Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Dana Mentink (novels to improve english txt) 📗

Rescue. We need that chopper to take us in. Now—and I don’t care that it’s snowing.”

“Speak to me,” Layke said.

“Good news and bad news. They found multiple images in this area.” He pointed to the map.

“The bad news?”

“The road is gone. I’ve requested Search and Rescue to take us in by helicopter.”

“Will they do that?”

“They will if they know what’s good for them.” He grabbed the sat phone. “We need to roll, though. We’ll meet them here.” Once again, he pointed to the map, showing a clearing.

“Let’s go,” Layke said.

Murray grabbed his hand. “Stay safe, brother. Bring them all home.”

“I promise.”

He would even if it cost him his own life.

* * *

Hannah bolted upward. Too fast. The room spun. Why did her head hurt so much? Where was she? She focused her gaze in the dimly lit space. The small room held twin beds and a dresser. The scent of burning logs lingered in the air, telling her a fireplace was nearby. Gabe slept in a bed beside her. A man with a rifle across his lap sat in a rocking chair in the corner, snoring. She rubbed her head. What had happened at the ranch?

Right. She’d heard screaming and knew the gang had found them. She’d called Layke, but the men stormed into her bedroom and destroyed her phone. They hauled her and Gabe downstairs. She tried to stop them, but they hit her on the head. Hard. That was the last she remembered before waking in this darkened area. Was Layke on his way to rescue them? Lord, make it so.

She glanced at the man with the long beard in the corner. Could she get by him with Gabe without being heard? Why hadn’t they tied her up? Strange. Perhaps it was a God thing. How could she have doubted His sovereignty? Forgive me, Lord.

She eased out of bed. The cool floor tickled her bare feet. They had brought her here without socks? Heartless. At least her flannel pajamas provided warmth.

She gently shook Gabe.

He stirred and she whispered in his ear. “Shh. We need to be quiet.”

She helped him sit up. “Can you walk quietly?”

He nodded.

A beacon of light shone under the door, guiding them forward.

Gabe hit his knee on the foot of the bed and yelped.

They stopped. She held her breath. The urge to flee washed over her, but she dug her nails into her palms to curb herself from the flight mode. She composed herself, determination setting in. She would not put Gabe in further harm by being reckless.

The man snorted and slouched farther into the chair.

Some watchdog Broderick hired.

They tiptoed by him and Hannah turned the knob, easing the door open.

Gabe grabbed her hand and headed down the corridor. “I know which way to go.”

Of course he did. They were at the kidnapper’s ranch. She let him lead her, praying as they went.

They inched down a circular staircase and stopped midway.

Angry voices sounded beneath them.

She pulled Gabe behind her. How she wished for her Beretta right now.

“I don’t care what they say,” the deep voice said. “They won’t take over my business.”

“The Martells are ruthless. They’ll kill us all.” The man’s rushed speech revealed his anxiousness.

A piercing alarm blared throughout the ranch. “What’s that?” another voice asked.

A curse resonated up the stairs. “Someone has breached the front gate. They’re here.”

“Who?”

“The Martells. They’re out for blood. We need to get my wife and everyone else onto the snowmobiles.”

Wife? That had to be the woman Gabe talked about.

“What about the kids?”

“Leave them.”

What? Hannah gasped. She clamped her hand over her mouth, but it was too late. It had echoed into the hallway.

“Who’s that, Broderick?”

The man they’d been hunting was here and she was about to meet him face-to-face.

Footsteps pounded nearby.

“This way.” Gabe grabbed her hand and they scurried down the rest of the stairs, turning right at the bottom.

“Stop, little one,” the voice boomed.

Impossible! It couldn’t be. She skidded to a stop on the hardwood floor and slowly turned.

And gazed into the hardened eyes of her beloved boss.

A cool breeze hovered around her ankles and lingered, slinking up her legs.

“Doyle? You’re Broderick?” The room spun, and she braced herself against the wall as dread cemented in her stomach. Thoughts of their relationship scrambled through her mind, betrayal setting in. How could she have been so blind? He deserved an Oscar for fooling her all these years.

“I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out sooner. You and that insufferable Constable Jackson.”

She rushed at him and pounded her fists on his chest. “How could you? I trusted you.”

“I needed the money.”

She pulled back. “What? This was all for you to get rich? Didn’t the CBSA pay you enough?”

“I have my reasons.” He grabbed her arm. “Why did you have to get in the way, little one?”

She yanked herself free. “Don’t call me that. You don’t have the right.” She pushed away the emotion threatening to consume her. “How long have you been smuggling children?”

“Two years and, yes, it was inside fish trucks. I lied about that when you asked me to look into it.”

Her jaw dropped. “So, this is how all of those men knew everything about us. Where I lived, where we hid, and every move we made?”

“Yup.”

“And you’ve been holding these children here for two years?” How had he gone unseen for that long?

“Some of them, but then we needed more. That’s when we grabbed Gabe and his buddies. Plus Noel’s church group.”

“Where is Noel?”

“Don’t you worry, we have him under control. Now.”

She clenched her fists but kept them at her sides. “What did you do to him?”

“Sedation. My men were tired of his screams.”

Gabe whimpered in the corner.

Doyle’s attention diverted to the boy. He rushed over and hauled him up. “And you… You cost me thousands. We had to destroy the mine because you escaped.” He shook him in midair.

“My love, stop!” A voice behind them commanded obedience.

Hannah turned.

A frail woman in her forties stood with a housecoat wrapped around her and a cane at her side.

The