Free Apprehension by Yvette Hines Page B

thing that saved him from hitting the ground was his grip on his front door. Thor looked over his shoulder at his teammate. "How in the hell did that happen? What happened to the fuckin' roadblock plan?" He rushed into his house for his gun.
    Following him, Chris answered each question Thor volleyed at him. "They were drivin' her car. So, the block was never activated."
    "How'd they get her car?" Thor slammed a full clip into his gun, then placed it into the holster on his thigh.
    "We don't know." Chris trailed Thor out the door. "We would've missed them completely, but Dale got curious when he tried to flag her down for a greeting and she didn't stop. Then when he threw on his lights as a joke to get her to stop, her car sped up. That's when he got concerned and started following her.
    He called it in when he noticed she was looking out the back window."
    Thor opened his new patrol car door. The whole team had started driving home every night awaiting the drug runners'
    return. None of them expected them to return like this. "Where are they now?"
    "Claremont Wright Country Club in one of the Northern resort condos."
    Thor didn't wait to hear anything else. He pulled across his front yard, drove over the sidewalk, and then pressed his pedal to full speed once he hit the street.

    * * * *
"I want my daughter out of there now!" A man, who could only be recognized as the general by his mannerisms and dictatorial orders, stared down over half of the Claremont County law enforcement agency as Thor approached.
    "How many people are in there with her?" Thor interjected to Chief Dennison and Captain Russell.
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    YVETTE HINES
    "Two." Captain Russell spoke first. "Dale saw them drag her out of the car and luckily the guest who stayed here checked out this mornin'."
    "You're Thor." Squinting, the general assessed him as if trying to gauge his worth through his eyes. "Liza got help for you when you were injured some weeks back."
    "Yes, sir," Thor answered automatically, even though it had not been posed as a question. He was no longer shocked about the small town communication system. "I'm going to get Liza out of there."
    "I'm going to hold you to your word." With a quiet authority, the general walked through the crowd of cops who were parting before him.
    Thor looked back at the two men in charge. "Do we have a diagram or sketch of this place?"
    "Here you go, Thor." Danielle Smith, a petite black woman on the police force, passed him some papers.
    "Thanks." He began scanning the diagram and looking for the best way to enter the house. The hairs on the back of his neck began to lift and his heart thumped forcefully in his chest as he slid back into the military training he'd received. This town wasn't prepared for a situation like this.
    "Whatcha got, Thor?" Chief Dennison stepped closer to him.
    Glancing up, Thor said, "I need two good officers to help me assess the house."
    "They told us to stay away or they'd hurt her," Deputy Martin recited, his voice holding a slight tremor.
    Thor didn't think for a moment that Deputy Martin wasn't scared, he knew the whole town was nervous about anything happening to Liza; one of their own. Their town's princess. He felt the same way, but he didn't have time to let his emotions set in, he needed to get Liza out of there. "You all have done a fine job of that. Now we need to get in there before those two men start to make rash, stupid mistakes and realize they are not getting out of Claremont. They think they're calling the shots and we're going to let them."
    "Take Chris from RACE and—"
    "I'll go."
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    APPREHENSION
    All eyes focused on Smith in surprise.
    "Before you say no, Chief, remember, I'm fast and small. I can get into a lot of places all you big burly men can't."
    Sighing, Chief began, "Now, Officer Smith, I know you—"
    "I'll take her," Thor said. Within moments, he and the other two officers moved away from the group as Thor articulated his plan. "There are two men. They can't