He’d been giving me the cold shoulder since I’d told him about my memory returning. Maybe I should have kept it to myself? Hell no! I wasn’t hiding my real life when I finally remembered it just to make him feel better. And besides, Angela and the boys were here when it happened. And I’d been excited to get more pieces of my life back. So really, Cole was just going to have to deal with it, even if it meant pushing me away. I wanted to be with him, but I wasn’t going to sacrifice my other life, my memories, to do it. And I honestly didn’t think he would expect me to.
I wished he would talk to me instead of shutting me out, though. I thought what we had developed over the past month was stronger than that. But Cole was pushing me away because he was scared to face reality.
Well, I was scared too. Scared of what I might remember. But I wasn’t going to hide from it to spare feelings. That wasn’t fair to me, and it really wasn’t fair to him, either.
I sighed and decided to go for a walk to clear my head. Cole had been gone all day, and I was lonely. Fresh air would do me good. I grabbed my camera so I could take some pictures while walking. The view was amazing from up here. I put on my boots and coat and headed outside. I walked along the driveway down to the resort. Nobody was around to interrupt my thoughts, and I was thinking about Cole as usual. I wondered where he was.
As I turned the corner of the road that led to the resort, I saw Cole’s truck in the lot. I didn’t want him to think I was following him, or worse, spying on him, so I kept on walking straight across the lot toward the mountain road. As I was walking, a car with a man and woman pulled up beside me. The man rolled down his window and asked for directions.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not from around here,” I told him. “Why don’t you go back inside the resort and ask Katie at the front desk?”
“Can you just look at this map here of the town?” the man asked. “You’ve been to town, right?”
“Sure,” I said and waited for him to unfold the map. It was a big map, and he couldn’t get it straight in the car. I stepped back as he opened the door to make more room for the map on his lap.
I had an odd feeling as I glanced at the man. Something about this guy seemed familiar. Before I could remember, it was too late. The man moved like lightning. He grabbed my arm and held on tight. I tried to pull away, but he was up and out of the car in no time.
He stood close to me, and I felt a hard object digging into my side. I looked down and saw it was a pistol. Now I knew who this man was. And the woman wasn’t really a woman at all.
“Get in the car,” the man with the pistol said. He opened the back door and roughly shoved me inside. He climbed in after me and sat beside me, keeping the pistol pointed in my direction.
“Give me that freaking camera,” he ordered, pulling it from my neck. I glared at him.
The skinny man with the scar was wearing a wig. How stupid I was not to notice the giant mark across his face. I watched helplessly as he slid into the driver’s seat and pulled the door closed.
I wanted to cry. How could I have let my guard down like that? I was so worried about Cole I’d forgotten about keeping an eye out for these two lunatics. I opened my mouth to scream, but the big guy pointed the gun at my face and shook his head.
“Wouldn’t be a smart move,” he said as I shut my mouth again.
The skinny man drove the car out of the resort and down the mountain road toward town. I looked back at the resort, hoping Cole had seen me. Or anyone for that matter, but no one was back there.
I didn’t know what to do. All I could do was cooperate with them and try not to get myself killed. I was on my own.
Cole
After talking with Brad, I hurried to my truck and drove up to the cabin. My mind was spinning as I tried to figure out how to apologize to Lindsay for treating her poorly. I opened the door and stepped inside. Bella ran around looking for Lindsay. She was used to her being here.
“Lindsay,” I called out.
Nothing. Where was she?
I checked upstairs. She wasn’t there either. Maybe she went for a walk? I looked outside the window and saw footprints leading away in the snow, down the driveway.
Maybe she got fed up with me and returned to her room at the resort. I called the front desk and had Katie patch me through to her room. The phone just rang. She wasn’t there either. I called Katie again and asked if she’d seen her, but she hadn’t.
I wasn’t sure what to do. All I could do was wait. I made dinner and assumed she would either be back or would go to her room at the resort eventually. But dinner time came and went, and still no Lindsay. I was beginning to get worried. I looked around again to see if any of her things were missing.
The first thing I looked for was the camera, but I couldn’t find it. The laptop was still there. If she’d gone back to her room, wouldn’t she have taken the laptop with her?
I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing. I hopped in my truck and drove to the resort to see if she was in her room. Again, I asked Katie if she’d seen Lindsay.
“Haven't seen her all day.” She looked at my face. “Is everything alright?”
“I’m not sure.” I asked for the extra room key and headed up to the fourth floor. I knocked on Lindsay’s door. No answer. “Lindsay? Are you in there? Please answer me if you are. I’m worried about you. I’ve got a key and I’m coming inside.”
I put the key in the door and opened it. The room was empty, and it didn’t look like she’d been there at all. I inhaled deeply as panic began to set in. Where could she be? It was getting dark out now. I looked out the room window, half hoping I’d see her. Nothing.
Would she just leave the resort? Did I lose her for good? I hoped not. Where would she go? I had a hundred questions and no answers because I was so stupid I didn’t talk to her.
What if she finally remembered her life? I felt like kicking myself. All I could think was that she’d left me. And it was my fault.
I told Katie that if Lindsay showed up to please call me and let me know. She agreed. I hurried back to my cabin, half expecting to see Lindsay there. Nope. The house was eerily empty without her here. I’d gotten so used to her being around.
I ate dinner alone for the first night in a while. I drank a beer alone for the first time in a while, as well. Nothing seemed right with Lindsay gone. I almost wanted to cry.
I put on a movie and tried to watch it, but it was impossible to concentrate on anything. Why didn’t I get her a cell phone? I thought. Because she didn’t really need one. Who was she going to call?
I wonder if an Uber had picked her up? Maybe if she remembered who she was and wanted to leave, she’d tried to call a cab but had to use an Uber. We didn’t have a cab company around here. I had my cell phone with me so she couldn’t have used that. I went to the house phone and hit *67. The last number dialed was Brad’s, and that was me this morning. So, she didn’t use the phone here. Katie would have told me if she’d used the phone at the front desk.
The cameras! We had cameras set up outside the resort for the guests’ safety. We’d fortunately never had to use them for anything other than watching a family of raccoons knock over some garbage cans. But the feed led into Brad’s office, and I’d be able to watch the footage from the last forty-eight hours before it taped over itself.
If she’d gone anywhere, I’d see it on the camera. I called Bella, and we sped back down to the resort. I headed directly to Brad’s office even though he was gone for the day. I logged into his computer and clicked on the video footage of the first camera.
This camera showed the front of the main building all the way out to the road. I started it when I left the house this morning since that was the last time I’d seen Lindsay. I watched on fast forward until I finally spotted her in the afternoon. Damn, I just missed her. What was she doing? Who was she talking to?
A silver car, possibly an old Pontiac Sunbird, had stopped. I couldn’t see who was in the car, but they pulled up close to Lindsa
y. The driver was talking to her and showing her something. He opened the car door, and Lindsay stood there like she was waiting for something. He had a map and was asking for directions, possibly.
The man leaped from the driver’s seat and grabbed Lindsay’s arm as I watched the feed. I gasped aloud when I saw what looked like a gun. He shoved her in the back seat and got in beside her. A skinny figure with a bad wig moved over to the driver’s side. With my stomach twisted in horror, I knew exactly what I was seeing.
The two men from the pictures. Shit! They had Lindsay! I watched as the silver Pontiac drove out of the resort and headed for town.
I had to find her.
Lindsay
The men drove through Blue Haven and kept going. I kind of recognized where they were taking me. I’d been here before, but I couldn’t really remember. We arrived in a town about thirty minutes away, and though I looked around, nothing was really familiar. But there was a little spark.
The men had rented a room at a motel with an outside entryway so they didn’t have to walk through the main lobby. The motel looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t say for certain if I’d been there before.
“Act normal,” the burly man ordered, glaring menacingly at me. “You know we’ve killed someone before, so don’t make me shoot you.”
“Not yet, anyway,” the skinny man added, a malicious grin on his face. “Until we decide what to do with you.”
I swallowed hard and obeyed, terrified to even look at him funny. They led me into their room, and I glanced around for an escape. It was an apartment-style room with a separate bedroom. The man forced me into the bedroom, and a panic like I’d never felt set in. He handcuffed one hand to the bed frame and left the room, locking the door behind him. I could hear them in the other room arguing about what to do with me.
“Our pictures are on TV because of that bitch,” the skinny man argued. “But I don’t think she knows what she saw, really.”
“She knows what she saw,” the burly man retorted. “No question. We just gotta decide what to do with her.”
“We can’t kill her,” the skinny man mused. “I’m done with killing people. We got that old man on our conscience. I don’t need any more.”
“Then what do you suggest we do with her?”
“I don’t know. Let’s think about it,” he said. “We got her. Nobody knows she’s here. She ain't goin’ nowhere.”
“Twenty-four hours. That’s it. And then I’ll do what needs to be done.”
Twenty-four hours! I had to think fast if I was going to escape. I hoped Cole would notice I was missing. After thinking about it, I realized he was either still mad at me or thought I’d had enough and just left.
Would he really think that I just left? I hoped not. With the way he’d been acting, maybe he was glad I was gone. The thought of Cole not caring made me cry. I wiped my tears with my free hand. I’m not going to die here, I thought. If I couldn’t depend on Cole, I’d have to get myself out of this mess.
I twisted my wrist as I glanced at the handcuffs. The big man didn’t put my handcuff on tightly enough. I had a really small wrist, so if I wiggled enough and collapsed my hand a little, I could get my hand out of the cuff.
As I slipped my hand free, I listened to the men in the other room talking. I looked around and saw a phone on the other side of the bed. I needed to call Cole, and if I couldn’t get him, the police.
I left the cuff attached to the bed frame and quietly slid over to the other side of the bed. I picked up the receiver and dialed Cole’s cell phone number, which I had thankfully memorized.
Cole
I called Brad immediately. “Cole, what are you doing calling me from my office?” he asked surprised.
“Brad, Lindsay was taken. I came down here to watch the cameras to see if I could find out where she’d gone. Those two men from her pictures took her sometime this afternoon in a silver Pontiac Sunbird. I can’t see the license plate clearly. But we have to find her!” My words spilled over each other.
“Cole, calm down,” Brad said, his voice quiet. “I’m on my way.”
“Okay,” I said and hung up to wait for him. I watched the footage again and again, looking for other clues. Nothing else of use presented itself to me.
Brad rushed into the office a few minutes later and insisted on watching the footage of Lindsay being taken.
“Where do you think they took her?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said with a frown. “All we can do is drive around town and look, see if we can find her. Let me call the sheriff and tell him about the car and what happened.”
“Okay,” I agreed and waited for him to make the phone call.
He hung up a few minutes later and said, “Okay, let’s go.”
We climbed into Brad’s jeep and headed into town. As we turned onto Main Street, my cell phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number but hoped it was Lindsay.
“Hello?”
“Cole!” Lindsay’s voice whispered on the other end.
“Lindsay, where are you? Are you okay?” I was so relieved to hear from her.
“I can’t talk long. They’re in the other room. They locked me in the bedroom and handcuffed me to the bed, but I got my wrist out,” she whispered into the phone.
“Are you calling me from a motel or a house or apartment?” I asked her.
“A motel,” she answered, her voice barely loud enough to be heard.
“I got the number in the caller ID. I’ll find you. Hang up and put your hand back in the cuff. I will find you, Lindsay,” I told her.
“Hurry,” she whimpered and hung up.
I dialed the number, and the front desk attendant answered. “Misty Creek Lodge.”
“Hello, where are you located?” I asked her. She rattled off the address, and I hung up without another word. “She’s at the Misty Creek Lodge in Silverthorne.”
“Okay, let’s go,” he said and hurried toward Silverthorne. “Call the police and let them know.”
Lindsay
I scooted across the bed and slid my hand back into the cuff just in time. The skinny man unlocked the door and walked into the room. He held out a bottle of water, but I didn’t take it. I didn’t want to drink it. What if they were trying to poison me?
“It’s just water,” the skinny man said.
“I’m not thirsty,” I told him.
“Suit yourself.” He set it on the bedside table.
“What are you going to do with me?” I asked him before he could leave the room.
“I don’t know yet. You shouldn’t have taken pictures,” he sneered, looking me up and down. “Whatever happens to you is your own fault.” He left the room and locked the door.
I waited impatiently for Cole, hoping he would make it in time. The big man had said twenty-four hours, but could I really trust the word of a murderer?
I had to make a plan. The window was high up, more for decoration and letting in light than to see out of, and would require a table or chair to stand on in order to climb out. I wasn’t sure I could do that without making noise, but it did open since the motel was older. I could hoist myself out if I needed to.
I craned my neck to try and look into the bathroom, but the door was partially closed. Some light was shining in there, so I assumed there was a window. If it came to it, I could lock myself in there, assuming the door had a lock, and try to escape.
During my deliberations, I heard them arguing again. I’d actually just been considering getting out of the cuffs and sneaking into the bathroom when I heard one of them yell. The big man was hungry and told the skinny man to go get food.
“Go get it yourself,” he grouched. “I stand out with this scar on my face.”
“Fine.”
I heard the motel door bang closed, and a moment later, the TV turned on. I took a deep breath. The skinny man wouldn’t hurt me, I didn’t think. What felt like hours passed as I sat on the bed. My mind ran through every possible way they mig
ht kill me. I was no longer crying, but I felt like I might start screaming at any moment. My mind was all over the place as I tried to fight the panic. Eventually, I forced my mind to stop thinking about the horror of my situation. Instead, I focused on my memories with Cole.
As I thought about making love to Cole in the office, I heard a commotion in the other room and was jerked out of my reverie. Two men were talking, almost yelling. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, and a female voice joined the conversation, which confused me.
“Hey, where did you get that camera?” the woman yelled, sounding furious. “That’s Lindsay’s camera! Where’s Lindsay, you creep? What did you do to her?”
I was thoroughly confused now. This woman whose voice I heard obviously knew me well enough to recognize my camera. Who was she?
“Get off me. I have a gun,” the big man yelled. I recognized his voice but not the other voices. It wasn’t Cole.
I heard the skinny man screaming. “Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!” he was yelling, over and over. “Damn him!”
A gunshot echoed through the air, followed by screams and the door being closed again. Heavy breathing and cursing penetrated my ears, but I didn’t know what had happened. I was frozen, but escape was in the forefront of my brain. I began to wiggle my wrist and was almost free when the bedroom door burst open and the skinny man rushed in.
Fear tore at my throat as I stared at him. He was weaponless, and he was panicked, wandering around the room, cursing under his breath. He stopped and glared at me, pointing at me.
“This is your fucking fault,” he growled.
“I-I—” I stammered but couldn’t actually speak. I swallowed my fear and asked, “What happened?”
“The cops are comin’,” he announced, and my heart quickened. “You’re my hostage. I ain’t goin’ to jail.” He spun around and stomped out of the room, closing and locking the door behind him.
Take a Mountain Man Home for Christmas: A Mountain Man Romance Christmas Collection Page 35