Chapter 16 #2
Cyrus turned the weapon her way. “He stole millions from me when he shut down that auction. You won’t bring in as much as the woman we’d planned to sell, but someone out there will still pay a pretty penny for a woman who looks like you.
And who knows? Maybe they’ll love art as much as this poor bastard.
” He kicked the bottom of Gordan’s designer shoe.
“Either way, I won’t walk away totally empty-handed.
” A sinister grin lifted one side of his mouth.
“Buckle up, sweetheart. The plane’s about to take off.
Oh, and in case there was any question, I’m now the one in charge.
So do as I say, or you’ll wind up just like him. ” He motioned to Gordan’s body.
“You kill me, you’ll get nothing.”
“Maybe.” Cyrus shrugged. “Or maybe I’ll find someone with a thing for dead bodies.”
With a wink that sent bile rushing into the base of her throat, Alex watched with terror as he re-entered the cockpit. A moment later, the jet began to roll its way down the runway.
Please find me, Colt. Please bring me back home to you and Avery.
Her stomach dropped as the plane’s wheels left the ground and the nose lifted high into the air. Lines of tears fell freely down Alex’s cheeks.
She didn’t know where they were going, or what was going to happen to her once they got there. All she knew was that she’d just been taken away from everyone she’d ever loved.
“We’re going to find her,” Garrett rumbled low.
Coulter looked over at his brother as they stood in the middle of Alex’s gallery. In a cluster surrounding them were the other members of Garrett’s team.
“He’s right,” Apollo nodded, the man’s dark eyes as serious as ever. “This isn’t our first rodeo, yeah?”
“I know.” Coulter sighed. “If anyone can get to her in time . . .” He let his words trail.
If he tried finishing that statement, his voice would almost certainly crack. As it was, he was doing everything he could to keep it together.
Not an easy task, given he’d never been so scared in his life or filled with such murderous rage. He could barely breathe for the fear coursing through every vein in his body.
“I can’t lose her,” he mumbled to no one in particular.
“You’re not going to.” Bones sounded so sure.
He spared the Tac-Ops medic an appreciative glance. “From your lips to God’s ears.”
“There’s no obvious sign of a struggle,” Digger chimed in next. “But I overheard your boss say her guys found Alex’s phone in the dumpster out back?”
Coulter nodded, grateful that no one on the team was wasting time with questions about his job with the CIA.
“There was a full cup of coffee sitting on the counter in the back room.” He brought them all up to speed.
“The working theory is Alex made a fresh cup and was either grabbed in there and forced out back, or she was already in the alley when they took her.”
“I’ve got something!” Shadow hollered from where she’d set up shop at Alex’s desk.
He and the others rushed that way. Hovering behind her, Coulter and the men of Tac-Ops did their best to see the woman’s screen.
“What did you find?” he asked, knowing he sounded as desperate as he felt.
“I was able to access the building’s exterior security feed. It was definitely Crawford and Vas who took her.”
They all watched in horror as Alex walked alone to the dumpster a few yards from the gallery’s back door.
“There he is.” Coulter pointed to Cyrus Vas as his muscular form came into view from the lower left of the screen. “Bastard must have parked up aways and then waited for his chance to grab her.”
“That’s why Agent Price’s guys didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary,” Shadow explained. “They were so busy watching the front of the gallery—”
“When the real danger was in the back,” Bones finished for her.
Coulter ran a frustrated hand over his jaw as he continued watching the scene on the screen unfold. Vas snuck up on Alex as she had her back to him. She tossed a bag of trash into the dumpster and started to turn around, but the piece of shit never gave her the chance.
“Son of a—” His hand returned to his jaw in an attempt to keep from howling out in anger when Vas pistol whipped Alex on the back of the head.
She started to go down, but he picked her up and carried her away. They were off the screen in mere seconds.
“CCTV?” Coulter asked Shadow. “Can you access nearby cameras and see what type of vehicle they were driving?”
The woman’s long, blonde ponytail slid up and down her back with a nod. “You read my mind.” Her fingers flew over the keys as she worked her hacking magic.
All at once, several different video images filled the small computer’s screen. Each one providing a different vantage point from the street cameras closest to their location.
“There!”
A dark blue SUV could be seen speeding off from the alley at the next intersection down. From there, they went north.
“Keep going,” Coulter ordered.
Shadow began switching through views, from one camera to the next. She was able to keep up with the SUV for several miles.
“Dammit.” Her hands fell away from the keys. “I lost them.”
He refused to give up. “They were still going north, right?”
The computer genius nodded. “Up until the moment they went out of view, yeah. Why? Do you know where they’re headed.”
“Crawford’s jet.” Coulter looked for his boss. When he spotted her across the gallery’s main area talking to two agents he didn’t know, he hollered out, “Agent Price!”
She turned and immediately started walking his way. “You find something?”
“You said you have eyes on Crawford’s plane, right?”
“Affirmative.” She reached for her phone. “They’ve been watching it all morning, but every check-in has been the same. Jet’s still there, and there’s been no sign of our target or Vas.”
“How long has it been since you last spoke to them?” Digger asked.
“Uh. . . let’s see . . .” Price did a quick scan of her phone log. “Damn.”
Coulter’s stomach dropped. “What’s wrong?”
She tapped the screen and put the phone to her ear. “With all the excitement, I didn’t realize they missed the last check-in. They were supposed to call every hour on the hour.”
He and the others immediately checked the time on their watches. Several curses flew when they realized it was twenty minutes past the hour.
“Ah, hell.” Agent Price lowered her phone with an ominous stare. “My guys at the air strip aren’t picking up.”
Oh, God.
“We can’t let her get on that plane!” Coulter bolted for the door.
Garrett and the others fell in step without having to be asked. But as they reached the gallery’s entrance leave, Rafe Owens opened the door to come inside.
The fifty-two-year-old owner of Tac-Ops slid his solemn gaze Coulter’s way.
“Shadow called and said Alex Webb is missing.” His English accent was thick and deep. “She’s one of us, so I’m here to help.”
“She is.” Coulter swallowed hard. “Missing, I mean.” They were the hardest words he’d ever had to say. “We think we know where they’re taking her, though. We’re on our way there now.”
“Good.” Owens dipped his salt-and-pepper bearded chin. “I’ll follow you in my car.”
“Or you could ride with me.”
He and the others slid their focus to Agent Price, who’d just weirdly offered to give Owens a ride. Coulter started to rush through introductions, but he never got the chance to finish.
“Uh, Agent Price, this is—”
“Hello, Rafe.” His boss smiled. “It’s been a long time.”
“Yes it has.” Owens held out his hand, which Price took as soon as it was offered. “It’s good to see you again, Lena.”
“Wait, you two know each other?” Shadow’s gaze slid back and forth between Price and her father.
Price nodded. “Rafe and I go way back.”
“Lena and I met during a joint operation with MI-6 and the CIA,” Owens quickly explained.
Coulter wasn’t trying to be an ass, but they didn’t have time for this sort of thing. So he jumped in with a stern, “Think maybe you two can catch up on the road? Because there’s a plane I’d really like to catch, preferably before it takes off.”
Price pulled her keys from her pocket and looked to Rafe. “You can ride with me.”
“Only if your driving has improved.”
The rest of the group watched the odd interaction, but Coulter was already pushing his way out the door.
He didn’t know what that was between his boss and Owens, nor did any part of him care.
His sole focus was on finding Alex and bringing her back home.
And he wouldn’t rest until she was back in his arms.
Hang on, sweetheart. We’re coming for you.