Thanksgiving Target Read online

  Help me, Lord. Please save me.

  She repeated the prayer over and over in her mind. Abruptly, a warm sense of calmness fell over her like a quilt, completely eliminating her frenzied panic. Instantly, her panic eased, leaving a wondrous sense of peace.

  She had nothing to fear. God was with her. He loved her and cared about her. He’d never leave her. If she died this night, so be it. She’d be in God’s hands.

  No matter what Gary did to her, she was safe in the arms of her Lord.

  Max clutched the phone, battling a wave of fury. Tara’s scream reverberating through his mind. He didn’t want to imagine what Gary was doing to her right now, but the images wouldn’t stop parading through his brain.

  That scream had been all too real. She was hurt. Badly. And it was all his fault. Somehow he must have led Gary to her. His stomach clenched and he bent over, trying to combat the pain.

  If Tara died at Gary’s hand, he’d never forgive himself.

  Never.

  Blindly, he left Lissa’s bedside and hurried down to the sparsely populated hospital lobby. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm down enough to think rationally. Rage wasn’t going to help him rescue Tara. He didn’t have much time. Gary was going to call back within the hour. He needed to pull himself together. He needed a plan.

  No, he needed to call the police. Every nerve in his body resisted the idea, but he couldn’t just walk into Gary’s trap without any sort of backup. He couldn’t handle this alone.

  Tara’s life was on the line.

  He couldn’t fail—again.

  Gary’s phone number was still in his cell phone. If he could get in touch with Newton, the cop working on Lissa’s case, maybe they could use the number to track down Gary.

  No, not Newton. He needed more power than a local cop. He needed to go straight up to Graham. The detective had seemed to care about Tara. Graham knew the background of their situation, and Max desperately needed the police on his side.

  Graham wasn’t happy to be bothered at ten o’clock at night on his personal cell phone. “What do you want now?”

  “I need your help. Tara’s been kidnapped.”

  “Kidnapped? What do you mean? We have Jasper in custody.”

  “Garth Williams, a former soldier in my army regiment, is the one who has her. He’s using her as bait to get to me.” And suddenly it was all crystal clear. Gary couldn’t have found Tara by accident. There was no possible way Max could have led Gary to Tara.

  But her stalker could have followed them. Her stalker had shown up at the hospital after that near miss at the veterinary hospital. Gary, or Billy, or whatever he called himself, had to be Tara’s stalker. He must have targeted Tara because she’d helped Lissa. That’s why none of the clues around Gary had made any sense.

  The AK-47 was a weapon used in the army. Gary had shot at her outside the veterinary hospital. And when Max jumped in front of Tara, protecting her, he must have changed his plans. Max had wondered at the time why there had never been a second shot. Gary must have decided to kidnap Tara instead.

  Gary hated Max. What better way to get back at him than to go after Tara? All of this was nothing more than petty revenge.

  Tara had been targeted for revenge.

  Now that he understood exactly how Gary and Tara’s stalker all fit together, he quickly filled Graham in on the details of his new theory.

  “I have Gary’s cell-phone number,” he told Graham. “It’s a local number. Can you use it to get an address?”

  “We can try,” Graham admitted. “But he could have easily used a fake address. And don’t even think about meeting him alone. We’re going to be with you the whole time.”

  His fingers tightened on the phone. Gary’s dire warning had been clear. Max needed to meet him alone. “No. I’m not wearing a wire, and you can’t follow me too close. This guy has been in the military. He’s likely scoped out the area. Possibly setting mine traps or trip wires for all we know. Besides, he’s threatened to kill her if he smells a cop. I don’t think it’s an idle threat.”

  Graham was silent for a few seconds. “You said he’s using Tara’s cell phone to contact you? Cell phones have a locator function, so we should easily be able to pinpoint her location.”

  Graham was smart. The cell-phone angle just might work. “Meet me outside the hotel in fifteen minutes,” Max advised grimly. “He’s due to call me back in twenty.”

  Hanging up the phone, Max couldn’t relax. He jogged across the hospital campus to their small hotel. He wanted to do more; he wanted to find Tara. He wanted to reassure her that he was coming for her and that he wouldn’t let Gary kill her.

  A rash promise, since there was always a chance he’d get there too late.

  No. He couldn’t be too late. If Gary wanted him to suffer, he’d surely keep Tara alive until Max got there.

  He sank down on the bus-stop bench right outside the hotel, covering his face with his hands. Tara had to be okay. She just had to be.

  Lord, please don’t let Gary kill her. Take me instead. If I’m to die tonight, I’ll gladly give my life for hers. Your will is my command.

  He repeated the plea over and over in his mind. Suddenly, Max felt a strange sense of peace. Humbled, he realized he wasn’t alone. He’d never been alone. Why hadn’t he understood this before?

  God was with him, always. He should have used God’s help after Keith died, instead of pushing his faith away. Now, he needed to put the outcome of this night into the Lord’s hands.

  Gary called three minutes early. Luckily, it was mere seconds after Graham and his team arrived outside the hotel.

  Max hushed them with a hand as he answered the phone. “I’m here, Gary. Where are you?”

  “You’re going to meet me at an abandoned barn located just south of Cannon Road a mile off Highway 3.” Gary told him. “It will take you exactly twenty-five minutes to get there. The traffic is light at this time of the night. Don’t be late or your girlfriend dies.”

  The phone went dead.

  Max stared at Graham. “Did you get a location?”

  Graham looked at the cop with the computer satellite screen. He shook his head with a resigned expression. “No. I was afraid of this. Your guy is smart. He must have the locator function turned off on Tara’s phone. The closest we can do is pinpoint the source between the cell towers.”

  Max clenched his teeth, reining in his frustration. “Okay, so what sort of distance are we talking about? A mile? Two miles? Ten?”

  “Roughly four square miles.”

  Four square miles? The equivalent of sixteen miles? Finding Tara in that wide span would be impossible.

  Especially since Gary had him on a tight timeline.

  “I have to go.” Max strode toward his rental car. “You’ll have to trust me.”

  “Wait,” Graham said sharply. “We’re coming with you.”

  Max glanced back, locking gazes with the detective. “No. Listen to me. Tara’s life depends on you staying several miles behind me.”

  “You’re not going in alone.” Graham was firm.

  “I’ll keep my cell phone on, so you can use that locator function on me. When he calls me back, there’s a distinct possibility he’ll send me somewhere else, just to make sure I’m not followed. But you can trace my phone. That’s the best we can do. Eventually, he’ll lead me straight to where Tara is.”

  Graham nodded, understanding time was running out. They didn’t have another option. “All right. Good luck.”

  Max spun on his heel and jumped into the rental car. He sped toward the highway, determined to get to the meeting place before Gary.

  He’d made the distance in fifteen minutes, but Gary wasn’t anywhere around. And when his cell phone rang again, Max knew his instincts had been correct. Gary was going to send him on another path.

  “Head south on Highway 3, go four and a half miles and turn left. Two more miles, you’re going to turn right on a dirt road. Take it for ten mile
s. You’ll see a driveway hidden beneath an overhang of trees. Turn there. If I don’t see you on that dirt road in ten minutes, you can listen while I hurt her again.”

  Ten minutes. Max didn’t hesitate but followed Gary’s directions exactly. There was no time to call Graham with the new directions, but since Graham was going to triangulate on his cell phone anyway, it didn’t matter.

  Nothing mattered but getting to Tara.

  He found the dirt road and had just cleared the trees when his phone rang again.

  “You’re lucky I can see your headlights,” Gary said. Through the darkness, he could see the tall shadow of a figure silhouetted against the light in the cabin. Gary. His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “That’s right, come all the way up to the clearing. Get out of the car with your hands up, and come in through the front door.”

  Max did exactly as Gary instructed. Once he got out of the car, the silhouette vanished. After making sure his cell phone was on in his pocket, he raised his arms over his head. He approached the door, noticing it was partway open. He used his elbow to push the door aside.

  He stopped abruptly, his heart dropping to the pit of his stomach when he saw them. Tara was huddled against the wall of the log cabin, sitting on the floor, her wide eyes surprisingly calm considering how Gary stood over her, his knife pressed against her throat.

  Max tried to send her a reassuring glance, appalled at the cut on her cheek and the trail of blood dripping down her neck, staining her sweater. “Okay, I’m here now. You have me. You don’t need her anymore. Let the woman go. This is between you and me, Billy. She’s not a part of this.” He purposefully used Gary’s nickname, Billy, from when they were back in Iraq, hoping to rattle him.

  Gary laughed. The uneven sound had an edge of insanity. “Oh, I don’t think so. I have plans for her. And for you. Did you really think either one of you was going to leave here alive? I thought you were smarter than that, Lieutenant.”

  Max trusted Graham would get to the cabin soon. He needed to buy some time. Tara’s safety was his first concern. He tried to think of a way to get Gary to leave Tara alone. What argument would work? He couldn’t think of a single one.

  “Don’t be stupid, Max. I’m the one calling the shots here. Kick that door closed, and stand in the center of the room.”

  Max swallowed hard, unable to tear his gaze from the bloody scratch on Tara’s cheek. The wound didn’t look that deep, but the mark was hideous against her pale skin.

  He kicked the door closed with his foot and stood in the center of the room, as directed. A quick glance around the interior revealed a table and two chairs as the only furniture. There was a fireplace against the far wall. And a small cabinet and two-burner stove in the kitchen area.

  Nothing obvious to use as a weapon. There was no way to know how close Graham was to finding the cabin. Somehow he had to stall. Had to get Gary as far away from Tara as he could. “I didn’t realize you were still such a coward, Billy. Anyone can overpower a woman. What’s the matter? Are you afraid you can’t take me?”

  Tara’s gaze widened in horror, and she shook her head, indicating she didn’t want him to make Gary mad, egging him on.

  Max ignored her.

  The insult to Gary’s ego worked. He lifted the knife away from Tara’s skin, turning to face him, holding the knife at the ready, his eyes gleaming with the need to fight. “You think you’re so strong? I can take you.”

  This was his chance. Max didn’t wait another second. He bull-rushed Gary, hitting him hard and driving the former soldier back against the wall, as far away from Tara as he could manage.

  Gary let out an angry yell as they went down. Max rolled on the cabin floor, away from Tara, bringing Gary with him. Gary’s fighting skills weren’t nearly as rusty as he’d hoped. They tangled on the floor for a moment, each trying to get the upper hand.

  And then Gary twisted, bringing the blade of the knife slicing across Max’s thigh.

  Pain grabbed him by the throat. And for a split second, he relaxed his grip. Taking advantage of his lapse, Gary took control. He shoved Max backward and jumped to his feet, ready to attack again, only this time from a position of power. Max lunged upward to meet him, but before he could fully straighten upright, Gary’s boot caught him square in the chest throwing him backward.

  He couldn’t keep his balance but slammed hard into the table and chairs, the wood table buckling beneath his weight. Max struggled to shove aside the broken timber, so he could get up and face Gary, even though the breath had been knocked from his body. He staggered to his feet, his back muscles spasming with pain, mingling with the burning sensation in his thigh.

  Blood oozed from the stab wound, making the cabin floor slippery. He grabbed a hunk of wood from the broken table and held it out as a weapon. He might be injured, but at least with the chunk of lumber, the fight was a little more evenly matched.

  Gary’s face was drawn into a sneer, the knife ready in his hand as he approached. “You think you can take me? I’ll prove which one of us is the better soldier. And you can bet it won’t be you.”

  Max didn’t answer, since it was clear Gary had forgotten all about Tara in his desperate need for revenge.

  He was glad to be the center of Gary’s attention. Max tossed a quick glance at Tara, trying to subtly signal her to go for the door. Her wrists were duct-taped together, but even so, there was no reason she couldn’t get outside while Gary wasn’t looking. Graham and the rest of the team would be here any minute.

  This was Tara’s chance to flee to safety.

  FOURTEEN

  Tara scrambled to her feet when Max faced Gary, clutching nothing more than a small length of wood that was clearly no match against Gary’s lethal knife. She clutched the three-inch nail in her hand, trying to determine the best way to approach Gary.

  Max was looking at her, his gaze exasperated, clearly indicating she should run for the door. She gave a sharp shake of her head. There was no way she was going to leave him.

  Gary suddenly lunged at Max, lashing out with the knife, coming dangerously close to slicing his arm. Max belatedly jumped back, swinging the hunk of wood in Gary’s direction, attempting to fend off the attack.

  But Gary was quick and he spun around, with a judolike kick and hit Max’s arm holding the hunk of wood. Max dropped his weapon but countered with a similar move, knocking Gary to the floor.

  Only he slipped in the blood and fell, too. Gary lunged and lashed out with the knife, but Max caught his arm, stopping the knife mere inches from his face. Gary leaned all his weight onto Max, his face red with the effort to stab him, the two men locked in a deadly battle of strength and will.

  This was the time to make her move. Tara grasped the nail in her tingling fingers, and she darted toward Gary. Max’s eyes widened when he saw her, but she didn’t hesitate, plunging the nail into the side of Gary’s neck with as much force as her numb hands could muster.

  Gary howled in pain, loosening his hold on Max. Tara scrambled out of the way. Max quickly gained the upper hand, as Gary reached for the nail protruding from his neck and yanked it out. Instantly, blood oozed from the wound. Max used the moment to his advantage, wrenching the knife from Gary’s grip.

  The cabin door burst open, and several men dressed in black SWAT-team gear rushed through the doorway. The police! Within seconds they’d surrounded Gary, who was still lying on the floor, pressing a hand against the wound in his neck. “Don’t move. Garth Williams, you are under arrest for kidnapping and attempted murder.”

  Max stepped back from Gary, handing the knife to the closest SWAT-team member. “This is his weapon. He used it to cut Tara.”

  The cut on her cheek was minor compared to the cut on Max’s thigh and the puncture wound in Gary’s neck. She couldn’t tear her eyes off Gary, who seemed to be losing blood at an alarming rate. Max was standing upright, hardly limping, but Gary was flat out on the floor. Had she hit his carotid artery?

  She barely noticed
as one officer took out another knife to cut through the bindings around her wrist. The returning circulation was painful, but Gary was clearly in worse shape. “You’d better call an ambulance. Gary needs medical attention.”

  “There’s one on the way,” Detective Graham assured, coming up beside her. He frowned when he saw the cut on her cheek. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. But Gary isn’t.” Guilt gnawed at her. She glanced around for something to stem the blood flow. “I need a rag or something.”

  “Here.” Max pulled a hand towel out of a drawer in the small kitchen and tossed it to her.

  Tara caught it and crossed over to Gary, kneeling beside him. “Move your hand. Let me take a look.”

  “Get away from me.” Gary scowled and batted her hand away. “I don’t need your help.”

  One of the SWAT-team members nudged Gary with the tip of his gun. “Don’t touch her. Move your hand. We wouldn’t want you to die before we have the chance to haul you to jail.”

  “Let me look,” Tara said again softly, holding Gary’s gaze with hers. “I need to apply pressure so you don’t lose too much blood.”

  Gary stared at her for a long moment and then slid his gaze away in defeat, his hand falling away from the side of his neck. Tara peered down at the wound, deciding with her limited medical knowledge that she hadn’t hit the artery, since the blood wasn’t pulsating from the site. Breathing a prayer of thanks, she pressed the towel against the wound and applied gentle yet firm pressure to slow the bleeding.

  She was conscious of Max watching her, as she rendered aid to the man who’d cut her and threatened to kill her. Tried to kill Max. When she glanced over her shoulder, she discovered he’d tied a similar towel around the wound in his thigh. She felt a little guilty over caring for Gary’s wound instead of Max’s, but he was staring at her, his gaze was full of admiration. Blushing a bit under his intense scrutiny, she looked back down to Gary.