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“You can wait here for the police,” I said, unbuckling my seat belt. “I’m going to get her.”
“I’m coming,” Porter announced before I could stop him.
“Are you sure?” I asked when we were both on the ground, standing in front of the truck.
“Let me do this,” Porter insisted.
I nodded, and we took off at a jog. No flashlights, no phone lights, not even moonlight helped us find our way. Porter went off memory, and I stuck close to him. In a few minutes, we were rewarded. Electricity shone from the windows of a tiny cabin, only about half the size of my house.
“Go around back,” Porter whispered. “There’s a bedroom window that’s broken. Or was last time I was here. I don’t think they’ve fixed it.”
I hesitated. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to create a diversion,” he said proudly, thumping me once on the back.
I nodded, unseen in the dark, and slipped off to circle the cabin. I kept to the forest, paying attention to the noise I was making, trying to avoid large bushes. Around back, I could see the bedroom through naked windows. There was a person sitting on a chair facing away from the window. I crept closer, and by the time I reached the glass, I could see it was Tammy, her wrists tied behind her.
My heart stuck in my throat. To see her at the mercy of someone else like that was torture. I wanted to smash the glass with my bare hands, reach through the window and drag her to safety, but I had to keep my cool. Examining the window, I could see that Porter had been right. Two of the panes were missing, broken and removed from the window. It was easy to reach through and slide the frame up, careful to minimize the noise.
I heard a commotion from beyond the bedroom door and feared the worse. Acting quickly, I hoisted myself through the open window, sliding down to the floor. Tammy was facing away from me and unable to see what was happening. To her credit, she didn’t scream. I crept forward, a finger to my lips.
When she finally caught sight of me, her relief was palpable. She tilted her head back, closing her eyes. They hadn’t bothered to gag her, figuring, I guessed, that they were too far out in the woods for her to attract any attention. I kissed her firmly, overjoyed to feel the warm pressure of her lips against mine. There wasn’t time for reunions, though, so I contented myself with a single touch. Pulling a knife out of my pocket, I cut her free. Together, we crept toward the window.
The bedroom door burst open, and a large man appeared, holding Porter by the neck. He shoved my friend to the floor, expecting to find his other captive still tied up in the chair. When he registered that the chair was empty, he scanned the room in confusion. He spotted Tammy and me near the window, making our escape.
I stepped in front of Tammy. “Go!” I whispered, urging her to dive through the window while I held the bad guys at bay.
“No.” She refused to leave me.
The man produced a gun from a holster on his belt, leveling it at me. My mind went through a thousand scenarios, discarding each one as fast as it came. We could leap out the window, taking our chances with flying bullets. We could dive for the closet, locking ourselves in there to wait for the police. I could bum-rush him, sacrificing myself for Tammy’s sake. None of them were viable plans, but all of them better than doing nothing.
In the time it took for me to react, Porter leapt up from the floor, slamming into his former associate. The gun went off, a bullet burying itself in the wall above the bed. Tammy covered her ears, crouching down instinctively. I whirled, grabbing her by the arm and helping her out the window. I dropped to the ground a moment later, feeling guilty about leaving Porter. In a split-second decision, I had thrown in my fortune with Tammy, realizing it was more important to me to make sure she was okay than to risk death by helping Porter. Hating myself for cowardice, I focused on getting my girlfriend and our unborn child out of harm’s way.
We circled around to the front of the cabin, only to be startled by police lights. There were at least three cruisers in the clearing, officers jumping out and streaming into the little house. I grabbed Tammy by the hand and led her to safety. Dillon climbed out of the driver’s seat of my truck, parked behind the wall of cop cars.
“Take her to the hospital.” I handed the love of my life over to Dillon. “Porter’s still in there.”
“Go with Tammy,” Dillon insisted. “I’ll make sure Porter is okay.”
I deliberated. I knew Dillon and half a dozen police officers could do a better job protecting my old friend than I could. And Tammy needed my shoulder to cry on. I nodded in agreement, grabbing the keys from Dillon. I helped Tammy up into the cab and shut the door behind her. As I climbed into the driver’s seat, my heart thrilled to see a brave smile lighting her face. No tears or bruises marred her skin, just my sweet girl alone with me at last. I backed up and spun around, punching the hospital into the GPS. The nightmare was over.
28
TAMMY
Ialmost fell asleep on the drive to the hospital. After all the adrenaline and excitement had passed, my body began to hum with exhaustion. I had never in my life been so happy to see someone as I was when I first laid eyes on Mike, creeping in through the window. I had so many questions, but none of them mattered right then. I was safe and sound in Mike’s truck, on the way to the hospital.
Through the whole ordeal, I had wondered about the baby. Did that initial crash injure it? I wasn’t far enough along to tell. After all the heartache I had been through telling Mike about our offspring, losing it now would be more than I could take. We drove up to the emergency room, parked, and went inside. Mike helped me all the way, as if I were nine months pregnant and in danger of giving birth right then. It felt silly, but I let him. I knew I had been scared, but he had probably felt worse. I didn’t know how he found me, but I was beyond grateful that he had.
We checked in and sat in the waiting room, holding hands. We were both thinking the same thing. Is the baby okay? Even though he had left that morning without saying hello, I could tell from his gentle treatment of me that he had changed his mind. I could see in his eyes that he wanted this child just as much as I did. We were a family now, and this was our first test together.
The nurse came out and ushered us into the examination room. She left a paper robe for me to change into. I had just completed my undressing when there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” I said.
A female police officer entered the room, nodding to both me and Mike. “I’m Candice,” she said gently. “I’ve been asked to collect evidence from your person.”
“They never touched me,” I said.
