Page 6 of Lion’s Den

The only logical conclusion would be to sit tight and call for help. Sedona swallowed hard. If she still had her phone, and her phone had a signal. She slipped her hand into her pocket and breathed a sigh of relief. The kidnappers hadn’t taken her phone. A mistake, or perhaps they knew the area didn’t have cell coverage?

She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and stared at her screen. One measly bar.

Sedona sighed, wishing she’d been able to call her friend, Cam. He’d find her.

A twig snapped nearby.

She froze, scarcely daring to breathe for fear the thug would hear it. Did he hear her thundering heartbeat pounding in her ears?

“What are you doing back here?” Linebacker said, suspicion clear in his voice. “It’s not time for us to meet here.”

“Then what are you doing here?” Serpent snapped.

“I thought she might double back through here, or that when we left, she’d go back the way she came and return to the cabin.”

A snort from Serpent. “Are you kidding? Why would she go back there? Ms. Hart has to know we’ll return there eventually to collect our stuff.”

“Whatever. I just know that I owe her for the black eye. I intend to collect.”

Sedona’s blood ran cold. She didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, but Linebacker scared her. That look in his eyes was just wrong.

“Come on,” Serpent muttered. “Let’s get out of here. We don’t want Simpson to find us out here doing nothing. He won’t be happy.”

Linebacker shushed him. “No names.”

“What’s one kindergarten teacher going to do with one name? She won’t have a clue how to find any of us based on that.” A slight pause, then, “If she does, we’ll take care of her permanently.”

“I’ll throw that in for free,” Linebacker said, voice just above a growl.

Another pause, then Serpent said, “Why? What did she do to you?”

“I don’t like mouthy, pushy broads. If I had my choice, she’d be dead already.”

“That would be a shame. She seemed nice to me.”

“Nice?” Linebacker barked out a laugh. “Couldn’t you tell? She’s nothing but trouble. You know what I do with trouble? Squash it like a bug.”

CHAPTER THREE

CAMERON SIMS SLAMMED the back door of his cruiser, grateful he’d been able to hose out the backseat with little difficulty. He snorted. Those hard plastic benches in the back of his patrol car were a godsend when you picked up men like Theo, who began their alcohol consumption as soon as their feet hit the floor in the morning. Clean up comprised hosing out the cruiser and a spritz of air freshener, and he called it good.

As he wound the hose around the hose holder, he thought about Sedona Hart, the woman who had fascinated him from the moment she walked into his life. A man could dream, right? He sighed. Sure. He was only hurting himself by reaching for what he shouldn’t look at, much less touch.

He climbed back into his cruiser and drove toward Sedona’s home. He shouldn’t be doing this. It was too late at night to stop for a chat with her. She had a day job while he was working the graveyard shift this week. And yet he still drove toward 303 Summer Lane. Cam couldn’t stop the compulsion to make sure Sedona was safe.

Minutes later, he parked in the driveway in front of her house. Frowning, he climbed out of his vehicle. Her SUV wasn’t in the driveway, and there were no lights on in the house. Was she still at the elementary school?

Cam walked to the front door and rang the bell. When she didn’t answer, he knocked on the door.

Still nothing.

Uneasiness grew in his gut. Being out this late at night wasn’t the norm for her. Finding Sedona just topped his list of priorities.

Cam returned to his cruiser and grabbed his handheld mic. He paused. He should go to the school first and see if her SUV was still in the faculty parking lot. If so, he could offer to follow her home.

Soon, he drove around to the back of the elementary school and parked a short distance away from Sedona’s vehicle. Cam scanned the area before he climbed out of his cruiser and approached the SUV with a large flashlight in his hand.

He aimed the beam of light toward the SUV, pulling up short when the light skimmed over something purple on the ground. Cam crouched beside the bag and the purse. He tugged a pair of thin rubber gloves onto his hands and rifled through the purse and pulled out the wallet to confirm what he already knew. Inside the wallet were Sedona’s license, credit cards, and cash.