Page 47 of Fearless Encounter

Abe walked over to the chair, looking down at the rope next to it. If Meg had been tied there, she had been freed, and it didn’t take much to figure out that Brooke was involved.

Gabriel’s quick search of the building proved fruitless. There was no sign of the women, and no other activity in the mausoleum. He sprinted back up the stairs and spotted Abe holding a small item in his hand. It was the tracker bracelet dangling from his fingers.

“Recognize this?” he said.

Gabriel snatched the bracelet. “Not good,” he said. “I gave that to Brooke.”

He looked around, desperate for any sign of where the women were. A glint of metal on the grass caught his eye, and he reached down to pick up the cell phone.

Gabriel stared at the broken phone, at the tracker bracelet clutched in his fist. Brooke and Meg were out there somewhere, in the hands of a madman, and he had no idea where to look next. The cemetery had been their best lead.

Abe answered a call on his cell. “We missed them,” he said grimly. “Brooke and Meg aren’t here, but there’s evidence of violence.” After the short call, Abe slipped his phone back into his pocket. “That was FBI, the guy I’ve been coordinating with. He got a tip from one of his sources.”

Gabriel raised his brows, hoping for direction.

Abe’s jaw tightened. “Let’s get to Lakeside Airport fast. Word is that Yakov Petrov will be there on his private plane, if we haven’t already missed him.”

“He’s taking them to Russia…if they are still alive?”

Abe’s look confirmed the situation.

Gabriel sprinted back to the car, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Abe was right behind him. They hopped into the car and peeled out of the cemetery.

Gabriel’s mind raced ahead, trying to calculate how much time they had. Daniel and his guards would have to get the women on the plane, and there was no way to know what condition they were in. But even as he ran through the scenarios, a small, insistent part of him whispered that it might already be too late.

*****

After Brooke felt the van come to a stop, Daniel came around to open the door. His guard motioned Meg to get out. She slowly complied, clearly not anxious about what was to come.

Brooke glanced over at her friend, then stepped out. Without warning, she spun around and kicked Daniel hard in the groin. That was one thing she didn’t need self-defense training to know about. She knew the effective technique. With a grunt of pain, he doubled over, unable to catch his breath.

The guard reached for his gun and moved to grab Brooke.

But Meg was faster. She leapt in front of Brooke and spread her arms, shielding her friend. With a defiant look, she said, “You can’t hurt me. Petrov needs me.”

The guard hesitated and glanced toward the stairs leading to the plane, as if weighing his options.

Brooke used the opportunity to put some distance between herself and Daniel, who was still writhing on the ground.

“She’s right,” she said, her voice steady. “Without Meg, your boss gets nothing. No software, no payday. Is that what you want?”

The guard’s jaw clenched, and his eyes darted between the two women.

Meg stood firm, her gaze locked on the guard. “I won’t cooperate if you hurt her,” she said. “I mean it. I’ll die before I help you.”

For a long, tense moment, no one moved. The only sound was the hum of the plane’s engines. Finally, the guard lowered his hand.

“Get them on the plane,” Daniel said, when he was able to breathe again. “Petrov will deal with them.” He slowly rose to his feet, and the guard gestured to Brooke and Meg to move toward the stairs.

*****

Gabriel had to believe they would make it before takeoff. That he would see Brooke’s face again, hold her in his arms.

Abe raced toward the airport. “My FBI contact found out that Petrov was using the private airport to expedite picking up Daniel Fontenot and his captive, bypassing the scrutiny of a commercial hub. By now, he realizes that he has another unexpectedguest.”

Gabriel’s mind whirred with the implications. A private airport meant fewer witnesses, less security—and a much higher chance of Daniel slipping away undetected. “We can’t let him take Brooke,” he said. “Petrov has no use for her…except dead.”

Abe glanced at the GPS. “About five minutes out.”

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