Page 68 of Pick Yourself Up
Gray raced to the driveway and toward the road. Boomer barked in the distance and Gray poured on the speed, hoping like hell he wasn’t too late.
He pushed his limits and ran to the highway. There were overgrown bushes all along the fence in both directions. If the asshole had to drag Amber through that, it would slow him down, give Gray time.
Amber would be fighting like hell, but the only sound Gray heard was Boomer barking.
On the road, he turned toward the dog at the exact moment he heard a gunshot.
His heart nearly stopped, but he kept moving.
He didn’t spot a car on the road, but he saw exhaust fumes and Boomer racing down the road in pursuit.
Gray yanked out his phone and dialed Knox. “Grab a car. We need to head south. He’s got her.”
When he was close enough, he called Boomer to heel. The dog turned to look at him as if he were crazy. The whine came from deep within his soul, but he obeyed.
Ford’s truck slowed, and the passenger door flung open. He and Boomer jumped in.
Ford drove with Jolie in the back seat.
He turned to see Knox and Thea driving behind them.
Jolie held up her phone. “I’m on speakerphone with Thea. What happened? Where’s Amber?”
Fear coated Jolie’s voice, and her hand shook as she held the phone closer to him.
“It’s my fault. I went upstairs to get a ladder and left her alone. She headed to the mudroom to get paint. Boomer was exploring. I left her alone.”
Like Amber often did, Gray rubbed the dog’s fur to ground himself and focus. Panic wasn’t helping.
Boomer trained his eyes on the road ahead. Gray lowered the window. He didn’t know how powerful the animal’s sense of smell was, but he’d give him any advantage. “Now, I’m thinking Boomer might have caught a scent. He barked just before I heard a crash and Amber’s scream. The asshole broke through the mudroom door.”
He took a deep breath to control his emotions. “When I reached the kitchen, Boomer was barking at the closed door leading to the owner’s suite. When I opened it, he ran through the mudroom, jumped over the broken door and glass, then raced away. I followed him and here we are.”
From the phone, Thea spoke. “I’ve got Marcus listening in on Knox’s phone.”
Marcus’s voice filled the cab. “My deputies and I are on the way. I’ll have one of them call the Midnight Security group and have them on the road soon. You’re sure he was heading south from the farm?”
Gray confirmed. “Boomer ran that way and I saw exhaust fumes, but no vehicle.”
The chief’s voice was sure. “Boomer wouldn’t be fooled. There aren’t a lot of crossroads between us. I’ll send people down each of them, but his most likely route will be toward town here. We’ll be able to block the road. With the ditches on the sides, he won’t be able to get around us. We’ll get him.”
They had to.
Gray kept running his hand over Boomer, trying to find some calm.
He’d fucked up. Thought they would be safe inside the locked B&B, but the ladder had been at the far end of the house, as far from the stairs as possible. “I shouldn’t have left her alone. Not even for a moment.”
Jolie reached forward and squeezed his shoulder. “It’s not your fault. She’ll tell you that the moment we get her back.”
He reached up and squeezed Jolie’s hand, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the road. Even if there weren’t many roads, there were driveways that disappeared into the trees. Some of them probably led to abandoned properties. They wouldn’t be able to spot the vehicle if he’d driven down one of them.
What if he waited for them to drive by and then headed north?
When he voiced it out loud, he heard Knox swear. “Thea, can you call some of the neighbors? Have them watch the road for an unfamiliar vehicle.”
Good call. Gray spoke loud enough for Knox to hear. “Have them try for a make and license plate, but tell them to stay safe.”
His heart rattled in his chest and he tried to strategize their options. That had been his job in the army, and he’d been damn good at it.
