Chapter 20
The helicopter was already rising into the air as Reese slid on his earphones. His heart was in his throat as he looked out into the darkness while the helicopter retraced the path they had taken.
He wanted to press the pilot to hurry, as if they might find the right barn faster. He peered out of the helicopter searching the ground with his gaze. He frowned as he saw a structure with glints of light slipping through gaps in the wood planks that made up the walls.
“I think that’s it,” Reese said.
“I see it.” Munoz gave a nod. “I’ll call it in.”
Holloway circled the helicopter around the barn. The only sign that it might be what they were looking for was the light coming from the barn. Nothing else was visible that might indicate anyone could be there.
Again the Holloway guided the helicopter down so that it was hovering over a field behind the barn. This time the craft had to hover higher due to mesquite bushes in the field, so Reese, John, and Munoz had to slide down a rope to the ground to get them close enough.
Once they were on the ground, they headed for the barn. Thanks to living in the Arizona desert and being able to see for miles, the flashing lights of the sheriff’s department and Border Patrol vehicles could be seen some distance away.
John and Reese covered the front of the barn while Munoz stayed in the back. John and Reese stood to either side of the huge double doors and peeked through spaces between the weathered boards.
Reese scanned the interior of the barn. He saw a man’s body lying to one side of a refrigerated truck with pictures of ice cream on the side panels.
Adrenaline surged through Reese. They’d found it. Belle and Kelley had to be here.
From the size of the man’s body lying crumpled on the ground, it could have been Taynor.
Reese saw a movement from around the back of the truck and then a bald, clean-shaven man Reese had never seen before walked from behind the truck to the front. He opened the driver’s side door.
“We need to go in before he gets a chance to drive that truck out of here,” Reese said to John.
John gave a nod. “Let’s go.”
Reese radioed Munoz and then on the count of three, he and John kicked in the barn’s double doors.
The bald man made it behind the wheel and gunned the engine. Reese and John took positions in front of the truck and aimed their weapons at the driver.
“Get out with your hands up!” Reese shouted.
The driver put the truck into gear, gunned the engine, and drove toward Reese and John.
They fired off their weapons, but the bald man managed to duck down behind the wheel and keep the truck going forward even as Reese and John riddled the front windshield with bullets. They were forced to jump out of the way as the big truck barreled past them.
Reese seized his chance and swung up onto the back of the truck and gripped one of the door handles as his feet found purchase on the bumper. Cool air smacked his face as the truck picked up speed.
He holstered his weapon then hung onto a vertical bar with both hands. John and the barn fell behind as the truck bounced over the uneven dirt road, hitting potholes and making it difficult to hold on. The truck’s tires thrummed over a cattle guard and then the vehicle was charging down another dirt road.
As he held on to the vehicle with one hand, he fought to disengage the heavy metal latch that would open the back of the refrigerated truck. Every time the truck hit rough ground, Reese had to pause to maintain his grip.
He ground his teeth as he tried again to unlatch the back, but his position was awkward and he was finding it difficult to get a good grip on the latch’s handle with just the three fingers of his left hand.
The truck hit a particularly large pothole and jostled Reese so hard that he almost lost his balance. He had to grab the bar with both hands and somehow he managed to hang on.
He heard sirens growing louder and the flash of red and blue lights bouncing off the mesquite bushes lining the dirt road. He set his jaw and grasped the latch handle again. With all his strength, he pulled at it and felt something give so fast that he almost lost his balance again.
The heavy door swung open and Reese slipped his body into the opening. Ice-cold air hit him and goose bumps rose on his skin. The door swung back and hit him from behind, almost knocking the breath from him.
Pinned between the doors, he the steadied himself and looked inside. It was so dark that he couldn’t see into the depths. He held on with one hand while fumbling for his slim flashlight from his belt with the three fingers of his left hand.
He gritted his teeth as the heavy door bounced against his back and he lost his grip on the flashlight. It dropped with a clatter onto the metal floor and rolled. He swore and tried to look inside. From what moonlight leaked in through the opening, he could see no one and he heard nothing.
Likely, Kelley and Belle had to be hidden in compartments somewhere inside or else they’d freeze to death and that wasn’t what Rocha and Taynor had planned.
He considered climbing inside and grabbing the flashlight to look for them, but it wouldn’t do a damn bit of good for him to freeze to death if he was unable to get the door open from the inside to get out again. Likely they were in insulated compartments somewhere in the truck.
The heavy door at his back made it almost impossible to slip out. With effort, he extricated himself and barely missed having his hand pinned by the door.
Outside the refrigerated truck was positively warm compared to the inside. He inched over so that he could see in front of them.
Sheriff’s department and Border Patrol vehicles blocked the road ahead. The man driving the truck didn’t slow down. If anything, he drove faster.
Reese braced himself for impact.
The truck crashed into the law enforcement vehicles. Sounds of weapons being fired, metal screeching, glass shattering, and the shouts of officers filled the night.
Reese barely heard the noise as the truck started to tilt to one side. It was going down. He jumped off the back and landed on the ground on his shoulder. He felt it dislocate as he rolled and he ground his teeth from the shrieking pain now radiating through him.
He scrambled to his feet and gritting his teeth, he pulled his arm and jerked it back into place. The pain was nothing compared to his fear for Kelley as the huge truck flipped onto its side.
The truck skidded to a stop, resting on its side. Despite the pain in his shoulder, Reese bolted toward the truck, drawing his weapon as he ran. He heard the shouts of other police officers approaching, but they were coming from behind him.
When he neared the truck, the man who’d been driving rose out of the driver’s side window. He raised a weapon and started shooting.
Reese felt a bullet graze his shoulder. He dropped to one knee, steadied himself, and fired off three shots. The man slumped forward, hanging half in and half out of the truck, still gripping his gun.
Cautiously, Reese moved forward, training his weapon on the man who remained still. Just as Reese approached, the bald man rose. He aimed his weapon at Reese who shot the man again.
This time when the man collapsed, his gun slid from his fingers and landed on the ground with a thump.
In moments, the sheriff and his deputies arrived along with the Border Patrol agents, John, and Munoz, and two German shepherds. The deputies took over the scene at the head of the truck. Someone checked the man’s pulse and verified that he was dead.
Reese, John, and the Border Patrol agents took the back. The agents shone flashlights inside the seemingly empty truck. Reese saw his own flashlight shining from what was now the floor of the truck.
The agents turned the shepherds loose. They both ran inside and started barking at two sections of what was the floor that was now on its side. Reese and the agents went into the freezing interior and searched for compartments where Kelley and Belle must be hidden.
The compartments were so well hidden that it took some time to find any seams in the metal. One of the agents grabbed a crowbar from his vehicle and Reese took it to pry open the panel.
Pain ricocheted through Reese’s body as he attempted to pry the panel open, especially the shoulder he’d dislocated. He gritted his teeth and only worked harder at it. A scrape of metal and then the panel moved a little. Another agent brought in another crowbar, and together they pried off the panel.
Kelley slid out of the exposed compartment. Reese caught her to him, holding her tightly, never wanting to let go.
“Reese.” Relief was in her voice as she clung to him. “Thank God. Thank you for finding us.”
“I would never have given up until I did,” he said fiercely. “I don’t care how long and hard, I would have found you.”
She drew away as he set her on her feet. “I know you would have. I never doubted it.” Panic crossed her features. “Belle. Where is she?” Kelley looked at the agents who were working on prying open another panel. “Belle. I need to see her.” Kelley sounded horrified. “She hit her head on a pickaxe. Is she alive?”
“We don’t know yet,” Reese said. She started toward the agents, but Reese held her back. “Give them a moment to get the compartment open.”
“If she’s still alive, I need to be the first person Belle sees.” Kelley tried to pull away from Reese, but he kept a grip on her, holding her to him by her shoulders.
Metal screeched again as the panel began to rise. Reese and Kelley moved toward the compartment. “We’ve had a hell of a time getting the compartments open,” Reese said. “They must have some kind of release that we can’t see.”
The moment the panel was removed, Kelley was there to see the girl open her eyes, a dazed expression on her features.
Reese helped Kelley reach for Belle. Kelley brought Belle into her arms and held her tightly.
“It’s all over.” Kelley rocked the girl who began sobbing. “They’ll never hurt you again.”
Belle raised her tear-stained face and looked up at Kelley. “Thank you for saving me.”
“Reese came for us. But if it wasn’t for your phone, it would have been a lot harder.” Kelley brushed tears away from Belle’s face. “You helped save us.”
The girl gripped Kelley’s neck again then went limp.
“Belle.” Tears rolled down Kelley’s face. “Belle, wake up.”
Reese touched his fingers to Belle’s neck. “Her heartbeat is steady. We’ll get her to the hospital now.” He took the girl from Kelley’s arms and they hurried toward one of the waiting sheriff’s department cruisers.
“I’m going with her,” Kelley said with a defiant expression.
“We’ll both go with her.” Reese slid in with Belle in his arms.
Kelley slid onto the seat beside Reese and she reached for Belle’s hand.
The deputy started driving away from the scene, lights flashing in the night.
“Taynor is dead, too.” Kelley’s voice was thick. “I would have liked to kill them both myself.”
“Damn, but I love you, Kelley.” Reese stroked her tangled hair from her face. Her hair was matted with blood. “I was so afraid I’d lose you.”
She met his gaze. “I love you, Reese.” She rested her head on his chest as she gripped Belle’s hand. “I love you,” she whispered again before she passed out.