Page 47 of Always Mine
“Just you wait.”
She opened the door and pushed Annie inside. Her knee bumped the door and it hurt like hell.
Just you wait.
Annie forced back the bile in her throat. She had to keep her wits. She had to outsmart Denzi. The Devil.
* * *
Will drove on to the expressway, having left plenty of time to make his flight from Syracuse Hancock Airport to D.C. When the first exit sign came into view, he got a chill. And his stomach lurched. This reaction had happened before. A hunch once that a tire in a car he was driving with a protectee was going to blow. And once he had a premonition that the president was in danger at a speech he was going to give. Luckily the president knew Will from his stints in the White House and trusted him. He’d increased his protection detail. The extra agents found a man with a gun in the audience.
So, now, Will was sure something was wrong. In D.C. or Westwood?
His gut told him Westwood, so he took the exit to turn around and put up his law enforcement bubble. He raced back to town and over to Diego’s house. Police cars were parked at all angles in the yard, and he caught a glimpse of Katie Donovan’s sedan. Hurling out of his seat, he jogged to the front door. It was open to the screen.
Inside, Diego sat at the dining room table with the chief of police, Katie and three others Will didn’t know. His friend caught sight of him. “I thought you went to—oh, God, Will, Annie’s been abducted. Her friend Maisy called and notified me she never made it to work.”
Katie’s face was flushed. “I was wrong. Someone must have been alive from the Cobras. Denzi must still be in town.”
“Yes, you were,” Chief Thomas said curtly. “Let’s not waste time on guilt. We’ll deal with all that later.” He turned to Will. “Maybe you want to suggest a course of action. We’ve never had something like this happen in Westwood.”
“Do you have a map of where the gangs operate in town? The territory of each one.”
“I got a map. I can show you where.”
He worked at the computer as he spoke. “Here it is. You got a printer, Diego?”
“Send it to me.” Diego printed off the four maps.
Will stood over the chief’s shoulder. He circled areas in red. “We’ve pinpointed these two regions of the city. Which is a lot for a town this size. But we’re close to Syracuse. Migration happened slowly.”
“We’ll split up into teams,” Will said after he scanned the documents.
Thomas stood. “I’ll call in the off-duty officers to report and help search.”
The doorbell rang and in walked Joe Romano. “Hey, buddy. I heard what happened. My phone’s ringing non-stop. Firefighters want to help search for her.”
“Chief?” Will asked.
“Yeah. One firefighter and one cop. Stick together.”
Joe said, “Since the shooting of cops in Rochester, some of us have guns.”
“Bring them along.”
Soon, the cops filed out. Will was last. He stayed back to reassure Diego, whose face had gone white. He squeezed his friend’s arm. “We’ll find her buddy. Call your family to keep you company.”
But after Will left, Diego was immobilized. He just sat staring into space. He didn’t know how long after that the doorbell rang, startling him out of his daze.
Maisy and Caleb Shepherd entered the house.
Caleb crossed to him. “We came to keep vigil with you.”
“I don’t pray, Caleb.”
“Neither do I, anymore.” He turned to his sister. “Let’s sit honey. I know you’re frantic, too.”
Maisy just nodded.
