Page 14

14

W aiting was agonizing. Libby tried not to stare at her watch but couldn’t seem to help herself. Each minute ticked by with excruciating slowness. To the point she’d wondered if the stupid watch was broken.

Only once a five full minutes had passed was she convinced time hadn’t stood still.

After Shane and Bryce had disappeared into the woods, she’d strained to listen, hoping to hear their path as much as possible. The rustling movements were somewhat reassuring.

But now the woods were eerily silent, leaving her imagination to run wild. Had Shane missed the house? Found the place empty and abandoned? Or had he been caught by the bad guys?

She paced a path along the length of the SUV. No, she couldn’t believe Shane had been caught. Not with Bryce on guard. The dog would alert him to danger, so she quickly pushed that possibility aside. Most likely, Shane was taking his time, creeping up to the house in silence. He’d find what they needed.

And if he didn’t? She couldn’t bear to consider that alternative. They needed to find something related to her grandfather’s disappearance. She didn’t want to consider the fact that she’d risked being fired from her job for nothing.

Not only that, but where would they go from here? They had no idea who else could be involved? Aside of the bad guy who was back at her grandfather’s cabin right now, digging away in the cellar. Not just one of them , she thought with a frown. Two or more .

Whoever these guys were, they’d fired at them specifically to drive her and Shane away so they could freely access the money.

Maybe they’d even gotten closer to unburying the stolen loot than she and Shane had realized.

Again, she shook off the depressing thoughts. She glanced at her watch again and winced. Only ten minutes left of Shane’s designated time frame left to go.

The silence was unnerving. Yet she also knew she wouldn’t hear Bryce alert, not after the way Shane had used the hand signal to be silent. The Sullivan K9s were extremely well trained if a dog like Bryce could learn not to bark in specific situations. That was something she’d never have believed if she hadn’t seen it for herself.

She paced again as the minutes ticked past.

And when she was forced to acknowledge the designated thirty minutes had passed, Libby knew she wasn’t going anywhere. Not yet.

Not without Shane, Bryce, and her grandfather.

What should she do? Shane had wanted her to find his siblings. Silently agreeing that was a good place to start, she pulled out her phone and sent a text message to Alexis. This is Libby. How close are you to the Engler property?

Three little dots emerged on the screen, indicating Alexis was typing a reply. Then Libby’s screen lit up. Roughly 20 minutes. What’s up?

Nothing to worry about. See you soon. Libby sent the text, then slipped her phone back into her pocket. Passing the burden of her concern over the length of time Shane had been gone onto his siblings wasn’t fair. She had no reason to believe he was hurt or in harm’s way.

Just the opposite. The seemingly never-ending silence in the woods made her think Shane was still making his way to the property. No doubt navigating the thickly wooded terrain was taking him longer than he’d anticipated.

Or so she told herself. Better to think that than to imagine he’d gotten into a bind.

She rolled her head from side to side, trying to ease the tension that had settled between her shoulder blades. Another minute passed, making her wince. Maybe she should have taken the SUV and headed out to meet with Alexis and Joel the way Shane had asked her to.

Her phone buzzed again. She pulled out her phone, expecting to see a reply from Alexis, but instead, the message was from Shane.

I found him.

Her grandfather! Thank you, Lord Jesus! Libby lifted her gaze to the heavens above, thanking God for protecting her grandfather and guiding Shane to find him. Then she quickly typed a reply. Can he walk? Or should I come to ? —

“Drop the phone.”

The command came out of nowhere. Libby whirled and swept her gaze over the area. A tall man with reddish hair stepped out from the trees.

The lethal-looking gun in his hand was pointed directly at her chest.

“Drop it,” he repeated in a flat tone. “And keep your hands where I can see them. Don’t give me a reason to shoot.”

“Why would you want to kill me?” Libby didn’t dare ignore his order, so she purposefully held the phone out to her side and let it drop to the ground. Then she held both of her hands up at waist height, palms forward. “I don’t care about the money. I just want my grandfather back.”

“Yeah, sure.” He sneered. “I’m not falling for that.”

She hadn’t anticipated men governed by greed wouldn’t understand people who weren’t cut from the same cloth. She couldn’t help lashing out at him. “I’m not kidding! Take all the money. All of it!” She tried to rein in the sheer desperation that gripped her by the throat. “Bring me my grandfather, and we’ll move away. Out of state. Somewhere so far from here you’ll never see or hear from us again.”

“Where’s your boyfriend and his dog?” The abrupt change in topic caught her off guard. “Get him here now!”

Libby was frozen by indecision. She didn’t want this guy to know Shane was right now at the house where her grandfather was being held. The glint of her phone screen caught her eye. She quickly gestured to it. “Okay, fine. I’ll call him. Just give me the chance to use my phone.”

“No, I have a better idea.” The man with reddish hair stepped closer. His brown eyes were tinged with malice. “Scream. Nice and loud. That will bring him running.”

No! She couldn’t!

“Do it!” he snapped. Then he lowered the muzzle of the gun so that it was pointed at her feet. “Shooting your foot will do the trick, don’t you agree? I hear it’s incredibly painful.”

Libby didn’t doubt for one minute that this thug would follow through on his vile threat. But that didn’t mean she was going down without a fight. She lifted her chin, meeting his gaze straight on. “Okay, you want me to scream? Here goes.” She drew in a deep breath, then shouted as loudly as possible, “Shane, don’t come back!”

The gunman scowled. “I’ll show you...” he growled.

Without waiting for him to finish, she dove to the left, trying to seek shelter behind the SUV. The move was only a temporary reprieve, but she couldn’t come up with anything better. She landed on the ground hard enough to make her teeth rattle. Tucking herself into a ball, she rolled closer to the SUV. It took her a moment to remember she was wearing a vest.

Not that she was eager to test out the effectiveness of the thing. Remembering what Shane had said about bullets striking a vest causing internal bleeding convinced her it would be better to avoid being shot at all.

Still, it was strange the gunman hadn’t noticed. Unless he hadn’t much cared. For all she knew, bullets fired at close range could still get through.

“You think that’s funny?” Crack! She flinched and curled herself into a tighter ball as he fired the gun. “Take this.” Crack! “And this!” Crack! “There, are you happy now?” Crack!

Her heart was pounding so fast she thought it would have burst free of her chest. Yet oddly, she didn’t feel any pain.

Lifting her head just a bit, she realized what he’d done. All four tires of the SUV were flat, having been punctured by the four bullets he’d fired.

What little defiance she’d had deflated much like the air from the tires. There was no way to escape the gunman now.

Worse, Libby knew that if she and Shane died here today, it was her fault for not leaving at the thirty-minute mark like she’d been told.

All she could do now was to pray.

Lord Jesus, protect us all!

* * *

Libby’s shouting at him to stay away sent a shaft of fear spearing through him. Especially when her shout was punctuated by four sharp gunshots.

He’d already ducked away from the house. He’d waved at the window for a full minute before he’d gotten Marvin’s attention. The older man’s expression had brightened with hope, but the expression didn’t last long as he lifted his bound hands together as a way to explain why he hadn’t tried to escape.

Shane had nodded and moved back toward the trees, hoping to regroup long enough to come up with a plan to get Marvin out of the house.

Until Libby’s scream had indicated the situation had changed.

Libby wasn’t armed, so someone else was there firing the gun. Not at her , he silently pleaded. Please, Lord, not at Libby!

The sound of a door opening caught his attention. Realizing the woman must have come outside in response to the gunfire, he darted through the woods for a better look. He had to assume she was armed the way most women in these parts could hold their own when it came to weapons.

But she wasn’t!

“Get her!” he commanded Bryce.

The dog shot forward, moving so quietly that he was on the woman before she understood what was happening. She let out a cry when Bryce jumped up, planting his front paws on her chest. The weight of the hundred-pound dog striking with the force of a freight train bowled her over.

Shane ran forward. “Good boy! Hold, Bryce. Hold!”

Bryce stayed where he was, growling low in his throat, his snout mere inches from the woman’s nose. Shane knelt beside her, doing a quick pat down to ensure she didn’t have a knife or a gun tucked away.

“Release, Bryce. Release.”

The dog almost looked disappointed but backed off the woman as ordered. Shane held his weapon trained on her. “Get up and walk inside. Nice and slow. Or I’ll sic Bryce on you again.”

“You—can’t barge in here,” she sputtered.

“Yes, I can. That’s Marvin Tolliver you have tied up in the third bedroom.” Shane gave her a not-so-gentle nudge with his foot. “Get up!”

“Okay, okay.” She rolled onto her hands and knees, then rose to her feet. Her bun hung at a lopsided angle from the force of her hitting the ground. Bryce stayed at his side in the heel position as he followed the woman inside.

“Sit down.” He gestured to the chair. The woman gingerly sat, as if her body hurt from the tumble. “Guard, Bryce.”

Bryce trotted over and then dropped into a tall sitting position directly in front of her. The woman reared back, as if fearing he’d lunge forward. Bryce simply sat there, staring up at her, clearly waiting for his next command.

“Don’t move or I’ll order him to attack.” It was mostly an empty threat, but there wasn’t time to waste. Shane darted into the bedroom where Marvin Tolliver waited. He pulled his knife and quickly slit through the twine around his wrists.

“Wh-who are you?” Marvin stammered.

“Shane Sullivan and I’m here with my K9, Bryce.” He helped the older man to his feet. “There isn’t time to explain everything. We need to move. Libby is in trouble.”

“My fault.” Distress filled Marvin’s eyes. “It’s all my fault!”

“We know about the robbery. Can you walk?” Shane debated leaving the old man here so that he could get to Libby. “Come on, we need to hurry.”

“Yes. I can walk.” He had to admire the older man’s determination.

Shane picked up the twine he’d cut from Marvin’s wrists and carried it to the kitchen. The woman he assumed was Engler’s wife was sitting as far back in the chair as possible, shaking with fear. He’d feel guilty about scaring her, if not for the fact that she was involved in this up to her neck.

It didn’t take him long to bind her wrists together. “Get back, Bryce,” he commanded. “Get back.”

The dog stood and backed away from the chair, although Bryce’s dark eyes continued watching his quarry. If she tried anything, Bryce would be back on her in a heartbeat.

Marvin had helped himself to a drink of water as he’d worked. He had no idea how much food or water they’d provided the older man, and that concerned him.

“You okay?” Shane asked.

“I’ll make it. Let’s go.” Marvin wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

“Come, Bryce.” Shane headed back outside with Bryce and Marvin following behind. He wanted to rush toward the SUV but knew it was likely the gunman was holding Libby hostage.

Shane grimly hoped it wouldn’t come down to a demand to give one hostage up for another. Because if he was put in that position, he’d want to protect Libby at all costs.

Yet sacrificing Marvin meant Libby would never forgive him.

“This way.” He tugged Marvin’s arm so that they were heading into the woods but at an angle that would take them closer to the road. The best way to avoid the hostage swap was to minimize the options.

He urged Marvin toward a cluster of trees. The old man was breathing heavily, and they’d barely gone twenty yards.

Not good. Shane gently pushed the older man to the ground. “Sit for a minute.”

Marvin shook his head stubbornly. “We have to find Libby.”

“I know where she is.” Or so he hoped. “Listen, I need you to be strong, okay?” He held Marvin’s gaze. “Eagle’s Way Road isn’t too far from here. Head due south and you’ll walk right into it.”

“That’s where Libby is?” Marvin’s expression was hopeful. So much so that he hated to disappoint the guy.

“Not exactly.” He offered a reassuring smile. “But my siblings Alexis and Joel are on their way. Just wait for them at the road, okay? I’ll take Bryce to find Libby.”

Realization finally dawned. “You want me out of the way.”

“Yes, I do.” Shane wasn’t going to lie. “And just as important, I want you to be safe. So please, move at your own pace through the trees until you reach the road. Then find a spot to stay well hidden until you see the two K9 SUVs. You’ll be able to see the crates in the back for their respective dogs. Run out into the road and wave them down. Understand?”

“Yes.” Marvin waved a hand. “Go. Hurry!”

“Come, Bryce.” Shane squelched a flash of guilt at leaving Marvin to make his own way out of there. As he moved quickly through the woods in a parallel path toward the SUV, he was hit by a fresh wave of fear over Libby’s fate.

He couldn’t bring himself to think the worst. Much the way Libby had clung to hope regarding her grandfather still being alive, he did the same thing now.

With his compass as a guide, he traversed the wooded land as quickly yet silently as possible. When he heard voices, he froze and gave Bryce the hand signal to stop.

“Scream, for real this time,” a deep voice said.

“There’s no point.” Libby sounded exhausted. “Shane must be far away from here, or he’d have come running at the sound of gunfire.”

Hearing Libby’s sweet voice brought a wave of relief that made his knees go weak. She was alive!

Shane drew in a slow, steady breath and tried to come up with a plan. Despite how he’d sent Marvin to the road to meet his siblings, he honestly didn’t think Alexis and Joel would get there in time to be of help.

He and Bryce would have to figure this out on their own.

“You think you’re so smart?” The low, harsh voice abruptly changed. “If you’re out there, Shane, you have exactly sixty seconds to show yourself. If you don’t, I’ll plant bullets where they’ll hurt her without killing her outright. Do you hear me?” The last four words were thundered so loudly Shane was pretty sure half the mountainside could have heard them.

Including Marvin? He hoped not.

He edged closer, trying to figure out where the gunman was standing.

“Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven...” The countdown had begun.

He continued moving through the trees, keeping Bryce in the heel position at his side. If he had no choice but to show himself, he wouldn’t bring his dog.

“Forty-eight, forty-seven, forty-six,” the calm voice continued.

There was no point in dragging this all the way out. Shane couldn’t see the bad guy through the trees, but he could see the glint of sunlight bouncing off the windshield. He figured the gunman must have been using the SUV for cover while keeping Libby glued to his side.

“Okay! I’m coming! Don’t shoot!” Shane thought he heard Libby gasp. “I’m coming! There’s no reason to hurt her.”

“Oh, there’s every reason,” the male voice said. “You and your girlfriend have been thorns in our side long enough.”

Shane gave Bryce the command hand signal to stay, tucked the gun in the small of his back, then quickly ran from the woods into the clearing near the SUV with his hands up so the gunman would assume he wasn’t armed. His heart sank when he realized the vehicle was sitting low to the ground because all four tires were flat.

Four shots, four tires , he thought with a sigh. “I’m here. Where’s Libby?”

The gunman finally pushed Libby out from behind the SUV so that Shane could see her. He raked his gaze over her, grateful he didn’t see any blood. Her gaze was full of remorse, so he offered a reassuring smile. “Are you okay? He hasn’t hurt you?”

“I told you to stay back.” She winced when the gunman’s hand tightened painfully around her upper arm.

“Shut up.” The gunman pointed his weapon at Shane. “Where’s the dog?”

Shane arched a brow. “Your gunfire spooked him. He took off into the woods. I doubt he’ll be back anytime soon.”

The gunman stared at him for a long second. “If I find out you’re lying, I’ll track the dog down and kill him myself.”

“Hey, you’re the one who fired four shots in a row.” Shane jerked his thumb toward the SUV. “Overkill, don’t you think?”

“Shut up!” Clearly the red-haired man was losing his patience. Shane stared at the guy, struck by an odd sense of familiarity. He didn’t remember ever meeting the guy before or seeing him, as he’d never gotten a good look at the shooter’s face. Still, there was something about him that niggled at the back of his mind. “Start walking.”

“And go where?” Shane didn’t want to turn around lest the gunman notice the gun he had tucked into the small of his back. The guy was too close to Libby for him to make a move, so he tried to stall for more time. “We don’t know our way around in these woods.”

“That’s the point.” The guy flashed him a wow-you’re-so-stupid look. “Now! I’m done playing around.”

“Okay, okay.” Shane took several steps to the side. When the red-haired guy scowled, he stumbled on purpose, lifting both his hands in a gesture meant to calm the guy down. “Sorry. I’m just nervous.”

“I shoulda got rid of you both a long time ago,” red-haired guy muttered. For the first time since Shane had walked into the clearing, the guy allowed the gun in his hand to dip toward the ground.

It was the break he’d needed. Granted, the situation was far from ideal, but he didn’t hesitate to give Bryce the hand signal for attack. Like a streak of lightning, his tan and brown German shepherd bolted from the woods making a beeline for the gunman. Because Bryce had moved so silently, it took a moment for the red-haired guy to register what was happening. But not for long. The guy let out a grunt and quickly brought the business end of his gun up, aiming at Bryce.

Shane grabbed his weapon, knowing he was going to be too late. But then Libby threw herself at the red-haired man, thrusting his gun hand upward just as he pulled the trigger. “No! she shouted.

“Look out!” Shane desperately needed Libby to get out of the way. He finally had his weapon in hand but couldn’t take a shot. Bryce launched himself at the red-haired guy, his front paws planted squarely on his chest, but with Libby so close, the three of them ended up on the ground in a tangle of limbs, the gun, and Bryce’s sharp teeth.

“Owww, get him off!” the red-haired guy screamed.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was only a few seconds, Libby rolled away, cradling her wrist in her hand. He caught a glimpse of blood but forced himself to stay focused on the gunman.

“Get him off!” the guy screamed again.

Shane rushed forward, relieved to see that Bryce had clamped his jaw around the guy’s gun hand. He leaned in and quickly wrenched the gun free.

“Hold, Bryce. Hold.” Now that he had the bad guy’s weapon, he turned toward Libby. “Are you okay? I saw you were bleeding.”

“Fine. Just a scratch.” Her smile was weak. “I know he didn’t mean to bite me on purpose. Bryce just happens to have really sharp teeth.”

He remembered how she’d been afraid of his imposing K9 the first time they’d met. The good news was that she didn’t look too upset. He wished he’d thought to bring additional rope from the house, but there hadn’t been time. He backed up a few steps, then said, “Release, Bryce. Release.”

The dog let go of the red-haired man’s arm and backed up. But the way Bryce stared at the red-haired guy indicated the dog viewed him as a threat. “Don’t try anything or I’ll have him attack again. Only this time I’ll make sure he grabs your neck with his teeth.”

The red-haired guy scrambled backward across the ground, as if desperate to put distance between them.

“Guard, Bryce,” Shane said firmly. “Guard.”

Bryce stood in front of the red-haired guy, his unblinking gaze zeroed in on the bad guy’s face. The look of fear in the bad guy’s features provided a grim satisfaction.

“Where’s my grandfather?” Libby pinned Shane with an anxious gaze. “Is he okay?”

“I’m here, Libby.” To Shane’s shock, Marvin’s voice came from the side of the SUV closest to the road.

“Are you hurt, Marvin?” Shane didn’t dare take his gaze from the red-haired guy in case this was some sort of trick. “Why didn’t you go to the road the way I asked?”

“Because it’s my fault.” Marvin sounded incredibly weary. “And I needed to make sure Libby and Aaron didn’t hurt each other.”

“Aaron?” It took a moment for him to realize Marvin knew his kidnappers by name. Which shouldn’t have surprised him, considering Libby’s grandfather had obviously known his accomplices back when they committed the armored truck robbery in the first place.

“Aaron and Archer are my sister’s twin grandsons,” Marvin said. “And they’re here because they want the money.”

His sister? Shane understood then that Aaron and Archer were Libby’s second cousins.