Risky Extraction

Chapter 18

Allyson’s eyes burned as she pulled off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. They’d been reading through the papers for hours, and the one thing they learned was these people died horrific deaths.

The one that Crash was convinced was his friend, Perry, stated that he probably died from blood loss. The man had to have been in terrible pain from the number of fractures and breaks he had.

Another of the reports had detailed notes on breaks and fractures, along with dozens of cuts and bruises. From what she could find, it was another man, but there was no way to tell who it was or where he was murdered. It did state that there was cardiac damage as well, so the person might have had a heart attack because of the beating.

“Didn’t your friend Otto die of a heart issue?” Allyson asked as she rubbed her eyes.

“Fuck,” Crash snatched the papers from in front of her. “Do you think this is his autopsy?”

“Brent, I have no way to tell who it is, but if it’s plausible that the other is Perry, maybe this one could be Otto.” Allyson sighed.

“Shit, sweetheart. I’m sorry for keeping you up. It’s three in the morning, and you need to get some sleep. I’m glad my mom decided to keep the kids for the night.” Brent pushed the papers into a pile and picked them up. “Let’s go to bed. This can wait until we get some rest.”

Allyson was relieved to go to bed, but she knew he wouldn’t sleep. Brent had become obsessed with reading the reports, and they’d gone over them half a dozen times. She could probably recite the written part word for word at this point.

“If you’re going to sleep, why are you taking the reports?” Allyson asked as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

“I want to make sure they don’t disappear.” Crash pulled her against his chest. “Thank you for helping with this. I wish Axel had stayed. I’m worried he could be in danger.”

Allyson was worried that Crash was in jeopardy. If someone was trying to get rid of his team, he could be next. It terrified her because she’d lived through Trent’s death, but she wouldn’t survive if anything happened to Crash.

“Do you think he’d gone back to his dad’s?” Allyson asked.

“Knowing him, he didn’t. He’d stay as far away as possible if he thinks it could endanger his father.” Crash kissed the top of her head. “Let’s go to bed.”

Neither of them slept much. Crash tossed and turned, which meant Allyson was getting woken up every time he moved. When he fell asleep, he shouted. He offered to sleep in the other room, but she didn’t want him to leave her. She was scared; even if he kept her awake, she knew he was okay.

She was startled awake by a knocking on the front door. She sighed as she glanced over to see Crash had somehow gotten out of bed without waking her. She crawled out of bed and wrapped herself up in a heavy robe.

She heard the voices as she made her way down the steps, fully expecting to see Keith, Sandy, and Aaron. She was surprised to see Axel in the same clothes he had left in yesterday and looking as haggard as she felt.

“I hope there is one of those for me,” Allyson muttered as she glanced over to her counter.

A large box with Tim Horton’s logo sat on the counter with several paper cups. She smiled as Crash handed her a cup filled with coffee and cream. She moaned as she sipped the creamy concoction and eased into one of the kitchen chairs.

“I figured we could all use tons of that black gold today.” Axel plowed his fingers through his messy hair.

“Well, thanks because it’s exactly what I needed this morning.” She glanced at Crash.

“I wasn’t exactly the easiest to sleep next to last night,” Crash admitted.

“So why is everyone here so early?” Allyson asked.

“We were right about it being Perry’s autopsy report.” Crash handed her another bundle of papers, but the name was on it.

“Do you think we were right about the other?” Allyson sighed.

“I’m about to find out.” Sandy was clicking on the keys of her ever-present laptop.

“If this is what we think it is, you and the kids are moving to the compound.” Keith pointed to Crash. “So are you.”

“I’ll be fine,” Axel replied when Keith trained his eyes on him.

“I’m sure your buddy thought the same,” Keith grumbled.

“Got it.” Sandy interrupted.

She read something on the screen for several minutes, and the rest waited. The longer she took, the more Allyson felt they were right. When Sandy finally raised her eyes to meet Crash, she looked concerned.

“It’s Otto Fudge,” Sandy said.

“Fuck,” Axel and Crash shouted at the same time.

“There’s something else.” Sandy turned her laptop around. “Did you know he was found with a woman?”

“No, his wife died years ago.” Axel had kept in contact with Otto.

“The woman’s name was Halima…”

“Hasan,” Crash interrupted Sandy.

“No, her last name was…Gibson.” Sandy showed them the screen.

“Are you sure?” Axel asked.

“She’s sure,” Keith answered.

Everyone knew Sandy wouldn’t say it if she weren’t positive. The woman was incredible at finding things, which is one reason she was in high demand by government agencies.

“It has to be the same Halima,” Crash looked at Axel.

“Did she marry Gibson? That doesn’t make sense.” Axel dropped down next to Crash.

“This says she was single,” Sandy interrupted.

Crash and Axel looked completely bewildered. She didn’t know who Halima was or why they would be so shocked over her last name. She didn’t get a chance to ask because Crash’s phone rang.

“Hello.” He put the phone to his ear.

She watched his expression change instantly and saw that whoever was on the other side of the call was telling him something he didn’t want to hear.

“Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right there.” Crash ended the call and looked at Aaron.

“What’s going on?” Keith asked.

“That was Roger Collins, you know, Ellie’s foster dad. He said he received a call from someone claiming to be Sidney’s father and wanted to make sure she was safe,” Crash explained.

“So why is he calling you?” Keith asked.

“What you don’t know is the Collins’ take in children removed from dangerous situations. It’s why Ellie was placed with them. Her dad was bad news and had tried to kill Ellie and her mom. Her mother didn’t make it.” Crash went on. “Sidney was placed with them for the same reason. She was in danger from a cruel man.”

“I’ll send a car over there now. Is Sidney with them?” Aaron asked.

“No, she’s at the university.” Crash grabbed his coat.

“Whoa, where do you think you’re going?” Keith stepped in front of him.

“To get Sidney home to the Collins’,” Crash said as he pulled on his coat.

“You’re not going off on your own. You could still be in danger, or did you forget about your team,” Keith reminded him, and Allyson breathed a breath of relief.

The last thing she wanted to see was Crash getting hurt or worse. Whoever hurt his team was brutal and heartless. She shuddered as she thought about the injuries she’d seen on those reports, not to mention what she’d seen on Wyatt and Ellie.

“I’ve got someone going to get her now.” Aaron stood next to Keith.

“She’s not going to go off with a stranger. She knows me.” Crash didn’t seem to be thinking about anything but making sure Sidney was safe.

“Is there something you’re not telling us?” Keith asked.

Crash locked eyes with Axel, and for the first time since she’d known him, she had no idea what was going on. They talked about everything, but whatever this was, it was between Crash and his friend.