Fuck. Dana had her comms unit. From the angle of her head, Terry didn’t think it was still in her ear, but if she had it on her…
He met Xavier’s gaze, the two speaking without words. They could find her. “If we stop,” Terry said, “what happens to Dana and Micah?”
“I own the boy,” Otto said, and Dana choked back a sob. “I will leave the woman alive. My men will dump her somewhere remote. When they have returned safely, I will let you know where she is.”
Terry had no idea why the asshole would even consider letting Dana live. She’d obviously seen his face. “We don’t have a choice, mate,” he said, and Xavier nodded, but was already texting Flynn and Raine. “We’ll pull over. Please, put the knife away.”
“Not yet.” Otto—or whoever was holding the phone—took a step back, and the knife flicked across Dana’s throat, leaving a thin trail of blood welling from the long scratch. It wasn’t deep enough to hit her carotid, but it brought tears to her eyes, and Micah sobbed in the background. “A promise, Terry. If either of your cars move in the next twenty minutes, expect another call. That one will be much…messier.”
The video went black, but in the last second, all Terry could see was Dana, staring directly into the camera, all hope fading from her eyes.
“Fuck, Xavier. Tell me you can track the comms unit.”
“Do you think I’m a complete idiot? Flynn is already zeroing in on her location. This Otto asshole clearly has someone else close by watching us. Raine? How do we figure out who it is?”
She huffed. “Easy. I’ve been running the cameras the whole time we’ve been on this wild goose chase. Sending the footage through the algorithm now.”
“The algorithm?” Terry asked.
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” One corner of Xavier’s mouth turned up, but despite the cliché, Terry had no doubt Xavier meant every word.
“Got Dana’s location,” Flynn said. “She’s five miles away. If we can find out who’s watching us, we can be there in minutes.”
And if not…they were screwed.
15
Dana
Everything hurt. The cut along her throat was still bleeding but wasn’t life threatening. She was more concerned with the pain in her head and her ribs. Each deep breath was a struggle. Micah had his arms around her neck, but Dana couldn’t hug him back and that killed her.
Gravelly voice guy had bound her wrists with a zip tie, and the plastic dug into her skin hard enough her fingers were going numb. After he’d ended the video call, Otto had shoved them into a small, windowless closet and locked them in. Her nephew was shaking so hard, she felt it all the way down to her toes.
“Micah…your mom loves you so much. We’ve been looking for you every day since you were taken. You have to be brave for me now.” Talking hurt, but she’d talk to him nonstop until someone came for them so he knew how much he was loved.
“Nuh-uh…dark…”
Shit. He was in the middle of a panic attack, and if she couldn’t get him out of it, they might not survive this.
“Micah! Listen to me. I’m here now, and I’m not leaving without you.” She couldn’t raise her voice—she didn’t know how close Otto and Gravelly were. For all she knew, they could be sitting right outside the closet listening to every word.
“Can’t escape Big Daddy,” Micah whispered.
“His name is Otto Armin, baby. He’s just a man. He doesn’t own you, and he’s not going to get away with this.” After a few moments of attempting to rock him back and forth while being unable to hold him, Dana pressed a kiss to the top of his head, despite the pain from her split lip. “I need you to do something for me, sweetie. Reach into the front pocket of my jeans. There’s an earbud in there that will let me hear the guys I’m working with. Can you tuck it in my ear?”
“They aren’t coming,” he sobbed. “Didn’t you hear Big Daddy? He made them stop. They won’t find us. No one ever finds us.”
“They will.” She had to believe Terry wouldn’t give up. That she hadn’t come all this way for some goon to beat her to a pulp and dump her out in the middle of nowhere. If Otto even intended to let her go, something she definitely did not believe. “Please, Micah. I know you’re hurt and scared, but I can’t move my hands.”
Her nephew patted her hip until he found her pocket, dug deep, and pulled out the small device. “Got it.” His hands were sticky on her ear, and the distinct scent of blood reached her nose. Her vision had been so blurry, she hadn’t been able to tell how badly he was injured. But as soon as the little device was in place, she whispered Terry’s name.
“Dana? Thank fuck. Where are you?” Terry asked. She’d never heard his voice so tense, so desperate.
“I don’t know. Some sort of closet. Micah’s with me. I was unconscious when they brought me here. I don’t know how long.”
Her nephew curled into a ball next to her and started to cry softly. Dana ached to be able to put her arms around him. Closets had doors. And doorknobs. Maybe if she could get enough leverage, she could snap the zip tie.
“We can track your earbud. Just don’t lose it and we’ll find you. Flynn’s trying to find you now. Do whatever you can to stay with Micah and stay safe for the next twenty minutes, okay, sweetheart?”
