Chapter Twenty #4
on Garrett’s shoulders. “You’ll tell her yourself when we come out of there. We
will need your kind and thoughtful care. Our sub is going to need a lot of
tenderness.”
Taggart snorted.
Keane glared at him.
Taggart had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. “Sorry.
I was thinking about the time when she was eight and she punched a boy twice
her size because he bullied her little brother. I don’t associate her with
tenderness. Also, Keane, I’m going to need a lot of intel on this. The
kidnapping bracket is coming up soon, and I need to know how to bet. My niece
wins if the main criteria is volume. Olivia is a dark horse, but she has an
almost kidnapping from the bar and this one.”
Keane managed not to yell at the guy. He kept himself
perfectly controlled. “I need you to get me ready. I’m walking to that door in
three minutes whether or not I’m wearing all the tech crap you want me in.”
“Yeah, okay.” Taggart nodded and Keane found himself in
between Landon and Tessa. They fitted him with a tiny earpiece and what they
called a micro camera, which would send them a feed of what he saw. Or rather
what his chest saw since it was pinned to his jacket. He was surprised. He
wouldn’t be able to see it if he didn’t know it was there.
“Testing,” a voice said in his ear.
He nodded. “It’s working.”
Taggart came to stand in front of him. “You keep your cool.
Tell them you managed to follow them. You didn’t go to the police. You just
want Olivia. This is about information, right?”
“Yes. At least it is for Gladen,” Keane replied. “Jessica
Fellows is another thing.”
“If they want information, they’ll hurt her,” Taggart
pointed out. “Let them know she’ll talk faster if they hurt you.”
“What?” Garrett began.
But Taggart was right. “You would take the pain for her.
That’s our job if it happens. We might both need your care.”
Garrett moved in and wrapped his arms around him. It was warm
and loving and everything Keane needed.
“I will bring her back,” he whispered.
“Bring yourself back, too, Master,” Garrett said and then
stepped away. He turned to Tessa. “What can I do?”
Tessa drew him away and he was left with Taggart.
“We will be no more than three to five minutes behind you,”
Taggart said. “You say the word and we come immediately, but I would like to
know what we’re dealing with and that someone in there is willing to throw
their body over Olivia because we’ll come in hot.”
“I will.” He felt oddly calm. Like this was supposed to
happen. The world seemed to fall away, and he turned and walked down the dirt
path.
As he cleared the trees a small house came into sight. It
was dilapidated, with shutters hanging off windows that had seen better days.
“Only one car,” he said quietly. “But it’s a large SUV.”
“Good,” Taggart said in his ear. “You’re doing great. Stay
calm and we’ll get you and Olivia out of this. Do you see any cameras?”
He took a long breath and glanced around. “I don’t see any.
I would be surprised if they have electricity out here. The place looks
deserted.”
“Good,” Taggart said. “Go to the door. Be careful. They’re
desperate.”
Keane practically ran. He wanted to see her. Needed to know
she was okay. The steps squeaked and he worried the porch wouldn’t hold his
weight, but it stayed steady. The door had peeling paint. He knocked and hoped
the door didn’t fall apart.
An eerie silence followed.
And then he heard the floors inside creak and the door came
open.
Jessica Fellows stood there, and she had a gun. She held a
semiautomatic in her hand and pointed it straight at Keane’s head. “What the
hell are you doing here?”
“Keane.” Olivia’s voice drew him away from that gun.
“Please. Please don’t hurt him.”
There was a man standing close to her, and he had a gun in
his hand. Olivia was on her knees, and he would bet she hadn’t gotten there by
herself. Rage warred with fear, but he pushed it down. She didn’t need that
right now.
“How did you find us?” Gladen asked. “Get him in here.”
Olivia’s hands were behind her back. She couldn’t use them.
She moved away from the gun, and Gladen didn’t seem to notice.
“Let her go.” Keane managed to make his voice tremble a bit.
“I know where she put the information.”
Olivia’s expression turned panicked. “He doesn’t. He doesn’t
know anything. I didn’t talk to anyone about it. I was trying to let my parents
have some alone time. I was going to talk to my dad when they get back from
their stay in Dallas. Keane doesn’t know.”
Were there only two of them? Sure, they both had guns, but
Jessica’s arm was trembling. She wasn’t used to holding a gun for long. It was
both reassuring and concerning. She would be easy to disarm if he could get
close, but she would also be unpredictable.
“Move in here,” Gladen ordered. “Who did you bring?”
“No one.” He had to act a bit in this situation. “I saw your
car fleeing the scene. I was right behind you. The cops are useless, so I left
Garrett with them and I came out searching for your car.”
Jessica looked out the door. “I don’t see anyone else. But I
also don’t see a car.”
“I left it at the end of the road. Please let me talk to
Olivia. I can convince her this isn’t a big deal,” he said.
“How do I know you’re not lying? How do I know you didn’t
bring the cops?” Gladen sounded paranoid.
“Because if I’d brought the cops, do you think they would
tell me to knock on the door? No. They would raid the place.” He needed to tell
Taggart without alerting them. The micro camera couldn’t see the whole room.
“Look, I understand that you’re nervous. There are only two of you, but you
have all the power. You have the guns and you have her, so I’m not going to do
anything that could risk her life. You can tie me up.”
Two more minutes and Taggart and his team would be here. He
needed to get close to her.
Gladen’s eyes narrowed. “Or I can cut my losses and flee the
country.”
He moved his gun up, and Keane was out of time. He flung his
body directly at Olivia, pain flashing through his shoulder as he took the
bullet meant for her head. They hit the floor as the world exploded around
them.