Page 61 of Tracking Down the Lawman's Son

Bree cursed the tears that instantly burned in her eyes. Cursed that she didn’t know what to do to save her little boy. Or even who had kidnapped her. She tried to pick through what she could see of him, but every inch of him was covered, and since he wasn’t even using his real voice, she had no idea if this was Nathan or Manny. Or maybe neither. This could be another hired gun taking her to his boss.

“What do you want with me?” she demanded, hoping she’d be able to get answers that would help.

He didn’t answer, but he was looking around for something. There were no other actual roads on this stretch, but he was still firing glances to his left. Maybe hunting for somewhere to stop. She had no idea though why he would want to do that.

The man continued to glance around, and this time he looked over his shoulder and ground out some harsh profanity. She soon saw why. There was a cruiser in pursuit. Somehow, Luca had managed to get away from that shooter in the house. He was coming after her.

That was both good and bad.

Because Bree very much wanted to be away from this killer, but she didn’t want Luca or anyone else dying in the process. The odds were Luca would be able to catch up with them in thecruiser and follow them to wherever they were going. There could be a shoot-out, and she had no doubts that her captor would use her as a shield again so he could fire at Luca.

She turned back to her captor who was volleying glances ahead on the dark road and in the rearview mirror. And she thought of a ploy. Probably not a good one, but she tried it anyway.

“Are you taking me to Nathan?” she asked.

The driver’s shoulders went stiff. Not a huge reaction. But she noticed it.

“Nathan wouldn’t want you to hurt me,” she tacked on to that.

He didn’t respond, verbally or otherwise, but she thought maybe she’d hit a nerve. The man had recognized the name. Did that mean Nathan had hired him?

Maybe.

Or was this Nathan?

“If this is about Brighton’s murder,” she tried again, “then it’s all for nothing. Silencing me won’t stop the investigation.”

He cursed again, maybe the sign of another raw nerve. But then, it could also be because the cruiser was quickly gaining ground. Bree saw in the side mirror as the driver pulled out into the lane next to the truck.

It was Luca, and Slater was with him.

Her captor saw them, too, because he belted out more of that profanity and jerked the steering wheel to the right. There was the sound of metal slicing into metal, and the bottom part of the passenger’s door started to cave in. Bree scrambled away from it so her foot wouldn’t get trapped if the door collapsed.

“Finally,” her captor muttered.

He twisted the steering wheel again, bashing into the cruiser. Bree watched in horror as the impact sent the cruiser into a ditch. She immediately geared up to try to kick her captor, but he must have seen it coming because he hit her with the gunagain. Bree fell against the door, the back of her head hitting the window, and then she was immediately slung into the dash when he made a sharp turn onto a ranch trail.

Bree knew most of the trails in this area and was aware this one had gullies on each side caused by rain and erosion. She lunged across the seat and caught hold of the steering wheel to get them off the trail. The man cursed her and tried to knock her away with the gun, but Bree kept fighting. The truck finally veered off the narrow dirt path, and the front end plunged into the ditch.

The impact was like a collision, and Bree jolted forward. The airbags deployed, slamming into her captor and her and spewing a cloud of powder over the entire cab of the truck. Bree didn’t waste a second. She dove toward the passenger’s side door while the man tried to catch on to her. He had the disadvantage of being trapped behind the steering wheel by the airbag, but she had a huge disadvantage too. Since she was cuffed, she had to turn her back to the door to open it.

And her heart dropped when she realized it was jammed.

Pain shot through her shoulder and back, but she rammed against the door, all the while trying to kick her captor. When the door finally opened, she tumbled out onto the ground. She heard the man curse again, and he must have managed to bat down the airbag because he was there. Right behind her.

She kicked out again, somehow managing to get to her feet, and she started running toward the blue cruiser lights that were slicing through the darkness.

She didn’t get far.

The man tackled her, both of them falling onto the ground, and he landed on top of her. She continued to fight. So did he. And in the struggle, the mask hiked up enough for her to see his chin and mouth. Even in the darkness, she recognized him.

Nathan.

LUCARANASif his life depended on it. Bree’s life certainly did, and he sprinted away from the cruiser and toward the trail where he’d seen the truck turn. He couldn’t let the vehicle get out of sight.

He had to get to Bree in time to stop her from being driven off somewhere.

Slater was out of the cruiser, too, and running behind him, but he was also calling to get the status of the immediate backup they’d already requested. They needed a vehicle here now if he stood a chance of catching the SOB who’d taken Bree.

---