Deadly Game (Fortress Security #5)(10)

Rowan’s hands clenched. These guys drugged her niece? She was only six. How did they know the right amount of the drug to use on Alexa to knock her out but not hurt her? Hearing Zane’s conclusions made her even more frantic to find her niece and check for herself that the girl was unharmed.

“Did you get a shot of the license plate?”

“Yep. Not going to help much.”

“Let me guess. The van is hot?”

“Bingo. Reported stolen this afternoon.”

“What does that mean?” Rowan asked. Nothing good, she was sure.

“The van’s a dead end.”

“Have you been able to track the van once it left the Maxwell home?” Brent asked.

“Working on that as we speak.”

“Stay on it. I want to know where that van goes. By the way, the racing stripes are red.”

“Copy that.”

Brent slid the phone in his pocket and eyed Rowan. “You okay?”

She shook her head, blinking back the sudden tears flooding her eyes. “Alexa hates needles,” she whispered.

“We don’t know that they injected her. Too much trouble and too dangerous. A better alternative is chloroform.”

“I hope you’re right. Thinking about her suffering kills me.”

Footsteps approached the waiting room. Seconds later, a white-coated man walk into the room. “Maxwell family?”

“That’s me. I’m Rowan Scott, her sister. How is she?”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Scott. We did everything we could, but Ms. Maxwell’s injury was too severe. She’s gone.”

Stunned by the news, she barely felt the muscled arms wrapped around her. The doctor said something else, but Rowan couldn’t understand the words just as she couldn’t make out Brent’s response.

After the doctor left, Brent turned her in his arms so her head rested over his heart and simply held her. For long minutes, Rowan tried to wrap her mind around the fact that her sister was gone. Now she had no one except Alexa. Rowan’s parents were long dead and so was the grandmother who had stepped in to raise her and her sister.

How was she going to tell Alexa? A wave of grief swept over her. Her precious niece wouldn’t remember much about her own mother. Rowan would make sure Alexa knew how much Heather had loved her. She’d show pictures and tell her stories about when Rowan and Heather were growing up. Heather had been a trouble magnet. The stories she could tell about the funny and sweet things that happened in Heather’s life.

Finally, Rowan’s brain started to function again. She realized Brent had been stroking her hair for some time, not saying anything. Rowan circled his waist with her arms.

“Are you okay?” he murmured.

She shook her head. “How will I tell Alexa?”

“One thing at a time, baby. Let’s find her first. We’ll deal with her questions after we bring her home. She needs to know you love her and will be there for her even though her mother can’t be.” He pressed a light kiss to her temple. “Do you know where your sister’s will is, Rowan?”

“I have a copy in my files at home. Heather made me Alexa’s legal guardian if anything happened to her and Jay.”

“You need to have a copy with you at all times. The last thing we want after all this is for Alexa to be dumped into foster care.”

She nodded and edged closer to him. Brent tightened his grip. “I don’t know what to do now,” she whispered. “I have to find Alexa, but I need to take care of the arrangements for Heather.”

“What about Jay? Does he have any family?”

“No family.” She sighed. “Guess I’ll have to take care of his arrangements, too.”

“Want help?”

She froze a moment, then leaned back far enough to see his face. “Why would you do that? You didn’t know either one of them.”

“I know you. I’d like to help.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Easy. Say yes.”

She blinked. “But we haven’t even been on a date yet.”

A quick grin. “We’ll get there, but fair disclosure, I’ve been interested in you for months.” He sobered. “You don’t have to do this alone. Say yes, Rowan.”

“Yes. Thank you, Brent.”

“Come on. There’s nothing more we can do here.”

After giving contact information to a nurse, Brent walked with her to the SUV. He negotiated the hospital parking garage maze and drove to the interstate.

A call came in over his Bluetooth. “Tell me something good, Zane.”

“Sorry, boss. I hacked into the traffic cams. Once the van left the Westhaven neighborhood, it disappeared. The driver took back roads wherever he went.”

“Roads with no traffic cameras. Not what I wanted to hear. Capture a face for me?”

“That I did get. Already running facial recognition. Might take a while and it could be unsuccessful.”

“Good job, buddy. Has Claire arrived yet?”

“She came in an hour ago.”

“Tell her I said thanks for letting me tie up your time.”

“When she found out a child had been abducted, she pulled out her laptop and started working on her pictures. Don’t worry, I plan to make it up to her. Any news about Rowan’s sister?”