bed full of blankets and sheets decked out in a cowboy design, she walked over and picked up a stuffed brown horse, tears streaming down her face. Holding it close before she handed it to Zeke, anguish cutting through her, she said, “I’m going with you. Do you understand?”
Zeke let out a sigh, compassion in his dark eyes, and leaned down so Cheetah could get a good sniff of the worn horse. The canine lifted his snout, his ears perking up. “Yes, I understand. And since I need to keep you alive, I will go along with it. But Penny, you have to stay out of the way, okay?”
“Okay.” She wiped away tears and lifted her head, staring at him with a dangerous resolve in her heart. After grabbing some baby supplies and shoving them into a diaper bag, she turned to him. “Let’s go.”
* * *
Zeke’s head pounded with fatigue and tension ten times worse than foot soldiers stomping on his brain, but he followed Cheetah through the house and out to the SUV. Penny had insisted on gathering up some things for Kevin, including the little stuffed horse she’d clung to while the techs went over her room. Cheetah had hopefully picked up the kidnapper’s scent, too, since the man had been in the house.
Zeke had to make this right.
The situation here was under control so he needed to be out there looking. The Wild Iris had become ground zero to set up operations to find Kevin and Jake. Locals and FBI alike scoured the grounds and had laptops out on top of their vehicles, searching with maps and following leads on tips. They’d had calls about sightings of three different vans in three different areas, but none of them had panned out. This could take all night. Max had assigned Nina Atkins, the petite blonde rookie who’d recently joined the team, to stay at the inn along with a couple of other agents and two locals. Nina and her K-9 partner, Sam, a cadaver-detection-trained Rottweiler, were to watch over Claire and the staff and residents. Whoever took Kevin wouldn’t like leaving behind witnesses.
Claire and her crew went to work on bringing them food and drinks and offered whatever else they needed in the way of comfort. Rex answered the phone and explained the situation to the few other boarders who’d drifted in from work or travels and directed traffic to the restrooms and the coffeepot.
Vehicles kept coming and going. But no sightings had brought any substantial information, and they’d had no word on any solid leads even though the local citizens were being vigilant about helping. No one liked to hear of a child being kidnapped. Zeke couldn’t let Penny see his own anxiety, but the dread pooling inside his stomach made that last cup of coffee he’d downed turn sour.
Jake was a master at setting up distractions and false scenarios. It had been one of his best assets as an agent. He’d certainly proved that today but not in a good way. Worried, Zeke knew his brother could charm just about anyone into doing his bidding.
He’d obviously gone to a lot of trouble to set things up so that while he was holding Penny and shoving her through the woods, his accomplice, Gunther Caprice, had kidnapped Kevin.
Zeke wished with all his heart he could have hauled his brother in. But even then, Gunther could have been long gone with Kevin. That thought chilled Zeke to his bones.
To make matters worse, Max wasn’t too happy with him right now. Zeke had Jake in his sights and had let him get away. The whole unit probably thought he’d allowed his half brother to escape. He’d get things straight with Max and the others later. Right now, he was worried about the woman trailing behind him. Trying to get a handle of things, he studied her closely. If he was going to protect her and Kevin, he needed to figure out who exactly he was dealing with.
She was pretty in an outdoorsy kind of way. All golden skinned and toned, not an ounce of wasted fat on her. Probably worked out on a daily basis. Her hair was cut in choppy shoulder-length layers that sprouted out like waves of wheat around her triangular face. Her eyes were almond shaped and a crystal clear blue. Not piercing like Max’s, but more of a clear-sky blue that reflected her heart.
And that heart was breaking right now. To be so close to her little boy and realize she’d been so near the vehicle that might have been holding him, not to mention that Kevin was somewhere with a lowlife like Gunther Caprice. No wonder the woman was in shock.
She rushed ahead of him down the stairs with her ever-present backpack and a big diaper bag over one shoulder, a staunch determination in those Montana-blue eyes.
Zeke also let Cheetah smell the baby blanket Penny had given him. Cheetah sniffed the soft wool and lifted his head to sniff the air. Then he headed to the end of the drive and sniffed around before lifting his snout toward the west.
They made it through the maze of officers and staff roaming through the quaint old house and hit the porch steps as if they were in a race against each other.
Opening the SUV’s back door with a remote key, Zeke commanded Cheetah to jump in and turned to find Max West coming his way.
“Going somewhere, Agent Morrow?”
Zeke wasn’t in the mood for orders. He agreed with Penny that the sooner they got out there searching, the better. “Yes, I’m going to find my nephew.”
“Not so sure that’s a good idea,” Max said. “You do know we have people out there already searching, right?”
Zeke didn’t want to be argumentative but he would stand his ground. “Cheetah has the boy’s scent, sir, and you know he’s trained for this. I need to find Kevin while the trail is fresh.” Then he leaned in. “As I told you in my report, I think we’re looking for Gunther Caprice. He fits the description that science teacher gave me earlier and the description Rex gave us. The man saw him drive away from the basin in a black van. And later, Penny saw the same man, same vehicle, just like I told you.”
Caprice used to be third in line with the Dupree clan and had once been chummy with Violetta Dupree—sister to the crime brothers—but he’d fallen on hard times and broke off with them when the FBI had captured Reginald Dupree in a raid close to six months ago. His uncle Angus had gotten away, taking Jake with him, but now Angus was dead. That left a lot of people scattered and scared. Had Gunther joined up with Jake for money or for revenge? Jake had edged him out, after all.
If Jake’s accomplice was in fact Gunther Caprice, they could get a wealth of information out of that man. He’d been missing and wanted for questioning for months and now, suddenly, he was back in the picture. Jake had obviously made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. But Gunther couldn’t be trusted to keep Kevin alive. That lowlife was only out to save his own sorry hide.
Max’s phone buzzed and he held up a hand and took the call, indicating he wasn’t through with this conversation. “Is that right?” He eyed Zeke. “I’ve got an agent about to leave now.” He ended the call and turned to Zeke. “Your timing is perfect. A man and woman on a motorcycle heard the reports and spotted a black van about five miles from here, driving west on Old Fork Road out of town.”
Penny gasped when she heard their conversation from her spot by the passenger door, her gaze slamming into Zeke’s. “That has to be him.”
“I’m on it,” Zeke said. “Cheetah sniffed the spot where the van was parked here and he’s already tracking in that direction.”
“You’ll take backup.” Max motioned to another agent, who hurried over. After explaining the situation to team member Harper Prentiss, who held her German shepherd, Star, on a leash, Max nodded and pinned Penny with a solemn stare. “Miss Potter, you really should stay here and wait—”
“I’m going to find my son,” she said, the resolve in her words and eyes telling Max they couldn’t stop her. “I can’t sit here and wait, and you can’t make me.”
Zeke glanced at Max. “I’d feel better if I can keep an eye on her, sir.”
“Morrow, we have eyes on her now and it’s safer if she stays here—”
“Stop arguing about me,” Penny interjected. “We’re running out of time. I’m going to find Kevin, with or without