“We go get her. There’s three of them. He’s giving us thirty minutes, and we’re down to twenty-five.”
I drive the ATV out of the warehouse and toward the mountain. I have the gas pushed down as far as it will go. The need to get to her, to hold her in my arms is almost overwhelming. I won’t survive it if something happens to her. I know I won’t.
The guys are all behind me when I hit the trail on the side of the mountain. I go across rocks and unlevel terrain, but I don’t slow down. I can’t.
I make a motion with my hand for the others to go around to come at the cabin on the other side. I don’t stop until the cabin is in sight. I’m off with my gun drawn before the ATV comes to a complete stop. I know there are tactics and strategies to this, but I also know that right now, I can take on three men. I kick in the door, ready to start shooting, but all I see is Brook, head down and not moving. I rush to her as John, Logan, and the others come running in.
I put my gun away and with my fingers on the pulse at her neck, I beg her. “Brook, baby. Look at me. Open your eyes for me.”
She blinks and looks up at me. She’s dazed and disoriented. “Walker?”
“Yeah, baby. I’m so sorry. We’re going to get them.”
She lifts her arms, showing me the duct tape. I pull out the knife from my pocket and work on getting her wrists and ankles free. “They got a call as soon as you hung up. Someone warned them that you knew their location. They left.” She sobs. “They got away.”
“We’ll get them. All that matters is you’re safe. Where are you hurt?”
She takes a deep breath and winces. “Just my ribs.”
“And your face,” I tell her, running my fingers across her cheek and pushing her hair back.
She nods. “And my face.”
She starts to stand up, and I put one arm at her back and the other behind her knees, picking her up and holding her to my chest. The guys are all watching us, and the fierce way they’re looking at Brook, I have no doubt they’ll get the men that did this to her. Sam approaches us. “Brook, are you okay?” she asks worriedly.
Brook looks between Sam and me, and pain etches her face. “Yes, yes. I’m fine. Walker, put me down, I can walk.”
I bury my face on the top of her head. “No, I’m carrying you. You’ll be lucky if I ever put you down.”
She gasps, and I try to loosen my hold on her without dropping her. I know I’m squeezing her too tight. I need to rein it in. “Bear.”
Bear walks up to me, his gaze worried as he looks at Brook. “What do you need?”
“Get us outta here. Have the others find the men that did this and tell Logan to meet me at my house.”
He hesitates for only a minute and does as I ask. I know he was expecting me to ask him to carry her out of here. Bear is huge, and he’s carried victims for miles without any trouble in the past. But there’s no way I’m handing Brook over, not even to Bear.
Bear issues the order, and I walk out behind him. He’s on high alert, and I know I should be too, but all I can focus on is Brook. Bear gets into the front of the side by side, and I get into the back, settling Brook on my lap. She resists, but I don’t let her move. “I’m not letting you go, Brook.”
She settles into my arms, and her head pops up instantly. “My sister. I need to call my sister.”
Bear is going slowly down the side of the mountain, trying to avoid all the bumps and notches on the trail. I reach into my pocket and pull my phone out, handing it to her. “The code is 0717.”
Her eyes, although hooded, snap to mine. “That’s my birthday.”
I nod, staring into her brown, wounded eyes. “I know.”
She’s confused, but there’s no way I can explain it now. She unlocks the phone and dials her sister. “Cassie,” she says, and I can hear her sister screaming into the phone.
Brook smiles and winces at the pull on her cut lip. “Yes, it’s me. I’m fine.”
There’s silence for just a second. “Yeah, that was smart to call Walker. He found me.”
More silence, and then Brook tells her, “I don’t know. I’ll probably have to be debriefed or something, but I’ll get someone to bring me to your house later.”
I shake my head, and Brook looks up to me. “What?”
“You’re staying with me.”
“No, I can go to Cassie’s. I’ll be safe there.”