Page 93 of Blind Trust
“I don’t know.” He held up his phone. “But I have a tracker on her car. We need to take your truck, because I’m pretty sure she’s got someone following me.”
Nic’s gaze moved around him. “Who?”
“One of her henchmen. Prior military guys who she pays well.” He tilted his head. “Or at least it would be well if the money were real.”
“What kind of device do you have on her car?”
“What?”
Nic unlocked his truck and they both jumped in. “On the car. Is it a generic brand? Military grade? Spy tech?”
“Generic.”
Nic dialed Kekoa’s number and handed his phone to the man. “Give me your phone and give him the details.”
Starting his engine, Nic accelerated out of the hospital parking lot, following the tracker’s blinking dot on the man’s cell phone.He prayed Lyla was still alive. He wouldn’t allow himself to consider any other alternative.
“He says they’re tracking them now.” The man next to him set down the phone. “I’m so sorry. I never meant for this to get so out of hand.”
“Who are you?”
“Richard Vale. We met at the drag hunt.”
Nic had a vague recollection. “You work for the secretary of defense.”
“Yes.”
“And your office...”
“Acquisitions and sustainment.”
“Deals with weapons?”
“Yes,” Vale answered Nic. “We coordinate defense acquisitions and foreign military sales.”
That at least explained the origin of the weapons. It didn’t explain the how or why. Nic focused on the cell phone. They were headed out of the city on Route 223 and entering a densely forested area.
“I know where she’s taking her,” Vale said. “There’s a hunting property that she purchased several years ago. She doesn’t use it herself, but it’s...uh...”
Nic looked at Vale, whose face had paled. “What?”
“I don’t know this for sure, but it’s the kind of place people are taken to and never heard from again.”
The pressure of his foot on the accelerator pushed him deeper into his seat. Nic picked up his phone and dialed Jack’s number. Jack answered right away.
“Jack, get a chopper out here, and SWAT. I have a feeling this is going to turn into a hostage situation. Subject is Christine León, under sec—”
“Got it, Garcia. FBI has been notified. Wheels up with an ETA of thirteen minutes.”
Thirteen minutes. Nic looked at Vale. “How much farther?”
Vale pointed to the screen. “It’s just there.”
Nic slammed on the brakes, nearly missing the dirt road where he needed to turn. He jerked the wheel hard, the back of his truck fishtailing on the road. They bounced over the unpaved path, and Nic slowed only when he caught sight of the log cabin structure with a car parked in front of it.
He blocked the car in with his truck, threw it into park, and jumped out. Richard Vale yelled after him, but Nic ignored him, his boots hitting the porch steps just as he heard Lyla scream.
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