Page 60 of Protecting the Newborn

“Where are you?” he asked, and yes, there was a sharp intensity in his voice.

“Apparently, on the way to the baby farm.”

Ruston cursed, and she heard the sound of a vehicle engine. He was coming for her.

“The lackey who took me didn’t tell me the name of his boss, but the killer wants the username and password of Zimmer’s accounts,” she explained. “The ones he tatted on the inside of his wrist.”

Gracelyn had purposely added that last bit of wrong information to confirm to Ruston something he no doubt already knew. That if he showed up at the baby farm, it’d be a trap to kill them both. Once the killer had the username and code, then he’d have no use for Ruston and her.

“Now, here’s the deal, Ruston,” the lackey said. “You gotta come alone and you gotta bring that username and password. Understand?”

“Yeah,” Ruston said, his voice flat and cold. “If you hurt Gracelyn, I’ll kill you. Understand?”

The lackey chuckled. “We’ll see about that when you get here. Hurry, and if you’re not alone, then Gracelyn dies on the spot.”

With that, he ended the call and turned onto a familiar road. She had memorized this road and the surrounding area before Ruston and she had gone in undercover. It hadn’t changed in a year. The trees that lined the narrow road seemed just as menacing. So did the building that sat just ahead. Not an actual house, but a compound that had once been owned by militia members. It was a mishmash of structures that had been cobbled together. Some parts freight containers, other parts prefab houses, all joined together by what she knew were mazelike halls.

There were no lights on that she could see. No obvious security either. The place looked deserted.

But she was betting it wasn’t.

No. There was likely at least one person inside, waiting for her. Waiting for Ruston, too. And she wondered if it was Devin, Charla or Tony.

This would be a way to tie up many loose ends if the killer managed to get access to Zimmer’s files and eliminate Ruston and her. But why was the killer so sure that Ruston and she had anything that would incriminate him?

One answer came to mind.

Because the killer knew they wouldn’t stop until they got to the truth. They would hunt until they had eliminated the threat to Abigail. Any one of their suspects would know that, too.

The gravel crunched between the tires of the SUV as the driver pulled to a stop. “Man, oh, man, this mask is hot. Sweatin’ up a storm underneath.”

“You can take it off,” she challenged.

He laughed again, that low chuckle that made her want to punch him. This wasn’t a joke. This was her life. Hers and Ruston’s, and this snake was playing a huge part in putting them in danger.

“Now, now,” he scolded. “You don’t want to see my face because then I would have to kill you. If you’re gonna die, it won’t be by my hands.”

“No, you’ll just turn me over to a killer and pretend the only thing you did wrong was take money to bring me here.” This time, she was pleased with her tone. Anger. So much anger. She was channeling every bit of what was churning inside her. “Is that what you plan on telling yourself to help you sleep at night?”

“I sleep just fine,” he snarled. He got out and began walking to the passenger’s-side door to open it.

Gracelyn got ready. Well, as ready as she could, considering her hands were cuffed. No way to get out of that, and even though she fumbled with the seat belt, she couldn’t unlatch it. So, she turned her body and tried to get into a position to do some damage.

The man opened the door, and he leaned in to unbuckle her seat belt. She smelled the sweat on him and could see that the moisture had built up behind the eye coverings of the gas mask. She hoped that meant he also had limited vision.

And that he wouldn’t see the attack coming.

The moment he stepped back to pull her out of the SUV, she swung her legs around and kicked him. She aimed for his throat. Missed. But managed to land a kicking blow into his chest.

Cursing, he staggered back, but before he could get out of the way, she kicked him again. This time in the stomach. The air wheezed out of him, and he dropped.

Gracelyn bolted out of the SUV, and she started running as if her life depended on it.

Because it did.

Chapter Sixteen

Everything inside Ruston was a tight tangle of nerves and adrenaline. He’d been in high-stakes situations before, one of those with Gracelyn, but that had been different. She’d been armed then, and they’d been together. Now she was alone, hurt and with a thug who’d kill her in a blink.

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