Page 67

Masonstalkedbacktothe security room. Warden was right where he’d left him. “Take Vanessa back to the bunker.”

The big man lifted his chin. “No.”

“You’ll do what you’re told, or you’ll be out on your ear.”

“Get your lapdog, Dennis, to do your dirty work. I’m out.”

“The only way out is death.”

“Then kill me if you think you can take me.” Warden stood to his full height and moved toward him.

“Think twice about who you are threatening.”

“I have.” He sneered. “My decision is made, I’m out.” He grabbed a ball cap from the desk and stuffed it onto his big head. “See you around, Mason.”

The door to the office creaked open then closed again. Mason was left alone. Dennis should’ve returned by now. How long could it take to toss the Garrison girl into a cell.

He squeezed his eyes shut as realization dawned on him. He’d sent a boy to do a man’s job. Dennis wouldn’t be able to resist the fair-skinned temptress. He would ruin her. Fine, if Mason couldn’t promise her fiancé that she was a pure, undefiled treasure, he would instead offer her up as a concubine for Dennis, provided he promised to keep her locked up and out of sight. That would show Warden the error of his ways. He’d be back when he realized that Mason could ruin him, and then he’d see that loyalty was rewarded while betrayal was severely punished.

A movement in the corner of the screen caught his attention, and a grin slowly formed. The Garrison boys were breaching his perimeter. Trespassers could be shot on sight, and he happened to have a pistol handy thanks to Gavin’s date. This would be fun.

Gavinbrushedatthedirt on the slacks of his tux as he walked along the old logging road Ranger Stone had shown him. Stone believed it might be the only way they could get onto the property without setting off any alarms. He’d seen staff come and go using it, so it was a reasonable hypothesis and certainly worth trying. It had taken some doing, but Gavin convinced Grayson and the ranger to stay out of sight. If anything went wrong, he’d need them to provide backup.

Moonlight glinted off something to his right. Reaching for his Glock, he searched the darkness then took aim. At his sister. He tucked the handgun back into the holster and held his arms open wide. Cate jumped into his arms and they both fell to the ground. After rising to his feet and helping his sister up, he took off his tuxedo jacket and placed it around her shoulders. Her feet were bare, and the skimpy dress she wore offered no protection against the chill of the evening.

“How did you escape?”

She looked around, but whatever she was looking for wasn’t there. “A woman helped me. I don’t know where she went. One second she was beside me, and the next she was gone. She must’ve been captive, too, but she wasn’t in the dorm.”

“Dorm?”

“That’s what that sick freak called the room where he kept us.”

“Are there still girls in there?”

His stomach clenched at her nod. “Yes,” she whispered.

He clasped both sides of her face “Did he hurt you? Did any of them hurt you?” He knew she would understand what he was really asking.

“Almost, but that woman stopped Dennis before he… I’m fine. Really. Unharmed.”

He wished that was true, but knew the psychological scars from what she’d been through wouldn’t heal easily.

As he thought on how he would make Dennis pay for what he’d done to his sister, a conversation he’d had with Samantha echoed in his mind.

‘God help the people who took my sister if they hurt her.’

‘I’m not sure even God can provide that kind of help.’

‘He’s the only one who can, hon.’

And now He was the only one who could keep him and Grayson from killing every one of the men involved in Cate and Samantha’s abduction.

“Have you seen a girl named Samantha?”

“I didn’t meet anyone named Samantha.” A tear slid down her cheek. “Emmaline was with me. They forced her to marry some guy. Even after all she’d been through, she tried to help me by sneaking a gun to me. Without Emmaline doing what she did, I would still be locked in the dorm with no way out. In the end, even though I gave the gun to Vanessa, it helped me escape. They found out Emmaline gave it to me, so they moved me to an underground bunker. When Dennis was throwing me onto a cot in one of the rooms they use as cells, a woman came to my rescue.”

“Grace gave Emmaline that gun. She hoped she’d use it to escape from her so-called husband.”