the decision to continue on the road on which they were traveling.
One thing bothered him, though. There were lots of turnoffs along this highway that led into the mountains with its many trails. They didn’t have the time or manpower to efficiently search every one. If the kidnapper took one of those, he and his victim would be lost to them. If he decided to dispose of his victim, her body might never be found in that wilderness. They had to get to her in time.
Ben leaned forward and stared out the windshield in hopes of catching a glimpse of the vehicle. After a few minutes, he was about to think he’d made the wrong choice to stay on this road when he spotted a car in the distance. It was barely a speck on the horizon, but it looked like it was white.
He held his breath as Luke accelerated and shortened the distance between the two cars. “That’s a white SUV!” Luke said as he pulled even closer.
Ben’s heart seemed to jump into his throat as they neared the car. All hopes that there might have been a mistake in identifying the victim—that it might be someone other than Hannah—died when he caught sight of the familiar license plate on the back of the car. Hannah hadn’t been content to settle for one of the regular state license plates and had bought one of the specialty plates the state offered. Hers was one issued to University of Tennessee supporters and personalized with the words VOLS FAN as a tribute to the football team she followed with a passion.
He had to face the fact that he’d been trying to deny ever since getting the call. Hannah was in jeopardy. But where was she? He could see the outline of a man’s head behind the steering wheel, but there was no sign of anyone with him. Were they too late? Had he already disposed of her?
Luke switched on the siren as they bore down on the car, and Ben pulled his gun from its holster. The deepening afternoon shadows lit up as the flashing lights reflected across the area. The kidnapper had to have heard the sound, but his response was to increase his speed. Luke pressed down on the accelerator, and they sped after the car.
Suddenly Ben heard a sharp crack as a bullet whizzed past the driver’s window of the squad car. Luke was too experienced to startle or swerve. Instead he frowned and pulled closer to the fleeing SUV. “You’re not getting away from me,” he muttered as another shot pinged on the bumper of the car.
Ben rolled down his window and hesitated before sending an answering shot. What if his aim wasn’t true? He could shoot Hannah if she was still in that car, or he could cause the car to wreck, which might leave her dead or injured.
He’d been in similar situations before, but never in a circumstance like this. Hannah wasn’t just another victim whose life had been placed in danger. This was his friend. He’d known her since she’d come to live with her grandfather in the Smokies after she graduated from college. He’d also become friends with her late husband, and he was godfather to her daughter. How could he risk her life? On the other hand, who knew what she would face at her abductor’s hands if he allowed them to get away?
Another shot whistled past, and he took a deep breath as his decision was made. “Hold the car steady, Luke,” he said as he stuck his arm out the window and aimed for one of the back tires of the car.
For a moment he closed his eyes and prayed. Make my shot count, Lord.
Then he opened his eyes, refocused his aim and fired at Hannah’s SUV.
* * *
Hannah, her hands covering her head, crouched on the floorboard of the car. She heard the sirens behind them and saw the reflection of the flashing lights in the mirror on the side of her vehicle. Could Ben be in that squad car? She had no doubt he would come if he knew what had happened to her.
Suddenly she didn’t have any fear. God had answered her prayer already. She had asked him to send Faith to someone who loved her, and now she knew who that would be. Ben had been a dear friend to her for years, and he loved her daughter as if she were his own. If she was to die today, she knew that Ben would see that Faith was cared for.
No sooner had the thought flashed in her mind than she saw her abductor raise his hand with the gun. She sucked in her breath and waited for him to shoot her. Instead he rolled down the window and fired at the police car. The sirens and lights continued to follow them. Then he shot again.
She lost count of how many times he shot, but she was afraid that sooner or later he would disable his target. Then she heard an answering shot as it hit the back of her car. The police were answering the fire!
She crouched even farther and tried to roll into a fetal position, but there was barely enough room on the floorboard to get her head below the seat. Another shot hit the back of the car, and she bit down on her lip to keep from crying out.
Her kidnapper cursed under his breath and fired toward the car again. Almost immediately there was the sound of an answering bullet striking its target, and her car ran onto the shoulder before it careened back onto the highway. She knew right away that the pursuing officer’s bullet had struck one of the back tires. The relief she felt at knowing someone was trying to help her died quickly as the car began to swerve out of control back and forth across the highway. Her abductor wouldn’t be able to get away with her...but they seemed to be headed for a crash that could kill them both.
“No!” Her abductor yelled and grabbed the steering wheel with both hands as he struggled to gain control of the car.
His gun dropped from his hand and landed on the car’s console. Before he could react, Hannah grabbed the gun and pointed at him. “Stop this car!” she yelled.
He turned his head toward her, and the hoodie slipped back on his head. For the first time she saw his eyes, and she recoiled at the pure hatred in them. He grasped the steering wheel with one hand and gritted his teeth as he reached over and hit her in the jaw with his fist.
The force of the blow sent her head spiraling back against the door. The impact blinded her for a moment, but she was determined not to let him wrest the gun from her hand. She placed her finger around the trigger and tightened her grip on the pistol.
“Stop this car!” she ordered.
His lips curled into a sneer, and he pulled one hand away from the steering wheel. He doubled it into a fist and snarled at her. “Give me that gun before I make you sorrier than you already are!”
Hannah knew it was now or never. She could cower on the floorboard and let him kill her, or she could fight for her life. If she shot him, the car would probably wreck and she might be killed. On the other hand, if he gained control of the gun, she could still be killed—and he’d probably try to make her death as painful as possible. She had the choice, and she wasn’t about to give the gun to him.
Gritting her teeth, she wrapped both hands around the gun, aimed at him and fired. The driver’s window shattered at the impact, and he screamed. “You crazy woman, what do you think you’re doing?”
He reached toward her again. This time his fingers wrapped around the gun and jerked it from her hand. Determined that she wouldn’t give up, she clawed at his hands in an effort to get the weapon back. For the first time she noticed that he wore disposable gloves, and she dug her nails into them.
With a cry of rage, he pulled free of her and aimed the gun at her. Before he could fire, another shot from the police car struck the other back tire. The car veered toward the right and hit the loose gravel on the shoulder of the road. Hannah screamed as the car hurtled down the embankment, crashed through a fence and slammed nose-first into a tree. Her last conscious thought was that she hoped the police got to them in time to save her life.
* * *
Ben watched in horror as Hannah’s SUV careened off the road and became airborne for a moment before it crashed. Luke pulled the squad car to a stop on the side of the road, and they both jumped out. In the distance sirens screamed the approach of another police car.
Please let her be all right. Please let her be all right.
The prayer echoed over and over in Ben’s head as he and Luke ran toward the SUV that had smoke pouring from