Taken - Before her very Eyes (16 page)

Dean finished his snack and the
colour was starting to return to his face. “First, he harmed you. Then he got
caught. Maybe they decided that he was a loose end that needed to be tied up?
Maybe whoever he was working for didn’t want to chance him copping a deal and
incriminating them and figured he was dispensable?”

“So, if John Scott’s boss had him
killed, and the kidnapper thinks he might be next, then the kidnapper can’t be
working for the same guy that John Scott was.” Summer smiled. “He might be more
forgiving?”

Dean lifted his shirt, exposing
his stitches. “I wouldn’t count on it. He means business. He might not have the
same ethics as John Scott, but he’s somehow involved with him and that makes
him just as dangerous.”

The office doors burst open and Nate
came rushing in behind the chief. He tossed a large canvas bag onto the back
table then grabbed a handful of tissues and began blotting his bloodied
knuckles, a sight Summer had seen often during their time together.

“That’s not the way we work
around here, Nate! You better start following procedures or you’ll find your
ass out on the street if you keep that shit up. Now, he’s going to file a complaint
and this isn’t the first time they’ve been looking at you.”

“Let him file all the complaints
he wants. It’ll never stick. He’s already been booked for attacking John Scott
in the cell. The bruises and blood must have come from that fight.”

Chief Dickson dropped into his
chair and motioned for Nate to take a seat. “This is the last time I’ll cover
your ass. If you let your temper get the better of you one more time, it’ll be
your last in that uniform. Is that understood?”

Nate bowed his head and agreed.

“Where’d you take off to?” Summer
asked, laying Dean down on the couch and stepping across the room to the desk.

“Off the record,” Chief Dickson
glanced at Nate. “We paid Seth Millar a visit. Figured that with John Scott
dead, he was the only other link we have.”

Summer had wanted to pay Seth a
visit herself, but there hadn’t been a free moment to deal with him. “But I
thought he wasn’t talking?”

“Still isn’t saying much. The
same old routine about doing it for you, Summer.” Nate flexed his hand. “I couldn’t
get him to change his story, no matter what I said.”

“Thank you, Nate. I appreciate
your help, but you better lie low for the rest of this one. I’d hate to come
back and be shackled with Jones as a partner.”

Nate never looked up, but she
could tell he was grinning by the way his ears moved. He was definitely the
best friend that she had. One who would risk everything to help her in any way
she needed. She knew she could ask him to kill a man and he wouldn’t think
twice about doing it. Nate was exactly the muscle she needed during the money
drop. The muscle that would ensure she got Sabrina back, but she knew she
couldn’t take him along. Knew that he’d become too emotionally involved in this
case and his muscle would inhibit him from making the right choices.

The phone on Chief Dickson’s desk
rang, startling Summer and making her jump. She fought to catch her breath,
wondering if it was the kidnapper on the other line. She watched the chief step
to the side of the desk and slowly pluck the phone from the cradle. Summer
prayed that it wasn’t the kidnapper calling because she didn’t know how long it
would take Gavin to get the money and she didn’t dare risk making the kidnapper
angry. She’d already done it once today and she didn’t know how much more it would
take before he snapped.

The shakes began to creep back
into her arms, slowly spreading into her chest, causing her to twitch and jerk
uncontrollably. “Who is it!” she blurted, unable to control herself anymore.

Chief Dickson shook his head and
pointed to Dean on the couch. “Just a minute.” He covered the mouth piece,
carried the phone across the room and handed it to Dean then turned to Summer.
“It’s Gavin. He’s at the bank now making the withdrawal, but they need to
confirm it with Dean first.”

Summer let out her breath.
“They’ll let Dean have it, won’t they?”

“Should? It’s his money to spend,
but I think they want to make sure Gavin’s not cleaning out the business on
him.”

“Good call,” Nate said, getting
to his feet and slowly making his way to Summer’s side. “I wouldn’t trust him
with a pack of gum.”

Dean glared up at Nate as he
spoke to the bank manager. His colour was getting brighter, but part of that
may have been from Nate’s comments. When he handed the phone back to the chief,
Dean struggled into the sitting position. “You may not like Gavin, and
sometimes I don’t either, but he’s still my brother so keep your opinions about
him to yourself while I’m around.”

Nate walked to the door and
stared out through the small frosted window into the main station. “You
honestly believe that he’s turned his life around and is walking the straight
and narrow?”

“I have to believe in him. That’s
what family’s for.”

“Mark my words, Dean. The only
thing Gavin learned in prison is how to clean up his trail so not to get busted
again.”

“We’ll see, Nate. Time will tell,
and when that time comes, you’ll be eating your words.”

Nate turned and fixed Dean with a
hard glare. “You just watch your step and make sure the shit doesn’t stick to
your feet, cause if he’s dealing, you just might go down with him. We saved
your ass the last time and stopped that shipment before it hit your property,
but don’t think we’ll be able to do it every time.”

“Nate!” Summer yelled. “This is
not the place or time for your theories. You’re entitled to your own opinions,
but for right now, please shut the hell up.”

“Fine!” Nate met her glare then
opened the door. “I can’t sit around here any longer. I’m going for a ride.
Give me a call as soon as the kidnapper phones and I’ll scout the location for the
drop and try to find a hiding place.”

Summer nodded as Nate disappeared
out the door. Could she risk Sabrina’s safety and let Nate try to ambush the
kidnapper? She knew it wasn’t a bad idea if only the hostage wasn’t her
daughter. If it was someone else’s child she was sure that she would do the
same thing as Nate, but how could she? How could she take the chance? The
kidnapper had brought Sabrina along so he could release her, so why wouldn’t he
do it now that money was on the line?

“Go! Get in your room!” he said,
shoving Sabrina through the door and into the mudroom.

Sabrina stumbled through the
room, fighting to stop the sobs as she disappeared through the kitchen and into
her dungeon.

He’d made a promise not to yell
and scream at her, but after what had just happened, he didn’t care anymore.
The whole plan was falling apart. It was supposed to be so simple. Free that
sick fucker from jail then let the girl go. And he was all prepared to do just
that, she was standing at his side, moments from freedom, when he heard the
shot echo into the countryside.

He couldn’t believe anybody would
risk killing John Scott right in front of all the cops and reporters.

The phone began ringing, igniting
his fears. Only one person would be calling and he knew the caller wouldn’t be
pleased with the turn of events. After peeking in the next room and checking
that Sabrina was sitting calmly in the oversized chair, he pushed the button
and answered the phone, but didn’t dare say a word until spoken to.

“You stupid ass! Why wasn’t the
girl released?”

“They killed John Scott. I heard
the gun shot and the woman confirmed it.”

“I don’t care. You know the deal.
You know how it was supposed to go down.”

“But they—”

“Shut up! I don’t care if they’d
cut him into a thousand pieces and begun serving his flesh to the mass of
reporters there. We had a deal. Take the girl then release her after they let
John Scott go.”

“But—”

“If you say but one more time
I’ll personally come there and slit your throat wide open.” The man on the
phone paused as if daring him to say the wrong word. “Now, I’ll say this only
once. Release the child, then call the mother to come get her.”

“But, how do I know they won’t
try to kill me like they did John Scott?”

“You don’t, but I can guarantee
you’ll be dead by sundown if I don’t see that girl reunited with her fucking
mother!”

“What about the hundred grand I
asked for? There’s no sense in letting it go to waste.”

“Do I need to remind you that
you’ve already been paid for this job? Asking for a bonus like that will only
hurt your chances of survival, so just let the girl go and the mother will
think you got cold feet and ran away.”

“I don’t know?” he said, moving
to the window and glancing out at the front entrance. “It doesn’t feel right.
That guy, John Scott, he trusted you to get him out of jail, but look at him,
he’s dead. You were supposed to protect him.”

“Was I? Who said anything about
protection? You’ve got a lot to learn about this business. I give an order and
you follow it. There’s no reason for you to be using that fucking pea brain of
yours. I call the shots and I made it completely fucking clear what you were to
provide. Your services were complete, but for some reason you seem to be
lingering around the water cooler. So unless you want to risk your life playing
around, let the girl go. Or better yet, tell me where you’re hiding at and I’ll
send someone to pick her up.”

“No—no need to do that.” He let
the curtain fall back in place. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Just so you know. I’m an
impatient man. So make sure it happens, and fast.”

With Nate gone, Dean collapsed on
the leather couch, and Chief Dickson coordinating the cleanup of the murder
scene on the front steps of the station, Summer felt all alone while pacing
back and forth inside the chief’s office. She checked the phone repeatedly,
making sure it was still turned on and prayed that the kidnapper wouldn’t call
until Gavin returned with the money.

Every time she passed the small
frosted window, she glanced out, hoping to see Gavin’s car pulling into the
parking lot, but ended up silently cursing him instead. She looked at Dean,
resting comfortably on the couch and knew he should be back in the hospital. He
did look better now that he’d had a chance to eat and rest, but he would expel
all that strength the moment she tried to leave without him. She could already
picture him ranting about being Sabrina’s father and coming with her on the
drop, but none of that mattered if Gavin didn’t get back soon.

Hearing the sound of a car
tearing through the parking lot, Summer opened the door and caught the back end
of the car disappearing around the side of the building. She had to give it to
Gavin, at least he had the sense to use the back entrance. Taking one last look
at Dean, she disappeared out into the buzzing main room, then down the side
hall toward the back door.

She was surprised to see a smile
on Gavin’s face. After everything they’d been through, he didn’t seem to be
holding any grudges for her putting him away in prison. It was like she’d told
Nate, he did the crime and had to pay the time. She’d tried to explain it to
Nate that what happened between them eight years ago was cool. She was only
doing her job and if Gavin hadn’t been running on the wrong side, then he
wouldn’t have been caught.

And, Summer smiled, she wouldn’t
have met Dean at the courthouse during Gavin’s conviction. He had been the
complete opposite from Gavin. Everything from his mannerism to his appearance,
and she had been shocked to find out that they shared the same mother.

“I got it,” Gavin said, rushing
down the hall and tossing the large envelope to Summer. “It’s all there. A
whole fucking shitload of cash.”

“Thank you, Gavin. I really
appreciate everything you’ve done for me and Dean.”

“Hey, that’s what family’s for.”
Gavin glanced around the corner. “Speaking of family, where the fuck is Dean?”

Summer hurried to keep up with
him as he rounded the corner. “He’s resting in the chief’s office. He’s lost a
lot of blood and probably shouldn’t even be here.”

“Tell me about it. I tried to
talk him into returning to the hospital, but you know how fucking stubborn he
can be. Especially when he’s feeling helpless and vulnerable.”

“Helpless is right.” Summer knew
the feeling well. She was completely helpless right now and there didn’t seem
to be anything to do. She was at the kidnapper’s mercy and all she could do is
sit and wait until the phone rang.

Summer stepped inside the office
and saw Dean was still out cold, so she turned to Gavin. “What do you think I
should do? Nate’s planning to ambush the kidnapper at the drop location, but
I’m not sure it’s the best thing to do. What if the kidnapper spots him when he
arrives? What do you think he’ll do if he thinks he’s been double crossed?”

“If it were me, I’d shoot the
fucker down the minute I saw him, but that’s just me.” Gavin raised his
eyebrows, wrinkling his forehead all the way to his shaved hair line. “But you
said he sounded willing to let her go the last time, so why not trust him. Give
him the cash and I’m sure he’ll let Sabrina go. You have to believe he’ll do
the right thing.”

Summer snatched the duffle bag
from the side table and quickly stacked the piles of money inside, then
zippered it closed. “I don’t know what to believe anymore. I used to believe
that people were genuinely good natured, but I’m finding that harder and harder
to believe with each passing day.” She shook her head. “Once they caught John
Scott I thought I’d be able to move on with my life, but even with him lying
dead out there, I still haven’t taken a single step in that direction.”

Gavin rounded the desk and
plopped down in the chief’s chair and Summer couldn’t believe his lack of respect.
How could he and Dean be born from the same womb? How could they have been
raised by the same mother, but turned out so different?