“When the real danger was in the back,” Bones finished for her.
Coulter ran a frustrated hand over his jaw as he continued watching the scene on the screen unfold. Vas snuck up on Alex as she had her back to him. She tossed a bag of trash into the dumpster and started toturn around, but the piece of shit never gave her the chance.
“Son of a—” His hand returned to his jaw in an attempt to keep from howling out in anger when Vas pistol whipped Alex on the back of the head.
She started to go down, but he picked her up and carried her away. They were off the screen in mere seconds.
“CCTV?” Coulter asked Shadow. “Can you access nearby cameras and see what type of vehicle they were driving?”
The woman’s long, blonde ponytail slid up and down her back with a nod. “You read my mind.” Her fingers flew over the keys as she worked her hacking magic.
All at once, several different video images filled the small computer’s screen. Each one providing a different vantage point from the street cameras closest to their location.
“There!”
A dark blue SUV could be seen speeding off from the alley at the next intersection down. From there, they went north.
“Keep going,” Coulter ordered.
Shadow began switching through views, from one camera to the next. She was able to keep up with the SUV for several miles.
“Dammit.” Her hands fell away from the keys. “I lost them.”
He refused to give up. “They were still going north, right?”
The computer genius nodded. “Up until themoment they went out of view, yeah. Why? Do you know where they’re headed.”
“Crawford’s jet.” Coulter looked for his boss. When he spotted her across the gallery’s main area talking to two agents he didn’t know, he hollered out, “Agent Price!”
She turned and immediately started walking his way. “You find something?”
“You said you have eyes on Crawford’s plane, right?”
“Affirmative.” She reached for her phone. “They’ve been watching it all morning, but every check-in has been the same. Jet’s still there, and there’s been no sign of our target or Vas.”
“How long has it been since you last spoke to them?” Digger asked.
“Uh. . . let’s see . . .” Price did a quick scan of her phone log. “Damn.”
Coulter’s stomach dropped. “What’s wrong?”
She tapped the screen and put the phone to her ear. “With all the excitement, I didn’t realize they missed the last check-in. They were supposed to call every hour on the hour.”
He and the others immediately checked the time on their watches. Several curses flew when they realized it was twenty minutes past the hour.
“Ah, hell.” Agent Price lowered her phone with an ominous stare. “My guys at the air strip aren’t picking up.”
Oh, God.
“We can’t let her get on that plane!” Coulter bolted for the door.
Garrett and the others fell in step without having tobe asked. But as they reached the gallery’s entrance leave, Rafe Owens opened the door to come inside.
The fifty-two-year-old owner of Tac-Ops slid his solemn gaze Coulter’s way.
“Shadow called and said Alex Webb is missing.” His English accent was thick and deep. “She’s one of us, so I’m here to help.”
“She is.” Coulter swallowed hard. “Missing, I mean.” They were the hardest words he’d ever had to say. “We think we know where they’re taking her, though. We’re on our way there now.”
