Cole stared over at the group of girls huddled by the building, considering his options. He turned back to his brothers. “Look, we take the girls back to Wyatt. They don’t see anything. They don’t know anything. Once they’re gone, Chuck, Ling, the van, they all disappear.”
“What if the girls talk?” Crash asked.
“I don’t know, man. We make sure they know that would be a real bad idea. Anybody else got a better solution? I’m all ears,” Cole snapped.
No one said anything.
“Are we together on this, boys?” Cole asked, looking around at all their faces.
“Yeah.”
“Sure.”
“Whatever.”
“I hope to hell you know what you’re doing,” Crash added.
Cole nodded and looked back at the girls.
***
Angel had her arm around one of the younger girls and was trying to calm her down. Most of them were crying, but she had convinced them that they were safe now and would soon be back with their families.
The guys walked back to where she was waiting with the girls.
Cole looked at them all and she could see from his expression that he knew they were still frightened. “No one here is going to hurt you. We’re going to get you home.”
“So, how will we get back? Are you going to call the police?” one of the girls asked.
“No. No police, darlin’.” Cole smiled. “You’ll ride on the back of the bikes.”
“With them?” she asked, looking at the guys.
“Yeah. With them.”
“It’ll be all right, girls,” Angel assured them. “I know they hardly look like knights in shining armor, but they did just ride in and rescue you.”
Cole turned back to his brothers. “Pick one.”
They each moved toward the bunch, grabbed a girl by the hand, and led her toward their bike.
Cole smiled, watching his brothers trying to handle them gently. He thought he even heard Red Dog say, “There, there, now little lady.” Then Cole turned back to Angel and smiled. “Knights in shining armor?”
Angel shrugged.
When the girls were out of earshot, Cole bent close to Angel’s face. “Look, this didn’t exactly go as planned. These girls…” he broke off, shaking his head. “They can’t talk. If they do—”
“I know. I know. They’ll end up dead.”
“Exactly.” He stared at her. “You gotta help me persuade ‘em.”
She nodded. “I’ll make sure.”
“They’re gonna run ‘em back up to Wyatt. Then come back and we’ll take care of the rest of this.”
She looked over his shoulder to the van and the two men lying face down on the pavement.
Cole took her by the hand and walked her back over toward the van.
They watched as the six bikes, each with a scared young girl on the back, pulled out.
Cole sat down on the curb and pulled Angel down beside him. He knew that every minute they stayed here increased the risk. He needed a good place to get rid of these guys and the van. This site was no good. If any of those girls did talk and somehow was able to describe this place, he didn’t want them leading the cops right to the bodies. Cole walked over to the van and rummaged through the glove box. He came walking back with a road map. He unfolded it, found their location on the map, and then he studied the surrounding areas.
About half an hour later, three of the bikes returned—Crash, Red Dog, and Green, who they’d knick-named for his Irish heritage.
Angel watched as the guys loaded Chuck’s bike in the back of the cargo van. It took all four of them to lift the six hundred pound bike. Red Dog slammed the back door shut. They walked over to Ling and Chuck.
Cole looked down at Chuck. “Take his cut off him.”
They stripped it off him and tossed it to Cole.
“Let’s go,” Cole said. They yanked Chuck and Ling to their feet, dragged them toward the back of the van, and threw them inside with the motorcycle. Cole picked up a roll of duct tape from the floor of the van and taped their mouths shut. He slammed the doors shut and turned to his brothers. “I found us a place.”
The guys all nodded. They got back on their bikes and sat waiting.
Cole walked over to Angel. “Look, I need you to drive the van.”
Her eyes drifted over his shoulder. “What?”
“I wouldn’t involve you, but the rest of us have to get these bikes out of here. There’s no one to drive the van but you, babe.”
“Where?”
He smiled and kissed her forehead. “Come on.” He led her over to the driver side door and opened it.
She climbed in.
He handed her the keys.
She turned and glanced back to see the two men crammed in on the other side of the bike. She knew they were handcuffed, but it was still terrifying knowing they were right behind her.
“Angel.”
She turned and looked at Cole.
“It’ll be okay. We’re right here with you.”
She nodded.
“Follow behind me. But not too close.” He grinned. “Don’t run me over.”
She started the engine and waited. She watched Cole walk back to his bike and stuff Chuck’s cut in his saddlebag. The four bikes revved to life, and then Cole roared past her. She pulled out after him with the other three falling in behind. They got back on the interstate and took it down to the next exit.
Cole led them down a desolate road for several miles. He made another turn onto what was more like a trail than a road. There were two tire tracks with grass growing in the middle and woods on both sides. Soon they were deep in the woods. Cole stopped and dismounted.
Angel brought the van to a stop and got out, not wanting to spend another minute in it with those two men.
Cole headed off on foot into the woods on the left. He returned a few minutes later. He walked to the back of the van and pulled the doors open.
“Find a place?” Green asked.
“Yeah. There’s a ravine back there.”