Keegan slammed the gas pedal to the floor sending the truck flying forward, trying to ignore the panic that had been threatening since Will had called with the news Nikki was missing.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Kaiden said as he braced himself against the dash- board.

"No. I'm trying to get to her. Have you heard from Will?"

"He texted a second ago. They are almost to the drop point. No sign of the Honda."

"Damn it!" Keegan drove a fist down on to the console beside him.

"Hey, let’s just concentrate on finding Nikki and then we will meet Will and take those bastards down."

Keegan didn't answer. The rest area was just up a head. He barreled into the parking lot, sending up a cloud of dust and gravel. Slamming the brakes, he stopped the truck in front of the building and jumped from the driver's seat. His eyes honed in on the drip trail of blood leading into the women's restrooms.

"Kaiden! Here!" he called to his brother as he ran in the bathroom. There was blood on the floor under the paper towel dispenser. Tiny drops led him to the last stall where the door hung off of broken hinges. A bloody palm print was on the sill and smears colored the window sash.

Kaiden pulled to a stop right behind. "Those bastards shoot her?"

"I don't know." Keegan shoved past his brother and ran back outside. "Nikki!"

The only response was the echo of his voice so he called again, "Nikki! Where are you? It's safe! You can come out now."

Kaiden now stood beside him, both men staying silent but hearing nothing. Keegan cupped his hands to his mouth and was about to yell again when Kaiden put a hand on his arm.

"Shhh. You hear that?"

From under the trees by the picnic tables they heard a very faint, "Here! I'm here." As he ran toward the sound, a very shaky, very disheveled Nikki pulled herself to her feet using a picnic table for support. She had blood on her face, dirt on her clothes and pine needles stuck in her hair and she looked absolutely beautiful.

"You found me," she said with a weak smile when they reached her.

"Of course, we did." Keegan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. "Where are you hurt? We saw blood."

She held up her hand and showed him her mangled palm. "I did it myself with this." She pulled a screw driver out of her waist band. "It's how I got the trunk open. My hand slipped and the damned thing went near all the way through."

"We need to get you a hospital. You need stitches and a tetanus shot."

She shook her head. "Um, no. This is my case. Take me to the drop point. I want to be there when the whole thing goes down. Then you can take me to the hospital."

"I think you need to go now."

"No. Kaiden? Will you talk some sense into your brother?"

Kaiden held his hands up in mock surrender. "Sorry, but I am on his side with this one. That tool is pretty rusty and who knows what else was living on it?"

His cell phone rang and Kaiden checked the incoming message. "It’s Will. They are about ten miles up the road. There's already people there. He thinks one of them is Salvatore Ricci."

"Let's go. I want to be there!" Nikki pulled out of Keegan's hold and started toward the truck. "I'm going, with or without you."

"Will says we need to get there now or it will be too late," Kaiden said.

Keegan looked from him to Nikki. Her determined look promised him that she wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Fine. Tell him we are on the way."

He scooped Nikki up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way to the truck. Opening the front door, he deposited her on the front seat and dug in to the glove box for a first aid kit. Pulling out a roll of gauze, he took her hand and wrapped it quickly.

"This needs a good cleaning but at least the dressing might stop the bleeding some and prevent any more debris from getting in there."

Nikki nodded. "Thanks."

Kaiden was already in the back seat so Keegan ran around to the driver's side, slid in behind the wheel and took off. Six minutes later, they pulled off the road in another rest area. Will waved to them from the wood line. Kaiden jogged over there while Keegan helped Nikki from the truck.

"You sure about this?"

"It's not like I am doing anything. You macho men will probably have the guys hogtied and handcuffed before I pull my gun. If I still had my gun, I mean."

Will handed her the gun that had been in her purse. "I know you think we took over your investigation—"

"Think? I know. Once the ATF got ahold of things I figured we would work together. But you James men swoop in like the heroes you are and take over. And thanks for finding my gun."

"I'm sorry. I know we can be overwhelming when we are all together."

Nikki grinned. "Sorry? For what? It's a damn good thing the lot of you function the way you do or I might have been fish food by morning. Now let's catch us some gun runners so you and I can have some time alone. We need to talk."

She wanted to talk. She wasn't mad. The future suddenly looked so much brighter than it had even a week ago. Returning her grin with one of his own, Keegan offered her a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am. Your wish is my command."

They joined the others so Will could bring them up to speed. The afternoon had passed quickly and the sun was sinking low, casting shadows from the trees.

"Logan? What are you doing here? Angie?" Keegan was surprised to see his cousin and shocked that Logan's wife was there with him.

"She refused to stay home. Not that I blame her. I'd do the same thing," Clara said, stepping into the little clearing they were gathered in. "Had to make me a trip to the little gal's room. Nikki, you looked like you've taken a real beating today. Why didn't my son take you to the hospital?"

"Angie's not the only hard-headed woman in this crowd, Ma," Keegan replied, dropping an arm gently over Nikki's shoulders and pulling her close.

"Good. You need you a stubborn one to keep you on your toes, boy." She winked at Nikki. "Someone like your momma."

"Someone's coming." Will held a finger to his lips, indicating they should be quiet. "It's an unmarked box truck. Just like we expected."

The truck parked not far from where they hid. Three men piled out, guns on their hips. One of the men had a rifle slung over his shoulder. As they watched, a second truck pulled in and backed up by the other one. Two men stepped out of that one. The five stood quietly, eyeing each other as a black Lincoln Town Car with tinted windows pulled in.

"Salvatore," Angelina whispered, as a tall, broad shouldered man in a perfectly tailored black suit stepped from the car.

As the dark stranger joined the group of men, a black Honda pulled into the lot and blocked the entrance. Keegan heard Nikki gasp. He reached over and squeezed her unbandaged hand. Will motioned that he and his agents were going to work their way west through the trees and that Kaiden and Clara should move to the east side. Keegan and Nikki stayed where they were with Logan as back up. Angelina disappeared into the trees to watch everything go down.

Once they were all in position they waited. For the next half hour, wood crates were moved from one truck to the other while Salvatore and his body guard, the driver of the Town Car, looked on. When they were done, one of the men from the first truck stepped forward and handed Salvatore a briefcase. They shook hands and Will shouted, "Now!"

Will, his team, Kaiden, and Keegan rushed through the woods to surround the group, weapons aimed.

"What the hell is this?" Salvatore yelled.

"Drop your weapons!" Will commanded. "Now!"

Four of the men complied but one hit the trigger instead, sending a shower of bullets toward Will. Keegan aimed his weapon and fired once, dropping the man. He lay motionless on the ground.

"All of you! On the ground, faces down!"

The other men dropped to their stomachs, hands clasped behind their heads. "Don't shoot!" one of them begged.

"Watch out!" Nikki yelled to Kaiden. The two guys from the Honda were running toward them, guns firing. Kaiden spun and ducked, narrowly missing being hit in the chest.

"You got some nerve shooting at my boy!" Clara ran after the men, shotgun aimed.

The man who shot at Kaiden spun to Clara, gun raised when he came face to face with two steel barrels.

"You even think about hurting me or one of mine and I'll blow your head off."

"Crazy bitch!" The man lunged for the weapon but his mother was faster. She dove out of the way, firing off a round that split the tree behind them in to two pieces.

"You called my mother a bitch?" Kaiden whacked the guy on the head with the butt of his gun. His partner took off at a run.

"I got that one!" Logan called tackling the man to the ground and knocking him out with one punch.

"Where's Ricci?" Will called.

Keegan spun and caught a glimpse of the man running in to the trees toward where Nikki was. He took off at a run. "This way! I'm on him!"

"Right behind you, cousin!" Will yelled after him.

Keegan broke through the tree line and stopped dead in his tracks. "No!"

"Let me go. All you have to do is let me go and I won't hurt the woman." Salvatore had his arm around Nikki's neck and a gun to her temple.

"Don't let him go, Keegan."

"You don't have to do this, Ricci."

"Oh, but I do. I am not going back to prison. How the hell did you even figure all this out?"

"Doesn't matter. Right now, you are only on the hook for running guns. If you add murder of a federal agent to the list of charges you'll go away for life. You have to know that."

Logan broke through the trees at a run, coming to a stop when he saw what was happening. "You are some kind of stupid fool."

"Don't you know who I am? I got away with murder before and I will do it again. Drop your weapon."

"No."

Salvatore jammed the barrel of his gun against Nikki's temple. She let out a sharp yelp. Keegan took a step toward them but Salvatore waved his gun at him. "Stay back!"

Keegan met his stare, weighing his next move. No one said anything until they heard a little click. He knew that sound well—the click of a safety being taken off a weapon.

"Hello, Salvatore." Angelina had stepped out of the shadows and now held her pistol to the base of Salvatore's skull. The man froze.

"Ang—Angelina, that you?"

"You know it is. Let my friend go."

"Sorry, can't do that."

"You can and you will. If you don't, I will be forced to shoot you and who is going to question a pregnant woman on a hormone trip?"

"You've gotten vicious, Angelina. I like it."

"Let her go, Sal, or you will be eating your dinner through a straw from now on."

Salvatore looked at Keegan and then Logan, who both had their guns on him as well. Very slowly he lowered his weapon and let Nikki go. As she slipped from his grip, Nikki kicked a leg out and slammed her heel against Salvatore's knee cap. He sprawled on the ground, his gun flying from his hand. Keegan run up and kicked the gun away from him just as Will slapped cuffs on Salvatore and hefted him to his feet.

Logan ran to Angelina and wrapped his arms around her. She kept repeating, "I got him. I got Salvatore."

"Yes, you did. Good work."

"I think I'm ready for that trip to the hospital now," Nikki said. He didn't like how weak her voice was getting.

"You got it, lady." Without waiting for permission, he scooped her up and took off for his truck.

"Keep in touch!" Clara called after them.