Lenora Worth - Tracker

Zeke pulled Max aside and said something into his ear. The other man shot a frown at her. Did he know what she was afraid of, what was tearing through her racing mind?

Zeke came over and bent down in front of her. “It’s highly unlikely that they’d hurt Kevin, Penny. You have to keep telling yourself that. Jake wants him, so he would order them not to harm him.”

Closing her eyes to the shattering nerves breaking apart piece by piece throughout her core, she said, “Sure. And while I’m at it, I’ll keep telling myself that Jake doesn’t have him in that van headed to another getaway car or to the airport.”

Zeke stared at her for a brief moment but one of the other agents called him. “I’ll be right back.” Then he whirled around. “And, Penny, don’t go anywhere, understand? That would only make this worse.”

Penny didn’t believe it could get much worse but if they didn’t do something soon, she would sneak out to her Jeep and do whatever she had to do to find Kevin. And she’d take Claire’s shotgun with her.

FOUR

Fifteen minutes passed and Penny didn’t think she could take another moment of waiting. Here she sat, wringing her hands, the sound of people talking around her drowned out by the emptiness clamoring inside her heart. “Kevin,” she whispered, closing her eyes. “Kevin.”

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”

She opened her eyes to find Claire Crayton gingerly stepping down the stairs, a bright red bump shining on her forehead. Claire had been so kind to Penny when she’d pulled up in the parking lot a month ago, on her last ounce of gasoline, Kevin crying in his car seat. Claire had booked them a room immediately and offered to babysit anytime Penny needed her.

“I tried to stop him but he hit me hard with his gun and I went down like a rock. Grabbed my gun but...he held the child and...” The older woman’s eyes watered and her voice wobbled to a halt. “He took our precious boy. It’s my fault, too.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Penny said, standing to wrap her hands around Claire’s plump, comforting shoulders, her own eyes wet with tears, her own bruises and scratches burning from the salt. “It’s my fault. I knew his daddy was dangerous, but I never dreamed he’d send a henchman to kidnap my son.”

Then she started sobbing against Claire’s plaid shirt, the scent of rose water and cinnamon cookies overtaking her. “I want him back, Claire. I want my little boy back.”

A strong hand touched her on the arm.

Zeke.

His dark eyes held the same despair that raged through her, raw and jagged and burning. He placed her back in the nearby chair and kneeled in front of her again, his eyes on her. “Listen, we’ve got people out looking already, and we’ve put out an Amber Alert. But I need you to take me to the room where Kevin sleeps, okay? Cheetah can pick up his scent. It hasn’t been that long, so if I hurry I can locate him.”

“Did the others search his room?”

“Yes, but they were looking for clues regarding the kidnapper. They’re searching for him while others are searching for Kevin. Both of them, really. I want to focus more on Kevin since Cheetah is trained in search and rescue.” Touching a hand to her arm, he leaned in. “I promise I’m going to do everything in my power to bring Kevin back to you.”

“I’m going with you to search,” she said, standing and hurrying up the stairs, her heart beating just as fast as her hiking boots.

Zeke took off after her. “No.”

“Yes.” She stopped on the second-floor landing and turned at the first door on the left. “This is our room. I have the bedroom and he sleeps here in the living room in this crib.”

Pointing to a large mahogany baby bed full of blankets and sheets decked out in a cowboy design, she walked over and picked up a stuffed brown horse, tears streaming down her face. Holding it close before she handed it to Zeke, anguish cutting through her, she said, “I’m going with you. Do you understand?”

Zeke let out a sigh, compassion in his dark eyes, and leaned down so Cheetah could get a good sniff of the worn horse. The canine lifted his snout, his ears perking up. “Yes, I understand. And since I need to keep you alive, I will go along with it. But Penny, you have to stay out of the way, okay?”

“Okay.” She wiped away tears and lifted her head, staring at him with a dangerous resolve in her heart. After grabbing some baby supplies and shoving them into a diaper bag, she turned to him. “Let’s go.”

* * *

Zeke’s head pounded with fatigue and tension ten times worse than foot soldiers stomping on his brain, but he followed Cheetah through the house and out to the SUV. Penny had insisted on gathering up some things for Kevin, including the little stuffed horse she’d clung to while the techs went over her room. Cheetah had hopefully picked up the kidnapper’s scent, too, since the man had been in the house.

Zeke had to make this right.

The situation here was under control so he needed to be out there looking. The Wild Iris had become ground zero to set up operations to find Kevin and Jake. Locals and FBI alike scoured the grounds and had laptops out on top of their vehicles, searching with maps and following leads on tips. They’d had calls about sightings of three different vans in three different areas, but none of them had panned out. This could take all night. Max had assigned Nina Atkins, the petite blonde rookie who’d recently joined the team, to stay at the inn along with a couple of other agents and two locals. Nina and her K-9 partner, Sam, a cadaver-detection-trained Rottweiler, were to watch over Claire and the staff and residents. Whoever took Kevin wouldn’t like leaving behind witnesses.

Claire and her crew went to work on bringing them food and drinks and offered whatever else they needed in the way of comfort. Rex answered the phone and explained the situation to the few other boarders who’d drifted in from work or travels and directed traffic to the restrooms and the coffeepot.

Vehicles kept coming and going. But no sightings had brought any substantial information, and they’d had no word on any solid leads even though the local citizens were being vigilant about helping. No one liked to hear of a child being kidnapped. Zeke couldn’t let Penny see his own anxiety, but the dread pooling inside his stomach made that last cup of coffee he’d downed turn sour.

Jake was a master at setting up distractions and false scenarios. It had been one of his best assets as an agent. He’d certainly proved that today but not in a good way. Worried, Zeke knew his brother could charm just about anyone into doing his bidding.

He’d obviously gone to a lot of trouble to set things up so that while he was holding Penny and shoving her through the woods, his accomplice, Gunther Caprice, had kidnapped Kevin.

Zeke wished with all his heart he could have hauled his brother in. But even then, Gunther could have been long gone with Kevin. That thought chilled Zeke to his bones.

To make matters worse, Max wasn’t too happy with him right now. Zeke had Jake in his sights and had let him get away. The whole unit probably thought he’d allowed his half brother to escape. He’d get things straight with Max and the others later. Right now, he was worried about the woman trailing behind him. Trying to get a handle of things, he studied her closely. If he was going to protect her and Kevin, he needed to figure out who exactly he was dealing with.

She was pretty in an outdoorsy kind of way. All golden skinned and toned, not an ounce of wasted fat on her. Probably worked out on a daily basis. Her hair was cut in choppy shoulder-length layers that sprouted out like waves of wheat around her triangular face. Her eyes were almond shaped and a crystal clear blue. Not piercing like Max’s, but more of a clear-sky blue that reflected her heart.