dry-eyed.
God, or maybe the devil, only knew what Darren had done to them, but they were alive.
Carly slid the gun into the back of her waistband.
“We’ll have you all out of there in a few minutes. Just need bolt cutters.” The deputy’s voice was strained. He leaned close to Carly’s ear. “Ambulance is on the way.”
The second deputy jogged down the steps and cut the locks. They helped Tammy and the children crawl out of the narrow doors and wrapped blankets around their shoulders.
“He—he said his dogs were more grateful than us, and maybe if he treated us like dogs, we could learn to behave.”
“How long were you in there, Tammy?”
“Since you left yesterday. At least I think it was yesterday.”
Right after he’d kicked Gary out. Those kennels were designed to house large, powerful dogs, but a boy the size of Gary wouldn’t have fit. Carly supposed they should be grateful he hadn’t killed the teen.
They waited in the living room. Carly gave the girls and Tammy glasses of water as they waited for the ambulance.
Outside, rain poured in a steady sheet. The ambulance arrived, red lights swirling in the slanted rainfall. Tammy and the girls were loaded up and taken away. The deputies walked back and forth to the basement with crime scene equipment. Carly eyed the covered back porch. She needed a relatively quiet place to call her boss and give him an update. The dogs had finally stopped barking. They whined and paced at the ends of their chains.
As she stepped through the back door, a hand grabbed her arm and yanked her off the porch. Pain ripped through her shoulder.
“Come here, bitch. This is all your fault.” Darren pulled the gun out of her waistband and shoved it into his own pocket. Then he dragged her toward the woods.
Seth swept his flashlight in a steady arc. The rain fell in a blinding sheet, obscuring the dark forest. Water ran into his eyes, and he wiped a hand over his face to clear his vision. His clothes were plastered to his skin. He scrambled over a fallen tree and into a puddle. The mud pulled at his shoes, producing a sucking sound with every step. But the wet earth allowed him to track Darren through the woods. If the ground had been dry, the asshole would have disappeared. Darren was a hunter. He knew these woods, while Seth and the two deputies were, literally, traveling blind.
His light fell on a footprint.
“Found another one,” he called, but the deputies kept running, unable to hear him over the driving rain. Wait. What the fuck? “Stop!”
He squinted at the ground, then surveyed the surrounding forest. In the distance a siren approached, its sound growing louder as the vehicle drew closer.
Something was off. The rain was disorienting, muffling sound and obscuring Seth’s vision, but the siren seemed to be coming from an odd direction. Unless they’d turned around. “Shit.”
Darren was circling back.
Seth broke into a run, his feet sliding and splashing in the muck. He leaped over a log. His shoe slid on wet moss, and he went down face-first into the mud. His flashlight and gun slid down the trail. The flashlight went out. The gun disappeared.
Seth lunged to his feet, fear for Carly driving him forward. He scooped up the flashlight and slipped the switch back and forth. Nothing. Desperate, he scanned the ground. Where was his gun? He couldn’t see shit between the darkness and the downpour. No time to keep looking.
That bastard Darren was headed right toward Carly.
He ran for the house. The rain slowed, and he could hear the deputies far behind him. They’d noticed his about-face. Lungs burning, Seth slid to a stop at the edge of the clearing. Ahead, the front yard blazed with emergency vehicles and flashing strobe lights. His gaze skimmed over the crowd of responders. All male uniformed bodies. Where was Carly?
He scanned the tree line.
Where was Darren?
CHAPTER TWELVE
Terror drowned out the agony in Carly’s shoulder. Her heart battered
God, or maybe the devil, only knew what Darren had done to them, but they were alive.
Carly slid the gun into the back of her waistband.
“We’ll have you all out of there in a few minutes. Just need bolt cutters.” The deputy’s voice was strained. He leaned close to Carly’s ear. “Ambulance is on the way.”
The second deputy jogged down the steps and cut the locks. They helped Tammy and the children crawl out of the narrow doors and wrapped blankets around their shoulders.
“He—he said his dogs were more grateful than us, and maybe if he treated us like dogs, we could learn to behave.”
“How long were you in there, Tammy?”
“Since you left yesterday. At least I think it was yesterday.”
Right after he’d kicked Gary out. Those kennels were designed to house large, powerful dogs, but a boy the size of Gary wouldn’t have fit. Carly supposed they should be grateful he hadn’t killed the teen.
They waited in the living room. Carly gave the girls and Tammy glasses of water as they waited for the ambulance.
Outside, rain poured in a steady sheet. The ambulance arrived, red lights swirling in the slanted rainfall. Tammy and the girls were loaded up and taken away. The deputies walked back and forth to the basement with crime scene equipment. Carly eyed the covered back porch. She needed a relatively quiet place to call her boss and give him an update. The dogs had finally stopped barking. They whined and paced at the ends of their chains.
As she stepped through the back door, a hand grabbed her arm and yanked her off the porch. Pain ripped through her shoulder.
“Come here, bitch. This is all your fault.” Darren pulled the gun out of her waistband and shoved it into his own pocket. Then he dragged her toward the woods.
Seth swept his flashlight in a steady arc. The rain fell in a blinding sheet, obscuring the dark forest. Water ran into his eyes, and he wiped a hand over his face to clear his vision. His clothes were plastered to his skin. He scrambled over a fallen tree and into a puddle. The mud pulled at his shoes, producing a sucking sound with every step. But the wet earth allowed him to track Darren through the woods. If the ground had been dry, the asshole would have disappeared. Darren was a hunter. He knew these woods, while Seth and the two deputies were, literally, traveling blind.
His light fell on a footprint.
“Found another one,” he called, but the deputies kept running, unable to hear him over the driving rain. Wait. What the fuck? “Stop!”
He squinted at the ground, then surveyed the surrounding forest. In the distance a siren approached, its sound growing louder as the vehicle drew closer.
Something was off. The rain was disorienting, muffling sound and obscuring Seth’s vision, but the siren seemed to be coming from an odd direction. Unless they’d turned around. “Shit.”
Darren was circling back.
Seth broke into a run, his feet sliding and splashing in the muck. He leaped over a log. His shoe slid on wet moss, and he went down face-first into the mud. His flashlight and gun slid down the trail. The flashlight went out. The gun disappeared.
Seth lunged to his feet, fear for Carly driving him forward. He scooped up the flashlight and slipped the switch back and forth. Nothing. Desperate, he scanned the ground. Where was his gun? He couldn’t see shit between the darkness and the downpour. No time to keep looking.
That bastard Darren was headed right toward Carly.
He ran for the house. The rain slowed, and he could hear the deputies far behind him. They’d noticed his about-face. Lungs burning, Seth slid to a stop at the edge of the clearing. Ahead, the front yard blazed with emergency vehicles and flashing strobe lights. His gaze skimmed over the crowd of responders. All male uniformed bodies. Where was Carly?
He scanned the tree line.
Where was Darren?
CHAPTER TWELVE
Terror drowned out the agony in Carly’s shoulder. Her heart battered
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