jace,” Cash said. “I had some time to think about this on the way over. If Stella is the ringleader for this criminal activity, then any number of people could be working for her. Is she in custody?”
Ryan shook his head as he crossed his arms over his chest. “We didn’t bring her in yesterday because there isn’t enough evidence. Marlee has been after these people for a long time, and if she didn’t have evidence, then we’re going to be hard-pressed to find any.”
“But bringing Stella in would at least let her know that we’re on to her,” Caleb stated.