***
Cody watched as Brian and Kara pulled away from the house and headed down the long driveway. He quickly dialed Frank's residence to inform them of Kara's departure. Loralei answered the phone and told him Frank was on his way over to the Everett house and should be there within moments. No sooner had he clicked the phone shut did he hear the sound of several footsteps pounding up the stairs to the backdoor.
"Where is she?" Farron asked worriedly.
"I was just calling to tell you...her brother insisted they pay a visit to the lawyer," Cody informed them.
"Goddamn it!" Farron cursed vehemently.
"Hey, she wanted to go tell you, but he pretty much insisted."
"You should have fucking stopped her!" Farron's skin was literally crawling at the thought of Kara being at Brian's mercy. No one had said as much, but Farron had the God-awful feeling that Brian was behind everything; the kidnapping, the ransom, and now he had Kara.
"Farron, calm down," Frank insisted as sympathetically as possible. "We have no proof he will harm her." He knew how lame that sounded the moment it left his lips. When a kidnapping took place, often times it was discovered that a family member was the perpetrator. It's a sad fact, but a fact nonetheless. Couple that with the frightening realization that Brian had an unhealthy love for his sister and it made the situation that much worse.
"I'm trying, Frank, but how the hell do we find them?" he replied disheartened.
Cody grinned and dug his laptop from the large pack he had left on the foyer's table. "This way." A few clicks later, he had the GPS tracking system up and a little blip appeared on the program's map. "They're about ten miles or so away at the moment."
Farron blinked hard as he looked at the computer graphics. "When..."
"Pretty necklace you gave her, by the way," Cody commented as he closed the laptop.
"Okay, people," Frank announced as he threw open the door. "Let's get going. We have some ground to make up." While they hurried from the house toward the van Cody had driven, he turned to Farron. "Go tell Loralei what's happening and I'll call her as soon as I can."
Farron balked at that idea. "The hell you say. I'm going with you."
Frank noticed the team stop at the van and wait for him. "Listen, Farron..."
"No Frank, you listen." Farron fixed his eyes steadily onto Frank's. "I will not stand idly by while the woman I love is in danger."
Frank had turned and started for the van again when Farron's words sunk in. Love. Love? What he was thinking, he saw each of his team mouthing. Farron in love? Now that was an oxymoron if he had ever heard one. "Damn, Brother...when it hits you...it hits you." Frank grinned. "Come on; let's go get that woman of yours. We'll discuss this 'love' thing later."
Farron nodded and smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Frank." He climbed into the back of the van with Alex and Jake. Talk about an uncomfortable feeling. On one side sat Jake, who grumbled at him under his breath. On his other side, sat Alex, his former lover. Now they were on the way to retrieve his current lover. He sighed inwardly. He really never thought of Kara that way. Current. She was his future as well as his present. He knew that almost from the start. It was the only possible explanation as to how she could have gotten under his skin so quickly. Why he was so utterly destroyed after she had disappeared after making love to him that first time on Frank's sleeper sofa.
Cody opened the laptop and checked Kara's position. "They're heading into the city now."
Frank nodded as he drove. "Get Loralei on the phone. Tell her what's happening." He hated leaving the way he did, without letting her know what was going on. Time was not on their side. They needed to catch up with Everett, if for no other reason than to prove that he had nothing to do with John Everett's kidnapping.
Ten or fifteen minutes later, Farron was going out of his mind. "What's going on, Frank...where are they?"
Frank glanced at the monitor; they were still on the move. "They've headed to the south side of town. They're still moving." He heard Farron's jagged sigh. "We're closing distance, Farron. We're only a few miles behind them now."
"It's not good enough, Frank..."
Frank did not need to respond. No one did. If any of them were in Farron's place, they would be going out of their fucking minds. Hell, it had not been all that long ago that he and Farron went through the same terror when Alca Huete had taken Loralei and Kara. It was a helpless feeling and it gnawed on your nerves like a cancer.
***
"Brian," Kara questioned as she exited his Mercedes. "Why have you brought me here?" She glanced around the deserted building. Everett Enterprises had outgrown the small office complex years ago and it had stood abandoned ever since.
"Just a quick stop," Brian replied as he latched onto her arm. "Just something you need to see."
Kara glanced sideways at him. His face had taken on a calm, stoic look. As if he had come to terms with something. "Brian...what's going on?" she asked again, more firmly this time.
They were inside the building now. The power had been off for years and the stale odor of the abandoned building was stifling, causing Kara to choke on it. Brian sneered just a little when he said, "No amenities here, darling sister. You'll have to hoof it up the stairs to the third floor."
Kara tried to wrench her arm from his grasp. "Really, Brian. This is ridiculous."
"Ridiculous or not, Kara," he insisted. "You are going up there." He was tired of pretenses. He pulled her up the stairs and grunted uncaringly as she stumbled to her knees. He tugged her to her feet and continued onward. No more catering to his obsession. She was dead to him now. She had given herself to another and she would pay. Pay dearly. He would see her dead before he would see her in the arms of another man again.
Kara felt like he had dragged her forcibly a mile before they finally reached the third floor. Her knees and shins were bruised and bleeding. He pushed her into one of the offices and she stumbled forward, falling flat on her face. She heard Brian's callous laughter and looked up. It was then she noticed the only object in the room. "Good God, Brian...what have you done?" she whispered disbelievingly.
***
To be continued...