28. Vince
28
VINCE
POP. POP.
The hell was that?
“Were those gunshots?” Ellie asked from across the room.
I didn’t answer. Three more pops filled the air, and I knew those were additional gunshots. Close by, too.
I was on my feet and instantly racing to the door as soon as the final pop sounded.
As soon as the door was opened, I heard a car racing down the street. A black van going way too fast for a residential area sped off toward the main street.
“Cat! Ruthie !” I yelled, hoping they were ducked down safe somewhere. I heard moaning noises as I ran up to Ruthie’s car at the end of the driveway. I registered her body tucked protectively on her side, hiding near the rear driver’s tire.
Hearing my voice, she yelled back, “ Oh my god, they took her! They took her…and just…threw her in the car!”
Fuck! My heart sank to my stomach as dread filled my entire body.
Chaos erupted behind me. Jack and Archer ran up beside me and checked on Ruthie .
I turned and ran back to the house, yelling out to my dad, who was on the porch. “ Keys ! Someone give me their keys. I need to go after the van.”
“Son, stop,” my dad yelled back, holding up his arms to stop me. “ There’s no way you’ll catch up to them. Come with me and we’ll look at my security footage. You go out there now, you’ll be wasting your time since you don’t know who they are or where they’re going.”
Logically, I knew he was right, but I was also impatient. “ Fine . Let’s go.”
I followed him into the house to his computer to see if he had caught anything. God . I hoped and prayed his cameras caught something useful.
“Cops are on their way,” Wade said from behind me. “ And an EMT for Ruthie .”
It took a moment to sink in but I realized what he’d said. “ EMT ?”
“She got hit in the foot. Archer and Jack have her.”
Fuck. I felt like an asshole for not even noticing that, but instead, I focused on finding Cat . Was Cat shot? So help me God , if those guys shot her, I would kill every last one of them.
“Got it,” my dad barked out, pointing to his computer screen. “ Right here.”
Dad scrolled through the camera feed. It showed the girls near the car as the black van, which was initially parked a few houses down, took off once Cat and Ruthie opened the vehicle. They sped up, then halted right next to Ruthie’s car. The man in the back came out and grabbed Cat , while the driver of the vehicle went after Ruthie . Two more men emptied out of the van and made their way around.
Cat struggled with the man who had her, and Ruthie put up one hell of a fight, even getting in a few good blows to the man who attacked her. He must have had enough because he reached for his gun at his back and fired. Ruthie ducked, but it appeared the second shot landed right at her foot. By then, the additional men helped lift Cat into the vehicle, and the other jumped into the driver’s seat.
The man who shot at Ruthie hopped into the back, still firing in her direction, and then the van took off. It wasn’t the clearest image, but I could make out a few letters from the license plate.
“Jack and Axel are going with Ruthie , Ellie , and your mom to the hospital,” Archer spoke from the doorway. “ Diego is meeting them there and will stay to make sure they’re all safe. Jack and Axel can meet us wherever we need them. Val is going to stay here where the cops and your dad can protect her.”
“Jack can stay with them at the hospital. We don’t know anything yet,” Wade pointed out.
“I know, but he’s pissed about Ruthie getting shot and wants in on whatever goes down,” Archer added. “ Though it might be smarter to have Axel meet us since he would be more clear-headed about this. I don’t need two of you going all half-cocked in this rescue mission.”
Several cops filed into my dad’s office, including Parker .
“Walk us through what happened,” he commanded.
We filled him in on everything we knew and gave him and the other cops the chance to look over the security footage as well. My dad was on the phone with some men he knew from his bounty hunter days. Likely calling in favors and markers from anyone he knew. I would take any help I could get at this point.