Robert gripped Daniel by the shoulders, making him realize his left shoulder wasn't as healed as he thought. "She's gone, but we're going to find her."
Daniel's stomach hardened. "Gone? Gone where?"
"We don't know, but a witness came out of the hospital and saw a maroon car drive away a few minutes before I arrived." Robert shook his head in disgust. "Ainsworth drives a maroon Dodge Charger."
Daniel shoved his hands into his hair. "How? How did he manageto get her to go with him? Knowing Riley, she would have fought him tooth and nail."
"I'm sure she did, but he must have overpowered her or incapacitated her in some way."
"Incapacitated? How?” A band tightened around Daniel’s chest, stealing his breath.
Robert's jaw clenched, his face grim. "I don’t know. My only hope is that she has the opportunity to defend herself again at some point.”
Ainsworth wouldn’t have ki — No, he couldn’t even think that.
He shoved both hands into his hair as a feeling of hopelessness swept over Daniel, making him crave a shot of whiskey. “Where would he have taken her?”
"I don't know, but I've put a BOLO out on Ainsworth's car. I've got Dale inside checking the security cameras to verify that it was indeed Ainsworth and to make sure he was alone."
"And we're supposed to just wait?" Anger deepened Daniel's voice. He turned and kicked the tire of Robert's SUV, then spun back around. "Hold on! You said Ainsworth drives a maroon Charger?"
"That's right."
Daniel remembered the car he nearly hit on the highway. He slapped his forehead. "I nearly hit them."
"What do you mean?"
"I passed a charger on my way into town."
"Headed toward the ranch?"
"Maybe. I don't know." Tension coiled in Daniel’s gut like a snake ready to strike,
That didn't make sense though. Why would Ainsworth take Riley to her own home?
"Could he be taking her out to the lake?" He frowned at Robert.
There were a lot of properties out there. It could take days to search them all.
"It's possible." Robert turned and barked orders to Brady, the other deputy at the scene. Then he smacked Daniel's bad shoulder, sending a jolt of pain though him. "Let's go."
He climbed into Robert's Tahoe. "I'll call Jake."
It only took a brief conversation with Jake, who had been pacing the front porch since Daniel's last phone call, to know they hadn't come to the ranch. Daniel didn't think his stomach could plummet any lower, but it did. If Ainsworth took Riley to the ranch, she might have a chance. But if she was unconscious…
Daniel couldn’t let himself consider all the horrible things Ainsworth intended to do to Riley.
Robert called Rudy, another deputy with the sheriff's department who happened to be a computer genius, while they drove. "See if you can connect this Ainsworth guy to any properties near the lake and call the ranger station out at the state park and have them keep an eye out for Ainsworth's car."
"His dad is Senator Ainsworth," Daniel said. "If he's taking her to the lake, it's probably to a property his dad owns."
The liquor store came into view, and Daniel's mouth watered so intensely he had to swallow twice. They drove so fast the store was little more than a blur, but the intense thirst sparked by the fear of what might happen to Riley stayed with him until long after they'd passed the ranch again.
CHAPTER 23
Asensation of cold seeped into Riley's body. But that didn't make sense. The last thing she remembered was walking out of the hospital into the blazing sunshine.
The hospital.
