Chapter Seventy-Five

Dane’s heart fell as he watched Lena check the bedroom for the third time. He’d done a thorough sweep. In the closet, under the bed. Nothing. A six-year-old was fairly small, but he knew she just wasn’t there.

“Two children found,” Dane said into the com. “Neither is Kenzie. She’s not in any of the rooms. We’re moving to the West Building.”

“I’m only getting one thermal in the West Building,” Angel answered. “Northwest corner.”

Dane picked up and handed the smaller girl to Lena, then carried the older one out of the house, and they laid them both out in the fresh air. Hopefully, they would wake up soon and he would be able to get some information from them.

He slipped his mask off, and Lena did the same.

Taking her hand, he led her into the bigger house through the sliding rear door. He kept the Beretta up and ready, and headed toward the thermal Angel had seen.

The northwest corner of the house was a bedroom. He swept the room and found the heat source. A small boy was huddled in the corner. He was mumbling, but Dane picked up a few words in Mandarin.

Damn.

He picked up the boy, who whimpered but didn’t struggle, and carried him out to the girls.

“Angel? You have anything else other than a group by the entrance of the East Building?”

“I have heat by the fence where you came in. That’s it.”

Just the dogs.

“Shit,” he muttered.

Lena’s daughter wasn’t here, at all.

From the pain in her multi-colored eyes, it was obvious Lena understood the situation.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, knowing it wasn’t good enough.

The sound of sirens broke through the quiet tension.

“Police en route,” Angel said. “I’ll make sure they know the situation before they arrive.”

No doubt, Thorne had a favor ready to be called in, if needed.

The older girl began to stir, and Lena went to calm her.

“What’s going on with the Vancouver raid?” he asked, his heart in his throat. He was almost afraid to ask.

“I’m still waiting for confirmation.”

Still waiting? What was taking so long?

Two police officers walked up to the gate, and Dane stepped into the small booth to open it so they could enter.

“U. S. Deputy Marshal Dane Ryan,” he identified himself, and shook the officer’s hands.

He introduced Lena, and told them they didn’t know the children’s names or who they belonged to. Just as the older girl was telling them her name was Molly, he heard Angel in his ear.

“We have him.”

“You have Tobey?” he confirmed, joy leaping through his whole body.

“Yeah. He’s safe. We have an ambulance and police on the scene. Someone’s been hurt.”

“Who?”

“We’re not sure. We lost contact with the team. I spoke to the police, and they verified Tobey and the other boys are safe. They couldn’t tell me what happened, or who was hurt.”

“Keep me posted. Let me know as soon as you hear anything,” he said.

Lena’s head snapped up, concern in her eyes. “What happened?”

He swiped a hand through his hair. “Tobey’s okay. But someone else was hurt. I’m not sure if it was Garrett or Justin.” He felt as though he’d been slugged in the chest. Someone in his family had been hurt, and could be dying.

She gazed at him for a moment, then said, “You need to go.”

He pressed his lips together. The urge to go to his son was strong, as well as to be by the side of whoever was wounded. But he couldn’t leave Lena here by herself. She had no ID. He should have had Angel make her one, but now there wasn’t time.

“No. I can’t leave you alone,” he said. “What about Kenzie?”

She swallowed and looked away. “We can’t do anything, anyway. Not until we figure out where he’s taken her.” Lena nodded to the little girl clinging to her. “I’ll stay with the girls until their parents come to get them. Maybe they can give us a clue. You need to be with Tobey. Go. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, everything in him pulling toward Vancouver…but not wanting to abandon Lena.

“Yes. Go.”

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “We’re not giving up,” he assured her. “We’re going to find your daughter. Don’t worry.” He knew that wasn’t going to work, of course she would worry. But it was the best he could do at the moment.

He pulled the emergency credit card from the backpack and handed it to her. She moved to push it away but he forced it into her hand, along with his Beretta since he couldn’t take it on the plane last minute, and the keys to the Jeep. “I’ll be back for you as soon as I can. Until then get a hotel room, and try to remain calm. I’ll call you when I land. Phone?”

“Yep.” She dug it out of her pocket and showed it to him.

“Good. And you still have the com, right?”

“Yeah,” she said, touching her ear.

“Use it if you need to. I’ll have Angel monitor the channel on the hour.”

He kissed her, using his lips to convince her this wasn’t the end.

He turned toward one the police officers. “Can one of you give me a lift to the airport?”

The next flight out was only forty minutes from now, but he booked it from his phone, and prayed he wouldn’t have to wait until the next morning. He was dropped off at the terminal, and asked the cop to take care of Lena until he got back.

“Sure,” the man agreed, and shook his hand.

Dane raced through security and made his flight with only a few minutes to spare. Once in the air, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, waiting for the peace of knowing his child was safe to settle over him. But it didn’t.

He was too worried about Lena. And especially Kenzie.

She was in grave danger. By now, Viktor would know Lena had betrayed him. What would he do to the little girl to get his revenge? If Dane was worked up, Lena must be a total mess.

He’d hated having to leave her behind. But he’d be back, and they would work together to find her daughter. He wouldn’t rest until Kenzie was safe and Lena could smile that real smile he’d only seen a few times.