Page 29 of Save Her Life (Sandra Vos #1)
TWENTY-EIGHT
Lonnie put the plan together so fast that he was beyond pleased with himself. From the moment he spotted Vos on the news and found out that she had a teenage daughter, all the pieces clicked together. After all, he’d need strong leverage to get a fed to help the likes of him. The next morning he’d roped Dennis in on what he was thinking and got on the road to confirm the place he had in mind was still abandoned. When it turned out it was, Lonnie took that as a sign he was good to go ahead. He was certainly finished playing victim. He’d leave that to the FBI agent. All her whining because her twin brother had died, but he was going to give her something fresh to sob about. Besides, he’d lost people. It was a fact of life that we all ended up in the dirt at some point. And the fed’s brat would end up there soon if Mommy Dearest didn’t come through. He’d been more than patient. So much so that it was ridiculous.
They wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for his quick thinking and following his intuition. But now he had a great chance of getting what he and Dennis had lost when Darrell held those people hostage in that pizza place. The stupid moron!
It felt incredible to finally take his fate back into his own hands. There would be no more uncertainty about the future. He was due the pay-off on the sacrifice he’d made years ago, and he could smell that it was getting close now.
He looked in the back at their bargaining chip. The girl was resting, still knocked out from the rag soaked in chloroform he’d put over her face. All it took was one swift thrust and he had her in the van. She’d barely let out a yelp before the side door closed and his friend was pulling them away from the curb. No one on the street seemed to pay them any attention. Even if some do-gooder had, they’d be long gone before anything could have been done to stop them anyway. And the plates were blacked out. He punched Dennis playfully in the shoulder. “I’ve got such a good feeling about this.”
“Not me.” Dennis glanced at him from the driver’s seat as he drove them to their holding spot. It was a location far away from the posh Washington suburb of Georgetown where they had snatched the girl.
“Nah, no need, man. It’s all going according to plan.” Lonnie leaned back against the headrest and shut his eyes but was jolted awake not long later by some ruts in the road. Only it wasn’t the road but the mouth of the parking lot. They’d arrived at their destination. He must have drifted off to sleep, but he was certainly wide awake now.
Dennis stopped at the locked gate, and Lonnie hopped from the van with a pair of bolt cutters. He used them to snap the chain securing the gate and opened it. His friend drove through, and Lonnie swung the gate shut again behind them. He put a new padlock on to secure the gate. At quick glance, should anyone even care, they’d think the place was still locked up tight.
He hopped back into the passenger seat. “See? What did I tell you? Nothing to worry about at all.”
Dennis bobbed his head. He was such a mindless idiot. He was never diagnosed with a mental illness, but Lonnie wagered he’d been struck by his mother hard and often enough to cause permanent damage. That, and the drugs took care of the rest.
They drove around the back of the building, and Dennis cut the engine. No one would see the van from the road if they happened to drive by, but this area had little to no traffic. That was just one reason he had selected it for lying low. Another was any connection to him was barely a thread.
Dennis got the door unlocked and signaled they were in. He popped back a thumbs-up and opened the rear door of the van.
The girl flew out, all hair and limbs, and jumped him.
Lonnie was pushed backward and slammed to the ground. “You little bitch.” All he saw was red, and he grabbed her upper arms and flipped her over.
She screamed. He laughed.
“No one’s going to hear you, sweetheart. It’s just me and my friend to keep you company.”
She was squirming beneath him and spit in his eyes.
He cried out and released his grip, just long enough that the girl squirmed free and was now running through the lot yelling.
“What the—” Dennis came out of the building and was looking after her retreating form.
“Don’t just stand there!” Lonnie scrambled to his feet and took pursuit. But it seemed his friend finally shook his coma and kicked into action. He was dumb but physically fast. It was an advantage to his long, lean frame. He caught up to the girl and got a hold of her.
“Let go of me!” The girl jerked her upper torso trying to shake free but to no avail.
Lonnie caught up to them and put his nose to within an inch of hers. “Try anything like that again, princess, and I’ll kill you with my bare hands.” He laid the chloroform rag over her face, and she dropped like a lifeless puppet in his friend’s arms.