Chapter Twenty #3
there are. She can wear a wire.”
“Who do you think has surveillance equipment?” Garrett
asked.
Both women rolled their eyes. “Big Tag.”
“He also has employees, and you’re not one of them,” Gabe
said, his eyes on the road, but his hands were tight on the wheel. “Keane,
Abigail sent you Olivia’s coordinates?”
“I’ve got the address where her phone is located. It’s very
isolated,” Keane replied. “We have to hope they didn’t figure out she still had
it.”
That was the worry. “It hasn’t been long, and even if she’s
not there it will tell us something.”
The car went quiet. Keane looked back and Gigi was holding
Miranda’s hand, the women clinging to each other for comfort. They looked
resolute. And Gigi had her bag gripped in her other hand, the one that
contained all sorts of bejeweled weapons.
The pastures and farmland flew by in a haze. He couldn’t
concentrate on anything except Olivia.
He should never have left her. Not for a second.
This was his fault, and whatever she was currently enduring
was his fault, too. Would she even want to look at him again when he’d failed
her?
“Keane, this is not your fault,” Gabe said quietly.
“Why would he think this is his fault?” Garrett asked. “We
just said one of us should escort her, not that we would never take our eyes
off her.”
“But we should have,” Keane said. “Gabe is reading my mind.”
“No, I know how I would feel, but I would be wrong,” Gabe
replied. “It was public in the middle of the day. You ran back to grab
something. No one could have known the store manager was in on it.”
“I stood there and talked to Deputy Morgan for minutes that
could have saved Olivia.” He’d thought about this from the moment it happened.
Those minutes could have saved Olivia.
“Or they would have knocked you out, too, and had far more
time to do whatever they want,” Garrett reasoned. “They were going to take her
one way or another. If you fought, you might have been killed, and I assure you
that’s not what our woman wants. Please don’t let this set you back, Master. If
you’re sitting there thinking Olivia won’t want you anymore, you’re wrong.”
“Why wouldn’t she…” Miranda began and then frowned. “You think
she’ll blame you? That’s not the Livie I know.”
“The Livie I know is thinking everyone is a moron and trying
to figure out where her kidnapping will land on The Hideout kidnapping
bracket,” Gigi explained.
“What?” Garrett asked as Gabe turned down a single-lane
road.
“Hey, a lot of members get kidnapped,” Gabe said like it was
a normal thing. “Daisy O’Donnell’s been kidnapped a couple of times. I heard
Devi’s giving her a run, though.”
“I don’t think it should count if she got kidnapped by the
guy she’s engaged to,” Miranda added. “Everyone on the board disagrees with me.
I’m going to call a vote. Is that a helicopter?”
The sound was unmistakable. A deep, low thud that seemed to
be everywhere all at once.
“They’re right on time.” Gabe brought the SUV to a stop and
started to get out. He had to yell over the sound of the chopper landing. “The
house is past those trees. I hope we’re not too close.”
“They know what they’re doing,” Gigi promised as Keane got
out and held the door for the young women.
He felt his heart thud in his chest as the helicopter landed
in the clearing and a massive man hopped out like taking a chopper flight was
no big deal. He was followed by three more big dudes who were covered in
weapons and a petite woman who immediately took charge.
“Landon, make sure everything gets moved to the SUV.” The
woman stepped up and held out a hand. She was dressed in fatigues, a dark
T-shirt, and boots, her hair up in a neat bun. “Hey, I’m Tessa Hawthorne. This
is my boss, Ian Taggart, and the guys.”
Keane shook her hand. “Thanks for coming so quickly.”
“Well, that’s what I’m here for,” Taggart said. “All my
friends’ kids get kidnapped at one point in time or another. Honestly, Olivia’s
overdue. Ah, look, you brought chaos with you. Hello, Gigi. How’s your family?”
The big guy had a stunning smile for Gigi and greeted
Miranda as well, asking about her family while the chopper’s blades started to
wind down and the men and woman he brought with him got to work.
“You must be the new guys,” Taggart said. “Good luck. Livie
is hell on wheels. At least she used to be. If you two can bring that back, it
would be good. I’ve missed her wild side. She was the kid who made everyone
want to use birth control forever. I found her in my air ducts once when her parents
came in for a consultation. She got through my security. I like her.”
“How are we going to do this?” Keane asked.
“Well, as quickly as possible because I happen to know Jack
is on his way, and I don’t want to deal with freaked-out parents,” Taggart admitted.
“I’ve been the freaked-out parent. I wouldn’t want to deal with me. Jack is
going to act like he’s the first person to ever have his daughter kidnapped.
Like that hasn’t happened to all of us. I’m three for three.”
“Tag, I found the location,” Tessa said. “Brad is trying to
get the heat detector working. It only takes a couple of minutes and then we’ll
know how many we’re dealing with.”
“If you see a guy with real stupid hair, he’s definitely a
bad guy,” Garrett said. “You know the kind that looks messy, but the dude spent
three hours making it look that way?”
Taggart nodded as though this was important information.
“Yeah, I call all those guys Adam. Yo, the new guy here wants us to take out
the competition. I’m feeling generous today. Kill the dude with the douchebag
hair.”
A dark-haired young man stood up from where he was helping
an older guy with some equipment. “You say I have douchebag hair.”
“Because you do, Landon. You got it from your dad,” Tag shot
back.
“My dad was a Navy SEAL,” Landon complained.
Tag nodded. “Thanks for proving my point.”
Tessa cursed under her breath. “Boss, do you remember when I
mentioned we should recheck the heat detector since it fell when I tripped and
you said we didn’t have time?”
Taggart’s eyes closed. “Fuck me.”
“What does that mean?” Garrett asked.
Keane was worried he knew what it meant. “It means they
can’t figure out how many people they’re dealing with and where they are.
They’ll be going in blind, which means Olivia is in real danger.”
“I believe I mentioned that scenario,” Gigi interjected.
“I can’t be sure they won’t kill her out of pure spite,”
Taggart admitted. “I can take that house no problem, but without eyes, I can’t
promise Olivia will come out of it safe.”
“I have some extra comms units,” the man named Landon said.
“We could send in one of the civvies and let him tell us. It’s dangerous, but
I’m going to be honest, boss. The drone footage only showed one car. I’m
betting we’re not dealing with more than four or five. We could put one of the
high-level trackers on him along with the comms. We would know exactly where he
is, and he could tell us what’s happening.”
“That sounds like an excellent way to get shot,” Miranda
pointed out.
“I’ll go,” Gigi announced. “They won’t shoot me.”
Tag’s arms crossed over his chest. “They won’t shoot you. If
they figure out you’re the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the world,
they’ll kill Olivia and take you instead.”
Gabe moved in and in a heartbeat had Gigi over his shoulder.
“I’m locking her down until this is over. I do not trust her to stay in one
place. The minute we turn our heads she’ll walk right up to that door and get
herself taken.”
“Hey!” Gigi shouted. “I was not going to do that.”
“She was,” Miranda admitted. “She was going to use her stun
gun and save Olivia.” Tears rolled down Miranda’s cheeks. “I’m sorry. I can’t
let you do it.”
“Thank you for being sensible,” Taggart said.
“I forgive you,” Gigi shouted as Gabe marched toward his
car. “You have a soft heart. But Gabe is an asshole. I will never forgive him
for this.”
“She will,” Taggart said. “They’ll be fucking in the SUV if
we don’t get this done soon. So I’m pretty sure they’ll shoot the dudes in
fatigues. And chick. Sorry, Tessa. You look like you belong on the set of Ninja
Warrior. We need an obvious civvie, and one they recognize might have a
few minutes while they figure out what’s going on.”
Keane stepped up at the exact moment that Garrett did as
well. “I’ll do it.”
“I think I should do it,” Garrett argued. “I’ve had
self-defense training.”
“And I spent years in prison and I came out alive,” Keane
countered.
Taggart pointed his way. “Prison wins. Extra points if the
crime was violent.”
“He was released because he was innocent,” Garrett pointed
out. “I should be the one. He’s suffered enough.”
Keane turned to him, giving him his sternest look. He was
the Dom. This was his job. “I am not asking you, Garrett. I am explaining to
you as your Dom that you will stay here. You will help as much as you can, but
you will not put yourself in danger. If we were alone, I would let you come
with me, but we’re surrounded by competent people. I will not risk you.”
“But, Master,” Garrett began.
“Yes, Master. That’s who I am. What is our agreement,
Garrett? I don’t run your life. I love that you and Olivia are smart and
capable, but I’m in charge in two places and two times. What are those?”
“The dungeon and the bedroom. When we’re playing and when
there’s danger.” Garrett stared at him, his eyes shining with emotion. “But,
Master, how can I sit back?”
“This is the hard part.” Oddly, it was Tessa who stepped up.
“In my relationship I’m the sub in the bedroom and dungeon, but when things get
dangerous, I take over and my husband knows his job is to not distract me. I
know it’s hard for him to watch me walk into scary situations, but he does it
because he trusts me. Is this man your Master?”
Garrett nodded. “He is. He has been for a long time, but we
just started giving it a name.”
“Do you trust him?” Tessa asked.
“With everything I have.” Garrett lowered his head slightly.
“I will stay behind, Master. Please tell Olivia how much I love her.”
Keane’s heart felt like it might overflow. He put his hands