George picked up on the second ring, and was dead silent as Chad filled him in on the situation. He didn’t have time for long explanations – he had to locate Bree and ensure her safe return.
“I need a ride now. I have a plan,” Chad said with authority in his tone.
“You’ll have a ride in twenty minutes,” George said before disconnecting the line. Chad laid his head against the back of the seat and waited for his ride, frustration radiating from him.
“Sir, sir, are you okay?” A woman questioned as she slowly approached.
Chad turned his head and looked at her fear filled eyes. He didn’t have time to reassure the people who were starting to get shakily to their feet. He saw cell phones out and figured the police would be arriving shortly.
The idiots couldn’t open fire in a public place and not expect the police to respond. Chad sat up a little straighter, wondering where the law was. Why hadn’t they already arrived? A chill ran down his spine as he thought about the possibility that maybe Bree’s attacks went much deeper than just a single person stalking her. What if they had police help, or other people of power? He was going to get answers and he quickly narrowed his list of those he could trust.
When, not if, but when he got Bree back, he wasn’t letting her out of his sight until he knew exactly who was after her, and they were behind bars. She was vulnerable and he didn’t know how far the ring of outlaws extended.
“I’m fine, check on the other people,” Chad responded, dismissing the woman as harmless.
“But… you… you were shot,” she stuttered as if he didn’t know a bullet had passed through him. In actuality, he’d almost forgotten about the wound. He’d been hurt much worse in far more dangerous places, with many scars to prove it.
“I’m fine,” he snapped. He didn’t like being cold but he wanted her gone. He had a rescue to think about and didn’t feel like making small talk.
Her face blanched at his tone and she quickly ran away. Several heads turned his way, but no one else approached, taking the hint that he didn’t need, nor want help.
Twenty minutes later he wasn’t surprised to hear the sound of chopper blades as the Anderson Helicopter landed in a patch of grass a couple dozen yards from him. Mark jumped out and rushed to him.
“We’ve got a doctor on standby at my Dad’s place. Let’s get you fixed up so we can figure out where they’ve taken Bree and then bring her home,” Mark said, not taking any time for a reunion. Chad appreciated it – he didn’t need to make small talk.
By the time the chopper landed fifteen minutes later on the lawn behind the Anderson mansion, Chad was filled with unbelievable rage. The longer he thought about those idiots placing their hands on Bree, the more he felt the need to smash something.
The two men stepped inside the mansion and Chad rolled his eyes as he looked around the room. Her entire family was there, wearing varying expression, ranging from worry to anger to guilt. He knew how they felt. He was beating himself up inside – she never should’ve been captured.
“Sit down, Chad. We need to look at that arm,” Joseph said as he led him to a chair with a medical table set up next to it. An older gentleman immediately cut his shirt off and started poking at his arm, sending white hot fire down to the tips of his toes. The wound hadn’t bothered him until the damn man poured his so called medicine over it. Chad tuned the doctor out, ignored the pain and instead focused on George, who looked about ten year’s older right then.
Questions started flying and Chad waited a moment before he told them the story. Every set of eyes was focused on him as he pushed the words past his tight lips. He needed a computer, but it was simpler to explain the situation, than demand access to the internet. It would save time.
“Take these,” the doctor commanded, handing him a couple pills and a glass of water.
“I don’t need them,” he said while looking the man in the eye. After grumbling about ridiculous men, the doctor put the pills away and left them.
“I need a computer. I gave Bree a gift about a month ago, a necklace. I know she’s been wearing it daily. Inside the locket is a tracking device. I’ll have her location locked down in less than two minutes, then I’m going after her,” Chad announced. Everyone froze, looking at him with varying degrees of shock and respect.
A laptop computer was placed before him and just like he said, he had her location within a couple of minutes. She wasn’t moving, so it looked like the men were already at their destination. Chad frowned as he pulled up a satellite image of the abandoned looking building. It wasn’t going to be easy to sneak up on them, and he feared if they knew he was coming, they would harm her. That wasn’t acceptable.
“I’m going with you,” Trenton insisted.
“You’re not trained, you’ll only slow me down. We can’t waste time, not with Bree in the hands of these men,” Chad replied, knowing there was going to be an argument. The two men stared at each other to see who would back down first.
Finally, Trenton held his hands up and turned to his father. It was either that or the two men were going to end up in a fist fight.
“You talk some sense into him because there’s no way I’m not helping with this. We’re wasting time here. I can’t even begin to think about what these deranged bastards are doing to her.”
“Chad, you know her brothers aren’t going to stand idly by, so why don’t you just tell them what they need to do, give them a crash course in rescue, whatever it is you need from them, because I agree with Trenton. The more of you there are, the greater chance you have of a safe rescue,” George said. He was speaking in a reasonable tone but there was an undercurrent of authority in his voice as well.
“She’s our sister, we’re going,” Austin insisted.
“Okay, but you don’t make a move unless I specifically okay it,” Chad announced.
“To hell with that,” Trenton shouted.
“It’s either that or you can wait here for us to return,” Chad said as he moved so he was standing toe to toe with Trenton. He wasn’t budging an inch and he certainly wasn’t jeopardizing Bree’s safety. What Chad really wanted to do was knock Trenton’s lights out, but he knew it wasn’t the right time to get into a boxing match – no matter how much better it would make him feel.
“Fine,” Trenton conceded.
“We should call the cops,” Amy said as she entered the room. The men turned in her direction. She was pale and her eyes were swollen from the tears she’d shed. “I’ve been trying to convince all of you of that for an hour.”
“We told you, baby, we can’t do that. If the cops rush in, Bree could get hurt. Plus, as Chad explained, we don’t know how far this thing stretches. If these people have cops in their pockets and we notify the authorities, we could be warning them of our arrival. They may figure out Bree has a tracking device on her, remove it, and make it impossible for us to locate her again,” Lucas said as he wrapped his arms around his wife. She shook in his arms as her tears started flowing again. She and Bree had become very close over the years and she was terrified for her friend.
“The cars are ready, sir,” a man said quietly as he stepped into the room. He took a step back as seven huge men turned to stare at him. “The keys are in them,” he finished, then made a hasty retreat.
“Thank you, Armon,” Joseph replied, stress evident in his eyes.
Joseph laid his hand on Chad’s unhurt shoulder and the gesture instantly calmed him. The man seemed to have magic inside, because he’d been able to do the same thing for Chad as he grew up. He could be spitting mad, or feel completely defeated, and the smallest touch from Joseph would somehow ground him.
“Go get your girl back,” Joseph said in a knowing tone. Everyone in the room heard his words and turned to glare at Chad. He ignored them and walked to the front doors. Joseph was right. He didn’t know how or when it had happened, but he did think of Bree as his. He prayed he found her safe and sound so he could figure out where it was all leading.
Bree woke up and the darkness surrounding her nearly sent her over the edge, into panic. She attempted to move, then panicked even more when she realized her arms were tied to something. She struggled for several long minutes, the ropes securing her arms, tearing into her flesh. Finally, the pain was overwhelming and she lay back silently.
Calm down, you have to keep calm, she told herself. She slowly turned her head and looked around the small, dim room. She was tied to an old army cot and no matter how hard she tugged, she knew there was no chance of breaking either the rope or the metal bed. She had to figure out another way to get free.
Taking several deep breaths, Bree strained her ears to see if she could hear anything. Were her attackers nearby? She couldn’t hear a sound. She listened a while longer before giving up. That had to be a good sign. No one was coming after her for at least a few minutes. That gave her time to break free.
She strained her memory to figure out the last thing she remembered. She could recall being in the van with several huge men, then the world going black. They must have chloroformed her. That would explain her raging headache.
She focused on her surroundings. She was in a small room with the windows boarded up. It looked like a house, maybe an abandoned one. She didn’t know her location. Even if she managed to break free, she could be in the middle of a huge farm, for all she knew. She tried not to let hopelessness wash through her. She was an Anderson, and they didn’t give up. Her father would lecture her for years if she were to throw in the towel.
Her wrist throbbed horribly, but the ropes weren’t overly tight. She had nothing but time so she started working on the knots, grateful she could move her hands between the ropes. After what seemed like hours, she was ready to start crying. They weren’t budging. She heard footsteps and froze.
There was a sound like someone inserting a key into a lock, then her door started opening. She made her body lay motionless and shut her eyes.
“How much crap was on that cloth?” someone snapped.
“I don’t know. I just doused it,” another man spoke.
“If she doesn’t wake up, we’re dead. Make sure she’s breathing,” the first voice said. She heard footsteps, then a large hand wrapped around her neck, lying against her chest. She forced herself not to panic and to take deep, even breaths, but it was difficult as the man’s hands lingered too long. When he finally pulled away, his hand slipped across her breasts, making her skin crawl.
“She’s still alive,” the guy snarled, as if he could care less one way or the other.
“Why don’t we try to wake her? I can think of a few ways that could be fun for all of us.” Bree shuddered inwardly and hoped the fear of their boss was great enough for them to leave her be. There was no way she could fight them off in the position she was in.
She fought against shuddering as another hand stroked her body. It took all her strength not to tense as his hands moved over her still form.