Page 53 of Protect and Serve

Charlie frowned at her. “Someone should be here. You know. In case she comes back.” Or in case there was a call. He doubted Dustin was looking for ransom if he’d taken Claire, but they didn’t know for sure it was him. There was always the possibility that something else had happened. “You will be our EIC.”

Lisa blinked. “EIC?”

“Emergency Information Center. Okay?”

She nodded, but her eyes were wide.

“You’ll be great,” he said to ease her fear. “We need you here.”

Cade kissed Lisa, soothing her more, and then the three men headed out in a convoy, barreling toward Snake Gully. Dustin’s house was their first stop. He lived in the older section of town in a house his mother had left him. Thankfully, he had roommates, so Charlie didn’t need to bother with a warrant. They let him in, and when he asked to look around, they were more than happy to oblige.

Probably something to do with the heavy scent of marijuana on the air, though they lit incense in an attempt to cover it.

But all Charlie could discern in his search was that Dustin’s truck was gone and he’d taken some clothes. His roommates had no idea where he’d gone or when he’d left. They were decidedly unhelpful.

After their thorough search, he and Claire’s brothers met back in the foyer.

They were utterly at a loss.

With every passing minute, Charlie’s angst rose. His heart thudded at the thought that he might have, that he could have, lost her.

He’d just found her. He couldn’t let her go.

Not now.

Where on earth was she? If only there was a way to—

He froze as one of their earlier conversations echoed back to him. He glanced at Cody and Cade. “Claire has you on GPS, right?”

Cody nodded. “Yeah.”

“Do you have her on GPS too?”

The brothers froze and exchanged a glance. “Shit, why didn’t we think of that?” Cade muttered.

They both pulled out their phones and Cody’s eyes went wide. “What the hell?” he spurted as he stared at his screen.

“What’s she doing in Amarillo?” Cade showed Charlie his phone, indicating a ping to the northwest of Dallas.

“I don’t know, but by God, I’m finding out. Let’s go.”

“Where to?” Cade asked.

“To the station. I’m going to see about requisitioning a chopper.” They couldn’t drive to Amarillo fast enough to catch up with Claire—and whomever she was with—but a Huey could make the run in a fraction of the time. On the way, he got on the phone and called in a couple favors with friends in the Amarillo area, so he’d have access to a vehicle when he got there. He also put out an APB on Dustin’s plates, hoping that someone might spot them on the road and radio in.

It took some doing, but it wasn’t long before Charlie, Cody and Cade were settled in a chopper on loan from the state troopers and on their way through the murky night toward Amarillo.

No one spoke for the entire trip. They were all far too tense. Testosterone surged through the tiny cabin, and occasionally Cody or Cade would growl something, making the pilot shoot them concerned glances.

God help Dustin when they caught him.

He would be lucky to survive.

Claire wasn’t sure how she slept—as Dustin drove on through the night—but she did. When she awoke, it was dark. It took a second for her to remember what had happened and when she did, new fury raced through her. She knew she was all alone in this. If she was to escape, she’d have to do it on her own.

The road they were on was sparsely traveled. Only a few taillights were visible, and those were far away. She saw the glow of a gas station on the horizon and flicked a look at her captor. “I have to pee.”

She did, but that was hardly the point.