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“I’m coming,” Alex signed, his expression broking no argument from Jackson and his brothers.

“Go. I’ll stay with Becky and English,” Turner offered. “I’ll see if we can get English moved to a more private area where we can monitor who’s coming in and out. I’ll get security and the LEOs to provide back-up.”

Jackson, Alex, Ben and Luke were already sprinting to the waiting room door before Turner finished talking.

∞∞∞

Lightning struck the horizon in a brilliant display of white light. A boom of thunder followed a couple of minutes later, loud enough to rattle the truck’s windows. Blinding rain pounded the windshield faster than the wipers could keep up. Jackson tried to contain his frustration. As much as he wanted to speed to the spot where they tracked Alex’s guys, he couldn’t risk an accident delaying them any longer than necessary.

Alex tapped his arm and pointed to a spot on the road’s shoulder. Jackson slammed on his brakes and quickly regained control when the truck started to skid on the slick pavement. Alex jumped from the cab before Jackson could ask him about what he saw. He couldn’t understand how his friend could see anything through the sheets of rain pummeling the earth. He jerked the gear shift into park and jumped from the truck. His brothers weren’t far behind them, but he didn’t want to wait. Following Alex’s path through the muddy shoulder, he finally realized what caught the man’s attention.

An SUV rested on its side along the slope of the embankment. The vehicle was smashed on all sides as if it had rolled to its resting spot. He didn’t recognize it, but Alex must have. He sprinted, his boots providing some traction against the muddy ground, and jumped up to pull himself on top of the SUV. The window on the driver’s door had smashed, and Alex used a rock to brush the glass away.

Jackson pulled up on the SUV beside him and did a quick assessment. Whipping his pocketknife from his jeans, he cut through the driver’s seatbelt and pushed the air bag out of the way. Together they pulled him out, and Jackson recognized him as one of Alex’s men. Alex dropped to the ground and reached for his teammate.

“I’m going in,” Jackson shouted before squeezing through the window.

He braced himself against the seat, so he didn’t drop on the passenger. Another of Alex’s men, the passenger was unconscious like the other one, but this one was coated in blood that had already stained his clothes, so it wasn’t easily washed away by the rain falling in on them. Jackson cut through the guy’s seatbelt and caught him as he slumped.

“Jackson!”

He looked up to see Luke peering down at him, motioning for him to pass the passenger up to him. The move was awkward with the man unable to help and Jackson unable to accurately assess his injuries, but somehow they managed to extract the passenger. Jackson looked in the backseat, and he felt his adrenaline spike.

“Randall! Randall, can you hear me?”

“Jackson, what is it?”

He recognized Ben’s voice calling to him. “It’s Randall. He’s unconscious, and there’s blood. Traci’s not here.”

“Cops and paramedics are on the way. I’m coming in to help.”

“No, I think I’ve got it. Stay put, and I’ll see if I can pass him to you.”

Jackson noted Randall’s arm was positioned at an odd angle. He tried to feel the spot at his shoulder to determine the extent of Randall’s injury but only succeeded in making the man moan, which was a reassuring sound. At least he was alive.

“Randall, it’s me, Jackson. Can you talk to me? Come on, man. I need you to tell us what happened. Ben and I are going to help you out of here, but I need you to hang on.”

There was no way to move the man without causing him pain, but Jackson saw no other choice.

Jackson shouted up to his brother. “He’s hurt. Broken arm or collarbone. I’m not sure. There’s blood from a gash on his head, but I can’t be sure how deep. It’s bleeding too much for me to see. He’s slipping in and out of consciousness.”

“Got it. The rain’s starting to let up. Ambo should be here soon. Send him up, and we’ll be as careful as possible. Luke’s here too.”

Jackson glanced up at his brothers, relieved they were here to have his back as always. On a whim, he whipped off his shirt and fashioned it as best as he could into a makeshift sling. It wasn’t perfect, but hopefully it would stabilize his arm while they lifted him out of the SUV. He shielded Randall with his body while Ben broke out the glass on the back window. They worked as a team to clear Randall from the SUV. Jackson climbed out after him.

Once Randall was on the ground, Jackson knelt beside him, but he had slipped into unconsciousness again. Jackson raised his head to see Alex kneeling beside the passenger they’d pulled out. His head was lowered, and his shoulders were slumped.

“His man was killed,” Luke told him as he lowered his frame beside him. “According to the driver, they were chased by another SUV which tried to force them off the road. They utilized their defensive driving protocol. They managed to pull alongside. Alex’s guy said there were three. The one in the passenger seat fired a shot meant for him. It hit his partner instead. Clipped him in the neck. He bled out.”

“Traci was abducted.” It was a statement, not a question, as Jackson processed the turn this case had taken.

“Randall tried to stop them. They pistol whipped him. It’s how he got the gash on his head.”

“Was Reagan in the SUV? Was he able to see her?”

Luke shook his head. “No. Just three guys. She could have been in the back where he couldn’t see her, but there’s no way to know.

Jackson whipped his head around to stare at his brother incredulously. “How did they get Traci out? The doors were smashed.”