“We’re not gonna make it to Seattle,” Eric’s pilot called back.
His heart sunk, his fears coming to light. He had been watching the storm increase as the winds and rain beat against the small plane and was afraid that they might not make it.
“But if we can’t, that means they can’t either,” the pilot added.
“Where are we? Where can we get to? Better yet, where do you think they are?”
“Portland. It looks like most small planes are being sent to Portland. I’m radioing my contact to see if he can locate the plane that Lydia was on. If they’re stranded in Portland, we can get to them. Hell, we’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.”
Eric’s mind quickly recalculated what needed to be done. Giving the pilot the information for Rank and Bart’s plane, as well as Logan’s helicopter, he said, “I need you to let them know to divert to Portland.”
He listened as the pilot followed his instructions and then began their descent. Looking over at Chris, he noted the young man’s hair standing on end, his hand having run through it more than usual. Chris’ face showed fatigue, and his normally wired energy was subdued. He almost chuckled, thinking that if he looked in a mirror himself, he would appear very similar.
The landing was rough considering the wind gusts, but the pilot handled the aircraft like an expert, and they were soon taxiing to a small hangar.
“I’ve contacted my DHS supervisor,” the pilot said. “Immigration and Customs was on the alert in Seattle, and it appears that the ones here in Portland have just been notified.”
Eric’s chest tightened once more, and he growled, “So, with the delay, Robert could’ve slipped through their blockade.”
Once inside the hangar, he and Chris alighted from the aircraft. His eyes immediately landed on the two large men stalking toward him, their faces tense. Throwing his hand out, he reached the first one, and said, “Bart, no words, man. Just my eternal thanks.”
Bart pulled him in for a hug, then stepped back allowing the same for Rank. Turning, he introduced them to Chris, and then his eyes alighted on another man walking from the back. Muscular as well, Logan had more sinewy leanness than bulk. His dark hair was longer than he remembered, his face more lined. And yet, even in the tense situation, he saw ease in all three men. The women in their lives had to be the reason. When he got Lydia back maybe, one day, he would exude that same peace.
Moving to embrace Logan as well, they all stood in a circle, and he asked, “Did we lose them here?”
Logan, not mincing words, replied, “They had already landed by the time DHS got the word that they were probably going to come here.”
“Fuck!” he and Chris cursed at the same time.
“There is good news though,” Logan added. “They got a rental. It’s a small car, not good for the weather in this region, but it was the only thing that was left. The rental associate remembers the man, and when presented with a photograph of Robert, she confirmed it was him.”
“And Lydia?” he asked, anxious for the answer.
“Negative. Sorry, man. I know this is hard.”
He watched as Chris stepped to the side and sat cross-legged on the floor of the hangar, his computer in his lap. “Which rental company?” Chris asked.
“Star Rentals,” Logan replied. “They’re a local company. It seems with so many people landing here in Portland because of the storm, all the other major car rental dealers were out of stock.” Logan grinned, adding, “They’ve got GPS on all their cars.”
Chris looked up, and smirked, “Excellent.”
The other men regarded Chris with interest as he began typing rapidly. Eric smiled a little, remembering what he had thought of him when they first met. But he had proven himself to be a priceless asset in all this…and a good friend.
After less than a minute, Chris looked up and held his gaze. “They’re the most expensive car rental business in the area, which is probably why they were the only ones that had a car left. Lucky for us, though, because tracking GPS on vehicles is a piece of cake.”
Eric’s heart leaped for the first time that day. Logan knelt to the floor next to Chris and watched him work. Chris began tapping on his computer again, with Logan staring over his shoulder making suggestions.
“Bingo!” Chris looked up with a large smile on his tired face. “Boss, we’ve got ‘em. Looks like he’s driving to Seattle, but there must’ve been an accident on one of the main highways because he’s taking a back road.”
“What if they leave the car?” Rank asked.
Logan and Chris looked at each other and grinned, then in unison said, “Cell phone.” Chris continued the explanation, saying, “He had to leave his cell number on the rental agreement. We’ve pinged it and, right now, they’re in the same place, so he’s in the car with his phone. But if they dump the car,” he grinned up at Eric, “we’ve still got him.”
He looked at his team, some old and some new, and said, “Number one objective is to get to Lydia and get her out safe. DHS wants Robert, and I do too, but never forget that’s secondary to her.”
He had already looked over and spied the two, large SUVs and knew that his team would have them well-equipped. As they all nodded their agreement, he called out, “Let’s roll!”
“Hell, yeah,” echoed inside the hangar.
Exhaustion threatened to overtake Lydia, but she was terrified of closing her eyes. The small rental car bounced along some of the rough roads as her kidnapper tried to see through the heavy rain. Night had descended, but even if it had been the bright of day, she doubted she would’ve been able to see much. Rain pelted the car so furiously that with the wipers going at full blast, visibility was almost nil.
At first, she was grateful to not be on another airplane, but now she despised the jolting potholes that he seemed to be able to find with ease. Her geography was not strong, but she knew they had landed in Portland and were now trying to drive north to Seattle. She assumed they were surrounded by forests, but it was hard to tell in the powerful rainfall.
She had glanced at the dashboard when they first got in, observing that this car had GPS as part of its package, but he did not seem to know that. He drove with his left hand on the steering wheel and his right hand holding his phone, alternating between cursing at the screen and looking out the window.
Uncertainty filled her, not knowing what to do. Given the weather conditions, it was dangerous for him to keep looking at his phone, driving one handed. Already, more than once, they had almost careened off the road. But if she tried to help him with the GPS, would that simply get her to her unknown destination quicker? Not having any idea why she was being kidnapped or where she was being taken, she had little cause to make things easier for him.
She shivered slightly, having become soaked while getting from the plane to the rental car. Glancing to the side, she knew he shared her predicament. He finally shivered as well, and she was grateful when he turned the knob to allow heat to move through the automobile.
The backend fishtailed as he took a turn too quickly, and she grabbed hold of the door handle for support, her heart racing.
“Get your hand away from there,” he growled. “Trying to jump out of this car now would be stupid. And as a doctor, I can’t imagine you’re stupid.”
“I’m not trying to jump out. I’m just trying to hang on.” She had said very little during her ordeal, and her voice sounded unfamiliar to her—raspy and hoarse. She cleared her throat and considered speaking more, but another fishtail kept her quiet.
He over-corrected, and the car began to lurch sideways, the wheels unable to grab the surface. She screamed as they spun around in a circle, before sliding off into a ditch by the side of the road. The rear of the car went into the ditch first, causing the entire vehicle to tilt upward. They bounced and rumbled downward until finally jolting to a stop with a loud crunch. Unable to see outside, she had no idea if they were near a creek or, God forbid, a river.
The man beside her began cursing unmercifully, his fists pounding the steering wheel.
She continued to shiver but, this time, it was not from the cold, but the fear. Still too afraid to ask him any questions, she remained quiet, thankful when no water began to seep into the vehicle. The sounds of their fast breathing filled the air, and she swung her head to the side to see what he was going to do.
She startled when he began speaking, not having noticed he had dialed someone on his phone.
“I was on Highway Five, but there was an accident this side of Olympia, and I had to get off. I remember seeing a sign for Lambert’s Corner but then turned off on another road. I think we’re near some national forest. I was using my phone to get me to Seattle, but I can’t see shit, and these roads are terrible. We’ve gone into a ditch.”
He must have had the sound turned up on his phone because she could hear the other person clearly.
“I have been waiting at the rendezvous point for two hours. I do not like to be kept waiting.”
“Did you hear me? I said we’ve gone off the road. We’re in a fuckin’ ditch!”
“How is the doctor? Is she all right?”
The inside of the car was so dark, but she could see his face illuminated by the screen on his phone. He turned toward her, his eyes raking over her. “Yeah, she’s fine. It’s not like the car crumpled or anything. We’re just stuck in a fucking ravine.”
“You imbecile—”
“Don’t take that tone with me. I’ve been up and down on goddamn flights, doing everything you told me to do. If we get caught, I’m the one that will hang because I’m the one that took her.”
“You’re being paid very well to do exactly what I tell you to do.”
“That money won’t do me any good if I end up in prison for kidnapping. I’ll let you know right now, if I go down, you go down.”
Laughter was heard coming over the phone line, and the other man said, “I’m outside your laws. I’ll be long gone if anything happens. But enough about this, we’ll come up with a new rendezvous point. Where are you now?”
Mumbling, “Fuck if I know,” he jabbed at his phone’s GPS several more times, and then replied, “Okay, I got it. We’re north of Black Lake, about two miles south of Highway 101.”
A heavy sigh was heard, and she tried to still her heavy breathing so that she could continue to listen.
“I’ve located a small hotel with cabins not too far from you. You will take her and walk there. It will probably take me close to two hours to drive there.” Chuckling again, the man said, “With you going on foot, I’ll probably get there before you.”
Arguing, her kidnapper groused, “How do you expect me to walk in the dark, in the rain, dragging the doc along with me?”
She listened as the voice from the phone dropped an octave. “That is not my problem. You are to be there and make sure she’s with you. I want her alive and well.”
Her breath left her in a whoosh as she heard that she was not going to be killed, but she still could not understand why anyone wanted her. Before she had a chance to process that further, her arm was grabbed in a tight hold, and she jumped.
“You heard that. We’ve got no fuckin’ choice but to get out in this.”
He squeezed harder, and she whimpered, “Please, you’re hurting me.”
“I’ll do a lot more than that if you give me any problems,” he warned, but loosened his hold slightly.
“So, we’re going to walk? In this storm?” she asked, her voice trembling as her head nodded slightly toward the rain pouring on the outside.
“We’ve got no choice.”
She heard the resignation in his voice as he sighed heavily. He let go of her wrist and twisted around to the back seat, grabbing a bag. Digging into it, he pulled out duct tape.
“No, oh please God, no. Don’t tape me up again,” she begged.
“I can’t take the risk of you running away from me.”
Bravery born out of desperation, she said, “Where am I going to go? We’re in the middle of nowhere, in the pouring rain, in the dark. There are woods all around and God knows what kind of wild animals.”
She observed his jaw tightening and held her breath, terrified that he would grab her and tape her wrists together again. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he dropped the tape back into the bag.
“Don’t make me regret this,” he threatened. “Now, let’s get going.”
Nodding with gratitude over being able to use her arms and hands, she opened her door and tumbled outside. She immediately slipped on the wet leaves, going down hard on her hands and knees. The rain was pelting down so fiercely, she was drenched within a moment. She heard him coming around the front of the vehicle and scrambled to her feet. Pushing her wet hair away from her eyes, she began the climb up the incline toward the road.
Unable to see, she felt her way through the leaves over the rough rocks, feeling his presence right behind her. Finally touching asphalt, she hauled herself up the final few feet to get to the pavement. Still kneeling on all fours, now on the road, she was not sure her legs would hold her upright, but the kidnapper gave her no choice. He grabbed her roughly by the arm again, this time jerking her upward. She weaved back and forth for a few seconds before gathering the strength in her legs to stand on her own.
“I’ve got it.”
He let go of her arm, mumbling to himself. She looked back and forth in either direction, not remembering ever having been in such blackness before. If it was not for the occasional flash of lightning, she would have no idea of her surroundings.
Her kidnapper looked equally confused, examining first the road and then the pitch-black ravine. “We went over this side, so we must’ve been going in that direction.” He lifted his hand toward the left, and ordered, “Move.”
Stumbling alongside him, having no clue where she was going, she could only pray they would keep her alive long enough for someone to find her. But with each step, she wondered how that could possibly happen.