Page 75 of Preying Heart
Heath carries Jodi while I help Pearl up the steep steps in back of the Fortress. Once inside, Glock stands at alert in the kitchen while I pour them juice and pull out a loaf of bread to fix sandwiches.
Heath gathers clean clothes and a towel and sets them on the table.
Once they’ve eaten and drank, he starts the interrogation, writing down their names and when they went missing.
“Can you call the tribal police?” Jodi asks. “We want to get back to our families.”
“I’ll bring you to them,” he says. “Are there other girls there? When did you last see them?”
“Last night,” Pearl says. “They might be moving them now because we got away.”
“We saw a doctor there,” Jodi says. “They caught her to take care of Emily. She’s one of the hikers, and she had a miscarriage.”
“A doctor?” Heath exclaims, and I get a bad feeling because Lucy’s missing. “What’s her name?”
“They didn’t say her name,” Jodi says. “But she checked up on everyone. Gave us pills.”
“Was she working for them?” I ask.
“They caught her,” Jodi says. “After she treated Emily, they locked her up. Said she can replace anyone who runs. We had another girl who ran three nights ago. Convinced one of the hunters to take her.”
“Wait, does the doctor have curly hair and wears a single hoop earring?” Heath asks.
“Yes, that’s her!” Pearl says.
“She has black hair and she wore a bandana,” Jodi says.
“Oh, no.” My heart drops and my legs turn to jelly. “They got Lucy. Heath, you have to rescue them.”
“I’ll go right now,” Heath says. “You ladies want to get dressed and ready? I have a few calls to make. You said up near Branch Junction? Are there other places they move you?”
“We’re mostly blindfolded, but we know the landmarks,” Pearl says. “Not like those tourists. They have no clue.”
“Good, because I’m going to need one of you to guide me and the tribal police,” Heath says. “Go get cleaned up and dressed. We leave in fifteen minutes.”
Even though he sounds calm and businesslike, I can sense the tension in his tight voice and clenched jaw.
The sisters retire to the bathroom to wash up and dress.
“What are we going to do?” Nausea sweeps over me, and cold sweat erupts over my face. “They have Lucy. I wanted to tell you, but Lucy’s clinic has been deserted over a week. Nothing showed up on her cameras. What if they nabbed her shortly after we left? I hope she’s okay. I couldn’t call you because you didn’t leave me a phone.”
He hugs me stiffly and too tight. “I got you a burner. You’re going to have to stay here and hold the fort while I track down the rest of the victims and Lucy. I’ll leave Glock with you.”
“No, you take him. He can fight and track. I’ll be okay. No one knows I’m here.”
He gives me a hard kiss and looks in my eyes. “You’re a brave woman. Remember. Use VPN whenever you go online. Don’t visit any of the accounts you had before you arrived.”
“I know all that, Heath. Be careful. Please, be careful.” I leave a tender, lingering kiss on his lips, and then let him go.
He’s all command and control as he unloads the supplies, instructs me where to put them, and gives me a new burner phone. The two sisters give me hugs and tell me not to worry. The men in their tribe will take revenge on those thugs and traffickers. I’m worried for Lucy though. Why did they nab her, and did it have anything to do with me?
“Any news from Big Dude?” I ask Heath as he’s ready to drive off and I’m giving him a kiss through the driver’s window.
“None, although I have a meeting with my government agent. He won’t tell me what he found. Only that the crypto was transferred through a wallet owned by someone who’s deceased. I wonder if it means we have nothing more to worry about.” He kisses me again and caresses my face. “Guess I won’t be getting any more Bitcoin for you.”
“You have something better than Bitcoin,” I whisper in his ear. “You have me.”
Heath
