Page 28 of Secrets Beneath the Waves

“You gonna be there?” Definitely Drew Chamberlain. Whoever he was talking to, they didn’t bother exchanging pleasantries.

“I’m here now. Where are you?”

Drew said, “I’ll be there in five.”

The line went dead.

Zeyla shook her head. “Well, that was revelatory.”

“I guess we’re following him until we find out what he’s got going on tonight because first thing tomorrow morning, the cops are going to be all over him.” Ramon stayed back like last time, but now a little farther, given that this man had seen both of their faces and their car. With a five-minute deadline, it didn’ttake long before Drew pulled into a closed-down store parking lot.

The firefighter parked alongside another car, got out, and climbed in the passenger side. A second later, the car—a white sedan—headed out.

“I think we can get close enough to get the license plate.”

“Hang on, Drew is texting now. Asking someone else to confirm the delivery location.”

Ramon said, “Delivery of what?”

Zeyla looked up from the phone screen. “The reply just says,The house on Williamsburg.”

Ramon eased off the gas a little and hung back even farther as traffic started to grow sparser. After a few seconds, he shut off his headlights so the driver up ahead wouldn’t know there was someone behind him. The streets were lined with houses set back from the road, some with fenced front yards and several had cows or other animals. He spotted a couple of rusted-out vehicles in one front yard and an old RV for sale.

Up ahead, Drew’s buddy hit the brakes and slowed down.

Ramon pulled off to the side of the road, stopping where he could see the vehicle. It waited alongside the road until a car traveling in the opposite direction passed them. The driver was clearly in some kind of distress. The car swerved and jerked around on the road. Drew and his buddy got out of their car and jogged across the road, catching up to the car just as soon as it slowed.

It was barely stopped before they had the doors open.

Ramon watched Drew haul a limp body from the driver’s seat. “They’re kidnapping her. That’s what the delivery location means. It’s wherever they’re supposed to bring her.”

“You’re armed, right? I reckon we can take both of them.” She grabbed the door handle, and he stopped her before she opened the door and let the interior lights give them away.

“Hang on. If we follow them to where they take her, we can find out who they’re delivering her to and work our way up the chain.”

Zeyla shook her head. “Nope, doesn’t work for me.” She pointed out the car window. “She doesn’t need to be scared for her life even one second longer than necessary.”

“If you rescue her, they get away with this, and whoever is above these guys will pack up shop and start over again somewhere else. We will lose the ability to take them down. It could even cost you your shot at finding this Count of Shadows.”

“We’ll find a way. That girl isn’t going with them.”

Ramon put his hand over hers and held on to it. “We are going to save her. They aren’t going to hurt her. But we need to know who they are working for and where to find them.”

“I’m going to regret this.”

He squeezed her hand, then grabbed the wheel. “Call the police, report a kidnapping at this location so they at least find the car and start looking for her.”

He pulled out and followed the other car, hoping he had made the right decision.

And that his choice wouldn’t cost the young woman her life.

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

Ramon peered at the house,sitting in his car parked across the street. Just a few doors down, far enough that they shouldn’t be seen but not so far that they couldn’t tell what was going on inside.

Vinyl siding on a single-story structure. One in a row that all looked almost identical, thanks to the economical builder this subdivision hired to create all their floor plans and construct houses that were great starter homes but had no personality. Most of the houses had cars in the driveways this late at night, but Drew and his buddy had pulled all the way into the garage.