eleven

RUTHIE TIGHTENED HER GRIP on the steering wheel and glanced in the rearview mirror at Sally. The woman looked done in. No doubt the pain meds were helping her headache, but she couldn’t be comfortable. Still, the tight jaw said she was determined to keep it together for her kids. Her eyes slid shut and she leaned her head back.

“Where are we going?” Ruthie asked Isaac. When he tossed his phone out the window, her blood ran cold.

He glanced at her. “We’re heading to a very remote area about thirty minutes from here.”

“Where?”

“Someplace that’s going to be hard for anyone to sneak up on, but I think I heard a baby crying in the background, so we know the little one is okay.”

Sally made no response from the back, and Ruthie realized she’d dropped back off. It was probably for the best. Her traumatized brain needed to heal.

With Isaac giving her directions, Ruthie drove. “Brady’s not going to be able to follow us, is he?”

“I don’t think so. Unless he gets creative.”

“What are we going to do?”

“We aren’t going to do anything.”

“Isaac—”

“I mean it. I’m going to find the kids, and you and Sally are going to stay hidden.”

“They said for all three of us to be there,” Ruthie said.

“Yeah, well, they’re getting ready to find out that sometimes you have to compromise to get what you want.”

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at the rural edge of a town. An empty lot with a trailer at the back of the property loomed before them. Trees surrounded the area, and Ruthie’s hopes rose. It might actually be possible to sneak up on the trailer from the back through the woods. Somehow. Maybe. But they’d probably have a lookout.

Isaac directed her where to park, then took the flash drive and pressed it into her hand. “Hold on to this. They’re not getting it until we know the kids are safe. Y’all stay put until help gets here, okay?”

“I’m going,” Sally said. “My kids are in there. There’s no way I’m staying behind. If you go, I’ll just follow you.”

Isaac’s jaw tightened. “I can’t keep you safe if you’re with me.”

“I’m not asking you to keep me safe. I’m telling you I’m getting my kids with or without your help.”

“Sally—”

“I’m going.” Sally climbed from the vehicle, purse clutched under her arm.

Isaac gave an exasperated growl and pointed a finger at Ruthie. “Can you at least stay here with the flash drive? And find a place to hide if you see anyone coming?”

“I can do that.”

Sally shot a frantic glance back at Ruthie, and Ruthie hoped the woman could keep it together. At least until her children were safe.

From her position behind the wheel, she looked down at the flash drive, then drew in a deep breath and started praying.

Isaac kept his weapon out of sight and his good hand on Sally’s lower back. He led her along the tree line. Somehow it made him feel less of a target, even though they could have someone planted out of sight, ready to pick them off. The door to the trailer opened and Paul Sullivan stepped out with a weapon trained on him and Sally.

Isaac pulled to a stop. “Why am I not surprised? Cole in there with you?”

“Cole? That do-gooder? No way, man. Get in here.”

To say he was surprised to hear Cole wasn’t involved was an understatement. “Why the voice distortion?”

“It was fun to use it.”

“Right.”

“Where’s the other one?” Sullivan asked. “The doctor?”

“She’s here,” Isaac said as they walked into the trailer.

“She’s in the car with the flash drive,” Sally said. “Now where are my kids?”

Isaac winced. She obviously wasn’t thinking clearly. He prayed Ruthie had listened to him and had gotten herself to a place to hide.

“They’re fine. In the back room. Help yourself and stay there. Don’t come out until someone comes to get you.”

Sally turned on her heel and disappeared down the hall. Isaac heard a squeal. “Mama!”

At least the kids were safe. Now he just had to find a way to get them all out. “Where’s your partner?” he asked.

“Busy. Where’s your backup?”

“It’s likely they’re trying to find us but probably not having much luck. We did what you said. It’s time to let Sally and her kids go.”

“You let me worry about Sally and the kids. Put your weapon on the floor and kick it over here.”

Isaac didn’t bother to argue. He removed his weapon, placed it on the floor, and gave it a shove with his foot. It slid under the couch.

Sullivan rolled his eyes. “You always did have lousy aim.” He held his weapon on Isaac and lifted his phone to his ear. “Check the car. The doc has the flash drive.” He looked at Isaac. “That was clever using the body bag and the gurney.”

“Ruthie’s idea.” He paused, ears tuned, trying to figure out a way to get his gun and shoot his way out. The only problem was that he felt sure Sullivan wasn’t acting alone. Someone else was here. Somewhere. “How much did Howard want to keep quiet?”

“A million.”

“Wow. And you didn’t want to pay him off and avoid all this?”

“Wouldn’t have had to if you hadn’t caught Lansing stuffing his shirt. Howard got scared it was all coming to an end and wanted a big payoff. He planned to disappear somewhere tropical with all that money. Unfortunately, we weren’t interested in funding the trip.”

“Speaking of Lansing, I assume he’s here somewhere?”

“Somewhere.”

“Who else?”

“Me, Lansing, Harrison, and Howard. Too many people means smaller pieces of the pie.”

Why didn’t Isaac believe that?

Sullivan’s phone buzzed, and he lifted it and checked the incoming text. His eyes hardened on Isaac, his jaw tightening. “Where is she?”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s not in the car.”

Ruthie made her way to the back of the trailer. She simply couldn’t sit in the car and do nothing. She had to at least make sure Isaac and Sally didn’t need her and the extra weapon she carried. Two of the windows were covered, but the third gave her a view into the back bedroom. She could see Sally sitting on the bed with her three children. The woman held the smallest one and the other two leaned against her.

There was no way to get them out of the room through the window, so they would have to wait. It didn’t look like they had anyone guarding them at the moment—at least not inside the room.

Footsteps sounded, leaves crunched, and she ducked, then darted back to the tree line to huddle behind one of the larger tree trunks. A man she didn’t recognize walked the perimeter of the trailer, his steps crunching the fallen leaves. Had he heard her own steps in her race from the trailer? Seemed like he couldn’t have missed them.

He swept a weapon over the area and continued the trek. If he’d heard the crunching leaves, he didn’t seem concerned. Then again, maybe he wasn’t listening for her or expecting anyone to be back here.

Once he was out of sight and looking like he was heading back toward her car, Ruthie ran a shaky hand over her hair. What should she do? Wait for the guy to leave the car and go find help? No, they were looking for her now. Eventually, they would do something to one of their hostages when they realized they couldn’t find her. Ruthie shuddered.

She needed a plan. A distraction.

She pulled the weapon from her waistband and fired a shot into a tree.

Isaac dove headfirst into Sullivan’s abdomen when the man jerked at the gunshot. The loud crack had provided the opportunity Isaac needed to get the drop on him.

Sullivan’s breath whooshed from his lungs, and he went to a knee. Isaac moved in with a hard punch to the man’s face. He kept swinging, staying on the offensive, because working with one arm, if he let Sullivan get the upper hand, Isaac would be toast.

“Don’t move!” Ruthie’s voice came from behind him.

Isaac landed one more punch on Sullivan’s jaw, and the man’s eyes rolled back in his head.

With his good arm, Isaac pushed himself to his feet and turned to find Ruthie with her weapon still trained on the unconscious Sullivan. “There’s another one out there,” she said.

Isaac nodded. “I need something to tie this guy up with. Then we can worry about the other one.”

“Do you know who he is?”

“Probably Lansing. I’m not sure that it was just the three of them. There may be more.”

“I haven’t seen anyone else.”

“We’ll figure that out in a minute. Grab his phone and call Brady.” Isaac grabbed a lamp cord and yanked it from the base of the light. He used his good arm and feet to roll Sullivan to his stomach, then held the cord out to Ruthie. “Actually, I’m going to need your help first. Help me get his hands behind his back.” She did, then bent the man’s knee and attached his ankle to his wrists. He would be miserably uncomfortable when he woke up, but Isaac really didn’t care. “Nice job.”

“Thanks, but I don’t see the phone anywhere,” she said. “Where is it?”

He looked around. No phone. “Check under the furniture.”

“What’s going on? What’s happening?” Sally cried from the hallway. Her eyes landed on the man trussed up and unconscious and she gasped.

“Get your kids and get out that back door,” Isaac told her. “Run into the woods and find a place to hide. Take a blanket just in case this takes a while.” He tossed her one from the sofa. “Ruthie, go with her while you can. I don’t know how long before the other guy gets back.”

“But—”

“Help her get her kids to safety. I can take care of this. I’m not leaving just yet. I’ll find the phone and call Brady. Just go. Hurry.”

Ruthie pressed her lips together and looked at Sally. “What did they do with your phone?”

“Um. I have it. In my purse.”

“They didn’t take it?”

“Yes, but I found it in the bathroom a minute ago.”

“Okay.” She shot a look at Isaac. “Are you sure about this?”

“My concern is the kids. And not letting these guys get away with this. You have the evidence. Make sure it gets into the right hands. And stay away from the vehicle. They probably have someone watching it.”

Ruthie nodded. “All right, come on, Sally. We’ll call for help once we make sure your children are safe.”

Sally started to say something, then bit her lip, spun on her heel, and disappeared back down the hallway. In seconds, she had all three children with her—baby on her hip, the other two trailing behind, eyes wide, scared.

Ruthie held her arms out to the little girl, who looked to be about four years old. The child let her pick her up. Ruthie nodded to Sally. “I’m ready when you are.” The five of them slipped out the back door and headed to the woods.

Just then, Isaac heard a footfall on the step outside the front door and raised his weapon.