Then it hit her that Chad wasn’t the person she should go to for help. She needed someone a lot better than Chad at dealing with dangerous men like Ryan.
* * *
“Who are you calling?” Chad asked suspiciously the moment Zarina took the satellite phone out of her pack. He wasn’t the only one who was suspicious. While half the people in the main building were eyeing her hopefully, just as many were staring at her with open distrust.
She frowned at him, her finger hovering over the speed dial button Landon had programmed in for her. “Does it matter?”
The older man nodded. He was still being stubborn, even after finding out that his daughter had been kidnapped along with Tanner and Spencer. “We don’t bring outsiders into our problems. It’s not our way.”
Zarina felt like punching the man, no matter how much she knew he was hurting over Lillie being gone. “When it was just your people missing, it was your prerogative to try rescuing them on your own. But now your stubborn pride has gotten Tanner captured, so I’m done standing around wasting time. Your thick-headed belief that you don’t need help from anyone is part of the reason Lillie got kidnapped. But you’re too stuck in your ways to even see that.”
Chad flinched a little at her words, along with everyone else in the room, but it was time they heard the harsh truth. For their own good.
“You may be willing to let your daughter die because you can’t bring yourself to trust anybody, but I don’t have that problem,” she snapped. “I’m going to call the people Tanner and I work for, and they’re going to turn this world upside down to save him and your daughter and everyone else who was kidnapped, because that’s what they do.”
Zarina didn’t give Chad the chance to argue. Satellite phone in hand, she turned and headed for the door. She thumbed Landon’s speed dial button the moment she stepped outside. She only prayed he’d answer. These days, Landon and Ivy were busy running all over the world, recruiting new operatives for the DCO or taking part in covert operations.
“Donovan.”
Thank God.
“Landon, it’s Zarina. Tanner’s in trouble, and I need your help,” she said simply, then dumped everything on the man who’d been watching out for Tanner since the day the DCO had found him. If anyone could rescue Tanner, it would be Landon.
Halfway into the conversation, he put the phone on speaker so Ivy could hear, too.
“You’ll come, right?” Zarina asked when she was done.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line.
“We’ll be there, but it’s going to take us a while,” Landon said. “We’re in the middle of Belarus right now, so it’s going to be a few days before we can get there.”
Zarina’s heart dropped like a rock, tears springing to her eyes. This was hopeless.
“But that doesn’t mean we can’t help you right now,” Ivy added quickly. “We’ll get Kendra to dig up everything she can on Ryan. We’re going to know more about him than he knows about himself. We’ll figure out what he’s up to and where he’s taken Tanner and the others.”
“While Kendra is doing that, we’ll get as many operatives out there as we can,” Landon said. “It might take a few hours, but by the time we have the info on Tanner’s location, a team will be there, ready to do whatever is needed. You have our word on that.”
Zarina started breathing again. “Thank you. I knew you wouldn’t let me down.”
“Not a chance,” Ivy said. “But just in case, is there anyone out there we can count on for help?”
“Tanner has a brother,” she said. “He’s a cop in Seattle. I’m going to call him as soon as I hang up with you.”
“Anyone else?” Landon asked.
She was about to say no, but just then, the door of the main building opened, and Chad, Burt, and Malcolm came out, determined expressions on each of their faces.
“There might be a few more,” she admitted. “I’ll call you back and let you know for sure.”
Landon told Zarina they’d call the moment they dug up anything. “I’ll send you the location of the nearest DCO supply point south of Seattle. Head there as soon as you can. I’ll have everyone meet you there.”
“Okay,” she said. “And Landon, thank you again.”
Zarina hung up, ready to let Chad have it if he started arguing with her about bringing in outsiders again. But he surprised her.
“Burt and I have guns, and we know how to use them,” Chad started. “We’re not soldiers or cops, but we’re willing to fight with you to save the people we care about. That includes Tanner.”
She sighed, relieved. “Good. I don’t know exactly how long it will take for my friends to get here, but we need to be there to meet them as soon as they arrive.”
“We’ll be ready,” Chad assured her.
Chapter 14
Tate had to hand it to Ashley. She was one determined woman.
They’d chased the coyote shifter for nearly a mile through deep brush and cold, marshy ground, closing the distance between them little by little. The woman had a dozen chances to dump Mahsood and get away, but she didn’t do it. Hell, there were a couple of places the shifter could have smashed the doctor’s head against a tree trunk and called it a day. She didn’t do that, either. Instead, she simply kept running until he and Chase caught up and tackled her.
They all tumbled to the ground in a heap, Chase gasping in pain, Mahsood screeching again, and Ashley leaping back to her feet with a snarl.
Tate pushed himself to
