Page 30 of Brick (Chosen Few #5)

T error and adrenaline surged through Brick’s body as he watched a masked man open the passenger door and yank Natalie out.

Panic shot through him. He had to get to Natalie.

Brick charged for the guy who’d just shot him, attempting to throw him to the ground and reach the man trying to take Natalie.

The guy through his weight, and they both slammed into the cement.

Voices shouted behind him. Officers were running from the building ordering him to freeze.

But he couldn’t see them through the haze of fury blurring his vision.

Tires screeched. A sedan tore from the parking lot.

Brick locked his gaze on the license plate, committing the numbers to memory.

“Hands in the air!” the cops shouted.

“A woman was just kidnapped!” he bellowed, keeping his knee in the guy’s back. “Follow that silver vehicle!”

An officer shouted into her radio, then jogged to a marked police car. Brick needed to chase down the vehicle, but if he stood up with a gun in his hand, he’d get taken down by the officers surrounding them.

He disarmed the shooter and yanked the ski mask from his face. Justin flung a mouthful of threats over his shoulder at Brick. Officers rushed across the parking lot to contain a third man—probably Clyde.

Goddammit.

A couple of officers grabbed Brick by his raised hands and took his gun. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He didn’t have time for this. “Get Chief Wiebe,” Brick barked.

“Stand and keep your hands in the air.”

Jesus Christ. He was going to snap. He did as instructed, backing away from Justin and fighting the urge to lunge at him. He needed to jump in his SUV and get the hell out of here.

Arnie stalked out of the station, his face tight with bewilderment. “What the hell happened?”

“Sir, this is Justin Crater from Club East,” Brick snapped, his patience nonexistent. “As I told you, he’s working with Keetan.”

Arnie’s eyes bulged again. “Get them locked up,” he said to the officers standing around.

“Someone just took Natalie. It had to be Keetan.” Brick slowly lowered his hands, and the chief nodded for him to drop them.

“Rosealee and Tommy went after them,” the officer with Brick’s gun told Arnie.

“I need to go,” Brick insisted. “You can’t keep me here.”

“We need a statement—”

“You’ll get one later,” he snapped, glaring at the officer. He looked at the chief again. “Sir, I’m getting in my SUV.” He reached forward and took his gun from the officer. “And I’m going after them. If you’ve got a problem with that, go ahead and arrest me.”

Brick made a beeline for his vehicle, storming around the cops forcing Clyde and Justin into the station. Another officer said something to Arnie, but Brick couldn’t hear the words.

“Let him go,” Arnie countered gruffly.

Brick immediately got behind the wheel and shifted into drive.

Another cop car tore out of the parking lot ahead of him, sirens blaring.

He called Taschen, and the line rang through the speakers.

Fear trickled down his spine. If they’d gotten Bray, if they’d hurt him.

.. fuck, he couldn’t handle that thought.

“’Lo?”

Some of the tension gripping Brick’s throat lessened at the sound of Taschen’s lazy tone. “Where’s Bray?”

“Here. Eating a bowl of yogurt and fruit. Kid eats like a tank.”

“Keetan just ambushed us at the goddamn police station. They took Natalie.” Saying the words aloud hurt his heart.

Christ, he’d told her she was safe. He’d promised her Keetan wouldn’t hurt her again. He’d fucking kill him.

“Shit,” Taschen hissed.

“What’s wrong?” said Ellie, in the background.

Hell. He didn’t want to scare Bray. “Don’t upset them. Tell Ellie when Bray’s not listening.”

“Roger that. What do you need me to do?” His voice was hushed, and the soft click of a door closing told him Taschen had gone somewhere private to talk.

Brick sailed through a green light. He was following the cop car because he had no fucking clue which way Keetan had gone. Scrubbing his hand over his face, he swerved in front of a truck to stay behind the cops. “I don’t know, man. I can’t fucking think.”

“What precinct were you at?”

Brick told him.

“All right. Zain can stay here with Ellie and Bray. I’ll come meet you. We’ll have Ghost hack into the security cameras to identify the vehicle—”

“I got the plate number.” He rattled it off along with the color, make, and model of the car.

“You’ve saved us half the guesswork,” Taschen said lightly.

“I want you to stay with them.” He couldn’t fathom something happening to Bray. He’d never been so pulled, so equally divided, in his life.

“You can’t go after them by yourself. Do you even know where the hell you’re going?”

“I’m following the cops right now. They must have a lead on him.” As the words came out of his mouth, the cop car pulled to the side of the road.

Brick slowed and parked behind them. The siren cut out but the lights continued to flash. “I’ll call you back.”

An officer stepped out of the car. Brick hopped out to meet him on the road. “What is it?”

The cop placed his hands on his hips and shook his head. “We lost ’em.”

Panic flooded his organs. “What?” he yelled. “How?”

“The perp took a sharp turn and lost the officers on his tail down an alley. They just recovered the abandoned vehicle. Must’ve switched rides.”

Brick’s heart pounded in his eardrums, driving out the rest of the officer’s words. The world tilted on its axis.

Like ashes in the wind, Natalie was gone.

***

Natalie’s breath was hot in the stale air of the trunk. The blare of sirens still echoed, but only as a memory. It’d been a good twenty minutes since Keetan opened the trunk and wrestled her into a different one. She’d noted the make and model of the beat-up maroon sedan.

Panic kept her body still, but her brain worked at a dangerous speed. Brick’s expression was imprinted in her mind’s eye. He’d been shot in the shoulder. But what’d happened after that?

She’d heard the police running from the station, but they’d been too late. Maybe they’d caught the men working with Keetan. What if they hadn’t saved Brick, though?

It’s all my fault.

A sob of despair escaped her lips. She couldn’t—wouldn’t regret stumbling back into Brick’s life. Bray had met his father, so she’d never carry remorse for that.

But he needed to come home. Needed to be a father to their son.

Oh god. Bray. Please let him be safe.

A thought struck her. Her phone! She patted the pocket where she’d stowed her cell phone.

Her fingers grazed the smooth glass and relief cloaked her shoulders.

The device hadn’t fallen out when Keetan threw her to the ground.

Thank god for the tight jeans, and for the oversized sweatshirt that’d hidden the phone from sight.

Her hands shook as she brought the screen to life.

Fuck you, Keetan.

She located Brick’s number. Fresh, cold fear drained the blood from her fingers as the line rang. Please be okay. Please be okay.

“Natalie?” Brick’s choked, worried voice brought tears to her eyes.

“Yes, it’s me. Are you okay?”

He cursed. “I’m fine. Where are you?”

“I-I’m in the trunk of a vehicle. I had my phone in my back pocket. Keetan doesn’t know I have it.”

“Good. The cops lost you guys. What kind of vehicle is he driving?”

She kicked herself for not getting the license plate number, but everything had moved too quickly. He’d already had the trunk of the second vehicle open and waiting, and she’d been focused on trying to fight him. “A maroon car. Lots of rust.” She gave him the make and model.

“Good girl. I need you to hang on for me, babe. I’ve got the best guys looking. I’ll find you.”

“Is Bray okay?” she said with a sniffle. Tears drenched her cheeks. She needed that reassurance more than anything right now.

“He’s fine. According to Taschen he just finished a bowl of yogurt.”

“Don’t let them leave him,” she said, the words nearly strangling her.

“I don’t want you to worry. I promise Bray will be safe. But I need you to do something. Plant the phone somewhere in the trunk where Keetan won’t find it. I’m pretty confident he won’t risk changing cars again. And if he catches the device on you, he’ll destroy it or throw us off track.”

“Okay.” Just hearing the deep rumble of Brick’s voice gave her comfort, but she longed for more.

“Did he hurt you?” he ground out.

She winced. A spot on her face near her bruised cheekbone was still hot and tingly from when she fought him. “He was a little rough, but I’m fine.”

“I’ll fucking kill him. Be careful, okay? Just do what he says for right now. He doesn’t know you have your phone, so that’ll work in our favor.”

The vehicle turned, making her body tilt. The tires rumbled over gravel. “Oh my god. He’s slowing down.”

“Hide your phone. Don’t let him find it.”

The vehicle lurched to a stop and her heart plummeted to her feet. She quickly patted the bottom of the trunk, looking for somewhere to stow her phone. “Brick, he’s going to kill me,” she whispered. Terror annihilated her senses.

She’d looked in Keetan’s eyes before he closed the trunk, had seen the deadness there—a distant loathing she’d never witnessed in him before. He might have cared for her once, in his own sick and twisted way, but he sure didn’t now.

“No, he’s not. Natalie, listen to me.” Each syllable was spoken carefully. Directly. “Turn off your ringer. I will come for you. Do you hear me?”

The car door opened and slammed shut. Determined footsteps crunched on the stones outside. Her fingers brushed the lip of the trunk mat. “Brick, he’s here,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry. Take care of my baby.”

She pulled the phone away from her ear. Her hand shook so badly she fumbled the device and missed the button to silence her phone. Keetan’s footsteps stopped. She hit the button and slid the device beneath the mat.

Her pulse roared in her head. Every beat of her heart threatened to send her into cardiac arrest. The trunk whooshed open, and she drew her hands in front of her chest with milliseconds to spare before his gaze landed on her.

The interior light illuminated his face. His nose was swollen and bore a cut, and purple streaks underscored his eyes. His lips slashed into an uneven grin. “I’ve been waiting for this.” He seized her biceps, tearing her out of the trunk.

She stumbled as he half dragged her over the loose rocks. She hit the ground, and the stones bit through her jeans. His foot nudged her thigh roughly. “Get up. Fucking clumsy bitch.”

Anger sharpened her senses, but she didn’t react. No need to give him a reason to kill her any sooner. She got to her feet and backed away, but he snagged her wrist in a death grip. He shut the trunk lid and she took in her surroundings.

They stood on a long gravel road surrounded by trees. A trail snaked off the road, leading through a forest. Great. Just what she needed. A quiet place where no one could hear her screams. “Where are we?” she demanded.

He reached behind his back and withdrew a gun. A duffel bag hung over his shoulder. “Don’t try anything stupid. I don’t want to shoot you right here and leave a fucking mess.” He waved the gun in her face.

She swallowed as he jerked her toward the trail, ushering her in front of him.

“Remember when we used to like each other? Before you cheated on me and got pregnant with another dude’s bastard?”

Tears of frustration stung her eyes. She wanted to hit him. To take that damn gun, shove it in his mouth, and pull the trigger. She’d never be able to overpower him, though. “I never cheated on you. I left you. There’s a difference.”

His fingertips chomped into her flesh and she cried out. “After all I did for you,” he spat. “Covering up Shelby’s death, risking my job. Risking my future.”

“What we did was wrong,” she choked out, wiping stray tears from her cheeks. “You never should’ve put those drugs in her.”

Though she’d blamed herself all these years, Keetan wasn’t innocent either.

He hadn’t talked to her about covering up Shelby’s death.

She’d sat on the floor holding his dead sister, praying over her lifeless form and yelling at Keetan to call 911.

When he left the room, she’d assumed he was getting help.

But he’d rushed back with a needle and injected Shelby before Natalie could wrap her head around what was happening.

“Don’t you think I wish I’d done things differently?” he yelled. Birds flitted overhead and small critters darted through the trees.

Natalie scanned the woods hoping to find hikers or campers nearby. But the area was quiet. Not a soul in sight. The earth sloped downward and the scents of pine and dirt struck her. She turned her attention back to Keetan.

A firm scowl dented his brow. “If I had a do-over, your ass would be in jail. This is the best thing I can do to right things with Shelby.” He nodded as if agreeing with himself. “This will make everything okay. She’ll forgive me.”

Natalie dug her feet into the ground and faced him. “She won’t forgive you. You lied and covered up her death. If we’d moved quicker, if you’d called an ambulance like I’d told you, she might still be here today.”

His hand shot up and grasped her throat. His fingers closed around her windpipe. “Shut up,” he said, seething. His eyes were vicious black beads on white ice. “This was your fault. All of it.”

Pain bolted down her neck and her face heated as he cut off her circulation. Hate filled his expression, sending an earthquake of fear through her system. She couldn’t let him do this. She couldn’t die here in the woods where no one would find her. “S-Stop,” she managed.

He dragged her closer to his face, and his grip tightened until her vision flickered. “Useless cunt.” He flung her backward and she hit the ground, the air whooshing from her lungs.