Page 44 of Their Haunted Hearts
Banging his hands on the steering wheel in frustration as he barely missed a fallen tree, Wolfe swallowed the lump in his throat. “It’s my fault. I should have dropped everything and picked her up from the airport.”
“It was her choice, Dad.” Emily turned in her seat to look at him. “She’s not a kid; she’s a grown woman.”
Wolfe snorted. “Grown women don’t get into serial killers’ vehicles.” Wolfe shook his head. “How many times have I told y’all not to trust strangers? Do I need to tattoo it into your brains?” He sucked in a breath. “If he’s hurt her, I’ll kill him. Y’all know that?”
“Calm down before you wreck the truck.” Emily cleared her throat. “Just concentrate on driving. Leave the rescue to the team.”
Mind set on getting to his daughter, Wolfe pushed his foot to the metal, skidding around corners. Julie was in trouble and her slurred messages coming through the speakers meant he had minutes to save her. He counted time in his head as he dodged fallen branches and animals running across the highway. He glanced at Emily. “You stay in the truck. I don’t want to risk your life. Anything might happen. My shotgun is behind my seat. You know how to use it. Don’t talk, just fire the darn thing if he comes at you.”
“Rowley should be heading toward her and Rio behind us and then Jenna and Kane close behind.” Emily gripped the grab handle. “It’s not far now.”
Wolfe stared into the darkness. “I hope Raven kills the lights and sirens. It’s better if he doesn’t know we’re after him.”
He kept his foot flat on the accelerator, vowing to allow Kane to improve his engine. He needed the extra speed right now. He rarely needed to get to a corpse in a hurry, but it was as if he could get out and run faster. Ahead, Raven’s lights vanished and he breathed a sigh of relief. They hit the highway and aquaplaned over water across the road. The back of the truck slid out and he fought to keep it from rolling into the gully.
“We can’t help her if you wreck the truck, Dad.” Emily’s jaw was set. “Everyone is heading toward her. Look how close Dave is. He’s only minutes behind us and moving at light speed.” She stared at the map with the blinking positions of the team. Each of the flashing lights in their names on the screen indicated they were gaining on them.
Wolfe overtook a lone eighteen-wheeler and bumped over a wash of rocks and debris on the blacktop. He stared out of the window searching ahead for lights. “How much farther?”
“Julie has gone off road. Maybe into the forest. Raven is close, maybe one minute behind.” She pointed ahead. “There, see, he’s following. There must be a road on the left into the forest.”
Standing on the brakes, Wolfe slowed to follow Raven along a secluded forest track. They bumped along surrounded by dense forest. Ahead, the dirt road widened and Raven’s truck roared past the silver pickup. He slid to a stop, his truck blocking the trail. The door flew open and Raven rolled out shotgun in hand and started firing, taking out the tires of the silver truck heading straight for him. The red blaze of the shotgun and smell of gunpowder greeted Wolfe as he thrust open the door and, leaving his headlights blazing, jumped out and ran toward the pickup.
Hurling himself into the back of the pickup, he stared at Julie, suddenly afraid. She wasn’t moving. Her long blonde hair covered her face and spread out like a fan all around her. His hands trembled as he fell to his knees and smoothed the hair from her face. He checked her pulse and sat back breathing heavily. She was alive and would likely never remember what happened. He took in the bruise on her face and the tears still wet on her cheeks and his blood boiled. Anger raged through him. Through the buzzing in his ears, he heard Raven yelling at the driver to get out of the vehicle. He climbed from the pickup as Kane’s black truck slid to a halt behind his SUV. Both Jenna and Kane ran toward him weapons drawn.
“Is she okay?” Jenna ran toward the pickup and climbed inside.
When it came to his girls, reason flew out of the window. Ignoring Jenna and disregarding Raven’s screams of “he’s got a gun,” he wrenched open the driver’s door, and as the interior light came on, he saw uncertainty in the man’s eyes, not fear but surprise. Without a second thought he closed one hand around the muzzle of the weapon, wrenched it from the coward’s hand, and tossed it on the ground.
“I’ll come quietly.” The man appeared calm. “There’s no need for violence. I was just trying to help is all.”
Wolfe glared at him. “By drugging her?”
He grabbed the man’s coat collar in both hands and dragged him out of the vehicle. Before his feet hit the ground, Wolfe pulled back his fist and slammed it into the man’s face. “If you’ve hurt her, I’ll tear you apart and bury you so deep even the worms won’t be able to find your body.” He looked over one shoulder as Kane came to his side. “Y’all will help me, right?”
“Where do you want me to dig the hole?” Kane grabbed the man, turned him around, slammed him into the side of the truck, and cuffed him.
“What about right here?” Raven picked up the man’s weapon with a stick. “The ground is nice and soft. We’ll have him six feet under in no time.” He stepped forward and frisked the man. He held up a hunting knife and a container of medication. “Well, here’s the proof we need. Kidnapping carries a twenty-year sentence and I’m sure when we go visit your home, we’ll find enough evidence to charge you with murder one.”
“How about you read him his rights, Dave?” Jenna jumped down from the pickup and went to Wolfe’s side. “Your daughter needs you now. Leave him to us.”
As Kane turned the man around to read him his rights, Jenna shone her flashlight into his eyes and gasped. Wolfe stared at her surprised expression. “Do you know him?”
“I don’t believe it.” Jenna shook her head, shock on her face. “Yeah, I know him. He was right under our noses the entire time.” Her mouth turned down. “Pastor John Dimock. He’s been answering hotline calls at the office.” She kept the light on his face. “So, this is how you help people, by drugging them and then draining their blood?” She turned to Raven. “Put him in your vehicle. Rio’s just arrived. He can ride with you back to the office. I’ll drive his truck.”
“Sick freak.” Raven grabbed Pastor Dimock and, after removing Ben, thrust the prisoner inside the back of his truck. “Can you take Ben with you, Jenna? Pastors aren’t on his menu—although it’s not a bad idea.”
“Come on, Ben.” Jenna took the leash, shaking her head.
Breathing heavily, Wolfe turned to see Emily on her knees beside her sister, her pale face streaked with tears as she removed the duct tape from her sister’s wrists and ankles. He turned back to Jenna. “I guess the pastor gets to live another day but don’t call on me if he’s hurt. I’ve seen what that animal is capable of and I’ll refuse.”
“You won’t need to. As soon as I’ve interviewed him, I’ll ship him off to County.” Jenna squeezed his arm. “Julie is alive and that’s all that matters. Take the girls home. We’ll talk in the morning.”
Wolfe dropped down the tailgate of the pickup, climbed in, and lifted Julie into his arms. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Daddy’s here now. I’m taking you home.”
Forty-Seven
After watching Wolfe leave, Jenna put Ben into the back seat of the Beast, glad that the K-9 took her orders. She walked up to Rowley, who’d just arrived and gave him the details. “You might as well head on home. We’ll need you in the office first up. It’s going to be a long night and we can handle it from here. Thanks for responding so fast.”
