Chapter 16
Rafe
The Rescue
Where had she gotten to now? Rory had been busy the entire evening. I wanted to find her and make sure had taken time to eat something but she had disappeared.
It took me longer than I liked to leave the tent. Every person I passed had words of encouragement or congratulations they wanted to convey. If it was me, the first place I would’ve looked was the main house since I wanted to escape the rowdiness from the very beginning. But that was not Rory.
She was comfortable making conversation with strangers. Maybe she wanted a quieter word with someone and stepped out of the tent. At least, that was how I reasoned it.
I checked around the area outside the tent and there was no sign of my woman in her sexy green dress. Oh, it wasn’t revealing at all, but the prissy vibe it gave off did it for me.
Maybe she needed something from the barn.
Both Calvin and I had been using it to set things up for the evening.
I walked in that direction, wondering what could be so important she had to be gone for so long.
Darkness had started to fall and my instincts kicked in.
My eyes caught on something in the ground.
I bent down and knew immediately it was Rory’s cellphone.
“Rory.” I called loud enough that if she was in the barn, she would’ve heard me. When no answer came, I ran to the barn and looked around. “Rory, are you in here?”
When no answer came, panic started to rise. I quickly scanned the stalls, making sure she hadn’t fallen and was unconscious before I ran back to the tent. I stomped toward Calvin, not paying any attention to anyone who wanted to talk to me along the way.
Calvin was talking to Joel Pederson. The man may have been a snob but he was a good business man, and could spot bullshit a mile away.
“Sorry to interrupt.” I looked between the two men but my eyes settled on Cal and I showed him her cellphone. “Rory’s missing. I found this outside the barn.”
“Did you check the barn itself?”
I know my friend was trying to be practical but what the actual fuck. I glared at him but said nothing.
He held up his hands in a stop motion. “Okay, just checking. You drive up to the main house, I’ll check the rest of the buildings. We’ll find her.”
“Cal. I haven’t seen Vance in a long time.”
Joel took that moment to interrupt. “Vance Steiner. Surely, you cannot think he has anything to do with this. I mean the man is slimy, and I intend to cut all business dealings with him and The Argent Group, but he doesn’t have the balls to do something truly dangerous.”
Calvin shook his head. “Never underestimate a desperate man.”
It took me less than twenty minutes to make sure Rory hadn’t gone back to the house.
Allie was discreetly warning the guests we had a crisis to deal with and the evening needed to come to an end while Calvin and Abe were in heated discussion.
I walked up to them. “Well she’s not at fucking home. Cal, I’m getting worried.”
“Abe has called Tex.” Calvin watched as people slowly left the tent. “This is why we do favors for the man. Because when we need him, he’ll be there. He’ll have a drone overhead in no time and back-up on the way if needed.”
I frowned and faced him. “It's needed. My woman is fucking missing.”
Shouting at my best friend was not going to make Rory suddenly reappear, but I needed to get the frustration out somehow.
The rumble of guests saying goodbye was interrupted by my cellphone ringing.
The name on the screen confirmed my worst case scenario. Vance Steiner. I had his number saved since he had been calling me daily to nag me for my signature and I wanted to ignore his call. Not once had I thought his name on my cellphone screen would fill me with so much dread. “Hello.”
“Vierra.” His thin voice echoed over the line. “You have been dodging my calls for a long time. I figured the only way to get your attention would be to take the woman.”
“If you fucking hurt her.” Rage filled me, but Calvin’s hand on my shoulder kept me sane. “What the fuck do you want?”
The man actually had the audacity to chuckle. As if the situation was somehow amusing to him. And maybe it was. Maybe kidnapping to get his way was a normal part of doing business for the asshole.
“You know what I want.” There was no noise to indicate Rory was struggling in the background. If she was conscious she would’ve made a noise.
I was not giving him anything unless I had proof Rory was okay. “How do I know she’s not dead already?” Calvin indicated he wanted me to keep Vance on the line. “I am not doing anything unless I know that she’s okay.”
Abe was texting on his phone. Calvin was also busy on his. I knew they were calling in help. And I needed all the help I could get. Wherever Vance was, Rory was. And I would do what I needed to do to get her back.
Vance was silent for a moment. “She’s indisposed at the moment. There's a cabin on the north side of the resort property. You will bring the signed deed and contract there in two hours. If you don’t bring it, I will kill her.”
Then the phone went dead.
I frowned at Calvin. “You remember the Cypress Cabin.”
It was one of the oldest buildings in Cypress Cliffs. We used to hang out there as teens. Whoever had originally owned the land had built the cabin and nothing else. It used to be a great alternative to the make-out spot on the other side of the switchbacks.
“The one on the resort property?” Calvin lifted a brow at me. “Is it still standing?”
“It’s apparently where he’s got her.”
Abe stepped forward. “Tex says, according to the ranch cameras Vance left here about forty-five minutes ago. He’s tracking him via satellite footage. He’s in a car travelling south on the Argent property.”
It took me a moment to put all the pieces together. “He’s not there yet? And he estimates it will take us about two hours to get there.”
It wasn’t as stupid as it sounded. Vance didn’t know the roads as well as Calvin and I did. The fact that he took it slower was probably the smartest thing about the situation. The stupid part was thinking we needed the same amount of time.
Once again Abe spoke. “Hope Salinger will be here in a little over an hour, she’ll have back-up.”
“Why do we need back-up?” Surely, we could all just rush the man and get Rory out of there. “We don’t have time to wait.”
Calvin stood alongside me once more. “Yes, we do. Vance is desperate, but also fucking stupid. He will kill her if he is cornered and thinks he can get away with it.”
“So, what’s the solution? He is going to feel more cornered with more back-up.”
My friend nodded. “No doubt. But he will absolutely know he cannot get away with it. Besides, if something happens and Vance ends up dead, the number one suspect will be the man who stands to lose everything. This way you will have witnesses.”
“Witnesses won’t fucking stop me.” If the opportunity to rip the asshole’s head from his body arose, I would gladly take it.
“Rafe, focus on Rory.” Calvin’s hand on my shoulder acted like a touchstone. It kept me from crawling out of my skin. “We’ll have back-up. Rory will be safe.”
Abe moved his glare between Calvin and me. “And we will make sure her brother never finds out about it. But this all depends on keeping things as quiet as possible.”
“The last part we cannot guarantee on our own.” Calvin added, almost pleading with me to see reason.
“He has no idea how well we actually know the land. He is at a complete disadvantage. The fact he doesn’t have back-up means he was told to sort this out or he would be without a job.
Or worse. That is probably why he resorted to kidnapping. ”
I knew he was right. If anything went wrong, Rory’s brother would find out where she was, and he would hunt her down. I wouldn’t think twice about leaving the ranch and going on the run with her. But if we had the resources to avoid the situation, then we needed to take it.
“Who is Hope Salinger?”
Whoever she was, both Abe and Calvin knew her.
Calvin scratched the back of his neck. “Former Army rescue pilot. I never had the pleasure of meeting her, but I heard she rescued an operative in Russia at the height of the war there. Drove in and out undetected.”
“And she'll be here in an hour?” I tried not to think about everything that could happen in an hour. “I feel like I’m wasting time waiting for her.”
By the time the swish of helicopter blades echoed overhead, the tent was completely empty except for Calvin, Abe, and myself.
Allie and her mother and sister-in-law had gone up to the main house to wait for Rory.
Alabama had mentioned Rory would want a friendly face or two once she was at home instead of the scary faces of the men who’d rescued her.
It took a few minutes for the helicopter to land and I stepped outside just as two men I’d never seen before climbed out. One was older, maybe late forties. And the second man was probably our age.
“The older man is Daniel Salinger.” Calvin spoke next to me.
“He’s Hope’s husband. Total fucking badass from what I hear.
Was Navy Special forces before they became SEALs, then went to the Agency.
Apparently, his interrogation skills are taught in every branch of the military and law enforcement.
I didn't expect him to be back in the field.”
“Good evening, gentlemen.” Daniel walked up to us and held out his hand. “I’m Dan. My wife is the one manning the bird. I’m here because there was no way her and Bowzer were going to have all the fun without me.”
The younger man walked toward us. “Harry Bauman. Everyone calls me Bowzer. Rory is a friend of a friend.”
“How so?” I frowned at Bowzer, I didn’t doubt what he was saying, but I was confused as to how he knew about her.
Bowzer shook all our hands. “Long story. Let’s get her back and then we can talk.”
It was a smart plan, except I didn’t like the idea of anyone connected to her former life knowing where she was.
Abe started barking orders, his SEAL training coming into play. “Rafe and Calvin, will drive to the rendezvous spot. How long will that take?”
“Not more than forty-five minutes.” Yeah, we would be less cautious than usual, but I knew the area. “If we left now, we could still be there before his proposed time.”
Abe nodded and looked back at Calvin. “Then send me a text when you’re about five minutes away. Once you have Rory, you leave the rest to us. Get her out of there. If the man has a weapon, you don’t want her in the line of fire. Have you signed the deed and the contract.”
“No.” There was no way I was entertaining that idea. “Whatever you’re thinking, rethink it. Rory will fucking kill me if I do that. I will spend the rest of my life hearing about what could have happened if things went wrong.”
Calvin raised a brow. “The rest of your life?”
“Yes.”
Daniel let out a chuckle. “He is not wrong.” When Hope shoved her shoulder into his arm, he only shook his head. “Hey, you still remind me about how I got us trapped in a cave.”
The drive to Cypress Cabin was silent. Calvin didn’t argue about letting me drive. I had the unsigned contract with me. As we took a sharp turn, Calvin sent the text to let the others know we were about five minutes away from the cabin.
It didn’t take long for us to reach the cabin after that. When I stepped out of the truck. Vance walked out of the door, waving a gun. “Where is the contract and deed?”
“Where is Rory?” I knew what I needed to do. “Unless I see her, none of this happens.”
Once again he waved his handgun. “You don’t make the rules, I do. Now, handover the deed.”
Just then Calvin stepped out of the truck, holding my shotgun. He wasn’t aiming, just loosely holding it to his side. “What? You going to shoot me, too?”
Vance swung the gun between Calvin and me. “You don’t understand. You have no idea what they will do to me if I don’t get that deed.”
But I did understand. Rory was on the run because of Argent’s ruthlessness. And that was just the tip.
The sound of the helicopter approaching drew Vance’s attention.
“What about them?” I pointed at the sky. “Are you going to shoot at some Navy SEALs, a rescue pilot, and other well trained men?”
Vance watched as the chopper came closer. “Who are you people?”
I took advantage of the distraction and rushed him to the ground. My first thought was that I needed to get rid of the gun before he did something stupid. I twisted his wrist hard and continued to hold him down until screamed in pain and his hand loosened.
Calvin grabbed Vance from me before I could lay a single punch. “Go get Rory.”
I stepped into the cabin and found her on the bed. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused. She was gagged and bound. I went straight for her and pulled the rag from her mouth. “Fuck, City.” I pulled her up, and held her to me.
“Rafe.” Her voice was groggy.
“Sshh, sweetheart. Don’t talk.”
As quickly as I could, I pulled my Swiss knife from my pocket and cut off the zip ties. Then I picked her up and automatically her arms went around my neck and her legs around my waist.
I carried her out as a bound Vance was being led to the helicopter.
Daniel Salinger stepped up to us. “I’m going to interrogate him. I’ll get as much information as I can.”
The word interrogate had my attention. “What do you mean? Like torture?”
“My methods do not involve pain. I am not cruel.” Daniel’s eyes were determined. “At least not in the way you think. But we’ll find out about the Argent methods. And any information we need to pass on to Archer.”
That got Rory’s attention. “You know Archer?”
“Not personally.” Daniel shook his head then nodded to where Bowzer stood. “But he and Bowzer served together.”
Rory motioned for me to take her to where Bowzer stood and I did as she wanted. She offered the man a small smile. “If you talk to him, tell Archer I’m safe and happy.”
I had no idea how much I needed to hear her say that. She was safe and happy. And she was with me.