Cowboy In The Crossfire(54)

"I'll call Zane. Maybe he's figured something out."

Rafe dialed the computer expert and Blake pulled Amanda aside. "This is good. They'll call back with a location. A meet. We have more than we had before."

Her distressed expression nearly drained his heart. He could see her desperation to believe, and the fear to allow herself to hope.

Rafe turned and laid the phone on the bed.

"I'm here, Rafe," Zane's gruff voice sounded through the phone.

"They have the boy. They want the evidence. We're out of time."

The man cursed. "I'm no closer. If I had a week...maybe."

"Can you tell how many letters or numbers?" Blake asked.

The sound of clicking keys funneled through the phone. They waited.

Blake gripped Amanda's hand. "Well?"

Zane bit out another curse. "Could be four. Could be twenty-four. I can't tell."

Amanda sank to the floor against the wall, her forehead resting against her knees. He could see the last bit of optimism seeping out of her. "That's it, then," she muttered. "There's not a chance we'll figure out that password."

"She's right," Rafe said quietly. "Even Zane thinks so."

Another loud curse sounded through the phone. Rafe picked up the receiver. "Call us when you have something."

Blake twisted his ball cap around. He looked at Rafe, then Amanda. "Okay, we work with what we have. They want evidence, we'll take them evidence."

"What are you talking about?" Amanda stared at him as if he'd gone mad.

Rafe grinned. "I like the way you think, brother."

*

AMANDA WALKED BY the phone and glared at it. She couldn't stand the waiting. She glanced at Blake. He'd slipped a knife into his boot and practiced again and again pulling the weapon out with ease.

Most would think he was calm and all business. Not Amanda. She recognized the small tick in his jaw. A small shiver of unease skittered down her spine. He'd been quiet. Too quiet. Not that Blake was overly talkative, but there was a tension in him that made her nervous.

A sharp knock prevented her from trying to reach out once more to the man she'd come to care for. No. Those words were too small for her feelings. She didn't want to say, much less think, the word though. Too many uncertainties.

Blake palmed his Glock and peered through the peephole, then opened the door. Rafe walked in with a sack from an office supply store.

"Did you find a vet?"

"Leo will be fine. Doc is setting his leg. Doesn't look like internal injuries. He'll be playing with Ethan in no time."

Rafe pulled out a folder of printed material, graph paper, pencils, pens, markers, file folders and a thumb drive and scattered them on the bed. "Logan sent us the Morelli case. We can dupe the evidence. They were into guns, money laundering, you name it. Not unlike our Austin cops."

Amanda poked at the papers. "Will it fool them?"

"Not for long." Blake ripped open the paper. "But we only need a few minutes. Once Rafe's in position, we take out the kidnappers and grab Ethan."

"It's so risky," Amanda said, leafing through the graph paper.

"Rafe and I were trained for this. And it's our only option unless you've remembered anything Ethan said that would help us with the password."

She shook her head in frustration. "What can I do to help?"

Blake passed her a handwritten spreadsheet. "Re-create this. It's evidence from a money-laundering case. Substitute random words for the names to keep it confusing. I'll package everything I can."

Amanda took the papers and a pencil and settled on the bed to copy the lines of numbers.

"I hope the head honcho is in town," Rafe said. "I'd like a shot at him."

"Not before me," Blake said, his voice cold. "Even if he's not here, when we bring Ethan back to Amanda, he might be able to identify enough cops we can get someone to turn."

Her pencil stilled. She couldn't have heard them right. She shot to her feet. "Are you crazy? You are not leaving me here."

"It's too dangerous," Blake said, his voice low and urgent.

She glanced over at Rafe, who muttered to himself as he organized supplies. She took Blake's hand. "He's my son. I'm going with you."

"You'll get in the way. If I have to worry about you, I can't concentrate on protecting Ethan." He put his hands on her shoulders. "I can't risk being distracted."

"What if something happens? There's only two of you."

"Rafe and I can handle it. One of us will bring Ethan back to you. I promise."

She leaned her forehead against him. "I have a bad feeling about this. We don't know how many there are. They're ruthless. I can cover you, Blake. Give me a gun. I know how to use it."

The hotel phone rang.

Rafe stilled and flipped a switch on the electronics. He nodded to Blake.

"Redmond."

"Let me talk to the woman."

Blake motioned to Amanda. Try to keep them talking, he mouthed and placed an earpiece in his ear.

"H-hello."

"You have the evidence?" The man's voice was husky with a hint of a Southern drawl.