For the Birds: Rose Gardner Investigations #2 (Rose Gardner Investigatons) Page 10

  They set me down on my now shoeless feet, but the way I was bound made it impossible to stand. They hooked hands around my upper arms and started to drag me across the concrete floor of what I realized was an empty warehouse.

  I forced myself to stay calm. I needed to keep my wits about me, and the first order of business was to figure out where I was. If I found a way to make a break for it, I needed to know where to go. But there was nothing around that hinted at our location, and even if I broke free from their hold, there was no way I could run with my legs taped together.

  I was in deep crap.

  They stopped in front of a door next to a dark room with a window facing toward us, then opened the door and shoved me inside. I fell to the floor face first. My bound hands broke my fall, and I rolled to the side, my shoulder hitting a sharp piece of metal. I released a cry through the fabric in my mouth, but the door had already been shut behind me.

  I had several things to my advantage. One, even though the room was dark, the light from the warehouse streamed through the window, giving me enough light to see I was in an office. Two, my hands were bound in front of me, which meant I could use them. Three, I was pissed as hell, and I was fighting my way out of here.

  I had no idea how long I had until someone came back, so I got to work right away, ignoring the pain in my shoulder and head. I yanked the cloth wrapped around my mouth down over my chin and pulled the nasty rag out of my mouth. Then I crawled across the room to the desk, got to my knees, and opened the closest drawer. I could barely see the contents, but I felt around and found paper clips, ink pens, Post-it notes . . . scissors.

  I nearly cried with relief as I pulled them out. Sitting on the floor, I turned the scissors so they were pointing toward me, but my hands were too shaky to get a good hold on them. I closed my eyes and forced myself to take a breath and calm down. I needed to be level-headed. The panic wasn’t helping.

  After several cleansing breaths, I opened my eyes and focused on the task at hand, cutting through the tape with agonizing slowness. They must have been given an impressive budget for the tape, judging by how much they’d used to bind my hands and feet. As soon as I made it halfway through, I slammed my hands down several times on my upright knees to break through the rest. I didn’t waste any time before snagging the scissors again and cutting through the tape at my ankles. Once I was free, I scrambled to my feet and reached for the doorknob. Locked.

  Now what?

  There was only one answer, really. Call James.

  I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and pressed his speed dial number. Hopefully the single bar of service on my screen would be enough.

  “Malcolm,” he barked in a harsh voice, obviously still pissed at me since he had my number programmed into his phone.

  To my irritation, I started to cry when I heard his voice. “James.”

  “Rose?” His anger instantly gave way to panic. “Are you in trouble?”

  “Two guys knocked me out and stuffed me in a trunk. And now I’m in an office in a warehouse.” I was babbling like a fool, and I needed to pull myself together. Just because I’d gotten a hold of James didn’t mean I was safe. “They know I’m Lady.”

  “Who? What warehouse?”

  “I don’t know.” I looked around the room, but there were no hints as to my location.

  “You’re breaking up.”

  I glanced at my phone. “I only have one bar.”

  “Try to pull up your map app. If it will open, we can figure out where you are.”

  Why hadn’t I thought of that? I opened the app, frustrated by the spinning wheel. “The page won’t load. I don’t have enough service.”

  “That’s okay,” he said in a deceptively calm voice. “We can still figure it out. Tell me what you see.”

  “I’m locked in an office with a window overlooking the interior of the empty warehouse.”

  “There’s nothing in it at all?”

  “No. Nothing other than the car they brought me in. It’s some kind of dark sedan, older. The warehouse doesn’t look brand new; it’s not all that old either.”

  “Jed,” he barked. “An empty warehouse in Fenton County that’s in decent shape. Nothin’ stored in it.”

  Jed? What was Jed doing there? Why wasn’t he with Neely Kate?

  There was silence for a second; then I heard Jed’s muffled voice. “There’s nothin’ like that in Fenton County.”

  I wasn’t in Fenton County. Where was I? Fear swamped my head.

  “Rose,” James said in his cool-as-a-cucumber voice. “You said they put you in the trunk of a car. How long were you in there?”

  “I don’t know,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “They knocked me out. I didn’t come to until I was almost here.”

  “Okay. Listen to me. We’re gonna come get you, but you have to look around and tell me what you see.”

  I sucked in a breath, willing myself to stay calm, and did as he’d asked. “There’s a desk in front of a window, but there’s no chair. The calendar on the bulletin board is two years old.”

  “That’s good. The warehouse hasn’t been used in two years. What else do you see? Is there writing at the top of the calendar?”

  Having James’ calm voice in my ear was settling me down. “Farmer’s Bank and Trust.”

  “Farmer’s Bank and Trust,” he repeated.

  “That doesn’t narrow it down,” I heard Jed say. “They have branches in Louisiana and all over Arkansas.”

  “Tell me more, Rose,” James said. “Look for envelopes with addresses on them.”

  I got to my knees. “There’s nothing on the top of the desk, but there were supplies in one of the drawers. That’s where I got the scissors to cut the duct tape.”

  Keeping down, I glanced out the window, looking for my abductors again, but the only thing out there was the car they’d brought me in. Where were the men?

  I searched the open drawer, finding nothing, then moved to the next one.

  “Rose, talk to me.” Tension strangled his voice.

  “I’m lookin’ through the next drawer.” I found a single envelope inside, but just as I was about to inspect it for markings, I heard gunshots from the main part of the warehouse.

  “What’s happening?” James demanded, his voice tight. “Is that gunfire?”

  My heart pounded into my ribcage. “Yeah, but I can’t see what’s goin’ on.” I rose up on my shaking knees. “Three men just burst through a loading dock door shootin’ guns. And there are gunshots comin’ from outside the office door.”

  But where were they hiding? Because from what I’d seen earlier, the car was the only thing they had to hide behind.

  “Stay down!” he said. “Is there anywhere to take cover?”

  “The metal desk. I’m getting under there. The wall is made of concrete blocks.”

  “Good. Now stay down and keep hidden. Let them have their shootout, and when the coast is clear, we’ll figure out how to get you.”

  There were multiple rounds of gunshots, and I hated that I felt so defenseless. Why had I left my purse in Levi’s truck? Not that I’d been carrying my gun lately. While I didn’t like carrying it, I’d been given it for self-defense—a precaution I clearly needed given the fact that this was not my first kidnapping. If I got out of this alive, I would start carrying it more regularly. No. When I got out of here.

  “What’s happening now?” he asked.

  “There are lots more gunshots. Some are still close, so I’m guessin’ at least one of the guys who took me is still alive.”

  “And you didn’t recognize the guys who took you?”

  “No. I’ve never seen them before.”

  “What did they look like?”

  “In their thirties. Average looking.”

  “Tattoos?”

  I hadn’t given it much thought, but now I remembered seeing a flash of something. “One had some kind of bird on his arm, but I didn’t see much of either of them.”

&nb
sp; The gunshots abruptly stopped.

  “Has the gunfire ended?”

  “Yeah.” My breath was coming in rapid pants.

  After several seconds, James asked, “Do you hear anything?”

  “No.”

  “Stay there. We have no idea why those guys busted in, but we’re gonna let them do their business and be on their way.”

  I didn’t answer, my ears straining to listen.

  James and I were silent for nearly ten seconds before he said, “Rose. I’m sorry.” The fear in his voice scared me.

  My heart skipped a beat. “What are you sorry for?”

  “I had Brett watchin’ you, and when he saw you were with that vet, I called him off. This is my fault.”

  “This isn’t your fault,” I whispered. “You’re not responsible for me.”

  James paused, then said, “Your voice hasn’t been breaking up. See if you can pull up your map.”

  I glanced down at my phone—there were two bars, but the app still wouldn’t load. I scooted out from under the desk and pulled a solid three bars.

  The app had finally started to load when I heard the doorknob jiggling. I glanced up in panic, about to dive for the desk, but there wasn’t any time. The door opened, and I saw a man I recognized standing in the doorway. He’d been at the parley three weeks ago. He was one of Buck Reynolds’ men. Tim Dermot.

  He reached a hand toward me. “Give me the phone.”

  I wanted to protest, but the gun pointed at my chest helped me change my mind. Still on my knees, I handed it to him. He snatched it from me and promptly dropped it on the ground behind him. If it had been a living entity, the three shots he pumped into it would certainly have killed it.

  I jumped and let out a gasp before he turned back to me. “Who were you talkin’ to?”

  Should I lie? The truth seemed better in this instance. “Skeeter Malcolm. He knows where I am, and he’s comin’ to get me.”

  Okay, semi-truth.

  A small smile spread across his face. “That’s what we’re countin’ on.”

  Well, crappy doodles.

  “If you’re countin’ on him comin’ for me, then why shoot my phone? Why not just offer him a polite invitation to join us?”

  “Because we’re not stayin’ here.” He leaned over and grabbed my upper arm, tugging me to my feet. “Time to go.”

  “I think I’d rather just stay here and wait for James.” Dammit. I’d used his real name.

  Dermot’s eyes lit up. “James, huh? So Buck’s right. You two are screwin’.”

  I jerked free of his hold. “My personal life is none of your business.”

  “Everything to do with James Malcolm’s life is our business. If you’re part of it, then it is our business.”

  I could continue arguing that we hadn’t slept together, but that meant nothing. It was obvious James found me valuable—the hows and whys didn’t much matter.

  The more details I gave Buck Reynolds, the more leverage he would have.

  “I won’t be any part of tryin’ to hurt him.”

  His only answer was to grab my arm and drag me out of the office.

  My head swam when I saw the bodies of the two guys who’d captured me lying on the floor in puddles of blood that soaked their clothes. Tim continued to drag me toward the loading dock doors.

  “What do you want?” I asked. Instinct told me to resist, but from the looks of it, Tim Dermot and his two buddies had just busted in to rescue me. Or take me hostage themselves.

  Again, he stayed silent as he marched out the door with me in tow. I saw two guys standing next to a car. The one facing me was wearing a grim expression, probably because his arm was bleeding. The other guy was wrapping a piece of gauze around it for pressure. He tied a knot and then pivoted to face me.

  Standing in front of me was none other than Buck Reynolds.

  I’d just jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

  “I take it you’re here to kidnap me too,” I said, sounding sassier than I felt. I was about to pee my pants with fear, but I didn’t want them to know that.

  A grim smile twisted his lips. “Hardly. I’m here to hire you.”

  Chapter 10

  I lifted my chin and gave him a hard stare, hoping he didn’t see my shaking hands. “If you wanted me to landscape your yard, all you had to do was call my office for an appointment.”

  He laughed. “You’re funny.”

  “Strange,” I said, getting ticked. “Because I’m not feelin’ very funny right now.”

  He held up a hand. “Now calm down, Lady.”

  Lady. There it was again, but then Buck had learned my identity at the parley. “I’m not for hire.”

  “See, I think you are . . . for the right price.”

  I balled my hands at my sides. “Are you threatenin’ me?”

  He pulled a pocket knife out of his jeans pocket and flicked it open. He gave me a cold stare as he advanced toward me with the four-inch blade pointed at my chest. Everything in me screamed to run, but I was barefoot and wouldn’t make it three feet before he caught me. I’d rather piss him off for standing up to him without flinching.

  But that was easier said than done when he brought the blade to rest on my throat.

  My breath was coming in rapid pants, and I was worried the blade would be jarred by my jerky movement. But he surprised me by hooking the knife under the cloth that had been tied around my head and giving it a jerk, cutting the gag in two.

  Buck leaned close enough for me to smell his bad breath. “You seem pretty ungrateful considerin’ we just saved your life,” he said in a dry tone.

  Maybe he had a point, but I wasn’t about to let on how much he intimidated me. “How do I know you didn’t orchestrate this whole scheme to convince me to trust you?”

  Wearing a smug smile, he stepped back, stuffed the knife back into his pocket, then held out his hands. “The only thing I arranged was your safe rescue.”

  “And yet you knew exactly where I was when Skeeter Malcolm had no idea.”

  Tim Dermot laughed. “So, he’s Skeeter now. And that’s sayin’ a whole helluva lot about him if he lets two different groups snatch you. Malcolm’s getting sloppy.”

  “So you’re not denying you were part of this?” No matter how he answered, I didn’t trust him one iota. I needed to focus on getting myself out of here. Buck had two men with him, but maybe I could get to the car that had been used in my kidnapping. It would be foolhardy to try it, and they would definitely chase me down. Was it worth the risk?

  “I would have had to sacrifice two of my men to stage this,” Buck said with a shake of his head. “Malcolm may find his men expendable, but I can assure you that I’d not be so careless with mine.”

  There was no good way to answer. To defend James would hint that I had a special relationship with him. To remain silent would suggest I was condoning the actions Buck was accusing him of. I chose to ignore it. “If you had nothing to do with this, then how did you find me so quickly?”

  “The how of it was simple enough. We’ve been watching you, bidin’ our time. You’re a very popular woman, Lady. You’re almost constantly with someone, and when you were finally alone, you were snatched out from under our noses.”

  If Buck hadn’t staged my kidnapping, then who had? “For the sake of argument, let’s say I buy that you followed me and dispensed with the two men who took me. Who were they?”

  “We’re about to find out.” He walked a couple of feet past me before glancing over his shoulder. “Well, come on. You want to know as much as I do.”

  I grabbed the cloth still looped around the back of my neck and tossed it onto the ground as I followed him. I was halfway tempted to head for the kidnappers’ car after all, but I suspected the keys were in one of the dead men’s pants.

  Buck had longer legs than I did, and he wasn’t waiting for me. Dermot, on the other hand, was sticking close, probably to make sure I didn’t run off. So much for escaping in
the car.

  Dammit.

  I didn’t like this one bit. Buck had said he wanted to hire me, but he hadn’t so much as hinted at what he wanted me to do, although calling me Lady indicated it was criminal in nature. Did he know about my visions?

  Buck was standing in front of the two dead men when I caught up to him.

  “Do you recognize them?” he grunted.

  Was he talking to me or to his buddy?

  When Dermot didn’t answer, I said, “No.” But then I took another look at the driver and said, “Wait. Yes. That one.” I pointed to him. “I saw him this afternoon in that car.” I gestured behind me.

  “Any idea about who he might work for?”

  I shook my head, resisting the urge to wrap my arms across my chest even though I felt close to falling apart. I needed to look strong. “None.”

  “Dermot?” he asked.

  “No.” Dermot squatted next to the driver and fished the guy’s wallet out of his pants pocket. He opened it as he stood. “Elijah Landry. His license says he lives in Shreveport.”

  Buck turned to me. “Why would a guy from Shreveport want you?”

  That surprised me too, but this was almost certainly about James, not me. Still, the hint of condescension in Buck’s voice pissed me off.

  “Any truth to you being from Louisiana?” he asked. “My own research suggests you’ve always lived here except for the six months you went to Southern Arkansas University before you dropped out and came home.”

  He’d researched me, and while I wasn’t exactly surprised, I was beyond pissed. “You want to know why someone from Shreveport wants me? How about you tell me why a nobody Fenton County guy would want me?”

  “I guess you’ll have to ask Malcolm that yourself.” Buck grinned, looking plenty pleased with himself.

  I was done with this nonsense. “Then I’ll be on my way to go ask him.” I spun around and started walking toward Elijah Landry’s car, praying he’d left the keys in the ignition after all.