Devoted Defender (13 page)

“This is Sasha Derring,” she answered.

“Sasha, this is Caleb Winters and Annie Thomas.”

“Ah. I was hoping that I would hear from you. Annie, I’m so sorry that things got a little out of control when we met. That was never my intention. I really want to finish our discussion.”

“That’s why we’re calling,” he said. “Annie filled me in on what McCoy’s accusation was, and we have some information about why he would have a motivation to lie about Annie.”

“All right. I’m listening,” Sasha said.

“I’ll let Annie tell you,” he said.

She wanted to be able to provide the information to Sasha herself. “Sasha, when I was seventeen I shot my mom’s boyfriend in self defense. Did you know that?”

“No. I didn’t.”

“I just recently found out that the man I shot, Damon Vaughn, is Tim Silva’s cousin.”

“He runs the Florida part of the Silva enterprise,” Caleb added.

“Well, that’s an interesting turn of events,” Sasha said.

“We believe that Silva has targeted Annie not just because she witnessed McCoy shoot and kill Doc Perry, but because his cousin Vaughn wants revenge.”

Annie realized she was holding her breath as she waited to hear Sasha’s reaction.

“And you’re implying that McCoy would lie about Annie killing Doc because he’s gotten the order to do so from Silva or Vaughn.”

“Exactly,” Caleb said. “Annie isn’t a killer. She’s an upstanding citizen. It’s her word versus a mercenary hit man who has already confessed to killing Phil Perry.”

Sasha sighed loudly. “If you two hadn’t run out the other day, I would’ve told you myself that I didn’t think there was merit to McCoy’s allegation. But the police can’t just ignore his statements.”

“I don’t trust the police,” Annie said. “We don’t know who Silva has in his back pocket.”

“Annie’s right. We have narrowly escaped with our lives multiple times now. We’re coming to you because we don’t believe that Silva has influence over you. But at this point, I no longer feel confident I can say the same thing about the Atlanta police or the FBI.”

“I understand your fears,” Sasha said. “Let me do some digging on my end including interviewing McCoy again. I appreciate you reaching out. But know that I can’t control the actions of the Atlanta police.”

“Understood. Thanks.” He hung up the phone and looked at her.

“Do you think she believes me?” she asked.

“I do. She’s a smart prosecutor. She knows better than to believe a totally concocted story. It’s just a matter, like she said, that the police have different obligations and interests. They like to question everyone.”

A loud knock on the door had her jumping.

“It’s okay,” he said. “I’m sure it’s one of the guys.”

She trailed him as he went to open the door.

Mac walked in the door.

“How did you find us?” Caleb asked. “No offense, but we were supposed to be completely off the grid.”

“Listen to me, bro. We’ve got a problem.”

“Come on in and tell me what’s going on.” They walked into the living room.

Mac turned and looked at Caleb. “Gabby’s missing.”

Caleb thought he heard his brother wrong. “Missing? What do you mean?”

“She’s gone dark. Completely. No contact from her cell. I went to her apartment and checked your house. She’s nowhere to be found.”

Caleb started thinking. A bad feeling swelled through his gut. “Did Gabby talk to you about Silva’s drug operations in Maxwell?”

“No. Not a word. Was she supposed to?” Mac asked.

“This is all my fault,” Annie said. “I bet she was trying to help us.”

“This isn’t your fault, Annie,” he responded.

Mac crossed his arms. “Please fill me in on what you’re talking about.”

Caleb could tell by the look on his brother’s face, that Mac wasn’t going to like what he had to tell him. “Gabby called me and told me that Silva had moved some drug ops into Maxwell. Specifically, she said there was some type of warehouse she wanted to investigate.”

“What? And you encouraged her?” Mac asked in a raised voice.

“Absolutely not. Just the opposite. I told her to step back. That things had gotten far too dangerous.”

“And she promised she would,” Annie added. “I heard her say that she would.”

“Well, it looks like she didn’t. And now she’s gone.” Mac started pacing back and forth.

“Maybe she’s on another job,” Caleb said.

“And not answering her phone or email? No way,” Mac said. “We’ve always stayed in contact regardless of the job. You know that’s how we operate.”

“Then we need to consider that this is Silva’s doing.” Caleb didn’t want to say the words because then that made it seem more real. But he didn’t see any other alternative that made sense given all the facts.

“He’s trying to get to you, to me through your sister. Once again, this is my fault,” Annie said. “What can I do? We’ve got to find her.”

“Let’s think this through,” Caleb said. They needed all the help they could get, as they were fighting this battle on multiple fronts. The thought of Silva having his little sister made him sick. And angry. But getting mad wasn’t going to solve their problem. No, he had to act smart right now. Gabby’s life might depend on it.

“I’m going to go start the search for her. I need to find this warehouse you’re talking about. What if they’re holding her there?” Mac asked. “Any idea where it could be?”

Caleb was trying to keep his cool because Mac was close to losing it. “Just that it was supposed to be in Maxwell. Contact Mike. He offered to keep an eye out for her. Maybe he’s seen something that can give us some leads on her whereabouts. Also bring Gabe in and get him to help you. I can’t leave Annie alone here.”

Mac nodded. “Yeah, we can use all the help we can get. Bro, if something happens to Gabby, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“We can’t think like that right now. Gabby’s strong and resourceful. We need to stay positive and think clearly if we want to do our best to help her.”

“I’ll be fine if you need to go, Caleb.” Annie stepped forward. “No one knows that we’re here.”

“Absolutely not. I’m not going to leave you here by yourself. We don’t have any guarantee that this location is one hundred percent secure.”

Annie took a step toward him. “Well, then take me with you and I can help.”

Caleb shook his head. “Annie, taking you into the unknown is also not an option at this point. We don’t need more problems than we already have.”

“Armed with this intel about the storage facility in Maxwell that she told you about, I’m going to go back to town and start searching for her. I’ll keep you updated. I don’t want to waste any time. Each minute could matter,” Mac said. He walked toward the door. “I’ll call Gabe from the road.”

“Keep me posted,” he replied.

Once Mac closed the door and left, he turned around and faced Annie.

“I’m so sorry. This is my fault. The only reason she was doing any work related to Silva was because of me.”

“No, Annie. The responsibility lies with Silva, not you. He’s the criminal here.”

“You need to be out there looking for Gabby. Not here babysitting me. She’s your sister, Caleb. She needs you right now, and I don’t want to be the one standing in the way of you getting to her.”

“Don’t you see, Annie? Losing you would be unbearable for me. Mac and Gabe will find Gabby. I’m not going to leave you here like a sitting duck by yourself with no protection at all. That would be foolish. And it would be the last thing in the world that Gabby would want. Remember how seriously she took her protective detail of you?”

“Yes, but…”

“No. Gabby would not want me to forsake you to help her. Yes, she’s my sister and I love her. But she’s also a trained private investigator. So are we on the same page?”

Annie looked up at him. “Yes,” she said softly. “I just don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

He reached out and cradled her face with his hands. “We’ll get through this together.”

She took another step forward and he wrapped his arms around her.

**

That night Annie sat in the living room with the TV on but not really paying attention to whatever show was on. She was becoming far too attached to Caleb. But as much as she kept telling herself that she wasn’t capable of having a regular relationship with someone, she couldn’t give up hope. What if there was even a one percent chance that her life could be different? That she could take a different path than her mom had?

And Caleb was the main reason for her having those feelings. After listening to what he had gone through in Afghanistan, she would be forever changed. The hurt and pain that he had experienced was something she would never be able to fully comprehend. But the fact that he had shared his journey made a huge difference to her. It made her think that maybe they weren’t all that different after all. Maybe they both had their pain and past, but they could grow together.

But that would still mean that she would have to get over herself. Her doubts about whether she’d end up just like her mother. Her fears about being codependent on a man. Maybe God was providing her a way to break through it all.

“Hey.” Caleb walked into the room breaking her out of her thoughts.

“Any word on Gabby?”

“Nothing yet. But they plan to stay out all night if they have to. There’s only so much ground to cover in Maxwell so they should be able to do it. I also just heard from Kane. He’s trying to get the latest DEA intel on Vaughn’s whereabouts.”

She shivered just hearing his name. “You know, I want to be at a place where hearing his name doesn’t bother me. But I’m not there yet.”

He took her hand in his. “You can get there, though. I know you can.”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about everything you told me about what happened to you in the war.”

“You have?”

She nodded. “I’m so in awe of what you were able to do. Given all the pain and strife you went through. But listening to you talk about it all gives me some measure of hope.”

He smiled. “I’m glad that you can take something from my sorrow. That’s why I feel like we’re more alike than you think. We’ve both had some painful experiences and we can relate to each other because of it.”

“I look at you, at the burden you had to bear. It was certainly a heavier burden than mine. But here you are giving me the pep talk. I could use some of your strength.”

“Like I said before, Annie, I couldn’t have done it by myself. The Lord came through for me in a huge way.” He squeezed her hand. “And don’t discount how strong you are. Strength isn’t just about the physical, it’s about the emotional and the spiritual.”

“I’ve never had anyone tell me that I was strong. I’m not used to hearing it.”

“Don’t ever underestimate yourself.”

“Thanks for having faith in me.”

Caleb’s phone rang and he dropped her hand to pull it out of his phone. “It’s Gabby!”

He put it on speaker and answered. “Gabby?”

“Caleb, thank God you answered.”

“What’s wrong? Where are you? We’ve been trying to contact you.”

“I need you to come help me, please. I hurt my ankle and I can’t walk. If you don’t get here quickly, Silva’s men will find me. Please come quickly.”

“Mac and Gabe are in Maxwell trying to find you right now. What’s the address? I’ll send them and they’ll be right there.”

“No. I’m not in Maxwell. I’m in Atlanta.”

“What?”

“It’s a long story and I don’t have time to explain. The address is 778 Murphy Street. Please hurry.”

There were some voices in the background before the line went dead.

**

Annie looked at him. “We need to go now. Gabby’s hurt and we’re so much closer than Mac and Gabe.”

He paused for a moment. He couldn’t leave Annie alone. That was too risky. But he also didn’t like the idea of taking her directly into the lion’s den. But his baby sister needed him. She had begged him to help. Which made him think something was off, because come to think of it, he didn’t think he had ever heard his sister beg for help in his entire life.

So he had to go save Gabby and get her out of there. But he also had to keep Annie safe. He looked over at Annie. And once again this woman amazed him. She was willing to put her own life in danger to try to save Gabby.

“You’re right. Let’s go.” He grabbed his bag of supplies that Kane had gotten him and double-checked his sidearm. He wasn’t quite sure how this was all going to go down but there was no time now to try to sketch out a fully developed plan. He’d just have to wing it as he went.

They got into the SUV they were currently driving that Gabe had provided him. He put the street address in the GPS and hit the gas.

“We can do this,” Annie said. “Gabby’s going to be all right. Like you said, she’s one tough person.”

Once again Annie was showing no fear. “You’re becoming too good at this, you know that?”

“Just taking it all one step at a time.” She paused. “What’s our plan when we get there?”

That was the million dollar question. “A lot will depend on what is actually at this address.”

“Why do you think she ended up somewhere in Atlanta investigating instead of Maxwell?”

“Maybe she got a different lead. Gabby is relentless. If she found new information that she thought would bring her closer to getting rock solid evidence against Silva, then she would act on it. She’s not going to back down from a challenge.”

“Even it if were dangerous.”

“Yes. Even if.” And that’s what he feared the most—that Gabby had stepped right into the danger zone. And now his baby sister was hurt and calling him for help. He could only pray that they got there fast enough as he accelerated even further.

Annie pointed to the GPS. “Looks like we’re just a couple minutes out. We’re headed into an industrial district of town.”

“Yeah. I’m going to park a little bit away because I have no idea what the situation will be at the actual address.”

“Okay. That sounds like a good idea.”

She might be saying that now, but he had a feeling she wasn’t going to like the other part of his plan that he was currently developing on the fly. When he saw that he was a few blocks away, he stopped the car in front of a carpet company.

He reached into the back and grabbed his bag. Then he pulled a gun out of the bag. “Annie, I need you to listen to me closely.”

“All right. I’m listening.”

His eyes locked onto hers. “I’m going to need you to stay here in the car while I go inside.”

She shook her head. “No way. I’m going in with you. It’ll be better if there are two of us. I can help you. I promise.”

“No. It’s far too dangerous. I don’t know what I’m going to be facing. And since Gabby is hurt, I’ll have to probably carry her out of there, and I won’t be able to protect you both at the same time.”

She bit her bottom lip but didn’t say anything.

“I need you to get in the driver’s seat when I get out. If you feel threatened in any way, by anyone, no matter who they are, I want you drive away.”

“All right.”

“Can you promise me that you can do that?”

“Yes. I understand.”

“And one more thing. I know you’re not big on guns, but I’m leaving this Glock here with you.” He placed the gun in the center console. “I turned the safety off. So all you need to do is point and shoot. You’ve done it before. You can do it again. But only if you have to. It’s just an extra level of precaution. The first option is just to drive away. You got it?”

“Yes. I’ll wait here and if there’s anything suspicious. I’ll drive away. I can loop back around if need be and pick you up.”

“I’ll be as fast as I can. I’ve texted Mac and Gabe, but their ETA is forty five minutes.”

“Just go. Don’t waste any more time with me. I promise I’ll be fine here. Go get Gabby. She needs you now.”

Without thinking, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

**

Caleb jogged the few blocks up to the address that Gabby had told him. When he reached the destination, he looked up to see a large two story building under construction. Gabby was somewhere in there and he intended to find her.