Head Over Heels (The Bridesmaids Club Book 3) (19 page)

“There are two restroom trailers parked around the back of the barn. Just go through the main doors and turn left.”

“I’ll be back soon.” Sally looked around for Dominique. She still couldn’t see her. Alastair was busy talking with a woman on the far side of the barn. Tess, Annie, and Molly were laughing with the bride and groom. With no option but to interrupt Alastair, she started moving across the floor.

Before she’d made it halfway across the room, someone grabbed hold of her forearm. She tried pulling away, but the woman held on tight.

“I’m FBI Special Agent Vicky Lanton, ma’am. We’ve just received news that Mitch Zambezi is on his way here. You need to come with me.”

Sally looked across the room. Alastair had moved. “Where’s Dominique?”

“Getting our vehicle. Special Agent Rodriquez will be with us soon.”

Sally tried pulling her arm away again, but the woman’s grip was strong. What she’d said didn’t make sense. Less than a minute ago, Alastair hadn’t looked as though he’d received any news about Mitch. And Dominique had been gone for so long that Sally didn’t know where she was.

The special agent kept moving her swiftly out of the barn. They walked through the front doors, toward the parking area set aside for wedding guests.

That’s when Sally knew something was wrong. Terribly wrong. They hadn’t parked with the other guests. Alastair had parked around the side of the barn, close to the main doors in case they needed to make a fast exit.

Panic raced through Sally’s body. Whoever this woman was, she wasn’t an FBI special agent.

“Nearly there, ma’am. We’ll have you safe and sound before you know it.”

Sally doubted it. If she wanted to get away from this woman she needed to think fast. The noise from the barn would drown out her screams. No one else was outside. She was alone, in trouble, and terrified.

A black SUV stopped about forty feet away. It was similar to the vehicle Alastair had driven, but it wasn’t the same one. If she got into it, her life could be over, and she wasn’t ready for that.

The heels of Sally’s shoes sunk into the ground and she breathed a sigh of relief. “I need to take my shoes off.” She staggered, working what little advantage she had into her performance.

“Get them off fast. We need to move.”

The woman let go of Sally’s arm, and that’s all she needed. Having four older brothers had taught her how to fight dirty. She needed to gather everything inside of her, forget about being kind. This could be her last chance to get away and she wasn’t going to blow it.

She undid the ankle straps on her shoes, held one of them tight enough to cut off her circulation, then swung hard as she stood up. The sharp heel of the stiletto smashed into the soft skin of the woman’s throat.

Sally didn’t wait to hear the howl of pain she knew would be coming. She ran fast, faster than she’d ever run. Her bare feet flew across the uneven ground. She ignored the pain of the twigs and stones cutting into her skin, ignored everything except her pounding heart and the reality of what was happening.

She needed to get away. Find somewhere safe. Stay alive.

She kept running, dodging parked cars, listening for the sound of the black truck’s engine.

Lights flared behind her and she swore under her breath. It would only take a few minutes for the driver to work their way out of the parking area. The truck would easily overtake her. The driver would throw her in the back, then who knew what would happen.

She tried to get her bearings, work out where she was. She was running toward Copper Creek. If she kept going in this direction she’d be caught. The creek was too wide to cross, too dangerous to get into at night. She changed direction, heading toward the pine trees she’d walked through with Max.

The trees would slow the driver down, make them get out and find her on foot.

She needed somewhere to hide, somewhere no one would find her. She couldn’t keep running. Hiding behind the trees would be useless. She needed to find something that would shelter her from the person in the truck.

She ran under the trees, slapped into an overhanging branch and felt the sharp sting of wood against her face. She didn’t dare stop, didn’t dare slow down.

Think. She had to think.

Her foot connected with the root of a tree and she stumbled forward, falling hard against the ground. She bit her lip and tried not to cry out as her shoulder screamed in pain.

White light cut through the darkness. The truck had arrived. She needed somewhere to hide, and she needed it now.

A picture of Max filled her mind. The tree house. He loved playing with the rope ladder. He’d pulled her through the pine trees to his favorite destination each time she’d been here.

She looked around, trying to work out where it was.

“You won’t get away that easy, little lady.” A man’s voice filled the night air with menace, sending goose bumps along her skin.

She crouched low on the ground and ignored the tears falling down her face. Now wasn’t the time to fall apart.

“It was mighty clever of you putting that heel in the middle of Vicky’s throat. If it’s slicing and dicing you like, we’re going to get along fine.”

Sally looked around, peering through the gloom. And then she saw it…a flicker of white in the beam of the headlights.

She’d found the rope ladder.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Todd stretched his legs out in front of him and stared at the TV screen. Dylan had rented a few movies, if ten could be called a few. They were supposed to keep them occupied while half of Bozeman danced the night away in his barn.

“I don’t get how he does all of the stunts on his own. Replay the last one. It’s not possible.”

Todd glanced at Dylan. “It won’t help. We’ve already replayed three scenes and you still don’t believe the stunts are real.”

Dylan picked up the remote and pushed replay. “You’re too trusting. I don’t believe anything until I see it with my own eyes.”

“And Annie still loves you?” The grin on Dylan’s face told Todd just how besotted they were with each other.

“We love each other. What about you? Is there someone special that you’re not talking about?”

Todd put his hand into the bucket beside him. He pulled out enough popcorn to keep him busy for at least another twenty minutes.

“Stuffing your face won’t make the question go away.”

“I’m glad you love each other,” Todd mumbled around a mouthful of popcorn.

“And who loves you?”

Todd choked. Dylan, being the kind and considerate person he was, got him a glass of water and thumped his back. Todd coughed again, just to add extra emphasis to his inability to talk.

Dylan lifted a piece of pizza out of the box in front of them. He bit into the cheesy topping and waited for Todd to control himself. “So?”

Todd put the popcorn bucket on the floor and glared at his friend. “Plenty of people love me. I’ve got a whole family who send me birthday cards and socks for Christmas.”

“Yeah, but they don’t keep you warm at night or tell you how handsome you are.”

Todd covered his ears. “I don’t want to know what you and Annie get up to.”

Dylan shook his head. “I know you like Sally. It doesn’t take much to let her know as well.”

“Are you crazy? She’s already had someone following her because of me. Who’s to say there aren’t more people on their way, including one of New York’s most wanted men. I’ll be lucky if she wants to be within a six-mile radius of me.”

“You’ve lived through worst odds before.”

Todd didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want Sally to get hurt. The FBI and the police were doing everything they could, but only Mitch Zambezi could guarantee her safety. “What do you think they’re doing on my ranch?”

Dylan glanced at his watch. “Dancing.”

“Could you be more specific?” Todd asked with a smile.

“Foxtrots, rock and roll, and line dancing. Annie’s been practicing the last one all month.”

Todd didn’t know when Annie would have found the time to practice dancing. Between her new business, a part-time job each afternoon, and The Bridesmaids Club, there wouldn’t have been many hours left in the day.

Dylan’s cell phone rang. He checked the caller display and the easy-going look on his face disappeared. He held the phone to his ear. “What’s happened?”

Todd moved closer.

“Are you serious?”

If Dylan didn’t start talking in sentences, Todd was going to go out of his head with worry.

“How many are there?” Dylan turned the TV off and grabbed his car keys. “We’re on our way.”

Todd ran into Dylan’s garage behind him. “What’s going on?”

Dylan pushed a button and the garage door opened. “Mitch has been arrested. The police are executing a search warrant where he was staying in Bozeman. He wasn’t the only person looking for you and Sally.”

“He brought other people with him?”

Dylan nodded as he drove out of the garage. Todd was worried, more worried than he’d been for the last two weeks. “What haven’t you told me?”

“They’re going to kidnap Sally.”

“When?”

Dylan looked quickly at Todd. “Tonight.”

***

By the time Todd and Dylan arrived at Copper Creek Ranch, the police had blocked all access to his property. Unless someone wanted to drive or ride through his neighbor’s ranch, they’d never get past all of the security that had been put in place.

The police officer that stopped them at the front gate hadn’t been interested in why they were there. If Dan Carter, the Deputy Chief of Police, and their friend, hadn’t stepped in, they’d still be arguing on the side of the road.

The main control center for the search and rescue operation had been set up in Todd’s living room. Maps, paper, and laptops had been placed in an organized pattern. Todd was chillingly aware that this wouldn’t have been the first time they’d had to look for someone.

“Where’s Sally?” Todd asked.

“We don’t know.” Special Agent Alastair McDonald pulled the map he’d been looking at closer.

“What do you mean, you don’t know? You were supposed to be looking after her.”

Alastair’s jaw clenched and he looked across the room at another agent. “Tell Sullivan and O’Rourke to finish the grid they’re doing, then move 200 feet to the right. I need two more officers walking along the creek. Make sure they go downstream with the current.”

“You think she’s in the water?” Todd knew how dangerous the creek could be. It wouldn’t take much to drag a fully clothed person under, even if they were a good swimmer. The control he’d been holding onto suddenly broke. “What the hell’s going on here, McDonald?”

Dylan put his hand on Todd’s arm. “Calm down. Nothing you say will make Sally be found any quicker.”

Todd took a deep breath and tried to think logically. “What do you know?” he asked the special agent.

“Sally was dancing with a friend. She needed to use the bathroom, so her friend told her to use the trailer bathrooms set up outside. Something happened after she left the dance floor.”

“No kidding,” Todd muttered.

Alastair ignored Todd. “Special Agent Rodriquez had gone outside to complete a regular external surveillance of the area. I thought she must have walked with Sally to the bathroom. I tried contacting her, but she wasn’t responding. Before I got a chance to look for her, Dan Carter called to say they’d arrested Mitch Zambezi.”

Alastair’s cell phone rang and he answered the call. “Okay. I’ll send someone out there now.” He looked over his shoulder and signaled to a police officer. “They’ve found a torn piece of dark blue satin in grid twenty-three. I need you to go over there. Do you remember the safe word?”

Todd turned the map of his ranch around. “Where’s grid twenty-three?”

Alastair pointed to an area not far from the old barn. “It’s here, on the edge of the pine trees.”

Dylan looked over Todd’s shoulder. “What’s with the safe word?”

“Sally knew that if we got separated, she only followed someone who knew the safe word. We don’t know who we can trust.”

“Where’s Special Agent Rodriquez,” Dylan asked.

“She was tied up and left unconscious. We caught one of the men leaving the ranch, but we’ve got no idea if there are other people involved. Everyone’s under suspicion until we can prove they’re innocent.”

“We’re going to look for Sally,” Todd said. “So I’d suggest you tell us the safe word.”

Alastair crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Todd stepped forward until he was standing chest to chest with Alastair McDonald. “I don’t care if you think it’s a good idea or not. Sally’s out there somewhere because of me. Now give me the damn safe word.”

Alastair glanced at Dylan. “Stay with your friend. Don’t let him out of your sight.”

Todd clamped his mouth shut. The sharp retort that sprung to mind wouldn’t help. After everything that had happened, he needed Alastair McDonald to help him find Sally.