“Everyone else, search the grounds. We all have our cells. If you find anything, send out a group message,” Bryson said.
Cam tried to hold in the panic that was threatening him, but when he and Hawk checked the doors and found no signs of Grace anywhere, he was consumed with worry.
When he found her purse behind the Dumpster near the parking lot, he went cold inside. She hadn’t left this hospital willingly.
His phone rang as he picked up the purse, praying that her phone wasn’t in it.
“She was assaulted by the south entrance by a man wearing black about thirty minutes ago, and the footage on the camera shows her being stuffed into the back of an older blue sedan,” Jackson said.
“Why in the hell didn’t they alert us?” Cam yelled into the phone.
“The guard was away from the monitor when it happened. I rewound the feed,” Jackson growled.
“I have her purse. Get everyone out to the parking lot now!” Cam hung up and dumped out the contents of the purse, nearly sobbing with relief that her phone wasn’t there. If it wasn’t in there, then there was a chance it was on her.
Bryson arrived in less than a minute. “Is her phone on her?”
“I hope so,” Cam said.
Bryson picked up his phone and dialed. “I need a trace.” There was a pause, then Bryson read out the number twice, and waited.
The rest of the group surrounded Bryson in silence, waiting for him to finish his call.
“We’ve got a location,” he said after hanging up, “and a chopper is on its way here. We can only take three total.”
“I’m coming,” Cam told them.
“I didn’t doubt it. Axel and I are coming with you.”
The chopper landed and the three men climbed aboard. The next fifteen minutes were the longest ride of Camden’s life. They had to land a far enough distance away from the location of the cell phone not to alert the assailant to their presence, but that meant they had to run a few miles across the terrain.
“She’d better be here,” Cam said as they made their way toward their target.
“She will be,” Axel said, his eyes focused and deadly.
That’s when they heard Grace cry out, and all three of them picked up their pace. They came around the corner and what Cam saw made his blood run cold. Jimmy Wells was holding a gun and pointing it directly at Grace.
“I’m going to kill him,” Cam snarled.
“Quiet. Don’t let him know we’re here. She’s smart, Cam. She’s holding it together. Let’s get into position,” Bryson said, and he and Axel moved in opposite directions, while it took everything inside Cam not to run forward. But he had to trust his friends who did this for a living.
“Hold still!” Jimmy yelled as Grace twisted on the ground.
“Don’t do this, Jimmy. If you miss and kill me, you won’t see one red cent,” she yelled at him, finally getting to her feet.
Jimmy stalked forward, but she sidestepped him.
The crazed look in the man’s eyes scared the hell out of Cam. He was going to shoot her. Cam couldn’t wait any longer. He leapt from the bushes. “Jimmy!”
Moving much more quickly than Cam liked, Jimmy turned and faced him, then reached out and grabbed Grace, wrapping an arm around her and hiding behind her like the pathetic excuse for a man that he was.
“Don’t come one step closer, or I swear I’ll shoot her in the head and then shoot you next,” Jimmy yelled.
“Let her go, Jimmy, and you just might live through this. We have you surrounded. Sure, you might get off a lucky shot before you’re taken down, but I guarantee I’ll survive it and then I’ll make sure you get sent to the worst prison in this state for the rest of your miserable life.”
“I’ll kill you before you can ever do that!” Jimmy yelled.
“Then do it, Jimmy. Point the gun at me and fire,” Cam taunted him. He needed to get that gun away from Grace’s head. He had no doubt Axel and Bryson were in position, but there was no way they’d take a shot if there was any danger of hitting Grace.
“Go, Cam. Now. I don’t want you getting hurt!”
“Shut up, Grace!” Jimmy yelled, his hand shaking, his finger still on the trigger.
“It’s easy to take down a girl, Jimmy, real easy. Let’s see how you do against a man,” Cam shouted at him.
“I can take you anytime, you worthless officeworking piece of crap. I’m the one who’s always had to think on my feet. I didn’t have a daddy to pay for me to be a lawyer,” Jimmy said.
“You’re talking a whole lot, Jimmy, but I don’t see you coming after me,” Cam replied, and moved closer.
“If you take one step closer, I swear I’m going to shoot her. I don’t have anything to lose.”
“Then I’ll rip you apart limb by limb.”
Cam watched the shift in Jimmy’s eyes, watched the fury, and he finally got what he wanted. Jimmy pulled the gun away from Grace’s head and he aimed it directly at Cam . . .
Three shots were fired.
Almost in slow motion, Grace watched Cam’s body fly backward and blood start to spread out on his shirt. At the same time, Jimmy’s body jerked behind her and she felt a splatter of moisture cover the side of her face.
He dropped behind her, and she ran forward as Cam fell to his knees. Footsteps signaled that people were running toward them, but she didn’t pay any attention. All she cared about was getting to Cam.
She sank down in front of him and tried to reach out, tried to hold him, but her hands were still tied behind her back. A cry of frustration tore through her, and she didn’t even recognize the sound.