Page 66 of Operation: Chosen

ChapterTwenty-Six

Ali headed to the farthest corner from the door, afraid Herb might be standing there listening for her to react. She was a good actress most of the time, but faking hysterics wasn’t one of her strengths, and Herb had left her with a secret weapon. She lifted her billowy shirt and tugged her phone from her back pocket.

The text from Lacy stared at her. The ranch was in danger. How could she ask them for help? She sent off a quick text, letting them know again that Eric had been taken by Big E’s brother and she had been locked up in a horse trailer by Eric’s former boss.

She watched as her connection slowly spun. Being outside her phone’s normal time zone meant she’d had to charge it twice a day just to keep it charged. Now, after hours of being off the charger, it was nearing a dead battery.

A reply came quickly.The boys here got Big E and Jayzon and left after they searched for Terrell and couldn’t find him. Connor convinced them the police were coming, even though all of the squads are currently busy.

One of the officers would be in the hospital, probably for a while. She hoped he didn’t die. Her heart sped up painfully. If Eric were here, he’d pray for him. Eric would trust that his God would take care of Officer Blake. She glanced up at the ceiling of the trailer. “If you’re real and you’re out there, I will listen to Eric if you let him and Officer Blake live.”

She wasn’t sure if that counted as a prayer or not, but that was how she felt. If Eric’s God was powerful enough to get all of them out of a situation that seemed inescapable, then she’d have no choice but to listen.

The little living and sleeping area in the trailer was cramped and hot, making her dizzy. All the windows were closed and sealed shut. She couldn’t unlock them or open them, and sweat gathered in her armpits and glistened over her forehead. The heat inside a vehicle could kill a person if they were left closed up for hours in the summer. Herb would have to run the auction, meaning she was stuck until they were done. If he didn’t come back until they were finished, would she still be alive to escape?

She felt around all of the windows, looking for any hint of an opening or a breath of air. She found a desk and started pulling open drawers, looking for keys for the windows. Inside she found cancelled checks and receipts. As she flipped through the crumpled papers she found veterinary bills in various states, including California. Another was a tour of a park preserve for wild horses.

She held those aside. Maybe her search was illegal, but she wasn’t an officer and Herb had locked her in. What else was she to do besides slowly lose her mind in the tightly locked up area? At least it was different from the cabin at Wayside and smelled like horses, not like all-season carpet.

Shoved in the back corner of the drawer was a small ledger with three names and multiple dollar amounts. Were these the guys he paid to steal the horses? Or were they the other three boys who had been in the car with Big E’s brother?

A memory forced its way to the front of her mind. Jayzon’s brother had been in that group too. Would he protect Jayzon, or were those two boys part of the plot to steal the horses? If only she knew the names… She grabbed the ledger and set it aside with the receipts.

If this was where someone had stayed, were there other clues here or even something she could use to get free? She started lifting the mattress and pulling up sheets, looking for anything useful, but all that came from her search was fatigue and more sweat. The heat was like a sauna, and she was struggling against crippling lethargy.

On the other side of the locked door, someone opened the gate to the trailer and led a horse inside. She couldn’t see who it was to know if it was Herb or someone who might help her. Then again, Herb had probably warned all his men not to touch the door. A few minutes later, the truck used to pull the trailer started, and she lost her footing as it lurched forward.

All the windows in the sleeping section were marbled glass, and she couldn’t see out, but she could feel as they accelerated out of town and even when they pulled off the smaller road to speed onto the freeway.

She dug her phone from her pocket and sent Lacy a text. Her battery was now down to three percent.

I don’t know if you’ll be able to send any help, but I’m still trapped and we’re on the move. I’ll send a pin as soon as we stop.

If she left her phone map open, the battery would drain quickly. Lacy answered that they were doing their best and that she would pray. Ali turned off her phone to conserve battery and shoved it back in her pocket to keep it hidden, then stuffed the ledger and receipts into her bra strap since she didn’t have big enough pockets. If she lost any of those things, there would be no physical proof of what Herb had done.

As the trailer rumbled down the road, the windows slowly opened, sending air flying all around and finally cooling her down. She sat on the rumpled bed and held on tight to the wall. Wherever they were headed, she wouldn’t have anyone close at hand to help her.

After quite some time, the truck pulled off the highway and onto a road that sounded rumbly like gravel, and dust floated into the windows. If the driver were concerned about her screaming, he didn’t show it by closing them. She caught sight of trees and farms, but no people.

Finally, the truck turned and came to a slow rolling stop. She heard the driver leave the pickup and slam the door, then he came back and slowly took the horse out, giving her plenty of time to worry about what was coming next.

People didn’t live after they saw who had captured them. She’d seen Herb and Clayton’s faces. Knew their names. This wasn’t going to end well for her, and the end was coming with the opening of the trailer door.

She raced for the flimsy locked door and looked for something she could use to barricade herself in. Other than the thin mattress, everything was secured, built into the frame of the trailer. She remembered her promise to Lacy and fished out her phone, hit the button to pin her location and shot the text to Lacy.

Keys jangled outside, then slipped into the lock. Ali shoved her phone back in her pocket as Herb opened the door and stared her down. “Time for you to come on out and face the music. Time to tell the truth, little lady.”

* * *

Visionsof his eminent death stalled Eric’s thoughts. One match would start an inferno. That’s all it would take in the room full of dry hay and dust. Normally, he enjoyed being in the barn. He knew exactly what was expected of him there. He could be who he needed to be, no anger, no resentment, just the peace of knowledge of his surroundings.

But this barn didn’t hold that peace.

The stalls had been cleared of all the animals, which were probably at the auction that he hadn’t stopped. If most of Herb’s team was headed back to California soon, did they need the barn anymore? Would they just torch it with him locked inside to get rid of the evidence? He searched for a way out again.

The door swung open, and Herb shoved Ali toward him. He caught her before she could fall to the cement floor. At least if they had to, they could try to brush all the hay away from the center of the room. That might save them in a fire if the whole barn didn’t collapse on top of them. Why he kept thinking of fire, he wasn’t sure.

Ali clung to his arm as she caught her footing, but he couldn’t do anything before Herb slammed the door shut again.

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