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“I didn’t see any bus. It would be hard to hide one out here.”
“No, Rafe’s right,” Jett said. “I remember that place. The garage bay was closed. I should’ve suspected something.”
“Rafe, call Slash and tell him to meet us there as fast as he can get there.”
“We’re going to find them and save Kayla and Tessa.” There was a glint of determination in Jett’s eyes that made it difficult to argue.
Ronan’s heart pounded as he kicked his bike to life and blew out onto the road. Jett glided into place right alongside him, like a practiced air show act.
Relief and worry tumbled together inside his head. At least Kayla was all right. Linc and Willow were dealing with enough without something happening to her. And Tessa? He was just getting used to the idea that she might want to be part of his and Jett’s lives, and feeling dread wouldn’t help a damn thing.
He pushed the doubt and worry out of his mind. She was either still okay or not, and he had to be focused on the job, on the here and now. If she was still alive and well, he had to be at the top of his game if she was going to stand a chance to stay that way.
Chapter 15
They’d spenta cold night in the garage, the children huddling together in the corner, sharing some blankets that Taylor had brought for them. The adults, including Tessa, shivered. Harvey had stored a padded hunting jacket that he put on. None of the adults slept, and Taylor paced the floor as he kept watch until the first rays of light.
At dawn, he had Jimmy pass out energy bars to the children. As they devoured them greedily, he untied Tessa and gave her three of the bars. “You feed the adults.” She unwrapped the bars and fed the handcuffed men each a bar, then ate the last one, happy to have something in her stomach.
As the sun rose, Harvey Taylor paced the garage in a figure eight, so that on every circuit he could glance at a cell phone he’d put on the workbench, ensuring it was still on and had signal. “I don’t get these damn cops,” he said. “I told them eight in the morning. You’d think they would make the call.”
“You’ve given them your demands. Maybe they’re still trying to see what they can do to meet them.”
“But they always use negotiation as a ploy. If they call, they think they can trace the signal. They should want to know where we are. This makes no fucking sense.”
Tessa sighed. The reason seemed obvious enough. “What if they didn’t see your message, your demands?”
He stopped and gave her an astonished look. “I posted them on Facebook. You did, anyway.”
“Do you really think they look at every message posted on Facebook? They don’t bother.” His glare told her he thought that was a lie. “They couldn’t monitor it all in real time anyway. Even if they did that would be the federal agents, and they wouldn’t know about the missing class yet.”
Harvey rubbed his face. “Damned inefficient. Typical of government.”
“Why would they be so bad at everything else and good at doing what you want them to do?” asked Jarvis.
He looked at the bus driver. “Maybe I should video myself shooting you. That might go viral.”
“And you’d be a murderer, not a man representing a cause he believes in,” said Tessa hastily as the bus driver flinched and went silent again.
“Okay, fair point.” He looked at Jimmy, who was whimpering. “What the hell is the matter with you, Jimmy?”
“I’m scared.”
“I won’t let them hurt you.”
Jimmy gave him a teary stare. “I’m scared of you, what you’re doing. You’re hurting everyone. All the parents are worried and the teachers, and now you’re talking about shooting someone just to get people to listen to you. Of course my friends and teachers and the driver are all scared of you—you’re acting crazy.”
“I’ve explained this to you. I know it isn’t fair, but freedom comes at a price, Jimmy. Someone has to stand up to them and let the world know. The government needs to be shown that some people know what they’re up to and they can’t hide it.”
“But you’re doing worse than what you say the government is doing. You have us all prisoner.”
“You’re my son, not a prisoner.”
“Then I can leave? I can walk out of here?”
“No, but only because we’re miles from anywhere. You’d get lost or die of thirst or hunger.”
“So you’ll force me to stay for my own good?”
