Love's Taming(88)

The gaze that met his was ice. Cold. Deadly. Nodding in understanding, Tony led them to the back where a group of men were working. Two on computers, three on secure phones with one of them marking the maps.

“What have you got,” Shane growled, recognizing Jobe at the map. Jobe met his gaze, regret in his eyes.

“Her cell phone was on her person. We’ve traced it to the western side of town, continuing to head west toward Jefferstown, and we’re plotting the coordinates now. It matches the information we pulled from her clinic computer where she had been doing some research. We also have the information from the county vet emails she received.”

Tony asked, “Where was your investigation?”

Matt took over answering, knowing that Shane was holding on by a thread. “We know that we have lost Gerard Washington. It appears that he was the top drug king in this area, but when we took down most of his organization he left town. Pissed, but he left. My guess is we are looking for Xavier Thomas. He was the one who was hurt the most in the dismantling. Gerard is high enough he can settle somewhere with his millions or start over. Xavier lost face when we grabbed everyone else and we know he’s still in the area. He is trying to keep the drug running business going in hopes to recoup his money, and his prestige with the higher-ups, and using the dogs was lucrative for him.”

One of the men hung up his phone as Tony looked his way. Shane noticed the silent communication among the men working for Tony’s security business. Without any other direction, the man began reporting. “Secure emails are coming in from the veterinarians that Doctor Donavan had been in touch with. I’ve forwarded this on to Vinny,” he said, as he nodded toward another man sitting at a computer. “He’s feeding this into the map coordinates.”

“Good to go, Gabe,” Tony said as he turned his attention to the man called Vinny.

Shane, feeling overwhelmed by emotion, forced his racing mind to focus. His eyes swung from Gabe to Vinny, then back again.

Gabe noticed and acknowledged with a head nod. “Yeah, twins,” was the only explanation necessary.

Vinny’s fingers were quickly flying over the keyboard, his eyes occasionally glancing at the map displayed on the wall. As all of the men gathered closer, three red circles appeared. “That’s the area we are looking at, based on the information we have from the possible puppy-mill sites.”

The signal on the map indicating her cell phone location was not at any of those locations, although it was close to two of them.

“What about her cell?” Shane asked.

Neville, the young man that had escorted them in, spoke up. “She could have dropped it or it could have been found, or maybe they are holding her in a separate location.”

“I’ve got that much,” Shane growled. “I want to know what else you can tell me.” By this time his patience was wearing thin when all he wanted to do was hit something. Someone.

“Well, if she still has her clothes, then it could still be with her, but out of signal range.”

Matt and Tony barely grabbed Shane by the arms as the launched himself at Neville.

“You goddamn mother-fucker,” Shane raged.

Neville gave a squeak before jumping back behind Gabe. “I…I didn’t mean…I’m sure she still…um…has her…um…clothes.”

Tony intervened. “Neville, out. Finish up in the office.” Swinging around on Shane, he got in his face. “You gotta hold your shit together man. We have to look at all possibilities to make sure we go in smart. You can’t handle this, you get locked down here in this building when we roll. You got me?”

Shane’s arms were still held by Matt, but his icy glare was on Tony. “You try locking me down and I’ll tear this place apart. You. Got. Me?”

The men in the room were silent as the battle of wills continued. Shane’s rage was broken into by Matt’s voice in his ear. “Man, you gotta hold on for her.” At that, Shane jerked as if punched. Matt continued, “No matter what, she needs you. She needs you focused. She needs to know you’ll not only find her, but take care of her no matter what has happened.”

With those words, Shane slumped back, visibly shaken. Shaking his head to gain focus, he looked at Tony. “I got this,” he said simply, looking from Tony to the other men in the room.

They nodded in return, and then the group went back to the map, plotting out their strategy as Matt coordinated their information with the chief.

* * *

The bumping of the van became worse and the sound of tree limbs hitting the sides of the van could be heard. The realization that they were going deeper and deeper into the woods dawned on Annie. Oh, Jesus. Will Shane ever find me? The sound of dogs barking in the distance interrupted her thoughts. The noise became louder and the van finally came to a jerking halt, rolling her body painfully onto her strained shoulder. Looking up, she saw Marco and the driver getting out. Just a few seconds later the side panel door slid open and Marco’s leering face leaned in as he grabbed her feet and pulled her toward him.