Dylan

Dylan was worried. He’d seen Bonnie walk to the barn, but then she didn’t come back. He was waiting for her to come back so he could show her the updated car. He finally had it all fixed and ready for her. He’d basically put in a new engine, and he wanted to surprise her with it.

But he couldn’t find her.

He called her phone and smiled when he heard her ringtone from inside the barn.

“There you are,” he said, coming inside and looking in one of the horse stalls.

Except she wasn’t there. He found her phone tucked in a saddlebag. It was only because the ringer was perpetually stuck on the loudest setting that he even found it.

Anxiety tumbled in his belly. There was something very wrong about this. Bonnie always had her phone. It was part of her escape plan if the Trio ever came here. She needed it. It was as much a part of her as her hand or her head.

Tension crept into his jaw.

He grabbed his phone and called security.

“This is Dylan Abbott. Bonnie Kincaid is missing,” he announced as soon as the head of ranch security, Brian Cards, picked up.

“We have an issue at the West entrance,” Brian told him. “We’re locking the camp down. No one gets in or out. I’ll spread the word that Bonnie is a priority.”

“She’s more than just a priority,” Dylan growled.

“Of course, sir.” Brian shouted an order to someone in the background before returning to the conversation. “I have four of my best men on it, and I’m running the security footage myself. I’m afraid that’s all I can spare with what’s going on at the West entrance.”

“Find her.” He shut off the phone angrily. There were few times in his life Dylan wished for old technology. Slamming the phone was one of them. There wasn’t enough of a release angrily pushing the little red button. He wanted something to slam.

He stalked out of the barn. He wasn’t sure quite where he was going, but he didn’t want just to stand still and wait for security to find her. He felt the need to do something. He was never the kind to simply sit back and let others do for him, so he was going to go out and look for her.

He hoped he’d find her curled up under a tree with a good book. Maybe she was swimming or planning one of her sensory friendly activities in the kitchen.

The queasiness in his gut made him think that something bad had happened. There was an edginess and raw anxiety that he couldn’t seem to shake, no matter how much he tried to come up with alternatives for where she could be.

He checked the area around the barn. He checked the hayloft. He walked out toward the horse pastures, but since the horses were all out on rides, he didn’t go far. With every moment, he felt the dread deep in his bones increase.

Two security guards hurried past him as he walked away from the barn and back toward the garage. They spoke quickly into their radios and had determined, firm looks on their faces as they headed toward the West entrance. Something big had to be going on over there.

He paused, mid-step. Should he follow the security guards to the west? What if that’s where Bonnie was and she needed help?

He shook his head. He’d just be in the way over there. He could only imagine the current chaos at the entrance. Today was pick-up and drop-off day. New kids were arriving while some stayed for another week. It meant that the parking area was always full of cars and kids. If there was an accident or a delay, it always turned into a disaster.

Instead, he decided to walk along the far path behind the garage. It was on the eastern edge of the property and usually quiet. Since the East entrance was gated off from the road, the only person he’d ever seen over here was Bonnie the night she’d arrived.

For some reason, it seemed like a good place to look.

He walked quietly and quickly. His eyes searched in the trees, and he saw one of the barn cats jump into a clump of grass and emerge a moment later with lunch. But no Bonnie.

There were lots of trees along the perimeter of the property. Long before Carter had purchased the place, someone had put a line of pine trees to act as a wind buffer. Tall evergreens stood against the pale blue of the summer sky. The smell of pine in the sunshine was strong. Every hundred yards or so, a couple of aspen trees managed to take hold and make a little grove of their own.

The sound of metal caught his attention. He slowed his steps and came around the tree line. Standing at the eastern gate was a man he didn’t recognize. He was large and wore dark clothing that resembled the security teams.

He definitely looked dangerous enough to be on the security team, but Dylan didn’t recognize him. He’d made a point of looking at all the photos of the security personnel that would be protecting Bonnie. He tried to remember if Brian had hired anyone new recently

The man swore and pulled at the chain holding the gate shut.

Why would security be trying to get out using the east entrance, he wondered. There wasn’t a good reason. The gate was always locked. All staff and security knew that. There was no reason to open the gate.

Unless he wasn’t security. Unless he was trying to get off the property while security was busy dealing with an issue on the west side.

Dylan searched the tree-line, his eyes looking for anything that was out of the ordinary. It took him a moment before he spotted the car tucked carefully into a grove of aspen and saplings. The dark green of the car hid well.

She was in that car. He didn’t know how he knew it, just that he did. Bonnie was in that car.

He checked his phone. Would security get here in time?

He knew they wouldn’t. It would only take the man at the gate a couple of minutes before he figured out how to unlock it. The process wasn’t very hard. Dylan made a mental note to have Brian update that as soon as possible.

He sent a message to Brian to come to the east gate with as many men as possible. As he put his phone in his pocket, his fingers brushed the pocketknife he kept there. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. He pulled it out, keeping it loose in his hand.

Dylan crouched low and made his way over to the aspen grove. He moved through the dappled light, doing his best not to step on any branches or do anything that might give his position away. His breath was shallow, and he was sure the man would be able to hear his heartbeat.

Carefully, he moved to the driver’s side door. The man at the gate swore again, and Dylan froze. The sound of the chains moving against the gate followed. Dylan didn’t have much time. He had no doubt this would get ugly fast if the man caught him.

He cracked the door, staying low and trying to stay out of sight. The door opened with a low creak that made Dylan wince. He held his breath and looked out. The man hadn’t noticed. He was too busy threading the chain from around the gate.

It was an older car, which Dylan was grateful for. It meant there was a trunk release, rather than having an electronic option that would be more difficult to get to. He pulled the lever and prayed the man didn’t notice.

The trunk popped, but the man was too busy opening the gate. Dylan didn’t have a second to spare. He pushed the door shut as quietly as possible and hurried back to the truck.

His heart was in his throat as he opened it. If she were hurt.. or worse... he didn’t know what he’d do.

“Dylan?”

Her voice was rough as she sat up, blinking against the light.

He wanted to kiss her, to hold her, to tell her she was safe. But she wasn’t safe. Not yet.

Dylan looked over at the gate to see it swing open. He grabbed Bonnie under the arms and pulled her out of the trunk, closing it hard. He hoped that the man was too distracted to notice the sound.

She clung to him, her breathing fast. He needed to hide her. There was a gooseberry bush growing near the back tire of the car. It wasn’t big, but it was close. He carried her behind it and set her on the ground.

She looked up at him, and he put his finger to his lips. She nodded.

He couldn’t fit behind the gooseberry bush. It simply wasn’t big enough for the two of them. The sound of the man’s footsteps as he returned from the gate filled his brain. Without thinking, he stabbed his pocketknife into the back tires and then ran behind one of the aspen trees.

He felt like a child playing hide and seek. All it would take was one look back to see a man hiding behind the slim tree. He got as low as he could, but all it would take was one good glance. He gripped the pocketknife in his hand and prayed.

If the man did see him, Dylan would use the pocketknife. He would make sure that the man saw Dylan and not Bonnie. He would keep her safe, even if it meant his life.

The man kicked at a stick, sending it flying into a tree. Dylan was sure his heartbeat was loud enough for the entire state to hear. The man paused as if listening.

Dylan took a slow deep breath. He was ready.

The man shrugged and opened the car door. The car groaned with the new weight as he slammed the door shut. The engine started, and the car rolled away.

Dylan didn’t dare move until the car was past the gate. Even then, he was afraid that the man would look back and see the two of them, hiding behind a tree and a bush. A three-year-old could find them if they looked.

But the car kept going. It pulled onto the dirt road, and the engine revved. A cloud of brown dust followed it as it escaped. He knew that his knife would give the driver a flat tire by the time he was down the mountain. The police would catch him easily.

“Dylan?” Bonnie’s voice held panic and relief at the same time.

He ran to her.

She pressed her face into his shoulder as he held her to him, whispering his name like a mantra. He whispered hers right back. He held her to him, afraid that she might be ripped from his arms at any moment. He would never lose her again.