Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Cap hopped into his truck and headed toward the station as he dialed Emma. No answer. After waiting a few moments, he tried again. Still nothing. Adrenaline flooded his veins and his heart pounded so hard it blurred his focus.
His phone dinged. Emma’s name popped up on the display in his truck. A text. The stop sign at the highway intersection came into view. Once there, he pulled his phone from the charger and read.
My phone won’t make calls, so I’m hoping this text comes through.
Relief hit hard and fast. She was alive.
Are you okay? Where are you? He texted back.
I’m okay. I don’t know where I am. I pulled into a driveway in the woods to hide. I’m afraid to leave. One of the drug dealers was chasing me.
She was safe for the moment, but he had to find her—protect her. Why in the hell did she leave his house? Why didn’t she ask him for help like she is now?
What can you tell me about where you drove?
It all happened so fast. We were at LaSalle Park. I’ll explain more later. When I left, he chased me. I didn’t really think. I just drove.
Damn right she’ll explain more later.
I know the park and the area. Anything you remember will help.
He imagined how shaken she must be. If only he were with her, he could console her. Hell, if he’d been with her, this wouldn’t be happening. What was she thinking?
I turned right out of the parking lot. I wanted to get back to town, but I turned onto the first crossroad I could find, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
Then, I pulled into the first driveway I saw.
It was a farm, and there was a guy outside, so I asked him for directions.
The vehicle chasing me slowed down but continued on. I’m sure he knew it was me.
You did good. Then what?
I didn’t want to get him involved, so I left with my directions and drove back onto the main road. I was afraid they’d come back, so I pulled into a driveway in a wooded area to hide. It led to an old shed that’s falling down. Still, I backed inside it.
When was the last time you saw them?
When he drove past the farm.
You are doing great. I’m on my way.
I’m sorry.
Nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart.
Cap dialed the chief’s number.
“Chief Mertz.”
“I know where she is, and I’m going to get her, then we’ll come to the station.”
“Be careful.”
Cap crossed the bridge and hung a left onto County U.
He drove for about ten minutes and then paid particular attention to concealed driveways.
The first driveway he tried led to a home.
He backed out. The second driveway dead-ended not too far from the road.
He skipped the third driveway because he could see the house from the road.
Then he saw it—a narrow drive curving into the woods.
An old shed came into view. The nose of Jonathan’s brown truck stuck out from inside.
The driver’s door flew open, and Emma hopped out and ran toward him. He was barely out of his truck when she flung herself into his arms. Her small arms locked around him tighter than he had imagined possible.
Sobs shook her body. He tightened his grip.
“It’s okay. You’re okay now. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”
Her silky strands of hair brushed his fingers as he gently ran his hand up and down her back.
The sobs gradually eased. She pulled back slightly but didn’t let go. Her red-stained eyes and flushed cheeks nearly split his heart in two. The last thing he wanted was for this woman to be scared or in danger.
Those beautiful eyes of hers pleaded for him to find a way to end the madness. He released his arms from around her and cupped her warm cheeks in his hands, swiping the moisture away.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, but you need to stay with me. Why did you leave?”
Her eyelids lowered in shame.
He hadn’t meant to scold her.
“Emma, I can’t keep you safe if I don’t know where you are, is all.”
She refocused on him.
“I’m so sorry. Jonathan had a gun.”
“Where did he get a gun? And how did he know where to find you?” Her eyes watered again. “I don’t know.”
So, she hadn’t gone voluntarily.
His mind raced with questions, but if she didn’t know where the weapon came from or how Jonathan found her, she probably didn’t learn the details leading to his survival. He’d ask for more information when she calmed down a bit and could think more clearly.
“You are such a good person,” she whispered.
His heart melted.
She stretched up on her toes, and he leaned in, pressing his lips ever so lightly to hers.
The jolt to his heart was stronger than he’d expected.
It was both exhilarating and terrifying.
Since the moment his fiancé had dumped him, he’d vowed to never allow himself to trust on that kind of level again, yet this simple kiss just now had him wondering if he shouldn’t go down that path again, and with a woman he hardly knew.
What was he thinking? He shouldn’t be kissing her—a vulnerable, frightened woman in distress—a jilted bride.
If he were still on the police force, this would be forbidden, but he wasn’t.
Still, he didn’t want to take advantage of her when she was so vulnerable.
He released her and stepped back.
“We need to get to the station. The chief is waiting for us. We need to get you into a safe place while the police sort this out.”
“What about Jonathan’s truck?”
“Grab what you need from it, and the sheriff’s department can pick it up later.”
He walked with her to the truck, where she retrieved her handbag and phone.
“I’m so glad my texts went through. Reception here is terrible.”
“Yeah, it always is.”
Cap noticed the broken glass from the passenger window.
“What happened?”
“They shot at me and…Jonathan,” her voice cracked.
“He’s at the hospital.”
“What?” Emma couldn’t believe her ears.
“Jonathan is at the hospital. He survived, but I don’t know his condition.”
Relief flickered through her. She’d thought he’d died twice in less than twenty-four hours.
Fresh dread and awareness followed. What did this mean for them now?
“I can’t believe it.”
Emma’s pulse ratcheted up a notch. If Jonathan was still alive, maybe Carly was, too.
Cap’s gaze hit the ground as if he’d read her last thought, crushing her hope.
“Carly,” she whispered.
Those dark eyes of his radiated sympathy, making her eyes water.
He pulled her to him. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
When her tears dried, he released her and gave her a comforting peck on the forehead.
“Let’s get to the police station. You can tell me what happened along the way.”
Cap scooped up her hand and led her to his truck and opened the passenger door for her. She climbed in, and then he shut her door.
He drove to the end of the driveway, paused, and then he hung a right.
“Tell me what happened.”
Emma took a long breath and let it out slowly as she put her thoughts in order.
“It started when I heard a knock on the bedroom window. Jonathan was there with a gun. I was shocked to see him…and with a gun. I wanted to yell for you, but I thought he’d shoot me, or you, if I did.”
Cap reached over and took her hand. His skin was warm. His hold was comforting. He wove his fingers among hers and rested their hands on the truck’s console.
“He said I needed to come with him to save Carly.” Her throat closed while saying her friend’s name.
Cap squeezed her hand reassuringly.
“He needed his spare set of truck keys that I still had and he planned to exchange drugs for Carly. At least that’s what he said. He needed my phone to contact those men.”
“Your phone? He had more drugs?” Cap asked.
“Yes. Apparently, he was set to make a delivery to someone else. He lost his keys and phone when he was in the water.”
“Dammit!”
“What?” Emma asked.
“The chief called for a tow for Jonathan’s truck so it could be secured, but none of the tow companies could do it right away because of a big accident up north.
If the truck had been impounded, Jonathan wouldn’t have had drugs to make a new deal, and all of this may not have happened.
Carly might still be alive. Where are the drugs now? ”
Her stomach dropped. How stupid was she? She hadn’t given a thought to telling Cap about the drugs in the truck. She just wanted to get out of there and be out of danger.
“They’re on the front seat.”
Cap released her hand and dialed Chief Mertz.
“Hi, Cap.”
“Chief, I just picked up Emma. It’s a long story, but we are on our way to the station. Jonathan’s truck is in a building a couple of miles north of the park. I can map it when we get to City Hall. There are drugs in it.”
“We’ll dispatch someone from the Sheriff’s Department, so they are near there when you pinpoint it.”
“Should we go back?”
“No. Your safety comes first. It won’t take long to get a deputy there.”
Cap glanced at her with an arched brow.
“How did Jonathan make it to shore? It looked like he could hardly swim. And with all the people searching, how did we not see him?”
“I don’t know. Everything happened so fast, I didn’t ask that. I think I was so shocked he was still alive and that he took me at gunpoint to help make an exchange. He said if I didn’t help, they would come after me and…kill Carly, and in the end, it was Jonathan who did.”
Emma couldn’t control the tears flowing from her eyes at the thought that Carly was dead and Jonathan caused her death. It may have been an accident that he shot her, but he was responsible for all of this. She in turn, enabled all of it to happen by allowing him into her life.
Cap’s head snapped in her direction.
“Jonathan killed Carly?”
“Yes. I think it was an accident.”
“How so?”
“By the time we got to the park, they were already there. Jonathan showed them the duffel bag of drugs, then all of a sudden someone shot at us.”
Her voice shook, and her body quivered as she relived that horrible episode.
Cap reached over and took her hand again.
“Even though Jonathan had drugs for them, they shot at him…us.”
“It’s okay, Emma. You’re safe now.”