Lost in the Dark, page 23
part #1 of Camden Point Romantic Suspense Series
“I don’t think so. We’ve got DNA and a witness placing you at the scene of the body dump.” Not totally true, but right then she wasn’t a cop and if he was dumb enough to talk, so be it.
He sneered, then glanced down at the floor as if he didn’t have a care in the world. A second later, he rushed her. Ashley waited, then stepped left just inside his right arm and shot an elbow into Jonah’s chin. She followed it up with a knee into his nuts. Jonah yelled as he swung with his left fist, going high and wild, but it allowed her to deliver a right cross to his jaw. Jonah stumbled but came back swinging. She ducked and delivered a front kick to his gut.
All she had to do was keep him busy. Stall. Where was Nate? He’d better be okay. Leaving him was an enormous risk, but it came with the job. She’d keep telling herself that. It was the only way she’d ever live with herself if something had happened to him.
He came at her again. Spittle dripped at the corners of his mouth like a rabid animal. His jaw clamped down. Hands in tight fists.
She should have grabbed her gun that morning. Permits be damned. But she hadn’t because of Nate.
Jonah swung. She ducked. But he was expecting the move. His foot shot out and connected with the side of her knee. She went down hard and fast. Damn. She should have seen that coming. He panted, already spent from the fight and adrenaline. She still had the screwdriver but had hesitated using it. Now she stood, putting most of her weight on her other leg.
He stalked toward her. Ash held her ground. When he was close enough, she swung out with the hand holding the tool. Her stalker ghost materialized, and she missed.
“Lexie and Kat are on the way… Oh shit, behind you!”
Ash tried to pivot, to see what or who was coming at her, but Jonah rushed at the same time that something cold and hard connected with the back of her head. She wasn’t completely out, but her eyes refused to focus and her limbs refused to listen. Jonah grabbed her leg, dragging her across the dirt floor. Another guy in a black hoodie stood inside the stall. He’d lifted a few boards.
“Throw her in with the others. We need to get out of here before the police arrive. By then, it’ll be too late for any of them. Nobody will hear or find them.” She knew that voice. It was the guy from the convenience store.
Jonah laughed. Then he pushed her through a hole in the ground where she landed with a thud. Right before she passed out, she looked into the face of Hailey Sweeney.
The world spun around her as Ashley opened her eyes. She had to blink a few times to stop the images from swimming in and out, and what she saw filled her with hope and anger. Four women—Hailey Sweeney, Rachel Calder, Christina Walton—the woman from Westerly, and a brunette that she’d bet was the missing woman from Waterbury—all manacled to the walls with leather cuffs. All but Rachel were huddled in on themselves, dried tear stains on their faces, filthy. Christina and the one Ashley didn’t know were nonresponsive, just staring. Rachel struggled with the cuffs.
“We need to help her,” Rachel said.
Hailey laughed. “How? They didn’t exactly allow us much lead. Just leave her. It’s better that she dies in her sleep.”
“I’m not dead.” Ashley rolled to her side and pushed partway up, ignoring the pain. “Just catching my breath and getting my bearings.” She forced her lids open even though curling up and sleeping was an overwhelming temptation. As her vision cleared, her mind processed what was before her. “Oh, shit.”
Ashley crawled over to Rachel. “You’re alive.”
“I’m fine.” Rachel rubbed her tear-stained cheek. “Not so much the others.”
Ashley dragged her injured leg over to Hailey. “Hi, Hailey. I’ve been looking for you. There’s someone who’s been really worried about you.” In all the years in the military and on the force, nothing had prepared her for something like this. She’d had victim training, but these women needed more. What am I supposed to say? Is there a right thing to say? Who knew, but right now, they’re all looking at me and I’ve got to push past the pain and figure a way out.
“My dad.” Not a question, a statement that didn’t make her smile. “I knew he’d never give up looking for me, but now you’re stuck down here with us.”
Ashley laid a hand on Hailey’s arm, catching the slight wince and fear that flashed across Hailey’s eyes. What did those bastards do to her? And the others? Ashley used the chains to pull herself up, then bent down in front of the other two women as best as she could while staying out of their personal space where she could make eye contact.
“Hi, I’m Ashley Medearis. I’m a cop, well, a PI, and we’re going to get you out of here. Just hang on a little longer. Okay?” Neither responded. They blinked. Their chests rose and fell, but blank faces met her gaze.
Ashley released each woman from the restraints, but they just sat, staring. When released, Hailey hugged her, then ran to the catatonic women. She pulled them in for hugs, talking in a low, soothing tone. While Hailey took care of those two, Ashley unbuckled Rachel’s manacles.
“We need to get that hatch open,” Ashley said. “Where’s the ladder?”
“Drew took it,” Rachel said.
“That bastard.” The room was bare except for the thin pads each woman sat on. A door on the far side caught her attention. A small, bare bathroom stood behind. The toilet paper roll sat on the floor. No sink, no shower, nothing of use. She’d wonder later why there was a bathroom in a barn basement. She turned back to Rachel. “You’ve been here the shortest amount of time, so you’re probably the strongest. I’m going to kneel, and you’re going to climb on my back and push the hatch. Hailey, I’ll need you to keep Rachel steady.”
Hailey nodded, but Rachel shook her head. “You stand on my back. You’re taller.”
Rachel dropped to all fours. Ashley carefully placed her feet to disperse her weight and, hopefully, didn’t damage Rachel’s spine. Hailey held on to her as she tried to keep her balance and keep her weight off her injured leg. Not as easy as it sounded. She laid her palms flat on the ceiling and pushed. The hatch didn’t budge. She tried again and again before gingerly climbing down with help. The Barrett brothers had probably laid the fallen stall wall across the top. On to Plan B.
“Don’t worry. We’re getting out of here. My partner is coming and he’ll find us.” At least, she hoped he did. They’d been to the barn earlier and missed the trapdoor. What she needed was a little otherworldly help. “Destiny,” she called out.
“Destiny’s gone.” Fresh tears trickled down Hailey’s face. “He did it in front of us.”
Later, they’d have to question Hailey—and the other women—and ask what exactly he did in front of them and which him she was referring to, but for the moment, she needed to give the young woman hope. It meant lying, but she didn’t need these terrified women to think she was nuts. “This is a friend on the outside. She knows I’m here… in the barn.” She called again and waited, but it wasn’t Destiny that showed.
Her stalker spirit materialized. One of these days, Ashley needed to ask him his name. He glanced around. When his gaze landed on her, Ash was sure she saw relief and a bit of a shimmer in his eyes.
“Sit tight. I’ll get you out of here in a minute.” Then he was gone.
Nate had seen cars move faster at the height of rush hour traffic on the I-5 in the middle of LA. Hell, he could probably walk faster than Rafe drove. He tried to calculate how much of a head start Ashley had on them. Ten, maybe fifteen minutes tops. Enough time for anything to happen. He doubted… no, knew she wouldn’t wait for backup if she thought those women were in jeopardy.
They’d signed up to protect and serve. Hard to do if you were six feet under. They weren’t the secret service. It wasn’t their job to take a bullet for someone. But damn, he’d do the same if he could save those women—including Ashley. And yeah, that sounded sexist as hell, but he didn’t think he could survive losing two women he loved.
“We’re almost there,” Rafe said.
How could he tell? There was nothing but trees all around them. He couldn’t even see the sky through the branches and leaves. “You know this how?”
Rafe lifted his brow at the curt tone, but said nothing.
“Sorry,” Nate muttered. “I forgot. You’re a local.”
His skin crawled to the point where it took everything he had not to jump out of the moving vehicle and run. He’d get there faster, but he held back. Running in blind wouldn’t help anyone. He needed to get his head in the game. Ashley was a trained professional who knew how to handle herself. Except they all knew that accidents happened, that no matter how badass a person was, there was always someone meaner, tougher, bigger. And no one was invincible.
He spotted the car at the same time he spotted the blue sky through an opening in the trees up ahead. “What do you think are the chances that Ashley’s in that field, waiting for backup?”
Rafe glanced his way, a smirk on his face. “You’d have better odds of winning the lottery.”
He sighed. “That’s what I was thinking.”
“Welcome to the world of loving a headstrong woman.”
“What?” Nate said.
“Oh, come on. You really think we all missed that tension in the station yesterday or the looks between you two?” The guy laughed—actually laughed—at him. “The dynamic duo has been trying to figure out a way to match you two up for months. They were excited and disappointed to find out you didn’t need their help.”
“It’s not a done deal yet, so they might still get their chance.”
“She’s still planning to return to New York?”
“Yep.”
“I’m sorry, man. That’s rough, but she’s not gone yet. Want some advice from a guy who almost lost the love of his life?”
“Sure.”
“Don’t let her walk away without fighting for what you want, even if that means you have to bare your soul.” Rafe threw the vehicle into park, then checked his weapon. “Lexie and Kat should turn into the driveway from the main road any minute now. Let’s go catch these bastards so you can get back to your love life.”
“You know, you can be an ass.” Nate double-checked his weapon before sliding out of the car, on the lookout for Ash and anyone else that might be lying in wait.
“Tell me something new.” Rafe motioned for him to move forward, as they each took a position on the side of Nate’s abandoned car. He took a moment to pop the trunk, relieved to find it empty.
They stood at the tree line, crouched down, getting a visual of the place. “Ash and I were here earlier and didn’t find the women. If they’re here, we’re going to need some help to find them.”
“We’ll find them.”
A flash of movement by the side of the barn caught their attention. Lexie and Kat had arrived. Nate held up his hand, hoping the PIs knew to hold tight. “There’s two doors. Opposite sides, there and there.” He pointed. “Once we get to the back of the barn, I’ll give you thirty seconds, then we both go in simultaneously. If we get lucky, Ash already has them tied up inside. If not, we’ll take them by surprise and they can lead us to the women.”
Silently, they ran across the field, where Lexie and Kat met them at the back.
“From what we can see, there are two men inside arguing. We didn’t see Ashley or anyone else, but there are a lot of shadows in that place,” Lexie said, before glancing at Kat. She nodded in agreement. Then Nate filled them in on the plan.
“We’ve already disabled their truck.” Kat shot a quick smile at Rafe, filled with mischief.
“I knew that was you. In high school, my truck had a string of bad luck—flat tires, missing spark plugs, distributor cap.” Rafe shook his head. “The government should drop you behind enemy lines as a saboteur.”
“Can we discuss this later?” The banter was a way to control nerves, but Nate’s were already fried and he needed to find Ashley. He looked at the women. “You two. You’ve got our backs.”
Off they went in pairs, one set to the north, the other to the south. The arguing had grown louder, which helped cover the sound of their approach. They flanked the door. Nate glanced at his watch and counted down with his fingers for Kat.
Five, four, three, two, go.
He went high inside. She went low.
“Freeze. Camden Point Police. Get your hands in the air.”
Drew and Jonah Barrett froze, then glanced his way. They backed away.
“The man said freeze,” Rafe ordered.
Both brothers stilled. Jonah’s gaze shifted to Nate, to his brother, and then to Rafe and back to his brother. Nine to one, the guy was calculating the odds, but they were stacked against the brothers. Slowly, they lifted their hands shoulder height. Neither spoke. Nate and Rafe advanced, weapons secured, cuffs out. Lexie and Kat trained their guns on the brothers. Now to find Ashley.
As Nate and Rafe each reached for a hand, all hell broke loose. Jonah’s elbow rammed into Nate’s chest, knocking the wind out of him. Rafe and Drew were exchanging punches. Nate recovered quickly and ran an uppercut into Jonah’s jaw.
In his peripheral vision, he saw Kat and Lexie block the doors. Neither had secured their weapons, but with close contact fighting, they wouldn’t dare fire.
A shot went off.
“I believe the men said to freeze. Now, unless you’d like to visit the emergency department today, I’d suggest you… freeze.” Lexie aimed her gun low and Nate guessed she wasn’t aiming for a leg.
In seconds, the Barretts were cuffed and on their knees. “Where are they?” Nate growled. He was done playing BS games.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about? It’s just me and my brother here.” Jonah flashed him a cocky smile while Drew sat on his heels, silent as a church mouse.
“Look, you can make this easy or hard. Cooperate, and we’ll make sure the DA knows.”
“Cooperate on what?” Jonah’s smile grew. “You caught me and my brother trespassing. It’s nothing more than a fine.”
“Try again, smart guy. We’ve got you for theft at The High Tide, the kidnapping of five women, and murder.”
“I didn’t kill anyone,” Drew said through clenched teeth.
“Shut up,” Jonah ordered. “He’s fishing, and he’s out of bait.”
“Nate, over here.” Lexie beckoned him to a back corner stall, or what was left of one. “I think there’s a trapdoor under these boards, but we need help to get it uncovered.”
He and Ash had searched the barn earlier, but he hadn’t thought of looking under the boards. Kat switched places with Rafe, keeping an eye on the prisoners, while the men lifted the old stall walls. Under was indeed a trap door. How had she found it so soon? It was almost like she knew exactly where to look. He threw the last of the wood away and grabbed the small attached ring. About ten feet down was a dirt floor. Perhaps an old storage room. He pulled out his flashlight and shone the light below.
“Ashley, are you down there?”
“Nate?” Ashley peered up at him. “It’s about damn time.”
Lexie dragged a wooden ladder over.
Nate and Rafe lowered the ladder and he climbed down. Ashley rushed into his arms, where he held her as his eyes adjusted. Two women had their arms wrapped around two more. He quickly recognized both Rachel Calder and Hailey Sweeney. Ashley pulled out of his arms and stepped back.
“Thanks for coming after me.”
“Always.” He turned to the captives. “Let’s get you out of here.”
Later, he’d process the emotions swirling through him. Right then he’d savor that they’d found Hailey and the others and that Ashley was alive.
Chapter 19
Ashley refused to leave the scene. Once a cop, always a cop, and finding Hailey Sweeney had been her case. Nate had Iris patch her through to Preston Sweeney via the police radio. The man wept when she told him they’d found Hailey. They transported Christina and Angela, the woman from Waterbury, to the hospital first. Interviewing either was not happening until the shock wore off. For Angela, the first abducted, that might be some time.
Rachel and Hailey gave their initial statements. Jonah killed Destiny, not caring that Hailey and Angela had witnessed the whole thing. They said he’d actually gotten off on the fact that he had an audience. He shot Destiny full of drugs to subdue her when she fought back against his sexual advances. He promised that Angela and Hailey were next and that he was breaking them in for their future masters. When Carter found out, he’d been pissed. He’d threatened to kill Jonah if he laid another hand on the merchandise. They’d heard the argument from the hole in the ground they’d been kept in, but it was too late for Angela, who’d retreated deep into her own mind.
Unknown to either of the women, or anyone else on the scene except for Ashley, Destiny had stood next to them, crying as Hailey told her story. Jonah had grabbed Destiny from the parking lot of a local bar. She’d been thinking of going back for her GED and enrolling in college classes. She wanted to become a nurse.
“When you notify her family, please tell her parents she loved them and they were all she thought about in those last days,” Hailey said before she’d allowed herself to be taken to the hospital where her dad would meet her.
Drew, the younger of the brothers, had grabbed both Hailey and Rachel. After work, Hailey had stopped at the convenience store, then she’d gone to the beach, just wanting a few minutes to listen to the ocean as she dealt with her emotions over Austin’s betrayal. She’d parked close to Funtasma, thinking that meant she’d be safe. She had no idea that she was just out of sight of the employees. Or that Drew followed her.
They’d also learned that Jonah had been the one to abduct Christina. They’d seen Carter only a handful of times—right after being brought to the barn before being locked up, and then last night. He’d told the brothers to hide out for a few days for the heat to die down. It was that bit of hope that Rachel had held on to.
Only after the women were being safely transported to the hospital would Ashley let the paramedics examine her. Thankfully, her leg wasn’t seriously hurt and even though they wanted her to, she refused to go to the hospital again.
