AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jac ignored Monroe as he paced and swore but made eye contact with Carter, who gave an almost imperceivable nod in response. “Garrett, what happened to you?”
“Not sure, exactly. I was waiting for Mallory when I heard a ruckus over by the dumpster. I checked the immediate area around me and saw nothing, but I continued to hear some rattling, so I got out of the car and walked over to see what was going on. When I got there, it had stopped, and there was nothing out of place, so I headed back to the car and right after I got into the seat, someone jabbed me with something in my shoulder off my neck. I think I must have moved because if it had gotten into my vein, I would not be conscious now.”
The EMT said, “It seems to be some tranquilizer, and we will get the report in a few days of exactly what kind, but they did not measure it for a man of Mr. Sullivan’s size, so it was short-lived.”
Monroe reappeared in front of the EMT and said grimly, “More likely the dose for a much smaller woman.”
The EMT nodded. “It’s possible.”
Jac touched his ear and activated his Bluetooth as he walked away a few steps and then held his hand up. “We have a signal and a direction. We’re following it for as long as we are able. Let’s hit it. Monroe, Carter, and Levi are with me. Garrett and Kaden, you’re with Mark. Let’s go get our girl.”
“We’ll need a statement,” said one officer.
Jac reached into his wallet and handed them his business card. “As soon as we have our team member back, we’ll call you, but this is our company. I’m sure your boss knows us.”
“We’ll need to check the vehicle for evidence.”
Garrett waved to them. “Perfect. Take it home, and I’ll grab it when I come in to give my statement tomorrow. Sound good? Call me tomorrow when you’re done with my car, and I’ll come in and give my statement.”
Garrett took the ignition key off his chain and tossed it to the closest officer before following Kaden to Mark’s car. Without another word, the team got into their separate vehicles and left the scene.
Chapter 22
Mallory heard the woman talking to someone who wasn’t there. “Master, I’ve gotten her back for you. There isn’t anything left to do but kill her and bury her on the property before I move on… But I thought that’s what you wanted… She’s pathetic. She was too easy to knock out. There wasn’t any fun in it, and it looks like she won’t ever regain consciousness before I kill her. Maybe I should wait… Yes, Master, I’ll stick to the plan. I didn’t have to put on a wig this time. But what about that man? The one who was waiting on Miss Pharmacy… I understand. I didn’t leave enough evidence that they could find me. Remember, Master, they think I’m dead.”
The chaotic conversation continued, but Mallory had a plan now. Monroe and Garrett had been teaching her some defensive moves, and Ivy had shared some of her skills with Mallory, but not enough to really help yet. She tried to focus on the moves she could remember.
Everything seemed to fly out of her memory except the one combination of moves that Monroe had made her practice repeatedly. He had given her an alternative ending move for a woman. It would have to do.
The car came to a slow rolling stop. Mallory tried to control her breathing like Monroe had been teaching her for play, but this had real stakes, and they were high. The highest. All thoughts were temporarily suspended when the abductor opened the front door, and Mallory heard the crunching of feet on the dirt and gravel pathway. The pinging from the car’s notification system warned that the woman left the front door open, but her kidnapper ignored the irritating sound. Mallory forced herself to do the same.
The back door opened at her feet, and Mallory prayed she didn’t move until she had full use of her arms and legs. She made herself as limp as possible, knowing it would make her nearly impossible to remove from the floor of the car. She hoped it would give Monroe and the team more time to find her. After trying to pull Mallory out of the vehicle and getting little success, her captor began talking angrily with her “master,” whom Mallory assumed was Romaine, who was sitting in prison.
She was ranting and railing at a tree that appeared to be the symbol of Romaine to her, or maybe she thought it really was him, but she was a woman gone mad. Mallory eased out of the vehicle when the woman yelled at the tree again and then supplicate to it.
Mallory slipped around the car and was going to slide into the driver’s seat when her abductor noticed her. Mallory reached for the keys and flipped on the ignition, firing up the car, but the back door was still open. Her attacker was about to climb through the back. Panicking, Mallory turned off the car, grabbed the keys, and ran. Never mind waiting to use her skills. If she could run, she would run. Thankfully, she’d changed her shoes in the office before she had left. Heels were never a running shoe.
Going as fast as she could, Mallory pulled her forgotten phone from her front pocket and tried to use it, but there was no signal. Praying that would not impede Sharlee and the guys from finding her, she continued to run, hearing the woman follow her, but the distance was becoming further and further away. Obviously, the other woman had not been required to do PT as Mallory had since aligning herself with Monroe. Mallory was never more thankful for the enforced drudgery than now.
Jac’s exercise routine and Monroe’s version of exercise had helped her regain her previous fitness, and in some ways, she had exceeded it. A stitch in her side had Mallory gasping for air and pressing hard into her flesh to alleviate her pain. Walking was going to have to be enough for right now until the pain subsided. Mallory listened for the woman but couldn’t hear her. There were forest sounds, but nothing to pinpoint it as the other woman.
Mallory had zigzagged when she ran, so she hoped she’d confused the other woman enough to not find her before the guys did. But now, Mallory found herself hopelessly lost. She didn’t dare go back the way she had come, even if she was lucky enough to stumble in the right direction because somewhere behind her was a lunatic looking to harm her.
At one point, it appeared her attacker would stop, but she swore, argued with her imaginary friend, and then spun off as though she were angry. She said something more about her house and the grounds, about other women and digging. She was obviously upset that whatever her plan had been was now foiled. So how much of her plan needed the house?
It seemed like Mallory had been gone a long time, but, according to her phone, only a couple of hours had passed since the crazy lady had kidnapped her. Even if Monroe and the guys showed up, she wouldn’t hear them at this great distance, and they wouldn’t know where to find her. The light was fading fast. Within thirty minutes or less, it would be gone. She needed to find someplace to shelter if she had to spend the night in the woods.
She had just left the forest because the isolation and the sounds of nature frightened her at night. The exertion, the fear, and the still fairly strong remnants of the crack on the head added to her feelings of defeat. No, they would find her. Monroe would find her.
Hurry Monroe!
***
Carter spoke grimly. “We’re nearly to Stanton. That’s where Romaine’s house is. The one we went to check out today. Mallory’s kidnapper is or was living there.”
“So,” said Mark, “Why wouldn’t she go there unless the Feds have actually listened to us and started digging?”
They checked out the Romaine house, and sure enough, Feds were everywhere. Jac turned to Monroe and said, “We don’t invite them in to help until we come up dry. We have better equipment and tracking than they do, so this will be the better route.”
