Chapter Thirty-Nine

Ethan

Eight hours earlier…

“Come alone, or I'll kill her.”

The electronic voice clicked off, and the line went dead.

A picture came through of Laura tied to a chair and address to meet.

Ethan stared at the phone in his hand. He was shaking. He never shook like this during business meetings or even when climbing over hundred foot drops. But this had him shaking like a leaf in a tornado.

Someone had Laura and was going to kill her.

He swallowed hard. It had to be Janie. The car, the break-in... and now she had Laura.

His knees buckled, and he sat down hard in his office chair. The chair swiveled, nearly dumping him over and he cursed. He hated this Colorado temporary office.

“You need a plan,” Ethan whispered to himself. He closed his eyes and started visualizing. It was what he did when he faced a difficult vertical mountain climb. He would visualize each spot his hands needed to go to and just how to grip the rock. He would plan the entire ascent up the rock face and anticipate any hi