Last Chance To Run (24 page)

Chapter 45

Early evening settled over the city under a blanket of ominous clouds. Zane wheeled his truck into the covered parking garage at Miami International Airport minutes behind the vehicle he’d been tracking. He pulled into the first open space, ready to track the transmitter on foot now that it appeared to be stationary.

Carrying the tablet with the tracking receiver concealed in a magazine, he followed the signal until it indicated he’d reached the target. In the far, outer region of the crowded garage sat a black Land Rover still dripping from the rain.

Zane waited until he was reasonably sure no one remained in the vehicle, then strolled forward casually, scouting the area each step. With a building sense of dread, he sidled around the far side of the SUV and glanced inside.

No bodies were visible.

That was a plus. A soft drink can was lodged in the drink holder between the front seats, but other than that the interior appeared spotless. When he moved toward the rear to check the cargo area, a flash of yellow in the back seat caused him to do a double take.

Angel’s running shoe sat on the floor.

He’d been tracking her shoe, not her. His heart sank.

So where was she? After a quick perusal of the empty rear cargo, he made a mental note of the tag number and the gold triangle logo on the side. What was
Lorde
Industries?

Zane returned to his truck where he punched the screen on the tablet to take the tracking program back to the last fixed position before the blip had started moving toward the airport.

When he reached that location, Angel had better be there.

If not, what then?

After the fiasco with High Vision, could he still call Ben for help? His best friend would be there for him for sure, but maybe not the agency.

Ben was a last resort option.

Zane wouldn’t take any chance of putting Ben’s job at risk or pull him away from his wife right now.

He threw the truck into gear and jockeyed his way out of the thick airport traffic.
Playing “what if” wasted energy and time.
He had to find her.
Period.

And he
would
.

The minute Ben
called,
Zane would have his friend search
Lorde
Industries.

Dodging in and out of showers through congested roadways transformed the drive back to I-95 from arduous to excruciating. At the exit for an industrial district, he turned south to Kendall, an older area just below Miami. Four miles west of the interstate, he entered a commercial zone and slowed to cruise through industrial parks inundated with mammoth buildings.

Tractor-trailer rigs were backed up to loading docks on several properties, but little activity stirred at eight-thirty on a holiday weekend night. He circled and crossed over railroad tracks, then hung an immediate left down an access road. Dilapidated buildings with real estate signs offering the properties for sale or lease were scattered from one street to the next.

His truck crawled along the dark corridor.

The original tracking signal had come from here, but when he enlarged the map to pinpoint the exact spot, the signal blinked and jumped. Maybe one of the bugs Ben had talked about. Zane squinted to see through sheets of rain, on the verge of deciding to cover the area on foot if he had to, when a cat ran across the street in front of him. He slammed on his brakes.

His gaze followed the feline’s path as the tabby scampered off to his right.

At the end of a vacant alley, a bright glow flickered from a tall street lamp and reflected off of something shiny. He flipped open his console and dug out a set of infrared night-vision binoculars.

A vehicle came into focus. Not a vacant alley after all.

He pulled forward a foot or two for a better angle. It was a Land Rover. Just like the one in the airport garage.

Coincidence?
His gut said no.

He just hoped Angel was there, and alive.

First he had to hide his flashy truck, and was suddenly not as thrilled about the color as the day he’d picked it out. No time to get another vehicle now. And he needed to locate a second access to the building other than the alley. He wove his way through the bleak commercial area. An offshoot railroad track from the main line ran through a clearing in the trees. The track appeared to run alongside the building.

He backed the truck off of the shoulder, positioning it behind a clump of grown-up scrub alongside the track. Not great, but not in easy view of the road unless you were looking. If Angel was in that building, the chances of going through a door were slim. He’d seen some high windows. He’d take what he needed to recon the area and gain access if he
could find a way in.

Zane set his phone on vibrate, shoved his Sig into a holster that clipped inside the waistband of his jeans, and fit it against his hip. He threw a poncho on and shoved his hands into a pair of leather work gloves. 

Now would be a good time to have the thermal imaging system he’d used in his fighter plane. Even a small night vision monocular would be a great substitute, but he didn’t have that either. The binoculars would work, but would be in the way if he had to climb. He’d do without.

He was just thankful he’d had Ben’s tracking device.

Lightning ripped across the black skies and rain continued in a steady downpour. He reached in the back seat for the roll of anchor rope and wound about fifty feet into a loop, hanging the pile over his shoulder.

Using the tight beam of his LED flashlight, he jogged down the track,
then
flipped the beam off as he neared the sport utility.  

On close inspection, the Land Rover was branded with a gold triangle logo identical to the one from the airport. He picked his way around the tall metal structure, stumbling through a minefield of piled buckets, weeds, and scattered boards. Rain drummed against every hard object in its way, camouflaging any unintentional noise.

Most tall warehouses had a ladder for accessing the roof, but as he rounded the last side, checking out the building, this one proved him wrong.

He felt his way around toward the front.

When his hand plowed through a web of thick vines and caught on a metal rung, he expelled a sigh of relief. Vines wrapped the ladder and covered the wall as high as he could reach. With no idea if the metal was rusted to pieces or still strong, he tentatively placed his weight on each step. Once he stood on the roof, shafts of light shone upward through small holes in the ceiling.

The only illuminated room was near the front quarter of the structure.

Lightning flashed and exposed gaping holes in the roof where water funneled into the building.

He switched on his small flashlight to hunt the center beam at the pitch of the roof rather than risk crashing through a weak area. Once there, he navigated to the light source.

He knelt down and crawled close enough to peer into a bright opening.

One of the largest men Zane had ever seen sat reclined in a chair with his tree-trunk legs propped on a crate. His meaty fingers tapped a rhythm to hard rock music vibrating out of a boom box. What had Trish said?
Angel’s attacker could be a professional wrestler
.

If Angel was here, Zane would have to get her without tangling with this brute, or he’d be forced to use his weapon. He had to squint into the opening and move around without stopping the roof leak while he searched the room’s layout.

There were two doorways in the small room. One exited the building and the other accessed another room. Zane shined his light over the roof to what should be the next room. Water streamed into the pitch-black hole through two ragged openings in the tin.

He crawled to the edge of a hole as wide as his overstuffed chair. He couldn’t see a thing inside until lightning fingered across the sky, turning the dark night to daylight for several seconds.

During the momentary brilliance, a dash of yellow brightened one corner.

He’d found Angel.

Chapter 46

CK’s phone vibrated against his hip. He turned down the music, but still had to click up the receiver volume to hear over the downpour pounding the metal roof.

“Speak.”

“This is Joe. The plane just landed. I’ll let you know when I have ML and we’re on the way.
Shouldn’t be more than thirty minutes.”

“I’ll be here.”  CK thumbed the phone off and cranked up the music.

His leggy captive should be primed for Mason after today. Mason wanted her pliable. Last time he’d seen her, she was close to being putty.
Wouldn’t take much more to have her begging.

Chapter 47

Angel shivered hard. She tucked herself into a tighter ball on the damp floor. Rain clattered down on the building. The racket echoed through the room, sounding as though a thousand nails showered against the metallic surface. Something furry bumped her hand.

She went from exhausted to
terrified
in less than three seconds.
A rat?
She wobbled to her feet, ready to flee if the animal jumped on her.

Lightning exploded outside, sending a flash of light charging through the wide hole in the ceiling.

A figure appeared in the center of the room. Was the giant sneaking up on her? Mason would be next.

She couldn’t take any more. Fear snapped her control.

Angel ran in the direction of the door, praying he’d left it unlocked when he came into the room. Halfway across the room, she was snatched off of her feet.

“
Noo
...” died in her throat when a hand clamped over her mouth. Strain and fear had taken a toll. She made one puny attempt to struggle against the rock hard body and knew she couldn’t defeat his strength.

She crumbled emotionally. Tears gushed down the sides of her face. Her knees gave way.

Before she could fall to the ground, the hand covering her mouth slid away and two strong arms wrapped around her chest to support her. She heard, “
Shhh
. It’s me, Zane.” 

That was the last straw. Her mind had snapped if she actually thought Zane would materialize out of thin air.

Unable to stop, she cried in broken sobs smothered by the deafening rain. She felt herself shifted around until she cried against a broad chest. Long fingers on one hand supported her around the waist as another began stroking up and down her back.

Her phantom kissed her forehead and whispered next to her ear. “
Shhh
, baby,
it’s
okay. I’m going to get you out of here.” 

Zane was so very warm, even if he were a hallucination. She wanted to climb inside his heat. A shudder racked her body and he tucked her closer.

“Honey, don’t cry. I swear I’ll get you out of here.”

A hand cupped her chin, lifting it. Warm lips she recognized kissed her gently. He was no hallucination.

Nothing had ever felt as real as Zane.

Finally, she quieted and ran a hand over Zane’s face. “It is you,” she said, her voice full of awe.

“Are you hurt, honey?”

The concern in his voice soothed her.

“I’m okay n-now that you’re here.”  She remembered the giant nearby and whispered, “We have to get out. How’d you get in here?”

His hot breath flowed over her ear when he spoke. “We’re going out through the roof. You ready?”

The roof?

If he said so, she would do it. She nodded then realized he couldn’t see her and said, “I’m ready.”

Zane’s arms fell away. Her body mourned the loss. He whispered, “I’m pulling a poncho over your head. Don’t panic.”  When he had the poncho on her, he took her hand and led her to the wall with the windows.

“Do you know how to climb a rope and walk your feet up the wall?” he asked quietly.

She’d done that plenty of times in her training classes. “Yes.”

“You go first, I’ll be right behind you. When you get on the roof, don’t move until I’m up there.”

“Okay,” she whispered and grabbed the rope to start up. At the sharp pain in her side, she sucked in air and hesitated.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Angel gritted her teeth. She could do this. Adrenaline kicked in. “Nothing. Let’s go.”

Hand over hand, her moves painfully
slow,
she made it to the roof while rain pelted her face. She struggled over the edge until she was on her hands and knees, waiting.

Zane popped up right behind her.

Water ran over the top of her shoeless foot from the flood rushing across the corrugated roof. He handed her the flashlight then pulled the rope up in loops and slung it over his shoulder. With his hands on her shoulders, he bent down close to her ear.

“Hold my belt and walk in my tracks as close as you can.”  Before letting go he brushed her lips with his. “Hang in there just a little longer and we’ll be out of here.”

Reaching zombie state, she nodded, but he must have caught her movement. He gave her a little squeeze then hooked her hand through his belt and took the flashlight. She slipped twice on the slick metal as they scooted across the roof and down the ladder.

~*~

Zane could feel Angel’s fear and heard her soft whimper more than once, enough to know she was in pain, but they couldn’t stop yet. He
towed her through the thick weeds. When he neared the entrance to the building, headlights from the alley shot crossways in front of them. He hauled her up between him and the building.

That way he could see who arrived without being spotted.

Another sport utility swung around the first one to park.

The driver stepped from the vehicle and raced around to open the passenger door. When a statuesque blond male stepped out of the new vehicle, Angel stiffened against Zane. Was that the bastard who’d hurt her?

Zane spoke very low. “Do you know him?”

She hesitated then nodded under his chin.

The two men moved out of view then a door banged shut.

“Let’s go.” Zane dragged her quickly through the thicket. At the Land Rover, he made her squat down next to one of the vehicles, telling her not to move. With a knife from his boot, he slashed the tires, moved to the second vehicle and did the same, then shoved the knife back in place and grabbed her hand, taking off again.

They rushed along the tracks in a jog, slower than they’d go if she weren’t minus one shoe. Zane needed two or three more minutes to get Angel to the truck. They’d made it a third of the way there when shouts erupted behind them.

High-powered searchlights beamed frantically, scouring the ground outside the building.

Zane jerked Angel to a stop. “Take the flashlight and keep it pointed the way we were running. Go to where the tracks meet the street. My truck is there. Stay out of sight when you get there. I’ll be right behind you.”

“No. I
– ”

“Arguing will get us both killed. Do as I say,” Zane ordered, whipping out his weapon.

A beam of light shined down the tracks, picking them up.

“Now!”
  Zane shoved the light into her hands.

She stumbled away.

A zing sounded on the tracks just short of where he stood. He fired two shots,
then
sprinted down the tracks behind Angel and the bobbing flashlight.

Shots rang out, landing all around him. He tripped once, caught his balance and fired back, this time lower.

One high beam disappeared.

At the truck, he threw the rope in the back. Angel dove in on the passenger side. He cranked the engine and spun the wheels over the loose,
muddy ground, tearing onto the dark road with his headlights off. A shot pinged off the body of the truck. He shoved Angel’s head to her knees.

“Stay down.”  He wove through turns and side streets until he felt sure nobody could have followed on foot, then headed for the I-95 and turned north to Ft. Lauderdale.

Then where?
This group knew his apartment. They probably had his Titan under surveillance.

While keeping his eyes on the road and rearview mirror, he removed his hand from Angel’s back then used his arm to lift her up to a sitting position.  

One look at Angel worried him.

She hadn’t taken the poncho off and still shivered violently, even with the heater blowing. He reached over and ran the back of his hand across her cheek. She turned a deathly white face to him, her eyes glazed with shock.

Zane had to find a secure location soon. No one appeared to be following them, but he couldn’t be sure. They might have planted a tracking unit on his truck at some point.

He didn’t have the time it would take to go over the truck thoroughly to find it.