Chapter 31

CHAPTER

THIRTY-ONE

"Why can't you at least tell me where we're going?" Heidi asked as she stared at the three strange men around her.

She'd expected to see someone she recognized. After all, she'd worked with most of the men Rafferty had hired.

At least, she thought she had—other than the three new hires. But apparently, that wasn't the case.

These guys had thrown her in the back of the van and then shoved her into a seat. One man sat beside her, and the other two were up front.

However, the van looked clean and respectable.

On second thought, maybe that wasn't a good thing. Maybe that meant these men were professionals who knew exactly what they were doing. That could make this situation more precarious. She wasn't sure yet how she felt.

At least, they hadn't tied her up.

Yet.

"Aren't you going to answer me?" Her gaze shifted to each person in the van. "Where are you taking me?"

"I told you, stop asking questions," the man beside her barked. The guy was tall and thick, with a full head of dark hair and hard eyes. She'd never seen him before.

"Lay off, Edward," the driver muttered.

Edward. She had a name.

"I'm just scared." She rubbed her elbow, which still throbbed and had a touch of carpet burn. "You can't blame me for that."

"Like I said, where we're going isn't important. The best thing you can do is to be quiet."

Being quiet wouldn't help her find out the information she needed. "I need to see Rafferty. You're taking me to him, aren't you?"

Edward's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Only Rafferty can make that decision."

She glanced at each of the men again. This was her time to find out information and relay it back to Stephen and Gage. She had to make the most of this opportunity.

She only wished they could talk to her. But they couldn't.

They'd thought having her wear an earpiece was too risky.

"Who are you guys even?" she asked.

"I've said this before, and I'm going to say it one more time," Edward grumbled. "You're asking too many questions. Be quiet—or I'll have to make sure you're quiet, and trust me, you don't want that."

Heidi clamped her mouth shut. Maybe this wasn't the time to find out more information. She'd be no good to anyone if she was dead. She'd pushed too hard.

Instead, she watched out the window as they left the small town behind and headed farther into the mountains, farther away from Stephen and Gage.

Even though they were tracking her, that fact didn't help quell her nerves right now.

She had to get this right, or she would pay with her life.

For the next hour and a half, Stephen continued to watch the screen as they followed the van, staying a safe distance behind to ensure they weren't spotted.

So far, so good—relatively speaking.

He hated everything about this situation, but at least this assignment hadn't gone off the rails yet. He prayed it wouldn't.

He stared at the screen and called out directions, trying to keep his calm.

And he did—until the dot on the screen stopped blinking.

He sat up straighter and sucked in a breath. The tracker had stopped in the middle of nowhere.

He jiggled the mouse, hoping it would become active again.

It didn't.

"What's going on?" Gage craned his neck toward him.

"The signal just stopped. It's not my computer messing up. Something went wrong."

"Maybe it will come back online. Maybe we just lost connection."

Stephen hoped that might be the case, but in his gut, he knew it wasn't.

He wasn't sure where these guys were taking Heidi. No one really knew anything about Rafferty and his personal life. The man simply doled out instructions while keeping a low profile.

Just then, the signal began working again, and Heidi's voice came through the speaker. "Where are we? What is this place? You're telling me that Rafferty told you to bring me to an old, rundown shack that looks like a strong wind could blow it over?"

Relief washed over him. Good. She was okay—for now.

"You'll see," the man grumbled. "Now get out."

Stephen's heart pounded harder as he tried to picture the scene—this shack that she'd mentioned. He wished he could see what Heidi was seeing. But he couldn't. He only had her conversation to rely on.

"Ouch!" Heidi's voice sounded through the speakers on his laptop. "Stop hurting me."

"Then move."

"I am moving. You don't have to be a jerk."

Stephen bristled. If that man hurt her . . . he'd see to himself that the guy paid.

"I don't want to go in there." Tension rose in her voice. "Please. No!"

Then the feed went dead. Nothing but silence rang out.

"What the . . . ?" Stephen muttered as he adjusted the volume, hoping this was a fluke.

"They must have some type of signal blocker." Gage gripped the steering wheel harder. "At least we have her location."

"But we won't be able to hear if anything goes wrong," Stephen muttered.

This was exactly what he'd feared. That something wouldn't go according to plan. Nothing was ever simple with Rafferty.

He'd seen this coming, but no one had listened to him. Heidi would be the one who ultimately suffered because of that.

"Just hold tight and trust her." Gage kept his voice even and steady, no signs of anxiety. "Heidi has a good head on her shoulders. She can hold her own."

Stephen agreed with that assessment. But that didn't help him feel any better.

"We need to get to her location." Stephen's jaw hardened at his words. "We need to get there now."