Page 28 of Just A Kiss

“A place where you will soon learn to shut up and do as you’re told.” She could feel his warm breath on her cheek through the layer of material covering her head. “Suffice it to say, although you’re older than the usual ones we bring here, they’ll still get a pretty penny for you.” He snorted a laugh. “Being so feisty and all.”

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll let me go. Believe me, my boyfriend isn’t gonna be happy when he arrives and finds me hurt.”

The two men bellowed in laughter. “Dream on, bitch. No one is going to find you here. Not even your dear boyfriend.” Again, his warm breath teased her cheek as he whispered loudly against her ear. “But just in case, who is he? We don’t want to shoot an innocent hiker.”

“Sh-Shoot? You’re kidding, right?” Fear crawled over Daphne like a bad virus, but the fact that they weren’t aware that a Utah County Sheriff was her newly acquired boyfriend made her question whether McCarthy was even involved. Surely, if he was the instigator behind her abduction, he would’ve warned them of her involvement with Carter?

Would he have, though? You know criminals in positions such as McCarthy keep information they could benefit from to themselves.

Damn, why did her inner voice always have to rain on her parade?

“Yes, bitch,” the perpetrator smirked with obvious glee sounding in his voice. “Shoot. So, if your loverboy somehow comes looking for you, he’s going to end up in a shallow grave with a bullet between the eyes.”

Daphne decided it would be wise to shut up and not endanger Carter by warning them of his impending arrival. Hopefully, he was close enough to find the trucks, even if the tracker was undetectable in the underground compound.

Chapter Sixteen

FR 759 on the Powerhouse Mountain, two miles out from Daphne’s location...

The black-and-white sheriff’s SUV raced along the gravel mountain road, kicking up a trail of dust in its wake. Carter gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white. He was filled with a swirling storm of emotions—anger, fear, determination. Anger at the vile criminals who had kidnapped Daphne and were holding her captive. Fear for her safety, worry that they might have discovered the hidden tracker and already disposed of her. Determination to rescue her and take down the entire trafficking ring once and for all.

Deputy Cooper sat silently in the passenger seat, occasionally glancing over at him. His lips compressed, well aware that his emotions were etched on his face. He hadn’t hidden his budding feelings for Daphne. Everyone at the Provo and Spanish Fork offices knew this was deeply personal for him.

His gaze searched the surroundings as he drove. The Powerhouse Mountains had been like a childhood playground filled with happy memories. He knew every inch of it like the back of his hand. However, since he had taken the position as sheriff, there hadn’t been time for excursions and hikes like in the past. Now, that innocence had been shattered by the knowledge that this beautiful place hid such darkness.

As the SUV climbed higher into the mountains, the signal from Daphne's tracker suddenly went dead.

“Shit!” Carter marked the last logged location on the tracker unit the moment the signal went dead. “They must’ve taken her underground.”

“Let’s hope that’s the case and not that they found the tracker on her,” said Deputy Cooper, who had insisted on coming with him.

“It’s a microchip tracker. The chances of them finding it are slim.”

Carter swung the vehicle off the main road onto a barely visible dirt track. He knew these mountains like the back of his hand. The landscape grew rougher as they approached the coordinates where the signal had cut out. His foot pressed harder on the gas pedal. They drove the last mile in tense silence. The winding mountain road was barely more than a dirt track. Carter expertly maneuvered the SUV around sharp bends, his hands clenched on the wheel. Pine trees pressed close on either side, branches scraping the sides of the vehicle.

“Today is the day we close these motherfuckers down, once and for all.” Carter’s voice darkened as he thought of the danger Daphne was in. A child would be scared and quickly submit to whatever was expected. Daphne was a firecracker and would fight like the fiery, independent woman she was. Carter’s hand rested on his weapon.

“We’ll get her back,” he said grimly. Fear and anger churned inside him, but he channeled it into steely determination. Failure was not an option today. Daphne was coming home.

“You don’t think rushing in now to save Daphne is risking not cracking open the entire syndicate?” Deputy Cooper whispered, voicing the concern that had been nagging Carter’s mind. “Especially since the aim is to catch everyone involved. More specifically, those running the scheme from the top.”

“It’s a risk, yes.” Carter’s jaw tightened as his eyes turned hard as flint. “But her safety is my top priority right now. Her and all those other young girls locked away in there.” His protective instincts toward Daphne raged inside him like a storm. He would tear that place apart with his bare hands to get her back safely. Carter glanced at Tanya. “One way or the other, we’ll get them all, that much, I promise.” His jaw locked. “I refuse to allow one of those bastards to get away scot-free.”

Deputy Cooper studied his stony expression and knew further argument was futile. She just nodded and said, "We'll get them, Sheriff. One way or another."

Rounding a tight corner, the tracker coordinate location blinked ahead. Carter quickly pulled off the road behind a thick copse of trees and cut the engine. He did a final check of his weapon, jaw set.

“We continue on foot from here. How long before the FBI Rescue Team arrives?”

“They just confirmed ETA is five minutes max.”

“Warn them not to come in hot with the choppers. We don’t want to spook these bastards.”

Tanya quickly passed on the message over the sat phone to the FBI recovery team leader.

“They’ve identified a hot spot to the left of Daphne’s last location,” she relayed in a hushed voice. “They’ll drop down there and approach on foot.”

“Good. Let’s move,” Carter said tersely. He moved through the woods with a stealth he had learned from years of playing hide-and-seek as a youth with his brothers. “I’m not waiting around.”

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