by Jill Sanders
“Are you okay, sweetie?” The older man’s voice was the sweetest sound she’d ever heard. She instantly started crying and explaining what had happened.
“Why don’t you jump in, I’ll take you to…”
“No.” She shook her head, remembering her father’s instructions. “Can I use your phone?” She nodded to the man’s cell phone sitting on the dash of the truck.
“Sure thing.” He handed her the phone and she immediately called her father.
“Daddy,” she cried. “I’m safe. I’m here.”
“Where?” Her father’s voice sounded strained. “Where are you?”
“I…” She looked around.
“Bear Creek Road. Just south of Lincoln City,” the older man supplied. She repeated the information to her dad. “Looks like mile marker three.” He nodded beyond his lights.
“Mile marker three.” She looked behind her and saw the small sign in the headlights.
“Okay, sweetie, stay there, I’m having the local PD pick you up. Give the phone back to the man.”
She nodded and handed the man the phone. “My father, he’s the sheriff,” she said. Her eyes traveled back to where she’d just come from.
“Hello?” the man said into the phone. “Yes, my name is Ken Bergman.” He smiled over at her. “Yes, she’s welcome to sit in my truck.” He motioned for her to get in the passenger side. She walked around and hopped into the truck, feeling her entire body shake as the man pulled further off the road and turned off his headlights. “Okay, yes,” he said into the phone, then turned towards her. “No, she looks okay.” He flipped on the overhead lights and she hissed at the brightness, which caused her head to ache. “Yeah, some dried blood on her shirt.”
She reached up and for the first time, touched the spot on the back of her head. Her hand came away with more blood.
“Looks like she has a nasty cut on her head,” Ken Bergman said into the phone. “Other than that…” He listened. “Yes, I might…” He reached into the glove box and pulled out a tissue. “Here you go, sweetie.” He handed it to her and she held the cotton to the bump forming on the back of her head. “It’s okay,” he said into the phone after listening some more. “I have a granddaughter about her age.” He winked at her. He smiled when red and blue lights lit up the cab. “Looks like the cavalry is here. Sure.” He handed the phone back to her.
“Care, we’re on our way. Until then, I want you to sit tight in the patrol car. The ambulance is right behind them. We’ll see you in about ten minutes.”
“Okay.” She sighed. “Daddy, I was so scared.”
“I know sweetie.” He said something to someone, then the phone was passed to someone else.
“Carrie?” Just hearing Josh’s voice had new tears rolling down her dirty cheeks.
“Josh,” she gasped out, covering her mouth.
“My god. Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m okay.”
“We’re almost there. Your dad is driving faster than I could ever get away with.” He tried to joke, but she was crying too hard to laugh. “Your dad wants you to go sit in the cruiser. We’ll be there soon.”
“Okay.”
“Carrie, I love you.”
“I love you, too.” She smiled and handed the phone back to the old man who hung up. Reaching over, she hugged him. “Thank you.” She held on for a moment. “My knight in a shiny truck.” She smiled at him.
“Be safe. Your dad wants me to stick around so he can thank me personally.” He smiled. “Go on.” He nodded to the female police officer who was standing outside her door.
She followed the woman and slid into the front seat of the cruiser, noting the name of the adjoining county on the side of the cruiser.
As the officers talked to Mr. Bergman, she rested her head back on the seat and took several deep breaths. Her hands and legs were still shaking, and her wrists and ankles ached. When she looked at them, she noticed cuts and bruises on each one.
When more red and blue lights showed up behind the car, she jumped out and was caught in Josh’s arms as he ran to her.
* * *
Josh held onto Carrie tightly. He’d never let something like this happen to her ever again. He must have whispered it to her, because she shook her head quickly.
“It’s not your fault,” she said as he pulled back slightly to look down at her.
The blue and red lights from the patrol car were dancing over her skin. She was covered in a layer of dirt and dust and he could see dried blood on her shirt.
“Where’s the ambulance?” he asked Robert, who was standing beside him. Josh let go of Carrie and Robert and Amelia each took their turn to hug her as they all cried.
“Here it is now,” the other officer said behind him.
“I don’t need…” Carrie started to say as she broke the hug from her mother.
“You’ll go, get checked out,” Josh said softly, taking her back into his arms. “I’ll ride with you.” He nodded. “Let them deal with all this…”
“There’s a dirt road, just about a mile from here,” Carrie told her father. “Whoever took me was heading down it.”
Her father nodded. “Did you get the make or model of the car?”
“No, it was too dark. The brake lights were circular. They had taped over the emergency handle in the trunk,” she added. “Oh!” She nodded to the crowbar on the ground where she’d dropped it after getting into the patrol car. “I took that from the trunk, as well.”
“Good girl.” Her father smiled at her, then nodded at him as the ambulance pulled in. “We’ll be along after we see to this.”
“I’ll keep you posted.” He wrapped an arm around Carrie and walked her to the ambulance. Her mother followed them, wrapping her arm around Carrie as well.
They sat in the ambulance while Carrie was strapped in and her vitals taken. The ride to the hospital was longer than he’d expected.
“They’re taking us to Edgeview,” Amelia said. “We thought it would be best to be closer to home.”
He nodded and looked down at Carrie. Her eyes were closed, and she looked to be peacefully resting.
In the light, he could see more bruises and cuts. There were marks on her wrists and ankles and they had already put a large white bandage over the cut on the back of her head to stop the bleeding.
He wanted to touch her, but he was afraid that he’d hurt her. So, instead, he kept his hands to himself and just took in every detail about her. The way her eyelashes lay on her pale cheeks, and the fact that her soft pink lips were a little swollen, as if she’d been biting them.
He soaked in every detail that he’d thought he’d never get to enjoy again.
When the ambulance slowed, her eyes popped open and he could tell that she’d fallen asleep.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Like I jumped from a moving car onto a dirt road.” She smiled and sighed. “Sorry, too soon?”
He chuckled and took her hand. “My god, you are so brave, so amazing.”
The back doors opened, and she was rolled out. He and Carrie’s mother followed as far as they could, then they were told to wait in the waiting area.
Amelia filled out paperwork while the nurses checked Carrie out and cleaned her up. When she was done, she reached over and took his hand in hers. “She’s alright,” she said. He was pretty sure it was to assure herself more than him. Still, he nodded and sighed, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
The double sliding doors opened and in rushed Aiden. Amelia jumped up and went to hug her son and fill him in.
Aiden walked over and held out his hand for Josh to shake.
“Have they let you back there to see her yet?” Aiden asked.
“No, they came out a few minutes ago and said they were taking her back to X-ray for the bump on her head.”
“That’ll take about half an hour. I was treated for a broken arm here once.” Aiden glanced down the hallway. “I have a friend. I can se
e if they can sneak you back.”
He nodded and followed Aiden. The pretty brunette nurse was all smiles for Aiden and agreed to let him back as they waited for the X-ray technician.
“Hey.” He smiled down at her. She looked bored and tired.
“Hi.” She smiled. “How did you get back here?”
“It seems that your brother has a fan club around here.”
She chuckled, then groaned and he noticed her eyes were dull.
“Are you hurting?” he asked, leaning closer.
“They gave me some pills, but… I’m sure that a shower and a good night’s sleep will help.”
“I bet.” He glanced up as the technician walked in. “Sir, you’ll have to stand behind this wall with me.”
He leaned down and kissed her. “I’ll be back.”
She sighed and held still for the X-ray. He watched the screen as the image appeared in front of him.
“How does it look?” he asked, standing over the tech’s shoulder.
“I’m not a doctor”—he leaned in— “but looks good. Nothing broken.” He ran the tip of a pen over where there was a large knot on the back of Carrie’s head. “No fractures. She’ll have some bruising and probably a concussion, but nothing to be too worried about.”
He relaxed. “Is she done here?” he asked.
“Yeah, we’ll take her to a private room. One’s waiting for her already.” The man stood up and rolled Carrie out of the room. Josh trailed behind.
“Where’s my dad?” she asked as they rolled past the waiting area. She waved to her mother and brother, who stood and followed them.
“He’s on his way,” Amelia added. “He just called.”
“Did they…” She glanced at him. “Did they catch whoever did this?”
“I don’t know, sweetie.” Her mother took her hand, but then dropped it as they turned into a private room.
They all stood back as she was transferred to the bed. They had stripped her dirty clothes off and she was wearing one of those thin hospital gowns, which made her look small and pale.
“Who would do this?” Aiden asked once they were alone in the room. “Who would want to kidnap Carrie?”
“She had some problems at the sanctuary,” Amelia answered.
“Problems?” Aiden asked. “What kind of problems?”
“Someone killed DeWalt,” Carrie said softly. Josh took her hand and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Aiden’s eyes moved to his. “Your dad?”
He shrugged. “My dad has been known to slaughter animals.” He sighed. “But he’s locked up, so there’s no way he could have done this tonight.”
“You sure about that?” Aiden asked.
Josh realized that Carrie’s brother hadn’t heard all the latest Pride gossip. A benefit of being out of town for the past few months.
“Yeah,” he said.
“What about Ricky Jones?” Amelia asked.
“He’s still in holding,” Robert said from the doorway. He walked in, touched his wife’s shoulder, then walked over and placed a light kiss on Carrie’s forehead. “How are you doing?”
“Much better.” She smiled and looked around the room. “What did you find out?”
Chapter 17
“That’s my girl.” Her father chuckled. “Straight to the point.”
“Well?” she asked again. She was feeling too tired to wait and wanted to know who was behind her kidnapping before the pills she’d taken caused her to doze off.
“We found tire tracks and an abandoned hunting lodge. That’s it. Whoever had intended to take you there had obviously set the place up. When you ruined their plans by jumping out of a moving car—by the way, super proud of you for your fast thinking—they hightailed it out of there, leaving a lot of evidence for us to pick up.”
“Enough to find the bastard who did this?” Josh asked.
“You assume it was a man,” her mother jumped in. “It was a woman who tried to kill Lacey all those years ago, remember?” She turned to her father.
“Yeah, still, it had to be someone strong to lift Carrie from the alley into the trunk of a car,” her dad answered.
“She weighs less than most big dogs,” Josh added, earning him a look from her. “What?” He chuckled. “You do.”
Carrie could feel her eyes growing heavy. “Okay, whoever did this—why?” She yawned.
“Rest.” Josh brushed a hand over her hair and she blinked her eyes very slowly. “We’ll be here, speculating for you.” He smiled down at her. Then he leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
“You’d better be.” She quickly fell asleep.
When she woke again, the room was still dark, with a soft light overhead.
“Hey.” Josh moved into her view. “I’m here.” He smiled.
“Good.” She yawned.
“How are you feeling?”
“Sleepy.” She glanced around.
“Aiden is checking on your animals. Your mother is helping him and getting you some clothes, and your dad had a call. He’s in the hallway.”
She nodded her head and winced with pain.
“It’s probably better you don’t move your head too much, or so the doctor said when he was here.”
“What else did he say?” she asked.
“Slight concussion, cuts and bruises, but nothing too big. They’ll release you first thing in the morning. I think Aiden and your mom are going to try and sneak some food in. You didn’t get to have dinner and neither did any of us, so they were going to stop and grab some burgers.”
She felt her stomach growl and smiled. “Aiden used to date a few nurses here. I think one of them still has the hots for him.”
“Yeah, she’s been around a few times.” Josh chuckled as he brushed her hair away from her face.
“I must look a mess.” She closed her eyes and imagined looking like a drowned rat.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he said softly, melting her heart. She felt a tear land on her hand and looked up.
“Don’t cry,” she said softly, reaching up and touching his face. “Oh god.” Seeing the tears roll down his face almost undid her. “I’m okay, really.”
“I should have…” He shook his head.
“What?” She smiled. “Never let me out of your sight?”
He nodded, a smile forming on his lips. “It won’t happen again.”
“I’ll never want to be out of your sight again,” she said before he bent and kissed her.
Someone cleared their throat from the doorway, and she glanced past Josh’s shoulders to smile at her dad.
“Well?” she asked. “Find the guy yet?”
“No, but apparently a ransom note came in.”
“Ransom?” Both Josh and she said it at the same time.
“Yes. Apparently, it was set to go out automatically and whoever kidnapped you forgot to stop it or couldn’t before they discovered they no longer had you.” Her dad moved over and took her other hand. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better,”
Her dad’s eyes scanned her face. “You’re in pain,” he said as a reply.
“I am, but it’s manageable.” She dared her father to challenge her by throwing up her chin slightly. He smiled and nodded.
“Suit yourself.” He sat down. He was still in his cop attire, so he must have still been on duty.
“So, what did the note say?” she asked.
Her dad looked at Josh. “It was addressed to you.”
“Me?” He shifted closer to her as he sat on the edge of the bed.
“Yeah.” Her dad pulled out his phone. “One million dollars to get Carrie back.”
“One million?” She gasped.
“I would have paid it,” Josh added, causing her to turn her head towards him in shock.
“You don’t have one million dollars.” She frowned.
He nodded. “Yeah, I do.” He turned towards her father. “How was I supposed to get th
em the money?”
“Wait,” she interrupted, “you have a million dollars?”
“Yes,” he said slowly. “That’s not the point here.” He touched her hand. “If we can track where they wanted to drop off the money—”
“Already thought of that,” her father said, ignoring the fact that Josh could get his hands on a million dollars.
Her foggy mind kept playing over that fact as they talked about where and how the money was supposed to be dropped off.
“What does that matter?” she asked finally, breaking into their back and forth banter. “I’m here. It’s not like you can lay a trap for them when you make the switch.”
Both her dad and Josh chuckled. “Make the drop,” her dad corrected. He patted her hand.
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes, then groaned when the move sent a sharp pain behind her eyes.
“Food’s here.” Aiden walked in just then, saving her from arguing with Josh and her father any further.
Her dad filled her mother and brother in on the ransom and everything they had found in the cabin, which was nothing more than basic supplies anyone could buy at any of the dozen convenient stores around the area.
After eating some of the food her mother brought her, she fell asleep again as they were all still speculating.
The next time she woke up, daylight was streaming into the room. Josh was asleep, his tall body awkwardly positioned in the chair next to the bed. She chuckled as she sat up.
Her entire body was sore; she ached everywhere.
“Hey.” He blinked a few times and sat up, then winced and stretched, much like she had just done.
“You could have crawled in here with me,” she suggested.
He stood and rolled his shoulders and continued to stretch. “I didn’t want to disturb you. Besides, I hadn’t planned on falling asleep.” He pulled out his phone.
“Any more info?” she asked, throwing off the blankets.
“Woah, where do you think you’re going?” He moved over to her quickly.
Her eyebrows shot up and she smiled. “Bathroom?” She nodded to the door.
“Oh. Okay, but let’s take it slow.” He wrapped his arms around her and half carried her towards the bathroom.