Page 176 of Severed Rivalry
Well, if that isn’t the question of my life.
I turn in my seat, putting my back to the door. “Tell me everything you remember from today when you were taken.”
She does. It’s not detailed. No more than one hundred seconds of her life and her life was altered irrevocably.
The FBI jacket is a detail I hadn’t foreseen. So are the descriptions of the men—one I saw with my own eyes.
“Did they remind you of the men in South Dakota?”
She nods, but then her face twists. “Actually, no. Those men there were thin and had short beards. These were clean shaven, heavy set, and—” She stops. “They didn’t speak the same either.”
I tip my head to the ceiling. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Are you… Are you mad at me?” Her voice is soft and tentative. It scrapes my insides someplace I didn’t know would hurt.
I level my gaze on her. “Not even a little. I’ll make you a promise, Née. I’ll tell you if I’m mad. Not scream or go silent. I’ll tell you, and we can talk out why. Will you do the same for me?”
She scrunches her nose. “I’m not very good at that.”
“Well then, practice on me. It’s a good skill to have in life.”
She shrugs, and I contemplate our choices.
“So here’s the choice I’m facing,” I start. “Your mom’s vehicle—what I think was your mom’s vehicle, anyway—was right in front of yours. It ended up with a cop in pursuit as I got to you.”
“Okay.”
“We didn’t pass it on our way here, so we can go north and see if we see anything. Or we can go home. Home is safer and is what your mom would want me to do to protect you, but?—”
“We look for her.”
I smile at her and drop the truck into gear. “We agree, but you promise you’ll tell me if you feel off?”
“I feel icky as it is. I can do that at home or in this car. I choose here.” Her face is resolute.
I dial Liam again…
Still no answer.
We merge onto the highway, and the sun threatens to set behind the mountains. And my mind is not in a better place for it.
By the time we make it to Fort Collins, my knuckles have lost all their color with my grip on the wheel.
The only even-remotely odd thing I see is several police officers in their SUVs at one particular exit. I’m flirting with danger, but I decide to shoot my shot. I slide behind them, engage the hazards, and exit the vehicle.
“Excuse me, officers.”
They settle hands on their gun belts.
No one says anything, so I continue.
“Did a blacked-out SUV come through here making a scene?” I give the make and model and visibly see them go on alert.
“Why?”
“My fiancée and her daughter were kidnapped this afternoon.” I don’t know how much of this I want to reveal, but any news now is better than none. Here goes transparency. “I was able to save our girl, but the other vehicle got away. It was popped with cherries and berries south of Loveland. I didn’t pursue and went to the hospital instead. But any information would be welcome… for me and for her daughter.” I tilt my head to my truck, bathed in the ominous yellow light of its flashers.
One of the officers walks toward me, his hand hovering near his weapon. “What else can you tell us?”
