Excitement filled Lainey, and she smiled. “Edward would be so happy to know his company is going to be involved in such a global effort. Our engineers and software people have done a great job. I never thought they could produce a tablet with software that costs so little, but they did.”
“Yes, and the people at Operation Tablet are going to make you an extremely rich woman in the process.”
Lainey waved her hand in dismissal. “It’s not the money that has me excited. It’s the fact that they’re purchasing these tablets to be used for educational purposes in poor countries. Just think how many children are going to be able to access knowledge because of the technology that has come out of DeHan Enterprises. Edward would be so happy to see this happening.”
“Yes, and our contract with them for the next fifteen years should see a lot more advances. By the time Max is twenty-five years old, he should be one of the wealthiest young men in the country.”
Lainey shook her head. “I don’t care about that. I just want him to be happy.” She paused for a moment. “Speaking of Max being happy, I suppose I should tell you that Ash is staying in St. Claire, and we’re getting married.”
William peered at her over the top of his glasses that rested on his nose. “Married?”
“Yes.” She swallowed before continuing. “He’s Max’s father, and he wants to take his place at the head of our family.”
William’s mouth gaped open, and he stared at her as if he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “Ash is Max’s father? Did Richard know that?”
“He did. After Ash left, Richard asked me to marry him so he could be a father to Max, and I agreed. I thought maybe he’d told you that.”
William shook his head. “No, he never said a word.” His eyes lit up with understanding. “Was that what was in the envelope he left for Ash?”
“Yes. It’s been difficult making Ash understand why we did it, but everything has worked out well.”
William reached over and covered her hand with his. “Then I’m happy for both of you. Does that mean Ash is going to be involved in the business?”
She laughed. “No way. He’s going to work here at Firebrand and train law enforcement and military personnel who are in need of special courses.”
William smiled and snapped his briefcase closed. “So when is the wedding?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. We have a problem we have to work out first.”
“A problem? What kind?”
She stood up and helped him gather up the last of the papers on the conference table. “Nothing for you to worry about. I’m sure it will work out all right. But don’t worry. You’ll be invited to the ceremony.”
He studied her for a moment before he chuckled. “I’d better be.”
Lainey started to respond, but the door opened and Phillip Tyler stepped in, dragging a frightened Max with him. Lainey’s eyebrows arched at the look of fear on Max’s face, and she glared at Phillip as she took a step forward. “Why are you holding my son that way?”
She came to an abrupt stop when Phillip pulled his gun from the holster and aimed at her. “Take it easy, Lainey. I’d hate for Max to see me shot his mom.”
“Mom,” Max cried out. “He stabbed Tex. He’s in my room on the floor.”
Lainey gasped as she felt her chest squeeze so tight she could hardly breathe. She took a threatening step toward Phillip, but William reached out and touched her arm as if to calm her. “Be careful, Lainey.” He moved in front of her and stared at Phillip. “Don’t do anything foolish. Just tell us what you want.”
Phillip laughed and pulled some cable ties and a scarf from his pocket. “For starters I want you to gag Lainey with this scarf, and then I want you to tie her to the leg of the conference table with these cable ties.” He glared at Lainey and snarled. “Get down on the floor and put your arms around the table leg.”
She started to protest, but Phillip pulled Max a little closer. “Mom. . .”
The strangled cry pierced Lainey’s heart, and she cast a quick glance at her son. “It’s all right Max. Just do as Phillip says, and he won’t hurt you.” She looked up at Phillip. “You won’t hurt him, will you?”
Phillip gritted his teeth and motioned for her to sit on the floor. She did as she was told, and William dropped beside her. Within a few seconds he had her hands secured and the gag in her mouth. Then William rose to his feet.
“I’ve done as you asked. Now release the boy and leave us alone. You can make your escape while there’s still time.”
Phillip didn’t say anything for a moment. Then he raised his gun and hit William across the face with it. Blood gushed from his nose, and he fell to the floor unconscious. Lainey tried to cry out, but the gag muffled her words.
Phillip pulled Max closer and stared down at him. “Now you listen to me, Max. We’re going to go for a leisurely walk toward the gate that opens into the woods behind the Center. If we meet anyone and you make them suspicious in any way, I’ll kill them, then I’ll come back and shoot your mother and her friend here. Do you understand?”
Max’s eyes bulged, and tears ran down his cheeks. He nodded his head and glanced at her once more before Phillip drug him from the room. Lainey straightened her arms and jerked her arms with all her strength as she tried to break free, but the cable ties held tight. With tears running down her face, she tried to scream her son’s name, but it only echoed in her head.
After a few minutes she collapsed in a heap on the floor as her body shook with sobs. It was no use. She couldn’t get free, and Phillip had already disappeared with her son.
<><><>
Ash stood outside the entrance into the Firebrand Administration Building and waved as Sam drove away. He cast a glance at William’s car still parked in front of the building and wondered what was taking so long for him and Lainey to finish their work. After a moment he shrugged, his thoughts returning to the time he’d spent with Sam.
He’d been worried that there might be a strain between the two of them this afternoon, and he’d pondered what he could do to return their friendship back to what it had once been. He and Sam had been friends since childhood, and he still counted him as one even though Sam might think differently. But as far as their meeting this afternoon had gone, nothing had seemed out of the ordinary. They’d talked about the training sessions that had been planned for Sam’s officers, and he’d agreed with everything Ash had suggested.
There had been no mention of Lainey, and Ash was glad. Maybe time would take care of any hard feelings Sam might harbor about him and Lainey getting back together. He hoped so.
As he strolled into the lobby of the building, he was struck by how quiet it was this afternoon. With everybody busy preparing for the first group to arrive for training, they were scattered at various locations across the facility’s grounds.
He was about to head upstairs when the front door opened and Reese, Casey, and Colt walked in. He stopped with his foot on the first tread of the staircase and waited for them to join them.
They came to a halt beside him, and Colt reached up and removed the Australian bush hat he always wore. “How did it go with Sam this afternoon?”
“Good. He agreed to everything I proposed. I told him we’d expect his officers in two weeks. So it looks like we’re in business.”
Reese and Colt exchanged glances and grinned at each other. “We?” Reese said. “So you’re really going to join us?”
Ash felt his face grow warm, and he chuckled. “You guys know I couldn’t let you have all the fun of running this place. You need me to keep an eye on you two.”
Colt laughed and started to speak, but his eyes grew large as he stared toward the second floor landing. “What in the world. . .?” he began.
Ash turned around and stared in disbelief at William Mason standing at the top of the stairs swaying back and forth as if his legs wouldn’t support him. Blood covered his face and stained the front of his shirt and jacket. He held out a hand to them.
“Help us,” he murmured.
Ash bounded up the stairs two at a time with Reese, Colt, and Casey right behind him. He reached William just as his legs gave away, and he collapsed against Ash. As he eased William to the floor, Ash cast a terrified glance toward the conference room. “Where’s Lainey?” he shouted.
William pointed toward the conference room. “In there,” he gasped.
Ash was on his feet and running before William had finished speaking. He skidded into the room and stopped, his stomach clenching at the sight of Lainey tied to the table. He dropped to his knees beside her and pulled the gag from her mouth.
“What happened?”
“Phillip Tyler,” she gasped. “He took Max.”
Ash shook his head and frowned, unable to process what she’d just said. “Tex? Where is he?”
“Max said Phillip stabbed him.” She began to shake and a wail rose from her throat. “Oh, Ash, what are we going to do?”
Ash pulled his knife out, cut her free of the cable ties, and pulled her to her feet. He held her against him as he hurried from the room. In the hall his three friends still knelt beside William. “Casey,” Ash yelled, “check on Tex in my room.”
She jumped to her feet, ran down the hall, and entered Ash’s room. Within seconds she appeared back at the door. “
Tex has been stabbed,” she yelled. “Get me a field dressing!”
Reese didn’t hesitate. He rose from where he knelt next to William and left Colt to give him first aid while he dashed off toward the room where they kept medical supplies.
Ash stared down at Lainey. “Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head. “No, but he has Max, Ash.” Her voice rose higher with each word. “What are we going to do?”
At that moment he heard the chime of a text message coming in, and he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He clicked on the message and gasped as if he’d just been kicked in the stomach. He blinked and read the words for the second time before he raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“What is it?” Lainey demanded. “Is it about Max?”
“Yes,” he said. “It says
Your son has been chosen as a sacrifice for your crimes. If you want to save him, you and Lainey must come alone to the summit of Devil’s Courthouse. Tell no one, or he dies.”
A wail burst from her mouth, and he tightened his arms around her as she sagged against him. “Our son, Ash. They’re going to kill him.”
Although he’d never been this scared in his life, he couldn’t let her see his fear. He hugged her close and kissed the top of her head. “No, they’re not. I won’t let that happen.”
She tried to wrench free of his hold, but he gripped her tighter. “Don’t promise me something that’s not true,” she screamed. “We thought we were safe here, but one of the people we trusted most took him from right under our noses.” She grabbed the front of his shirt in her hands. “How could Phillip do that?”
He’d been asking himself the same question from the moment she told him Phillip was the one who’d betrayed his brothers, and he had no answer. He reached up and stroked her hair then pulled her head against his chest. “I don’t know, Lainey, but we’ll find out. Now I need you to something for me.”
She turned her face upward and stared at him. “What?”
He put his hands on her shoulders and eased her away so that he could look right at her. “The text said that you and I are to come alone after Max. If we’re going to save him, we can’t be hysterical. These animals are our enemies, and we have to win this battle. To do it, we have to put our fear on hold and remain calm. Trust me in this, Lainey.”
Her chin trembled, and she took a deep breath. “I do trust you, Ash.”
“Good.”
Reese charged back into the room at that moment and dropped to his knees beside Tex. He handed Casey the field dressing, and she ripped open the pouch that contained it. “It looks like this is a sucking wound,” she said. “The wound is sucking air into the space around the lungs instead of it going down the throat. I need some tape to seal off this dressing.”
Reese ran from the room almost before she had quit speaking. Casey’s lips pulled into a grim line as she pressed the absorbent cloth of the field dressing over the wound and held it there until Reese reappeared with tape. He ripped off pieces from the roll and handed them to her as she bound the top and sides of the pad to the wound.
When she had it in place, she leaned back on her heels and examined her work. “I left the bottom open like a flap, so he can exhale. Now we need to get him and William to the hospital as quickly as we can.” She glanced at Reese and Colt who had just entered the room. “Can you get them in the Jeep?”
Colt nodded. “I think William will be able to make it on his own. I’ll help Reese with Tex.”
Reese nodded and turned to Ash. “What about Max? Do you have any idea where Phillip has taken him?”
“I do. I just received a text telling us to come to the summit of Devil’s Courthouse. Lainey and I are headed there now.”
“Do you need back-up?”
Ash shook his head. “Our instructions said for us to come alone. If I need help, I’ll let you know.”
Reese frowned. “Are you sure?”
“I am.” He turned to Lainey. “You’d better get a sweater. Where we’re going, it will probably be cold.”
She nodded and ran from the room. Ash waited until she’d left before he turned back to Reese. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to save my son and Lainey. If I don’t make it back and they do, see that they’re taken care of.”