Page 96 of The Other Side

“They took Thea!” Hadley said.

The blood in Brett’s veins went cold. “What? Who?”

Hadley was crying and gasping for air. “We wrecked. A truck ran us off the road. We’re in a ditch on Pickens Road, and someone just pulled her out of the car and…”

Hadley’s sobs took over.

“And what?” Brett shouted as his hand balled into a fist.

Linc and Jess stared at him, but he could barely make out their faces. His vision was blurry on the edges.

Not Thea.

“Someone pulled her out of the car.”

“Who was it?”

He didn’t need to hear her say the name. He knew. At least, he knew the last name.

“She said Cain. Brett, I’m trapped in the car. I don’t know where he took her.”

Brett’s feet were moving, gaining speed with each step. “Just one guy?”

“She said Bruce too, but I didn’t see anyone else.”

“Where are you on Pickens? Are you hurt? Is she hurt? Did you call the police?”

Hadley cried harder. “Just past Kennedy Road. I don’t think I’m hurt, but I’m stuck. The door won’t open. I… I…”

Brett had made his way across the barn. The door was only a few feet away. “Breathe, Hadley.”

“I don’t know if she was hurt. I called you first.”

“Sit tight. I’ll send help. You call the police, and I’ll call Asa. Maybe he can get a head start.”

“Okay,” Hadley said. Her voice shook too much on that one word.

“Which way did they go when they took her?”

Hadley gasped for a few breaths. “He came from behind the car, and I didn’t see them drive by, so, um, maybe toward town? I don’t know.”

“Just sit tight. Help is on the way.”

Hadley was still new in town, but that was enough information to let him know where they were taking her.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a sniff.

It wasn’t Hadley’s fault they’d wrecked or that Thea had been taken.

If anyone was to blame, it was Brett. He’d confronted Bruce thinking it was the right thing to do. He’d sent Thea off the ranch without him. He didn’t protect her the way he’d promised.

“It’s not your fault. Make the call, okay?”

He ended the call as he stepped out of the barn.

“Brett!” Jess shouted close behind him.

“Hadley and Thea were in a wreck. Someone took Thea. Hadley is calling 911, and I’m letting Asa know what’s going on.”

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