Carrie woke to the soothing hum of a car engine. The darkness fooled her for a moment into relaxing and shutting her eyes again. It was the pain in the back of her head and her hands that made her jerk her eyes open again.

Her hands were tied tightly behind her back with what she thought were large zip ties. She wiggled for a moment to try and free them, which only caused pain to shoot up her arms into her shoulders as the ties cut into her skin.

Blinking, she tried to look around. Her head ached, and she could feel dried and dripping blood mix as it trickled down the back of her neck.

She realized that she was in the trunk of a car when she noticed the glow of brake lights as the vehicle slowed down.

She’d been kidnapped. Her heart raced, and her breathing quickened as she frantically struggled against the ties. When she tried to kick out, she realized her legs were tied to her hands, which pulled them backwards behind her body.

No matter how hard she wiggled, she couldn’t break free. Giving up on that option, she felt around behind her for anything that she could use to cut herself lose as the car continued to drive at what felt like a high speed.

She could hear cars passing them as if they were on a highway. Several semis shook the car as they passed as well. There was only one highway out of town, so they were either heading north towards Portland or south towards California.

Closing her eyes, she tried to make a mental map. She’d seen someone doing it in a movie once, but it was no use. She hadn’t been awake during the first part of the trip and she had no clue how long she’d been out, so it didn’t really help. Besides, they were still traveling straight on a highway.

She knew the ride would be coming to an end soon and desperately searched the trunk for anything to defend herself. All she found was new carpeting.

Then a memory played, and her father’s voice shouted at her in her mind.

“You can do this. Think! Don’t let anyone make you a victim.” His voice echoed in her head.

Suddenly, the memory of a summer when her father had taught her how to escape this exact situation flooded her mind.

With renewed energy, she looked around for the latch that all newer cars have in order to open the trunk from the inside. She frowned when she didn’t see it at first. Her eyes had adjusted enough that she could see the black tape that someone had placed over the glow-in-the-dark handle, so she wouldn’t see it. Someone had planned this ahead of time, which scared her even more.

Once again, her father’s voice broke into her fear.

“Focus Care Bear. How are you going to get out?”

Twisting as the car continued down the highway, she brought her hands around and reached for the edge of the carpet. Pulling the carpet back, she felt around for the spare tire. She smiled when her fingers brushed the rubber, and she continued groping around. Sighing when her fingers wrapped around a crowbar, she pulled it free. Sticking it behind her back, she twisted it quickly in the ties holding her hands.

The cable cut into her skin, but she continued to twist until she heard the zip ties snap. When her hands were freed, she did the same to her feet to get them loose.

Then she waited until the car slowed enough to use the latch as she gripped the crowbar to her chest.

Her mind turned towards Josh as every moment with him in the past few months played in her mind. Closing her eyes, she fought back tears as she remembered how he’d proposed to her, how they had dreamed of a new life rebuilding the sanctuary together, and even starting a family.

When the car slowed enough that she knew they were turning off the highway, she started keeping track of turns. First, a right turn off the highway, which could have been any exit at this point. Another right and then the car sped up as if they were on a frontage road. A quick left and another right after almost five minutes of driving, a left onto a bumpy dirt road. She could smell the dirt as the tires kicked it up behind the car.

She had to hold on to keep from hitting her head on the top of the trunk. Gauging that the car was traveling less than ten miles per hour, she pulled the release lever and took a deep breath before jumping into darkness.

She landed on her left hip and rolled, holding the crowbar tight to her chest. Her head bounced a few times on the dirt road, causing her to cry out with pain.

When she stopped rolling, she glanced around quickly and was relieved when the car lights continued down the road.

It took her a second to get to her feet. The blood circulation to her hands and legs was so bad, she had to slap her hands on her thighs to wake them up. All the while, her eyes were glued to the fading brake lights, making sure that whoever had taken her wasn’t turning around to come after her again.

Finally standing, she held the crowbar as she started running down the dirt road. She estimated that they had been on the dirt road for less than two minutes, which meant almost a five-minute jog. When she finally reached pavement, she took a deep breath of relief and glanced around. The road was dark, and, from her position, she couldn’t see any road signs.

She kept checking behind her as she started running again in the direction they had come.

When she saw a car coming from behind her, she darted into the bushes and hid as it quickly passed by. It passed another vehicle coming in her direction and she jumped out of the bushes and stood in the middle of the road, waving her hands frantically.

The truck came to a squealing halt and she held her breath as the driver rolled down his window.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” The older man’s voice was the sweetest sound she’d ever heard. She instantly started crying and explaining what had happened.

“Why don’t you jump in, I’ll take you to…”

“No.” She shook her head, remembering her father’s instructions. “Can I use your phone?” She nodded to the man’s cell phone sitting on the dash of the truck.

“Sure thing.” He handed her the phone and she immediately called her father.

“Daddy,” she cried. “I’m safe. I’m here.”

“Where?” Her father’s voice sounded strained. “Where are you?”

“I…” She looked around.

“Bear Creek Road. Just south of Lincoln City,” the older man supplied. She repeated the information to her dad. “Looks like mile marker three.” He nodded beyond his lights.

“Mile marker three.” She looked behind her and saw the small sign in the headlights.

“Okay, sweetie, stay there, I’m having the local PD pick you up. Give the phone back to the man.”

She nodded and handed the man the phone. “My father, he’s the sheriff,” she said. Her eyes traveled back to where she’d just come from.

“Hello?” the man said into the phone. “Yes, my name is Ken Bergman.” He smiled over at her. “Yes, she’s welcome to sit in my truck.” He motioned for her to get in the passenger side. She walked around and hopped into the truck, feeling her entire body shake as the man pulled further off the road and turned off his headlights. “Okay, yes,” he said into the phone, then turned towards her. “No, she looks okay.” He flipped on the overhead lights and she hissed at the brightness, which caused her head to ache. “Yeah, some dried blood on her shirt.”

She reached up and for the first time, touched the spot on the back of her head. Her hand came away with more blood.

“Looks like she has a nasty cut on her head,” Ken Bergman said into the phone. “Other than that…” He listened. “Yes, I might…” He reached into the glove box and pulled out a tissue. “Here you go, sweetie.” He handed it to her and she held the cotton to the bump forming on the back of her head. “It’s okay,” he said into the phone after listening some more. “I have a granddaughter about her age.” He winked at her. He smiled when red and blue lights lit up the cab. “Looks like the cavalry is here. Sure.” He handed the phone back to her.

“Care, we’re on our way. Until then, I want you to sit tight in the patrol car. The ambulance is right behind them. We’ll see you in about ten minutes.”

“Okay.” She sighed. “Daddy, I was so scared.”

“I know sweetie.” He said something to someone, then the phone was passed to someone else.

“Carrie?” Just hearing Josh’s voice had new tears rolling down her dirty cheeks.

“Josh,” she gasped out, covering her mouth.

“My god. Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m okay.”

“We’re almost there. Your dad is driving faster than I could ever get away with.” He tried to joke, but she was crying too hard to laugh. “Your dad wants you to go sit in the cruiser. We’ll be there soon.”

“Okay.”

“Carrie, I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She smiled and handed the phone back to the old man who hung up. Reaching over, she hugged him. “Thank you.” She held on for a moment. “My knight in a shiny truck.” She smiled at him.

“Be safe. Your dad wants me to stick around so he can thank me personally.” He smiled. “Go on.” He nodded to the female police officer who was standing outside her door.

She followed the woman and slid into the front seat of the cruiser, noting the name of the adjoining county on the side of the cruiser.

As the officers talked to Mr. Bergman, she rested her head back on the seat and took several deep breaths. Her hands and legs were still shaking, and her wrists and ankles ached. When she looked at them, she noticed cuts and bruises on each one.

When more red and blue lights showed up behind the car, she jumped out and was caught in Josh’s arms as he ran to her.

---

Josh held onto Carrie tightly. He’d never let something like this happen to her ever again. He must have whispered it to her, because she shook her head quickly.

“It’s not your fault,” she said as he pulled back slightly to look down at her.

The blue and red lights from the patrol car were dancing over her skin. She was covered in a layer of dirt and dust and he could see dried blood on her shirt.

“Where’s the ambulance?” he asked Robert, who was standing beside him. Josh let go of Carrie and Robert and Amelia each took their turn to hug her as they all cried.

“Here it is now,” the other officer said behind him.

“I don’t need…” Carrie started to say as she broke the hug from her mother.

“You’ll go, get checked out,” Josh said softly, taking her back into his arms. “I’ll ride with you.” He nodded. “Let them deal with all this…”

“There’s a dirt road, just about a mile from here,” Carrie told her father. “Whoever took me was heading down it.”

Her father nodded. “Did you get the make or model of the car?”

“No, it was too dark. The brake lights were circular. They had taped over the emergency handle in the trunk,” she added. “Oh!” She nodded to the crowbar on the ground where she’d dropped it after getting into the patrol car. “I took that from the trunk, as well.”

“Good girl.” Her father smiled at her, then nodded at him as the ambulance pulled in. “We’ll be along after we see to this.”

“I’ll keep you posted.” He wrapped an arm around Carrie and walked her to the ambulance. Her mother followed them, wrapping her arm around Carrie as well.

They sat in the ambulance while Carrie was strapped in and her vitals taken. The ride to the hospital was longer than he’d expected.

“They’re taking us to Edgeview,” Amelia said. “We thought it would be best to be closer to home.”

He nodded and looked down at Carrie. Her eyes were closed, and she looked to be peacefully resting.

In the light, he could see more bruises and cuts. There were marks on her wrists and ankles and they had already put a large white bandage over the cut on the back of her head to stop the bleeding.

He wanted to touch her, but he was afraid that he’d hurt her. So, instead, he kept his hands to himself and just took in every detail about her. The way her eyelashes lay on her pale cheeks, and the fact that her soft pink lips were a little swollen, as if she’d been biting them.

He soaked in every detail that he’d thought he’d never get to enjoy again.

When the ambulance slowed, her eyes popped open and he could tell that she’d fallen asleep.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Like I jumped from a moving car onto a dirt road.” She smiled and sighed. “Sorry, too soon?”

He chuckled and took her hand. “My god, you are so brave, so amazing.”

The back doors opened, and she was rolled out. He and Carrie’s mother followed as far as they could, then they were told to wait in the waiting area.

Amelia filled out paperwork while the nurses checked Carrie out and cleaned her up. When she was done, she reached over and took his hand in hers. “She’s alright,” she said. He was pretty sure it was to assure herself more than him. Still, he nodded and sighed, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

The double sliding doors opened and in rushed Aiden. Amelia jumped up and went to hug her son and fill him in.

Aiden walked over and held out his hand for Josh to shake.

“Have they let you back there to see her yet?” Aiden asked.

“No, they came out a few minutes ago and said they were taking her back to X-ray for the bump on her head.”

“That’ll take about half an hour. I was treated for a broken arm here once.” Aiden glanced down the hallway. “I have a friend. I can see if they can sneak you back.”

He nodded and followed Aiden. The pretty brunette nurse was all smiles for Aiden and agreed to let him back as they waited for the X-ray technician.

“Hey.” He smiled down at her. She looked bored and tired.

“Hi.” She smiled. “How did you get back here?”

“It seems that your brother has a fan club around here.”

She chuckled, then groaned and he noticed her eyes were dull.

“Are you hurting?” he asked, leaning closer.

“They gave me some pills, but… I’m sure that a shower and a good night’s sleep will help.”

“I bet.” He glanced up as the technician walked in. “Sir, you’ll have to stand behind this wall with me.”

He leaned down and kissed her. “I’ll be back.”

She sighed and held still for the X-ray. He watched the screen as the image appeared in front of him.

“How does it look?” he asked, standing over the tech’s shoulder.

“I’m not a doctor”—he leaned in— “but looks good. Nothing broken.” He ran the tip of a pen over where there was a large knot on the back of Carrie’s head. “No fractures. She’ll have some bruising and probably a concussion, but nothing to be too worried about.”

He relaxed. “Is she done here?” he asked.

“Yeah, we’ll take her to a private room. One’s waiting for her already.” The man stood up and rolled Carrie out of the room. Josh trailed behind.

“Where’s my dad?” she asked as they rolled past the waiting area. She waved to her mother and brother, who stood and followed them.

“He’s on his way,” Amelia added. “He just called.”

“Did they…” She glanced at him. “Did they catch whoever did this?”

“I don’t know, sweetie.” Her mother took her hand, but then dropped it as they turned into a private room.

They all stood back as she was transferred to the bed. They had stripped her dirty clothes off and she was wearing one of those thin hospital gowns, which made her look small and pale.

“Who would do this?” Aiden asked once they were alone in the room. “Who would want to kidnap Carrie?”

“She had some problems at the sanctuary,” Amelia answered.

“Problems?” Aiden asked. “What kind of problems?”

“Someone killed DeWalt,” Carrie said softly. Josh took her hand and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Aiden’s eyes moved to his. “Your dad?”

He shrugged. “My dad has been known to slaughter animals.” He sighed. “But he’s locked up, so there’s no way he could have done this tonight.”

“You sure about that?” Aiden asked.

Josh realized that Carrie’s brother hadn’t heard all the latest Pride gossip. A benefit of being out of town for the past few months.

“Yeah,” he said.

“What about Ricky Jones?” Amelia asked.

“He’s still in holding,” Robert said from the doorway. He walked in, touched his wife’s shoulder, then walked over and placed a light kiss on Carrie’s forehead. “How are you doing?”

“Much better.” She smiled and looked around the room. “What did you find out?”