Page 103 of Rescued Dreams
They were innocent. Dragged into this.
Ridge fought to control his breathing.
“Almost there.” Kane pegged the gas and got them down the lane faster.
Branches clacked against the outside of the car, scratching the paint. The house that came into view was worse than the mansion. In fact, it made the mansion look small. He’d never have known it was here, hidden as it was in the woods. But it made sense that Steven Hilden had multiple residences, places he could keep public while others remained private.
Ridge hadn’t liked the guy as chief when he joined the fire department years ago, but he hadn’t been stationed at Eastside until after the guy had been taken down. God had spared him from having to go up against that man where others hadn’t been so fortunate.
He was going to lean on that favor and the fact he could remain steady. So long as he got his girls back safe and sound. He was going to use the temperament that God had given him to hold it together. With God’s help, he’d be there for Amelia and his sisters so he could take care of them while they recovered.
Kane pulled to the side in front of the house.
Ridge got out, not even knowing what the plan was. Get in. Find them. Get them out. Subdue this Nicholas guy until the police got here. As soon as they knew for sure it was the right place, they would call the cops.
Kane made him stop long enough to put on a bulletproof vest, and Ridge put his jacket on over it. He ran to the house and spotted something written in huge letters on the front window, to the right of the door. Huge wood double doors with columns either side, stretching up two stories. This place was massive. It needed to be converted into a retreat center, or an annex of the local college.
Ridge got close enough to readvibration sensors.
Kane dragged his arm back. “What are you doing? You have no idea what situation you’re walking into.”
Ridge waved at the window. “We know something.” He crept forward, able to see into the brightly lit interior. Across the bare wood floor was a row of…“Are those…they’re cages!” He spotted Ella, then Maddie. Beyond them was another person, but he couldn’t tell who the blonde was.
“Ella!” Ridge waved his hands.
“Don’t knock on the window.” Kane’s tone didn’t invite anything but following that order. “Even yelling could be risky.”
Maria moved closer to the window, looking at the frame on the inside, right by the glass. “Probably the same stuff illegally purchased from the National Guard. We need a window or a door not wired to blow.”
Kane said, “We have to assume they all are.”
Ridge hadn’t taken his attention off the window.Come on, Ella. Look my way.They needed to know where Nicholas had gone. And whether the person in that third occupied cage was Amelia or Olivia. What was happening in there?
And how were they going to get inside?
“I’ll find one.” Maria kissed Kane quickly, then jogged away, around the building.
“She’ll find a drainpipe to climb up. I doubt he wired every window.”
Ridge winced. He didn’t like the risk. He waved his arms as big as he could. If Nicholas came into view suddenly, he’d have to duck down below the window without being seen.
Assuming the guy didn’t already know they were here.
“Call it in.”
Ridge followed the order since Kane was trained in this kind of stuff and Ridge was the local with local contacts. He dialed Aiden’s number and put it on speaker, getting the police sergeant on the line.
As soon as he answered, Ridge said, “We found the girls and your officer.” The cops would care about a fellow cop. Not that they didn’t care about teens in danger, but having Olivia caught up in it meant an added layer they couldn’t ignore. “But we can’t get in the house. It’s wired up like the bank.”
Aiden said, “We just took the National Guard traitor into custody for illegal weapons sales. The ATF is about to show up and take over the investigation, and when that happens, we’ll lose any shot at intel. So tell me what you need to know.”
Kane leaned over. “A frequency that will jam the signal that alerts the detonator to a vibration.”
“Copy that,” Aiden said. “I’m sending units to your location. Wait for them to arrive. We’ll get you a way in.” The police sergeant paused for a second. “I know what it’s like to have loved ones in danger. Keep it tight, Foster.”
He hung up.
Ridge stowed the phone, searching the windows above the door, since Ella hadn’t looked over. He didn’t want to know why she was slumped against the side of the cage. Was she unconscious or simply dejected? Waiting for rescue.
