She blew out a breath. “Well, at least we know she’s alive.”
“Yes. At least we know that. For now. The punishment comment scares me just about more than anything.”
The last ambulance pulled away from the back of the house, and Blake watched it go as the coroner pulled in. Sickness coiled in his belly at the thought of Rachel in the hands of the monsters who thought life was something to be bought and sold—or simply ended. The very idea infuriated him and made him want to smash someone’s face. But he’d settle for simply stopping them and having Rachel home safe. “I’ve got to find her.”
“I know,” Chloe said. She squeezed his forearm. “Let’s go.”
With his hands shoved in his front pockets, he shook his head. “How did they know where she was? What tipped them off that she was at the store?”
Chloe placed a hand on his arm and curled her fingers around it. Now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off, the cold was seeping through her coat. Sweat and a cold breeze mixing together produced a massive shudder. She led him to the officer’s patrol car—the one who’d driven alongside them. “I don’t know. Could have been a fluke thing. Could have been someone was watching the area and spotted her.”
“But who?”
“No telling.” She tilted her head. “Linc and the other agents—as well as the local officers—will make sure everyone who was in the store at the time is interviewed, but you know it could have been someone outside, someone who never set foot in the store, who saw her go in.”
“True.”
“For now, why don’t we grab some food, go over what we know, what we don’t know, and what we can do with what we know.”
He blinked. “Huh?”
“Let’s eat and talk.”
“Right.” Blake drew in a deep breath. “I just realized I really am back at square one. No one knows Rachel is missing. Really missing. Except you and the team here. And I can’t let on that she is. Which means I have to work tomorrow.”
“Or call in.”
“No. I did that today.” He ran a hand down the side of his face. “They’re watching me. They’re watching the judge. If I stay home, they’ll know and it might make them mad. And if I make them mad, they may take it out on Rachel.”
“Right.” They climbed into the back of the cruiser. With Hank against the door, that left Chloe in the middle. Blake took up the rest of the back seat, his right leg snugged up to her left. She tried to inch over closer to Hank, but it wasn’t like he was the size of a schnauzer or something. Blake raised a brow at her and she flushed. She didn’t mind being this close to him. Didn’t mind at all. But Rachel was missing.
Officer Monroe headed back to the store.
“Six miles,” he said. “That’s impressive. Not just the fact that y’all practically ran the whole way, but that Hank there was able to track backwards. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dog do that before.”
Chloe allowed a smile to curve her lips and scratched Hank’s ears. “Just one of the many exercises that we’ve trained on over the last couple of years. Today the conditions couldn’t have been more perfect for it.” Although, they’d trained in less-than-ideal conditions as well. “He’s a special guy for sure.” Her mind flashed to Jordan Crestwood and she grimaced. Too bad she couldn’t seem to fall for a special two-legged male as easily as she’d fallen for Hank. Then again, Hank had never ditched her for another woman. Or made her feel less of a woman because of her profession.
The painful memories settled themselves right in the middle of her heart and she blinked. Why was she thinking about that now? Her gaze slid to the man at her left. Blake MacCallum. She had a feeling he’d never treat a woman the way Jordan had.
Then again, it didn’t matter. Right now, the focus was Rachel and the human traffickers. Not her romantic baggage.
Officer Monroe pulled into the parking lot of the gas station and rolled up next to Chloe’s SUV. “Thanks for the ride back,” she said.
“Anytime. I’d love to stay updated on this.”
“Of course. Text me your number. I’ll give you an update when we find her.” Once Chloe had the man’s number in her phone, she waited for Blake to exit the vehicle and she followed, clutching Hank’s leash.
When they were settled in her Tahoe with Hank in his area, Blake let out a low breath. “Well. That was a bust.”
“Yes, for Rachel. But because of her, we found two girls alive, who, if they make it, will owe their lives to her.”
He paused, then gave a slow nod. “I guess that’s a really good way to look at it.”
“It’s the only way to look at it.” She caught him looking at her from the corner of his eye. “What?”
“What happened with you and Crestwood?”
“Huh . . . what?” Where had that come from?
“I need to think about something else. So . . . he hurt you.”
“Um. Yes, he sure did. Not physically, but definitely emotionally.” Why did he want to talk about that?
“Why?”
She gave a humorless laugh and started the vehicle. “I don’t know why. I guess because he found someone he liked better than me.” She pulled out of the lot and made a left. They had about a thirty-minute ride back to the office where he’d left his vehicle.
“I know the feeling.”
“Your wife?”
“Yes.”
“Right. I heard.”
He sighed. “Linc?”
“Yes. He wasn’t gossiping,” she hurried to say, “just mentioned you’d gotten a lousy deal, especially when it came to sharing custody with your ex.”
“It was lousy, all right.” He fell silent for a few moments before clearing his throat. “So, any word on our artist friend, Mr. Wright?”
“Nothing that I’ve heard. Been a little busy.”
“Right. He’s next on the list, though.”
“Someone is tracking him down, I’m sure. Why don’t you check with David? It looks like he and Annie are working together now, so nothing will fall through the cracks with all of us investigating and going in different directions.”
Blake dialed David’s number and put it on speaker.
“David here.”
“Hey, it’s Blake, any information on the whereabouts of Ethan Wright?”
“His last known address was vacant. Looks like they tore down the apartment building to put up a grocery store six months ago. We’re still working on it on this end, but as soon as we locate him, you’ll know.”
“Perfect. Talk to you soon.”
“Sooner rather than later, I hope.”
“Yeah,” Blake said, “me too.”
Rachel woke slowly, awareness of the cold hitting her first. She was so tired of being cold. Voices reached her and memory returned. Fear clawed at her, but fury burned bright. A soul-deep anger at the people who had no respect for human life—and at herself for getting caught. She’d been so close.
She refused to open her eyes. Not yet. Let them think she was still unconscious. She wished she was. After she’d awakened the first time, they’d forced her to make that awful call to her father. And then they’d sprayed her again. Afraid she would cause them trouble, no doubt.
They were right to be afraid.
While she lay there, she engaged her senses and took inventory. When she’d called her father, she’d been in the back of a large van. After knocking her out, they must have moved her here. The question was, where was here?
The room was cold, but there was a mattress beneath her. And a thin blanket over her shoulders. So she wasn’t in a cage. That was only a slight comfort, but she’d take comfort where she could.
“. . . got her back. Now we’re in business again. He’ll kill the judge or she dies. Simple.” A voice she didn’t recognize.
“Not simple. If you kill her, that’s good money down the tubes.” A voice that sounded familiar. “Have you taken a good look at her? You know as well as I do this business is all about the looks. She’s magazine-worthy gorgeous and she’s never been touched. Top-dollar goods there.”
“Who’s going to buy her with the medical issues?”
“I’ve got someone in mind.”