“No, sir. We find it best to take action immediately and not wait for local law enforcement.”
“Oh. Who’swe?” He was still reeling from the adrenaline and hid his trembling hands behind his back.
“Darion Security.” The man held out a hand to Cross. “I’m Jose Zapata.”
Cross balanced on his good foot to shake hands.
Rusty hurried to Cross’s side to offer support, gripping his arm. “Hang onto me. What happens now?”
“Unfortunately, we stay right here until the cops—” Zapata tilted his head and Rusty became aware of sirens approaching. “Here they are.” He pulled out a phone and passed it to Cross. “First call in the history is a line to Ms. Nelson. She wants you to check in.”
Rusty put his arm around Cross as he hit the contact.
Cross hesitated, then also tapped speaker. “Hey, Amy, it’s me.”
“RJ!” Rusty could hear the relief in Amy’s voice. “Are you okay?”
“Rusty and I are fine. Thanks for the rescue.”
“You’re lucky I had connections there in Eugene.”
“You have connections everywhere,” Cross told her.
“I try. Listen, kiddo, stay put till the local cops document your situation, then tell them you need to go to the hospital. No statements beyond the very minimum and record what you say. Darion Security will transport and cover you there till I arrive. I have a lawyer who’ll meet you at the hospital.”
“Why doweneed a lawyer?” Rusty asked. “We’re the ones who got kidnapped.”
“You always need a lawyer,” Amy told him. “RJ, are you good with that? My plane’s landing shortly.”
“Yeah, sorry.”
“See you soon.” The line went dead.
As Cross handed the phone back, Rusty murmured, “Kiddo?” His head was whirling and that was something odd to hang onto.
Cross snorted. “She’s been head of Dad’s security since I was fifteen. I’m not sure she knows I’ve grown up.”
Overhead, the sirens cut off. Feet and voices could be heard.
Zapata said, “Everyone be cool. I’ll go interface with the law.” He hurried out. The man and woman in dark clothing who’d come in with him settled against the sides of the room, postures alert but easy, eyes on the door. Cross gripped the back of Rusty’s jeans in one fist and balanced against him. Rusty kept his arm tight around Cross’s shoulders and wondered how bad his foot actually hurt.
The cops who came down with Zapata a few minutes later were two young men in uniform. They seemed content to let Zapata take the lead, and after a few basic questions and photos of the room and the handcuffs dangling from Cross and Rusty’swrists, they let Zapata unlock the cuffs and drop them in an evidence bag. Cross was limping pretty hard by the time they headed up the stairs, and the gaggle of additional cops on the main level didn’t protest when Zapata said he was driving them to the hospital to be checked over.
Rusty looked around wildly as they walked through the small, derelict house to the front door. He kind of wanted to see Tyler in cuffs, see the tall guy arrested. Or maybe he didn’t want to see Tyler at all. What he wanted didn’t matter, since there was no sign of either of them.
He lost a moment or two as he and Cross were maneuvered outside, his head fuzzy, the only reality his grip on Cross to support his slow, painful steps. Until he was sitting in the middle of Zapata’s SUV with Cross in the seat beside him and another security agent in the row behind them. Then he blinked and the world came back full volume.
“Fuck!” He turned to Cross. “We just got fucking kidnapped? What was that shit?”
Cross grinned with a manic glitter in his eyes. “That was us surviving.”
“Thanks to your Amy. How—” Rusty broke off as Cross put a finger to his lips.
“Not now.”
“Okay.” Rusty clenched his hands in his lap, twisting his fingers together. “But that was fucking scary, right?” He still couldn’t believe anything that had happened since Tyler jumped out of the bushes with a gun. “Like, ridiculous, but scary.”
“Yeah, it was.” Cross leaned over and put his hand on top of Rusty’s. “We’ve got some details to get through, but we havebodyguards and a lawyer and Amy about to come down like an avenging angel. After she reams my ass, probably.”
