Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
No.
No.
I slammed the gas pedal down, my truck tearing down the highway at a speed that could get me arrested, but I didn’t care. I barely saw the road. My vision was swimming red.
I had heard it all. Heard that son of a bitch’s voice. Heard the moment Fallon realized what she had to do.
She had set the phone down so I could listen.
She knew I was there.
She knew I was powerless to stop it.
She had done it anyway.
I gritted my teeth, rage clawing through my veins, the wheel creaking under my grip.
Sid had her. He had my mother.
And I was too damn far away to stop it.
She’d had to go with him.
That bastard had forced her hand. He had used my mother as leverage.
And Fallon, my fierce, stubborn, brilliant Fallon, had made the only choice she could.
A choice that was going to destroy him.
Because I was coming for him.
And this time, I wasn’t going to hesitate to kill him.
As I drove like a madman, I started making calls. I knew Simon was in Nashville, so he was out. I wasn’t sure where Roan was, so I called him, but didn’t get an answer.
I had Zarek on the line in a second.
“What’s up?”
“Get over to my parents’ house now. Call an ambulance. Sid kidnapped my mom. She was with Dad. I don’t know what happened to Dad. Get over there now.”
“On it.” He hung up.
My next call was to Bruno. In five swift sentences, I explained the situation. “I’ve got two former SEALs who’ll be coming locked and loaded with me. I’m going to call Bernie Faulkes to see where that psycho might have taken your mom and Fallon.”
Made sense. Bernie knew every nook and cranny of Jasper Creek. If anybody would know a hiding place, it would be him. And if Sid said it would be cold, that meant he was heading to the Smoky Mountains.
“Where are we going to meet?” I asked Bruno.
“Parking lot of the Whispering Pines. That’ll put us at the base of the Smoky Mountains proper.”
“But that assumes he’s walking,” I protested. “Sid is taking them in a vehicle. He has to be using some equipment to live stream. He’s going to need to drive. I think we should drive up to the old cabin that Simon and you lived in. That will get us into the Smoky Mountains. A lot of the older folks have abandoned their cabins because of the harsher winters. I think he’s going to take them to one of those.”
I could almost hear Bruno thinking over the phone. Roan was buzzing in. “Bruno, got to take another call. I’ll meet you and your buddies at the old cabin.”
“Agreed.”
“Roan,” I growled out his name.
“I found the hacker kid working with Sid.”
“Found him, as in you have your hands on him?”
“Yep.”
“Ask him if Sid knows how to live stream.”
“Why?”
“Don’t fucking ask questions. Just do it!”
I heard Roan talking and somebody mumbling. “The kid said yes, but he fumbles with it. Sid is always calling him for help.”
“Perfect. Stash the kid somewhere safe. Sid has my mom and Fallon. He intends to kill them while live streaming it for me. He’s going to be doing it somewhere in the Smoky Mountains. We’ve got the beginnings of a search party to look for him. In the meantime, if he calls the kid, maybe we can track his signal, or the kid can get him to tell him his location. Or fuck, find out if the kid knows where he might be going.”
“On it. Where are you all meeting for the search party?”
“Simon’s old cabin.”
Zarek was calling in. I hung up on Roan.
“Tell me.”
“He’s alive. They’re airlifting him to Nashville. He’s lost a lot of blood, but no major organs were hit.”
“He’s over sixty.”
“Michael, your dad is in good health. The paramedics felt good about his chances. Now tell me what’s going on with your mom.”
“Sid has Mom and Fallon. We’re pretty sure he’s taken them to some cabin up in the Smokies. He had a twenty-five minute head start on me, is all. We’re meeting up at Simon’s old cabin.”
“He’s probably driving your parents’ Range Rover.”
“Do me a favor and call Bruno and let him know that’s what they’re searching for. Before you go to the meeting point, can you go to my house. Sid kicked Harley. She didn’t get back up.”
“How do you know?”
“Fallon kept the line open the entire time Sid was talking to her. She even took a shot at him. She missed, but by God, she tried. But he kicked Harley. She also got the clue to me that it was going to be cold where he was taking her, but it needed to be able to have wireless capability.”
“She’s smart. She’s probably going to end up saving both herself and your mom.”
I repeated back what he had once said to me.
“From your mouth to God’s ears.”
When I got to Simon’s old cabin, there were seven men. I didn’t see Bruno or his brother Jace, and I had expected to. Bernie Faulkes was coordinating things, which made sense, since he knew the mountains like the back of his hand.
He jogged over to me.
“The search is in good hands,” he said first thing. “Jace Drakos, Bruno’s brother, used to be one of the best trackers for the SEALs. He took point. Unfortunately, we haven’t had rain lately, but even without it, he was able to figure out the Range Rover’s tire prints and he knows where they went. Only one cabin up that way, according to satellite photos. He and Nolan O’Rourke, who used to be part of his SEAL team have taken point. Give me your phone and I’ll plug in both of their numbers into your phone so you can catch up to them.”
I nodded. I had to get to my mom and Fallon. I had to.
Just like I thought he would, Sid took us to a cabin in the mountains. He tied me up first, followed by Lana. I don’t know what Sid had done to her, but she was bleeding steadily from her head. I kept telling myself that on every TV medical drama I’d ever watched, they always said that head wounds bled a lot, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was how listless she was and how glassy her eyes were.
I watched as Sid fiddled around with the laptop, trying to get an internet connection. He had everything he needed to connect with the satellite remote network, but it was clear he didn’t know what he was doing. But when you considered the fact he went into prison when AOL was the hot item, no wonder he was confused.
Lana would bleed out before he would get things hooked up.
“Please untie me, I need to help Lana.”
He twirled around. “I told you to shut up. I need to think.”
He took out his phone again to make a call. It was the fifth time he tried; I don’t know why he was bothering, it was obvious he didn’t have a signal.
“She’s going to pass out. Then you won’t be able to have your show. I need to help her. She needs water and a blanket,” I insisted.
“Shut the fuck up!” he roared.
I flinched. He picked up the gun lying on the table, swung around, and took a shot at me. Well not at me, over my shoulder. But he made his point. I shut up.
I continued to watch him plug things in incorrectly while keeping one eye on Lana.
Until she slumped over in a heap.
“Done!” Sid crowed. Sid turned and laughed when he saw Lana. Then he picked up a roll of duct tape from the table and headed for me.
“Showtime.”