His to Take (Wicked Lovers #9)(124)
Author: Shayla Black

“Would he fly?” Joaquin asked.

“Unless he’s going to fly VFR, that would require him to file a flight plan.” Suit One grimaced. “And that’s if he found a plane and a pilot at the last minute, but we’ll follow up on private pilots in the area. Still, I doubt he’s flying, even though it’s a long-ass drive to Iowa.”

Joaquin agreed. And if McKeevy managed to get her on their land, Joaquin and the feds would have to find a judge and secure a warrant to search the property. That could take a day, probably more. Even if they obtained one within a few hours, McKeevy would still have Bailey all to himself for far too long. Once the sick bastard reached his hidey-hole, she’d likely endure hours of terrifying torture before he snuffed her out.

Ice ran through Joaquin’s veins as he contemplated his next move. Technically, he wasn’t a federal agent anymore. He certainly wasn’t assigned to this case. The odds of them letting him tag along were zilch. But he couldn’t sit on his hands and wait for one of the “big boys” to be Bailey’s hero.

He had to get as close to that damn compound as possible.

“Am I free to go?” he asked.

The deputy looked at the sheriff, who nodded, then looked at the two suits from Philly. They both nodded as well.

“I need a ride to my car.” Joaquin was already calculating how quickly he could get to Iowa.

“It’s in the county lot. Maureen will take care of you,” the deputy supplied helpfully. “But the tire’s gone totally flat.”

Joaquin didn’t have time for vehicle repairs now. “What’s the easiest way to rent a car?”

After a couple of suggestions—all of which would take hours—he felt as if his head might explode. Suddenly, his phone rang. Sean’s number popped on the screen.

“Hey, can’t talk now unless you’ve got an update.” He’d spoken to Sean after first being dragged to this sheriff station, so he wasn’t expecting a lot.

“Where are you?”

“Still at the Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Sheriff’s Office.”

“Hurry up. I’m sitting on Xander’s private jet at the Philly airport, refueling and waiting for you.”

They’d come to help him rescue Bailey.

Relief lifted a mountain of crushing fear from his chest. God bless Xander for lending his plane. And bless Sean for leaving Dallas and his fiancée less than seventy-two hours before his wedding in order to help.

“I owe you, man. Big. I’ll get there as quickly as possible.”

“Good. From what I hear, we need to get to Iowa.”

No shit.

They rang off, and the suits agreed to give him a ride to the airport since it wasn’t far out of their way, as long as he promised not to interfere in their investigation. Joaquin agreed. Of course he lied through his teeth, but hell, he would have sworn he had four heads to secure that ride.

The tense drive seemed to take forever. Joaquin kept looking at the time on his phone, thinking of all the moments slipping by that could be Bailey’s last. Where was she now? He had no way to track her. They had a license plate of the stolen minivan they suspected McKeevy was in, but what if they’d miscalculated? What if he’d already ditched that car?

Abject fear ate at him from the inside, cracking the hard shell of his composure. He had to get it together for Bailey’s sake.

As soon as the agents dropped him off at the terminal that serviced the private jets, Sean met him.

Having slung the backpack the sheriff had returned to him on his back and ensured his weapon was secure, Joaquin shook the man’s hand. “Thanks for being here so quickly. I know you’re getting married—”

“Callie understands all too well what Bailey is going through. We agreed immediately that I needed to be here.”

After a decade running from LOSS, the heiress probably understood better than anyone. Joaquin’s respect for her went up another notch. “If we get Bailey back and recover the research, Callie will never have to worry again either.”

“Right now, she’s just concerned about your girl. I have instructions to text Callie the second I have news. Thorpe is trying to keep her calm.”

“You didn’t have to do this.”

“Any family of Kata’s is family of ours.” Sean clapped him on the back.

Stunned silent with gratitude, he followed Sean through the building, out to the tarmac. Why would people he’d met a handful of days ago disrupt their wedding plans to help him rescue a girl they hadn’t known last week? He wasn’t totally sure, but he thanked fuck they were willing.