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Nash
A whisper of a breeze tickled my ear. For a moment, I thought I heard Makenna’s voice. Great, now I was losing my fucking mind.
Or not?
“Did you say something?” I asked, looking at Jaxson.
Jaxson looked up, shaking his head. “No, I didn’t say anything. You okay?”
I scraped my fingers through my hair. “I feel as if I’m going crazy. If he hurts her, I swear to God, I’ll kill him.”
Jaxson’s expression turned stern. “We’ll find her. He wouldn’t dare hurt her. You said her friend saw his face before he knocked her out. If Eric harms her in any way, there’ll be an all-out manhunt for him. He won’t want to take that chance.”
My phone began to ring. I slipped it from my pocket and glanced at the caller ID. Lindsay smiled back at me. I’d known her for years. She’d gone on a few easy hikes, and enjoyed the outdoors with some of my groups. Occasionally, I grabbed a burger at the drive-in where she was the manager. “What’s up?” I asked.
“Hi, Nash. I’ve been trying to call you, but your phone has been busy. I heard through the grapevine that you wanted to know if there were any strangers in town who looked suspicious. This guy came in tonight driving a fancy red car. An expensive ones. He ordered enough for two people, then smiled the whole time he ate one of the burgers and fries. He didn’t touch the other one. I figured if he was buying it for someone else, then he would’ve left straightaway. It was almost as if he was gloating while he ate. Just seemed kind of strange to me.”
“What did he look like?”
She described Eric to a T.
My heart skipped a few beats. “Do you know which direction he went when he left?”
“I can do better than that. Mike was just getting off work, so I had him follow the guy. He turned on Miller Road. He followed him about ten miles, but was afraid the guy might get suspicious so he turned off on one of the side roads. Mike said the only cabin out in that general direction you can rent right now is Jacob’s. He thought the guy might be going there. Sorry I couldn’t get you more information.”
“You did great, Lindsay. We’ll head up that way and see what we can find.” I hung up the phone.
“Do you have a lead?” Ryder asked.
“I hope so.”
My brothers and I loaded up in my truck and took off. I didn’t say anything on the drive out. Jaxson called the FBI to let them know where we were headed. Still, I let my brothers talk. I think I mostly prayed. I prayed that Makenna would be okay. All I could think about was getting her to safety.
“Don’t break the steering wheel,” Layne said.
I glanced in my rearview mirror at my little brother. “What the hell are you talking about?”
He nodded toward the steering wheel. “The way you’re gripping it, I was afraid you might break the steering wheel in two.”
I realized my knuckles had turned white. I loosened my grip.
“She must mean a lot to you if you’re this worried,” Jaxson said.
I hadn’t really thought about it. All I knew was that my life didn’t mean a whole lot without her in it. “Yeah, she means a lot to me.”
“Do you love her?” Ryder asked.
I frowned.
“You’re acting like Jaxson did with Katie,” he continued.
“Love?” Did I love her?
“Yeah, do you love her?” Layne asked.
I’d felt sick to my stomach ever since Eric had kidnapped her. The thought of losing her made me ache in places I didn’t know I could ache. But I didn’t know what the hell love really felt like. I glanced toward Jaxson.
“You have all the signs that you’re in love,” Jaxson said.
Well, hell. When had it happened? I had a pretty good idea I knew the exact moment I fell in love with Makenna. It was when she ate the hot salsa on the chip without flinching, then ate another one. Yeah, I was pretty sure that was when I fell in love with her.
“I think I do love her,” I admitted.
“But have you told her yet?” Layne asked.
I shook my head. I only hoped I had the chance to say the words to her.
I turned down Miller Road, dust swirling around the truck. I could feel my pulse speeding up.
Jaxson reached over and touched my arm. “If she’s at this cabin, we can’t just drive up and storm it.”
“I know where it’s at. I’ll stop before we get there.”
We were almost to the turn off that would lead to the cabin when I noticed something down the road. The closer we got, the better able I was to make her out. I should’ve known that she would escape. I almost hated to find out what kind of shape she had left Eric in. I began to laugh.
“Are you okay?” Ryder asked.
When I glanced in the rearview mirror I could see his worried expression. “Did I mention to you how stubborn Makenna is? That she climbed up the side of the mountain to go get help, after I specifically ordered her not to? Well, meet Makenna.” I stopped the truck a little ways before I got to her, slammed it into park, then jumped out and ran to her.