Stitch by Jaime Lewis
Chapter Twenty-Four
Elijah stared out the passenger window as Claus drove them through the mountains' winding roads toward the town where Mia was thought to be hiding. Thanks to Vargas’ investigative skills, he was able to gather information on Mia along with her brothers and his friends who had been hiding her but insinuating to outsiders that she was missing. He knew Mia’s brother was in the military, but he was surprised to learn that he is a Navy SEAL.
Vargas had called and said a buddy had contacted him, telling him that the Feds wanted to talk to him. He quickly made his way out of the city limits of Virginia Beach and was heading up towards the mountains following Mia. He was lying low, but said he would meet up with him once he got into town.
They entered Elkton, Virginia's city limits, which was only about forty-five minutes from where Mia was supposedly hiding out. He had a plan in place, but upon hearing that it was a large group that traveled with them, he needed to revisit and adjust those plans. Vargas had mentioned there were four other men and four women who had joined Mia and her lover. Knowing he was dealing with Special Forces soldiers, he needed to be smart and create a well-thought-out plan. These guys wouldn’t fall for just anything, but he needed to find a way to draw their attention away from the women, specifically Mia.
Claus pulled the car into a run-down motel that looked like it had been abandoned, but the flickering vacancy neon sign said otherwise.
Elijah sighed. “There isn’t anything else?”
Claus snorted. “Not unless you want to stay in a shed with pigs and cows. There isn’t anything in this town. Are you sure you don’t want to go elsewhere?”
“Shit. No, we need to play it safe and lay low for a day or two. At least with this place, I’m sure they won’t worry about you showing any ID or paying with cash.”
While Claus went inside to get their rooms, Elijah sent Vargas a text on the burner phone he had purchased to communicate. Vargas replied, letting him know that he had picked up some supplies he had requested. They agreed to meet up later after dark and go over the plan that Elijah was concocting in his mind.
Claus got back into the car and grinned.
“What are you smiling about?”
“We may have some luck on our side. There is a big rally tomorrow being held downtown Sugar Bend. A major corporation wants to buy up land around the National Park to build, and the people in the area aren’t happy about it.”
“And, that concerns us why?”
“A protest rally means heavy police presence. I can’t imagine these small towns have a huge police force, which means—”
“They will be too busy to patrol the rest of the town.”
“Exactly. And if Vargas is right, that cabin is about thirty minutes from town. As long as we have a good plan, that should give us plenty of time to do what we came to do.”
“What about the guys that Vargas said were staying with them? We know that the brother is a SEAL.”
Elijah smiled. “We create a distraction. Call Vargas and tell him to pick up some gasoline.” Claus raised an eyebrow at him, and Elijah’s smile grew, “I’m in the mood for a bonfire.”
As Claus drove around to the other side of the motel where their room was, Elijah had made his final decision. He wasn’t going to let Mia have the easy way out, death is too easy for what she’s put him through. He was going to make her pay for her disloyalty by being his possession. She would live out the rest of her life under his control.
◆◆◆
“You need us to do what?” Stitch asked, looking at his friend the Sheriff as if he was out of his mind. Two days had passed, and there had been no signs of Elijah or Brice Vargas. Not that they’d let their guard down either.
“I need you guys to help with crowd control.”
“You do realize we hate crowds,” Irish said, drawing nods from the others.
“I promise you won’t be in the mix of the crowd. I just need some perimeter assistance. Several agencies from the neighboring counties who were scheduled to assist are now dealing with their own rallies in their towns. This land control shit is so out of fucking control it is a wonder we haven’t had riots.”
The Sheriff pleaded with his eyes, “I just need you guys for about an hour or two.”
Stitch looked at Ace. It was funny that they still looked to their team leader for his thoughts first, even in their personal lives.
“What about Mia and the others? We can’t take them to the rally.”
Alex stepped up next to Ace. “Ace, we can handle ourselves for an hour or two. If it makes you feel any better, I have my gun with me.”
“Look, if you’d be more comfortable, I can pull the deputy I have working dispatch and have him patrol out here. I can call my assistant and have her cover dispatch for that time. She’s always looking for more hours.”
Ace looked at the team. “This is a group decision. It’s everyone’s call. If you don’t want to, I’ll understand.”
Stitch laughed out loud when Tenley pushed Potter forward and told the Sheriff that her husband would love to volunteer, which earned her a scowl from Potter. After speaking with Autumn, Frost stepped forward, followed by Irish after some reassurance from Bailey. That just left Ace and Stitch. Alex gave Ace a wink, and Ace turned and said he was in. Stitch glanced over at Mia. He was having a hard time with the decision, and as if she had read his mind, she answered for him.
“Stitch is in as well.” When he looked over at her, she said, “Stitch, go and help your friend. We’ll be fine. We will have the deputy, and Alex has her gun.”
Though he was still unsure, he turned toward the Sheriff, “I guess you’ve got yourself a team.”
“How does this even work? We aren’t deputies.” Ace asked.
Sheriff Prescott grinned. “Do each of you promise to uphold and enforce the laws of this town?”
With a resounding yes from all eight men, the Sheriff said, “Congratulations, you have been deputized under the laws of the town of Sugar Bend.”
Stitch cocked his head sideways and eyed the Sheriff, “Did you just make that shit up?”
The Sheriff grinned, “Yep.”
