Page 77 of Chilled

The vehicle hit a bump in the road.

Brenna lost her fingertip grip on the phone, and it fell beside her cheek. She fumbled and poked at the screen until she finally hit the SOS button. She sent a silent prayer heavenward and strained to listen for a response.

Even with her ear inches from the receiver, Brenna could hear, “Riverton Emergency Service, may I help you?”

“Help,” Brenna whispered as loud as she dared, hoping the road noise and the suitcase fabric drowned out her voice to the driver.

“I’m sorry, did you say help?”

“Help,” she repeated. “Get FBI Agent Tarver at the Riverton Police Department. This is Brenna Jensen.”

“I’m sorry, I only caught about half of that. You need the FBI?”

“Yes.” Brenna was light-headed from the bump on her temple and the limited air filtering through the thick canvas. She inhaled and tried again. “Agent Tarver at the Riverton P.D., now!”

“Hold please while I transfer you.”

A few moments later, Brenna could have cried when she heard the familiar voice of the man she’d grown to love.

“Tarver speaking.”

“It’s Brenna,” she whispered as loudly as she dared.

“Brenna! Where are you? Are you all right?”

The concern in Nick’s voice made her throat ache. “I’m in a suitcase in a car. I don’t know where.”

“Does Klaus have you?”

“Yes. My cell phone has GPS. Contact Bismarck and have them locate me. Hurry!”

“Stay with me, Brenna,” Nick said.

“I can’t risk it. If Stan hears me talking or if the phone rings, he might take the phone from me.”And you’ll never find me, she didn’t add.

She could hear Nick speaking as if to someone else in the room with him.

“I have to go,” she whispered. “You’ll have to hang up on me. I can’t end this call.”

“I will,” Nick said, “although I don’t want to.”

“Just do it. I need to go silent so the phone stays on me.”

The vehicle slowed, and the sound of water splashing against the wheel wells drowned out Nick’s response.

Where was Stan taking her? What was the water sound and why wasn’t it dissipating? It was as if he was driving a long way through a stream.

Brenna raked her memory of the area for any such place but came up blank. Then she remembered the levy had sprung a leak, thus the need to evacuate fifty-five thousand people from Riverton. Had the levy given way? Would Stan toss her, suitcase and all, into the raging Red River?

The call ended, and Brenna’s phone went black. If it rang, Stan would hear and might guess she’d managed to get a call through. The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation was based out of Bismarck, and they needed time to pull the information on her whereabouts via the GPS tracking system. She had to keep the cell phone on for them to find her.

A car door opened and slammed shut, rocking the vehicle. Then the metal clunk of the hatch door opening was followed by the whoosh of the hydraulic lifts pushing upward.

The rasp of the suitcase zipper brought a rush of fresh air to replenish her lungs. Brenna inhaled deeply, blinking at the light streaming into the back of her Jeep. A dark figure shadowed her position.

“Ready for the next step, Brenna?” His voice sounded happy, like a father encouraging his child to cheer up over going to the dentist. Only she wasn’t a child going to the dentist.

“I take it you’re going to let me get out of this suitcase?” Hope sprang in her chest. If she could get out of the confined space, she had more of a chance of fighting her way free of Stan.

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