Biding His Thyme: 4 (21 page)

The front of the shop, which overlooked the
main street, was beautiful with two large windows perfect for displays. A
gorgeous stained glass window above the door reflected a rainbow of colors over
the plain white walls. She retraced her steps, pausing to sip her coffee.

This was perfect, and they could move right
in without worrying about redecorating. Out the back, there was plenty of
storage room for stock. She set her coffee on a counter and pulled a notebook
out of her handbag to scribble a few notes. She’d seen enough, could imagine the
stock set out and the displays. With the airy spaciousness, this was much
better for their purposes. She tucked the notebook away and picked up her
coffee.

An out of place creak brought a frown. Was
that a footstep? She stilled, gazing in the direction of the sound.

“Alice?”

When she didn’t hear a reply or another
sound, she chalked it up to imagination. Humming under her breath, she headed
for the rear door.

Rough hands grabbed her from behind. Her
coffee went flying, landing with a liquid splat against the wall.

“What—”

A cloth was pressed over her nose before
she could protest further, the acrid fumes making her eyes water. She gasped in
a breath, her mind growing hazy, and that was the last thing she remembered.

* * * * *

“Got her.” Felix dragged Sorrel’s sagging
body to the truck and thrust her into the rear. He checked she was still
unconscious and slammed the door shut before joining Rick in the front.

“Good job,” Rick said. They’d done it. Now
that she was under their control, he’d get her to sign over the money to him.
He could replay his debt to the Rebel Brothers and then the sky was the limit.

He pulled out from behind the vacant shop
and headed for the compound.

* * * * *

“Have you seen Sorrel?” Alice asked.

“Not since this morning,” her office assistant
said. “She always pops her head around the corner and says good morning. Such a
nice girl.”

“She is,” Alice said. “We’re lucky she’s
willing to join us. I’ve checked in the labs and on the office floor. No one
has seen her since this morning.”

Alice checked her electronic diary and
picked up the phone. “Mr. Montgomery, did Sorrel pick up the key from you this
morning? She did. Did she return the key? No. Okay. Thanks.” She hung up the
phone. “She didn’t return the key.”

“Have you checked the vacant shop? Maybe
she’s fallen and hurt herself.”

“I’ll go and check now,” Alice said.

Five minutes later, Alice parked her
vehicle behind the shop. From the driver’s seat, she could see the rear door
was ajar. She picked up her phone and rang the police station.

“Wait in your car,” Richard said, after she
explained her fears. “Lock the doors and wait until I get there.”

Luckily it didn’t take long for Richard to
arrive. The police car pulled up beside her, and Alice climbed out.

“Wait—”

“Don’t tell me to wait here,” Alice broke
in. “I want to know what’s going on. I don’t know Sorrel well, but it isn’t
like her to disappear. She spends the afternoons in the lab.”

“Keep behind me,” Richard said. “Don’t
touch anything.”

He pushed the door open. A black handbag
lay on the floor. Farther inside a cardboard coffee cup sat upside down, its
former contents splattered over the wall and floor. The black plastic lid had
rolled across the floor and settled near the far wall.

“Sorrel? Sorrel!”

The two of them searched the shop. Sorrel
wasn’t there.

* * * * *

After a night of alcohol and debauchery,
the gang members were still asleep. Jake kept an eye on the situation without
getting too close to attract attention. Brother Rick and Brother Felix had left
the compound earlier.

Jake worked in the garden near the office,
frustrated because Brother John and Brother Tyrone were still laboring over
ledgers in there. He had no idea what the hell they were doing. They scarcely
left the place and on the rare occasions when they did, the door was firmly
locked. He hadn’t been game to break in because their absences were half an
hour at the most and not enough time for him to enter and do a search without
getting caught.

The sound of a vehicle dragged his
attention to the gates. They swung open and Brother Rick drove the truck onto
the compound.

Instead of parking in the normal place,
Brother Rick drove over to his quarters. Both he and Brother Felix climbed out.
They opened the rear door and pulled out something.

Jake squinted then stiffened.

That wasn’t an object. That was a person.

He sauntered through the garden to the far
boundary, catching a glimpse of blonde hair. It was enough to make the back of
his neck prickle.

Brother Rick and Brother Felix entered
Brother Rick’s quarters, closing the door after them.

Jake frowned, checked over his shoulder and
found one of the elderly brothers watching him. Cursing under his breath, Jake
limped back to the row he was responsible for weeding. His hands worked
automatically while he kept an eye on Brother Rick’s quarters.

“Watch out,” the elderly brother said.
“You’re pulling out seedlings. I thought you said you knew what you were
doing.”

“Sorry,” Jake said shortly. Damn, he was
going to blow this and lose the perfect vantage point to spy on Brother Rick.

“Use more care.”

“I will,” Jake promised.

The man grumbled under his breath as he
ambled down the row of radishes.

Jake went back to his weeding, taking more
care this time. He finished, noting neither of the brothers had emerged from
the quarters.

At least he knew Sorrel was safe. It
couldn’t be her, so who the hell was in there with them. Kidnapping? It seemed
unlikely, yet he couldn’t rid himself of his disquiet.

The lunch bell rang, calling everyone to
dine. The brother supervising him set down his tools and lumbered off. “You
coming?” he asked over his shoulder.

“I’ll finish this row. There’ll be a queue
anyway.”

The elderly man nodded and continued his
rush toward the dining hall. Jake moved a row closer to Brother Rick’s quarters
and scanned the compound. He approached cautiously, freezing when the door to
Brother Rick’s quarter flew open.

“I shouldn’t have given her so much of the
drug,” Brother Felix said. “What if she doesn’t come around?”

“Then we’ll be guilty of murder as well as
kidnapping,” Brother Rick snapped. “I’m sure she’ll regain consciousness soon.
Go and have some lunch. We need to keep an eye on our visitors. Bring me back
something to eat.”

Brother Felix’s unhappiness didn’t clear
from his expression. After swiping a hand over the top of his bald head, he
gave a curt nod and stomped away. Brother Rick re-entered his quarters,
shutting the door after him.

Jake considered his options and decided to
take the opportunity to call Luke before attempting to peek through the
windows. He had Brother Rick’s confession of kidnapping already. Surely that
was enough for Luke to investigate.

He retreated to a private area where he
could see anyone coming before they saw him. After a final scan of the
vicinity, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit speed dial. “Luke, it’s
Jake. Something’s up here. I overheard Brother Rick discussing a kidnapping. I
saw them haul someone from their vehicle.”

“Hell. Sorrel’s missing. She went to look
at a vacant building on the main street. When Dad and Alice went to check they
found her handbag on the floor and the remains of her coffee splattered over
the wall and floor.”

Fury tore through him. “Bastard.”

“Jake.” Luke’s voice was urgent in his ear.
“Don’t do anything rash. We need to make the charges stick. Are the Rebel
Brothers still there?”

“Yeah.” God, this was like history
repeating itself. What if he was too late to help Sorrel?

“Seen anything that might give us reason to
arrest them too?” Luke jerked him from his sudden fear.

Focus, dummy
.
“Caught a whiff of drugs last night. They took their choice of the women and
hauled them off to bed for the evening. The women seemed willing enough, but I
don’t know for sure.”

“All right. Sit tight until we get there.”

“How long?” Jake demanded. He wasn’t
fuckin’ leaving Sorrel alone with that man. No telling what the sick fuck would
do to her.

“An hour before the search warrant is
ready. I don’t want to botch this.”

“Too long.”

“Jake.”

Jake dealt with Luke by ending the call.
His first instinct was to turn the thing off so Luke couldn’t contact him, but
he knew he’d need the cops. He shoved the phone into his pocket, taking extra
seconds to make sure it wouldn’t bounce out if he needed to move fast. After a
quick scan of the compound, he ran across the open ground and slipped into the
shadows shed by Brother Rick’s quarters. At a window, he paused to listen. Not
a sound came from within.

He rose on tiptoe to peek through the
window. Brother Rick was still inside, pacing the open spaces, in ceaseless
movement. Jake’s gaze went to the bed. Sorrel lay there, silent and still. The
warrior in him snarled, ready for action.

* * * * *

Sorrel lay still, keeping her eyes closed.
Anger pulsed through her, enticing her to jump to her feet and thump Brother
Rick over the head. She reined in the impulse, needing a plan first.

The footsteps came close again. “Why aren’t
you waking up?”

She could feel his fixed stare, his strange
agitation. It was like a writhing beast filling the room with its tentacles,
stroking along her arms and bare legs and leaving a slithery trail of goose
bumps. Her mind was full of questions, and one reasonable answer presented
itself. Brother Rick loathed her. He’d taken pleasure in expelling her from the
compound, yet maybe the rest of Children of Nature members had censored him for
his actions. It was the only thing that made sense.

“Wake up, damn it.” He grasped her shoulder
and shook violently.

Enough!
Sorrel bolted upright, flailing with her right arm and aiming for his face.

He let out a roar when she walloped his
nose. “Sister Bitter.”

Sorrel rolled away and bounded off the bed,
her eyes trained on him. She calculated the distance to the door and knew she
wouldn’t make it. He was too close, and her head was swimming from whatever
drug they’d used to subdue her.

“Dammit, Bitter, you’ve made my nose
bleed.”

Her brows squeezed together. “My name is
Sorrel.”

“What are you wearing? It’s indecent.”

“Not your problem,” she said sweetly, her
hand reaching for the wall to hold her steady. “Why have you brought me here?”

“Come and sit down. Help me stop my nose
from bleeding.”

She snorted. “What did your last slave die
of? Oh wait. You shunned them.”

“Watch your mouth.” His face hardened. “You
have something that belongs to me.” He went to a drawer and pulled out a
pristine white handkerchief. The moment he pressed it to his nose, the fabric
turned blood red.

As Brother Rick paced away from her, his
words registered. Her brow knit. What the heck was he talking about?

She watched him pace back and forth, his
head held at an awkward angle to stem the nosebleed. She edged toward the
closed door. No matter what nonsense he was spouting, she intended to leave.
Her first steps were wobbly, a little tentative.

Brother Rick swiveled toward her, freezing
her on the spot. “You’re going to sign the money over to me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re the signatory on the trust.”

She stared at him blankly. “What trust?”

“Don’t play dumb.” Brother Rick tossed the
bloody handkerchief aside and advanced on her.

Sorrel’s first instinct was to back up. She
forced herself to stand her ground. “Give me details.”

He cocked his head to the side. “You’ve
changed.”

“Thank you.”

“Not for the better.”

“I need details. You might jog my memory.”
Humor struck her at his pronouncement. Brother Rick was a bully and belittled
anyone who attempted to stand up to him. He hadn’t seen anything yet.

“Brother Samuel and your mother concocted a
plan to keep the bulk of Children of Nature’s money in a trust for lean times.
I didn’t even know about the account until last week when a bank statement
turned up.”

Sorrel eyed the door. “What’s that got to
do with me?”

“You’re the only one able to withdraw the
money.”

Sorrel laughed. She couldn’t help herself.
She didn’t know how— No, wait. She’d witnessed Brother Samuel signing several
papers. Was it possible? She frowned trying to remember. Her mother had rushed
into the workshop while she was trying to make a batch of soap, demanding she
come immediately. Alarmed, she’d taken her pot off the heat and run after her
mother. There had been nothing wrong with Brother Samuel. He’d been sitting at
his desk, his normal smile wreathing his mouth.

“Ah, I’m glad you’re here. I need you to
witness my signature,” he’d said in his booming voice.

“Couldn’t Mother have done it?” she’d
demanded in exasperation.

“I need her to sign as well.”

Yes, she remembered sighing papers now,
recalled asking, “Do I need to read anything? I don’t want my batch of soap to
ruin.”

“No, my dear. All you need to do is watch
me sign the papers and sign too. It will take a few minutes at most.”

So she’d signed and rushed back to the
workshop to save her soap, putting the entire incident to the back of her mind
because it hadn’t seemed important. She knew that despite Children of Nature’s
self-sufficiency there were times when the outside world intruded with
paperwork—things to do with home schooling and census returns, special
licenses. She recalled Brother Samuel’s words—never-ending paperwork.