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“Like I told you before,” he growled, “the FBI haven’t been forthcoming, but one of my men did find a gun on the side of the road near where her car was forced off the side.”
“A Glock?”
“Yeah. I’m having ballistics checked, but it would appear she fired off at least one round. I’m having the hospitals checked as well.”
“Don’t be a fool. Rollington won’t go there. You know it as well as I do.”
“It’s worth a try, buddy.”
“He’s baiting me,” I told him as I walked out of the bedroom, listening for any sounds that I’d been left a gift by the asshole. I’d read enough stories, had seen enough true crime to know as unstable as the man obviously was, he was enjoying the game as much as the capture.
“Why?” When I laughed, he cussed under his breath. “I get it. He wants to see what you’re made of.”
“He wants to eliminate his competition.” I continued. “If I also had to guess, he managed to check my record.”
“There’s no possible chance in hell he could do that,” Gage insisted.
I moved into the kitchen, scanning the area. “Then how the hell did he manage to get out? He knows exactly how to maneuver every system. My guess is if you put in a call to the folks in charge of records, you’d learn mine was recently checked.”
He sighed. “Point taken. This is all a game to him.”
“Exactly. I look almost as fucked up as he does. Maybe he thinks I’m his buddy. Whatever the case, I need more information in order to track him. Maybe he took a cell phone.”
“You need to stay out of this.”
“You know I can’t do that. She almost died yesterday, Gage. On the damn washed-out ridge. She dropped off the side because I wasn’t paying enough attention.”
“Stop doing that to yourself. You can’t save the world.”
“No, but I’m going to protect her. Period.”
His sudden quiet meant he knew that had been a game changer. “All I can tell you is I’ll see what I can find out. I already have been on Mission Range.”
“I’m gonna see what Maverick can do. Then I’m going to send the bastard straight to hell.”
“Goddamn it!”
“You know I won’t stop until I find her.” Why had Rollington really come inside my house? It wasn’t just to snoop around in my things. I turned around in a full circle.
I knew enough of manhunts to know if Maverick accepted the job, he’d need something in order to try to track the bastard. I doubted Corporal Rollington would make it easy. He’d been trained in all aspects of weapons and defensive maneuvers during his stint in the Marines. He’d been in two tours before his injury, his unit located in some of the most dangerous and brutal territory. He’d been trained to hide his tracks and I seriously doubted he’d be carrying a cell phone or some other electronic device like a GPS.
He’d had Chasity’s kidnapping planned out long before he’d asked his brother for help. Our only hope might be what information could be gleaned from the twin, although I certainly wouldn’t be provided with anything useful. In the FBI’s eyes, I was nobody.
“If Rollington is really baiting you then his plan is to kill you in the end.”
“He’ll need a fucking army. Find out what you can.”
“Damn you, Snake.”
Laughing, I ended the call, trying to figure out what I was missing. If the fucker wanted me to chase him, he hadn’t left a clue to his whereabouts in the kitchen. There were only a few other places to look. As I started to head out, I stopped short, twisting around to stare at the refrigerator. I hadn’t noticed it before. The door was partially open. What the hell? Almost as soon as I touched the door, Apollo started barking up a storm.
I threw out my hand toward him as I approached the appliance. “It’s okay, buddy.” He refused to stop yapping, even frothing at the mouth. I hooked the door with a finger, slowly opening it. The asshole had opened and turned over several condiments and positioned in the center was a picture that had been taken from an old Polaroid instant camera. While smeared with ketchup, upon an initial look, it would remind anyone of blood.
I held it into the light, my entire body shaking. “You motherfucker. I will kill you with my bare hands.”
Her hands were tied, her mouth gagged but it was obvious that she’d either been knocked out or drugged. I stared at it for a few seconds, finally wiping it off then shoving it into my pocket.
Snarling, I grabbed the bags full of ammunition and supplies, heading out to the truck. As soon as I opened the door, Apollo jumped in, and I stood for a few seconds staring at the mountains.
