already unholstered his gun, and Luke pulled his out as the driver’s door of the wrecked car opened. A man wearing dark jeans and a black hoodie jumped out and spun to face them. He had a gun in his hand.
“Put the gun down!” Ben yelled.
The man answered with a shot that kicked up dirt a few feet away from him. Ben didn’t slow as he returned fire. The man ducked behind the open door to gain cover and fired again. This time the shot hit near Luke’s feet.
Ben and Luke both dived for cover behind the car and pressed their bodies against the hatch. “You can’t escape!” Ben called out. “Don’t add more charges to those you’re already facing.”
Two bullets in quick succession blazed past Ben’s hiding place, and then he heard movement. He raised up enough to see the man running toward the forest at the back of the field. “I’m on it!” Luke called out as he jumped to his feet. “You stay here and see if Hannah’s inside.”
Before Ben could stop him, Luke took off in pursuit of the fleeing man. The sheriff ran around to the passenger side of the car and jerked the door open. His heart plummeted to the pit of his stomach when he saw Hannah crouched on the floorboard with her head resting on the seat. The windshield’s shattered glass covered her and the seat. She didn’t move as he touched her arm.
Blood poured down the side of her face from a cut at her hairline, and he raked the fragments of glass off the top of her head. He held his breath as he placed his fingers on her neck. The steady thump of her pulse sent a wave of relief coursing through him.
Ben turned his face to his shoulder mic. “Unit 1. Officer in pursuit of fleeing suspect. The victim is secure, but unconscious and in need of medical attention. Requesting more backup and an ambulance on highway at Wears Valley.”
“Ten-four,” Clara the dispatcher replied. “Ambulance on the way. More backup en route.”
Ben wanted to examine Hannah more thoroughly to see if he could detect any other injuries, but with the risk of spinal injuries, he was afraid to move her. He leaned over and whispered to her in hopes that she could hear him. “Hannah, it’s Ben. I’m here. Everything’s going to be all right. You’re safe now, and help is on the way.”
She stirred, and he held his breath as she lifted her head and stared up at him. “Ben,” she whispered. “Is it all over?”
He squatted and returned her gaze. “The guy who kidnapped you ran off, but Luke is after him. The important thing right now is whether you’re okay. Are you hurting anywhere?”
She lifted her hand to her forehead, frowned as she touched the blood and pulled her hand away to stare at it. “My head hurts, but I think I’m okay otherwise.”
She started to push up, but he put a hand on her and restrained her. “Don’t move. I want the EMTs to examine you first. Just try to relax until they get here.”
Tears pooled in her eyes, and the muscles in her throat constricted as she swallowed. “I think he really meant to kill me. I was so scared, Ben. Not for myself, but for Faith. She has no other family than me, and I prayed that God would give her a family to love her. Then I thought of you, and I knew you would never let anything happen to her.”
His chest tightened, and he took a deep breath. “You know I love Faith like she’s my own daughter. As long as I’m alive, I’ll be there to take care of her and you, too.”
“You’re a good friend, Ben,” she whispered as she let her head drop back to the seat.
Ben started to say something else, but the sirens that had been wailing in the distance had now grown louder. He glanced up to see an ambulance and a squad car, their emergency lights flashing, stop beside his patrol car on the highway. Joe Collins, and another EMT who Ben hadn’t seen before, jumped from the ambulance and ran with the backup officers to where he stood.
“In here!” he called out to Joe.
He backed away as the paramedics swooped in to examine Hannah, then turned to the two deputies who’d just arrived. “Luke has gone after our suspect,” he said. “Let’s go give him some help.”
The two men nodded and followed Ben as he ran in the direction that the kidnapper and Luke had gone. They were almost to the tree line of the forest when Luke stepped out into the field and jogged toward them.
He halted in front of them and wiped sweat from his forehead. “I lost him,” he said. “There are a lot of trails that lead into the mountains hidden in those trees. It was impossible to find one he might have taken. It was as if he just disappeared.”
Ben stared at the forest for a moment before he nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me. There’s some rugged country in this area. If we want to catch this guy, I’d better get a search team out here.” He pulled his shoulder mic toward his mouth and requested a canine search team at Wears Valley, informing dispatch that there was an escaped suspect in area.
“Ten-four, Unit 1. Will advise ETA as soon as possible.”
Ben glanced back at the car, which was still smoking, and saw that the EMTs had brought a gurney to the scene and lifted Hannah onto it. He turned to Luke. “I’m turning the search party over to you so that I can go to the hospital with Hannah. Clara will radio back with the estimated time of arrival for the team. Keep me posted on what’s happening.”
Luke nodded. “I will.” His gaze went to the EMTs who were preparing to push the gurney toward the ambulance and then back to Ben. “You go on and take care of Hannah. We’ll make out fine here.”
For a moment the awful thought of what might have happened to Hannah washed over Ben. If their suspect had chosen to turn onto another road before Ben and Luke got to him, he would have disappeared with Hannah. Thankfully they’d arrived in time, but there were still lots of unanswered questions.
What had prompted the man to abduct Hannah? Was she a random victim, or had there been a motive behind his actions? Random acts of violence were fairly rare—attackers usually had a reason and a specific victim in mind when they chose to lash out. But could Hannah truly have been targeted? Ben couldn’t believe that anybody would want to deliberately hurt her. Everyone in town knew her as a dedicated mother who had worked hard since the death of her husband to provide a good life for her daughter and herself.
Even those who didn’t know her well knew of her larger-than-life husband who had charmed everyone in town when he’d married Hannah and moved there six years ago. In a community such as theirs where horses played an important role, Shane had been the celebrity in their midst as the World Mounted Archery League champion. He hadn’t missed an opportunity to cash in on his fame and had been in demand for conducting clinics and judging competitions all over the world. That was, until one night in Houston when he was mugged and killed while returning to his hotel.
Now Hannah was raising their child alone, and had become one of the leading experts on mounted archery in the country. People came from all over the world to attend her training sessions. Today, all that had almost come to an end. The thought made Ben’s stomach roil, and he hurried to catch up with the EMTs as they approached the ambulance. “Joe,” he called out. The paramedic turned and stopped as Ben ran toward him. “How is she?”
“I can’t find any broken bones, but you never can tell about internal injuries. We need to get that checked out and attend to the cut on her head. We’ll know more when the doctor can run some tests at the hospital.”
Ben glanced at the squad car he and Luke had arrived in and back to Joe. “Could I ride to the hospital with you? I need to leave my car here for Luke.”
“Sure,” Joe said.
Ben followed behind as the two EMTs pushed the gurney to the waiting ambulance and loaded Hannah inside. When Joe had Hannah settled and ready to be transported, Ben climbed in. Hannah looked up at him and smiled when he sat down next to her.
“Are you okay, Ben?” she asked.
The