Page 39 of Ultimate Freedom

“Looked to me like he was hiding. I saw him duck after he signaled us.”

“Yeah. I got the same impression. Maybe Orville isn’t aware he has a passenger.”

“How could he not know? And Dawson said Charlie’s missing. Makes sense he’d grab him… but why Teddy?”

“Hell if I know. Maybe they were together. Demi said Charlie made friends with the boy. Stupid of Orville to take both of them though. He might have gotten away with an orphan like Charlie, but the whole country will be up in arms with him taking Clive’s kid.”

Glen chuckled, no humor in the tone. “Except Charlie isn’t an orphan, is he? Not with people like Demi and you wanting to look after him. She’s already started the paperwork to foster the kid, you knew that right?”

“Yep. We both care about him. How could anyone turn away from something that precious?”

“Easy answer. You couldn’t. And neither could she.” Glen edged forward. “Hey, look, he’s out of control. Goddammit, grab hold buddy. He’s gonna flip that sucker.”

Both he and Whit held their breath as the car swerved. Then Whit sped up and pulled close, using the back end of his truck to stop the other vehicle from flipping over. The thud hadn’t come as a surprise. But thankfully, the impact had been less severe than he’d expected.

Both braked to a stop, and Whit was out of the truck in a flash. He ran to the driver’s side in time to catch Orville heading in his direction. Sidestepping the idiot in time, he grabbed his shoulders, swung him around and pushed the man against theback door of his stalled car. In his peripheral vision, Whit saw Teddy, screaming with joy and pumping his fists, the boy thrilled to see him there.

When Orville wouldn’t stop struggling, he let him have it. One fist in his stomach followed by another to his head and down he went. The idiot landed in the snow and didn’t move.

Opening the back door, he took Teddy’s weight as the boy flung himself into Whit’s arms. With his face against Whit’s shoulder, he yelled, “Boy am I glad to see you guys.” In seconds, he began straining to get free, yelling, “Charlie’s hurt. He’s in the trunk.”

Glen, who’d grabbed the keys from the ignition to turn off the vehicle, headed to the back. Lowering Teddy, Whit followed him and helped get it open. They saw Charlie curled into a fetal position, his face puffy and bruised.

Reaching in gently, Whit lifted Charlie into his arms like one would a baby and hugged him close. Teddy called out, “Charlie. They came for us. We’re safe. Charlie!”

Only there was no sign of consciousness, no acknowledgement that he heard. Whit tried talking and got no response.

Glen took off his scarf and filled a small pocket of it with fresh snow. Then he carefully put it against Charlie’s cheek, gently holding it there on the swollen area.

Groaning from the icy sensation, Charlie woke. When he saw who was holding him, tears of relief gushed, and he rolled into Whit’s arms like he’d come home.

His voice breaking, he whispered, “You’re here. Demi said you’d come.”

Chapter Twenty-three

By the time they were on the road again with the boys happily together in the crew cab’s back seat, Whit reviewed the earlier stop in Terrace. He thought back to the words Demi had said when he’d called her from the sheriff’s office. Recalling her husky tone, he heard her clearly. “I told Charlie you were our secret weapon. Turns out, I was right. I can’t wait to see you, baby. Get here safe.”

Forced to stop and give a statement…. not that he wasn’t happy to be involved in Orville’s arrest... all he wanted to do was get home. Between the holdups in Miami, the rotten weather, and now Orville, he felt like the universe battled against him.

Yet this delay was worth a lot. He’d been happy to inform her about what the sheriff had said. “Darling, even if they never prove Orville’s interference being the sole result of Beth’s OD’ing, this new kidnapping offense holds a huge penalty. The guy’s going away for a long time.”

“Good. He deserves it. Now just get home safely.”

“You bet. As soon as the sheriff gives us the okay to leave, we’ll be on the road again. Anything you need from town?”

“Just you and Charlie.” Was that a sob? Before he could ask, she shut down the call.

Her words hadn’t gushed, but the tone he heard spoke volumes. She was thrilled, he could tell. Rushing the cops to get everything they needed, he was finally headed back to Hyder.

Glen teased. “You’re some anxious to get home, ain’t ya?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Hell, man, you wouldn’t even let us go inside Mickey D’s. Had to use the drive-through.”

Whit chuckled. “You’re lucky I agreed to go there at all. Hate that place with a passion. Only went there because the boys are with us.”

Shoveling fries in his mouth, Glen laughed. “Yet you lower yourself to eat their food.”

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