Ryker glanced at him in the rearview mirror, and Denver nodded.
“What do you want, Madison?” Ryker asked.
She giggled. Not a chuckle or an educated laugh. The bitch giggled like a little girl.
Denver fought to keep from puking and looked at Heath. He’d gone a little green around the edges, but he continued to pull the thread through Denver’s flesh, his hand steady as he sewed up the knife wound.
Ryker’s shoulders visibly tightened. “Talk now, or I throw the phone out the window.”
“You smart boys have already disabled the GPS,” she said smoothly. “Elton just called in, and apparently his phone is gone. I figured my Denver was smart enough to take it.”
Denver forgot all about the pain in his side. “Where are Noni and Talia?”
Madison giggled again. “If I just told you, what fun would that be?”
“I swear to God I’m going to kill you,” Denver said, heat flowing through him.
She sighed. “You were such a nice mannered young man. Oh, all right. Your last location was the hospital with Elton, so I’m guessing you’re still on the Idaho-Montana border.”
He kept silent. They all did.
“You’re about an hour away from the Coeur d’Alene Airport. They’re there.”
So there was the trap. She’d laid it perfectly. “Are they okay?” Denver asked, unable to help himself. His voice cracked, and his body shuddered. They had to be all right.
The line went dead.
CHAPTER
29
The drive to the small regional airport was made in record time with Ryker speeding way too fast. Denver and Heath suited up with tactical gear Ryker and Heath had brought, and as soon as Ryker pulled into the main parking lot, he did the same. The entire place was silent, and the small main building dark. Huge snowflakes continued to fall, whipped around by a wind making shrill whistles. Lights from Coeur d’Alene illuminated the sky to the south, but the immediate area was dark.
Heath gave Zara and Anya guns. “Stay in the car, and if anybody approaches, just shoot them. We’ll come running.”
Anya nodded, her gaze serious. “Not a problem.”
Denver scanned the area for threats as he gingerly eased from the vehicle and followed Ry to the nearest hangar.
Ryker handed him a Sig, and Denver took it, carefully controlling his breathing. He’d had to put his bloody shirt back on, and it stuck to him beneath the vest. His injured side pounded in pain, but that was nothing compared to the raw panic ripping through him. Had Madison killed Noni? The crazy scientist wouldn’t have just told him where to find her. Either this was a trap or he was about to get his heart sliced from his chest.
“Let me take point,” Ryker said quietly.
“No.” Denver leaned against the metal building and closed his eyes. “Do you guys hear anything?”
They all silenced their breathing.
He tuned in, trying to find signatures. Breathing, heartbeats, anything. All he got was the wind. Giving the signal, he moved around the building toward the rear, his gun at the ready.
Again, nothing.
When they reached the rear, he looked around. The nearest runway had been plowed. “She took them,” Denver said woodenly, his gut aching. Then he looked to the south. Private hangars, quiet and still, lined the way. His breath caught. The fourth one had its wide hangar doors open. Oh God. Breaking into a run, he was barely cognizant of his brothers on his six.
“Slow down,” Heath hissed. “This might be a trap.”
God, Denver hoped it was a trap. If it wasn’t, then Madison wanted him to find bodies. So he slowed. “Sorry.”
They reached the building and fanned out outside the door. The main lights in the hangar were off, but a small light showed in the back. Was there an office?
