Ranger Guardian Page 15

  “Where are you going?”

  He pushed through the revolving door and asked the doorman, “Do you have a cab waiting?”

  “I have one for Heath and Kendall.”

  “That’s us.” Heath turned to her, pointing to the cell screen to show that the call was still active. “We agreed to do everything exactly as he said. We have four minutes to get there.” He put his arm around her, tugging her close. “We might make it if we’re lucky.”

  “One swipe with a wand and the shoes are blown,” she whispered close to his ear in order not to be picked up by the phone.

  “The guy told me Elm and Houston,” the driver said. “Any particular corner?”

  “Northwest. There’s extra if you get us there in three minutes,” Heath told the driver.

  “No problem if you let me drop you. The actual corner requires me to circle ’round.”

  “Fine. Why did he give us only four minutes to get there?” he asked softly. He dropped a twenty on the front seat.

  “He had to be watching us. Now we don’t have time to contact any of the agencies watching us.” Her eyes went to the cell in his hand.

  “He told me not to disconnect.” He listened to the phone. “Nothing. He’s listening and keeping us from contacting anyone.”

  “He’ll probably have another cell waiting for us. We’ll jump to another location. He’ll try to lose our tail before we can do anything about it. Did you recognize his voice? Could it be Marrone? A high-paid lawyer got him released.”

  “No, it was the same guy as this morning, but not Marrone.”

  In a louder voice Kendall asked the cab driver, “How far are we?”

  “Just two more turns. You sure are in a hurry to see the grassy knoll.”

  “The grassy knoll?” they both asked.

  “Yeah, man. Elm and Houston is where Kennedy got shot,” said the cab driver.

  “I didn’t recognize the street names.” Kendall pressed her fingers to her temple. “That means people, as in tourists.”

  “Very good, Ranger,” said a distant voice and Heath brought Slate’s phone to his ear again. “Continue on Elm. The phone’s under the tracks. Don’t forget to leave your partner’s cell in the cab.”

  “This is going to sound strange, but we need to continue on Elm and be dropped on the other side of the rail overpass,” Heath repeated to the cab driver.

  “I can’t stop there, man. It’s a blind curve.” The cabby stuck out his hand waiting for extra cash.

  “Pull up on the sidewalk,” Kendall told him. They left the cab and the phone. “What else did he say?”

  The sky was clear, and he could see a few of the brightest stars in the sky. They crossed the dangerous street as fast as they could. Their four minutes were up.

  “Hey!” a man shouted from the opposite side of six lanes. “Are you Heath and Kendall?”

  “Yes!” they shouted across the busy six lanes of traffic.

  “This guy on the phone said to head for the stairs back there.” He lowered a cell onto the ledge and pointed toward the way they had come. “Damn. I’m calling the cops. That guy said he’d kill me if I didn’t yell for you.”

  Avoiding oncoming traffic, they moved further into the underpass and ran across Commerce and Elm streets.

  “Good grief, the stench.” Kendall covered her nose with her hand.

  “It smells like a hundred elephants from the circus relieved themselves.”

  “I can’t believe you’re making jokes.”

  “I thought I was being factual.” He guided her along the narrow sidewalk toward the cell.

  “We’re sitting ducks, you know. The kidnapper has cut us off from our backup with all these one-way streets. We’re on a dark walkway that might as well be a tunnel. The car trailing us passed without ever slowing down. We can’t be sure they saw us at all.”

  They exited the semi-tunnel. How many times had he driven through here and not taken a serious look. They both drew clean air deep into their lungs. Heath searched Dealy Plaza on the edge of the city of Dallas. Very few people walked the sidewalks, but the kidnapper could be any one of them.

  “How long ’til they realize we’re not in the cab?” she asked.

  “Until the cab stops for the FBI. Slate will be trailing your shoes. They’ll hang back long enough to make it look like they lost us.”

  The phone rang as they approached the ledge, making it easy to find.

  “Walk north through the parking lot, turn east, cross Houston Street, and follow the light rail on Pacific Avenue. Make your way to the West End Marketplace. Don’t borrow any phone along the way, Murray. We’re watching.”

  “This way.” Heath guided Kendall past a picket fence to the parking lot for the Kennedy Museum.

  Mental pictures of President Kennedy’s assassination invaded his thoughts. If the kidnapper wanted to give them a feeling of doom, he’d succeeded.

  “He more than likely is watching us. What now?” she asked.

  “We’re to go to the West End.”

  They began the trek, following the kidnapper’s instructions. The light rail street was closed to cars and had no pedestrians.

  “At least he can’t hear us now,” Heath said.

  “You hope.” She nodded toward the phone. “Try that yet?”

  “Password protected. I can answer, but can’t dial.”

  “Figures.” Kendall stepped around a shattered beer bottle. She grabbed his hand, causing him to stop and look at her. “Remember your promise to let me handle the kidnapper. You get Skylar Dawn to safety. That’s the only thing you need to do.”

  His tug on her hand got her walking again. “That dress is beautiful. I haven’t seen you wear that since we had a night out three years ago. Wow. It’s really been that long?”

  At his change of subject, she dropped his hand. “You promised, Heath.”

  “Not exactly. I told you I wouldn’t choose. Let’s get there and find Skylar Dawn.”

  He caught her hand in his, seeking anyone out of the ordinary. People walked in both directions. It was a beautiful spring evening to be strolling the West End. And it seemed like everyone was.

  They rounded a corner onto Market Street, which was full of people. They headed toward an open courtyard where a band played. The phone rang, slicing through the dull roar of the street noise. Before he could pull it from his pocket, Kendall stepped in front of him.

  “There is no choice, Heath. Skylar Dawn needs you. I know how to handle this creep. Leave him to me.”

  Keeping his eyes on her face, he brought the phone to his ear as it rang. “Yeah?”

  “It is time to choose, Ranger. Your wife or your child.”

  “Where’s Skylar Dawn?”

  “She’ll be safe for twenty more minutes.”

  “Damn it, man! What do you want?”

  “Your wife. I can see you both. Send her to the Dallas Aquarium. I’ll call again to tell you where the girl is when I have your wife.”

  The line went dead.

  “Did he say where Skylar Dawn is?”

  He shook his head, frustration keeping him momentarily silent. “I’m supposed to stay here, wait for his call. He’ll let me know where to pick up Skylar Dawn after he has you.”

  “Don’t worry about me, Heath. I’m trusting you to find our daughter.”

  “He wants you to start walking toward the aquarium,” he said, pointing behind her toward the building.

  They’d taken Skylar Dawn there several times. Seeing the endangered animals section was her second favorite thing to do. The first was riding Stardust.

  “You can do this.” She squeezed his hand, pushing the phone to his chest.

  “I’m not worried about me. He’s...”

  There wasn’t enough time to explain what he wanted he
r to know. He should have answered her before they left the dance floor. She was walking straight into the hands of a madman, with a strong possibility they’d never see each other again.

  “Come back to me, Kendall.”

  She turned to walk away, but he caught her off guard and pulled her into his arms. His lips claimed hers with the hunger of a starving man, the desperation of a defeated one. He’d never known a kiss so transparent. He’d never experienced a kiss filled with regret and longing. Regret for what might have been and longing for what might never be.

  His wife pulled slowly away, her free hand cupping his cheek.

  “I wish you had a gun or I could send backup. Something.” His voice rose in frustration. “I can’t just let you turn yourself over to him.”

  “He’s watching. I’ve got to go, Heath. Find our girl.”

  She lifted his fingers from her arm and kissed him one last time. Then she put one foot in front of the other and walked away from him. Stopping himself from following was pretty much the hardest thing he’d done in his life.

  Chapter Twenty

  Heath stood there until she was out of sight. He shoved the phone in his back pocket then ran into the crowd gathered and enjoying a night out. A couple walked toward him and he didn’t hesitate—no matter what the kidnapper had insinuated earlier.

  “Excuse me, do you have a cell phone? This is an emergency. My daughter is missing.”

  “Oh my God. Here,” the woman said as she handed him her phone.

  “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this. Could we walk?” He didn’t wait on an answer. Just turned and heard them follow. He dialed Wade’s number on the woman’s phone. “Come on, pick up,” he murmured.

  Continuing to move, he ignored the man trying to sell him a bouquet and hit End. He punched the number again. The couple continued to follow.

  “Heath? Kendall?”

  “The kidnapper split us up. He sent Kendall to the aquarium,” he shouted into the phone, looking at the people around him. “Once he has her, he’s calling a burner with my daughter’s location. Get to the aquarium. Fast. I’ll meet you there.”

  “Where are—”

  He heard part of Wade’s shout as he clicked the phone off.

  “Thanks for your help.” The phone was barely back in the stranger’s hand before he pushed his way through the crowd, running to find his wife.

  But she was gone. No bright red dress anywhere.

  Nervous energy kept him running toward the aquarium. A van pulled up next to him.

  “Get in!” Slate yelled. “We’re tracking Kendall. She’s already heading north.”

  Heath jumped with his three friends and fellow Rangers. Then Slate pulled back into traffic. They were a block away from where he’d been told to stay before he suddenly remembered the phone in his back pocket needed to stay put on that corner. “Pull over.” Heath waved the phone at his partners.

  “What? Why?” the three Rangers shouted.

  “Hell, he’s probably tracking you through that thing,” Wade said, taking it from his hand.

  “Once he has Kendall, he said he’d call and tell me where Skylar Dawn is.”

  “Who do we go after? It’s totally your call, man. Jerry Fisher is standing by, along with a host of other FBI agents. Then we’ve got the Dallas PD. The other Company B Rangers are posted around the city,” Jack said.

  “Whichever you choose, I’m with you. I’m your partner. We’ve got your back,” Slate confirmed.

  They wouldn’t try to change his mind. Not about staying with him to find his daughter and not about chasing after Kendall. The team would do whatever he asked.

  “I can stay here, wait on the call. That way the tracker doesn’t move,” Jack suggested from the front seat.

  “You might want this.” Wade handed Heath an earpiece communication device, a cell phone and a Glock.

  “I can’t do this. I can’t choose.” Heath was torn.

  Wade looked at the tracker. “We’ve got a few minutes before we know where he’s sent Kendall. But we don’t know what hoops he’s going to make her jump through. I don’t know if the tracker will remain intact. She might even ditch it herself. She was against it to begin with.”

  Kendall wanted him to rescue Skylar Dawn. He had to rescue them both. One without the other was still failure. How would his daughter ever forgive him if he let something happen to her mother? The Rangers didn’t do failure.

  Wade rested his hand on his shoulder. “What do you want us to do?”

  “We’re going after Kendall.” He looked straight at Slate, handing him the phone. “I’m trusting you with my daughter’s life.”

  “I won’t let you down.”

  Thirteen minutes later they’d followed the tracker to the Galleria Mall. Slate had stayed behind with a plan to forward the call and for Heath to speak to the kidnappers himself. Then they wouldn’t know he was closer to them than they’d hoped.

  Wade dropped Jack, then he drove to the opposite end of the mall to drop Heath. The phone he’d given to Heath rang.

  A text from Slate stated the company phone was set with the forwarded call and he should just answer it.

  “Murray.”

  “Kendall has arrived, and I’m a man of my word. Your little girl loves roses as much as you do.”

  The phone disconnected.

  “What happened? Where is she?” Heath yelled.

  The phone rang again. “It’s Slate. Do you know what he’s talking about?”

  “It...it has to be the house on Vandelia Street off Wycliff, where I caught Saundra Rosa. It has bloodred roses on the south side. Orange trim around the windows and doors.”

  “I’m closer. I’ll take a police unit with me,” Slate let them know.

  “I should be there.”

  “Kendall needs you. I’ll get Skylar Dawn. You can count on me.”

  Silence. Wade waited to move.

  “The bastard didn’t give any instructions. His real target has always been Kendall, just like we thought.” Had he done the right thing?

  “Let’s go get her.” Wade faced forward and put the van in gear.

  Heath slammed the panel door and ran. He hoped and prayed his wife would forgive him for coming after her and leaving Skylar Dawn’s rescue to another Ranger.

  * * *

  KENDALL STOPPED AT the mall entrance and threw her shoes in the trash. She didn’t want to jeopardize anything by letting the Rangers rescue her before she had her daughter’s location.

  The private car had obviously been sent by the kidnappers. She’d been locked in. No borrowing the driver’s phone or talking to him. After the car arrived, the driver had stood at his door to watch her go inside. He’d simply stated that her party would be on the fourth floor.

  They knew she was here.

  But so did the Rangers.

  Now if she could just find another way to let them follow her. The only thing she had in her clutch was that tube of Cherry Bomb red lipstick and two five-dollar bills. She’d refused any fancy gadgets except the tracker in her shoes.

  Barefoot and in a tight, short dress, there weren’t too many options left. No bread crumbs to leave behind. She leaned on a post on the way to the escalators. Maybe there was something...

  Taking the lipstick, she drew a thick H on her heel. H for Heath. It was worth a shot.

  At the bottom of each level of escalators, she left a Cherry Bomb H. At the top she’d limp to a bench, discretely reapply the lipstick and then limp to the next up escalator. When she pressed her heel, she left a red spot at each level.

  Once on the fourth level, she reapplied and waited on the bench. Good thing she sat down. Her insides were jumping around, making her glad she hadn’t eaten. What if Skylar Dawn hadn’t eaten? She had to focus, be confident. The Rangers would rescue t
heir daughter. Heath had promised. He never lied. Bringing down the kidnapper was her job. She could do this.

  Please, Heath, find our baby.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Special Agent Barlow, you’ve lost your shoes. And you’re limping.”

  When she turned her head, following the familiar voice, she had a moment of pure rage at his release from custody. The man who’d turned her life into a shambles sat beside her like her best friend. The gun sticking in her ribs came as little surprise.

  “Bryan Marrone. Public Exposure sent their favorite lackey, I see. I guess I shouldn’t have believed you were innocent yesterday.” She didn’t explain why she was barefoot. Maybe he hadn’t seen her with the lipstick.

  “True, Kendall. It didn’t take much to avoid the cops and kill Saundra. She was a sweet kid, but enough with the pink already. I prefer a lady in red any day.”

  “I’ll put you in jail this time and throw away the key. Where is my little girl? This was supposed to be an exchange of me for her. If anything’s happened to her I’ll—”

  “Stop being so damn dramatic.” He poked the gun into her ribs until she began moving to the side of the escalators. His jacket hung over his arm, hiding the gun. To onlookers, he looked like a polite escort with his hand on her back.

  “Where’s Skylar Dawn?”

  “I told your husband.” He pushed her toward an alcove. “Don’t worry about her. Do as I say and nothing will happen.”

  “You phoned Heath? Is she here at the mall?” Why didn’t Heath recognize this man’s voice? “What do you get out of this? Who’s in on this with you?”

  “Do you actually expect me to tell you everything? I’m not stupid, Kendall. Move to your left. I need to pat you down.”

  Kendall moved as slowly as she could. The lipstick on her heel smeared a little on the floor. He yanked up her foot, looking at the light trail behind them.

  “Dammit, Kendall.” He snatched the lipstick from her purse and tossed it into the throng of people, then yanked her out of the group of shoppers. “Show me the bottom of your foot. Your attempt to leave a trail might really get you killed. Do you have any electronic devices that are going to make me angrier?”