Chapter Twenty-Six
The moon was high in the sky above as the front of the lodge was suddenly lit up with multiple glowing lights.
Several cop cars screeched to a halt around them, swiftly followed by the paramedics.
Lawson held Sarah close, trying to block out all of the noise and activity around them and just concentrate on how she felt in his arms.
He could feel her tears against his shirt, and he hated that she was so upset right now, but he reminded himself that things could be so much worse.
“I’m so sorry,” he murmured to her, brushing his lips over the top of her head. “I thought I was protecting you by sending you away from the lodge but I should have known that the safest place for you to be is by my side.”
“It’s okay,” she replied, lifting her gaze to meet his. “I know you were just trying to do the right thing. I don’t blame you.”
He smiled at her, and leaned down to plant a kiss against her lips as the sheriff hopped out of his car behind them.
“Sorry it took us so long to get here, but it looks like you guys have it handled. Granger had a few surprises set up for us along the way and the FBI is dealing with that. SWAT is currently securing the outer area,” Sheriff Willis volunteered, as Lawson pulled back from Sarah.
“So what’s the status here? Who do I need to cuff? ” he demanded.
“We’re just glad you made it, Sheriff. Xavier has them,” Lawson replied, directing him to the other man, who was still standing over Granger. “He’ll tell you what you need to know.”
“Good,” Sheriff Willis replied, nodding sharply and walking toward the two men. “This way, men! Let’s round them up,” the sheriff added, directing his deputies to Granger’s men scattered around the ground.
Just then, Bailey’s car pulled up behind the sheriff’s vehicle. All three women sprang out and rushed to Sarah’s side
“Are you oka—” Hannah began.
“What happened?” Bailey asked, speaking over her.
“Where are—” River began at the same time, but Sarah just pointed them back toward the lodge.
“Over there,” she replied. “They’re waiting for you.”
River and Bailey ran off toward the lodge, while Hannah rushed to where Xavier was standing, talking with the sheriff.
She practically leaped into Xavier’s arms when she reached him.
Lawson couldn’t help but smile, glad that they had all found each other again.
He still felt guilty for sending Sarah away in the first place, but that line of thought would have to wait.
There was so much more they had to take care of before he could replay everything that had happened.
Once Hannah had extracted herself from Xavier’s arms, she took his hand and came over to talk to Lawson and Sarah.
“Are you okay?” she asked her brother, fussing over him as she took in the bruises and cuts on his face.
He knew he would be looking rough come the morning, but right now, he could hardly feel it.
He was sure the paramedics would want to give him a once-over to make sure he was okay, but the important thing was Lawson had survived. Hurt like hell, but he would make it.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied.
“And you, Sarah?” she asked with concern. “Oh, God, I was so scared when you got out of the car like that.”
“You did what?” Lawson asked, confused. He thought Granger had intercepted the women and forced Sarah to give herself up to him.
“I knew they wanted me,” she said softly, shrugging. “I thought it would give the others a chance to get away if I pretended to turn myself over to them, but I had to run instead.”
He stared down at her. He could hardly believe it. He squeezed her closer, hating the thought of her sacrificing herself like that, but even more in awe of her than he had been before, which he hadn’t thought was possible.
“I thought we might never see you again,” Hannah blurted, her voice wracked with emotion. Lawson tensed. There it was, the horror that he had almost faced.
He had almost lost her. And the thought of it made him feel sick.
It was worse than any of the physical pain he had endured that night, by a long shot.
He closed his eyes and pressed his face into her hair, reminding himself that she was safe.
That was what he needed to remember, above all else, and he was never going to let any threat get that close to her again.
But there was someone else out there who needed his help right now. Lainey was still out there somewhere. Granger wanted him to think that she was dead, but there was no way Lawson would give up until he knew for sure.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asked her.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” she murmured. “What about you?”
“There’s something else I need to do,” he told her. “I’ll meet you at the hospital, alright?”
“Don’t get hurt,” she pleaded with him, and he kissed her cheek.
“I promise I won’t,” he replied. “But there’s someone else I need to get back to their family in one piece.”
She squeezed his hand, and then one of the paramedics led her away so she could get checked over. He watched as she went, feeling a pang at the thought of leaving her again, but he promised himself it wasn’t going to be for long. Soon enough, he would be back by her side.
He stalked over to Granger, who was being held along with both of his sons inside a cop car. All of them were cuffed and looked worse for wear, though what they had waiting in front of them was far worse than anything Xavier or Lawson could have inflicted on them with their fists and weapons.
Lawson yanked open the door, startling the men inside. “Where’s Lainey?” he demanded, reaching inside the car, grabbing Granger by the collar.
The man grinned at him, teeth smeared with blood. “You really think I’m going to tell you where that bitch is?” he asked. “Let her rot. If we’re going to prison, she can stay in hers, too.”
Lawson grimaced. Okay, so he wasn’t going to get the information out of Granger, but maybe his sons would be quicker to crack. He looked at them.
“Lyle, Nelson,” he snapped. “You want a couple of years cut off your sentence?”
“Yes,” Lyle blurted out. His face was pale where it wasn’t marked with blood or bruises. They were looking down the barrel of a long life in prison for helping their father with his crimes, and he figured they would want to do anything they could to try to shorten their time behind bars.
Though Lawson knew damn well he couldn’t cut them a deal like that, he was willing to try anything he could to get them to hand over Lainey’s location.
“Then you tell me where she’s being held,” he continued, lowering his voice so it didn’t travel beyond the back seat and the three men inside.
He didn’t want them trying to use what he had said to wheedle their way out of the sentence they deserved, and he was going to use everything he had at his disposal to get them to talk.
“Don’t say a damn word,” Granger warned his sons.
Lawson watched the two brothers closely.
Indecision flickered across both their faces before their eyes darted to their father’s.
Lawson’s pulse jumped in anticipation. One of them was about to crack, he could tell.
Granger could tell too, if his face turning a concerning shade of red was any indication.
Looked like whatever power the man once had over his sons was gone.
“There’s a compound, just outside of town,” Lyle said quickly, like he wanted to be the one to tell him. “And I… She’s being held in a back room there. The code for the building’s main door lock is two-six-three-one.”
“Address,” Lawson ordered. “Now.”
“It’s where the old dairy farm used to be,” Nelson revealed. “It always stunk of old milk.”
Granger growled, trying to tell them not to say anything else, but that was all Lawson needed to hear from them. He slammed the car door shut and headed over to Sheriff Willis.
“You know where the old dairy farm outside of town is?” he demanded.
“Yeah, about an hour from here,” the sheriff replied. “Why? You got a craving for cheese all of a sudden?”
Lawson managed to let out a laugh, despite the circumstances. He shook his head. “They’re holding my friend Lainey there,” he replied. “I need to get to her.”
“I’ll take you there myself,” the sheriff replied. “My officers have this under control. They’re taking this personally, after what happened at the station.”
Lawson nodded in understanding. He knew the horror of what had gone down that day would live long in the memory of the town. Blue Ridge had never had any incidents of that magnitude.
Sheriff Willis and Lawson climbed into the sheriff’s car and sped away from the lodge.
Time was of the essence since they didn’t know how long Lainey had been held or what condition she was in.
The sheriff radioed in what was happening and a few other vehicles joined them on the road.
Lawson looked over his shoulder to see who all was following them.
“Who’s with us?” Lawson asked warily.
“A SWAT unit and the FBI,” the sheriff replied.
“When the women came racing into town for help, they busted in the station while I was finishing up with the FBI. They filled us in on what they knew, that Granger and his men would be attacking the lodge soon and about Sarah. We had already devised a plan and were about to split up to put it in motion. I tried to reach you guys, but they must have already taken out the communications.”
Lawson grimaced. They could have used them earlier at the lodge, but at least they were helping with the cleanup now, and to get Lainey.
Might not be a bad thing to have them along in case Granger had any more men hanging around their base of operation.
Lawson hadn’t thought to ask the man’s sons.
He was just concentrating on getting to his friend as fast as possible.
He had no idea how long they’d actually had her or what had been done to her.
One thing he did know, though, was now her superiors had to take the information she’d given them and do something about it. Pass everything along through the proper channels to see that Victor Granger and his sons got the punishment they deserved. And Lainey would be free to return to her family.
They just needed to find her alive. Lawson knew she was a fighter, since that’s what had gotten her into this mess in the first place.
Not being able to let something go or someone else take the reins.
He just had to hope she’d kept a level head through it all so Granger hadn’t felt the need to get rid of her.
Eventually, the sheriff pulled the car to a halt outside a run-down factory; there were several fresh tire marks outside, a sure sign that it had been used recently.
Lawson climbed out of the car cautiously, eyes darting around to make sure there were no men left over to guard the place, but it looked like all of them had been sent to the attack on the lodge.
The SWAT team and FBI vehicles pulled up behind them.
Agents fanned out to search the grounds and the building.
Before Lawson could offer them the code Lyle had given him, they blasted the door.
Lawson rushed in behind them, glancing around, calling out for Lainey.
For a moment, a dark, unsettling silence hung over the place.
As the group he was with moved farther into the building, they heard more gunshots echoing around. Apparently, there were some men left there after all. A voice sounded over their comm unit, relaying that everything was clear, and the team Lawson was with proceeded.
Nothing but an eerie quiet greeted them the deeper they went. Then suddenly, he heard it. A pounding noise and a muffled voice called through the door at the end of the corridor.
Relief flooded him all at once. It had to be Lainey.
“I heard something. Check down there,” he told the SWAT leader standing beside him, and the men raced forward and busted the door down.
Sure enough, there was Lainey.
“Oh, thank God,” he muttered as he pushed through the small crowd to reach her. She was chained up to a chair, her head lolling down to her chest, her face riddled with bruises and cuts.
She lifted her head up when she heard Lawson’s voice, and a couple of the team set about trying to free her from her chains. Her dull eyes lit up and she tried to grin, though it turned into a grimace. Lawson could tell she was in a lot of pain.
“You found me,” she muttered through her swollen lips, her voice weak. Looked like they might have broken her jaw. Her face was so swollen and bruised, her eyes looked like a couple of seeds in a watermelon.
“I would never leave you behind, Lainey,” he promised her. “Come on, let’s get you out of here and checked out. Then we can get you back to your family.”
Still sitting, she fell forward into Lawson as soon as she was free. She was beaten up pretty badly and was holding her side, but she was alive. That was what mattered.
“Victor Granger’s done?” she asked him.
“He’s done,” he promised her. “You’re never going to have to deal with him again, except to testify against him in court and put him behind bars for the rest of his life.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, and a tear leaked down her face. With Lawson’s help, she got to her feet and gave him as much of a hug as she could, groaning through the pain it caused her.
“Thank you,” she breathed. “I wouldn’t have been able to do this without you, Lawson.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied sincerely as he put an arm around her and helped her limp toward the door. After being tied up for so long, he was sure her legs were starting to ache just from moving again.
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Just promise you haven’t got any more cases you’re going to drag me into, yeah?”
She tried to laughed. “I promise. After this, I think I’m done for life. I don’t want to look at another case again.”
“Let’s get you to the hospital,” he told her.
“Yes, please. Some type of pain meds sounds really good right about now,” she replied.
He chuckled and shook his head. “I’m sure the doctors can hook you up with some good stuff,” he replied firmly.
“I don’t want to put you out—these guys can take me,” she offered.
Lawson shook his head. “I think I’ll make sure you get there in one piece.” Besides, he needed to go there, anyway. He had his own injuries to get looked at.
And because that was where he’d find Sarah. He wanted to hold her, and tell her that, at last, it was all over.