Faceless (Sinister Secrets Book 2), page 26
Her breath froze in her lungs. They were getting away! Frankly, she didn’t know why they’d waited so long to leave, but had really hoped her team would arrive in time to stop them.
It looked like they would be too late.
The Coast Guard!
“Can y-y-you contact the Coast Guard? They n-need to f-f-follow that b-boat.”
Ernie reached for the radio as he looked over at the cabin cruiser. “I’ll tell them. You relax and get some warmth back into your bones, you hear?”
She nodded, forcing another sip of the questionable brew.
There was nothing more she could do now. Except hope the Coast Guard came through.
₪ ₪ ₪
Mitch planted his hands on the seat beside him and tried to keep his face impassive.
Had she made it?
There’d been no sign of Kevyn after she jumped into the water. Tio had ordered his men to grab bright spotlights and shine them down into the water, but they hadn’t caught a glimpse of her.
They’d spent several minutes – which had felt like hours – searching around the boat and trying to see under the decking, but there’d been no sign of her.
Her hands had been tied. Was it even possible for her to swim away?
Maybe she’d hit her head when she went in. She might’ve gone straight to the bottom.
His stomach churned.
Whatever had happened to her, it was out of his hands now.
The dim lights from the cabin cast Tio’s face in a cold blue glow. His lips set in a hard line.
Tio had always hated it when things didn’t go according to how he’d planned.
No one tried to speak as the boat bumped along the waters, headed out to sea.
He didn’t know what Tio was thinking or how far they were going on this cruiser. Nor did he know Tio’s plan for how they were going to move all the equipment and gear that hadn’t fit on this vessel.
The days when Tio confided in him seemed to be behind them.
Water sprayed him as they hit a wave, the chill sending a shock through his body.
Kevyn had jumped into that cold water. How long would it take for hypothermia to set in? Had she even been able to move when she hit the water? Or had the cold immobilized her?
It was his fault. If only he’d never gone to see her that night.
His attention went back to Tio.
No. This wasn’t his fault.
It was Tio’s. Tio was the one who’d involved his family. Tio was the one who’d been careless enough to be followed. Tio was the one who’d chosen to abduct her, chosen to bring her.
Heat flooded through him.
His pulse pounded in his ears and his vision tunneled.
Tio. He needed to pay for what he’d done.
For a second, he considered jumping up and pushing Tio overboard. Let him see if he could survive in the cold water that he’d practically forced Kevyn into.
Reason settled his mind.
If he attacked Tio, every man on this vessel would turn on him.
Better to bide his time and wait for the right moment.
Tio would pay. Sooner rather than later.
Twenty-Two
The ambulance was the first thing Dak saw when they pulled into the parking lot.
An ambulance?
Kevyn.
She hadn’t sounded good over the phone, but somehow he hadn’t even thought about her being taken away by ambulance.
SWAT had already arrived and was suiting up in the parking lot. He immediately spotted Pete standing a head above the rest. Caiden poked his head out of the back of the SWAT vehicle and nodded at him.
All the SWAT teams were good, but he especially appreciated knowing Pete and Caiden had his back.
He’d touch base with Kevyn about their destination, but he was reasonably sure she’d point him to the abandoned warehouse that was current on taxes.
It hadn’t taken much research to discover that the warehouse had a large utility bill each month. Much too large for an abandoned warehouse, yet there was nothing on paper about a business operating out of there.
He’d sent Felicia down to watch the warehouse specifically, and she reported seeing new locks on all the doors and a boat entering the boatshed.
Abandoned? Yeah, right.
He, Sid, and JD each grabbed a Kevlar vest. As he put his on, he looked at JD and Sid. “Touch base with SWAT and get everyone organized. I’ll check with Kevyn and meet you there.”
JD nodded, then slipped a com into his ear.
Breaking into a jog, Dak headed toward the end of the pier.
Felicia had called him not five minutes ago and said Kevyn was okay, but he wanted to see for himself.
The heavy clouds made the evening darker than usual, the light dim enough that bright security lights had clicked on, flooding the area with unnatural light.
He was passing the semitruck where they’d found the blood when he heard a rattling sound approaching.
Even before he saw anything, he knew he was hearing a gurney.
How bad off was she? Somehow, he’d envisioned her strapping on the Glock he’d brought her and joining them in their raid. Stubborn as she was, he couldn’t imagine her letting herself be sidelined.
Two EMTs came into view, the gurney between them.
Dak slowed as he approached.
Damp hair was plastered to Kevyn’s head and her whole body trembled beneath the thin blanket. Her face was whiter than the clouds on a summer day. Even from here, he could see her teeth chattering.
Felicia trailed a few steps behind, service weapon in her hand. With her chin held high and her shoulders drawn back, she looked ready to take on a small army to make sure the EMTs made it through.
Kevyn’s eyes were open, on the move until she saw him.
He fell into step beside the gurney. “You okay?”
She nodded, the movement jerky.
He glanced up at the EMT walking across from him. “She okay?”
“A touch of mild hypothermia and shock. A nasty foot injury. But she should be fine.”
“Ge-get them.” Kevyn’s voice seemed stronger than when she’d spoken to him on the phone.
“Which warehouse?” While he was confident the warrant they’d gotten was for the right place, hearing her confirm it would ensure they didn’t waste any time.
“Last one. L-loo-ooks empty.”
“It’s the one I was watching.” Felicia’s voice broke in.
Good enough.
He squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll see you at the hospital later.”
“Be c-care-ful.”
Stepping aside, he joined Felicia at the rear.
“She escaped when they tried to load her on a boat. Swam out. I’m mad at myself for not seeing her in the water.” Felicia’s voice was tight, her brow furrowed. “How could I have missed that?”
Swam? That explained the wet hair and shivering. The Sound was maybe around sixty degrees. Maybe less.
Dak put his hand on her shoulder. “You were watching the warehouse, not the water. Besides, you didn’t have a good view of the Sound from where you were stationed.”
“Still. I feel like I should have seen something.”
JD, Sid, and the team they’d assembled dodged the gurney. JD handed Felicia a vest and she shrugged it on.
SWAT led the way down the dock, weapons sweeping side to side.
As much as Dak wanted to get details from Felicia about what had happened to Kevyn and how she was doing, they needed to focus. Being distracted would endanger them all.
They reached the end of the pier moments later and assembled behind a cluster of shipping containers.
Dak surveyed the group. “Agent Taylor confirmed she was being held in the warehouse. Felicia, she give you any idea what we’re up against?”
“She knows that there were at least six hostiles. They may still be in there, or they may have escaped by boat.”
Escaped by boat. The words punched him in the gut. All this, and they might be looking in the wrong place. “We need to radio the Coast–”
Felicia held up her hand. “Kevyn already took care of that. Gave them a description of the boat and the direction they were headed when she last saw them. There should be a chopper in the air by now.”
Good. He wanted to catch the scum behind this whole operation.
“Let’s do this.”
They divided up according to plan. Pete and one of other the SWAT guys led him and JD to the garage entrance. Caiden and another SWAT officer headed for a side door with Sid and Felicia following. The remaining SWAT guys fanned out behind them.
Pete placed a small explosive on the door, then backed away. A countdown began over the coms.
Three. Two. One.
Both doors blew and the leading SWAT officers pushed through.
Gunfire exploded from inside the building.
Dak fell into step behind Pete as the man pushed inside, using the bulletproof shield to protect them both from the barrage of bullets.
Bright florescent lights illuminated the interior.
Crates and a forklift in the center of the room, a white van parked by the bay door.
Muzzle flashes came from the rear corner of the van and from beside the crates.
He scanned the rest of the space.
A hallway at the far left corner, a steel door at the far right.
Movement from the hallway. More bursts of gunfire.
At least three hostiles.
He scanned the area.
Something flickered in his peripheral.
He whipped that direction.
A man popped up from behind the hood of the van.
Not one of theirs. He squeezed off a shot, his bullet connecting solidly.
The man dropped.
One down. At least three to go.
“FBI! Drop your weapons!” JD’s voice bellowed through the cavernous space.
More gunfire responded.
Dak saw the man in the hallway fall.
So far, it didn’t look like anyone on his side had been hit.
Now to keep it that way.
“Can you get me closer to the van?” He directed the question to Pete, who responded with a curt nod.
They shuffled sideways until the van was only a few yards away.
“I need some cover.”
“You’ll have it.” Pete planted his shield on the ground, then fired off a few shots around the edge of it.
Dak broke from the safety of the shield and darted to the front of the van.
His heartbeat thundered as loudly as the gunfire around him.
But he hadn’t been hit. He crouched and looked underneath the van.
A set of feet at the back. Pete’s boots on the driver’s side. A prone form – the man he’d hit earlier – on the ground by the passenger side.
No one else.
A magazine hit the floor by the feet at the back.
Well, now he knew the guy had a full clip.
He darted around the front of the van and slid down the side.
Gunfire sounded from around the corner in front of him.
He held up his gun and peeked around.
The gunman had his back to him.
He swept the surrounding area.
No other gunmen in sight.
He whipped around the corner and pressed the barrel of his gun into the man’s neck. “Drop it.”
The man froze, then slowly lifted his hands.
“Drop your gun and kick it toward the center of the room.”
The man didn’t even hesitate. The weapon clattered to the concrete floor, then skittered until it came to rest against the SWAT commander’s shield.
“One in custody!” He yelled.
Maybe that would inspire the last gunman to surrender.
“Don’t shoot! I give up!”
The last gunman slowly emerged from behind the crates, hands in the air, gun held loosely.
Dak eased out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.
They’d taken control of the warehouse.
Once the Coast Guard apprehended the guys in the boat, it would all be over.
₪ ₪ ₪
A hand grasped her foot and pulled her down. Icy water closed over her head and the surface receded.
Her lungs ached. She was going to drown!
Kevyn gasped. Her eyes flew open and darted around a room bathed in sunlight.
Rails on the bed beside her and the steady beeping of a machine by her head told her all she needed to know.
She wasn’t being dragged to the bottom of the ocean. She was in a hospital, recovering from her dip in the Sound, mild dehydration, and multiple injuries.
The clock on the wall showed it was after eight.
It’d been almost midnight by the time they settled her in this room, but the pain medication they’d given her must have knocked her out not long after that, because she didn’t remember another thing.
Well, except for someone waking her up multiple times during the night, but even that was a foggy memory.
Her team! What had happened last night?
Surely Dak had tried to come see her. Had she been too out of it to notice? Or had the hospital turned him away?
She reached for her phone, only to remember that she didn’t have it.
Honestly, she wasn’t sure what had happened to it. She’d had it when Coffeeshop Man and his crew had grabbed her, but she didn’t know what had become of it after that.
Or her gun. That was missing, too.
She grabbed the room’s phone and dialed Dak’s cell.
He answered on the second ring. “Agent Lakes.”
“Dak.” Her voice came out scratchy. She cleared her throat and tried again. “What happened last night?”
“Kev? Hey, I was on my way to see you. The hospital says you’re being released.”
They did? Maybe she should have called the doctor to get an update on her condition, but Dak and the team had been her first thought. “Did you get them?”
The brief silence settled in her heart like lead.
They’d gotten away. These men were going to continue to abduct people, steal their organs, and leave a trail of bodies and broken families in their wake.
“We got some of them. The guy from your picture is still in the wind.” He sighed. “I’ll explain it when I get there. Should take me about fifteen minutes, okay?”
She swallowed, her throat feeling lined with gravel. “Okay. Bring me a mocha? And maybe a strawberry danish?”
Not the healthiest of breakfasts, but her stomach felt unsettled. The simple carb would be easily digestible and shouldn’t upset her system further.
The mocha might, but it was worth the risk.
“You got it.”
She hung up the phone and pushed the buzzer.
A nurse wearing pink scrubs arrived a minute later.
“You’re up!” Her too-peppy tone was like being splashed with cold water all over again. “How are you feeling?”
How was she feeling? She hadn’t stopped to assess since awaking.
“Okay, I guess.” She was warm, that was a good start. Her foot, while still sore, wasn’t throbbing as it had been when they wheeled her in. “Am I still on pain meds?”
The nurse tapped the IV bag. “Right here. Just a mild one.”
She wanted to tell them to turn it off on principle, but it was nice to not be in constant pain. “I think they told me about my injuries last night, but I was so out of it that I don’t remember much other than mild hypothermia and dehydration.”
The nurse tapped some keys on a tablet. “Let’s see here. They took some x-rays. You have a cracked rib, mild concussion, and broken metatarsal in your left foot. Not to mention a lot of scrapes and bruises.” The nurse put a hand on her cocked hip. “You get hit by a bus or something?”
“Or something.” She couldn’t work up a smile at the woman’s teasing tone. “A guy built like a linebacker. Rammed me and tossed me a few meters, I think.”
Not that she remembered that part of it. Flying through the air, sure, but not the landing.
“Sounds like you’re lucky it wasn’t worse.”
Lucky? Or divinely protected?
The thought slipped in without provocation.
“Let me get the doc for you.”
She barely noticed the nurse exiting the room.
Now that the nurse reminded her, she vaguely remembered the doctor telling her that her third metatarsal had been fractured by the knife. The wound had required stitches on both the top and the bottom of her foot and the doctor had ordered a walking boot.
That was going to be fun.
All in all, though, things could have been much worse. She could have hit the edge of a shipping container when she was thrown. It could have broken her spine. She could have slipped into a coma from the concussion.
Those guys could have killed her.
Then, there was the way she was able to get away. Right after praying that God would give her an escape.
Coincidence? Maybe.
Or maybe Dak was right and there was something bigger than herself. Someone bigger.
“Knock, knock.”
She looked up as Dak entered the room holding a cardboard cup holder and a pastry bag.
The sight of the bag made her stomach rumble.
“How are you doing?” He asked, setting the mocha and pastry on the table beside her.
“Fine. What happened last night?”
He arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest.
If he was trying to be intimidating, he was failing. He was actually pretty cute when he was bossy.
What the…? Where had that come from?
Must be the drugs.
She picked up her mocha and sipped it before she could say something as equally stupid as the words running through her mind.
He didn’t move. Nor did he respond.
Fine. He wanted the truth?
“Cracked rib, mild concussion, and broken metatarsal. I get to wear the fashionable walking boot for a while, but hey. At least the hypothermia and dehydration are gone.”
His eyebrows lowered over his eyes. “That’s a lot. What happened to you?”
“Uh-uh. You first. What happened last night?”
He pulled up a chair. “We raided the warehouse. Recovered a bunch of medical equipment and medications that I’m betting will all be associated with organ transplantation. Haven’t heard for sure on that one yet. Four guys in the warehouse, two survived. Unfortunately, they claim to know nothing about what the ringleader – they called him Tio – had planned. Just knew that they were clearing out.”
