Free Rogue Renegades (Rogue Trilogy) by Jade Dean

explanation was cut short when another, much curter, knock came at the door.
    Gary stood, motioned for the two women to remain seated and moved to the door. He looked through the peephole then glanced at Abby. “It’s a police officer,” he said quietly. “I’d like to stay while he questions you.”
    Glad to have him on her side, Abby nodded. “I’d like that.” She could act like an exhausted victim who was too tired to go into a long, drawn out explanation of her ordeal. Frankly, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch at the moment.
    Gary opened the door and a lone cop entered. Abby knew instantly that he was an honest man rather than a dirty one. The concern on his face was genuine and unforced. “Ms. Parker?” he asked. A nametag pinned to his white button up shirt told her his name was Manuel Rodrigues. He’d rolled the sleeves up in concession to the heat.
    “Yes,” she replied.
    “I am glad to see you have returned safely. Can you tell me where you have been for the past four days?”
    “After I was kidnapped by those men, we drove through the jungle for a few hours. We finally came to a stop in a clearing and I was taken into a building.”
    “What did the building look like?” Rodrigues asked.
    “It was too dark to make out much,” she said with convincing regret. “It was small, cramped and had only a few rooms inside.”
    “How many men were there?”
    “I saw twenty or so.” There had been twice that number, but it was pointless to tell him the truth. Montoya wouldn’t stick around long enough to be caught. The compound would be stripped of anything of value before the men shifted to another base.
    “Can you describe any of these men?”
    Making a helpless gesture with one hand, she shook her head. “They looked like you,” she sa id. “Dark hair and eyes, black T-shirts and cargo pants. They carried assault rifles, handguns and knives.”
    “Did you overhear any names?”
    “I heard them mention the name Diego Montenegra, or something like that, a few times.”
    His ears perked up at that. “I believe the name is Diego Montoya,” he corrected her. “Did you see this man?”
    Shaking her head, she crossed her arms and pretended to shiver. “I didn’t really see anyone, apart from the man who grabbed me. He locked me in a room as soon as we reached their base.”
    “Did he assault you?” Rodrigues asked as delicately as possible. His dark eyes were compassionate and reflected his relief when she shook her head. Cecelia gave a small sob of relief as well.
    “No. He didn’t get the chance to. I managed to escape shortly after I was locked in the room.”
    “How did you escape?”
    “The window was barred, but one of the bars was loose,” she lied. “The gap was just wide enough for me to squeeze through. Once I was free, I hid in the jungle until morning then tried to make my way back to the city.”
    “Why did it take you four days to find your way back?” he asked.
    “I got lost,” she said ruefully. “It took me three days to find a road and I hid every time I heard a car. It took me all night and half of the day to walk back to the hotel.”
    “Is there anything you can tell me about where these men took you?” Rodrigues asked. “Did you notice which direction they took?”
    “ West?” she said uncertainly. They’d actually headed north, not west, but she didn’t want to give him the exact location of the compound just in case Ryan headed back there to search for his quarry.
    “Abigail is exhausted from her ordeal,” Gary said to the officer. “I am sure she would just like to return home. Our flight is due to leave in three hours and we should really be on our way.”
    Grateful to the former judge for stepping in, Abby nodded her agreement. Almost half of their group would be leaving on the same flight. The rest were due to leave a couple of hours later.
    Frowning down at the few notes he’d taken, Rodrigues met her eyes. He knew she was hiding something,