“Jake, we have to help him,” she said.
“Get off him!” Onslow shouted. “Simon, let him go!”
Simon didn’t seem to hear as he ripped the mask off and slammed the kidnapper down onto the ground. He brought his foot down on the now-unmasked man’s chest, pinning him in place.
“Simon, let him go,” Onslow pleaded. “Son, I’m begging you. Don’t hurt him. Just let him go.”
Heather listened, confused. Was Onslow drugged? Maybe disoriented.
“What the hell?” Simon demanded. “Dad, step back. Run to safety!”
From her seat in the van, Heather gave Jake a worried glance. “Why is Onslow trying to protect the kidnapper?” Fear of Onslow being affected by some kind of Stockholm Syndrome put her on edge.
A man appeared out of the trees and approached Simon.
“That’s Simon’s cover,” Jake said. “If he’s coming out then it’s time for me to go down there.” He held up the walkie talkie. “Folks, that’s your cue. Everybody come out.”
Jake didn’t wait to explain himself as he opened the door of the van, jumped out, and shut the door.
Now she was alone in the van with a driver she didn’t even know. But her own situation paled in comparison to Simon’s own dangerous circumstances. She kept her eyes on the footage, watching to make sure the man she loved was safe.
After several moments of chaos and Dover security personnel coming out of the shadows, she saw Jake show up on the computer monitor. Quickly, Jake helped Simon drag the kidnapper to his feet. His battered face came into view.
She stared, trying to see if she recognized the kidnapper, but she didn’t. His face was a bloody mess from Simon’s punches. Plus, so many people worked at Dover that it would have been impossible for her to know all of them on sight, even if she thought he was a Dover employee.
Jake started patting the bleeding man down, searching for something. He yanked out a wallet from the man’s jacket pocket and pulled out what looked like an ID card. “Andy Fillmore,?
?? he muttered as he read the card. “Is that name familiar to you, Simon?”
“No. Never heard that name in my life,” Simon replied.
“Says on his ID that he works at the Silver Fish Canning Company,” Jake informed him.
Everything went quiet. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. There was a weight to the silence that made her insides clench.
Simon cleared his throat. “Dad? Why the hell does the kidnapper work at the same company you do?”
Chapter 17
His father shrank back like he had been struck. “Look, son, I can explain—”
“Explain when we get out of here,” Jake interrupted sharply. “We need to head out in case there are more of them. It’s too risky for us to be out in the open like this.”
Simon nodded, a mix of contradictory emotions lacing through him. He was grateful that his father was safe, but now he had even more questions than he had before.
Jake grabbed the kidnapper, forcing his hands behind his back as the security head began to shove him out of the park. Another security guard picked up the briefcases from off the ground.
“Let’s go, Dad.” Simon placed a firm hand on his father’s shoulder and steered him out of the park after Jake.
When they piled into the van Simon shut the door and the van took off, speeding away from the park.
He spotted Heather sitting in front of a computer and, desperate to be near her again, he sank down into the seat beside her. She flung her arms around him, the familiar, flowery scent of her shampoo banishing his residual apprehension. His hand still stung from the punches he had given Andy, the kidnapper, but he didn’t let the pain stop him from gripping her as tightly as he could.
“You’re okay,” she said breathlessly. “I thought you were going to get hurt.”
Pulling back to look at her, he brushed away a stray lock of her hair to get a better look at her. He had memorized her face when he had walked out of the van, and had never been more grateful to see her than he was now.
“Are you guys arresting me?”