Bright sunshine warmed me, but it also blinded me. My head pounded as I sucked in a sharp breath. My hand instinctively went to my head, finding a knot. “What the hell?”
Sand scraped against my fingers as I pushed myself up to sit. I searched around the area, my heart rising into my throat. “Nattie?”
My voice broke as panic swirled inside me, sending my blood pressure through the roof. I could feel my heart working overtime, the tension building in my shoulders and at my temples.
Fear narrowed my vision as I frantically tried to find Nattie. But it was useless. She wasn’t here.
I dug into my memory, trying to recall what had happened in the last moments I could recall. Someone had shot at us. I’d went to check, but Nattie had pulled me into a kiss.
“Then what?”
As much as I wanted to keep that kiss in the forefront of my mind, I had to push past it. What happened next?
My eyes widened as I realized someone had knocked me out from behind. My lower lip trembled as I pushed myself up to stand on wobbly knees. Whoever did this must have taken Nattie.
The salty air filled my nose, but there was another scent lingering—something metallic. My heart raced as I scanned the beach, spotting faint tracks in the sand leading away from where I’d lain. Footprints—small ones, paired with larger ones. My pulse thundered in my ears. Someone had been here. Someone had taken Nattie.
“No,” I breathed, my fingers curling into fists.
I swallowed hard, fear, worry, and determination roiling in a confusing mix inside me. I needed to find her. But I needed help.
I twisted around and ran headlong back toward Alex and Ava’s. My lungs hurt, struggling to suck in breath, but I pushed myself hard. I couldn’t afford to lose time.
Every step back to the house felt like an eternity. I stumbled twice, my bare feet catching on uneven ground, but I couldn’t stop. My chest burned, and the sharp tang of fear filled my mouth. If I wasted one more second, I might lose her forever.
I’d already lost enough time unconscious in the sand. I hadn’t even checked to see how long that had been. Sweat beaded on my brow as I pushed my body to its limits, completely ignoring the head injury I’d sustained.
When I reached the house, I doubled over for a second to catch my breath and collect my shoes before I hurried up theboardwalk to their pool and straight into the living room, not stopping to rinse off the sand clinging to my toes.
Alex and Ava lounged on the couch, coffees in hand. They froze as I came inside, barely able to breathe.
Ava sat up straighter, her features pinching. “Doc?”
I doubled over, balancing my hands on my thighs. “I need help.”
Scrambling to their feet, they both hurried toward me.
Ava wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “What’s going on? What happened?”
“Someone took Nattie,” I gasped out.
“What?” Alex asked, his voice incredulous. “Who?”
I waved a hand in the air, straightening. “I don’t know. I’ll explain once you start tracking her phone.”
“Yeah,” Alex murmured, hurrying across the room to grab his device as Ava guided me toward a chair.
I didn’t want to sit down, but I allowed her to ease me into the chair. “Tell us what happened.”
“We were walking. She stopped to tell me something, and then…someone shot at us.”
Ava’s eyes widened. “What?”
I bobbed my head. “I pushed her down, and then she didn’t want me to leave her.”
My voice broke as I wrung my hands. “She looked so scared.”
“It’s okay, Doc,” Ava said with a rub of my back, “we’ll find her. Alex is tracking her phone.”
