“I promise I won’t,” he replied. “But there’s someone else I need to get back to their family in one piece.”
She squeezed his hand, and then one of the paramedics led her away so she could get checked over. He watched as she went, feeling a pang at the thought of leaving her again, but he promised himself it wasn’t going to be for long. Soon enough, he would be back by her side.
He stalked over to Granger, who was being held along with both of his sons inside a cop car. All of them were cuffed and looked worse for wear, though what they had waiting in front of them was far worse than anything Xavier or Lawson could have inflicted on them with their fists and weapons.
Lawson yanked open the door, startling the men inside. “Where’s Lainey?” he demanded, reaching inside the car, grabbing Granger by the collar.
The man grinned at him, teeth smeared with blood. “You really think I’m going to tell you where that bitch is?” he asked. “Let her rot. If we’re going to prison, she can stay in hers, too.”
Lawson grimaced. Okay, so he wasn’t going to get the information out of Granger, but maybe his sons would be quicker to crack. He looked at them.
“Lyle, Nelson,” he snapped. “You want a couple of years cut off your sentence?”
“Yes,” Lyle blurted out. His face was pale where it wasn’t marked with blood or bruises. They were looking down the barrel of a long life in prison for helping their father with his crimes, and he figured they would want to do anything they could to try to shorten their time behind bars.
Though Lawson knew damn well he couldn’t cut them a deal like that, he was willing to try anything he could to get them to hand over Lainey’s location.
“Then you tell me where she’s being held,” he continued, lowering his voice so it didn’t travel beyond the back seat and the three men inside. He didn’t want them trying to use what he had said to wheedle their way out of the sentence they deserved, and he was going to use everything he had at his disposal to get them to talk.
“Don’t say a damn word,” Granger warned his sons.
Lawson watched the two brothers closely. Indecision flickered across both their faces before their eyes darted to theirfather’s. Lawson’s pulse jumped in anticipation. One of them was about to crack, he could tell. Granger could tell too, if his face turning a concerning shade of red was any indication. Looked like whatever power the man once had over his sons was gone.
“There’s a compound, just outside of town,” Lyle said quickly, like he wanted to be the one to tell him. “And I… She’s being held in a back room there. The code for the building’s main door lock is two-six-three-one.”
“Address,” Lawson ordered. “Now.”
“It’s where the old dairy farm used to be,” Nelson revealed. “It always stunk of old milk.”
Granger growled, trying to tell them not to say anything else, but that was all Lawson needed to hear from them. He slammed the car door shut and headed over to Sheriff Willis.
“You know where the old dairy farm outside of town is?” he demanded.
“Yeah, about an hour from here,” the sheriff replied. “Why? You got a craving for cheese all of a sudden?”
Lawson managed to let out a laugh, despite the circumstances. He shook his head. “They’re holding my friend Lainey there,” he replied. “I need to get to her.”
“I’ll take you there myself,” the sheriff replied. “My officers have this under control. They’re taking this personally, after what happened at the station.”
Lawson nodded in understanding. He knew the horror of what had gone down that day would live long in the memory of the town. Blue Ridge had never had any incidents of that magnitude.
Sheriff Willis and Lawson climbed into the sheriff’s car and sped away from the lodge. Time was of the essence since they didn’t know how long Lainey had been held or what condition she was in. The sheriff radioed in what was happening and a fewother vehicles joined them on the road. Lawson looked over his shoulder to see who all was following them.
“Who’s with us?” Lawson asked warily.
“A SWAT unit and the FBI,” the sheriff replied. “When the women came racing into town for help, they busted in the station while I was finishing up with the FBI. They filled us in on what they knew, that Granger and his men would be attacking the lodge soon and about Sarah. We had already devised a plan and were about to split up to put it in motion. I tried to reach you guys, but they must have already taken out the communications.”
Lawson grimaced. They could have used them earlier at the lodge, but at least they were helping with the cleanup now, and to get Lainey. Might not be a bad thing to have them along in case Granger had any more men hanging around their base of operation. Lawson hadn’t thought to ask the man’s sons. He was just concentrating on getting to his friend as fast as possible. He had no idea how long they’d actually had her or what had been done to her.
One thing he did know, though, was now her superiors had to take the information she’d given them and do something about it. Pass everything along through the proper channels to see that Victor Granger and his sons got the punishment they deserved. And Lainey would be free to return to her family.
They just needed to find her alive. Lawson knew she was a fighter, since that’s what had gotten her into this mess in the first place. Not being able to let something go or someone else take the reins. He just had to hope she’d kept a level head through it all so Granger hadn’t felt the need to get rid of her.
Eventually, the sheriff pulled the car to a halt outside a run-down factory; there were several fresh tire marks outside, a sure sign that it had been used recently. Lawson climbed out of the car cautiously, eyes darting around to make sure there were nomen left over to guard the place, but it looked like all of them had been sent to the attack on the lodge.
The SWAT team and FBI vehicles pulled up behind them. Agents fanned out to search the grounds and the building. Before Lawson could offer them the code Lyle had given him, they blasted the door. Lawson rushed in behind them, glancing around, calling out for Lainey. For a moment, a dark, unsettling silence hung over the place.
As the group he was with moved farther into the building, they heard more gunshots echoing around. Apparently, there were some men left there after all. A voice sounded over their comm unit, relaying that everything was clear, and the team Lawson was with proceeded.
