Branded (The Branded Series) (28 page)

“No doubt they
want her for collateral, but they won’t do it on our turf. They’ll take her
somewhere else far from here first.” Ms. Peters turned back to the others. “I
think the airport is the most likely and fastest escape. We’ll take two
vehicles. Rachel, Noah and I are going to drive in my Jeep and head straight to
the airport. Claudia and Nick, I want you to drive around town first and try to
feel for vibes. Maybe they are hiding out somewhere first. If you can’t find
anything, then meet us at the airport. Call me on my cell if you see or notice
anything unusual. Let's go.”

Ms. Peters
grabbed her coat and headed for the door with the others. I stopped her and
said, “And what about me? Who should I go with? Take my own car?”

She laid a
comforting hand on my shoulder and said with sympathetic eyes, “I'm sorry,
Jake. I need you to stay here. You're not in the right frame of mind for this.
We need to be inconspicuous so we don't blow our cover. You are better off
staying put. I'll call when we have anything to share.” Then she rushed out the
door, leaving me alone in the cold, empty room.

The airport.
They’re on their way to the airport. But if it’s true that Anna is gifted, then
she could alter that path. If they were discussing where to take her after they
kidnapped her, then she could possibly have a lot to do with that decision by
just praying about it. Knowing her, she would be planning to defend herself
somehow. Escape, if she got the chance. She would need a location where she
could use what she knows to help her somehow.

Then the
question would be—what options would they be discussing in front of her?

Air? Anna
wouldn’t have a hope of escaping once they were thirty thousand feet in the
air. She would know that. I felt strongly that she wouldn’t be hoping for the
airport.

Land? Without
causing an accident, how would she escape a moving vehicle? Plus, she gets car
sick.

Water? That
was it! She loved the water, and if they travelled by boat, she would have an
advantage of being able to swim long distances. She knew that about herself,
and she prided herself on how fast and long she could swim. I was willing to
bet that if escaping by boat was an option, she would be praying they would
take that option. She would see it as a challenge—and it was a life or death
situation, so she had good reason.

I ran out of
the school without looking back and headed straight to my car. The tires peeled
on the pavement as I sped out of the parking lot toward the downtown waterfront.
The challenge would be finding the boat, and of course, hoping I was right
about the whole plan.

I called
Noah’s cell. “Noah!” I shouted when he answered. “I’m heading to the waterfront.
I have a feeling they’re going by boat.”

“By boat? What
the hell, Jake?”

“Hear me
out—if they didn’t decide how they were getting Anna out of here until after
they had her, then she would have been able to sway their plans—even if she
doesn’t realize it. They would’ve had to have a few escape options set up, and
if water was an option, I know she would’ve wished for that.”

“Okay?” Noah
didn’t sound as convinced.

“You guys
should still check the airport in case I’m wrong, but that’s where I’m heading.”

“To the
waterfront. Okay, let us know if you find anything. Good luck, man.”

“You too.”

The waterfront was
lined with a
dozen or more wharfs that each held four or more varying kinds of boats—fishing
boats, yachts, speedboats, and even sea-doos.

I knew they
would’ve had at least twenty minutes on me, but weren’t far enough ahead to be
out of the harbour just yet. I scanned the waters and spotted a good-sized
yacht heading toward the mouth of the harbour . . . into the vast, freezing
cold ocean. Anna would never survive a swim from that far out. Maybe that isn’t
their yacht, I thought as I squinted to see if there was any sign of Anna on
board. The words “Ray of Sunshine” were sprawled across the stern of the boat.
Ray
of Sunshine
. Ray. Rachel. I wondered if there was a connection.

I dialed
Noah’s cell.

“Jake,” he
answered.

“I found a
yacht that I think might belong to Ryan. Can you ask Rachel if the name ‘Ray of
Sunshine’ means anything to her?”

“Ray of
sunshine?” Noah repeated.

Then I heard
Rachel gasp. “Why did you say that?” she demanded of Noah.

“Jake asked if
that would mean anything to you. He thinks he found the boat that belongs to
Ryan.”

“That was his
nickname for me,” I heard her confirm.

“I gotta go,”
I said as I started to run toward a nearby dock where two guys sat on their
sea-doos.

“Jake, wait!
No!” I heard Noah, Rachel and Ms. Peters all shout.

“Jake,” Ms.
Peters took over. “You need back up. We will be there as soon as we can; we’re
turning around now. If they see you, they won’t hesitate to kill you. They
don’t want to harm her, Jake. She is safe until we get there. Please wait for
us.”

“Can’t promise
you anything. You might want to hurry up.” I hung up the phone as I approached
a guy sitting on his sea-doo. “How much for a ride out to that yacht?”

“Cut the engine,”
I shouted to
my driver as we approached the yacht. I carefully balanced myself as I stood on
the seat, my eyes on the railing that circled the upper deck.

“What are you
doing?” my driver asked. “There’s a ladder on the back if you want me to take
you over there. It’s way easier, dude.”

“They’ll be
expecting that,” I mumbled back, not sure if he could even hear. “Hold on.” I
leaped off the sea-doo and managed to grab hold of the railing.

“Good luck, man.”
my driver sped off leaving me dangling from the side of the yacht. No doubt he
thought it was odd, but he had his hundred dollars and was happy to fulfill my
request.

I pulled
myself onto the bow of the boat and carefully hid myself from the driver who
was perched above the inside cabin area. When he wasn’t looking in my
direction, I flung myself onto the top and slid one arm around his neck and the
other around his mouth. I squeezed gently until he fell asleep and I laid him
down at my feet. Then I figured out how to cut the engines and stopped the boat
from moving forward. Now we were resting safely in the middle of the harbour.

A voice came
over the driver’s radio. “Devon, why’d we stop?”

I hovered on
the deck above the cabin door and waited for someone to come out and investigate.

“Devon?” the
voice called again. “Devon!”

The door still
didn’t open. And then the voice came across the radio again. He chuckled and
then said, “I’ve been expecting you.”

The door opened
and I jumped
down from the roof to come face to face with one of Ryan’s men guarding the
door. I expected a fight, but he only held it open and stepped back so I could
have a clear view of Ryan standing next to Anna with a gun to her head and
three other guys standing close by.

“Let her go,”
I said, walking slowly toward Ryan and Anna, but noticing the other three
coming toward me.

“Take him
down,” Ryan ordered, and the three came at me.

“Jake!” Anna
screamed.

“It’s okay,
Anna,” I assured her as I blocked an incoming punch and counteracted with a
back fist to someone’s face.

A foot came at
my head and I ducked in time as I swept my right foot around and another guy
fell to the floor. The next guy came at me from behind, but as he swung, I
grabbed his arm and launched him over my body and across the room, careful not
to direct him near Anna. As I dodged another incoming fist, I heard a click
from Ryan’s gun. I hesitated. Two guys jumped on my back and wrestled me to the
floor. An arm tightened around my neck and both of my arms were twisted behind
my back before I could react. They pulled me to my knees and I struggled, but
the hold around my neck only got tighter. My eyes never left Anna’s.

Ryan was
chuckling. “You’re a better fighter than I thought you’d be,” he said, “but anymore
funny business from you, sir, will result in pretty little Anna getting hurt.
Clear?”

I glared at
him before answering. “Clear,” I growled through gritted teeth.

“Good.” He
turned back to Anna, gun still ready and aimed. “Now that we have your
boyfriend subdued, let’s get back to our conversation, shall we?”

“Will you
please tell me what this is all about?” Anna pleaded.

Ryan paced the
room between us. “Is this the same guy you were kissing in the hallway?”

Anna looked
torn as her eyes burned into mine. “He’s not my boyfriend,” she said, flinching
in reaction to Ryan’s clenched fist.

“Jake Rovert,
isn’t it?” A mischievous grin spread across his face.

“How do you .
. . What is this all about?” Anna cried.

“Are you
trying to tell me that your boyfriend here hasn’t told you already?”

“Jake is not
my boyfriend. What are you talking about?” Anna shook her head with confusion.
It hurt to hear her say that, even though I knew her intentions were to somehow
protect me.

“You were
kissing him. You looked pretty friendly to me.” Ryan cracked his knuckles, a
sure sign he was losing his patience.

“He kissed me,”
she replied softly.

“That's not
the point!” Ryan shouted as he flipped the coffee table over. Then he turned
his attention to me, his eyes locking with mine. “Where’s the rest of your posse?”

I shook my
head slowly, matching his intense glare. He wasn’t getting any information from
me.

“Doesn’t
matter anyway,” he said darkly. “She’ll be here soon.” He turned his attention
back to Anna as if pondering something—unsure of what he should say next. “So
if you two aren’t together, that could only mean one thing.” His smile returned
as he looked from Anna to me. “He was trying to protect you.”

Anna’s
confusion returned as she looked passed Ryan to me. “From what, Jake? What were
you protecting me from?”

Before I could
answer, Ryan drew his gun and pointed it at my head. Then he knelt down next to
Anna and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “From me,” he said with
a dark laugh.

Anna squirmed
away from him and sat back further in her chair. “Don’t touch me,” she warned.

“Ryan, hurry
up, man. He’s getting stronger,” I heard the guy on my right say.

“Well, there’s
really no need for him anymore, anyway,” Ryan cocked his gun and drew it up
toward me again.

Anna tried to
jump up from her chair in protest, but Ryan quickly shoved her back into place.

“Anna, my
dear, you don't stand a chance against us, so please don't try anything stupid
again, okay? I’d hate to have to kill you too.”

She shook her
head and I could see a tear escape from her eye. “What do you want from me?”

“Well, let's
just say that you apparently
have a special gift. You're supposed to be
a miracle worker, which means you could make me a very happy man.”

“You think I
can make miracles,” Anna scoffed. “That’s ridiculous.”

Ryan laughed.
“Is it?” He walked around her chair until he was behind her. He pulled her hair
back and whispered something in her ear. My skin crawled and I felt the grasps
on my arms tighten. My eyes burned with fire and I had to look away before I
did something stupid.

“Why don’t you
ask your boyfriend about his special power? About his secret identity?” Ryan
taunted.

 “You’re lying,”
Anna said faintly as tears fell down her face. “Jake would never keep something
like that from me.”

“Then why
don’t you ask him?”

Reluctantly,
her eyes found mine and I couldn’t find the words to make it all better. All I
could do now is hope she would be able to forgive me for keeping such a secret.

“You can
believe what you want, Anna Taylor,” Ryan began, “but I’m just telling you the
facts. That’s why you don’t need a boyfriend, or friend, like that. What kind
of friend lies to you about his identity? What kind of friend keeps secrets
like that? You belong with us, Anna.”

Anna stiffened
as Ryan ran his fingers down her arm.

“Don’t listen
to him, Anna,” I managed to say before one of Ryan’s thugs tightened his arm around
my neck.

“Then it’s not
true?” she asked, eyes wide and pleading for explanation. “Jake, do you have
some sort of special power?”

Our eyes
locked and my heart ached as I slowly nodded the best I could.

“See?” Ryan
stepped between us and turned his attention back to Anna. “I’ll take care of
you now. I’ll help you and you can help me.”

“But I can't
help you. I don't have this gift that you're talking about,” Anna said.