Authors: Alexa Grace
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"How was self-defense class?" Gabe asked after he kissed Kaitlyn soundly on the lips.
"I think I have a new hero. Carly is amazing. She has such good stories about what women can do to save themselves in dangerous situations."
He drove the truck out of town, continually looking in the rear-view mirror to make sure they weren't being followed. Soon he turned onto a two-lane highway toward home.
Suddenly Kaitlyn screamed. A rusting old Ford truck had stopped and was idling in their lane. Gabe slammed on the brakes, sending the truck into a tailspin in the middle of the road, and finally stopped inches before the onset of a deep ravine on the other side. Cursing, Gabe checked on Kaitlyn. "Are you okay, Cat?"
"Yes," she gasped, her heart racing. "What kind of idiot parks his truck on the road like that?"
Gabe leapt out of his truck just in time to see the old Ford truck racing down the road.
Getting back into his truck, Gabe said, "I should chase him down and kick his ass." Shoving the gear into reverse, he backed the truck onto the road.
"No! Stop!" Kaitlyn shouted. "There is a box in the middle of the road. He put something in the road." She started to get out of the truck, but Gabe grabbed her arm.
"It may be a trick. The driver may have put that box in the road to stop us and is circling back. Stay in the truck and lock the doors. I'll move the box."
Getting out of the truck, Gabe saw the lights of an oncoming vehicle. He sprinted toward the box, praying he could reach it before it was hit and possibly caused an accident. Going too fast to stop, the car raced past the box and Gabe, its horn blaring into the night.
Once Gabe got closer to the box, he realized it was a white cardboard box with a lid, the kind of box computer paper was packed in. Inching closer, he heard a yelp, then whimpering. He pulled off the lid and looked inside to find a puppy, which was wagging his tail as if to say "glad you found me." Running his hand down the silky fur of the puppy's back, he said, "Who in the hell would leave you in the middle of the road like this?"
Picking up the puppy, he kicked the box to the side of the road and hurried toward the truck. Getting inside, he flicked on the interior light as he held its warm body to his chest, and felt the brown puppy's legs for injuries. When he touched its back leg, the puppy yelped with pain. The bastard who hurt this puppy was lucky to have gotten away.
Mouth open, her eyes wide with surprise, Kaitlyn said, "This puppy was in the box? Who could be so cruel and evil as to leave a helpless puppy in the middle of a two-lane road at night in a box? If we hadn't stopped
. . .
” She shuddered at the thought of the animal's fate had they not come along.
"Honey, hold it so I can drive. Be careful. I think his or her right back leg is broken."
Kaitlyn opened her arms, accepting the whimpering puppy from Gabe, stroking its soft fur as she cuddled it.
Gabe pulled out his cell and punched in a number. "Hello. This is Gabe Chase. How late are you going to be open? Can you wait for me to get there? I'm maybe twenty minutes away. I have an injured puppy. Thank you." He ended the call and looked at Kaitlyn.
"I know a vet not far from here. Charlotte was good friends with my mom. She is closing for the day, but is willing to wait for us."
A light was still glowing in the front window of the small, one-story building that housed Charlotte's Vet Clinic. Gabe followed Kaitlyn as she rushed into the reception area with the tiny puppy in her arms.
Hearing them arrive, Charlotte, a petite woman in her fifties with a shock of white hair, came into the waiting area to greet them. Hugging Gabe, she said, "It's so good to see you. What a handsome man you've become. And who is this beautiful young lady?"
"Charlotte, this is Kaitlyn Reece. The puppy she's holding may have a broken leg."
"Let's get our patient into this exam room so I can take a look."
Following her into the exam room, Kaitlyn lay the puppy on the aluminum table, keeping her hand on its back so it wouldn't fall to the floor. The puppy gazed up at her with a flicker of adoration in its dark eyes.
"Good-looking puppy," said Charlotte, as she stroked its head and looked her over. "Looks like this little girl is a chocolate Lab." Gently lifting the puppy, she carefully examined each of its legs. It shrieked with pain as she probed one of its hind legs.
"Is it broken?" Gabe asked.
"Sure is. I'm going to have to get an x-ray before I can do anything else," Charlotte glanced at the two of them. "Who does the puppy belong to?"
"Me!" Gabe and Kaitlyn said in unison, then looked at each other with surprise.
Laughing softly, Charlotte carried the puppy to the treatment area in the back of the building, leaving Gabe and Kaitlyn alone.
Gabe was the first to speak. "I didn't know you were an animal lover."
"And I didn't know
you
were," Kaitlyn returned. "Listen I know I am in no situation to adopt a puppy. My head tells me I can't even live in my own home because it's too dangerous. I wouldn't want her to be in danger with me. But my heart tells me that I already love her."
"Since I want her, too, there are a couple of things we could do," Gabe began, pulling a coin out of his pocket. "We could flip a coin for her. Or we could adopt her together. Of course, if we did that, we'd be making a lifetime commitment to the puppy."
"And to each other," interrupted Kaitlyn.
"That's a serious step. Are you ready for that kind of commitment, Cat?"
"Are you?"
"Honey, I've been ready since the second grade."
She roped her arms around his neck, feeling his warm breath fanning her face seconds before his lips touched hers. God, she adored this man. Weaving her fingers into his thick hair, she deepened the kiss as he folded his muscular arms around her waist.
"Excuse me," Charlotte cleared her throat and placed the puppy back on the examining table. "She has a minor fracture, so I'm going to put a cast on her leg and she'll be good to go. I forgot to ask you. What's her name?"
Before Gabe could think of a name, Kaitlyn called out, "Godiva! She's a chocolate Lab, and we named her after my favorite chocolate."
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Evan stayed two cars behind Ryder's Toyota as he headed east on U.S. Route 136. "I hope he stops soon. We're low on gas."
"Just stay behind him. If he doesn't stop the Toyota soon, we'll run him off the road if we have to."
"Think she's alive?"
"Who?"
"Carly Stone."
"Why wouldn't she be?"
"Her body really looked limp when he dropped her into the trunk," said Evan.
"I have no idea how the hell you get such good grades. How many times have we used a stun gun on a target? And how limp are they after the electric shock?"
"Shut up, Devan. What if he poked her too many times with it? What if she hit her head when he dropped her into the trunk?"
"What if I sprout wings and fly out of the van? She's okay, Evan. If she's not, then Ryder goes down, and we collect the $20,000 reward money. Actually, that's not such a bad idea. I say we do both."
"Are you completely crazy?"
"Crazy as a fox. We incapacitate Ryder, then wrap his mouth, wrists and ankles with duct tape, just like we do with our targets. Once we get him into the back of the van, you inject him with Rohypnol."
"You're kidding. Right?"
"No, I'm not. Once Ryder is taken care of, we get Carly Stone out of the trunk and do the same with her. Then we take Stone to the storage unit and secure her to the bed. We drive to the sheriff's office and turn Ryder over to them. Collect the reward. Easy."
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Frowning, Brody looked at his cell phone. There were no calls or texts from Carly. He'd been waiting at least thirty minutes at the new Morel Steakhouse, where they had agreed to meet after her class.
Punching her number into his cell, he let it ring until her voicemail came on. "Carly, give me a call. I'm at the steakhouse."
The more he thought about it, the more concerned he became. It was out of character for her to be this late. It also wasn't like Carly to not answer her phone. He threw a ten dollar bill on the table for his drink, and strode to the restaurant exit door. Once he reached his SUV, he jumped inside and drove to the community center where Carly was scheduled to teach Frankie Hansen's self-defense class.
Driving into the parking lot in back of the community center, he immediately noticed Carly's car parked near the back door. Flooding the area with light from his headlights, he got out of his vehicle and headed to the back door, thinking Carly may have stayed late with a student. Both doors were locked. He pounded on the glass, but no one came to the door.
Brody was heading back to his SUV when he spotted something glistening on the ground near Carly's car. Picking up Carly's car keys, he noticed the gravel was in disarray as if a scuffle had ensued near her car. Bending down, he plucked a couple of pieces of gravel up. Holding them in the light in the palm of his hand, his heart froze as he noticed small drops of blood.
Rushing to his vehicle, he pulled out his cell phone and called Gabe.
"Are you with Kaitlyn?"
"Yes, she's sitting right next to me. What's wrong, Brody?"
"Put me on speaker." He paused for a moment, and then continued. "I'm at the community center. Carly's car is parked in back, but she's not here."
"Oh no," Kaitlyn said fearfully. "Carly asked me if I needed a ride. I turned her down because Gabe was waiting for me in front of the building."
"What time was that?"
"It was about nine-fifteen," Kaitlyn replied.
Brody sent a text to Cameron, and then called him. "Cam, Carly is missing. She did a class at the community center, but it ended at nine. Her car is in the parking lot, and there are signs of a struggle."
"What can I do to help?"
"I just sent you her cell phone number. Her cell has GPS. Track her and tell me where she is."
"Will do. I need a few minutes. I'll call you back."