Dangerous Tease (The Layton Family 3)

“Hey, Sheriff.” The paramedic yanked off her gloves and tossed them in the red bag. “Ignoring advice to go to the hospital. That seems to be a thing with you Laytons.”

Hank flashed the aw-shucks grin that had helped him win the last election. “Yeah, we can be real pains in the ass.”

The paramedic rolled her eyes, grabbed her duffel bag of equipment and strode out of the kitchen, leaving Sam and his big brother alone.

Hank moved in front of him, standing arms akimbo. In his brown Dry Creek Sheriff's Office uniform, he looked all business.

But Sam didn't need the count

y sheriff right now. He needed the kind of backup only a brother could provide. He stood and a wave of dizziness and nausea made his empty stomach lurch. On automatic pilot, he grasped Hank's arm, anchoring himself to reality.

“Man, you probably have a concussion. You're going to the hospital.”

Sam shook his head and tried to clear the fog clouding his mind. “They've got her.”

“Who?”

“Some Vegas loan shark and his muscle took Josie and I couldn't do a damn thing to stop them.” He dropped his hand to his side and tried to ignore the taste of vomit in his mouth.

Hank gave him the once over. “Looks like you sure as hell tried.”

“Fat lot of good it did. Look, we don't have time to waste. We have to find her.”

“Okay, start from the beginning and don't leave anything out.”

By the time Sam had filled in all the blank spaces, he'd nearly paced a groove into the tile floor. “They took Josie and disappeared. They're either on their way to Vegas or using Josie to find Rebecca's Bounty.”

“I've already called the airport. Deputies are all over the highways. If they're out there, we'll find them.”

In his gut, Sam knew exactly where they'd taken Josie. “What if they're on McPherson's Bluff?”

“In this weather?” Hank glanced at the snowflakes dancing outside the bay window. “This is supposed to be just the beginning. If they're on the bluff, they'll be heading in soon. You stay here and I'll go take a look.”

That was not going to happen. “I can't stay here. Josie's out there, Hank. What would you do if it was Beth?”

Hank's jaw tightened and a vein bulged in his temple. Only a few months ago, he and Beth had nearly been killed when they’d ended up in the middle of a deranged woman's revenge plot. The doctors declared he'd forever walk with a limp after taking a bullet in the knee to save Beth.

“You have two minutes to get some clothes on. I'll meet you at my cruiser.”

Chapter Sixteen

The darkness of the car trunk threatened to eat Josie up—or was that the anxiety talking?

“Get ahold of yourself, Winarsky. You're in a world of shit, yes, but that doesn't mean you don't have options.”

Boxes and trash poked her on all sides. Something lay jammed underneath her rib cage. The trunk was a pit, there had to be a weapon in here somewhere. If she could just get her fingers wrapped around a tire iron or socket wrench, she wouldn't feel so helpless. Hopeless.

Josie pushed her legs out and arched her back. There wasn't enough room in the small, dark compartment to move more than an inch or two, but she managed to sweep her left hand across the floor, searching for anything she could use as a weapon. When Snips popped the lid, he'd be in for one hell of a surprise.

A square of plastic glowed above her. Outlined on it was the image of an open trunk.

An emergency release.

Escape!

Josie grabbed the corner, ready to yank, when the car veered off the smooth road and onto one so bumpy it bounced her off the floor and she banged her head on the trunk lid.

The car slowed.