“If you’re trying to make a point, it’s going over my head.”

  “Sorry, all these pretty monitors have the tendency to draw the eye. Anyway, your parents pretty much ran the other way as soon as possible, which you can’t really fault them for. You apparently never mentioned you were a daddy.”

  Doug couldn’t believe his mother would really run from a baby if she thought it was his. She’d sounded a little offended when she’d brought Ben up, but that was just her hating to be the last one to know.

  “Unless I’ve been asleep for days, I’ve only been considered someone’s daddy for two and a half days. With everything else going on, it slipped my mind to call and tell her about it.”

  “Obviously. I figure with you being in surgery at the time and no indication how things were going, it was all just too much for her to take. Then of course she saw you and Ben together, and well, it’s hard for anyone who sees the two of you to think you aren’t his father. Even that first day you brought him over to Nels and Annie’s, we all knew you were a goner.”

  She still wasn’t making sense, and Doug almost wished his mother was there grilling him with questions to fill in what she’d missed in his life. Since his brain felt like ground chuck, it was a strong almost, because he was liable to tell anyone whatever they wanted to hear, and there were some things his mom didn’t need to know.

  “Are you ever going to get to the point where you mention where my parents went? I’m guessing you’re the only one here, which is surprising. I didn’t think they let just anyone stroll back here.”

  “They don’t. I think your mom mentioned castrating the doctor if he didn’t let one of us sit back here while they took Ben to get something to eat.”

  The thought of Ben alone with his parents would’ve normally caused a little worry, since he hadn’t introduced them and he knew how shy Ben could be. There were other worries in his head, but mostly they concerned Ben and how traumatic the experience could be for him. Doug seemed to remember the embarrassing moments his mother created, many times from her saying things that should’ve been kept personal so everyone around them could hear. To add to that fear was the fact that Ben’s biological father was out there and could possibly come looking for him.

  “Hey, even as messed up as you are, you still get that look on your face when something just scared the crap out of you.” Casey sounded joyful, which only resulted in Doug giving her a glare. Hopefully she didn’t miss it.

  “What’s going on with Lizzie?” If there had been any good news, Casey should’ve led with that. Doug just hoped there wasn’t bad news and she’d allowed him to waste time before telling him.

  “You really love her, don’t you?” Casey’s face appeared back in his line of sight. She looked worried, but not to the extent he instantly dreaded what news she had.

  “Since I’m the one paralyzed with no way to get out of here, I think I get to ask the questions.”

  It wasn’t like she needed an answer to it anyway. Doug tried to make it as clear as possible that Lizzie and Ben had somehow become his whole world. As it was, Casey was better than most at picking up every little detail when it came to body language. Knowing that, her question became a little rhetorical.

  “Fine. As far as I know the police haven’t found anything useful.”

  Doug’s heart instantly sank. He hadn’t asked for a time update, but he assumed it was more than just five minutes after he’d fallen asleep. She’d been stuck with the monster for hours, if she was even still alive. He didn’t want to think about that, so he pushed the thought out of his mind as soon as it entered.

  “But, as you know, I’ve never been one to totally rely on them.” Doug saw a smile spread across Casey’s face briefly before her face disappeared. “I mentioned Daddy having some friends for security purposes, but he has lots of friends. And some of those friends are really good with electronics.”

  She didn’t continue, which only made Doug more irritated that he couldn’t see her expression. Chances were she’d gone into one of her patented icy looks, where you couldn’t tell if she was going to hug you or kill you. He’d seen the look in a few circumstances and when she decided which way she was going, it terrified both the recipient and those watching.

  “And electronics will somehow help?”

  Doug was curious what technologies Casey’s dad’s friends had up their sleeves that the police couldn’t get their hands on. He had a feeling that whatever it was had a legality issue along with it, but he could care less whether something would stand up in court. All he wanted was to see Lizzie safe.

  “It tends to depend on how big of an idiot the person running things can be. In our case, it seems we may have gotten lucky. It took a little while to procure Lizzie’s phone out of the wreckage, but we were able to find the number he’d used to text with. Now, any self-respecting criminal would’ve ditched that phone days ago, but we clearly aren’t working with Einstein here.”

  “You know where they are?” Doug wasn’t sure about all the technical stuff that went with tracking where a phone was by just a number, and frankly he could care less, but his heart rate picked up as he was finally able to connect the dots of something Casey was saying.

  He thought for a split second he felt something touch his arm, but the sensation was gone before he could determine if it was real. Plus, his mind was filled with all the things he would do when he saw Lizzie again. Or at least try to do. He wanted more than anything to wrap his arms around her, so he could breathe in his shampoo in her hair. After all the time they’d spent close together after she’d been forced to move in, he was used to the smell and he missed it along with everything else.

  It was hard to believe it was only hours since he’d last seen her. Even being asleep for most of it, it felt like days, or maybe even weeks, had gone by.

  “I was a little underwhelmed by the amount of time it took Dad’s friend to ping the phone. In fact, I’d assumed the idiot was smart enough to get rid of it, but it turns out he really is an idiot.”

  “So you know where they are?” Doug repeated.

  “We know where the phone is, and since it’s been moving from the time we found it, we assume it’s them. An anonymous source called in a tip a little bit ago about a gold car driving erratically around Bovina.”

  Doug didn’t like hearing that. “Did they say anything else?”

  Doug definitely felt something on his arm and he could hear what sounded like a slap. It didn’t feel like she’d slapped him, but it did cause a tingling sensation to snake up his arm.

  “I know they have you on some meds, but seriously? Have you not been following what I’m telling you?” Casey’s voice sounded a little annoyed, which confounded Doug.

  “You said someone called in a report about a car swerving, how am I not following the story?”

  It was easier to ask than try to search his brain for whatever he was missing. Without being able to read body language and the expressions on her face, he knew he was only getting half the story. He almost wished she’d kept her face hovering over him.

  “The techie guy made the call. As far as I know, no one has actually witnessed them swerving.”

  That kind of filled in the blanks, but not enough. “Why would the techie guy say it was a gold car? Did he hack into a camera somewhere and see them?”

  Doug tried not to get his hopes up. If there had been visual proof, someone could know if Lizzie was still safe.

  “Are the meds eating away your memory? When you told the cops everything you remembered from the scene, you listed off a mess of cars, and apparently the gold one was the only one not there when they canvased the seen. They put a bolo out for the car.”

  “Bolo?” Doug was glad to hear something he remembered was useful, because most of the crash and the aftermath was still a little hazy.

  “Oh come on. I know you watch cop shows. Be on the lookout. They were already looking for the car, but judging on where the pings have been coming from, the idiot is pretty good about dodging cameras.

  After hearing the acronym, Doug of course remembered the meaning, but he hadn’t expected to hear one of his friends using it. He let out a little sigh of relief, knowing that things could be over soon was a giant weight off his chest.

  “How long ago was the call made? While you’re answering that, please fill me in on exactly where Bovina is.”

  As much time as Doug feared had passed, he was afraid Lizzie was states away. Even if they were still only at the five-hour mark, that was a lot of time if you had a full tank of gas. Going across state lines probably meant red tape and time wasted making calls and filling in other agencies about what was going on.

  “The guy found the phone just after you started your most recent nap, so about three hours, which coincidently is right about the time it takes to drive up to Bovina. It’s north and a little west of the city.”

  “So still in New York?” Doug didn’t do a lot of driving, but north was either still in the state or into Canada. It wasn’t hard to figure out which he preferred.

  “Yes, they’re still here. I’m not sure why they only made it three hours away, but it is what it is. I’m hoping we hear some kind of news soon. Just because we gave them a general location, doesn’t mean they’ll instantly find them.”

  She didn’t mention it was unlikely Tommy would just give up. He had more than just a kidnapping charge to answer to, and even though New York didn’t have the death penalty, he had to be looking at life behind bars. A man looking forward to that was a dangerous man to corner. It made Doug even more worried about what could happen. If Lizzie was still alive. No, not if, because Doug didn’t want that to be a question. With Lizzie as a hostage and potentially a shield, her life was in even more danger.

  Neither of them said anything as Doug played out possibilities in his mind. He’d always had an overactive imagination, and it wasn’t coming in handy. As Casey had mentioned, he watched more than his fair share of cop shows, and movies, so he’d seen about every scenario played out. Most of the times they made the story a happy ending, but there were a few times when everyone died in the end. He was hoping real life didn’t end up that way.

  “You’ll let me know the second you hear anything, right? I don’t know how long my parents have been gone, but I imagine they’ll be back soon and you’ll be relegated back to waiting room duties.”

  “The second I know, I promise you’ll know a second later. They don’t like us having phones turned on, but I’ve got my ways to get information in and out.”

  “Carrier pigeons or telegram?”

  Casey laughed, and it sounded a little less tense than when she had before. It still wasn’t her normal full-hearted chuckle, but it was closer.

  “It’s good that you’ve found someone, Doug. There’s been times we were all worried about you.”

  Doug definitely wanted to see the expression that accompanied that statement, but Casey wasn’t kind enough to say it while leaning over him.

  “What’s there to worry about? Are you guys worried about the other single guys on the team?” Doug wasn’t sure who the royal we in the scenario included, but he figured they were all out in the waiting room.

  “You’ve always had this notion that you’d meet ‘the one’ and instantly know it was her. It’s a great thought, but in practice there’s what, maybe a billion women out there, and the chances of running into that one who changes your whole world is mind boggling.”

  It was nice to see what was said in the locker room stayed in the locker room, or rather didn’t. Doug obviously believed that, but he was fairly sure he hadn’t said it aloud to anyone outside the team.

  “And yet, not only did I finally meet her, but I’m pretty sure the same lightbulb moment happened with you and Dylan. You guys were engaged not long after you met.”

  “We were, but he’d fallen in love with me before we met, so it wasn’t a love at first sight kind of thing. He loved the fact that I told him how crappy he was at playing hockey, and eventually he convinced me that my path in life would be better if he was by my side.”

  Doug had to laugh at that, and was surprised when it hurt a little. Casey must not have been doing her job of watching him closely, since she didn’t comment on the grimace he was sure played across his face. It felt a little like his chest was caving in, but he ignored it.

  “Dylan was the best player on the team that year, even if he goes on and on about how he thought he was too old and only had a couple more years left in him.”

  There were a few hockey players who could play into their forties, but making mid-thirties wasn’t a huge stretch, especially for someone with Dylan’s skill. Dylan for some reason had never seen it that way and thought thirty was the cut off for him being useful to the team. He was past that age, but his playing days stopped at twenty-seven, so no one would know how things could’ve turned out.

  “I know that, and so did everyone else in the arena, which is why I felt it was my duty to make sure he didn’t let it go to his head. Things turned out okay for us, but it wasn’t an easy road, which I guess was the original point I wanted to make. You fell in love with Lizzie the moment you laid eyes on her, as amazing as that is, and depending how things have been for her in the almost nine hours since she was taken, she’s really going to need that love.”

  Casey’s mind-reading abilities must have been on the fritz, because she hadn’t road along while he was playing the various scenarios of what would and had happened. She was usually pretty good about knowing where another person was mentally.

  “I’ll be there for her no matter what, even if she tries to push me away. We’ll work things out.” Doug had to hope Lizzie would give him that chance. He knew her distrust for all men would skyrocket, but he’d done everything he could leading up to the kidnapping to prove to her that he would always be there for her. Always.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Lizzie didn’t know how it happened, but sometime after they’d stopped for gas and a bathroom break, she’d fallen asleep. She remembered fighting it, because she was fairly certain she had a concussion, but eventually her brain shut down. Tommy must have hit her just right, because her ears still felt funny and there was a churning in her stomach as she woke up. Her body was begging to stretch and move around, but the thought of moving only caused her more pain.

  She looked at the time and saw she’d lost a couple hours, and yet looking outside, the scenery remained the exact same. At least what she could see of it. Night had fallen during her slumber, but for the first time in hours, she actually saw a sign indicating civilization. She had no idea where Bovina was in the grand scheme of things, but it was five miles ahead in the direction they were going.

  The sign indicating it looked homemade, so it may not have been a city or town at all. With her luck, it was some kind of community where the men all beat their wives and protected each other from the authorities. Lizzie had no idea why that thought ran through her head, but she was going to blame the concussion for it.

  “Good, you’re up. Eat something.” Tommy tossed a small bag of chips and a candy bar in her lap.

  The thought of food only made her stomach rebel more. She instinctively covered her mouth to keep the gagging that started from producing a reoccurrence of whatever she ate last, which would’ve been the scrambled eggs the boys had made her for breakfast. It was so cute to walk into the kitchen and see them making a mess for the second morning in a row.

  She wanted to get back to them more than anything. Ben had been her world since the moment he was conceived. He was the one thing in an otherwise grim existence that gave her hope for the future. And then she met Doug.

  Words really could not express what Doug was to her. How could one describe the kind of love he filled her with? It wasn’t like he hung the sun and moon. He was the sun and moon. Doug liked to talk about love at first sight and finding a person to live the rest of your life with, who was the other half of your soul, but what if Doug was the keeper of her soul to begin with. She’d been a broken and battered woman before she met him, and he was the glue needed to put her back together.

  “I said eat,” Tommy said a second before he smacked her face.

  She wanted to sit there and think about Doug and Ben, but she needed to keep whatever focus she could muster on her surroundings. Lizzie still felt sleep calling out to her, which she had to fight if there was any chance she could use the town they were getting ready to drive through to her advantage. She’d decided it was a town because she was tired of looking on the bad side of everything.

  “Unless you want me to throw up all over your car, I think I’ll pass. Your right hook gave me a concussion and I’m trying my hardest to keep my breakfast from making a reappearance.”

  The only response she got was a grunt, which was better than any alternative she could come up with. She turned away from Tommy to look out her window. It was hard to see in the dark, but they had to be in whatever town the sign had indicated was that way. She should’ve remembered the name, it hadn’t seemed difficult, but her brain wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders.

  There didn’t seem to be any street lights, wherever they were, which didn’t give her a lot of hope. Since the town name didn’t ring any bells when she saw it, she figured they were either in the middle of nowhere or in another state. Neither of which was good news. Unless they had really double backed like she thought, chances were they wouldn’t still be in New York.

  “Did you decide where we’re going?” She figured she might as well ask. They seemed to be slowing down as they followed a winding road.

  “What makes you think I didn’t always know where we were going? You honestly think I just grabbed you and took off without a plan?” He paused to give her a chance to answer, but Lizzie remained quiet. “I rented a cabin out here for our little reunion. It’s out of the way, and if you ask me, it’s quite romantic. It’s a single room with a cute little kitchen you can cook meals for me in and there’s a nice comfy bed. I’m guessing I don’t have to tell you what that’s for.”