It couldn’t have taken him more than thirty seconds and he was still almost too late. Maria was already in the backseat of oneof the SUVs, fighting with the driver in the front seat like a tiny wild cat as she attempted to get out of the vehicle.
Talia stood outside the SUV, one arm wrapped protectively around Beverly while she attempted to fight off Keller and get around him to help Maria at the same time. It wasn’t going well. And right into the middle of all the mayhem, Katrina went charging in tohelp.
Even as he continued forward, a hand reaching back to grab the handgun in his back pocket, Keller shoved Talia so hard she bounced off the side of the vehicle and tumbled to the ground. Another shove sent Katrina flying as well and she grunted as she hit the driveway.
Jaw tight, Lennox brought the Glock up and took aim at the center of Keller’s chest. As if sensing the gun trained on him, Keller lunged for Talia, grabbing her arm and yanking her to her feet, then did the same to Beverly. Using them as a shield, the man backed toward the SUV.
As much as Lennox wanted to take another shot, he couldn’t risk it.
So instead, Lennox stepped to his right, trying to get into a position that would give him a clear shot at Keller. Unfortunately, Keller moved too, keeping Talia and Beverly in front of him. Arm around Talia, he transferred Beverly to that hand as well so he could press his gun against Talia’s temple, the threat clear and obvious.
On the upside, Keller’s attention was so focused on Lennox that it gave Katrina the opening she’d been waiting for. Lunging forward, she wrapped her hands around Beverly, dragging her away from him and urging her to safety.
Keller’s mouth tightened but there was nothing he could do. Not when he had to keep his gun trained on Talia to hold off Lennox. Gaze locked on Lennox, he retreated into the backseat of the SUV, Talia still clutched in his arm.
Lennox cursed and sprinted toward them but it was too late. The SUV was already speeding away, Talia and Maria inside.
Turning, he ran for his truck, intending to go after them, but was forced to dive for the ground as Keller fired his weapon multiple times. He wasn’t shooting at Lennox though. Instead, the large caliber bullets riddled his pickup, taking out the tires on the driver’s side as well as the engine block.
His truck wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was he.
From where he still half lay on the ground, Lennox watched as the SUV drove away, the sound of Talia’s and Maria’s screams echoing in the night as it sped down the driveway and disappeared past the guard shack.
“What are we going to do?” Katrina said, her voice shaking as she held a crying Beverly close. “How are we going to get Talia and Maria back?”
“I don’t know yet,” Lennox said, jaw tight. “But we will.”
Because the alternative was unthinkable.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“You’re telling me that the man who kidnapped Maria Rybak and her nanny is the same one who chased Talia Holland the other night?” Detective Green asked as they stood outside the front of the Rybak home, his voice dubious.
Lennox ground his jaw, resisting the urge to say something he shouldn’t. Green had had this skeptical look on his face from the moment Lennox told him what’d happened. The jackass had kept questioning everything he’d said even after Katrina had corroborated his description of events.
Maybe Kyla was right about someone paying the guy off.
There was a soft snort from off to the side, and Lennox glanced over to see Colt looking as frustrated as he was.
Colt and Darwin had arrived a few minutes after Keller’s escape, immediately followed by a virtual army of cops. While they’d kept Simon, Kirk, and Wes outside the property, unfortunately, they’d let Green through the security perimeter.
“The man who took Talia and Maria was almost seven feet with long, dark hair,” Lennox pointed out as he tried to control his temper. “Sound familiar? It should, since it’s the exact same description Talia provided when she told you about the man who chased her.”
“Right. This Keller you told me about?” Green flipped through a small pad covered with scribbled notes. “If you ask me, it seems like a coincidence that the mugger who chased your girlfriend through an alley on the poor side of town would show up with a dozen men carrying automatic weapons at the private residence belonging to a wealthy family to kidnap a nanny. What makes your girlfriend so valuable?”
For a fraction of a moment, Lennox considered telling Green what they knew about Keller and Sentinel. It was that or punch the guy in his smug face. But then he realized he couldn’t do either. One would get him arrested and the other would only earn him more skepticism. What was he supposed to say anyway? That Keller was an international terrorist involved in a complex criminal scheme with Bogdan and a dozen other powerful people in the city and that he’d kidnapped Maria as a hostage in an attempt to get something out of her father specifically? That would only feed into Green’s belief that Lennox was making all of this stuff up and lead to hours of wasted time when they should be looking for Talia and Maria.
“I don’t know exactly what Keller was planning but considering how well-armed he and his men were, and the fact that they seemed to be intent on getting their hands on Maria, I think we can rule out this being anothermuggingattempt,” Lennox said sarcastically.
Green opened his mouth, probably ready to deny that theory, but was interrupted by a Mercedes racing up the driveway and squealing to a stop. It was followed by a second Mercedes that came to a stop behind the first. Bogdan and Vera jumped out of the first, along with Sofia, while Dayton and Roselyn McDaniel climbed out of the second.
The moment the McDaniels spotted Beverly, relief filled their faces. Beverly immediately ran to her parents, fiercely hugging her mother and father. From where he stood, Lennoxheard Roselyn stifle a sob as she wrapped her arms around her daughter.
Vera looked around wildly for Maria only to look like she might pass out when she realized that her daughter wasn’t there. She wrapped an arm around Sofia for what looked like comfort as well as support while Green walked over to speak with them. Even though Bogdan didn’t let it show on his face, Lennox could tell from the tension in the man’s body that he was as terrified for Maria as his wife and teenage daughter were.
“Why do I get the feeling that Bogdan isn’t all that surprised about Keller being involved?” Colt said, coming to stand beside Lennox as Green told the Rybaks what happened. “He also doesn’t seem shocked to see us here.”
“Do you think he knows that we’re onto the fact that he and the other families are involved with Keller?” Darwin asked softly. “Or that we were the ones running the surveillance operation at that office complex?”
