AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Seven
Cal called 911 immediately, explaining the situation and asking for backup as he dressed. Clipping on his gun, he raced out the door. Unfortunately, the safe house was on the other side of town from his hotel. It would take at least fifteen minutes, if not more, to get there.
Heart racing, he climbed into his truck and gunned the engine out of the parking lot. He called the DEA office in El Paso and told them what was happening as he drove. “She’s left her phone on. If they’ve taken her instead of killing her, you can track it.”
At the thought of Vic being dead, his heart fell, hard. He wouldn’t believe it. She knew too much. They’d want to interrogate her first. And before it came time to kill her, he’d be there.Be strong, Vic. I’m coming.
When he got to the house, he found that armed response had arrived a few minutes earlier. He introduced himself and went inside. As he walked around, he saw that she’d gotten three of them.Good girl.His heart skipped a beat when he saw the hole in the bathroom door, but he looked inside and found no blood. Thank God she hadn’t been injured. At least in there.
There must have been plenty more shooters because they’d taken her, and that was no easy feat. It looked like they’d kept Hector alive as well. His room was empty and free of blood.
The DEA was coming from El Paso, four hours away. They’d check her hotel room. He didn’t see her laptop anywhere, and he knew she always had it with her. The cartel had probably taken it when they’d taken her.Dammit.That meant they’d torture her to get inside it. DEAhadto track her damn phone. He called the agent he’d spoken to in El Paso.
“Are you on Vic’s phone yet, Pete?” Cal’s voice was impatient, and he told himself to tamp it down.
“We’re on it. What’s Vic’s status?” The man asked.
“They’ve taken her, all right. It looks like she may be okay for now. We just need to find her so she stays that way. They have no reason to keep her alive except for the information she has. And you and I know how they’ll go about getting that.”
“Damn, Cal, we’re on it.” Pete’s voice was tense, so Cal knew that he understood the danger Vic was in.
“Call me when you have something.”
“Will do, Cal.”
He walked outside and looked in the road. Short black skid marks showed him where the cartel guys had parked.
What he couldn’t figure out was how they’d found the safe house. And how they’d found it right after Hector had given them the name. Something was fishy, and that scared him. There had to be a mole somewhere, either in the DEA or in the Rangers. His gut twisted at the thought that it might be one of his guys.
The cartel had long arms and a lot of money and influence. It wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility that they’d gotten to someone. It was just that the DEA and Rangers were such tight-knit forces. It didn’t make sense.
He looked at his watch. It’d been twenty-nine minutes since Vic’s call. That was an eternity in a dangerous situation.Damn, come on, DEA. Track that phone.
He paced the sidewalk in front of the house. The crime scene techs had arrived, and he’d just be in the way inside.
They’d found Vic’s gun on the floor in the bathroom. She’d taken some damn good shots, considering the pressure she must have been under. He shook his head. She was a fine agent. Too good to meet a bad end.
His heart lurched at the thought. He wouldn’t let that happen. He’d find her. He decided to step out of bounds. Although the DEA was in charge of the case, he called his favorite tech in the Ranger’s El Paso District Office.
“Maddie, I need your help bad. Vic, a DEA agent I’m working with, has been abducted. DEA isn’t moving fast enough at tracking her phone, which I believe is still on. Can you track it for me?” He gave her the number.
“Sure I can, Cal.” She paused a moment. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll call you back.”
Maddie, short for Madison, was the whiz kid on the tech team. He’d become acquainted with her a couple of years ago when he’d been on a big case and had needed tech support. She’d been amazing, and now, whenever he needed something, he went straight to her.
He continued to pace, his mind tortured by thoughts of what might be happening to Vic.
He told himself to be calm, that he wasn’t any good to Vic if he let himself lose control. But putting his anxiety aside was nearly impossible.
His phone rang. “Maddie?
“I’ve got it. They’re heading south down I-10. Do you have your laptop with you?”
“Yes. Let me get to my truck.”
“Good, I can share my screen with you.”
