Deep down, Jake had known the man wouldn’t survive, and a part of him was glad he hadn’t. Any man who would bind a woman and stuff her in a trunk deserved what he’d gotten. The other part wished he’d survived so Jake could see him arrested. After he punched him in the face. A twinge of guilt sliced through Jake. Neither part felt very Christ-like, apparently.
“So, what are we dealing with here?” Jake asked.
“It’s clearly an abduction. I found a Colt .38 on the driver, as well as several strands of her hair and a strip of duct tape, that was likely over her mouth, in the trunk. I’m not sure how she managed to work it off. But there’s no ID for the woman. We don’t know her name, where she’s from, or why he abducted her.”
A sick feeling settled in Jake’s gut as he considered the possiblewhys. “She was lucid for a moment before the ambulance arrived. She said, ‘Please help me. Don’t let them kill me!’” Unable to stand still, Jake paced again. He hated to see people hurting. “Do you think her escaping from the trunk into the back seat caused the accident?”
“That’s my guess, but I have no idea how she managed it with her hands behind her back. I figure she either distracted the driver or intentionally caused the accident.” Robert put his hands on his hips. “Judging by the skid marks, he was speeding, contributing to the loss of control and the force of the impact. According to his ID, his name was Brian Barnes. He doesn’t have a record. I need more time to dig deeper on him.”
A door behind Jake opened, and he whirled around to find his uncle, Dr. James Young, entering the waiting room.
Uncle James gave them each a nod. “Do either of you know the young woman’s name?”
Robert shook his head. “We haven’t found any ID for her. How is she?”
“She’s bruised, broken, and very lucky. But she should make a full recovery.” He motioned for them to follow him.
Jake’s gaze went to the slender woman on the bed the moment he stepped into the hospital room. The bruises on her cheeks and around her eyes looked garish compared to her pale face and the bandage above her left eye.”
“The left side of her body took the brunt of the impact.” Uncle James made a sweeping motion down the length of the woman’s body. “They were all clean breaks, but we sedated her so we could set her bones without causing her additional pain.”
Poor woman.The neck brace, a cast on her left arm spanning from above her elbow to her fingers, and the bulge under the blanket from mid-thigh to toes, made the slender figure bulky and lopsided.
“She cheated death today, probably even twice.” All three men were quiet for a tense moment before Uncle James spoke again. “The trauma caused by the abduction may take longer to heal from than the broken bones.”
Both brothers’ gazes snapped up to meet their uncle’s.
Uncle James pointed to a lighter bruise by the woman’s right eye. “She was taken by force. Most likely knocked unconscious before being bound. I hate to imagine what he intended to do with her.”
Heat coursed through Jake’s body, and he clenched his fists. He couldn’t tolerate men abusing women and children. He recalled one of his childhood friends, Shawn, showing up to school with bruises inflicted by his stepfather. Jake had also seen Shawn’s mother with a black eye and a split lip once. He told his parents about it and they went to the authorities, but Shawn’s mother refused to press charges. It wasn’t until almost a year later, when her husband beat her so badly she nearly died, that she finally pressed charges. Shawn’s stepfather went to jail.
“The driver had a gun on him,” Robert told their uncle. “And she told Jake, ‘Don’t let them kill me,’ before she lost consciousness.”
“Them?” Uncle James’ eyes widened. “If she had more than one captor, she’s still in danger.”
Jake’s body tensed as an urgent desire to protect this woman filled him.
“I’ll keep an officer posted outside her room,” Robert said.
Uncle James stepped toward the door. “She’s not likely to awaken for some time. We’ll call you when she does.”
Robert scratched his jaw, an obvious sign of his impatience. He was probably torn between waiting for her to wake up and getting back to work looking for answers.
Jake rubbed at the tense muscles in his neck—his giveaway of the anxiety pulsing in him. He saw again the fear in the woman’s eyes as he recalled her plea for him tostay with her.
“I’ll wait with her.” He looked at Uncle James for approval.
Uncle James’ brow furrowed. “The EMTs said she asked you to stay with her when they put her in the ambulance?” When Jake nodded, he said, “In that case, I think it’s fine for you to stay.”
Jake hated sitting around doing nothing even more than he hated paperwork, but he had to know if she would be okay.
He looked at Robert. “I’ll call you as soon as she wakes up.”
“Are you sure you want to stay? I know how busy you are at the ranch.”
At Jake’s nod, Robert backed toward the door. “I’ll look into the driver and go over every inch of that car with a fine-tooth comb.”
After the door closed, Jake turned back to the woman.Who was she and what had happened to her?
