“That’s fine,” she said. “I’m okay. I’m just trying to confirm this guy is who he says he is.”
“Well, I’m not sure which one you’ve got there,” he said, “but Jerricho can give you a description.”
At that, Jerricho’s voice kicked in and said, “Stacey, Killian’s with you. He’s an inch over six feet tall and thirty-four years old. He’s a white Caucasian male, with new blond streaks in his hair, several old injuries, including some scars on the left side of his neck and the back of his hands.”
At that, Killian walked a little closer, his phone flashlight on revealing his neck and raising both hands, so that she saw his scars.
“And he works for the government, the US government?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said. “If you’re in his hands, you’re safe.”
“But he’s talking to somebody else. How do I know he hasn’t been compromised?”
At that term, Killian’s eyebrows shot up.
“He is working with Hatch,” Jerricho said quietly. “He’s another good man. They came to get you.”
“I so want to believe you,” she said, trying now to hold her voice steady. “It’s just been a long and very scary trip.”
“Sweetheart, you’re okay now,” her father said. “Let them help you.”
“I hope you’re right, Dad,” she said. “Because the last asshole kidnapper caught me sneaking away from my initial kidnappers, and, instead of helping me,” she said bitterly, “he snatched me up, knocked me out, and threw me into the trunk of his vehicle, where he tied me up and crammed a gag in my mouth.”
“Jesus,” her father said.
“And he had my ID from my purse, so it’s not like I could hide who I was, but he contacted you, probably realizing that I had some value. Speaking of which, I need my purse from the car.”
“Well, it’s a good thing he did,” her father said. “Because, once I knew what had happened, I could save you.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Once Killian put away the phone, he looked up at her. “Are you okay?” he asked.
She took a long slow deep breath. “Yes,” she said. “I think I am.”
Reaching up a hand, he said, “Let me help you down.”
She reached down for him, and, as soon as her fingers closed in his, he turned and said, “Just slide down onto my shoulders,” which she did. Then he gently let her all the way down. “Take it easy now,” he said.
“My leg,” she said. “The second kidnapper, he hurt me. He did it on purpose, to keep me from running away. Said it would make me more compliant.”
“The bastard.” Killian faced her. “There are bastards all over this world,” he said, “but not all men are bastards.”
“All bastards aren’t men either,” she said, and she stood straighter, shaky on her one leg.
“Let’s get you back to the hotel, where we can get you cleaned up. Maybe to a hospital too,” he said. “It depends on how bad your leg is and how much medical attention you need.”
“I don’t want to go to a hospital,” she said.
“Why is that?”
“Because he told me that he could find me there.”
At that, Killian stopped and stared. “What? This guy who just had you?”
“Yes,” she said. “So I don’t know if he has access to their computer systems or if he haunts the emergency rooms or if he works there or what. He told me that I was his ticket out.”
“Out of what?”
“I don’t know for certain. From the way he talked, I think he meant his life in this town or something.”
“That’s interesting,” he said. “Well, I have a tracker on another man who stood on the periphery of all this. So maybe you need to tell me all about the first kidnapping.”
“I will,” she said. “As soon as I can. But, right now, I need some help for my leg.”
He picked her up and carried her carefully toward the path.
“Where are we going?”
“Back to the vehicle,” he said.
“I thought it wouldn’t start?”
“It wouldn’t,” he said. “My partner disabled it, so the guy couldn’t take off with you. Hopefully we can put it back together again and get you to the hotel.” When she hesitated, he looked at her and said, “Do you have something against the hotel too?”
“I hope not,” she said. “I’m just leery of it all.”
“With good reason,” he said. He slowly stepped out onto the road, and there was Hatch, standing at the car. “Does it run?” Killian asked Hatch.
“It starts,” he said, “but something’s not right. I wouldn’t count on it going very far.”
“Dang,” he said. “Her leg is injured. I was hoping we could drive.”
Immediately Hatch raced forward. “We can carry her between us.”
“That wouldn’t be much fun,” she said, gasping as he put her down on her feet.
“Maybe not,” he murmured, “but certainly doable.”
“Is it a long way?” she asked.
“Just a few blocks.” Killian looked at the car and said, “Screw it. Let me see if I can get this back into commission.” He popped open the hood, and, within a few minutes, the engine turned over.
She cried out in joy.
He walked around and carefully helped her into the back seat, nodding at Hatch to drive. “Stacey, I know you probably didn’t get much chance to see this last asshole, but, if you can tell us anything about him, that would help.”
“I didn’t get a chance to see anything,” she said. “He blindfolded me almost immediately.”
“That’s fine. Let’s not worry about it right now. We’ll get you back to town and get that leg looked after.”
As Killian got into the back seat with Stacey, Hatch looked at him. “Hospital?”
“Not if we can help it. The kidnapper told her that he could find her if she went to any hospital.”
“Shit,” he said. “Do you think it was an empty threat?”
“I don’t know. It seems pretty specific. I’m sending in a request for a doctor with discretion, who will make a house call.”
“Oh, good,” he said. “That’s better yet.”
They were quiet on the drive back into town, trying to let her relax a bit. As soon as they got to the hotel, he hopped out, swung her up in his arms, and said, “We’ll take you in the back entrance.”
“Is that okay?” she whispered, her face turning gray.
He looked at her and frowned. “How badly hurt are you?”
“I’m not sure. I didn’t think it was that bad,” she said, “until I started to run through the brush, and then it really was bad. Both times I was kidnapped, I was kept with my legs and hands tied behind my back, and, after a while, everything just went numb.”
“Maybe that was a gift,” he said.
“I think it may have been,” she gasped, as he walked in the back entrance and headed up to his room.