Hideaway at Hawk's Landing by Rita Herron

Author:Rita Herron
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-07-10T15:38:47+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Brayden approached the inn, his senses alert. Lucas motioned to let him take the lead, and Brayden did. Entering an unknown situation that could be an ambush was never his favorite part of police work.

He’d gotten spoiled by dealing with trouble and crime in the courtroom instead of on the front line. Although the law could be frustrating at times, too.

Seeing a guilty criminal released without being punished was infuriating and happened too often, while watching an innocent person go to prison was intolerable.

Lucas paused to listen at the door, his brows furrowed. When he looked back at Brayden, his brother gestured that he heard something.

Maybe someone was inside?

He eased open the door, gun at the ready, and inched inside. Brayden peeked past him. The interior was dark and appeared deserted. At one time, this place housed tourists and travelers driving from Austin toward Mexico. It had drawn miners but also catered to cattle ranchers and horse lovers.

Paintings of wild mustangs hung in the entryway, where the wallpaper was fading, the curtains a dull pale gray.

Lucas swung left and Brayden went right. He scanned the dining room while his brother ducked into a formal living room/parlor that had probably once hosted afternoon tea for guests.

The room was empty, but led to a large kitchen with a giant oak table. A case of bottled water sat on a grimy counter. Loaves of bread, canned beans and cans of soup filled a box indicating a recent shopping trip.

Someone had been here.

A noise sounded from upstairs, and he froze. Maybe someone was still here.

Lucas’s footsteps echoed from the front. He must be going up the staircase. A back stairwell caught Brayden’s eye, and he headed toward it. He forced his footfalls to remain light, although the old wooden floors squeaked as he climbed them.

He stopped on the landing and noted a large room to the right. The hall led to other rooms that had once been rented to guests.

Lucas appeared at the opposite end, then ducked into one of the bedrooms. Brayden veered into the larger room, which must have been used as a suite. The front area held a love seat, chair and coffee table. He crept toward the inner door and thought he heard a noise coming from behind it.

He hesitated, listening for voices, determined not to walk into a trap. No male voices. Maybe someone crying?

His pulse jumped. Was it Izzy?

Body coiled with tension, he eased open the door, keeping his gun braced in case one of DiSanti’s men lay waiting on the other side. Another sound. A moan.

Crying. Definitely crying.

Anger forced him forward, his temper rising even more when he spotted three cots in the room. Cots where three young girls lay.

In one quick glance, he realized they’d been drugged. Two of them were either asleep or unconscious while the third, a scrawny brunette who was probably about thirteen, lay huddled with her knees up, sobbing into her hands.

He took a deep breath, then slowly approached her. His foot made the floor creak, and she startled and jerked her head up, her eyes wide with terror.

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