“Lauren,” she gasped between sobs, “didn’t get off the plane. They said she never got on in Atlanta. That means she’s been missing for over six hours with the layover, Rick. Oh my God, where is our baby?”
The bottom dropped out of his gut, his whole world sinking, sliding out from under him faster than the ground had given way beneath his feet the day his legs had gone to hell.
He knew. Nola’s stalker had made his move after all. He had outthought them in a way they should have foreseen. Rick never should have let Lauren fly alone. Damn it. Why hadn’t the attendants stayed with her as they were supposed to? He’d paid the extra fee to have her watched over and hand escorted to her next flight.
All a moot point now.
“We’ll find her,” he insisted to Lindsay, even as he feared all sorts of nightmares.
Nola’s eyes met his while he continued to talk, her hand closing over his with comfort.
“She could be anywhere.” Lindsay’s thoughts echoed his own, the first time they’d agreed on anything in years.
“I realize that. But is there anything else you can tell me?”
“No,” she wailed. “The police are investigating. The cops here will be contacting the authorities there and I didn’t want you to be surprised by that visit.”
“Thank you.” And please, Lord, they still wouldn’t have a visit from cops with far worse news. He refused to accept that could happen.
Nola swayed on her feet. Rick reached for her but she collapsed into a chair. Already he could see the guilt building to irrational proportions in her eyes.
“Lindsay, is Ben with you?”
“Of course.”
“Okay. Hang tough and I’ll let you know if we hear anything.”
“Us, too.”
They disconnected. He met Nola’s gaze and held, injecting as much steadiness as he could under the circumstances. “It’s not your fault.”
“We don’t have time to waste discussing this. Let’s get the search moving.”
Odd how she knew as well as he did Lauren wouldn’t be in Atlanta long. The bastard who had been stalking Nola would bring Lauren back here to taunt them.
He reached for his cell phone again to recall Bronco, Crusty and Mako from their posts in the woods and up the road.
Within seconds they were in Nola’s living room, too, pacing, while Rick hung up from calling the police. He dropped into a chair, his brain racing.
Crusty plowed his hand through his mess of hair. “I’ll head over to check in with the OSI. We’ve already got things rolling with David Reis so here’s a good place to start. He got a lead on the Internet crimes and traced the server to a local hotel. We’ll see if there’s more to follow up on that.”
Bronco’s eyes lit with a parental concern, obviously a father himself. “Mako and I will make an end run to the airport. It’s a long shot that we can catch him there, but you never know.”
Rick clenched his cell phone. “We’ll stay here and wait for the police. I don’t want to leave in case she shows up here again. Let’s hope she’s just run off.”
As her squadron comrades drove out onto the street, Nola slid her arm around Rick’s waist in comfort. She sat on the arm of the chair beside him. “I am so sorry. I can only imagine what kind of hell you’re going through right now.”
Hell didn’t even come close to describing this. Hoping at best Lauren was alone on the run. Fearing at the worst she was in the hands of a maniac who blew up cars and planted scorpions. He lost track of how long they sat there letting everything sink in, but they both needed a moment to gather their thoughts before…doing what?
“Rick! The window.” She nudged him. “Your gun. Get your gun.”
He looked up from the rug and saw…hell come to life in front of his eyes. An older man stood in the middle of her front yard, framed by the curtains—
Holding a gun to Lauren’s head.
Chapter 16
Nola blinked, hard. And still the unbelievable nightmare stayed in front of her eyes.