Authors: Alexa Grace
Brody ended the call, leaned back against his seat, and took a deep breath to calm himself. Carly cannot be missing. She cannot. What will I do if anything happens to her?
His mind went back to the first time he saw her swimming nude in her Florida swimming pool. He knew then he had to have her. Then later when they made love in the Honeymoon Cottage, he realized he needed her in his life.
His cell vibrated. "Cam?"
"Got a location. Just got a ping off the cell tower where U.S. Route 41, U.S. Route 136, and Interstate 74 intersect. It's near Veedersburg.
"Leaving now. Stay with her. Let me know if there is a change in direction."
Flipping on the light bar and siren, Brody floored the accelerator and raced out of the parking lot.
<><><>
Carly willed her arms and legs to move. She felt drained, as if she were recovering from a bad case of the flu. Wiping the blood from under her nose, she assessed her injuries. On fire, her face painfully throbbed with each beat of her heart, and she was certain her nose was broken. One of her eyes was swollen shut, and she strained to see in the inky darkness of the trunk. She inhaled a mix of rust, oil and gasoline. The trunk was filthy, and the heat had her body slick with sweat.
All that meant nothing now. She had to find a way to get out of Ryder's trunk. Running her hands across the back of the trunk, she didn't stop until she felt the inside of the latch. Wiping the sweat out of her eyes with the back of her hand, she searched for the glow-in-the-dark trunk-release lever mounted in all cars since 2002. It was usually installed near the trunk latch, but she couldn't find it there. Nearly crying out loud with frustration, she realized Ryder's car must be older than a 2002 model. Just her luck. Who was she kidding? The car was probably going more than fifty miles-per-hour. What good would opening the trunk do her now? She wasn't desperate enough to jump out of a car going that fast.
She lay still for a moment and monitored her breathing. Biting her lip until it hurt, she reminded herself that breathing naturally was the key to her survival. Hyperventilating meant death.
Closing her eyes, Carly slowed her breathing, and prayed to God that He would help her survive so she could see Brody again. How could she have been such an idiot to put him off? She'd marry Brody in a second if she could just escape the certain death Ryder promised her.
<><><>
Brody clicked the button for speaker and then placed his cell phone on the console of his SUV. "I'm almost to Veedersburg, Cam. Where is she on the GPS?"
"Got a ping from the cell tower just outside Veedersburg. They're still heading East on U.S. Route 136. The car she's in has passed the U.S. 41 and 136 intersection."
Frustrated and panicking, Brody pounded the steering wheel with his fists. "That intersection is at least three miles up the road. What if I'm too late?"
"Don't talk like that, Brody. The vehicle is still moving. The bastard can't hurt her and drive at the same time."
Pressing the accelerator to the floor, he increased his speed to sixty-five miles-per-hour, which was careless and dangerous on the two-lane highway. He didn't care. If he didn't get to Carly in time, nothing in his life would matter. "You talk like you think it's Ryder who has her."
"Who else hates her as much as he does? He as much as promised to come back for her."
"What if it's the Gamers and they have her in the back of their white van? One of them could be driving, while the other one in the back could be doing who knows what to her?" His gut clenched with one of his intuitions that never foretold anything good.
"Brody, please calm down. You can't think like that. I sent patrols out in the car's vicinity. You may see one of them soon. I've got them coming at the car in both directions on 136."
"How are the deputies going to be able to tell which vehicle she's in?"
"They're looking for a car with stolen license plates, or one going unusually fast or slow," said Cam. "You should see Gabe soon. He and Kaitlyn are in the chopper flying over U.S. Route 136."
Brody's heart slammed against his chest. "Dammit, Cam. Tell him not to get too far ahead of me. If Ryder sees the copter, he might do something stupid. Same goes for the Gamers."
"Gabe knows that. Come on, Brody. Calm down. Look up. Do you see the helicopter?"
A long pause followed, and then Brody said, "There it is. I see the lights. He's right over my SUV. Cam, I'm disconnecting the call. I just thought of something and need to call Gabe."
Pressing a couple of buttons on his cell, he soon heard Gabe's voice as he answered.
"Brody, how fast are you going? Slow the hell down. You can't drive that fast on a two-lane highway! Please, Brody. Slow down, there's a curve ahead!"
Brody slammed on the brakes and the SUV nearly fishtailed as he approached the curve. He rode it out until the road straightened, then pressed on the accelerator again.
His heart now slamming against his chest, and breathless, he said, "Gabe, I have a question about your thermal imaging equipment. I think Ryder may have Carly in the trunk of his car. There's no way he'd allow her to sit in front with him if she's conscious. Is your thermal imaging equipment able to detect a body in a car's trunk if you were flying overhead?"
"I wouldn't be able to see something distinct like the outline of a body, but the system would pick up heat coming from the trunk area if the person is alive." Realizing what he'd just indicated, Gabe said, "I'm so sorry. That came out wrong. Carly is
not
dead. Do you hear me? There is no way she's not alive. She's a former federal agent who knows how to protect herself."
"Forget it. Just fly ahead and keep in touch with Cam. He's tracking her with GPS. Get close enough to the cars on the highway to focus on their trunks. If Ryder has Carly, I think that's where she'd be. Don't get too low or stay low for long, Gabe. I don't want Ryder to spot you and do something stupid that might endanger Carly."
"Will do."
With lights swirling and siren blaring, Brody's tires squealed as he took the turn at Veedersburg to get to the U.S. Route 41 and 136 intersection.
<><><>
"Carly, dear. How are you doing back there in the trunk?" Ryder called out.
Her body stiffening at the sound of his voice, she gritted her teeth and said nothing.
"We'll be home soon. What plans I have for you. I'm getting more excited by the minute."
"Go straight to hell, Ryder!" Carly shouted, fiery anger burning through her veins.
"Now, Carly, is that any way to talk to me?" Ryder said, her reaction amusing him. "I bet you're curious as to what events I have planned for you. First, in the special room I named after you, I'm going to strip you naked. Next, I'll hang you from leather straps and use my whip on you until you bleed and beg for mercy. And then, Special Agent Stone, that's when the real fun begins."
Knowing she needed a clear head, Carly fought back the anger and focused on what she needed to do to escape. Sweeping her fingers past the latch, she focused on a plastic corner panel covering the back side of the brake lights. She might be hesitant to jump out of the trunk of a moving car, but she had no problem pushing out the brake lights. She'd wave her hand through it to gain the attention of any cars behind her, or better yet, get Ryder's car pulled over by the police for a faulty brake or tail light.
Twisting her body, she kicked at the panel until she heard the plastic crack, and then turned around so she could reach it again. Wedging her fingers inside, she pulled until the panel came off, and then pushed it aside. Ripping the wires out, she kicked the lights through so that they fell off the vehicle and bounced on the highway. Beams of light streamed through the hole, piercing the darkness inside the trunk. There was someone driving behind Ryder's car. Carly stuck her hand out through the hole, waving frantically to get the attention of the motorist behind them.
<><><>
"I mean it, Evan. Slow the hell down! Back off before Ryder sees us behind him and gets suspicious."
Devan ripped off his painter's cap and threw it on the console. Running the back of his hand across his damp brow, he partially unzipped the painter's coverall he was wearing.
"Sorry. I zoned out for a minute. Didn't realize how close I was to his car. I'm not used to driving so slow." Evan pulled off his painter's cap, too, and wished they'd had the van's air conditioner fixed. Their father had been hounding them to fix it for a week. He rolled down his window for some fresh air.
"Ryder's driving the speed limit. The last thing he needs is to draw attention to himself."
"Did you see that?"
"What?"
"The plastic cover on his back lights just flew off." Evan began laughing. "Look! Carly Stone is waving her hand through the hole where the brake light used to be!"
<><><>
"Brody!" Gabe said excitedly. "I think I found her. Just hovered over what looks like a Toyota or Mazda. There is heat emanating from the trunk. There's definitely someone locked inside. Besides the white van behind it, the car is the only one on the road for miles."
"Stay with the car, but do what you can to make sure Ryder doesn't notice you."
"No problem. The car's approaching the 136 and 341 intersection in Hillsboro."
"Let me know if it turns."
"It's turning and is now heading north on U.S. Route 341."
"Okay, thanks."
"Wait a minute. The van is turning to go in the same direction."
"Got it. Keep an eye on both vehicles."
<><><>
Turning the van onto 341 to follow Ryder, Evan said, "Damn him. Where is he going? Look how low our gas gauge is."
"He's been missing for weeks. Ryder must have a hideout. How else could he have avoided capture for so long? Keep following him until he either slows down, or we run out of gas."
"Devan, if he doesn't do something soon to give us an opening—"
"Okay, okay. Let me think." Several minutes passed before Devan said, "I've got two ideas."
"Let's hear them, and make it fast."
"We could ram his car with the van—"
"No way," interrupted Evan. "He could spin out and land upside-down in a ditch. Isn't that what happened to Joey Dickson last year when he totaled his brand-new Accord?"
"I forgot about that. Some idiot was tailgating his car and didn't see Joey slowing down for a turn. Slammed right into him. Poor Joey spent a month in the hospital."