No matter what happened tonight. No matter who was out there. Reese was going to make sure they found her.
***
“Did you hear that?” Texas Ranger Garrett Cooper asked. He and his friend, Homicide Detective Tanner Rhodes had cleared the area, but they hadn’t checked the couple of rooms with locked doors. The old motel reeked of rotting wood, mold and dust. Everything about it gave Garrett the impression that the rundown building was empty, aside from the room they’d found Skyla and Hallie in.
Blake sat on the old stained mattress cradling a nearly unconscious Skyla in his arms. Her hands were covered in Hallie’s dry blood, and his voice was clogged with so much emotion, it was a wonder the man hadn’t broken down yet. “No, hear what?”
Garrett heard the soft sound of something clanking again. It was probably just the wind, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. “I don’t think we’re alone.” He wasn’t sure what it was, and if he was being honest with himself, he was probably just looking for an excuse to give Blake and Skyla a few minutes of privacy. They had already been through so much tonight, andBlake would be stuck here for a while longer after discharging his weapon. This was the least Garrett could do for them. “I’ll be right back. Yell if you need anything.” Garrett stepped out of the room. Tanner was leaning against the outer wall and raised an eyebrow when Garrett pulled out his weapon. “What’s up?” Tanner asked.
“I think I heard something. It’s probably nothing. Stay here.” Garrett eyed the perp handcuffed to the nearby pole. He was the Feds’ problem now, and Garrett hoped they threw the book at him and made sure he never saw the outside of a prison cell again.
Turning his back on the piece of shit who smirked at him, Garrett drew in a ragged breath, inhaling the fresh air deep into his lungs. He needed a second to ground himself. He’d had a lot of hard days on the job, but this one would go down in the top three. Finding Hallie and Skyla in the condition they had would stay with him and all his friends for a long time.
He walked down the outdoor pathway, pressing his ear to each door until he heard the sound again. A soft clanging noise. It was irregular, both in volume and frequency.
“What is it?”
Garrett swung around, nearly knocking Tanner off his feet. “You really shouldn’t sneak up on a guy.”
“I didn’t. What’s got you creeping around these doors?”
Garrett sighed. “I think there might be an animal trapped in there.”
Tanner raised an eyebrow again. “Do you want back up?”
Garrett shook his head. “Back up.” Tanner did, and Garrett kicked in the door. It didn’t take much for the whole thing to come crashing down. Early morning light poured into the room, revealing partly decayed walls, rotting carpet, and an awful stench, likely coming from the bucket next to the bed with a rusty metal frame. A small form moved on the mattress, andGarrett and Tanner both raised their weapons. Then Garrett threw his arm out in front of Tanner.
“Stand down. That’s not an animal.” Disgust and horror filled his voice as he holstered his weapon.
“What the…” Tanner started to say, but then bolted from the room. A gagging noise quickly followed from behind Garrett, and he had to admit, he was about ten seconds from losing his own dinner.
He stood frozen in the dank room, staring at the form on the bed. A woman. Vivian had another prisoner. For how long? The smell suggested she’d been here for a while.
The poor thing was chained to the bed frame. Her wrists and legs bound by handcuffs; her ankles chafed from trying to escape. Whoever had left her there, definitely wanted something from her and didn’t care how they got it.
“What the hell?” Tanner muttered under his breath. Garrett hadn’t even noticed him come back.
Just like the room they’d found Hallie and Skyla in, a tripod stood at the foot of the bed with a blinking camera pointed at the woman. It was obviously still recording. “I’m Texas Ranger Garrett Cooper. This is Homicide Detective Tanner Rhodes.” Garrett found and clicked the power button off before turning to face her again. “Don’t be afraid. We’re here to help. What’s your name? How long have you been here?”
Her long brown hair lay limp and greasy. Some strands covered her face, others were splayed out on the pillow. She watched him cautiously, followed his every movement, but as soon as he tried to meet her gaze, she averted her eyes.
“Here.” Tanner handed him a set of handcuff keys.
“I won’t hurt you. I’m just going to get these chains off you. Okay?” Garrett stood a few feet away from the bed where she could easily see him. He was a big guy, and after everything she’d likely been through, he didn’t want to scare her.
He waited for her nod, then moved in and unlocked the handcuffs, first at her feet then at her wrists. She offered him a small smile of appreciation, and Garrett swore it was the sweetest smile he’d ever seen.
He lowered himself to his knees next to the bed beside her. “It’s going to be okay. You’re safe now. What’s your name?” Garrett asked again, carefully taking one of her fragile hands in his. Her fingers were ice cold, so he covered them with his other hand. While Vivian and her men had used a portable generator to power the cameras and a few lights, they hadn’t bothered to provide any heat. “Is there someone we can call for you? Maybe your parents or a sibling -”
“No.” Her voice was scratchy, but he didn’t miss the steel behind it. This poor woman had been tied down to a bed, endured unspeakable things, but she still had fight left in her.
“Okay,” he said, gentling his tone even more. “We’ll call for an ambulance and get you taken to the hospital to be checked out.”
The woman shook her head so hard he thought her neck might snap. “No hospital. No ambulance. I’ll be fine.” She started to sit up, and Garrett placed a soft hand at her back to help her. When she was sitting on the edge of the bed, her feet planted on the ugly carpeting, Garrett noticed the flimsy flip flops she wore.
“I can’t just let you loose on the streets. You need to be checked out by a doctor, and we need to file a report about what happened to you.”
The woman stared at a point just over his shoulder, as if she hadn’t heard him or he was speaking a foreign language. “No.”
