CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
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Sawyer continued to stare at Camryn’s car in somewhat disbelief and…unadulterated fear. Her life was at stake, and all he could do was sit here and pray for a miracle. He wasn’t good at sitting, and neither were his colleagues. The question they would ask later during the after-action analysis was how could the team have done everything right in terms of their investigation, and yet still have Moss always one step ahead of them.
Right now, they needed to do everything in their power to find Camryn.
Her white Lincoln was still next to the gas pump she’d been using when Noel Cassi had abducted her. The back door on the driver’s side had been left open, while a gold box and matching lid lay on the ground. The piece of paper that had been inside of the small container was now being bagged for evidence by a team of federal forensics specialist.
Shepherd Moss had been pulling Noel Cassi’s strings this entire time.
“…and then I saw him drag her into a silver car, maybe a Mazda of some sort.”
Dylan had already given his statement, but he was now speaking with one of the U.S. Marshals who’d arrived on the scene maybe thirty minutes ago. It had been determined that the gift had been left at the hotel for Dylan to give to Camryn. He stated the present had been there upon checking out the day after the photo shoot. He had stuffed it in his bag to deal with at a later date, but his personal problems had caused him to forget all about it until his holiday plans had changed to be spent with Camryn.
The local police had been called in first by the gas attendant whom Dylan had been able to get to dial 911. Then the state police had been summoned by the local authorities, even though Brody had already alerted the U.S. Marshals and the feds. The crime scene was now littered with cops, agents, and the gathering media who had somehow gotten word that Camryn Novak had been abducted.
The local and state authorities had roadblocks set up in a twenty-five-mile radius. Every road, secondary road, and backwoods dirt track was being scoured for a vehicle whose description matched the one used during the abduction at the gas station. The video surveillance of the gas station confirmed their worst fears—Noel Cassi had taken Camryn.
“This is a fucking nightmare,” Royce muttered as he leaned against Sawyer’s truck. They were both waiting on word from Brody on where Cassi had taken Camryn. “I don’t know how Brody is keeping it together. What about you? How are you holding up? Is there anything I can do?”
There wasn’t a thing anyone could do to make this better, with the exception of Brody locating Camryn. Right now, all Sawyer wanted to do was to get his hands on Cassi and make the man suffer a thousand times over.
From what the team had could piece together, Cassi had focused all his energy on Dylan when he couldn’t locate Camryn. The assistant was the only string left dangling who had the ability to lead to Noel Cassi to Camryn. Calvert had suggested over the phone that Moss was the most likely source to have had the ability to monitor Dylan’s movements, thus providing Cassi with the arrival time of the man’s flight.
Causing a rather chaotic traffic accident with the vehicles behind Camryn’s car was icing on the cake, taking out anyone who had been in position to protect her. Cassi wasn’t that smart, which meant Moss was most likely navigating this entire ship.
Fortunately for them, Moss wouldn’t want to be physically too close to this situation should anything go wrong. The noose would have tightened too quickly, leaving an opening for SSI to close in on Cassi should they obtain his nearby location.
“Brody’s staying sane by retracing every security feed from every single street, house, and building that could provide an observation of Cassi’s vehicle,” Sawyer said, after clearing his throat a couple of times. Honestly, it had been hard to breathe ever since they’d discovered Camryn missing. “It’s not like the he can take Camryn into public areas without her being recognized, so I’d say he’s holed up somewhere close by.”
Sawyer could literally sense that dark piece inside of him he’d thought he’d left behind on his last combat tour returning with a vengeance. No man wanted to admit that there was a part of him that wasn’t civilized—a remorseless killer capable of taking a man’s life at the blink of an eye. He’d gone most of his life without ever realizing that fragment of a predator lurked below the surface. After witnessing and living through what war could produce, it had been a blessing to leave that piece of him in the past.
Now?
He was waiting rather impatiently for a chance to unleash that uncivilized, bloodthirsty part of him that would take no prisoners for the atrocities rained down on this team and their family. His skin was crawling with the need for action.
Sawyer lifted the rear seat of his truck and removed the SIG716 patrol rifle. He checked the magazine for rounds before inserting it and cycling the bolt. He then placed the rifle on safe.
The 7.62 x 51mm rounds in his weapon could stop a Mac truck in its tracks, but Sawyer wasn’t hunting for semis.
Camryn had become a part of his life in a very short time, and Sawyer refused to believe they didn’t have a future. Moss had stolen many people’s futures from countless victims over the course of his killing spree…but Camryn wasn’t going to be one them.
“Speak to me.” Sawyer slung his rifle and swiped the bar on his phone the moment the expected call came through. Royce immediately stepped away from the truck and used his body to conceal this private conversation. It wasn’t long before Keane joined them from where he’d been overseeing the forensic team, looking for anything they might have missed. “Tell me you have a location.”
“They never took the turnpike. Cassi drove thirty minutes south toward Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve,” Brody advised through what sounded like wind. He was most likely already in his Jeep and headed this way. “There’s a hotel three miles out from that location, where neither Cassi nor Moss realized the gas station currently being built had an online construction site surveillance camera added to their lot last week, because someone had been stealing bags of concrete. I was able to pick up his trail after he took FL-471. The address is…”
Sawyer committed the address to memory, already shifting his body so that he was in the driver’s seat of his truck and his rifle lying on the rear bench seat. He ignored the tremor in his right hand as he turned the key in the ignition, revving the engine and barely waiting long enough for Royce to grab his submachine gun and jog around to gain entrance from the other side of the truck.
“I can get you a two-minute lead,” Keane quickly said low enough that the truck’s engine covered his voice from those U.S. Marshals already headed their way. “After that, they’ll be on your tail heading in behind you.”
“That’s more than enough time,” Sawyer gauged confidently, tossing his phone to Royce as he shifted the gear into drive. He zeroed his gaze on Keane, requesting the impossible. “Get in front of them if you can. I want you arriving first, and I want them coming in silent.”
“Consider it done.”
Keane tapped the door before stepping back and turning to two U.S. Marshals who were asking if they’d received a lead. They had, but it would be kept under the protection of SSI as to how they’d obtained the information. Brody hadn’t used the proper channels in order to access those security cameras. There were times when corners needed to be cut, and this was a prime example, because these few precious seconds might very well end up saving Camryn’s life.
*
Camryn had already anticipated Cassi’s first move, and that was to silence her before he exacted whatever vengeance Moss had requested.
This was it.
This was going to be the only chance she had to try and free herself from the duct tape. She forced herself to wait for the exact moment that would benefit her in garnering the upper hand, all the while hearing Sawyer’s voice encouraging her to wait for the perfect time. She absolutely hated not doing a thing, waiting for Cassi to pick up the roll of tape that could very well be her downfall.
Nausea rolled up from her stomach to the back of her throat. The burning acid reminded her that the pain was nothing compared to what Moss wanted Cassi to do her. Her heartrate was too fast, she was a few seconds from hyperventilating, and she could no longer feel her arms due to their constriction.
It reminded her from Matters in Space, when the director had wanted her character incapacitated by the other life form trying to inhabit her body. She’d spent weeks training for that epic battle scene with a martial arts specialist and a fight scene coordinator. She had been well prepared for that scene, just as she was now.
“It’s a shame you’ll n-never get to live out your dream of acting.” Camryn’s voice was unsteady, but she still managed to garner Cassi’s attention. She took advantage of his shock and slowly began to pull down on the hook through the hole of the duct tape. “There’s nothing quite like being under those bright lights and bringing a character to life that can bring tears of joy or sadness to those watching.”
Camryn wasn’t sure her plan was going to work. She was given no choice but to belittle his failure so that he lost control of this situation. She needed the upper hand. But what if he became more unhinged before she had a chance to gain her freedom?
“Noel, you need to face reality,” Camryn said, practically choking out his name as she tried to personalize her message. “You’ll never get your chance, especially when people find out what you’ve done.”
“No, no, no. That’s not right.” Cassi was shaking his head so forcefully that a vein started to bulge in his left temple. He took a quick step forward that caused her to tense, but she got the precious time she needed when he started arguing with her. “I will get that call. Don’t you remember what you said? Even you said I would make it into film. It’s people like you who steal from us who deserve our own just and decent rewards. I’ve never given up the faith. Never! And no one will know that it was me this entire time, because I paid the manager to lie for me. I’m in New York working a day shift. Not here with you.”
Cassi barked out a laugh that made it seem he was getting his feet back underneath him, but Camryn managed to stop him from ripping a piece of duct tape from the roll by denying his claim.
“They already know you’re not there.” Camryn instantly experienced pricks of awareness in her arms when the tightness eased upon her success of freeing the tape from the metal hook. She remained in position, though. She had no leverage to overtake Cassi right now, even though he appeared shocked at her declaration. “There are video cameras everywhere. You—”
“He took care of that,” Cassi stated confidently, pointing toward the video camera rather emphatically. “He said the authorities would never know it was me. And they won’t. We’re partners. He would never give me up—”
Camryn lunged forward, slamming into Cassi’s stomach with enough force that they both crashed into the television. She used her legs against the side of the bed for leverage, but the duct tape was too tight around her ankles to give way. They both crashed onto the floor. Unfortunately, she landed on her back with Cassi above her and there was little she could do to stop him from wrapping his large hands around her throat.
She would have screamed then, had she had the opportunity…but that chance was gone now.
Nothing she did allowed her to draw in breath as he mounted her nude form. Camryn’s bound wrists were underneath his arms. She couldn’t gain control from the way his body was on top of her. She was being deprived of oxygen, and there wasn’t anything she could do to force him to stop his attack.
It was in these last few moments that Camryn congratulated herself, because dying like this was more favorable than being tortured to death. She’d fought just as her brother had taught her. She hadn’t given up, and she’d gone to battle in hopes of living another day despite her futile efforts.
Sawyer would be so proud of her.
He was her boy next door.
Camryn had never told Sawyer that he was the sanity she’d been missing throughout her life, or that he had grounded her more in these last three days than she’d ever experienced throughout her career.
She had no strength left as her body started to shut down, the magnetic pull of the abyss drawing her ever closer to that empty void.
Camryn didn’t want the last thing she saw to be Noel Cassi, so she visualized Sawyer as the red and white flashing lights started to fade into blackness. His dimple was the first thing she noticed, and that charming smile was all the comfort she needed as the blackness enveloped her in its cold embrace.