17. Chapter Seventeen
Chapter seventeen
N ick turned onto the road leading to Mrs. Lopez’s place and spotted a white panel van in the driveway, the back swinging doors wide open. A man with tan skin, black hair, and tattoos on his neck, wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, pushed someone into the back of the van. Nick didn’t have a great vantage point to see if it was an adult or child. But the second the guy spotted Nick closing in, he yelled something up to the house, closed the van up, ran to the driver’s side door, jumped inside, and hauled ass out of there.
Nick called Agent Hayward.
“I’m five minutes out,” he said when he picked up.
“White van headed east. Possible child abduction.” He rattled off the license plate number.
“They’re driving toward me. I won’t miss them.”
“Call for backup for me. I’m headed in to see who’s still in the Lopez house. I’ve got Julia’s car out front and a black Charger parked along the side yard. I might get lucky and find Javier here.”
“Be careful.”
Nick slammed on the breaks behind Julia’s car, blocking it in. He jumped out and as he was headed for the open front door, he heard a male voice say, “Get down the fucking stairs.”
He pulled his gun and announced himself. “FBI, come out with your hands up.”
A child wailed.
Nick rushed to the kitchen, taking a second to glance down the hallway to Mrs. Lopez’s room. She stared back at him, wide-eyed and scared.
That moment of distraction was all it took for him to miss Julia coming at him with a kitchen carving knife. She plunged the blade into his shoulder. He shoved her away and the blade tore out of him, making him grimace in pain. “Put the knife down.”
What the hell! How could she come after him?
He held her at gunpoint and walked toward her, glancing into the kitchen, finding a young boy on the ground holding his arm, tears trailing down his cheeks. His arm looked swollen and bright red, probably broken. An ACE bandage and brace were on the counter right near Javier Lopez.
“Don’t fucking move,” he told Javier, who had a gun in his hand, pointed at the boy. “You don’t want to do this, man. Not to that kid. Not in your mother’s house in front of your sister.” Nick kept his focus as his heart jackhammered in his chest and in his mind he prayed nothing happened to the small boy.
Javier sneered. “Let me go and no one gets hurt. Worse,” he tacked on, looking at the blood spreading across Nick’s shirt and chest.
“You’re under arrest. Drop the gun and kick it to me.”
Javier shook his head. “You drop it. I leave. You live to see another day, you asshole.”
Julia stood in the corner, her back to the counter, her chest heaving. “Go, Javie. Please.”
He glared at her with disdain. “I fucking told you to move the kids yesterday. Now look what’s happened. What good are you to me if he arrests you for stabbing him?”
“I have things to do besides babysit your brats,” she snapped.
The boy on the floor shook with fear, sweat dripping from his brow. He didn’t look good. Pain etched lines into his forehead and made him pale.
Nick’s fucking shoulder hurt like hell, but he kept his gun trained on the man he’d wanted in a cell for three long years.
Javier made a move toward the back door. The kid on the floor blocked it.
Nick shook his head. “Don’t even think about it.”
“I’m not letting you take me in. You don’t get to be the hero after you betrayed me.”
“There’s no way out. More agents are on the way. My partner probably already has your man in the van in custody. You’re going down.”
Javier glanced at his sister.
Nick didn’t take the bait. He kept his eyes glued to Javier.
“Javie,” his sister pleaded. For what, Nick wasn’t sure. To get her out of this. To take her with him. To turn himself in. She’d stabbed an FBI agent. She was going down with him.
Suddenly Mrs. Lopez shoved him from behind. “Get out of my house. All of you. I don’t want any of you here!”
Chaos ensued.
Julia slashed out with the knife again, getting him across his back and arm as he tried to avoid being stabbed again. Mrs. Lopez kicked him in the leg, making him off-balance as he fell to his knee, then hip. Julia swung the knife down at him again. He shot her right in the chest.
She hadn’t even dropped when a bullet hit him in the back. He spun and aimed at Javier just as he got off another shot, hitting Nick in the chest. He shoved himself backward and fired at Javier as Javier fired back at Nick again.
The bullet went through Nick’s thigh. Nick’s shot ripped across Javier’s shoulder, near his neck, but didn’t take him out of commission. Javier lunged for the kid. Mrs. Lopez was wailing about her dead daughter.
And Javier picked up the kid, using him as a shield, his face a mask of rage. “You killed my sister. I will fucking hunt you down and kill the one you love most, and then I’ll kill you.” He shoved the kid straight at Nick and ran out the back door.
The kid cried out in agony, then passed out in Nick’s arms. Nick’s blood soaked the floor beside him, but he managed to lay the kid down and turn to Mrs. Lopez. He barely made it to his feet without passing out himself, but he grabbed her around the waist, hauled her up to standing as she dropped her daughter’s body to the floor. He cuffed her as she cussed him out and wailed, “You killed my daughter. You killed my daughter.” She spit in his face.
He wiped it away with his shirt sleeve, noting the amount of blood still flowing out of the stab wound on his shoulder. Maybe it was from the cut on the back of his arm.
The Charger came to life outside with a growl of the engine, then tires squealing as Javier made a run for it. Nick hoped Agent Hayward or their backup got him before he escaped again.
Nick was in no condition to give chase. He was barely standing. And he had to keep the boy safe. No telling what Mrs. Lopez might do if she was willing to attack an FBI agent.
Fuck. Everything hurt.
Every breath made him remember the two bullets he took in the vest. And his leg was going numb and felt like it was on fire all at the same time. His vision went in and out as he fought passing out. He needed to stay alert and help the boy.
He pulled out his phone and texted his brother, Mason.
NICK: FUBAR
He didn’t have much time before blood loss put him on his ass and he passed out. So he needed to act fast.
He bent over the kid and gently touched his cheek, hoping the kid would wake up.
“You can’t lock me up,” Mrs. Lopez ranted.
He shoved her into a chair at the table and ignored her, while he called Agent Hayward.
The agent got right to the point when he answered. “I got the guy in the van and one girl, age twelve, Emma Peters. She’s from Maine. Taken from her brother’s baseball game when she went to the bathroom.”
Nick sighed with relief, sucked in a ragged breath, and gave his report, running on adrenaline. “I’ve been shot. One dead. One in custody. Javier got away in a black Charger. I’ve got one boy, possibly more children in the cellar. I think he’s Toby Simmons. The one we got the DNA match for. He’s got a broken arm. I need help ASAP.”
Hayward spoke fast. “I’m almost there. Ambulance is coming. Can you hang in there until help arrives?”
“Yes.” Probably. Maybe. The blood loss was a serious issue. He grabbed the dish towel from the counter and wrapped it around his thigh, but it was too small for him to tie off and use to keep pressure on the wounds. He needed something else, but couldn’t identify anything in the kitchen to use. “Just hurry the hell up.” Nick hung up.
The boy started to come to and needed his attention.
Nick bent over the kid. “Hey, I’m with the FBI. Are you Toby?”
He nodded.
“Great. I’ve been looking for you. Are you okay?”
The boy held his injured arm to his chest and shook his head.
“Help is coming.” Nick looked toward the back door, then back at the kid. “Are there any other kids here?”
It took Toby a second to work up the nerve to nod, then point to the open back door where Javier had escaped.
“I’m going to go get them. Stay here. I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”
The boy raised himself up on his good arm and shook his head. He sat up and grabbed Nick’s sleeve. “Don’t go.” His gaze shot to Julia, lying dead on the floor.
“She can’t hurt you. Javier is gone.” He kept his gun at the ready, just in case Mrs. Lopez got any ideas, or Javier decided to come back and finish him off. “I need to get the other kids. Do you want to come with me?”
He nodded.
Nick bobbed his head toward the door. “Okay. Let’s go save them. You and me.” Nick stood up to his full height, the room spinning a bit as he gained his feet. He could feel the blood running down his leg and soaking his sock.
He looked down at the boy. “Stay right behind me.”
The boy nodded.
“Is there anyone else down there with them?”
Toby shook his head.
“Just the kids?”
The boy nodded again.
“How many are down there?”
He held up two fingers, then whimpered because he let go of his broken arm.
“Ambulance is coming. We’ll get your arm fixed up and get you back to your family.”
The haunted look in the boy’s eyes intensified as they filled with fresh tears.
Nick went down the steps into the backyard, then turned back to the kid. He bent and looked the kid in the eye. “Whatever you did to survive was worth it. You survived. You were smart and brave and strong. You did what was necessary to stay alive. Look at you, you’re still standing. You’re still here. That is the most important thing. That’s what will matter to your family. I’m so proud of you. I’m in awe of you.” Two years this kid had been through what no one should have to endure and survived.
The boy’s eyes went wide with surprise.
“Hello,” a courageous girl called up from the cellar. “Help us.”
“FBI,” Nick called. “I’m going to get you out. Stand as far away from the door as you can. I’m going to shoot the lock open. On the count of three.” He paused, giving the girl a chance to get herself and the other one back. “You clear?”
“Yes!”
“One.” He aimed at the lock at an angle, so it would bust the lock and hopefully not send a bullet into the basement where the kids hid. “Two.” He steadied his hand. “Three.” He shot the lock, getting it on the first try. Thank fuck, because he felt woozy and off-balance from the blood loss. He needed to wrap something around his thigh and stifle the bleeding. But first…
He pulled off the damaged lock, tossed it, then opened the heavy door to the dark cellar. “Come on out.”
The first girl he saw was dressed in a white nightgown that hit her mid-calf. Her feet were bare. Her bright blonde hair was a tangled mess around her shoulders. She looked about thirteen. Behind her a shorter, younger girl, maybe ten, peeked out from behind her. She had dark hair and big green eyes.
Nick held his gun at his thigh, out of sight of the girls. “My name is Nick. I’m with the FBI. You can come up. It’s safe.”
The oldest girl looked at the boy standing beside him, then at Nick. “They took another girl. Emma.”
“My partner rescued her.” He held his hand out to her. “Come on up. Are either of you hurt? Hungry? Thirsty? Need a bathroom?”
The second girl bounced from one bare foot to the other. “I gotta go.”
“They only left us a bucket down there,” the first girl said, her nose scrunched in disgust as she shivered.
Nick swore under his breath. “Come on.” He used his good leg to pull himself up the steps. When he stepped into the kitchen, he spotted Julia dead on the floor.
Mrs. Lopez hadn’t left her spot at the table and glared at the kids. “I told them not to bring them here anymore.”
Yeah, he’d dive into that statement real soon. But right now, he needed to take care of the kids, so he ushered them out of the kitchen to the living room, trying to use his body to block the gruesome sight of Julia’s lifeless body.
He turned and looked at all of them, staring up at him. “First door on the right is the bathroom.”
The little brunette ran down the hall to the door, shut it, and locked it behind her.
He wondered if he’d need a negotiator to get her out again.
The oldest girl helped Toby sit on the couch and prop his arm on a pillow. Then she dashed back into the kitchen, grabbed three water bottles out of the fridge, and brought them back, offering Toby one after she uncapped it. She left one bottle on the table, then opened one for herself. She and Toby drank them down like they’d been in a desert for a week.
The little one came out of the bathroom, promptly sat down next to the oldest girl, and downed half a bottle of water in three seconds flat, too.
Nick was leaning heavily on his good leg and hoping the cavalry arrived soon. Until then, he headed to the bathroom, found a spare bath towel, and wrapped it around his leg, tying it tight. It hurt like a motherfucker, but staunched the flow of blood.
Just as he walked back into the living room, Agent Hayward walked in with a girl of about twelve, with curly honey-blonde hair, freckles over her nose, and haunted blue eyes. Emma.
“You didn’t say anything about being shot in the shoulder,” Hayward accused.
Nick winced when he moved the ripped piece of his shirt out of the way to check out the wound. “Oh, no, Julia stabbed me before Javier shot me three times.”
The kids all looked at him, aghast.
Emma dropped her jaw, then said, “How are you still standing?”
“He’s strong and brave and a survivor,” Toby said, nearly making Nick cry, hearing him repeat his words back to him.
Instead he fist-bumped the kid. “Takes one to know one, right?” Nick looked at each of the kids. “Right?”
They all nodded.
“Now give Agent Hayward all your names so we can locate your parents and get you home.” Suddenly the room began to tip on Nick. He fell into a chair as dark spots danced in his vision, and then everything went black.
He woke up some time later in the back of an ambulance, all the kids inside with him. The paramedic had braced and wrapped Toby’s arm. He sat between Nick’s legs. The other three were on the bench or floor.
The paramedic leaned over him. “They refused to be separated or transported without you.”
Nick had enough brain cells firing to tell the kids, “I’m going to be fine.”
“Promise?” Toby asked.
“It’s a promise. My brother’s on his way and he’s bringing my girlfriend back to me, so I’ve got a lot to live for. Just like you guys did. Your families are going to be so happy to see you. Just like mine is to see me.”
He noticed that the dark-haired little girl turned away and curled up on herself on the tiny bench. After all she’d been through, maybe she just couldn’t hope to see the people she loved. She’d probably been told over and over they didn’t want her. Poor kid.
Nick would make sure they all got back to their families.
The oldest girl held up his phone. “He called. I answered. I hope that’s okay. I told him a little of what happened. He told me to tell you he and Aria love you and Fox and Hawk are flying them home.”
Toby touched his bare knee. For the first time, Nick realized the paramedic must have cut off his pants leg to wrap his thigh.
“A fox and a hawk are going to fly them?” Toby looked confused.
“That’s their names. Fox is marrying my girlfriend’s sister. And Hawk is my cousin. He flies helicopters for a search and rescue team.”
Toby nearly grinned. “That sounds awesome. I want to fly in a helicopter.”
All the kids nodded that they’d like to do that, too.
“I can make it happen,” Nick promised. “But I need you guys to do something. I need you all to talk to the FBI agents about what happened to you. I know it will be hard, but we want to make sure we get the people who hurt you.”
Emma leaned forward. “We’ll talk to you when you’re better.”
All the kids nodded.
Well, he’d earned their trust and he wouldn’t break it.
Now all he had to do was get fixed up at the hospital and get some rest so he could do right by these kids.
And so he was well enough to kiss Aria’s socks off the second she got here. Because damn he missed her, and this incident had been yet another really close call. Too close.
The thought of never seeing her again hurt his heart so much, he vowed he’d do anything to keep her.