Page 79 of Abducted

Cal grabbed Lana’s face, forcing her to look at him. “Are you hurt?”

“No. Are you?” Tears streamed down her cheeks.

A hand grabbed his shoulder. Ethan pulled him off Lana. “Are you guys okay? Anyone hurt?”

“You shot Grace?” Cal looked up at his friend.

“Fuck, yeah. She was going to shoot you, man. I just hit her enough to disarm her. That bitch is going to rot in jail.”

Lana threw herself into Cal’s arms. He lifted her against his chest and got to his feet. He followed Ethan out of the ravine.

When they finally reached the parking lot, Cal weaved through the squad cars that surrounded the two trucks. A police officer approached them.

“Miss Vanderpoel?”

In his arms, Lana nodded.

“We need to get a statement from you, please.” The officer was tall, almost Cal’s height, with dark curly hair. Lana’s big, tired eyes locked with Cal’s. She needed to rest. Or at least get out of her wet clothes.

“Can I have a word with you?”

The officer nodded. Cal lowered her to her feet. “Honey, go wait in Ethan’s truck and turn the heat on.” He didn’t have his damn keys, otherwise he’d have put her in his own vehicle.

He turned to the burly officer. “She’s had a hell of a night and is soaked to the skin. Can someone meet us at my house so she can at least get warm and changed first?”

He nodded slowly. “I can understand that. Let me check with someone, but I don’t see a problem.”

He disappeared to approach another officer, then came back. “Sure, let me get your address.” Cal gave him the needed information and waited for Ethan.

Cal opened the passenger side door where Lana sat. “You holding up okay?” She held her hands splayed out in front of the vents. Her cheeks and nose were still tinted pink from the cold.

“I’m fine.” Her tone was even, strong. In her eyes, he read another story. Dark circles surrounded them, and her face was pale and ashen. His lips thinned. She kept saying she was fine, probably to keep from falling apart. He needed to get her home and let her have the space she needed.

“Do they need to ask me questions right now?” Her gaze wavered from his to land on the light sprinkle of rain that littered the gravel beneath his feet. “They’re going to meet us at the cabin in a bit. Let’s get you home and cleaned up, okay?”

Her shoulders dropped, and relief washed the tension from the lines in her face. “Thank you.”

“No need. Let me find Ethan and we’ll be on our way.”

She nodded, and he closed the door to lock in the heat. Ethan stepped out of the woods; Grace, her hands cuffed behind her back, followed.

His fingernails dug into his palms with the need to take the bitch out. His chest tightened. He couldn’t do that. Not with all the uniforms here. Grace would be prosecuted. And he wanted her to live through the scandal and shame.

Ethan approached him. Cal dug his hands in his pockets. “They’re going to question Lana at my house. I need to get her home and changed. She’s freezing. I haven’t been able to find my keys, so can you give us a lift?”

Ethan pulled his keys from his pocket. “Here, you take my truck. I’ll go look for your keys. I bet either Grace or the guy in the ravine has them. If I don’t find them, I’ll get a ride from one of the cops.”

“Sure, thanks.” Cal accepted the keys and jogged the short distance to the truck. He climbed in. Lana’s attention was riveted to Grace being put in the back of the cop car.

He reached over, pulled the seat belt across her chest, and buckled it. He turned the truck around and drove down the mouth of the gravel drive toward the interstate. Lana tucked her knees in close to her chest and stared straight ahead.

He didn’t know what to say.

Her whole life had come crashing down around her ears. All he wanted to do was comfort her. He reached over and took her hand. Her fingers were as cold as icicles. His heart twisted at the memory of her sitting in the cold ravine, soaking wet, waiting for the bullet that would kill her.

He’d almost been too late. Another minute or two and things would have ended completely differently. Lana let loose a shaky sigh, jarring him from his dark thoughts.

“You were right about Shawn. That was him in the ravine.”

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