Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #2 (51 page)

SIXTEEN

O
livia felt her heart stop in her chest.

Daniel grabbed the walkie-talkie. “Sarah? Sarah? Where are you? Are you hurt? Hello? Hello?”

The walkie-talkie went dead. The room froze.

“They have her.” He let go of Olivia and stumbled forward. His body shook as though he'd just been pulled from the rubble of an earthquake. “They have her and they're going to kill her.”

Chloe left the channel open but muted the microphone so nothing they said would be overheard. White noise crackled. “No, they just threatened to kill her if we don't get them the pictures. That's all we really know for sure. Daniel, you know where this place is he was talking about?”

He nodded. “Absolutely. The motel owners tried to put in a little fairground a decade ago. It's a fully fenced-in area with a mixture of broken fairground rides and playground equipment. Some small buildings. Some signs. Lots of places for hostiles to hide. The parking lot has a separate entrance from the highway, but the fence around the actual fairgrounds has just one exit, so it'll be like walking into a pen. We can probably jog it through the trees in twenty. Any idea how they knew how to reach us?”

“My walkie-talkie is missing.” Trent's voice was bitter. “I just realized after they radioed. It was on my belt when we headed out, and I don't know where I lost it. Maybe when one of the Leslie guys bodychecked me. Maybe when I was in Rita and Hawk's trailer. Or even in the woods. But somehow he has it now.”

And Sarah.

“For all we know, someone's been spying on us.” Daniel's eyes darted from the laptop to the window. “We've been careless.”

His voice was so firm it was almost a rebuke. Olivia felt embarrassed, as if she'd let him down even though she'd closed the motel's flimsy curtains as best she could before loading up the machine and turned the screen away from the window.

Both the cell phone and landline phones were still down. Chloe set her watch to a twenty-five minute timer and set it on the table. She glanced at Trent. “Looks as though we're on our own. This is your case. What's the plan?”

Trent's skin was so ashen it was almost gray. Olivia couldn't imagine the level of pain he must be pushing through.

“Plan is we go get her.” Trent adjusted the sling and sucked in a tight breath. “We go there and hand off the computer full of photos for the girl. Two cops against three killers isn't the best odds, especially with my injury, but I've survived worse.”

“Four killers,” Olivia said. “The man who just made the call isn't one of the Faceless Crew. I'm pretty sure he's whoever hired them. I think we even caught a shadow of him in the pictures.”

Daniel's eyes fixed on her face. “Did you see a fourth person?”

“No. Just a shadow in the stairwell, and it looked as though Brian was talking to someone over his shoulder. But the voice on the walkie-talkie is the same as the guy who kidnapped me, and he doesn't match the body type of any of the three from the Crew.”

Twenty-two minutes left on the timer now.

Trent glanced to Chloe. “I'll do the exchange. You provide backup. I'm shaky, so we'll need your finger on the trigger.”

“It should be me.” Daniel stepped forward. “With all due respect, you're too hurt to handle hand-to-hand combat if it comes to that, and I've done transactions in volatile environments before. Albeit not hostage negotiation, but some of the sticky situations I've been in came pretty close. I should be the one to walk into that pen. As far as we know, your cover hasn't been blown yet. Besides, I know the layout well. It was a favorite hiding place of Sarah's when she was younger. She'll understand what I mean if I give her cryptic directions.”

The pain echoing in his eyes made Olivia's heart ache inside her chest. But command and control filled his stance and voice. She held her hands together behind her back to keep from reaching out toward him. She had to let him stay logical. It was probably all that was holding him together.

Trent and Chloe exchanged a look. Trent nodded and turned back to Daniel. “I hate to say it, but we're short on options and you're probably right about being the smartest choice. You go in. Chloe and I will keep you in our sights and provide backup. I have a spare bulletproof vest. Actually, I think between us we've got one for each civilian.”

Ricky raised a hand. “Is it okay that I'm still really confused about what's going on?”

“I'm a cop. She's a cop. We're supposed to be undercover. His ward's been kidnapped. Someone will explain whatever else you need to know later. If you want to make yourself useful, take the photo card out of the computer.”

“On it.” Ricky nodded. “But I might end up wrecking it. It's pretty wedged.”

“We'll have to risk it.” Trent reached under the bed, pulled out a bulletproof vest and tossed it to Daniel. “We're giving them the laptop. It's clean except for the photos. I back up everything on an external drive. It'll be a better show of faith than just a tiny piece of plastic that's clearly damaged, and makes it look as though we're cooperating. We're just going to have to hope we'll be able to get the photos off the card again.” He dumped three walkie-talkies on the bed beside Ricky. “You've got technical experience, right? Be useful and set these all to the same frequency.”

“No problem.” Ricky yanked the memory card free and stuffed it into his pocket. “I can set up a wireless video call between the laptop and our smartphones, too. Don't need internet, just wireless capability. That way the laptop will stream live video of whatever its camera sees directly to our phones.”

Trent's eyebrows rose. “Yeah, do that.”

Chloe checked her weapon. Daniel peeled off his shirt and slid on a bulletproof vest. Olivia sat. She felt tiny and every bit as useless as that little powerless kid who used to stand in the kitchen too short to even help pack boxes while her father's latest blowup forced them all into another move. She wasn't six feet tall. She wasn't trained in law enforcement. She didn't know how to handle a weapon or set up a wireless connection without the internet. Before this weekend, she'd never stared down the barrel of a gun. She was the only one here unable to help.

But the back of her mind was screaming there was something important she was missing. That everyone was missing. They were all being so logical, they were missing the obvious—

“He asked for me!” The thought crossed her mind so forcefully she nearly shouted it. “The guy who made the ransom demand, he asked for me!”

“Honey, guys like that live off fear,” Daniel said, gently. “You're the weakest link and he knew he could scare you.”

She crossed her arms. “You can't possibly know that. He just said
you
. He had no way of knowing who I was with. What if he meant he wanted
me
to do the exchange?”

* * *

“Absolutely not.” Daniel pulled his shirt back over the vest. “There's no way you're going in there.”

“But I—”

His hand shot up. “Don't even start. Yes, I know you're gutsy and plenty brave. But this isn't running off to cover some random adventure. This is life-and-death.”

“You think I don't know that?” Her voice rose. “You really think I
want
to just run into some creepy abandoned park knowing the Faceless Crew are lying in wait? Of course I don't. The thought terrifies me. But I heard his voice. He was talking to me. My instincts tell me that he wants me to hand over the photos. Not you or Trent or Chloe. Me.”

Was that supposed to convince him? As if he wanted to think the same ruthless killers who had Sarah wanted Olivia in their grasp, too. “Your instincts are irrelevant right now.”

“Instinct is nothing more than your brain suddenly catching up with what your subconscious already knows. Just because I don't think like you doesn't mean I'm wrong.” She glanced at Trent. “We don't even know how he knows I had pictures from that night. Are you really going to risk sending the wrong person in there when someone's life is on the line?”

“I don't know what to think, and we don't have time to debate this.” Trent looked from the clock to Chloe. “Thoughts?”

Chloe pressed her lips together. “If we go this route, Olivia's got this. I don't exactly like the idea of her being in danger. But if she's right and they want her to do the handoff I believe she can handle it. She's strong and has great instincts.”

Daniel's eyes closed.
Lord, my heart is hurting so hard I can barely breathe. I hate everything about this. I'm already facing losing the ward I promised to protect. I can't handle losing Olivia, too.

By the time he opened his eyes again, Olivia was already strapping on her sister's bulletproof vest. She pulled the sweatshirt over it.

“Can you guys give us a moment?” Daniel asked.

“Sorry.” Trent scooped up the timer off the table. They'd reached nineteen minutes. “You're going to have to talk while we run. I still think it makes the most sense if you're the one going in. You already have the training and I've seen you in action. Plus you're the girl's family. Whether you go in alone or with Olivia, you two can sort out. Now, everybody stick together. Follow my lead. Act casual.” He tossed Ricky a laptop bag. “I can't make you come any more than I can force you to stay here. But as long as you keep out of the way and do what I tell you, I might be able to use your help.”

They stepped out into the darkness. The rain had stopped, leaving nothing but a misty edge in the air. Trent led the way. His stride was fast but his posture still sauntered like someone not much caring where he was headed. Ricky followed with the laptop bag over his shoulder. Chloe came up the rear.

Which meant he and Olivia were right in the middle. Daniel slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. “I'm not okay with this,” he said as they entered the path through the woods.

“I know.” Olivia's hand brushed his back. “But it'll be okay. If I'm going to walk into danger, there's no one I'd rather have watching my back than Chloe and no one I'd rather have by my side than you—”

“No. I'm sorry. There's no way I'm going to risk walking in there with you.”

His voice was louder than he'd meant it to be. Trent and Ricky glanced back. Olivia pulled away, bowed her head and kept walking. He'd hurt her, and knowing he'd done so ached like someone had reached in and hollowed out something inside his own chest.

Before he could explain, a hoard of Leslie crew came tramping through the woods toward them.

“Hey, dude!” Jeremy called. “Some trucker guy says the highway north and some of the back roads have reopened. We're gonna try heading out.”

“Catch you later.” Trent gave them a wave and kept walking. “Try not to drown.”

They hit an overgrown path. A gaudy face leered from the underbrush. The plaster clown pointed down the path toward the fairground. They started jogging, single file. The air was silent except for the sound of their feet hitting the wet earth and branches brushing past their bodies.

How do I possibly explain the way being this close to her throws my senses into chaos? I can't handle the way my heart aches at the thought of her being in danger. I can't handle the fact I'm falling for her. And even though she'll never be mine, I can't face the pain of losing her.

The path widened. There was a clearing ahead, then he saw the edge of the crude chain-link fence that surrounded the fairground. It was a great place to hide and a terrible place to get caught off guard. The gate was chained but still managed to hang open just enough for a person to squeeze through. Thick trees surrounded the complex on three sides. An empty road lay on the other. Inside the fence, there were a few small structures covered in graffiti, some rusted playground equipment and a smattering of coin-operated rides, including a four-seat Ferris wheel and small merry-go-round. Badly painted clowns peeked from every corner. There wasn't another person in sight.

There were four minutes left on the timer.

Trent handed out walkie-talkies. Daniel clipped his to the bulletproof vest and tucked it under his shirt.

“Everyone keep the channel clear,” Trent said. “We want to be able to hear every word Daniel says and hear everything he hears. So, nobody gets on the line unless it's an emergency. Chloe, I want you to circle the perimeter. Our line of sight is going to be pretty terrible. Ricky, stay back and keep that phone link to the computer thing going and record the feed. Daniel, you'll go in the front gate in plain view. I'll stay in the shadows and provide backup. If I give the command to fall back, we meet back at the motel.”

The cop glanced at Olivia. “Whatever you're going to do, you have less than sixty seconds to decide. Once that timer hits three minutes, I need everyone to be ready to go. As Daniel is the guy facing the guns, he makes the final call.”

Trent pushed the timer into her hands. The others kept walking.

“Listen.” Olivia grabbed Daniel's hand. “Please. I'm telling you, something doesn't feel right about this plan. Something's off. I can feel it in my bones.”

“I know.” Daniel squeezed her hand tightly. “But I have to do this alone. I can't have you walking in there with me. If you do, I'm going to be distracted. I'm going to be torn. It's going to make the situation so much more dangerous.”

“You're wrong about me.” Her voice broke. She dropped his hand and turned away. “You've got to know I'd never do anything to put Sarah in danger. I'm the one who ran to warn Sarah when the Faceless Crew showed up at your house. I know you don't believe in me and think I'm just some reckless, foolish liability—”

“No, I don't!” Gently, he ran his hands over her shoulders. He turned her toward him. “I think you're a beautiful, brave, strong, incredible woman who knows how to handle herself in a crisis. I think you're extraordinary. That's why I can't walk through that door with you by my side. You put
me
in danger.”