Indiana Wild (Spirit Pass Book 1) (20 page)

“
You have been a very, very naughty girl,” he tsked out coldly. “I am going to enjoy beating you. You will learn to obey or you will pay for your disobedience.”

“
You sick bastard,” Indy choked out hoarsely. “You’ll never get away with it. My husband will find me and when he does he’ll kill your ass.”

Hammock laughed and twisted her hair even harder in his fist, making her cry out and drop to her knees.
“Silly little twit, if your husband shows up he’ll end up dead just like the last bitch who got in my way. He’ll meet with a tragic accident and I will be there to help his grieving widow,” he whispered with a cruel grin.

“
Really?” Indy asked huskily. “You forgot one thing, though,” she whispered as he pulled her up by her hair until she was standing in front of him.

“
And what’s that?” Hammock asked with a raised eyebrow.

“
This,” Indy muttered shoving the syringe into his side and depressing it. “Sleep tight, asshole. When you wake up I'll be long gone.”

Hammock’s eyes widened in disbelief even as his legs trembled then collapsed under him. Indy pushed his body away from her and scrambled over Hayden who was still moaning on the floor. She didn’t even look back as she rushed out of the townhouse. The elevator opened at the same time as she was running for it. She slid to a stop, losing her balance and falling to the floor. A cry ripped from her throat as four figures poured out of it, rushing toward her.

Trey Randall waited while the Cessna Stationair taxied to the hanger. He pushed off from the side of the dark green SUV he was leaning against, folding his arms across his chest as he waited for Allie and her passengers to disembark. When Sam had called him late last night, calling in a favor Trey owed him, he knew it must be serious. After Sam explained what was going on, he realized it was more than serious, it was going to be explosive. Trey worked in the local FBI office and had been following a possible lead on corruption, bribery, and the murder of one of their fellow agents. He had been shocked when Sam mentioned Hayden Wild. While the prominent attorney had a squeaky clean record so far, the man he was dealing with did not.

Trey watched as three people climbed out of the small plane. He knew Allie from numerous visits out to Sam and Claire’s ranch. He did not recognize the two tall men with her. Sam had said they were Jonathan and Jacob Tucker from Montana. Trey had done a search on them but had come up empty-handed. He studied both men carefully as they approached. Allie had an easy grin on her face but the two men looked serious and dangerous.

“
Hey Allie,” Trey said, leaning down to kiss her. He jerked back in surprise when she was pulled backwards against the chest of one of the tall men before he had a chance to brush his lips across hers in greeting.

“
I wouldn’t,” Jacob drawled out darkly, ignoring Allie’s startled squeak. “Jacob Tucker,” he said studying the equally tall man standing in front of him.

“
Trey Randall,” Trey said with a wary grin.

“
I’m Jonathan Tucker. Sam said you could help me get my wife back,” Jonathan said, pushing forward. “He said you would know where she is being held.”

Trey frowned and nodded.
“Let’s get going. I can tell you what I can on the way to Hayden Wild’s townhouse. We’ve had him under surveillance for the past year. While he hasn’t done anything against the law per se, he has brushed the line more than once. Your wife was seen being carried inside and the police responded to a call she made from his home,” Trey explained as he pulled out of the gate of the small, regional airport and headed for the freeway.

Allie leaned forward from where she was sitting in the back seat with Jacob.
“Why didn’t the police help her?” Allie asked furiously. “Why didn’t she go with them?”

“
Hayden told the police that Indiana was a recovering drug addict and had called because he refused to give her money for her next fix. We called them off as we knew something was going down. We needed to see what would happen next,” Trey responded, glancing at her in the mirror before letting his eyes slide back to the road in front of him.

Allie gasped in shock, sitting back.
“You are using her for bait?” She asked in outrage. “What if something goes wrong and she gets hurt?”

Jonathan's fist clenched as he fought for control. It was a good thing Trey was driving, otherwise he might have beaten him to a bloody pulp. He swore under his breath before he turned in the passenger seat to look at the man who Sam said they could trust. If trusting a man who would use an innocent woman as bait was considered normal during this time then he couldn't wait to get back home. A woman was meant to be protected at all cost.

“What the hell does she mean you are using my wife as bait?” Jonathan gritted out between his teeth.

Trey looked uneasily at the man sitting next to him. He knew a predator when he saw one and this guy reeked of it. He glanced in his side mirror before changing lanes wishing he could move away from the barely controlled fury of the man next to him. He debated how much he could reveal to his three passengers without compromising his assignment any further than he had.

“Hayden was expecting company, powerful company, from Washington, D.C. last night. I can't tell you much as it is an ongoing case but I can tell you this man is dangerous. We suspect this man contacted Hayden Wild to help in Wild's bid for a seat in the U. S. Senate. This man has helped a number of other men get seats which he then controls through them. His corporation has received some questionable contracts both domestically and in our foreign venues. While the corporation is legitimate, some of his business practices he hides under its umbrella are not. We are hoping he will make a mistake with Wild so we can issue a search warrant,” Trey explained as he took the exit marking the downtown area.

“
What does my wife have to do with any of this?” Jonathan asked. “She has been gone from your time for the past four months.”

Trey glanced at Jonathan, puzzled by his choice of wording.
“We believe Wild offered your wife up on a silver platter for this man. The suspect likes beautiful, young women. I've seen photos of your wife,” Trey said with a brief grin. “She fills all of the man's requirements plus some. She is hot!”

“
She is my wife,” Jonathan replied coldly. “She isn't just an image or bait or whatever in the hell you want to call her. Her name is Indy and she is mine.”

Trey chuckled and nodded his head.
“I'm just jerking your chain, man. I talked to one of our men that is on the inside just before you arrived. She was safe as of first thing this morning,” he promised. “Our inside man won't let anything happen to her.”

“
Does Indy know about this man, your inside agent?” Allie asked anxiously.

Trey shook his head as he took another right at the intersection then slowed for a light.
“No, it would be too dangerous for our agent. The last one we had was compromised and we found her dead. The initial ruling was a car accident but we have evidence that she was dead before the car went off the shoulder and down into the ravine,” he said, his voice hardening.

Jonathan flexed his fists as the SUV started moving again.
“I can’t believe you left my wife within reach of that bastard. If he has touched one hair on her head, I’m going to kill the son-of-a-bitch,” he snapped out, his eyes flashing. “I suggest you don’t get in the way.”

Trey looked at Jonathan, his eyes widening when he saw that he had pulled a
gun out from under the long coat he was wearing. Between the coat, the cowboy hat, and the way he was handling the gun, Trey felt like he was sitting next to a cowboy from the last century.

“
Shit!” Trey responded, barely swerving to miss a car that was turning in front of him. “What in the hell do you think you are doing? Put that damn thing away! What do you think this is, the wild west or something?” He asked with another curse on his lips when Jonathan smiled.

“
Where we come from if a man threatens what belongs to one of us, we kill the bastard,” Jonathan said coldly.

Trey gave a nervous laugh as he drew to a stop in front of a large, towering building covered in steel and glass.
“Yeah right, and I guess you hang horse thieves and murderers too,” he said opening his door.

“
If we don’t shoot them first,” Jacob said with a shrug as he opened the door and slid out.

Trey turned to look at the twin from the back seat and paled even further when he saw the set of
guns hanging from around his waist as well. Both brothers had unbuttoned their long coats and tucked it behind the holsters strapped around their slender hips. They looked like they were not only used to wearing them, but that they knew exactly how to use them.

“
Is this where Indy is supposed to be,” Jonathan asked in an emotionless voice, staring up at the massive building.

“
Yes, Wild has a townhouse on the twentieth floor,” Trey said looking at both men cautiously. “We also have an agent in there. I don’t want you guys going in there guns blazing and shooting the wrong person.”

Jacob laughed as he pulled his
gun and whipping it around between his hands before sliding it back into its holster within a matter of seconds. “We don’t waste bullets. We only hit what we are aiming for, isn’t that right Jonathan?”

“
Time's wasting,” Jonathan said with a nod to his brother. “Let’s go get Indy.”

Jonathan motioned for Trey to step ahead of them. He bowed his head to hide the grin when he heard Allie make a comment to his brother as she walked by. It sounded suspiciously like she said ‘show off’ before she moved to walk behind Trey.

“You haven’t seen anything yet, darlin’,” Jacob responded, drawing a heated look from Allie.

*.*.*

Jonathan realized two things as they moved upward. One, he decided he hated heights and two, he hated this thing they called an elevator! His stomach felt like he had left it on the ground floor. He didn’t know what to think when Trey had pressed the button on the wall. He had watched a light blink out numbers but he couldn’t figure out what it meant. When the metal doors slid open and Trey and Allie walked into the small box, he and Jacob had looked with skepticism at each other. They had waited so long the doors to the damn box had started to close. He and Jacob had to hurry through the opening before it closed without them.

Trey had then pressed the number twenty and it lit up. It wasn’t until the damn box started moving that he felt like he had left a part of his body back on the other side of the box. Jacob had started muttering curses again and glaring at Allie who just shook her head in amused disbelief while Jonathan prayed he wouldn’t end up at heaven’s gate when the box opened again.

Jonathan stumbled out of the doors as soon as they opened, sucking in a deep breath. His eyes widened when he saw a figure running straight for him. He would have recognized Indy’s slender figure anywhere. She had a look of terror on her face as she charged toward the box they were exiting. Her eyes widened for a moment before she lost her balance and slid on the glossy surface of the marble foyer, a strangled cry ripping from her throat.

Jonathan rushed forward, lifting her into his arms while Jacob pulled his gun with one hand at the same time as he pushed Allie into a nearby alcove to protect her. Jonathan vaguely recognized that Jacob stood protectively in front of all of them, making sure his body was between them and any threat that might come at them.

Jonathan’s arms tightened around Indy as she buried her face into his chest, huge gasping sobs escaping her as she tried to mold her body against his. He wrapped them tightly around her trembling figure and rose with her securely caged against his tall frame.

“
Don’t let me go,” she gasped out in a husky, frightened voice. “Don’t you ever let me go!” She cried out again fiercely in a voice barely above a whisper when he made to shift her so he could free one of his hands so he could grip one of the guns at his hip.

“
I won’t, darling,” Jonathan promised, moving back away from the area she had run from while Jacob continued holding the man who had charged after her within his sight. “I need to use my hands, Indy. I need to set you down behind me, honey. Just hold on to the back of my coat. I promise I won’t let anyone take you again,” he murmured trying to get her to let him go enough so he could protect her.

“
For crying out loud, don’t shoot!” Trey growled out above all the confusion. He stepped in front of Jacob with his arms spread out wide. “What the fuck is going on?” He bit out to the man standing in the long hallway with his hands raised.

“
We have him,” Rodgers stated calmly, slowly lowering his hands. “He confessed to killing Evelyn.”

“
Did you get it on tape?” Trey asked harshly.

Rodgers nodded, his eyes focusing on Indy’s partially hidden figure. He took a step forward only to stop when Jacob pulled the hammer of his gun back. He looked into Jacob’s eyes and nodded,
raising his hands in a gesture to show he wasn’t going to do anything stupid while taking a step back again and standing still.

“
Is she alright?” Rodgers asked in a quiet voice. “I tried to do what I could to protect her. She doesn’t make it easy, you know,” he said with a small smile.

Jacob’s eyes narrow
ed and he glanced briefly at Trey who nodded his head at the silent question in Jacob’s eyes. “He’s our inside man,” Trey responded in a low voice. “Agent Spencer Rodgers, FBI. Where’s Wild, Hammock, and Hammock’s bodyguards?” Trey asked curiously, turning back to look at Rodgers who relaxed his arms down to his side again.

Rodgers’ lips curved with a ghost of a smile and he nodded toward where Jonathan was holding Indy protectively against his body.
“Let’s just say Wild should have listened to his sister when she told him he needed to let her just walk away. Hammock is knocked out. He won’t be waking up anytime soon. His guards aren’t in much better shape and Wild will be lucky if he ever walks straight again after his sister busted his balls,” Rodgers stated. “You can read about the details in my report. Right now, the clean up crew are on their way and should be here shortly.”

Rodgers
looked over to where Indy and Jonathan were talking quietly, wanting to make sure she was alright. He paused when the tall man who had been holding the gun on him stepped in front of him with a glare. Rodgers raised his eyebrow and waited for the cowboy to make up his mind as to whether he was to be trusted or not. It took almost a minute before Jacob slid his gun into the holster at his side and stepped back with a glint of warning in his eye.