His level of concern warmed her heart, but she wondered if he knew this had been a set up. She moaned then rolled over, and he helped her sit up. She brushed the dirt from her already bruised face. “What happened?”
“Someone kidnapped the women.”
“She okay?” Skip asked as he came near. His tone held more disdain than real caring.
Sarah held up a hand. “I’m fine. Help me stand.”
When Riley pulled her to her feet, dizziness assaulted her. The adrenaline rush had made her unsteady.
He wrapped his arm around her. “Sit in the truck. I need to call Connolly and tell him what happened. Statler will be highly pissed.”
That was an understatement. “Perhaps the three of us should just leave and disappear.” Acting like a trained operative instead of a nurse might put Skip on high alert.
“We need to find the women,” Skip said.
Good luck with that. While she hadn’t seen the face of the second man who led the women to the other van, she’d bet it was Tyson Summerville—Ford’s brother.
Riley pulled out his phone and swiped a finger across the screen. Turning his back to both of them, he told Connolly what went down. Even though it was dark, she thought she spotted blood on Riley’s sleeve and leg.
He disconnected and turned back around. “Connolly said he’ll call back a few of the men who are stationed at the clinic so they can escort the other van. We don’t need a repeat performance.”
Skip brushed off some dirt on his sleeve. “Statler’s going to blame us, you know.”
“It’s my head he’ll want,” Sarah said. “I was supposed to take care of these women.”
Skip shook his head. “Five men attacked us, though it probably won’t matter to him. We should have killed or at least captured one of them to find out their plan.”
“They were highly trained,” Riley said.
“I know.” He swiped blood from the gouge on his face. “When we get back to the warehouse, I’m out of here,” Skip said.
That would be one less man to worry about. Riley closed the van door on her side and hopped in the front seat. “Let’s get this over with.”
* * *
Statler disconnected and threw his cell against the wall. “Motherfucker.” Heads would roll. He’d worked with Charles Wilson before and never expected a double cross—assuming he was responsible for the attack. If he were innocent, accusing Charles of stealing the women would royally piss him off, and Statler couldn’t afford that.
He paced, trying to figure out his next move. Losing the five women would cripple his ability to finance his next operation. He’d told Connolly that it was his job to find the women and return them, but from the well-coordinated effort, whoever took them were professionals. Thankfully, Connolly wouldn’t let the same thing happen to the last five.
As he fumed, a new plan developed. Drawing on his control, he walked across his living room and retrieved his phone, pleased it seemed to be working. He didn’t need to panic. He had eight more days until he had to deliver the women, which meant he might be able to find five more, though kidnapping them without leaving a trace would take a lot of planning. He’d order a search to begin as soon as possible. Even if his men failed, he’d be that much closer to starting a new group in a new location after the five remaining women were sold.
He punched in Connolly’s number again.
“Sir?”
He liked that his head of security answered on the first ring. “Have Clay call me. I have a mission for him and that other man he came in with.” He hung up, assuming Connolly would do as he was told.
At some point he’d have to call the buyer and tell him about the loss. Statler would reduce the price of the five women he had left enough to entice Charles. It would work. He’d make sure of it.
* * *
“Why didn’t you tell me Ford and Tyson were going to free the women?” Sarah said as she paced in front of the bed in the small motel room.
Jay was lounging on one of the beds and Riley was seated at the table. “You know why,” Riley said. “You might have given something away to the women.”
“That’s not true. I’m a professional.”
Jay jumped off the bed and came toward her. “We wanted you to react appropriately when the van pulled in front—and you did. Skip seemed to buy that you weren’t part of the plan.”
“Because I wasn’t.” Jay smiled and she let out a breath. “Fine. Now what happens?” she said as she plopped down on the edge of the bed. “I take it the General’s men weren’t able to pull the same stunt twice?”