Witness Protection (17 page)

Chapter Eighteen

Instinct kicked in the moment Burly clamped her in his meaty grip. Sadie wheeled around, trying to break free.

He grinned and tightened his hold on her, forcing her to face him.

She grabbed two fists full of his shirt at chest level, screamed and pivoted her body, sticking her leg out to trip him using his own body weight against him.

He broke into a laugh as he widened his stance. “You think a little thing like you can take me down?”

The leg wheel technique had failed against his two-hundred-plus pounds.

“Help me, somebody,” she pleaded.

The small crowd of Asian onlookers dispersed quickly, diverting their gazes away from Sadie.

No one would make eye contact.

Burly hauled her into the stockroom before she could get her mental bearings again. Fists like pit bull jaws locked around her upper arms.

She bent as low as she could, fisted her hands and in one quick motion burst toward the ceiling, breaking free from his hold.

Before he could snatch her again, Sadie wheeled around and exploded toward the metal doors, toward freedom.

Certain she could outrun Burly, hope ballooned in her chest. If she could escape, she could find Nick.

Just shy of reaching the doors, they sprang open.

Steroids.

Sadie screamed a curse as her forward momentum forced her to run smack into his chest. Hopelessness clawed at her.
Not happening. Not again.

They’d taken away her life before. She’d had to separate from Boomer because of them. They may have killed Nick. She would not go down without a fight.

Rage, not fear, burned hot through her veins.

“In a hurry?” Steroids coughed, closing his arms around her as she kicked and screamed.

This time, she would fight back.

Burly must’ve drawn his gun. Cold metal pressed to the side of her head, and her arms went limp at the memory of what had happened before.

Give up and they win.

Those bastards wouldn’t get the satisfaction. She leaned forward and bit Steroids in the chest as hard as she could.

“Bitch!” He pushed her back a step until she slammed into Burly, whirled her around and tied her hands behind her back.

Sirens grew louder. Thank God, someone had called the police.

Maybe she could stall long enough for the cops to save her?

They dragged her a few steps toward the back door. She made her body go limp.

A blow below her left cheek made her eye feel as if it might pop out of its socket. She spit blood.

Tires squealed out back.

The cops?

No. Couldn’t be. There’d be sirens.

Realization crashed down on her, squeezing her lungs. Her heart sank.

The getaway vehicle had just arrived.

Let them take her out of that market, and she may as well be dead.

Sadie kicked and screamed, but they hauled her hands tighter and kept dragging her.

Steroids stuffed a piece of cloth in her mouth, muffling her cries.

Tears burned down her cheeks as fury detonated inside her.

Another ten feet and they could take her anywhere they wanted, do anything they wanted to her. The ICU would be a gift this time. She knew with everything inside her if they got her out the door this time, she’d end up in the morgue.

Her body railed against the bindings on her wrists.

Instead of feeling fear, she felt...resolve.

They could take away her body. They could do anything they wanted to her physically. They could end her life and erase her existence. But while she had breath in her lungs, they would not control her mind.

She felt herself being hauled up and tossed into the back of the sport-utility. Burly got in on one side, Steroids the other. There were two men in the front. The one on the passenger’s side was bleeding, losing a fair amount of blood. He held a blood-soaked T-shirt to his left-arm triceps.

She memorized every detail of their faces before the two in the backseat forced her onto the floorboard.

If, no
when,
she escaped, she would testify against the whole lot of them. She would ensure these men were locked away forever. They would not hurt another soul.

Moving her jaw back and forth, she was able to get her tongue behind the cloth to force it out of her mouth.

She remembered sticking her cell phone in her right front pocket. Could she get to it without them noticing?

With her hands tied behind her back, it would be challenging. Could she stretch far enough?

Think. Think. Think.

Lying on her left, facing toward the back, pretty much ensured they’d see her trying to reach into her pocket. Maybe she could distract them somehow? Or bait them into rolling her over to her other side.

“You’re a bunch of idiots if you think you’ll get away with this. A U.S. Marshal is right behind me. He knows who you are. He knows who your boss is. And he’ll find me. When he does, you’re all going to jail where you belong.”

“I don’t think so,” Burly said.

A glance passed between them that parked a boulder on Sadie’s chest.
Oh. God. No.

Nothing could happen to Nick.

And, yet, she knew he’d have to be shot or dead not to have come after her already. He hadn’t made an attempt to reach her. Her cell hadn’t vibrated. No one had called her name or ambushed the men who’d abducted her.

Her heart lurched, threatening to lock up and stop beating.

And let those bastards win? She didn’t think so.

She had to reach out to someone.

If she was able to palm her cell—and that was a pretty big if—she’d have access to Smith. For a brief moment, she wondered if Smith had put a tracer on her phone. Maybe he was tracking her right now?

A little voice inside her head reminded her that wouldn’t happen. Smith would have given them an untraceable phone. He’d been specific about not wanting to know where they were. It was a safeguard. He’d do it to protect them.

She kicked up at Burly, connecting with his shin.

“Dammit,” he grumbled. He tied her ankles together, making it impossible to kick again.

She fought back, not because she thought she’d win, but in order to sell switching positions so she could roll on the other side and access her phone.

By the time they finished, she was facing the opposite direction. On her right side, she could hide the fact she was slipping her phone out of her pocket.

Tears pricked the backs of her eyes.

Despair was an ache in her chest. Sorrow for Nick threatened to suck her under like a riptide and spit her out into the deep.

Before she could say another word, the cloth was being jammed into her mouth again. This time, they tied a strip of material around her head to secure her gag.

Sadie couldn’t afford tears.

She had to keep herself calm and force herself to believe that Nick was out there, somewhere, making his way back to her.

Every movement hurt. The bindings around her wrists tightened as she tried to angle her hands toward her right front pocket.

With two fingers, she managed to grasp the corner of her cell well enough to slide it free. She scooted forward, managing to block it with her hip. The phone was already set to vibrate mode. She switched to mute, touched the second name on her contact list, Smith, and covered the speaker with her finger, just in case.

“Where are you taking me?” Her words were muffled by the gag. She knew full well these guys wouldn’t hand over the answer easily.

“Someplace no one will hear you when you scream,” Burly said.

* * *

N
ICK
BLINKED
HIS
blurry eyes open. Darkness surrounded him. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why he had the urge to run. And what the hell was up with the hammering between his temples?

His body ached. His knees jammed into his face. There were hard walls all around him.

Where was he?

He felt around on his head for bumps, located a couple.

Memories flooded him, coming back all at one time, as if someone had unlocked the gates and sprung open both doors.

“Sadie.”

He tried to kick. Only managed to thump his lip with his knee when he moved. He was inside some kind of compartment. No signs of light either meant it was nighttime, or the storm still hadn’t passed. The place was airtight.

Rocking back and forth, he tried to free his arms.

Thoughts of the gun battle broke through his mind. He’d told Sadie to run. He’d known they were outnumbered, but he’d tried to get the attention on him and allow her to escape.

He knew they were both in trouble when he saw the shooter immediately give chase.

The vegetable bin. He’d made it. Must’ve hid him long enough for the police to arrive and scare off Jamison and his men.

Nick felt around. He’d wedged himself inside in a position that was impossible to get out of.

There was no escape.

He heard a familiar voice.

Paul?

Shouting to his friend was a risk. Nick couldn’t be sure how long he’d been in that box. Could be minutes or hours. The cops could’ve come and gone, and so could Grimes or Jamison.

Nick listened intently through the pounding in his temples, straining to hear if there were other voices.

A neighbor must’ve phoned the police after hearing gunfire.

When he was reasonably certain Paul was alone, he shouted.

“Paul,” Nick repeated, louder this time. Shouting made everything hurt, and his head feel as if it might explode. He ignored the pain. Sadie was in trouble. He had to get out of this box and find her.

“Paul!”

Nick heard sounds outside.

“Who is that? Who’s here?” Paul’s voice trembled.

“It’s me. Nick. I need your help to get me out of here.”

“Nick?” came the trepid response.

“Open the door, Paul. It’s me.”

Light split what was left of Nick’s head. Yet, it was welcomed.

“What the heck happened to you? How’d you end up in my aunt’s vegetable bin?”

“What time is it?” Nick asked, trying to muscle his way out of the container.

“Here. Let me help you.”

Where was Sadie? “The woman I was with earlier. Where is she?”

“I don’t know. She’s not here,” Paul said, offering a hand up.

Nick took it and, with a push, broke out of the small container he’d forced himself in. He scanned the area.

“The police are out front. They’re asking a lot of questions. I told them I don’t know what happened. My neighbor called me when he heard the guns. The old guy kind of freaked out. Called the police, too.”

“Did they arrest anyone?” If the police were still there, then Sadie couldn’t be too far.

“No one here. My neighbor said he saw everybody run. I didn’t expect you to be here, either. I jumped when I heard your voice. That’s for sure.”

“Which way did they go?” He remembered telling Sadie to run, some of his thoughts were still jumbled, and he’d already lost precious time. He didn’t want to risk going off in the wrong direction while his brain was still scrambled.

“The old guy said she went this way.” Paul inclined his head toward the left.

“Good. Now do me a favor, and go get the police.” Nick needed as many hands on this case as he could get. He checked his pockets for his cell.

His legs cramped.

He tried to walk, but they gave.

Paul grabbed Nick’s arm in time to keep him from losing balance and landing on the ground.

“You wait right here, my friend. I’ll get the police.”

“I lost my cell. It might be on the side of your house.” He was grateful to be alive, but what about Sadie?

With him out of the picture, they could do whatever they wanted to her.

Maybe she’d escaped?

Not likely. There were too many men. Jamison must’ve brought everyone to this fight.

Damn, Nick needed his cell. He needed to make contact with Smith.

The thought of anyone hurting Sadie was like an acid burn on his skin.

A uniformed officer approached. “I need to see some ID, sir.”

Nick produced his badge and gave a statement.

“Nick,” Paul shouted from the other side of the fence. He burst through. “I found it. These belong to you?”

He held out a cell and a gun.

“Looks like mine.” His Glock felt right in his hand. He checked his cell. A dozen missed calls from Smith. “I need to check in with my boss.”

The officer nodded.

Smith answered immediately.

“Is she alive?” Nick asked.

“Someone activated her cell phone and used it to call me. I believe it was her.”

“Any idea where she is?”

“No. I can tell she’s in some type of vehicle. She asked the question of where she was being taken and a man replied they were taking her where no one would hear her scream. It was tough to make out her words. Sounded like something was covering her mouth.” He paused. “They could be taking her to a field out in the middle of nowhere for all we know. Without GPS on that phone, I can’t track her.”

Nick’s brain immediately kicked into gear. “There’s a place I can think of that no one would hear her scream. The warehouse.”

The sounds of fingers flying across a keyboard came through Nick’s line. “My closest man is a half hour away.”

“I can be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Nick,” Smith said. Nick didn’t like the sound of his voice when he said it. “They’ve sent word through one of my informants that they’ve got Lucy.”

Nick ground out a curse. “Can you confirm?”

“I spoke to your brother Luke and she hasn’t checked in or answered her phone. Doesn’t mean they have her. I just can’t confirm one way or the other. They’re threatening to drop her body off below the Ferris wheel ride in Fair Park.”

Nick’s knees buckled. The officer held him steady. “I go to Fair Park, and they’ll kill me and Sadie. I go to Sadie and they’ll kill Lucy.”

“If they have her.”

Was it a risk he was willing to take? Jamison clearly knew how much Nick loved and protected his family.

“I can send people to either place, or both. It’s your call,” Smith said quietly.

Could Sadie already be dead? No. They’d use her to bring Nick out. As soon as they got to him, they’d kill her.