Page 96 of Unexpected Danger
Londyn had known about Renee, obviously, but not Dorena or Juanita. How many women had Dustin fooled in his effort to succeed at his loathsome crimes?
Chapter 27
Brodie’s head ached in a way it never had before. He moaned and attempted to roll over. The first time, he failed and fell back onto his chest. He persevered, gathering what momentum he could, and finally rolled onto his back. His eyes fluttered open. What had happened? Where was Londyn? With effort, he propped himself up on his elbow and glanced at his truck in the area near the lake. Hadn’t he unloaded the canoe? Where was it? He reached a hand to his holster. His gun was gone.
He moved a little too quickly, and the stabbing pain in the back of his neck added to the pounding in his head. If Londyn was gone, the canoe was gone, and his gun was gone, it could only mean one thing.
Slowly, with extreme effort, Brodie recalled a few details. They had unloaded the canoe, Londyn had walked up the hill to the vault restroom, and then everything had gone black.
He reached a hand to the back of his head. Something crusty greeted his fingertips, and the touch exacerbated the pain.
There wasn’t time to lounge beneath the pines and contemplate the details. If Londyn had returned yet from the restroom and he’d been whacked over the head, Brodie could only deduce one thing.
Londyn was in trouble.
A sizable granite boulder beside him offered the perfect crutch. He slowly sat up and rested first an arm, then a hand on the boulder, and, with his legs wobbling, struggled to his feet. Where had Dustin taken her?
Brodie took a step forward, and he fought the dizziness and blinked several times before holding a hand to shield his eyes as he scanned the entire area around the lake as far as he could see.
On the second glance, he spotted the canoe in the distance at the very edge of where the lake detoured into the river. He squinted, noticing two figures in the canoe.
Adrenaline pumped through him. He scanned the road, the lake, and the many hiking trails leading up the hill. The entire area was a ghost town. His legs arguing the entire way, he stumbled to his truck, opened the door, and retrieved his phone.
No signal.
Lord, please give me the ability to find Londyn, and please keep her safe.
Woozy throbbing added to his splitting headache, the pulsating causing Brodie to grip his head and scrunch his shoulders upward.
He had no time for this.
But how would he get to the canoe? How would he rescue Londyn?
He forced himself through the pines that ran adjacent to the lake, attempting to again catch sight of the boat. He limped, wondering why his legs felt so weak when it had been his head that had been whacked.
He claimed a better view of the canoe, and Haack pivoted. Could he see Brodie?
Brodie ducked and hid to the side of the tree, wishing for the first time in his life that he had sloping shoulders. There was no shouting, yelling, or any other indication that Haack had seen him.
Brodie breathed a prayer of gratitude.
As a law enforcement officer, Brodie had found himself in many volatile situations. As his dad always said, a sheriff’s main duties were, of course, to uphold the Constitution, but also to serve papers and tend to the jail. Dad’s final comment on the matter rang through Brodie's ears. Catching the criminals was a bonus.
Only this time, he wasn’t only trying tocatchthe bad guy. He was endeavoring to save the life of the woman he loved.
A downed tree in his path cost him precious seconds as Brodie veered around it. There was no way he could keep up with as fast as Haack rowed down the river, a river whose waters were flowing in just the perfect direction to accelerate the stalker’s travel.
But Brodie would give it his all.
He tripped over a hole and crashed to the ground. The pain reverberated through his head, reminding him of his likely concussion.
Stunned, Brodie attempted to gather his wits before again checking his phone to see if he had service yet. He didn’t. He knew that getting a signal in the Pronghorn Mountains was nearly impossible, but there were spots where one bar occasionally occurred.
He could still see the canoe, and if he hurried, he could bridge the distance between himself and Londyn.
If he hurried.Who was he kidding?
But he’d never been the type to quit. Using a nearby tree stump, Brodie pulled himself to his feet and did the best to ignore the pain in nearly every part of his body. He’d been in worse scrapes in his time in law enforcement, not to mention when he was a kid and he and his brothers would manage to engage in all sorts of shenanigans.
