Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jameson
“ S hould be just up here on the left somewhere based on the location coordinates from dispatch.” The rough trail we were on wasn’t ideal for vehicle traffic, so it was no wonder the hikers found it odd.
“Remember, don’t touch anything when we get there; let forensics do their job,” Jaxon voiced.
“I know—shit, STOP!” I yelled. “Stop, I see something.”
I flung open the passenger door and ran through the forest, jumping over logs and broken branches until I fell beside a barely conscious Alex lying on his side in the dirt.
“Alex, where’s Arizona?”
His eyes were flickering as he fought to keep them open. His arm was bent unnaturally, and he was losing blood from a severe head wound just above his right ear.
“Jaxon, call for paramedics!” I yelled over my shoulder.
“Alex, can you hear me? I need you to stay with me.” I applied pressure to the wound until Boden ran over with a first-aid kit.
“This is all the gauze I have.” He tried to hand it to me.
“Switch out with me; I need to look for Arizona.”
“She’s—”
“What is it, Alex? Tell me.”
“Gone . . . she’s gone.”
“No, no. No, no, she can’t be.” I was going to be sick. “I need to find her.”
“Took her.”
I fell to my knees and leaned in closer to him. “Where? Where did he take her?”
“Blue . . . Impala.”
“He had a second vehicle here?”
He nodded, his jaw clenched.
“Was she hurt?”
“Sleeping,” he said, the word heavy like it carried a weight he didn’t want to say out loud.
“Did you notice anything else? Did you see the guy’s face?”
He winced in pain. “No . . . he wore a mask.”
His eyes closed, and his body suddenly went limp in Boden’s arms.
“Alex.” I shook him. “Come on, Alex, stay awake; help is coming.”
“Paramedics are two minutes out.” Jaxon appeared beside me. “I found the van; there’s no sign of Arizona anywhere. I need to get a team out here to start a grid search.”
“Alex said he transferred her into another vehicle, a Blue Impala.”
“Shit. Okay, I’ll update the team. Forensics is already sweeping the van. Hopefully, he got sloppy at some point and left traces of his DNA behind.
Shortly after Alex was transported to the hospital with stable vital signs, forensics lifted a usable print from the van. The print led to a match in the system and finally gave us something concrete to work with.
Dixon Monroe.
A thirty-year-old male currently residing in Rockwood with a list of priors that extended out of state and included assault and battery with a weapon and several stalking and restraining orders from women up and down the East Coast.
Armed with a warrant, Rockwood police and Jaxon entered the quaint little, unassuming house registered in Dixon’s name while Boden hung back to ensure I didn’t enter the property and disturb the scene.
The house had been turned upside down, all electronics seized, and yet there was still no trace of Arizona or any evidence to suggest that she had been brought to this location.
Anxiety churned in my stomach, making me want to puke, when Jaxon brought me inside and showed me that the suspect had an entire wall in his office dedicated to Arizona.
The photos all appeared relatively recent and included pictures of her on the job, at home, at her dad’s, and even at my place. The images were all taken from a distance using a high-end telephoto lens, as evidenced by the Canon camera and its attachments on the desk in front of me.
What truly sent a shiver down my spine were the images documenting the fire at Dustin’s and the night that ignited the chain of events that had led us down this unforeseen road.
Jaxon looked at me with a concern-filled expression, and while I wanted to explain, all that escaped past my lips was a sob as I was overcome with more regret rather than answers.
Unease was a prickly fucker, and it ate away every second of our three-hour drive to an Airbnb booked under Dixon’s name in a remote area north of where we lived. When Jaxon pulled off the road a quarter mile from the house, and my eyes landed on the rest of the cavalry who were along for the assist, hope spawned in my chest for the first time in the last twelve hours.
“Leif,” Jaxon greeted a guy who I guessed was the crew’s leader. The guy was so stacked, even I wouldn’t want to tangle with him in a dark alley. He was one scary, intimidating motherfucker.
“I’ve had a drone circle the area, and we’ve confirmed he’s got your girl inside the house.” He spared a quick, apologetic glance in my direction. “From the limited vantage point, she’s in and out of consciousness.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Battling whatever drugs she’s been given.”
“I’ve got men on the ground; they’re breaching the perimeter, but it takes patience. Arizona’s safety is our top priority, and the last thing we want to do is spook the guy.”
“Thanks, Leif, I owe you one,” Jaxon said as I briefly wondered about their connection.
He nodded at my brother. “Let’s gear up and go over the plan for approach.”
“My team detected the scent of gasoline as they approached the house, and the front entrance is rigged with explosives.”
“Who the fuck is this guy?” I questioned as a chilling fear twisted tightly in my chest.
“Ex-military went rogue. That part of his identity was locked down tight, but nothing gets past our hackers.”
“And Ari, any updates on her condition?”
“Here.” He handed me a small silver tablet. “Proof she’s fine for the time being.”
“This live?” My anxiety doubled down as I scanned my eyes over her, tied to a chair. “Yes, a drone the size of a bug is on the window sill.”
“What about audio?”
“Working on that now, but he’s growing increasingly agitated. Time isn’t on our side here.”
My eyes were darting back and forth across the property, taking in the scene and possible escape routes, when Arizona’s voice came through the tablet’s speaker.
“Please, just let me go,” she sobbed.
“Fuck, Fuck, FUCK!” Dixon screamed as he pulled at his hair and paced frantically in front of Arizona. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this; you were supposed to be mine. You were there to meet me.”
I watched as he forcibly kicked the legs out from under the chair, which sent Arizona crashing backward, pinning her arms behind her as she screamed out in agony. He then straddled her upper body, adding even more weight and tension.
“You’re just a whore, aren’t you? You think men are just pawns to manipulate?”
“No, I never?—”
“Stop lying!” he yelled with increasing venom. “I saw you that night.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she cried, tears streaming down toward her ears.
“I said stop lying! I saw you from the window. I saw you and the firefighter, the same guy you asked to tell me you weren’t interested; I saw him on his knees for you in the back room, and what did you do? You fucking manipulative whore, you teased him. Women like you don’t deserve to be with a man like me.”
“I’m sorry, you’re right, I’m?—”
He punched her in the jaw before switching to her ribs as she tried in vain to jerk her body away from him.
“We need to move. We have to get to her, and we have to do it fast.” I looked pleadingly at Leif.
“Let’s spread out, approach the house from different angles,” he spoke into his coms.
An ear-piercing shrill rang out seconds later, causing us to drop and cover our ears. Leif and his team had ear protection, but Jaxon, Boden, and I were left to fight through the horrific noise. When it finally ended, the ringing in my ears left me feeling off-balance until I opened my eyes and saw a fire quickly spreading around the perimeter of the house.
The grass was dry, and the house’s exterior was covered in wood that had been sprayed with gas, given how fast it ignited before us.
Fuck stealth mode. I was sprinting at full speed toward the house when it exploded before me, and the weight of the blast propelled me backward, flying through the air until I landed with a harsh thud on the ground. Shockwave after shockwave rippled through the ground as different bombs detonated. Shards of glass rained down, as did the place’s construction, while thick, heavy plumes of orange and black smoke lit up the night sky.
Without my firefighting gear, the acrid scent of burning wood stung my eyes and burned my throat, but that didn’t stop me from screaming her name or running toward where the house once stood.
“He’s taking her to the lake,” Boden shouted through the coms.
I changed course and took off, grateful I hadn’t lost the headlamp in the explosion since it provided some visibility over the terrain behind the property that was shrouded in darkness. It wasn’t until I emerged from the trees into the clearing by the lake that I finally spotted her, along with the rest of the team. The maddening part was none of us were in a position to rescue her without jeopardizing her safety since her body was draped over Dixon’s shoulder, and he was using her body for cover as he took off on a jet ski.
“Roll the marine unit and the chopper,” Leif instructed.
Jaxon pulled me back and stopped me from running off the dock. “Get off me.” I tugged my arm free from his hold.
“What are you going to do? Fucking swim after a jet ski? You’ll never?—”
His words were cut off when a thunderous thud had us look out over the water to see the jet ski suddenly airborne and one body soaring through the air.
“Arizona,” I screamed in horror, barely recognizing the sound of my voice as I stood frozen, helplessly watching from a distance as she plunged beneath the water’s surface, taking my heart along with her.