Page 87 of Unseen Danger
Because he would find her. He had to. He clenched his jaw as he moved toward where the black van had pulled up and stopped.
His gaze caught on black streaks. Tire tracks from hard braking. Good.
The lab techs could probably get an impression from those that could lead them to ID the type of tire. Hopefully lead them to the van itself.
But that would take time. Too much time. Nevaeh could be…
He didn’t dare finish the thought. He’d find her.
He turned around, scanning the blacktop again.
Sunlight glinted off of something.
He crouched. A pool of liquid. Looked like oil.
Maybe the van had an oil leak, and it pooled in the minutes it had parked there.
He stood and stepped over the puddle. Walking a few yards, he kept his gaze on the ground. No more drops. No trail to follow.
Discouragement flickered on his radar for only a second. Doubt and despair were two things he couldn’t afford right now. His days of active duty had taught him to keep moving, keep using his skills and stay on target, no matter what.
Victory was just around the corner if he got there first.
Darren had told the police the van turned left out of the parking lot, traveling north.
That’s where he would go, too.
He jogged around the building and reached his blue Silverado within thirty seconds. He escaped the parking lot as quickly as he could, turning left.
The kidnappers already had a significant lead of—he checked his watch—seventy-two minutes. It was a long shot to retrace their possible route. Exactly why the police weren’t bothering to waste their manpower better used in gathering evidence.
But Branson had to do something. And he’d seen long shots pay off before. He’d picked up some tracking techniques during his service. Might as well see if they worked in the big city.
He owed it to Nevaeh to try. Owed it to anyone who cared about her.
Wait. Her family. He should’ve notified them. He’d been so caught up in trying to get her back that he hadn’t thought to let anyone else know. She probably had family in the area.
Her boss would know. And he should tell her what had happened anyway.
Branson grabbed the phone he’d left in the console and pressed it into the holder on the dash. He navigated to the saved number for the Phoenix K-9 Agency.
“Phoenix K-9 Security and Detection Agency.” The soft, friendly voice of the woman who’d answered when he’d called before came across the line. “Hi. Cora, right? This is Branson Aaberg.”
“Hello, Mr. Aaberg. Is something wrong?”
His voice must be broadcasting the tension that clenched his chest. “Yes. Nevaeh has been kidnapped.”
A sharp intake of breath came through the phone’s speaker. “I’m going to transfer you to Phoenix.” Cora’s voice sounded stronger than he’d expected. “I’ll tell her what you said. Please hold.”
Three seconds lapsed as he scanned the street in front of him and the businesses that lined the sidewalk.
“Aaberg.” The deep voice of Phoenix Gray was strong and firm. “Do you have details?”
“It happened seventy-four minutes ago.” He rapidly brought her up to date on what he knew, finishing by telling her he was on the road, trying to retrace their possible route.
“I have a recent location on her phone.”
He blinked. Phoenix must’ve already been running a trace while he talked. His pulse sped up. “Where is she?”