Dark Secret - Avelyn Paige Page 0,44
uncle’s van. They pass just as we come to the stop sign in front of us. As they go by, Kevin’s bruised and swollen face peers back at us from the passenger’s side window, looking absolutely terrified.
Me too, buddy. Me too.
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We drive for nearly three hours until the van takes an exit off of I-35, just north of Laredo. The area is remote. There’s nothing here—no businesses, no homes. Not even a fucking tumbleweed. It’s the perfect place to hide, and the worst place possible for us not to be spotted. I hadn’t planned for that.
“Isn’t there a border crossing in Laredo?” Shelby questions.
“There’s one going into Juárez, but we’re a good twenty miles from that.” Too close for comfort as far as I’m concerned.
“You don’t think he’s planning to take them across the border, do you?”
“I think that’s exactly where he’s taking them, but he won’t get that far, Shel.” I keep my voice as even as possible, but there’s a part of me that’s just as skeptical as she is. If we fail, the chances of getting Hayden back are slim to none. She’ll be moved around until there’s no trace of her left for us to find. We can’t let that happen.
Her eyes stay on the road ahead of us, but I can feel the tension like a storm surge on the banks of the ocean.
“Ease up on the distance,” I say, realizing just how close we’re getting. GP slows down, adding several car lengths between our van and Kevin's uncle’s. Grabbing the radio off the dash, I call back to the rest of the club following behind us.
“Pull off somewhere,” I order. “It’s so open out here, he’ll spot us a mile away. We’ll keep on him and radio back when he stops.”
“Ten-four,” Priest responds. “We passed a hotel a few miles back. I’ll swing in there and await your call. Stay safe, brother.”
I put the radio back into place and keep my eyes trained on the piece of shit van. Desert flatlands surround us, and even though he’s not close, the plumes of dust behind him give him away.
About twenty minutes later, he suddenly turns off onto a dirt road and floors it, kicking up dust behind him.
“Do you want me to follow him?” GP asks.
I consider it. Even with the dust, he’ll see us, taking away the element of surprise. I don’t want any more distance between us and the van, but it’s too risky. We have to hang back. I peer down to the tracker’s signal on my satellite laptop. The signal is still going strong.
“He’s slowing down. Pull off over there by that line of trees. There looks to be some kind of house out there, which might be his hidey-hole.”
GP maneuvers our van as I ask, and nestles us close behind the trees, obscuring us from view. Checking the mirrors, I see no one around us and exit the vehicle, leaving the door open wide. I shift the laptop to the van seat with the tracking software and a map of the area side by side on the screen.
“Hop out of there, and bring the radio and binoculars with you,” I tell Shelby. “You stay in the van, GP, in case we need to make a clean getaway.”
I push through some of the thicker parts of the brush until I find a good spot. Shelby slips in behind me and shoves the binoculars over my shoulder. Bringing them up to my eyes, I look for the van through the thick dust. It takes a few minutes before I can spot it. The van comes to a stop near the house I’d seen from the road, and Randall comes around to the side door.
Kevin jumps from the passenger seat and stands next to him. The side door of the van opens, and he reaches inside. I don’t recognize the first girl he pulls out, but her body is nearly limp as she falls against him. Kevin helps the girl inside the house while Randall waits outside. Reaching in a second time, he drags Lindsey out, and just like the first girl, she’s unsteady on her feet. He’s drugged them.
“Give me the radio.” She hands it to me, and I press it up close to my mouth.
“Got eyes on Lindsey. She’s okay, but she’s clearly out of it.”
Karma mutters a string of curses in the background.
“Calm your ass down, K, I’m trying to hear,” Judge growls. “Any sign of Hayden?”
“Not yet, but he