Marrying Kate (20 page)

"Aw, man." Drake spoke with sympathy and understanding. "You gotta put the guilt aside for now, Jared. Deal with it later. You gotta be focused and deal with this now."

"I know. I’m trying." Jared shoved the paper across the desk. "This is the note he left."

Drake bent forward and looked at it without touching it. He made no comments on the wrinkled condition of the note. "Looks pretty clean
, but we’ll get Scope to check it out."

"Do you have call tracing equipment with you?" Jared asked, fearful that the killer would call before they could get everything into place.

Drake shook his head regretfully. "Sorry. I don’t usually come out on calls like this. Johnson will have it. He should be here soon."

Within half an hour the team had assembled. Six men, all with different specialties, filled the library discussing their next move. Johnson was busy hooking up the call tracing equipment while Scope poured over the note.

"I hear a kid crying." One of the guys near the door told Jared.

"Dani." Jared stood knowing that he was the one responsible for the children now. Darlene hadn’t arrived yet. "I have to go to her. She’s teething."

Dani stood up in her crib, tears coursing down her cheeks. Her sobs subsided when she caught sight of Jared. He lifted her from the crib and cradled her to his chest. What would Katie have done?

Jared surveyed the room, remembering that Kate had given her medicine the day before. Did Dani need more? How long ago had Kate given it to her? The hole in Jared’s heart expanded as he realized he wasn’t the only one who needed Kate. The kids needed her too. Dani needed her.

He laid Dani down on the change table and checked her diaper. He’d only changed her once or twice since he’d been home so was relieved that she didn’t need a changing. Jared laid a hand on her forehead. It was warm, not hot
, but Dani was chewing like mad on her fist.

"Teeth hurtin’ ya, kiddo?" Jared stared down at his tiny niece. What would they do without Katie?

He looked at the assortment of bottles sitting in a row on a shelf above the change table. He spotted a small tube that said it was
some sort of natural teething gel. Jared opened it and put a dab on a cotton swab. He tried to get Dani to show him which part of her gums were sore but it was a battle. Finally he spotted a little white nub along the front on top. Carefully he dabbed the gel there and waited. Dani seemed to relax and settled down.

Jared put her back in the crib
, but she started wailing. Not wanting to wake the other kids, he picked her up again. There was a low rocker in the corner of the room, so he took Dani and sat down. As he cradled the little girl on his chest his thoughts slipped to Katie. How could they not when it was moments like this that reminded him of how large a role she played in their lives. She just had to come back to them. She had to. He needed her. He loved her.

"Jared?"

He looked up to see Darlene in the doorway. Emotion ringed her eyes, and they were slightly reddened. He stood and went to her.

"I can’t believe someone took Kate." Sorrow and disbelief hung on every word. Jared wondered what she would say if he told her it was all his fault.

"It’s going to be okay, Darlene. We’ve got the best here helping us find her. Your being here is a big help too. I think Katie would be glad to know that you are here with the kids." Jared handed Dani to her. "I need to get back to the guys. I don’t want to miss the phone call when it comes. Feel free to use the guest room to sleep. Try and get some rest. The kids will be up early."

Darlene nodded, but Jared knew she’d probably get as little sleep as he would this night. After he pressed a kiss to soft baby curls, he left Dani in her capable hands and went back down to the library.

As the hours clicked by, Jared’s normal control and focus began to slip. Why hadn’t the killer called? If Garth was right and the killer was going to use the cover of darkness, it could be hours before they heard anything. Meanwhile, maps had been pinned to walls. They marked the area the killer had time to drive to ever widening it as the hours passed.

This waiting, being on someone else’s time schedule, grated on Jared. He wanted to be out there, doing something
, but he couldn’t risk Katie’s life.

The phone finally rang at 2:33. Almost four and a half hours after Katie had disappeared. The tension in the library grew as Jared waited for the signal to answer the phone.

Jared answered, then listened as the voice instructed him to go to an abandoned gas station on a nearby rural highway. "The phone will ring. Answer it. You have twenty minutes to get there."

The caller hung up before Jared could even ask if Katie was okay. Jared’s shoulders slumped as he hung up the phone. There hadn’t been enough time to trace the call. He knew that without even looking at Johnson.

"Let’s go." Drake laid a hand on Jared’s shoulder. "We gotta keep to his time schedule for the time being. Let’s not mess this up."

Jared went in search of Darlene and told her they were leaving. One of the guys stayed behind to monitor the house and protect the kids and Darlene. The others loaded into two vehicles and headed for the gas station.

Only the vehicle with Jared in it approached the station. The other one sat a distance away, invisible in the dark of night, monitoring Jared with a tracking device and a wire.

Jared pulled his car up next to the phone and shut off his lights. There was nothing else around the gas station and traffic on the country road was scarce. He got out of the car and went to stand next to the phone. He could hear the others talking in his ear piece
, but at times the thrumming of his blood drowned out the conversation, any time he thought of what the killer might be doing to Kate.

The phone rang precisely twenty minutes after the call at the house. Jared willed himself to remain calm as he reached for the receiver.

"Glad to see you know how to obey directions. Let’s hope that cooperation continues. And it better if you want to see your wife again."

"Is she okay?" Jared managed to get the question out.

"She’s fine," the voice replied, so distant and tinny that Jared knew they were disguising it. "For now."

"What do I need to do?" Jared knew the killer could probably hear the desperation in his voice.

"Take the highway north for exactly thirty miles. You’ll see the next directions posted to a tree on the right side of the road by the highway mile marker. You have an hour to get there."

The killer hung up the phone before Jared could answer. He replaced the receiver and headed back to the car. "Did you hear that?" he asked into the mic.

"Yep." Drake’s reply came loudly in his ear. "A chopper’s on the way."

"A chopper?" Jared asked.

"We need to get a jump on this guy. He’s expecting you to drive and has given you an hour. We can get there in less time with the chopper and if the next directions don’t rely on a phone call from him we can follow them that much sooner."

"I really must be losing it," Jared said with a shake of his head. "I didn’t even think of using a chopper. But what if we need to drive further beyond that point. If we have to go on foot we could lose anything we might have gained."

"Johnson’s going to follow in the Blazer and will wait at the marker. If for some reason we do need to go further than would be prudent on foot, either the chopper or the car will be there to take us," Drake said. "ETA is five minutes."

The other vehicle joined Jared’s in the parking lot. They moved the vehicles around to the back of the building so they weren’t visible from the road. The five men and Jared got their gear from the back of the vehicles and then Johnson took off in the Blazer armed with directions to the marker. Jared quickly fell into his former habits as he strapped on his weapons and darkened his face. The others did the same, all in silence.

That silence was only broken by the sound of the approaching helicopter. The men left the shadows of the gas station building and headed into the field behind it. The helicopter settled lightly on the grass, just long enough for the five men to cl
imb aboard and then it lifted off again. Drake was on his headset talking to the man back at the house, letting him know of their plans.

Jared sat against the wall of the stark interior of the helicopter. He stared straight ahead, inwardly gathering his thoughts and focusing. The next part would be something he’d done many times in the past
, but never with so much at risk for him personally. His life had always been at risk, but it was a risk he’d been willing to take. This time around, Kate’s life wasn’t something he could risk losing.

The trip along the winding road that might have taken an hour took fifteen minutes in the helicopter. Detailed maps allowed them to pinpoint their location accurately. The helicopter didn’t set down right at the marker but in a field about a half mile away. The men silently jumped out and began to make their way across the field. As soon as they were out, the helicopter lifted off and disappeared into the dark night sky.

The prime condition of the men allowed them to cross the field quickly and they were soon within the protection of the trees. Jared checked his watch. They were a full forty minutes ahead of schedule. He hoped it would work in their favor as Drake had predicted.

Silently the men made their way through the trees to the marker. Jared was the only one to leave the protection of the trees to collect the message there.

Back in the trees, the team gathered around to read it. The note gave directions to go two miles on the dirt road leading off the highway.

"We can do this on foot," Jared informed the group. There were nods all around before they turned towards the dirt road.
No one actually walked on the road but moved like shadows in the trees, keeping close but out of sight should anyone come along.

Within fifteen minutes they spotted the cabin. They still had at least twenty minutes before the killer would anticipate their arrival. The men moved out to surround the cabin, still hidden in the forest. Jared eased forward, keeping to the shadows and approached the back of the cabin. Lights blazed from all the rooms
, and Jared wondered which one Katie was in.

Stealthily he slid into position beneath one of the windows. He stilled, letting his other senses take over. Voices, he heard voices. The windows of the cabin were open since the evening was warm. It helped Jared pinpoint Katie’s location. He found the room without having to look in the window. Sinking to a squat, Jared paused to listen.

"Where am I?" Kate sounded groggy and Jared realized she was just now coming around from whatever they’d drugged her with. He hoped she shook off the effects of the drug quickly. He would need her to be alert when they rescued her.

"In a cabin, waiting for your husband to show up."
The voice spoke perfect English though it was accented. He knew the accent and the voice…something about the voice.

"My husband?" Kate laughed hoarsely. "You obviously made a mistake."

"I don’t think so. You’re Jared’s wife, and you’re our bait. He should be here soon."

"He won’t come," Kate informed the man.

"You crazy broad. You can’t convince me to let you go with that garbage. Of course he’ll come. He has to rescue his wife."

"Only if I meant something to him."

"What?" The man sounded incredulous. "You’re his wife. Of course he’ll come to try and rescue you."

"Who was in charge of researching this fiasco?" Kate asked him. "They obviously flubbed up. If they’d been thorough they would have told you that Jared married me only to keep the children. He doesn’t love me and at this point having me out of the way would probably m
ake his life a whole lot easier since he has legal custody of the children now."

Jared stifled the gasp that rose from within him. That she should think such a thing about him hurt.

"Focus, Jared
," Drake whispered softly through his earpiece. “She’s smart. She’s trying to make him rethink things, become uncertain of his plan.”

Jared hoped Drake was right, but the other man hadn’t heard their conversation earlier that evening. There was every possibility she meant what she was saying…and it was all his fault if she did.

"You’re just saying that," the man scoffed. "It won’t work."

"You’d probably be doing us all a favor if you just shot me and got it over with."

There was silence for a few seconds. "You’re crazy, lady."

"Well, you’re right about that. Crazy to think that Jared would ever love me when he’s made no secret of the fact that he wanted a very different type of woman as his wife. Crazy to think I could be any kind of mother to those kids."

"Shut up," the man demanded. "I don’t want to hear this gibberish. Jared’s coming. His honor wouldn’t demand it, even if you were telling the truth. Which I doubt."

"I guess time will tell." Kate fell silent after that.

The conversation, along with revealing how Kate felt, also revealed that there was most likely another person involved. The one he’d been talking to on the phone. This guy didn’t seem to know that Jared was on his way.