Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Olivia watched the man under attack check to see if the car doors were locked.
They were, but that didn’t make any difference to Travis.
He pulled the driver’s door open and bent inside, pressing himself against the hapless Pete, turning the tables on him.
He’d kidnapped Travis, but he was now the captive.
Olivia watched terror suffuse the man’s face as he struggled to draw in a breath.
Raising his hands, he clawed at the air.
When that failed to dislodge the invisible body pressing down on him, he squirmed out from under Travis and flung himself out of the car and onto the grass, where he stumbled and went down.
But Gabe moved in quickly, caught him under the arms, and pulled him up.
As Pete struggled to get away, Gabe dragged him toward Travis’s house.
The three of them disappeared inside, and Olivia ran to the door, slipping in after them and closing it behind her.
Travis checked the captive’s body for weapons. He’s got a shoulder holster and a knife strapped to his ankle, he said. Olivia relayed the information to Gabe, who relieved the thug of the weapons.
He looked toward Olivia. “I didn’t want you to come in here.”
“I wasn’t gonna stay hiding in the bushes.”
“Even though that was the better plan?” Gabe’s hands clenched, but he abruptly changed subjects.
“Okay. Make yourself useful. Bring me a kitchen chair.” When she started off, he called out, “Wait,” and gave her a pair of rubber gloves.
“You don’t want anyone to figure out you were here.
” As he spoke, he was putting on gloves of his own.
He also went to the front door and pulled out a rag to wipe the interior and exterior knobs before turning the lock.
Olivia hadn’t even thought of fingerprints. But he was right. It would be a mistake to leave any.
She looked around, located the kitchen, and stepped inside to a fifties breakfast set with aluminum tubing frames and plastic seats and back cushions. Probably they’d belonged to Travis’s father, and the son hadn’t bothered to replace them.
Okay, so I don’t care about style, he acknowledged as she brought a chair back to Gabe.
Gabe pushed Pete into the seat, securing his hands behind his back with handcuffs, and using rope to tie him to the chair and secure his feet to the chair legs.
The man looked on, wide-eyed, his gaze swinging from Gabe to Olivia.
“You can’t do this to me.”
When neither of them answered, he went on in a shaky voice, “What’s this about? How did you pull off that trick at the car?”
“Professional secret,” Gabe shot back.
“Hey, wait a minute,” the dirtbag answered. “I didn’t do nothin’,”
“You were one of the men who abducted Travis Carson from his boat.”
“No.”
“You’re lying.”
“No,” the man said again, his voice weaker.
Gabe beckoned to Olivia and spoke in a whisper. “We’d better have a lookout. Can you tell Travis to go outside and watch for anyone coming here?”
“Why should they?” she asked.
“I’m not taking any chances.”
She looked toward Travis, I guess you’d better do it.
She could see he didn’t want to leave the scene of the interrogation, but he did as asked, stepping through the front wall.
Gabe filled a pitcher of water at the kitchen sink and brought it back, before pulling a thick towel from his bag.
Pete watched wide-eyed.
“You know what I’m going to do, right?” Gabe said.
“Yeah, and it’s illegal.”
“So is kidnapping. So is murder. Who hired you?”
As Pete pressed his lips together, Gabe shrugged. “Have it your way.”
He pulled out a large piece of plastic sheeting and spread it on the floor before tipping Pete’s chair back so that he was now lying on his back. The man’s eyes, filled with panic.
“Who are you working for?”
“If I tell you anything, he’ll kill me.”
“You may not live long enough for that,” Gabe answered.
Olivia was watching the proceedings with a kind of sick fascination. She hadn’t known what to expect, but it wasn’t this.
Gabe slapped the towel on the man’s face.
“No wait,” he begged
“Who are you working for?”
“Smith. His name is Smith,” came the muffled answer from under the towel.
“We know that’s not his real name. Who is he really?”
“That’s the handle he used with me.”
“Let’s see if you’re telling the truth.” Gabe poured some of the water from the pitcher onto the towel, where it plastered the covering to the man’s face.
Pete sputtered and gasped. “No, please...”
Gabe stopped pouring the water. “If you don’t know his name, what can you tell me?”
“He lives in a big house. He’s got a lot of property. The place backs onto a river.”
“You took Carson there?”
“Yes,” the kidnapper gasped out.
“What was the name on the mailbox?”
“There wasn’t any. Maybe he gets his mail at a P.O. box.”
“House number?”
“Maybe there was one, but I didn’t pay any attention.”
Gabe cursed under his breath, obviously trying to figure out what useful information he could get out of this guy.
He was lifting the pitcher again when Travis came charging back through the wall.
“What?” Olivia asked in alarm.
Two SUVs just pulled up.
How did they find us?
Don’t know. But you gotta split, now.
Olivia put her hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “Uh, our friend says we have to go. We have company.”
* * *
“Shit.” Gabe looked at their prisoner, wishing he’d been prepared for reinforcements to show up. But there was no use beating himself up for what he couldn’t change. “Let’s go.”
He pulled the towel off Pete’s head and delivered a solid blow to his face. His eyes closed, and blood began to leak from his nose.
“Our friend says we have to hurry. They’re getting out of the SUV.”
Gabe stuffed the wet towel back into his bag, glancing around at the rest of the mess. At least he’d made sure there were no fingerprints.
He grabbed his bag. “Come on.”
They ran for the back door, and had just stepped out and closed it when he heard a splintering noise.
He didn’t need Travis to tell him that Smith’s goons were bashing in the front door.
He and Olivia sprinted down the alley, and he supposed the ghost was with them, seeing as he couldn’t get far from her.
Gabe put on a burst of speed, plowing ahead so that he had the car running when Olivia got to the vehicle.
Seconds later, she slid into the front seat and slammed the door behind her. He jerked the clunker away from the curb without waiting for her to fasten her seat belt.
“Travis says they see us,” she gasped out the information to Gabe as he barreled down the street.
“I was afraid of that.” Looking in the rearview mirror, he spotted a man taking pictures of the car.
From the passenger seat, Olivia asked, “How did they know we were here and where we’d taken Pete?”
“They must have a surveillance system in addition to stationing someone on site.” As he spoke, he turned onto the next street. “Or maybe it’s worse. Maybe they had Pete sitting in that car to lure us over so they could catch us on camera and swoop in.”
“Oh great.” Olivia swiveled around. “They’re on our tail. They’re going to catch up.”
And start shooting? Would they risk that in a populated area?
Gabe had the feeling they’d take any risk to find out who was on to their kidnapping and murder game.
They had him blocked in from behind. All he could do was keep driving, executing a series of turns that he hoped would get them in the clear. Instead, he found himself on another street that dead-ended at a creek.
They were trapped.