Before her mind went blank, Rachel pointed toward the door hidden behind the new built-in, moveable bookshelves that weren’t there until a few days ago, and then she allowed herself to collapse into nothingness.

Chapter Forty-One

Saturday, May 25

Alyssa pressed harder on the gas pedal, ignoring the way the dirt road jostled her bones because right now, her main focus was on reaching the girls, praying they were there… and alive. They’d deal with the rest later. The police chopper flying overhead and the rumble of vehicles in front of and behind her almost drowned out the cackle of the mic at her shoulder.

Not wanting to risk anyone slipping through the closing net, Alyssa had requested that Placitas send in several officers to set up both an inside and outside perimeter until her team could arrive, and it was one of them reporting in.

‘We count four vehicles, three parked in the driveway and one in the four-car garage.’

‘I’m less than a minute out.’

As the trees, rocks, and bushes blurred past her window, she forced back the memory of a similar operation when her team had surrounded Evan Bishop’s lair only to have him escape and resurface at her house, where he’d gleefully shared with her the tortures he had planned for her and her family. My family is safe she reminded herself as she skidded to a halt outside the grand residence.

Unlike then, this time a squirrel would be lucky to slip through the perimeter they’d set up. No one in that house was getting away.

She barely had the car in park before she and Cord jumped out to the sound of slamming doors and thunderous shouts. A man wearing a bullet-proof vest and a police cap hurried over, grabbing her by the arm. ‘This way,’ he ordered. Then, when they were standing next to an unmarked white van, he said, ‘We have two snipers in place in case we need them. How do you want this to go down?’

Alyssa explained her tactics, and shortly after that, the three of them approached the house. Pounding on the door, Alyssa shouted, ‘Albuquerque and Placitas police departments. We have the house surrounded. Open up and come out with your hands raised.’ Inside, booming footsteps sounded as the occupants scrambled. She stepped back, turned to the side, and gave the order: ‘Knock it in.’

It took three tries before the battering ram did the trick, but once the door exploded off its hinges, officers rushed in. The first thing Alyssa saw was two muscular, shirtless men, their belts undone and their pants draped open, running for a back door. She directed Joe and Tony their way as she headed down the hallway from where they’d come. On her way, she grabbed three female officers she didn’t recognize. ‘I need you with me.’ She didn’t know what they were going to find, but she felt deep inside that whatever they encountered, it would be far less intimidating and frightening with women officers.