"Where the hell did they go?"

"I don't know, Kaiden. There are no turns from this road."

"Maybe they went a different way?"

"We both saw them go this way."

"Can't you go any faster, Kee?"

"Not if you don't want us to crash!"

As they careened around a tight curve in the road, something caught Kaiden's eye. "Hey, did you see that?"

"See what?"

"Something. I don't know. Do you smell that?"

"Smells like something's burning."

"Keegan! Stop the car!"

"What?"

"Stop! Stop this thing and let me out!"

"But, Katie?"

"I think they wrecked!"

Keegan slammed on the brakes so hard the truck spun in a complete circle as dust and dirt filled the air around them. His brother hit the gas and drove right to the edge of the road where black smoke curled up from the valley below. Kaiden jumped from the truck and started running down the embankment. He could hear Keegan calling to him but he kept going. He had to get to Katie before the gas tank caught fire.

A huge explosion rocked the mountain as flames shot into the air and the valley filled with thick black smoke.

"Katie!" he screamed her name over and over as the flames burned loud and hot. He slid the rest of the way down the embankment without thinking about anything but Katie.

Her name rang in his head over and over and over again. The voice louder than the fire, louder than Keegan calling after him, louder than the sound of his racing pulse as fear and adrenaline gripped him in its iron fist.

"Get back, brother! There might be a secondary explosion!"

He heard Keegan calling out to him, knew he spoke the truth. He ignored his twin. All he could do was pray over and over that Katie had survived. Maybe she had been ejected? Maybe she had gotten out before the truck caught fire. Maybe—and most likely—she had died in the crash and now burned in the SUV.

No!

She wasn't dead. He could feel it in his very soul. Then why couldn't he find her? Keegan had finally caught up with him. His brother put an arm around him as they watched the fire consume the remains of the vehicle. "I'm so sorry, man."

Kaiden wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Son of a bitch. Son. Of. A. Bitch!"

"Shhh…! Do you hear that?" Keegan held a finger to his lips and placed a hand on his brother's arm. Kaiden tried to shrug him off but Keegan insisted he listen.

Above the sound of the fire and burning vehicle, there was something. Something so quiet he wasn't even sure he heard it. Then it happened again.

"Help!" It was her.

"Katie!" he called out.

"Help us, Kaiden!"

"There!" Keegan pointed to a large rock. "It's coming from over there!"

They took off at a run, arriving at the rock at exactly the same time. Behind the rock they found Katie and Nathan Marks. She had a cut on her face and her neck, blood in her hair and a black eye but she was alive.

"Katie!" He started to go to her but Keegan held him back.

"Hold on, brother. Be careful, you don't know what sort of injuries she has."

"I'm okay, Keegan. Just a little sore. I think I hit my head too." She reached up and touched her hair, fingers coming away with fresh blood.

Kaiden squatted next to her and took her in his arms. "It's okay now. You're going to be okay."

She buried her face in his shoulder. "I have no idea how many times we rolled over. I was sure we were going to die."

"What exactly happened here?" Keegan, always the voice of reason, asked.

"The truck went out of control and we went over the side. The fire started and I knew if I didn't get us out of there, we would die. Nathan wouldn't wake up so I dragged him over here."

Keegan had his phone out calling for help.

"I thought he was going to kill me," Katie whispered next to Kaiden's ear. "I tried to get him to stop the truck. That's how we ended up here—I grabbed the wheel from him." She started to cry then, large wracking sobs. Kaiden held her as she cried until they heard the sound of sirens in the distance.

"I caught Nathan. Is the case over now?" Katie looked up at him through damp lashes.

He couldn't help but smile. "You did a great job, honey."

"I get my life back now—" Her body fell limp in his arms.

"Katie!" She didn't answer. "Kee—she's unconscious!"

"It's all right, brother. Help is on the way."

"I'm taking her up top!" Without waiting for his brother to reply he scooped Katie up in his arms and started the long, arduous trek up the incline. "It's okay, Katie. I'm going to get you help. Please just hang on."

By the time he made it up to the edge of the road, emergency vehicles had begun to arrive. An ambulance had parked next their truck. Kaiden ran to it and started banging on the doors. "Help! We need help! You have to help her!"

He had never felt so helpless in his entire life. Katie's limp body hung in his arms. "Why won't you wake up, sweetheart?"

One of the paramedics pulled open the back of the ambulance and dragged the stretcher out of it. "Here. Put her here!"

Kaiden placed Katie on the stretcher but refused to let her go.

"You have to step back, sir, and let us work," the second paramedic said. "What happened to her?"

"She was kidnapped at knife point and the kidnapper rolled his truck. I have no idea what happened in between those two things."

"And who are you?" the first paramedic demanded.

Kaiden pulled his id from his back pocket. "Agent Kaiden James, Homeland Security. I am working the case."

The second paramedic worked at putting in an IV line while the first paramedic was busy examining Katie. "She took quite a beating today."

"Will she be all right?" Kaiden asked, afraid to hear the answer.

"We have to get her to the hospital right now. That head injury—well, it's tough to tell how bad it really is."

He caught sight of Keegan coming up over the rise, Nathan Marks tossed over his shoulder. The paramedics were lifting Katie into the back of the ambulance. It was his case, he knew he had to deal with Marks but he couldn't stand the thought of leaving Katie. After Keegan deposited Marks on a stretcher he waved his brother over. "I should go with Marks."

"I can stay with him," Keegan said.

Kaiden sighed heavily. "Not if I hope to keep my job."

"How about I ride with Katie? I'll make sure she knows you wanted to be there. Heck, if she hit her head hard enough I might even be able to convince her I'm you." The look Kaiden shot his brother shut Keegan right up.

He didn't like the idea but knew that under the circumstances there was no better solution.

"Okay, fine. But don't you dare leave her side until I get there, and no funny business."

"Please, brother! I wouldn't do that to you."

Kaiden paced in front of Keegan. "I know you wouldn't. I don't know why I said it. Just make sure they take care of her, okay?"

Keegan clapped his brother on the shoulder. "You know I will." He turned to the paramedics loading Katie into their bus. "I'm going with you!"

"And you are?"

Keegan whipped out his old ID. "Agent Keegan James." Fortunately, no one asked him what agency he was with.

"All right, sir. Load up, we're heading out!"

Kaiden watched as the ambulance carrying his brother and Katie drove away. Anger turned his vision red as he clenched his fists and reminded himself he had a job to do. And do it he would. He stomped over to where Nathan had been strapped to a stretcher receiving IV fluids. He was awake as a paramedic asked him questions.

Kaiden elbowed the paramedic out of the way as he retrieved a pair of handcuffs out of his back pocket. "Mr. Marks, you are under arrest." He slapped one cuff on Nathan's wrist and the other to the bar on the side of the stretcher.

"For what?" Nathan mumbled through swollen lips.

"The list is long but topping it is conspiracy to commit domestic terrorism."

"Whoa! This dude's a terrorist? I don't get paid enough for that." The medic backed away from the stretcher.

"Just do your job and let me worry about him. I want him alive so they can fry him when he goes to court."

"The accident was her fault. She grabbed the wheel!"

"I suppose being kidnapped at knife point was her fault too?" Kaiden snapped.

"I wasn't going to hurt her. I just wanted to get to the airport."

"So, you cut her neck open? You're a real piece of work, Marks."

"Katherine's dramatic. That's why I kicked her to the curb. So much drama all the time."

It took all of his self-control not to pummel Nathan right there at the back of the ambulance. "Katie is too good for you."

"If you really believe that then you deserve her."