Save Her (Texas Hearts Series Book 1), page 12
She looked Sean in the eyes, her own swimming with tears. "I swear I didn't know this would happen. I am so naïve because for a little bit I actually believed we had moved down here to try to be a family; to get to know Katy because she's the only family we have left. There was enough money for them to live comfortably on and then some. I should have known after the way he lit into her in the diner. What can we do? Can you trade her for me?"
"Claire, that’s honorable, it really is," Sheriff said, "but I don't think it’s about the money anymore. He's already made intimations that he has her somewhere, so now we have to focus on finding her."
"Wait a second," Sean said, "if he gets your allowance, then why does he have an empty bank account and creditors after him?"
"I don't know. I always give them the money in cash. I get a check for eight thousand dollars and always cash it for them."
"What about properties? Does he own any around here? Do you?"
"Like a house? As far as I know, he doesn’t. Before Uncle Daniel died, he had purchased some land around here for me and put it in his name, but there is no house on it, just an old ramshackle barn and a storm cellar. The house was torn down right before he died. He was trying to help me build a life here away from everyone else. He didn't even know me but wanted to help. I don't know how Dad would have found out about it, though. We never communicated face-to-face; it was always through a lawyer, and that was done through an email account no one knew about."
"Well, it’s worth a shot, for sure. Is there anything else you can think of?"
As she shook her head, a frantic officer suddenly interrupted the fuzzy white noise that constantly came from his radio.
"Sheriff, I've got a visual on Donald Dunlap. How do I proceed?"
"Keep a visual on him. Do not approach. What’s your twenty?"
"Three and a quarter miles southwest of your location, The Dunlap Ranch."
Looking to Claire, he asked, "How far is this parcel of land of yours?"
"Not even five miles down the road."
"Are you talking about the old Purcell place?"
"Maybe? It's on Pine Cone Rd."
"Sounds like it." Sheriff pushed the button on his radio and spoke to the officer, "Timmons, keep an eye on him. We'll be there in five."
"10-4, sir."
As the three people rushed out the door, none noticed Courtney quietly on the phone in the corner, watching their exit.
As they hurried out the door, Devon answered with a sharp, "Yeah?"
"Dev, they've found her. Her uncle has her trapped in a barn or something on this property around here."
"Here, give Cole the location."
"But..." Her protest fell on deaf ears as she heard the shuffling of the phone from one man to the other.
"Hey, baby girl."
The breath whooshed out of her at the old endearment, but she quickly composed herself enough to say, "Cole."
"Come on, B.G., tell me where we're going."
Mentally she berated herself. Stupid freaking moron. How could he still make her lose her train of thought just by opening his mouth and speaking?
"Court?"
"Sorry, sorry. Best as I can tell, this is where they are," she said, giving him the address to program into the GPS.
“Got it, B.G. You sit tight, and as soon as this is all over, we will swing by to pick you up. I think you have probably reached the end of your welcome, yeah?”
She made up her mind then that she would make sure they were all OK and then slip away before anyone was the wiser so she wouldn’t have to spend any more time listening to his husky voice and feeling old heartbreaking feelings. Maybe it was time to move to the other end of the country or something. Rather than replying, she did the only thing she could and hung up the phone with no further response. He had no right, absolutely no right to speak to her in that tone with those words after what he had done. She could feel the bile rising in her throat from the whirling emotions that short phone call had stirred up.
Chapter 18:
As they pulled into the clearing about a quarter of a mile from the barn, Sean was surprised at how many able-bodied men and women Sheriff had managed to gather in such a short amount of time. Off to the side stood three men, obviously ex-military, whom Sean was so happy to see there that he walked straight up to them and fell into hugs and pats on the back. This was the proverbial cavalry.
Sheriff wondered how someone like Sean had managed to get tangled up with such dangerous men but was grateful for the extra manpower.
Devon stepped away from the other two while they continued to prepare their equipment. "OK, what’s the deal, Ev? Courtney could only tell me that Katy is in some kind of danger and someone has kidnapped her."
"Dev, we think that there is a man in there who is holding Peach hostage. He is very dangerous, and we do not know what condition she is in, only that it is serious. I should have known Court would call you boys. I really appreciate this more than you'll ever know."
Sean held out a hand to Devon Kincade, Courtney’s older brother and his best friend, and in a quick hug that could only be described as masculine, they gripped forearms and yanked each other in for the space of two back slaps before abruptly releasing each other and returning to the conversation.
The two other men dressed in black stepped forward, and one spoke, "Ev, how’s it going, man?"
"Cole, Clint, I'm really glad to see you boys. I think you should meet Sheriff. He's working out the details on getting my girl back."
"The?" Cole asked.
"What’s that?"
"The sheriff?"
"Oh no, Sheriff may as well be his name. Come on."
The three rough-looking men followed Sean to the group of officers making up their search and rescue team.
"Sheriff, this is Devon Kincade, Courtney's older brother, and these guys are Cole and Clint La Barron."
As a whole, the group took an imperceptible step back from the five men at the mention of the La Barron name.
Sheriff looked at Sean through hooded eyes. With a nod of understanding, he spoke, "Impressive, Sean. Should I ask how you are tied up with specialists of their magnitude?"
"Sheriff, these boys are just friends of mine. Courtney called Dev, and Cole and Clint are his neighbors. I have spent a lot of time with them over the years. Besides, I believe their expertise could come in handy."
"Okay, Sean. Nice to meet you, fellas."
He motioned the rest of the group to step back into a circle so he could sketch out the game plan. Crouching down, he used his finger to draw a map in the dirt.
"Alright, folks, we are here. I want half of us to go down each side of the road and those groups to break into half again so we can surround the whole place. Listen carefully, we want to wait until Donald is clear of the barn before we apprehend. We do not want to want to take any unnecessary chances with Katy. We only take him out as a last option."
When Sean made a sound of objection, Sheriff looked at him sternly. "Sean, we want justice. I mean it. If I can’t trust you, I will cuff you and lock you in a car. Serious as a heart attack."
Sean stared into Sheriff’s eyes for a moment before nodding.
"Right. I'll head one group. Sean, I want you with me. I’m sending Devon and Cole out in the other group. Cole, I want you to head the group into the rear and on my side. Clint, you will head the rear team for the other side."
Devon took his black backpack off, dug into a compartment, and pulled out some small earpieces, handing one to Sheriff and one to Sean.
"I know you are all on police band, but this will keep the team leaders connected."
Sheriff rolled it around in his palm before placing it in his right ear. He pointed down the dirt road saying, "Let's spread out with a few feet between us, and I want people on the road. We don’t want him to get by us. Is that understood?"
After handing out the two earpieces, Devon handed one to Claire unnoticed by anyone else. What looked like an accidental bumping of hands to anyone else meant a lifeline to the frightened young woman. Grateful, she gripped the small electronic device in her palm and nodded once before turning away to blink the tears from her eyes.
Devon felt sorry for this beautiful woman. Intel had led him to believe she had had a rough life, and now she was once again being torn in half. No one seemed to pay her any consideration as they planned for Katherine's rescue.
Claire joined the group, a little calmer to hear Sheriff say, "Let's get this done. We want our girl out alive."
"Sheriff, please?"
Devon walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her courage. "Please bring my father out alive. Let him face prison and get help."
"Claire, we aren't a group of vigilantes. If it is at all possible, we will bring him out alive and unharmed. I know how hard this is on you, and I'm sorry you have to be involved at all."
"Just help my cousin. She doesn't deserve any of this."
Sheriff nodded, and Devon squeezed her arm reassuringly before they moved out.
The large team of twenty broke into two groups of ten and again into four groups of five. Everyone stood for a moment, checking his or her equipment one last time before starting out. They stepped over downed trees and went around the ones that still stood. The people who took notice of the three men in black were in awe of the way they moved. In one word, they were stealthy, in a frightening way. Slowly, they made their way to the barn, and every once in a while, Sean would find Sheriff glancing at him in a speculative way.
Once, a skittering sound brought the groups to a standstill, but after seeing a squirrel run up a tree, they continued forward.
When they could see the barn through a break in the trees, Sheriff held up a fist, bringing everyone to a stop. Silently, he pointed to Clint and four others and signaled them to continue to the rear of the barn. Cole pointed to four men and women and waved them to follow him. Devon took a pair of field glasses from his pack and began surveillance. Sean, who knew exactly what his friends were capable of, was torn. Part of him wanted to follow Sheriff’s instructions knowing it was the safest route, but the other half wanted to yell. His friends were mercenaries. Couldn't they crawl through the underbrush and scale the building, then squeeze through a crack? He had heard all the stories. Hell, he had lived some of the stories. Certainly, he was probably one of the only civilians who had, but he could work as a unit with these men and knew that their record was perfect and they had never lost a hostage. They could sneak in and have his neck snapped and Peach out of there before he was any wiser.
That was the thought that snapped him out of it. Whatever the man was, he was Claire's father, and she had helped them out. If it was possible, they had no choice but to get Donald to prison.
Moreover, Katy would kill him if he went back on his word. Sheriff gave Sean a thumbs up, letting him know everyone was in place. And then the waiting began.
***
WITH THE EARPIECE IN, she had nothing to do but listen to the silence. It dragged on and on with no reprieve until the sound of a car approaching made her heart clench. The cobalt car pulled in next to the dark sedan the three men had arrived in, and before she had a chance to react, a beautiful blonde stepped out and walked over to her.
"Hey, I know we weren't introduced properly back at the house, but I’m Courtney, Devon's sister. You're Claire, right?"
"Yep, Katy’s cousin."
"So, they've already taken off to rescue her?"
"Yeah, but I don't think they've gotten to her yet."
"Do you mind if I wait with you? Those three guys are my family, and Sean is my best friend."
"Not at all."
They sat together in the back seat of the car and waited, desperately trying to be quiet enough to hear through the earpiece if someone spoke. She didn’t have a microphone, which was probably a good thing because she couldn’t beg them for an update every few moments.
After what seemed like days but in reality was just a little longer than an hour, Clint spoke so softly it was only a breath.
"Heads up, boys, we’ve got movement. Target exiting building at the southwest corner."
The sheriff and Devon made eye contact, and without hearing a word, Sean knew it was time.
Chapter 19:
Donald opened the door by pushing it aside, but only enough for him to squeeze through.
Sheriff held up one hand, fingers spread wide for a countdown, giving Donald plenty of time to reach his car.
Slowly, it went five fingers, four, three, two, one, fist.
Then Sheriff spoke, "Donald Dunlap, place your hands in the air and turn to face away from the barn door. This is the Wolfe Springs Sheriff’s Office, and we have you surrounded."
Donald froze mid-step and started to laugh.
"Well, well, well, looks like the bitch was right. The backwoods sheriff did run to her rescue. I'll just bet you're out there, too, huh, Cowboy?"
Sean visibly flinched at the nickname. Regret once again flew through his heart. As a unit, nineteen people stepped out of the woods, surrounding the barn. All but Sean had guns drawn. The two visible men in black carried wicked-looking guns that looked like they could bring down a charging rhino in milliseconds.
Donald's confidence from a moment ago fled him, and he froze.
In the few seconds he could not move, two officers moved into position between him and the barn door. By the time Donald unfroze enough to run to the barn, there was no longer a place to go.
Donald no longer looked like the wealthy executive he presented to the outside world. Gone were the manicured nails and the one-hundred-dollar haircut. Before them stood a filthy, broken man. His slacks ripped and stained, a tie hung limply from his neck, and his shirt covered in blood.
When he started to bolt again, the sheriff spoke up, "Donald, just lie down on the ground, no sudden movements, and let me cuff you, man. This does not have to turn ugly. Your daughter is waiting to see you. She's right down the road."
"Man,” the demented Donald snarled, “my daughter is a traitorous bitch just like the rest of them. She can go to hell, for all I care."
As he spoke, he reached behind him under his jacket. Seeing that, something inside Sean snapped, and he charged Donald with everything he had.
Sean could hear the others yelling at him, but he was impervious to them all and bent at the waist as he approached Donald, who was pulling the gun around and getting ready to aim it at him. Before Donald could get a round off, Sean tackled him at the waist and took him down to the ground, causing the gun to go flying. As soon as they made contact with the ground, Sean took advantage of the wind being knocked out of Donald momentarily, and quickly moved so that he was sitting on him, holding him down, and he started to rain punches down as the older man groaned and tried to cover his face with his arms and wiggle from side to side in an effort to cause Sean to lose his balance.
