Chapter 32
32
T he second they pulled into the barracks parking lot, Quinn's eyes scanned the area for the tracks. He saw them right away.
"There they are." He pointed.
Jared nodded. "There's more over there."
He followed the tracks with his truck, careful not to run over them in case the police needed pictures or to take impressions.
He stopped in front of the third building and hopped from his truck, his eyes scanning the ground for other tracks. He found two sets of footprints, a smaller set of prints looked to be walking backward.
Trey pulled to a stop at the far end of the building, his head down as he walked toward them, looking at the tracks. Jared ran to the door and noticed it was unlocked.
"Dad. Someone left this door open."
He stepped near his son, careful to straddle the footprints. Thank goodness it had rained last night. The tracks were easy to follow .
Banging sounded from the back of the building. Bang. Bang.
Jared said, "I'll go see what that is, Dad."
Jared ran around the building and Quinn continued inside. He heard Jared yell, "Hanna."
He froze. As he turned to see if Hanna was outside, Jared ran into the building.
"Dad, it's Hanna. She's on the third floor."
He took the steps two at a time and lengthened his stride beyond where he should have. He wasn't letting age stop him today. He was getting Hanna.
As they landed on the third floor, he and Jared began opening the doors of each of the individual rooms and calling for Hanna.
Toward the middle of the hallway, one door had a new swivel staple safety lock installed. A padlock secured the door.
He grabbed the lock and tugged on it. "Hanna, are you in there?"
He beat on the door. "Hanna,"
She yelled, "Quinn, Quinn, I'm in here. I'm in here. Can you help me?"
She pounded on the door from inside.
Jared said, "I'll run to the building and get something to cut the lock."
Quinn shook his head. "Never mind. I'm busting the door down." He stepped back slightly and yelled. "Hanna, stand back."
He and Jared both kicked at the door near the lock. The wood on the door began to splinter, especially around where the safety swivel latch had been installed. Jared lifted his leg higher and kicked the door next to the latch. Trey reached the third floor and stood nearby as they kicked the door.
The wood cracked loudly and began to break away from the lock. A few more well-placed kicks and the lock broke away from the door. Quinn twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open.
Hanna ran into his arms.
His heart beat so hard and his eyes welled with tears the instant he held her. His arms wrapped tightly around her as she sobbed into his chest.
After a few moments, he whispered, "Let's get you out of here."
"Yes," she hiccupped. She lifted her hands to wipe her tears. That's when he saw the blood on her wrists and hands.
He felt a rage like he'd never felt before. "Honey, you’re hurt?"
"I want to get out of here. I want to get out of here. Please take me out of here before they come back."
Trey entered the room and looked around with his flashlight.
Quinn stared into her beautiful blue eyes. "Who are they?"
"Those women. Those women that Isaac catfished. That's who it is. They had me."
"Where are they now, honey?"
"They went to see if he's at the hotel. I don't know what they're going to do to him. They were going to blackmail you to get their money back in exchange for me."
"OK. Well, they're not going to do that now."
She stepped back slightly and took a deep breath. She swallowed and turned to see Jared breathing heavily, watching her closely. "Thank you, Jared. "
Quinn watched as his nostrils flared and he took a deep breath. He was proud of his boy. So damned proud.
Focusing on Hanna once more, he asked, "Can you walk, honey?"
"Yes. Yes, I can walk."
They took a couple of steps and she moved slowly and surely. He bent down and picked her up. "Well, I don't care."
"Quinn, I can walk."
"I know. Just let me do this."
He carried her to the staircase. Jared ran ahead of them, opening doors wherever they were needed at each level.
As soon as he got her to the first floor, he moved immediately to the main door and outside.
Erin ran toward them. "Are you okay, Hanna? My name is Erin Moody. I'm a police officer here in Blossom Springs."
"I'm fine. I'm fine now. Those women, they went to the hotel to see if they could find Isaac. He stole money from them, and they want it back. That's who took me."
"Ok." Erin glanced his way, "Is Trey upstairs?"
"Yes,” he called over his shoulder. “I'm taking her to the hospital."
"We'll be there shortly. Go ahead."
Jared opened the back door to the truck, as Quinn gently set Hanna inside.
Jared said, "Dad, go ahead and sit with her. I'll drive."
He didn't need to be told twice. He hopped in the back seat next to Hanna, wrapped her in his arms, and they took off toward the hospital.
He picked up her hands and looked at her wrists. The zip ties were still wrapped around her wrists, but you could see where the one tying her two wrists together had broken. These had cut deeply into her wrists.
"We'll get these cleaned up, honey. Doctors will take care of you, and make sure there's no infection."
She didn't say anything. She simply lay her head on Quinn's shoulder.
He kissed the top of her head, and he held her hand. "Jared, call Lance and Allison and tell them we have her. The last call I received was from Lance. Just tap that number on the screen."
"Okay."
The phone came through the speakers, the ringing ended, and Lance answered, "Hello."
"Lance, it's Quinn. We have her. She's fine. We're taking her to the hospital. Meet us there."
Lance said to Allison. "Mama, they have her."
Allison could be heard sobbing, and Lance said, "We have to go see her."
Lance said into the phone, "I'm sorry, Quinn. Can we talk to her?"
Hanna swallowed and sat up a bit straighter. "I'm alright, Daddy. I can't wait to see you."
Allison sobbed again, and Lance said, "I'm hanging up. We'll be there soon."
The call ended, and Quinn grinned. He couldn't express how happy he was it ended as it did. He laid his cheek on top of her head as she once again leaned against him. "I will never let anything happen to you again. I promise. I promise we're going to get those women, and then I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure you're always safe."
He heard her sob gently, and he squeezed her a little tighter. They sat quietly together until Jared pulled them into the hospital parking lot.
He slid out of the truck first, then reached in, picked her up, and began carrying her into the hospital. "Quinn, please let me walk."
"I want to help you."
"Then let me walk. I'm capable."
He frowned but gently set her feet on the ground. He walked alongside her with his arm around her shoulders, Jared at his side.
As soon as they entered the hospital, a whirlwind of things happened. Hanna didn't have her purse and no insurance information. Questions were asked. A million questions. He was beginning to lose his temper and finally snapped. "Can't you help her first by cutting those zip ties from her wrists and making sure she doesn't need any other medical care? If you're worried about the money, I'll cover it. Just help her."
The nurses all stopped and stared. Finally, an older lady came forward with a wheelchair. "Honey, take a seat and let me get you back to an exam room."
His heart beat rapidly, and he inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. He looked at the clerk he'd snapped at and said, "I apologize. I shouldn't have lost my temper."
She smiled sweetly. "Thank you. I understand your worry and frustration. I often think it’s worse up here checking in than anything that goes on back there."
He nodded. "Thank you for understanding." He glanced at Jared and cocked his head. "Let's go sit with Hanna."