“But you can’t deny it worked to root out the traitor in my life. Barrington will pay for what he’s done!” Eldridge hammered the tabletop with a stiff fist. Then, his expression softening, he added, “And it’s proven to me the strength of the family bonds that I’d doubted.”
“So the ends justify the means to you?” Reid shook his head. “Our pain and stress and worry over the last six months mean nothing to you?”
Eldridge frowned. “I won’t keep apologizing for that.”
“You’ve apologized to me but you still have to ask your wife and the rest of the family for forgiveness.”
“Well, but...all’s well that ends—”
“Don’t!” Reid dug in his pocket for enough money to cover the food and a generous tip and slapped it on the table. “If all you’ve got left for me are trite expressions, then we’re done here. Come home or don’t. I don’t care. But Whitney will know you’re alive and where you’re living. She deserves that. I’ll give you until Christmas Eve to call her or show up at the ranch for yourself. Then I’m telling her what I know.” He slid out of the booth and strode toward the exit.
“Reid!” his father called after him, but he didn’t stop. He’d heard enough. When he reached the sidewalk outside the greasy spoon, he paused long enough to check his messages on his cell phone. He had three. He frowned at the number. Having three messages wasn’t uncommon under ordinary circumstances, but only a couple of people had the number for this burner cell.
A tingle of alarm pinched the nape of his neck as he quickly went through all the prompts to replay his messages. The first was from Pen.
“Reid, it’s me. Nicholas has spiked a high fever and likely has an ear infection.” The panic in her voice heightened his concern. “He needs a doctor, and I couldn’t wait for you to return. I’m sorry, but my baby needs help. I’ve taken my Explorer and am headed to his pediatrician. Call my old cell when you get this message.”
“Damn it!” he groused, not just because Nicholas was sick, but because Pen had taken it upon herself to leave the safety of his lake house to get him medical attention. Then the rest of her message sank in, and he cursed again, louder and more profanely. Call her old cell? That was the number he didn’t recognize and had ignored while he was meeting with Eldridge. A number that Hugh Barrington knew. A number that was almost certainly being watched so Pen’s location could be tracked.
“Reid, wait.” Catching up to Reid, Eldridge shuffled out to the sidewalk.
“Save it, old man. I have an emergency,” he said in a rush even as the next message started. “Penelope’s compromised her location, and Barrington’s men will have a head start in finding her.”
He ran to the Range Rover with the phone pressed to his ear. He didn’t recognize the wheezing voice at first, but the words sent ice to his core. He stumbled to a stop, checked his phone for the list of calls received and spotted Fowler’s number. Fowler—who had agreed to approach Barrington in an attempt to extract a confession from Barrington. Fowler—his hotheaded, self-righteous half brother who had about as much tact as a warthog.
He replayed the message, his anxiety ratcheting up. Fowler had been shot. Barrington was on the run. And Hugh’s thugs had Penelope.
“Hell!” he bit out as he whipped out of the parking lot and raced to save the woman he loved.
*
Numb with shock, Zane tapped the disconnect icon on his phone and lifted a stunned gaze to Mirabella, who sat on the edge of their bed.
His wife’s face was drawn and pale. “What did he say? Zane?”
“Reid found Eldridge. He’s alive.”
She flashed a tremulous smile. “But that’s good, right? Why are you—?”
“There’s more.” Shaking himself from his daze, he told her everything Reid had said in the brief call as he shoved his feet in his boots and found his gun.
Barrington. Fowler. Penelope.
She pressed a hand to her mouth in dismay. “Good Lord, Zane. What if—”
He pressed a kiss to her mouth and turned to leave. “Stay here. You don’t need the stress on the baby. Call Alanna and get her to the hospital to find Fowler. I’m going to help T.C. catch Barrington before he leaves the country.”
*
During his years as a detective with the police department, Reid had faced numerous emergency situations. He’d been trained to detach his emotions and apply his training to every crisis. But he’d never had high personal stakes at risk during those events.
He did now. The very thought of Nicholas and Penelope in the hands of hired killers made his blood run cold. He had to fight the panic roiling inside him as he drove, scrambling mentally for his plan of action. All he knew was that Fowler claimed Hugh’s men had her. But where?
Pen’s message had said she was taking Nicholas to the doctor. Had she made it to the doctor? Had the men intercepted her at the lake house? Had...?
His heartbeat tripped. The lake house. The safe place he’d set up for emergencies...had security cameras throughout.
He pulled to the side of the road and, with hands shaking from adrenaline, dug out his cell phone and brought up the application that gave him access to the cameras at the lake house.
He opened the window for the black-and-white images of the camera feed and swiped from one view to the next. Nothing outside, nothing in the master bedroom, nothing in the garage...
His chest constricted and a four-letter word wheezed from his lungs when he opened the first living-room view. Pen sat on the couch holding Nicholas, while two—no, three men—stood around her in various positions in the room.
He tossed the phone aside and pulled back on the highway. Well, at least he knew where he was going. He placed a call to 911 and gave them the address of the lake house, describing the landmarks for the obscure dirt road that led to his property. Then disconnecting, he punched the gas pedal and raced toward his breached hideaway.
*