Chapter 15
When that didn’t calm her churning emotions, she banged her fist on the steering wheel and let out a guttural cry.
For several minutes, she released her anger and frustration in the silence of the vehicle. Now was the time to do so. She was alone. No one could hear or see her.
After a few moments, Hailey pulled herself together. She wasn’t sure her little temper tantrum had helped any, but at least everything was no longer bottled inside.
What a day.
If she had to put up with many more like today, she wasn’t sure she’d make it working full-time as a CPA.
But, she reminded herself, data breaches weren’t a normal part of her job.
Neither was being yelled at by a client who seemed to think she was personally responsible for compromising their data.
More than that, the stress of the last year and the last several days in particular had been building—stacking higher and higher, like one of Jenna’s wobbly towers.
Perhaps that had more to do with her fragile emotions than today’s issues.
They’d just been the final ill-placed block that sent everything clattering to the floor.
Regardless, she was so glad to finally be on her way to pick up Jenna. When she was with her daughter, she could push most of life’s problems to the back burner. Somehow, they’d make it through this week, this month, this year. One day at a time.
Thirty minutes later, she and Jenna were on their way home.
It felt odd not having Maggie with them on the return trip, but Mom and Dad had both planned to be busy with errands and such today, so she’d left the golden at home rather than have her left behind at their place.
She hoped the dog had done all right by herself at the house all day.
When they were about halfway between the family farm and home, a silver hatchback pulled onto the road behind them.
The driver edged a bit closer than Hailey was comfortable with, but not quite enough to count as tailgating.
She frowned, then shook off her unease. Everything was fine.
She was just stressed. But still, she couldn’t keep her gaze from wandering to the other vehicle as she navigated the twists and turns of the country road.
About two miles before the turnoff to her street, she rounded a bend and gasped. A car with its hood up sat diagonally across the road several yards ahead, blocking both lanes. She slammed on her brakes. Her tires squealed, but the Explorer skidded to a stop with a few feet to spare.
Heart pounding, she threw the gear into park and gulped in air.
That had been close. Before she had time to evaluate the situation, movement in the rearview caught her eye.
The hatchback. Instinctively, she knew the driver wasn’t going to be able to stop in time, but she was powerless to get out of his way. Time seemed to slow.
The first impact was bone jarring. The second, as the hatchback’s momentum pushed them into the stalled vehicle, caused the airbags to deploy.
Hailey’s ears rang, and she felt disoriented. She also tasted blood. Had she bitten her tongue? A wail from the back seat pulled her from her lethargy. Jenna! Was she okay?
She struggled against the airbags and managed to get the door open.
Tried to get out. Seat belt. Her seat belt was still on.
The door swung closed again as she felt for the release.
Her fingers brushed her phone. Yes, she should call for help.
Hands shaking, she opened the call app. Before she managed to get anything typed in, she accidentally hit the send icon.
Peter’s number popped up. She didn’t have time to figure that out.
Instead, she hit send again and let it dial.
While it did, she tried again to get her seat belt off.
This time, she found the release and pressed it.
“Hello.”
“I’ve just been in an accident,” she blurted over Jenna’s cries. She told him what road she was on. “I don’t know if anyone’s hurt. I need to check on Jenna.”
“Are you okay? Have you called the police?”
“Not yet.” She pushed the door open again.
“Are you okay?” he repeated.
“I think so.” She maneuvered out of the vehicle, but she lost her grip on the phone.
It skidded under the SUV. Jenna’s cries pitched higher.
Now that her head was beginning to clear, Hailey thought her daughter sounded more scared than hurt, but she still needed to get to her and make sure.
She decided to leave the phone for the moment.
She grasped the rear door handle, prepared to pull it open. Suddenly, a hand seized her arm and spun her around. A masked man crowded into her space and pressed a knife to her throat. A second masked figure stood slightly behind him, gun in hand.
Hailey froze. What was happening? More importantly, how could she keep Jenna safe? If that gun went off, her little girl was directly in the line of fire. But she couldn’t move—not with a knife against her throat.
“If you need money, my purse is in the front passenger seat. You’re welcome to whatever’s inside.” She was surprised how normal her voice sounded.
“We don’t want your money,” the first man growled.
New fear skittered up her spine. Her SUV couldn’t be drivable right now, not with the airbags deployed. If they weren’t looking for cash, that left her and Jenna as the likely targets.
He leaned in until there were mere inches between their faces. “You haven’t been listening, so we’re going to make things real clear.”
FOR THE FIRST TIME since he’d returned to Kincaid, Peter passed the site of his accident without having to fight off a panic attack.
He sped toward the road Hailey had named.
He’d already called the police, and they’d promised to send someone, but no way was he going to sit around and wait for an update.
He feared something bad had happened. There’d been a thump, like Hailey had dropped the phone, then muffled voices and scuffling, followed by a cry of pain.
The line had disconnected a moment later.
He’d tried calling her back, but it went straight to voice mail.
He slowed as he approached his turn. He’d need to watch his speed from here on out.
The road the accident had occurred on didn’t get much traffic, but it was winding.
Though he was chafing to be at her side, he had no idea if any of the involved vehicles were still in the road.
The last thing he wanted to do was zoom around a curve and smash into them.
Finally, after a particularly sharp turn, he spotted Hailey’s SUV and another car with its hazard lights on.
Both were pulled as far off the road as possible, but the narrow shoulder left them still partially in the driving lane.
He slowed to a crawl and took quick stock of the scene.
Both cars showed damage, and the Explorer’s windows were lowered, but no one seemed to be about.
No Hailey, no other driver. Had they stepped into the trees to put distance between themselves and the vehicles in case another car sideswiped them?
There was even less of a shoulder to pull off onto on his side of the road.
He’d need to find a place to turn around so he could park in front of the other vehicle.
But when he started to pass by, he caught sight of Jenna in the back seat.
The little girl’s face was red and streaked with tears.
When she saw him, she waved her arms and started wailing loudly enough he could hear her through his own closed windows.
His stomach dropped to his toes. No way Hailey would have willingly left her daughter alone in a hot vehicle, especially not one in so precarious a position.
He rolled his window down. No sound of an approaching engine, so he took a chance and backed up, then crossed the road to join the line of abandoned vehicles. Barely taking time to punch the button for his own hazard lights, he launched himself from his car and rushed toward the SUV.
“Help!” A thump and a muffled cry sounded from the trunk of the other car as he neared it.
Peter drew up short. “Hailey?” he called.
“I’m . . . here. Find Jenna.”
He felt beneath the lip above the license plate but there was no trunk release. “Jenna’s still in her car seat. She’s safe. Stay calm—I’ll get you out.”
“Get Jenna first.” Though the words were muted by the trunk lid, he could hear the strength behind them. Hopefully that meant she wasn’t injured.
“Okay. Hold tight.” He jogged to the SUV and pulled the screaming toddler from her seat. He cradled her against his shoulder and gently patted her back. “There, there.” He murmured the words even though he knew she couldn’t hear them. “Let’s go get your mum now.”
Sirens began to wail in the distance as they returned to the other car. Peter went straight to the driver’s door and yanked at the handle. It wasn’t locked and opened easily. He breathed a sigh of relief. Inside, he quickly located the trunk release and heard a satisfying pop when he pulled it.
By the time he circled back to the rear of the car, Hailey was sitting upright.
Peter’s blood went cold. Besides being drenched with sweat from the hot vehicle, she’d clearly been roughed up.
A large bruise was forming around a cut on her cheekbone, and her right eye was swollen and already turning black.
He helped her out of the trunk with his free hand. Immediately after gaining her feet, Hailey reached for Jenna. He relinquished his hold, but angled the girl so she’d end up on the opposite side of Hailey’s injury. “What happened?”
“It was a setup. They ambushed me.” Hailey was checking Jenna for injuries but paused long enough to turn terrified eyes on him. “They said it was a warning—to leave Kincaid. Why do they want me to leave Kincaid? Where do they expect me to go?”