Josh's Challenge Read online

  “I can think of a great detour,” he said, lifting his eyebrows up and down.

  “Ha! Exactly. Now behave and get in.”

  He loved it when she was in control. “You know you’re turning me on with this new confidence, right?”

  “Josh, I always know what I want. I just have a hard time verbalizing it sometimes.”

  She drove down the empty two-lane country road that led into Timbisha proper with a twitch in her lip that had him wanting her so bad he was uncomfortable in his jeans. The sky was crystal blue and the sun past its apex. Warm air blew in through the open windows even though the air conditioner was pushing cool air out of the dash. She’d just turned to say something when they hit something in the road and the front tires blew out. Melissa fought for control, but when she hit the shoulder, rocks and debris blew into the car, blinding Josh. He heard her scream before the CRV turned over, landing on the passenger’s side with a crunch.

  “Oh my God, Josh! Are you okay?”

  She dangled above him in the driver’s seat, struggling to get out of her seatbelt.

  “Yeah, I think so. I’m stuck, though.” He was more than stuck, but he didn’t want her to panic any more than she already was. What the hell had they hit? He tried to wrestle himself out of his seat, but his right arm wouldn’t budge and lancing pain radiated up and into his torso.

  “Honey, I think my arm is broken. My shoulder is messed up, too.” Shit, his cell phone was in his pocket. He tried to maneuver around to reach it with his left hand but the movements jarred his injuries too much, taking the air out of his lungs.

  “Just hold on, Josh. Let me get out of this seat belt,” she said, struggling with her own predicament. When she was free of her belt, she flipped her door open and then turned herself so that she could reach for his belt. She got it unhooked but suddenly said, “Ouch!”

  “What’s wrong?” he yelled, feeling useless and angry at his disabled position.

  She shook her head, “I think I was just stung by a bee.” She laughed once, but when she turned to look at him again, her smile faded right along with the brightness of her eyes.

  “Melissa, honey, what’s wrong?”

  Suddenly, her limp body was being dragged up and out of the car, and a disembodied voice from outside said, “Hold on, Missy. I’ve got you.”

  “Angie?”

  “Yeah, I’m here to help.” Her cherubic face came into view through the open door where Melissa had just been. “I’m always here to protect Missy from creeps like you, Josh,” she said sweetly before disappearing again.

  He listened in horror as Angela Dunne dragged Melissa away from the overturned Honda.

  “Melissa!” He struggled harder but to no avail.

  “I’m sure the cavalry will be here soon enough to get you out, Josh,” she said as she peeked back into the vehicle. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to stay, but I have to get Missy as far away from you as I can. Can’t you see how much trouble you’ve caused her?”

  When she disappeared from view, he could hear her dragging Melissa and then the slam of a car door. “Angela! Bring her back!” he cried in total frustration as another engine turned over and drove away to God knew where.

  Josh was finally able to dig his phone out of his pocket now that he was free of his seatbelt, but he couldn’t get out of the little Honda CRV. His right arm was trapped between the seat and door. He juggled his cell phone one-handed and successfully dialed Jarod.

  “Come on, pick up,” he muttered in frustration.

  “Where are you?”

  Josh sighed in relief. “Melissa’s car rolled, I’m stuck, and Melissa’s been taken. I’m about five miles from town.”

  Josh yanked the cell phone from his ear as Jarod swore vehemently before his brother gave orders for an ambulance and tow truck. “We’re on our way, Josh. Don’t you hang up.”

  “Don’t plan to.”

  “Tell me everything that happened,” Jarod commanded.

  While Josh recounted the last few minutes of his ride into town, he prayed Melissa would be all right. He didn’t give a shit about his arm; all he could think about was her going limp and being dragged from the car window. How the hell were they going to find her?

  JOSH WAS LIVID. His arm in a sling, he pushed his way out of the ER and waited for Jason to pick him up to take him to the command center Jarod had set up at the station. His arm wasn’t broken, but his shoulder had been dislocated and his ribs were bruised. They’d offered him a narcotic before they reset his shoulder, but he hadn’t wanted to take anything. He’d been drugged enough lately.

  All he wanted was to find Melissa.

  “Spill it,” Jason said when Josh got into the truck.

  He retold the story, and by the time they reached the station, Jason was the one who was livid. “Why didn’t anyone have eyes on her?”

  “That’s what I’d like to know,” Josh said as he pushed his way through the plate glass doors. Marguerite was pacing back and forth behind the counter. “Where are they?” he asked her.

  She turned bloodshot eyes to him. “In the back. I’ve been waiting for you.” She nodded to Jason in acknowledgment, but otherwise she was all angry professionalism. Josh understood her mood. She loved her sister, and what they’d been afraid of happening had happened.

  Marguerite led them down a hallway to what looked like a small conference room. It was packed with men Josh had never seen before. “Declan sent for a team,” Marguerite answered the unasked question.

  “Good. The more the merrier.” Josh glared at Jarod, who’d just made his way over to them. “Melissa has been kidnapped. Where’s the FBI?”

  “Dane is in contact with the feds and he’s working with the marshals service. It’s their show and out of my hands. That’s why I asked you and Melissa to come here. There have been developments.” Jarod let out a pent-up breath, and Josh could see that his brother was barely holding it together.

  “What’s changed?” Jason asked.

  “Toxicology came back on Harold’s remains. He was drugged with the same chemical makeup that was introduced to you two,” Jarod said, indicating to Marguerite. “It’s the same drugs that were in the chocolates sent to Missy. Apparently, Angela Dunne had sent drugged chocolates to Harold, too. DNA from a toothbrush at Missy’s house confirms that Angela Dunne was living there.”

  Marguerite put a bottle of water in Josh’s good hand. “Drink that. You look like hell. I’d get you something stronger, but I think we both need our wits right now.”

  He watched the room buzz and the men make calls, draw on glass boards with colored pens, and click away on laptop computers. “Where the hell did she take her?”

  “They’re working on it.” This from Dane, who looked weary. “Declan is good at what he does, Josh. He’ll find her. He tracked Harold. He can find my niece.” He put his arm around Marguerite, who put her head on the older man’s shoulder for comfort. Josh was pretty sure he needed Marguerite’s support more than she needed his.

  “I’ve got something,” a man rushed up to McKinley.

  Josh couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the way the marshal’s eyes lit up gave Josh reason to hope they’d found them.

  “All right, listen up. We’ve got pings from Dunne’s cell phone coming from this tower,” McKinley said before indicating a spot on the map hanging on the wall behind the team. “I want searches in these areas of Timbisha County starting right now.”

  The men grabbed what portable equipment they could, and Josh got out of their way when they all headed for the doorway.

  “How do they have her cell number?” Jason asked.

  Dane shook his head. “They retrieved several numbers from Missy’s hacked phone. Angela Dunne covered herself with a few burners. Apparently, someone’s using one now.”

  “What do we do now, Uncle Dane?” Marguerite asked.

  “Stay with Jarod and I’ll find out what I can.”

  Josh followed Dane with his eye
s as he conversed with McKinley. When Josh heard Marguerite’s quiet sob, he took her in his arms for a reassuring hug. “I know,” he whispered. “I know.”

  “Hey,” Jason said quietly, “Charlie said something about Marco following Angelica up the old mining road behind the hospital.”

  Jarod nodded. “Yeah, McKinley took a drive up there, but he said he didn’t find anything.”

  “Did he go all the way up to the mine site?” Josh asked.

  “Yeah,” Jarod confirmed, “he said there was nothing up there.”

  Josh met Jason’s eyes. “Did he circle up to the top where the old office sits against the rock?” Jason asked.

  Jarod pursed his lips. “I don’t know. He reported no sign of human activity. I took him at his word.”

  “There’s a building up there?” Marguerite asked as she wiped a lone tear from her cheek. “I’ve been up there more than a dozen times, you know, bonfires and such. I don’t remember an office.”

  “It’s up behind the mine a good quarter mile or so. None of us really went that far up at those parties, but a few of us liked to ride our dirt bikes and quads during the summer. The old office is abandoned but well hidden. You have to know it’s there in order to find it,” Josh explained. She nodded and then Josh noticed the wheels turning in her head, making him smile.

  “Jason,” she asked, “did you bring your pickup?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then I think we all need to take a ride up to the mine, don’t you think, Jarod?” She cocked her hip and raised an eyebrow. All trace of distress was gone and the vixen was back with determination in her eyes, making Josh feel a whole lot better.

  Jason had already left the room when Jarod rolled his eyes and followed their middle brother out of the station and into the blazing sunshine.

  “Where are you four going?” Dane called out as they hit the sidewalk in front of the building.

  “To get my sister back, Uncle Dane. You coming?”

  “Oh, hell,” Dane muttered and hurried over to them. “Where?”

  Jarod turned to Dane to explain the situation. Dane cursed like a sailor. “Fine, I’ll let Declan know where you’re heading and get a team to meet you up there.”

  Josh hopped up into Jason’s pickup while Marguerite hugged her uncle. “Do you think that’s where Angelica would take her? To an abandoned mine office in the middle of BFE?” Josh asked Jason before anyone else got in the truck.

  Jason only shrugged. “Who knows with a whack job like her, but it’s a damn sight better than sitting with our thumbs up our butts doing nothing, right?” He started the engine and kicked up the air conditioning. “If she’s got Missy up there in this heat, I’d rather take a chance on nothing than risk missing a chance to get her back, wouldn’t you? Especially if the marshals aren’t looking in the right place. How do we even know the cell phone they’re tracking hasn’t been given to someone else?” Jason muttered.

  “Yeah, I thought the same thing.”

  Jarod and Marguerite climbed into the back of the crew cab and slammed their doors. “Dane’s riding with McKinley,” Jarod said. “They’re going to lead us up. When I told Declan about the old shack, he confirmed that he did not go that far up the hill.”

  “I’m calling the cell phone number they’re tracking right now,” Marguerite said as she put the phone on speaker.

  “How’d you get the number?” Josh asked.

  Marguerite smirked. “I asked the youngest marshal I could find for it.” She winked, but the underlying anger told Josh there’d be hell to pay if someone picked up that phone. She was not happy with McKinley.

  The phone rang a few times, and right before Josh thought it would go to voice mail or disconnect, an answering voice whispered, “Marguerite?”

  “Oh my God, Missy! Where are you?”

  “Not sure,” she whispered. “Angie is outside getting something out of the truck. She doesn’t know I’m awake.”

  “Keep her talking, I’m calling Declan now to get a trace,” Jarod said.

  “We’re on our way, honey,” Josh said.

  Melissa started to cry. “I’ll stay on the line as long as I can, but you guys have to be quiet, she’s coming.”

  “OH, YOU’RE AWAKE!” Angela Dunne said with the sweet cherubic smile that Missy had come to hate. What had once been a sweet and caring friend had turned into a sinister monster with a lunatic smile.

  “Yeah,” Missy stammered. She had to keep calm. The cell phone was tucked into a crevice in the rock wall lining the back of the room. She prayed she didn’t lose the signal or that her sister didn’t screech into the phone and tip off Angie that help was on the way.

  “Here, have some water. I know you must be thirsty.”

  Missy bared her teeth in a semblance of a smile and took the bottle. It was likely that the water contained more of the drugs that Angela seemed to prefer, but Missy was so damn thirsty it was hard to resist.

  “Here, silly.” She took the bottle and Missy heard the snap as the bottle was opened for the first time. “It’s clean, I promise.”

  Hating to be grateful, Missy said thank you and took a big swallow. It was ice cold and felt so good on her tongue that she took another swallow before setting it on the blanket next to her. “Where are we, Angie?” She tried for sweet and curious, but Missy was so angry she doubted it came off as anything but antagonistic.

  Angela, if she heard the rancor, didn’t seem to care. “Somewhere I can keep you safe from all the people who want to hurt you.”

  Missy shook her head slowly. Did she dare argue? She really didn’t care at this point. “The only person who’s ever hurt me is you, Angie.”

  The blonde tsked at her and dug into the cooler, drawing out another water for herself. She took a big gulp and then sighed. “That’s just not true. You don’t know the lengths I’ve gone to keep you safe.”

  “Explain it to me then,” Missy prompted to keep her from looking for her missing phone. Maybe, if she was lucky, Angela would confess all and Marguerite would record it on her end.

  “Harold was going to hurt you. I couldn’t let that happen.”

  “How do you know?”

  Angela walked the small space, which was comprised of three shiplap walls attached to a rock face in the hill. All the walls contained broken windows, and around them sat broken office furniture from the early 1900s. Missy again wondered where they were when Angela looked out one of the windows and sighed.

  “Because he’d already hurt me once. I tracked him to the university, you know.”

  Missy didn’t answer. She’d heard Dane and Marguerite talking about interrogation tactics once. If you’re quiet, the other person will keep talking. It worked.

  “Harold was my high school math teacher. He said he loved me, but he didn’t. He’d only used me and then kicked me to the curb. He was a predator, Missy, and he didn’t deserve you.” She spun on her heel then and came to kneel in front of Missy on the blanket. “He followed you here from school, but I was clever and followed him. He was going to hurt you.”

  She sounded so convincing. “How do you know that?”

  “He sent you those chocolates. But I had to warn you, so I put the syringe in the box.”

  “Did you poison the chocolates, too?” Missy had to know if Angela had really tried to kill her or if it had really been like she said and Angela had just been warning her away from harm.

  “No, of course not! I’d never hurt you, Missy. You’re my best friend.”

  Unsure what to make of all of this, Missy only nodded. “What happened to Harold?”

  “Does it really matter?” Angela said as if he were of no consequence. “He’s gone now and can never hurt you.”

  Feeling like she was getting nowhere, Missy changed the subject. “Exactly where are we?”

  Angela again looked out the broken window and murmured, “This is only temporary.”

  Missy certainly hoped so, now that help was on the way. She’
d heard Josh’s voice in the background, which gave her hope. Just knowing he was all right kept her from completely falling into a panic. The last thing she remembered before waking up in this awful room was him trapped in the passenger seat. He’d been injured and all she could focus on was trying to help him—until she’d been stung. Now she knew it wasn’t a bee that had gotten her but her roommate.

  Missy pulled her pant leg up to find the injection site and, sure enough, there was a bruise. She glanced up to find Angela watching her closely.

  “I did it for your own good, Missy. You seem to always find yourself in trouble, and you never seem to be able to get yourself out of it. You’re weak. I was weak once, but I made sure to never get hurt again. I vowed to never let another man hurt a woman as I’ve been hurt. When I met you, it was like looking into a mirror.” She touched Missy’s cheek and Missy quickly leaned away from the touch, as if it would burn.

  “You know, Angie, everyone is always underestimating me.”

  “Don’t be like that,” she said as if Missy were a child. “I know you’re strong in your own way, but when it comes to relationships—when it comes to men—you are as naive as they come.”

  True, Missy had been inexperienced, but only because she’d been focused on school. She’d never cultivated social skills—she’d never needed to with Marguerite around. Her sister hadn’t hogged the spotlight; she’d only tried to make things easier on Missy.

  “What is that buzzing noise?”

  Crap, the cell phone! “I don’t hear anything,” Missy said, leaning back against the rocks where she’d tucked the phone.

  Angela immediately pulled her away from the wall. She dug out the phone and stared at it like it was kryptonite. “What did you do?” she screeched and threw the phone against the wall, where it shattered.

  As Missy stared at the many fragments, the means to her release, Angela swung a delicate hand and slapped Missy hard across the face, taking her by surprise and knocking her to the floor.

  “After all I’ve done for you?!” Angela screeched. “You betrayed me, you bitch!”