Already Gone Page 19

  “Come on, we can do this.” She encouraged the girls to continue even as they panted at the exertion and struggled through the accumulating snow. Maddy felt marginally safer once they were in the protection of the tall pines. All three were breathing heavily by the time they topped the ridge. Maddy led them behind a clump of boulders, letting go of Angelica so she could put her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. She leaned against the solid rock, head throbbing, her stomach clenched in a tangled knot of fear.

  “You stabbed him.”

  Maddy eyed Angelica. “Yeah, I did. Is that a problem?”

  The slight girl shook her head. “He was going to hurt us, but you stabbed him.”

  “I would have stabbed him if I’d had a knife,” Jasmine stated.

  Maddy straightened and studied the determination on Jasmine’s face. “I believe you would have. We do what we have to do to protect ourselves, and we’re not safe yet.”

  Both girls nodded solemnly. Jasmine was a tall young woman, and the resolute look in her dark eyes signaled a tough internal strength. Angelica held tightly to her sister’s hand.

  Maddy glanced up at the sky. The sun must have risen but remained obscured by heavy clouds. Even in the short time they’d been outdoors, the snowfall had intensified.

  “We need to keep going. He’ll try to follow us.”

  The faint wail of a siren reached them, sounding muffled in the saturated air.

  “Maybe that’s the police coming to help us.” Hope sparked a light in Angelica’s eyes.

  “You stay here. I’m going to find a spot where I can see what’s going on, and if Horvath followed us. There was a truck coming up the road when we ran, and it could have been one of his men. I want to know if they’re coming after us.”

  “No.” Angelica gripped her hand again. “You have to stay with us. What if the evil one gets you?”

  “His name is Horvath, Lazlo Horvath. Calling him ‘the evil one’ gives him too much power. And he was bleeding pretty badly, so I don’t know if he’s able to come after us. I’m going to look. Give me ten minutes.”

  Maddy took a couple of steps, then paused. “If I yell run, don’t wait for me.” She pointed northward. “If you go down the mountain in this direction, you’ll come to the southern end of Hangman Lake. Those little cabins you saw? They belong to my friend, and she’s married to my brother, who’s a policeman. Anyone there will help you.”

  At Jasmine’s curt nod and Angelica’s more reluctant one, Maddy peeked around the boulder. Ignoring the cold, her throbbing head, the fear gnawing at her belly, she darted through the trees to a granite slab protruding at an angle from the side of the mountain. She crept to the top of the solid mass, her fingers raw and freezing from grappling across the icy rock face, and found a spot where she had a view of the slope they’d climbed, and beyond it, to the cabin. They had gained enough elevation that she could see over the cabin roof to the long driveway. There were two vehicles in front of the cabin, one she thought could be the truck with the shell over the bed Horvath had driven the day he’d come to her cabin, asking about Logan. The other could belong to one of Horvath’s men. If Horvath had followed her, there was no sign.

  The sirens sounded closer, and even as she watched, vehicles appeared through the haze of snow, speeding up the dirt road with their lights flashing red and blue, sirens blaring. The sight brought a giddy tide of relief. Her brother and Logan would be in those vehicles.

  She slid back down to the base of the rock, landing at the bottom in a heap. The cold and wet was penetrating through her sweater, and the climb on the rock had soaked her pants. She had to hang on for a little bit longer. She and the girls would find someplace to wait until she felt certain it was safe, then they’d go back down the mountain.

  She rose to her feet, grabbing on to the sturdy trunk of a tree as she swayed. Her head spun and little black dots danced across her vision. The sharp sound of a breaking twig had her wrenching around to face the danger, blinking rapidly to clear her sight. A dark shape appeared seemingly out of nowhere, looming impossibly large before making a grab for her.

  “Madison!”

  The surge of adrenaline, the instinctive coiling of energy to fight, the sheer terror, all drained away at that one word spoken by that one voice. Strong arms gathered her close to lock her against a solid chest. Warm lips pressed against her hair, and Logan’s chest expanded with a deep shuddering sigh. “You’re okay. You’re okay.” He repeated the words like a mantra.

  He held her tight, and Maddy didn’t think there was ever a time in her life that she felt more safe or secure. The wail of sirens cut off abruptly.

  “It’s you. You found me.”

  “It’s me. You’re safe now.” His voice was husky with emotion.

  “How did you get up here so fast? Those emergency vehicles pulled up only a minute ago.”

  “Theo was able to place Horvath’s truck here. As soon as he gave me a location, I was in my truck. I radioed Brad, and he brought the cavalry.” With the side of his head pressed against hers, his voice came from above her left ear. “I kicked in the front door as you were going out the back. I dealt with Horvath and came after you.”

  A long minute later Logan grasped her arms to hold her far enough away that he could survey her face. A gloved hand brushed against the hair on her forehead and glided softly across her cheek where Horvath had struck her. And while his movements remained restrained, gunmetal eyes burned with inner turmoil. “Did he rape you?”

  She shook her head. “He hit me on the head, knocked me out. Gave me an injection, I think to keep me unconscious.”

  “We need to get you to the hospital, but first, where are the others?” A world of emotion echoed in the low timbre of his voice. “I followed more than your tracks up the mountain.”

  “Let her go or I’ll brain you with this rock.”

  Logan spun around to face the threat, thrusting Maddy behind him. She pushed back, elbowing him aside. “Jasmine, he’s one of the good guys.”

  The girl stood ten feet away, her arm cocked back, a large rock fisted in her hand. Her gaze tracked from Logan to Maddy. “You sure?”

  “Yes.” Maddy stepped toward her, and when Jasmine dropped the rock, she rushed forward to pull the girl into a tight hug. Tension left Jasmine’s body and she sagged against Maddy. “You are the bravest person I’ve ever met,” she murmured in the girl’s ear. “Thank you.”

  “I was so scared.”

  Maddy set her back and looked her in the eye. “That makes you even braver.” She let Jasmine go. “Where’s your sister?”

  “I’m here.” The young girl stepped out from behind the solid trunk of a pine tree. “Are we safe now?”

  “Yes, we’re safe.” Maddy moved forward to engulf the shivering Angelica in a hug. She had known these two for probably no more than an hour, and yet she felt connected to them by an unbreakable bond.

  Logan spoke into a walkie-talkie, and when he signed off, Maddy took his hand and pulled him closer.

  “This is my friend Logan. He’s an FBI agent.”

  “Maddy stabbed the evil one. Horvath,” Jasmine corrected herself. “Is he dead?”

  Logan raised a brow at Maddy. “He’s not dead, but he’s hurting real bad. I left him handcuffed on the floor. Trust me, he’s not going to hurt you or any other girls ever again.”

  “Good.”

  Logan pulled off his beanie and tugged it over Jasmine’s head, then wrapped his coat with the letters FBI emblazoned on the back around Angelica. With a long look at Maddy, he took her hand, and said, “Let’s go, ladies.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Even before they reached the cabin, the back door flew open and a tall figure in a Hangman’s Loss PD coat strode out. When Brad reached her, he pulled Maddy into a fierce hug. “You okay?”

  “I am now.”

  He framed her face with his hands. “You the one that stuck a knife in that bastard?”

  She
let out a shaky breath. “Yeah.”

  He kissed her forehead. “Good job, sis.”

  He glanced at the girls who stood close to Maddy. “The two ambulances we have are on the way, one of them will be for Horvath. We’ll get you warmed up, then you’re all going to the clinic in town. And if they think you should go to the hospital in Bishop, that’s where you’ll go.”

  “I don’t think I’m hurt too bad.” Maddy didn’t want to go to the hospital. She thought going to her cabin and burrowing into her bed for a few days would heal her better than any medical treatment.

  “The scrape on your forehead and the dried blood on your face tell a different story. Don’t argue.”

  Brad walked next to Maddy, leading them back to the cabin, while Logan escorted the two girls. The hour that followed made Maddy feel like she’d been caught in her jumbo mixer at the café. Police officers and FBI agents swarmed the old Gilman cabin that Horvath had squatted in, voices mixing with radio transmissions filling the air. She and the girls had given their initial statements, but she knew there would be more questions later.

  A tall man with a slight limp crossed the room to Logan, and they bent their heads together. Whatever the guy had to say certainly had Logan’s full attention.

  She used the little bathroom to relieve herself, and when she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror, she gave a heartfelt grimace. While the scrape on her forehead had bled, it wasn’t deep. She did her best to wash off the worst of the dried blood, but couldn’t do a single thing about the purple bruise high on her cheek or the dark circles under her eyes.

  The emotion she’d kept at bay, the terror and fear she hadn’t allowed herself to acknowledge as she’d fought to help the girls, suddenly hit her like a balled fist to the gut. Breath hitching, she sat on the closed lid of the toilet, bending forward to rest her elbows on her knees and her forehead on her hands. She sucked in a deep breath, held it, then blew it out. Repeating the process, she felt a little steadier. She couldn’t break down now. She’d schedule that for later.

  Maddy returned to the living room to sit on a long couch with the girls flanking her. Logan looked up when she came back in. She thought he’d come to be with her, but he returned his attention to the other man. Everyone was talking at once, and the buzz of voices on top of the emotional upheaval made her head throb.

  A commotion at the door had her looking across the room in time to see Trish Gallagher cutting a swath through the milling bodies to get to her daughter. Maddy shot up from her seat and was enveloped in a hug so tight it had her blinking back tears.

  “I’m so glad you’re safe, my baby.”

  Releasing Maddy, Trish turned to Jasmine and Angelica. In a brisk voice, she said, “I’m Trish, Maddy’s mom. Let’s find you all a quiet place.”

  Within minutes she had moved Maddy and the girls to a bedroom on the other side of the cabin from the room Horvath had held them in. This room had twin beds with matching red and brown checked quilts, and framed photos of Hangman Lake arranged on the wall. “Ambulances are on the way,” Trish told them. “Brad said they’ll need to get that despicable man to the hospital first, but then they’ll take care of you three.” She pulled open the drawers of a rustic dresser. “Just what I thought. This is Chad Gilman’s daughters’ room. That family’s privacy has already been violated, and it’s about to be violated a bit more.” In quick order, she had jeans, leggings, heavy sweaters and sweatshirts, plus thick socks, laid out on the top of the dresser. “You get changed out of those wet things, and I’ll make sure no one disturbs you.”

  True to her word, Trish kept everyone out. A conversation carried through the closed door, where Maddy distinctly heard Trish using her mom voice to tell Brad that yes, the clothes the three were wearing would be bagged up as evidence, but right now, they needed privacy.

  “I like your mom.”

  Maddy held up a pair of sweatpants to Jasmine. “Me too. Trish Gallagher is a force to be reckoned with when she’s in mom mode. Here, put these on.” She added a sweater and wool socks to the stack and handed it to the girl. “Come here, Angelica. I think these leggings might work for you, and this sweatshirt.”

  She found clothing for herself that would mostly fit, and with relief, Maddy began shedding her wet things.

  “Can we call our mom?” Angelica asked. “She’ll be worried about us.”

  “I think the way it’s done is that the police will contact her to let her know you’re okay, and they’ll set up a call to you.” Remembering what Jasmine had told her, she said, “My brother and Logan will want to talk to you and get more information about José. You need to tell them what you told me, that your mother’s boyfriend sold you to Horvath.”

  “Will he be arrested?”

  “I’m sure he will be.”

  Angelica looked at her sister, then at Maddy. “He’s our mom’s boyfriend. She might get mad if he’s arrested.”

  Maddy shook her head. “Your mother won’t want to be with someone who would do what he did to you.” She could only hope she was right. Not all parents put their children’s welfare first.

  A soft knock sounded at the door. Maddy opened it to find Trish and Officer Monica Valdez holding steaming mugs. “Do you girls want hot chocolate?”

  Within minutes they were seated on the sides of the beds, sipping frothy cocoa. Maddy sighed as warmth spread through her. Another knock sounded, and this time it was Logan.

  His gaze found hers, and when he spoke, his voice was carefully controlled, not revealing any of the emotion he’d displayed when he’d held her so tightly up on the mountain. “Ambulance left with Horvath. The other one was diverted to an accident out on the highway, so we’ll take you to the clinic in town in other vehicles. Once you get checked out, we’ll need to interview you further.” He glanced at Maddy again, long enough this time that she noticed the tightness of his jaw, the dark brows lowered over turbulent eyes. He had a lid on it, but underneath, Logan Ross was one pissed-off, angry man. “I’ll take you, Maddy. The girls can go with Monica.”

  “No, I’m sticking with these two until their mom comes for them.”

  “They’ll be fine. I need to talk to you.” His tone held carefully modulated patience, as if he were talking to a suspect on the slightly dim side.

  Maddy narrowed her eyes. She set her mug down carefully on the little table between the beds. She was starting to get a little mad herself. Something was going on with Logan. Maybe he was angry at her for going to her cabin, for getting kidnapped, for getting bashed on the head. Whatever. She sure wasn’t happy with the situation either, but she had to deal with the reality of what was, and she’d already paid for her decision to go to her cabin in search of Nutella.

  “The girls and I remain together. That’s the way it is, Logan.”

  She thought he might crack a molar his jaw clenched so tight. He gave a curt nod and left the room.

  “I think your boyfriend is mad.” Jasmine sipped her cocoa, dark eyes big over the rim of her mug.

  “I’m not sure he’s my boyfriend, and he’ll have to be mad, because we three are a team right now, and we’re sticking together.”

  Angelica rose from her seat beside her sister to come sit next to Maddy on the opposite bed. Maddy draped an arm around her shoulders, and the slight girl leaned into her. “I want to stay with you, Maddy. Horvath was going to do bad things to us, and you saved us.”

  “We saved each other. You two are strong, and we worked together to get free from Horvath. I don’t want you to forget that.”

  “What about the other girls?” Jasmine asked. “The ones he took away last night?”

  “I know the FBI will try to find all the girls Horvath and his people have hurt.”

  Trish came in. “It’s all arranged. Officer Valdez will ride with us, and we’re all going back to town in my car. Are you ready?”

  Maddy followed Jasmine and Angelica out of the room, and when she would have followed them right out of the cabin wi
thout speaking to Logan, he crossed the room.

  “Hang on a minute.” He pulled her to a quiet corner.

  “What?”

  He looked at her, and as if he couldn’t help himself, leaned forward to press his lips to hers for a brief kiss. “I’m sorry, Maddy.”

  She didn’t know where the trembling came from, but she was shaking. She had the feeling that whatever was going on in Logan’s head wasn’t going to result in sunshine and happiness for her.

  “What’s happening, Logan?”

  He shook his head. “We don’t have time to talk right now. You need to go, and it turns out, so do I.”

  “Where?”

  He nodded to the man he’d been talking to earlier, who was now speaking with Jack Morgan. “Declan Murphy recently retired as a detective with the LAPD human trafficking division. He knows Horvath’s organization. We got Janus in Oakland, and now we’ve got Lazlo. Declan called colleagues at his old division, and they think they know where the remainder of the top hierarchy of the Horvaths’ organization are located. Right now, they’re in LA. We need to move quick, because it would be a hell of a lot better if we can nab them in the states before they can run to Mexico.”

  Maddy nodded slowly. “Okay. Are you coming back, Logan? Or is this it for us?”

  “I’m coming back, Maddy. But I don’t know when, or for how long.”

  “I see.”

  “I’m not good for you, that much is obvious.”

  “Lazlo Horvath isn’t good for me. He’s to blame for what happened, not you.”

  Logan was already shaking his head. “I was supposed to protect you, and I failed.”

  “Because you’re Superman? Get real.” Fear mixed with the anger. Logan was slipping through her fingers, and if she lost touch with him completely, he would disappear as completely as he had a decade ago. She wasn’t sure what type of relationship she wanted with him, but she wanted a chance to figure it out.

  He gazed out the window for a long minute, and when he looked back at her, it was like he’d already taken a giant step back.

  “Stay, Logan. Someone else can catch the bad guys.”