Page 80 of Protecting Josie
Everyone nodded.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea for just the three of you to go to Vegas,” Cookie said with a small frown.
“As much as I hate those bitches, I can’t go in there balls-out,” Blink said. “I’ll do whatever I need to do in order to make sure Josie is all right. And if all seven of us show up, it will put them on the defensive. Maybe if it’s just me and a couple friends, they’ll screw up and boast about what they did. If there’s the smallest chance she’s still alive, that they haven’t killed her, I’ll take it. Do whatever I have to do. Sell my soul to find her.”
“All right,” Cookie said with a nod. “We’ll rally the girls. Josie will need the support of her friends when she gets home.”
The faith he had made Blink want to cry. Wolf, Cookie, and the rest of their team were legends in SEAL circles. They’d seen and done more things than most teams had combined. To hear him talk about Josie coming home with such certainty made his confidence rise.
“Right. Who’s driving?” Preacher asked.
“I am,” Smiley said decidedly. “We’ll take Blink’s truck, in case we need to go off-road. We can leave right now.”
It took everything within Blink not to race for his frontdoor. “I need to pack a bag for Josie. She might need a change of clothes. And we’ll want a first-aid kit…just in case.”
Wolf put a hand on Blink’s arm, while Kevlar’s landed heavy on his shoulder.
“You’ll find her,” Kevlar said.
“She might be tiny, but she’s tougher than nails,” Wolf said. “I’m sure she has no doubt you’re coming for her. Just as my Caroline did when those assholes who took her threw her in the ocean. Women like her and Josie, they’re survivors. Call us when you’re on your way back.”
Blink swallowed hard and nodded.
Then he strode toward his bedroom to pack a bag. For a moment, he stood there, trying to find his equilibrium. Josie disappearing had shaken him to his core. He wouldn’t let her down. The alternative was unthinkable. He loved Josie, and she loved him. He wasn’t losing her now. No way.
Time had no meaning in the pitch darkness of the tiny closet Josie had been forced into. She strained to hear something, anything, but all she heard was the sound of her own heartbeat.
Her thoughts turned to Nate.
What was he doing right now? Surely he’d discovered she was gone. He would’ve called Kevlar and the others. They’d be brainstorming where she might be. Probably had called the police. Everyone would be searching.
But remembering the steps Gen had taken to stay under the radar worried Josie. Wearing an adult diaper so she didn’thave to stop and use the bathroom was…crazy…and smart. And the gas. Leaving her phone in Vegas. The car Josie didn’t recognize. And it hadn’t escaped her that Millie was the one they’d filed the protective order against, because she was the one who’d come right out and threatened her.
If Gen was questioned, she’d claim she was here in Vegas the entire time, that she couldn’t possibly be the one who’d kidnapped her, and all the evidence would support her claim. But Nate and the rest of the guys wouldn’t just assume that since her phone didn’t show her in California, that didn’t mean she wasn’t actually there.
But for the first time, worry began to creep in. Would they figure things out in time? Whatever Millie and Gen were going to do with her, Josie had a feeling it was more elaborate than simply killing her and dumping her body somewhere. That wouldn’t be enough vengeance for the two women.
Millie had spoiled her only son, and Gen had always been overly protective of her little brother. His death had clearly broken them, pushed them both to do things they otherwise wouldn’t have. Josie had no doubt of that.
Were they actually able to kill her? Maybe, maybe not.
But have someoneelsedo something horrible, and exact their revenge so they didn’t have to get their hands dirty? Yeah, she could see them doing that.
Josie shivered. It wasn’t cold in the closet, but she could feel a clock ticking. And much faster than it had when she was overseas. She instinctively knew she didn’t have a lot of time before Millie and Gen put whatever plan they had in mind into effect.
Hurry, Nate. I need you to find me!
Hours later, in the dark of night, Smiley turned down the street where Millie Hitson lived. Tex had sent the woman’s address to them while they were on their way toward Vegas. He’d said he was still searching for any cars that showed up both near Blink’s apartment, as well as on traffic cams on the route out of Riverton, but it was such a colossal task, he hadn’t made much headway. He reassured them that he’d stay on it, and he’d even called in a friend to help him, a woman named Ryleigh who lived in New Mexico. But even with two of them working feverishly to hack into cameras, they all knew it would be slow going.
But Blink didn’t need verification for what he felt in his heart. The Hitsons had his Josie, and he was going to get her back if it was the last thing he did.
“Don’t do anything rash,” Preacher said, as if he could read Blink’s mind.
He didn’t respond. He was beyond speaking at this point. He’d gone over and over in his head all the bad things that could’ve happened to Josie in the last few hours…and he wasn’t up for coherent speech.
“Remember, let me talk,” Smiley said as all three of them got out of the truck.
Blink had no problem with that. It was going to take all his control to not grab one of the women and shake them until they told him where Josie was.
