Red After Dark (Blackwood Security #13) - Elise Noble Page 0,68
I won’t compromise Emmy’s safety by letting you go on some half-cocked rescue mission.”
“Fine.”
Nick nodded to Knox. “Stay here, buddy, and don’t let anyone near that car.”
CHAPTER 27 - ALARIC
BLACKWOOD WAS UNDERSTAFFED my ass.
Alaric realised now that Emmy had been playing him the whole time. The reason the dive team had been so light was because she’d wanted to get abducted. All those trips to the woods to answer the call of nature? She’d basically been issuing an invitation to Ridley’s goons.
And now she was unconscious in the back of a sedan, trundling east along I-64 at five miles per hour under the speed limit with a rotating surveillance team of eight cars—including Alaric and Nick’s Tahoe—following behind. Black’s shadow team had seen Ridley’s men bundle Emmy into the trunk of their Pontiac, her wrists and ankles tied with yellow cord, limp with a hood over her head. They’d ditched her watch, but she’d swallowed one backup tracker and had another sewn into her bra, and both indicated her pulse was steady at fifty-three beats per minute. Alaric’s hadn’t dropped under a hundred for the three hours they’d been driving.
“Is that your phone buzzing?” Nick asked.
“Huh?” Yes, it was. Alaric dug it out of his pocket and almost groaned when he saw Beth was calling.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“Is everything okay? Dan’s not answering her phone, and I thought you’d be finished by now.”
“Something came up. We may be back a little later than planned.”
“Did you find the car?”
“Yes, this afternoon.”
“Well, that’s great.” A pause. “I mean, it’s terrible for Piper and her family, but at least they’ll know what happened to her. How long until the sheriff can get it out of the water?”
“We’re working on the logistics at the moment.”
“Should I stop at the grocery store?”
“Actually, we might just fill up on snacks. Do you think Harriet would let you stay with her tonight?”
“Probably—you really think you’ll be that late?”
“The special election is in less than three days.”
Muffled voices sounded, then Beth came back. “Harriet says it’s fine to borrow her guest room. Just call if you need me for anything?”
What Alaric needed was to hold Beth in his arms, then bury himself inside her, but he kept those thoughts to himself. And even though he hadn’t told her any outright lies about what he was doing, he hated keeping her in the dark.
“I will. Enjoy your evening, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Nick chuckled as Alaric hung up. “Nicely done.”
Asshole. “You told your wife you were watching a football game tonight.”
“Because I didn’t want to worry her, and Lara’s my girlfriend, not my wife. Although I’m planning to pop the question. Do you know anything about rings? Rule of thumb says to spend a month’s salary, right? But I’m not sure Lara would want to wear a boulder on her finger.”
Alaric really wasn’t the best person to ask. The one time he’d bought a ring, it had been a three-carat purple sapphire. A diamond hadn’t seemed appropriate since that was Black’s pet name for Emmy. But what did it matter? Shit happened, so he’d never given it to her.
“Can we focus on the task at hand?”
“This magical mystery tour? Sure. Wanna make a bet on where we’re going? My money’s on the cabin.”
Blackwood’s research team had been busier than they’d previously let on, and they’d come up with three possible destinations so far. Ridley had once been stationed at the Naval base in Norfolk, and Black recalled he’d owned a cabin in the area. Chances were he’d held onto it. Heading north on the map past Fredericksburg, the Devane family had a country retreat near Lorton. Kyla’s father and his father before him had used it as a base for the commute to DC. And heading south, an old newspaper article showed that Ridley’s grandparents used to live near Greensboro, North Carolina. They’d both passed away, but so far, nobody had found a record of their property being sold. The team would know more when the convoy reached Beckley—Ridley’s men would most probably turn onto I-77 if they were going to Greensboro.
“I’m going with the Devane estate,” Alaric said. “High walls, plenty of privacy. Remember Ridley’s doing this to protect Kyla.”
Like Nick, Alaric didn’t believe the timing was a coincidence—the enemy had snatched Emmy just before he found the submerged car. Ridley knew exactly where Piper’s body was because Kyla had told him. The pair were closer than anyone had initially suspected.
The radio crackled. “Ana, drop back. Nick, you take over.”