“Not terribly proactive? Sounds to me like this sheriff doesn’t give a crap.”

  “And that’s what it’ll sound like for a while, until we can get through this,” he muttered. “Nothing quite like having Halvorson’s methods questioned. Did you hear him say it had something to do with budgets and man-hours and all that stuff?”

  “So, I don’t count?” she asked in a fit. “I pay taxes, like everybody else, but I didn’t count enough to have precious man-hours put into searching for me or even verifying I was gone?”

  “That is because, honestly, I don’t think they believed you’d been kidnapped.”

  She shook her head. “Good God. The whole time I was out there, I kept thinking that somebody would be coming to the rescue since I didn’t show up for work, but, in reality, nobody was coming to my rescue at all. What would have happened if you didn’t …”

  He winced, hearing the sadness and the disbelief in her tone. “I’m sorry. I’m sure it’s a shock to realize that the authorities weren’t coming for you, when that very thought kept you going.”

  “If you hadn’t come, what would I have done?”

  “But I did come, and, for all you know, you would have been just fine without me. Look how you took that car without fear.”

  “No,” she countered bitterly. “I don’t think I could have gone through that roadblock. I … I probably would have hit the brakes rather than hitting him.”

  “Well, I’m glad you didn’t,” he said, “because right now you’re here, and you’re safe, and Gracie is safe. That’s what counts. And Gracie is here because of you, so you should be proud of yourself.”

  At that, she turned to Gracie, lying on the back seat. “Gracie, you okay, girl?” Gracie gave her a woof. Rebecca released her seat belt and climbed over to the back seat, where she wrapped her arms around the dog. “I am so glad you made it,” she whispered. As the two of them cuddled in the back seat, she asked Delta, “What did you decide about where we’re going?”

  “I think we need to see Benjamin first, and then we’ll see what your townhome looks like and go from there.”

  “I’m not sure I even want to go to my house. Ever,” she murmured. “Sounds to me like bad news the whole way. The kidnappers are still after me and probably Benjamin too. What a mess.”

  “I think you’re right, but we still should meet the deputy there, as planned. Plus, do you not want to collect any of your stuff, even things you could probably use, like your laptop, phone, clothes, important papers, and things like that? Can you afford to replace all that?”

  “No, I can’t,” she muttered. “Damn it.”

  “It’s okay. We’ll go in, and we’ll get what you need, and we’ll get out.”

  She shook her head. “And with the kidnappers still on the loose, obviously?” she pointed out, looking over at him. “That doesn’t sound like the easiest of things to do.”

  “It’s not easy, but it’s doable,” he replied. “Then, while we think about where you’ll go from here, we can stay at the motel, until you have a chance to make a plan.”

  “Well, according to you, I probably don’t have a job.”

  “I’m not sure about that,” he clarified. “I’m just saying that you didn’t show up and that’s how I found out that you weren’t there.”

  “It’s funny how we talked so much about Gracie, and I knew you were coming. While I was being held, I kept hoping that you would at least sound the alarm when I didn’t, … when I wasn’t there for the meeting.”

  “I did sound the alarm,” he confirmed. “It just happened to fall on deaf ears.”

  She winced. “That’s the problem. That’s the part I don’t get,” she muttered. “How is it that it’s okay for the complete sheriff’s office to just ignore the fact that I didn’t show up for work?”

  “I think they did the bare minimum—knocking on your door but not going inside. Checking on your car and glad it was still there. Waiting twenty-four hours to do basically nothing else. The party line that I got was that nobody was worried because, as far as they’re concerned, you’re an adult, and you can go and do whatever you want.”

  “Exactly how women end up in trouble, even after all these years,” she muttered. “My heart goes out to anybody who’s involved in domestic violence or abuse, where they want to get away. Yet it seems like nobody can get away when they want to. Then there’s the opposite end of the spectrum, where women are abducted and trafficked for years. How do they survive that? They end up in constant trouble.”

  Delta nodded. “Everybody deserves to have somebody looking out for them,” Delta noted. She seemed to have talked herself out for the moment. “So, how do you feel about seeing Benjamin?”

  “Benjamin, it is,” she declared. “I want to see for myself that he’s really okay.”

  “Good.” Delta nodded. “His apartment is only a few minutes away.”

  She looked at him. “I didn’t even know he lived in this corner of town.”

  Delta pulled up in front of the small apartment building, and, with her at his side, they headed to the front door.

  “Are we sure he’s at home?” she asked. “He told me that he was taken from his home too. I doubt he’s here.”

  “True. Yet we can’t guarantee that until we look.”

  “Of course not,” she muttered, as she walked along the crosswalk. “I don’t …” Then she stopped.

  The door was ajar.

  Delta nodded. “I don’t either.”

  She frowned at him, “Not again, right? They didn’t kidnap him again? Did they?”

  “I don’t know,” he whispered, as he stared at the door in front of him, “but I don’t like anything about this. Go back to my car and get Gracie.”

  She stared at him for a moment and then asked, “What will you do?”

  He just smiled and repeated, “Go get Gracie, honey.”

  “Okay, but, if you get shot, I’m not big enough to carry you anywhere.”

  He snorted. “I don’t need to be carried, but Gracie would come in handy.”

  “As long as she doesn’t get hurt,” Rebecca added, as she turned to look back at him.

  “It’s her nose that I need.”

  She stared at him, and her face flushed in fear. “Oh God,” She raced back to the car, while he stood here and watched.

  Delta watched her every step as Rebecca returned with Gracie. Then he took the leash from her hand and whispered, “I want you to stay out here.” When she shook her head, he gave her a hard look. “Fine, but I want you to stay behind me, as we go inside.”

  She bit her bottom lip but nodded.

  He pushed open the door and headed inside. No immediate sign of anybody. No sounds of life. Delta knew the place was empty, but all he could hope was that it was literally empty, not just empty of life. He called out, “Benjamin, you here?”

  When no answer came, Delta called out again, as he moved through the bottom floor of the house. When he got to the staircase, he called out, “I’m going up.”

  She winced and nodded. “Do you really think he’s injured?”

  “I just want make sure he’s not dead,” Delta shared.

  She sucked in her breath and nodded. “I’m coming with you.”

  He didn’t try to dissuade her. At this point in time, he would just as soon they not get separated either. They made their way upstairs, and, with great relief, the bedroom was also empty.

  “So, where is he then?” she asked.

  “With his girlfriend, I would think. The problem would be where they both are at this moment.” He pulled out his phone and quickly placed a call to Hannah. When he got no answer, he frowned again. “I really don’t like this,” he muttered. “I much prefer when people answer their damn phones.”

  She smiled. “Yeah, I get it, but not everybody is on your schedule.”

  “Isn’t that the truth,” he admitted, flinching. When he called Hannah again and still got no answer, he muttered, “Don’t suppose you happen to know where the girlfriend lives?”

  “I didn’t even know where Benjamin lived,” Rebecca noted, as she looked at Delta in frustration. “We might have worked together, but we certainly weren’t close. He’d been gone for a week, and I wasn’t even aware that he’d left.”

  “Okay.” Delta sighed. “I need to find out where Hannah is. She works at the café.”

  Rebecca nodded and mentioned the name of the café. “Yeah, I knew that, but I didn’t know that you did. However, I didn’t know they were together, but she’s always seemed nice. Benjamin told me all about her one day, before he escaped.”

  “Yes, she seems like a nice girl,” Delta agreed. “I met her at the café, and she told me about Benjamin’s disappearance.”

  “So, what do we do now?”

  “Let’s see if he has a set of wheels here. Plus I need to get Badger involved.” He sent off a text to Badger immediately, and Badger called right back. Delta told him, “Nobody is here at Benjamin’s place, but his door was ajar. I don’t have a number for him, and I doubt Halverson will share that with me, not now that I’ve insulted him and the sheriff’s office. I do have Benjamin’s girlfriend’s phone number, but she’s not answering either. And I don’t know where she lives. If you could get me Benjamin’s cell number and Hannah’s address, we’ll check out both. Oh, and if you don’t already know, Rebecca’s place was broken into a few hours ago this morning.” Delta checked Benjamin’s garage and found it empty. “Don’t know what Benjamin’s driving, but his parking space is empty.”

  “Right,” Badger said absentmindedly. “We are still following some leads on the company,” he muttered. “Let me just see what I’ve got on Benjamin and his girlfriend. Okay, yeah, I’ve got a phone number for Benjamin and an address for Hannah. I’ll send both to you. Let me know what you find.”

  “Nothing feels right here.”

  “Well, you keep that instinct going strong,” Badger said, “because nobody gets shot on my watch.”

  “How about shot at?” Rebecca asked, with a note of humor.

  “Yeah, that’s not allowed either,” Badger noted, still with a smile in his tone. “But after you’ve been hurt once, the last thing I want is to see you get hurt again. The body does not like repeated offenses.” With that, he hung up.

  She smiled. “He’s quite a character, isn’t he?”

  “That he is.” Delta led them to the front door, and he carefully opened it a bit, as he glanced around outside. “Let’s go. We can try Hannah’s apartment.”

  “Do you think he’s there?’

  “Well, if I were in this situation and had a girlfriend whom I hadn’t seen and had come close to losing, I would be with her,” he muttered. “Wouldn’t you?”

  She thought about it and nodded. “That’s exactly what I would do, but why wouldn’t they answer their phone?”

  “They wouldn’t answer if they thought they were still in danger,” he replied, “so let’s go find out. I just hope they are there, or else I have no idea where to find them.”

  Chapter 12

  Rebecca knocked on the door to Hannah’s place. When no answer came, she frowned and looked around again.

  Delta nudged her toward the door once more. “Knock again.” She shrugged and knocked a second time. This time, he smiled and nodded. “I hear noises inside.”

  “Sure, but you don’t know who it is or what is going on.”

  “No, I don’t. But this time, maybe identify yourself.”

  In surprise, she nodded and called out, “Benjamin, this is Rebecca. I need to know that you’re okay. Remember? I promised to get help if anybody got out of there. I just … I don’t want to go running off, trying to rescue you, if you’re already rescued.”

  At that, the door opened, and there was Benjamin. He took one look at her, opened his arms, and wrapped her into a big hug. “Oh my God, oh my God.” He pulled her inside the house, then saw Delta and frowned.

  He’s with me,” Rebecca noted quickly.

  “Come in. Get in quick, both of you.”

  They stepped inside, and Delta saw Hannah and smiled at her. “Hannah, I’m glad to find you here. Are you doing okay?”

  She nodded. “Yes, but so many vehicles are slowly driving by, as if they’re looking for him. His phone’s been going off steadily, and so has mine,” she muttered. “So, naturally …” Hannah hesitated.

  Rebecca filled in the rest. “So, naturally you’re terrified.”

  Hannah nodded. “Yes. So you’re the Rebecca who was kidnapped with him?”

  “I was held hostage with him. I wasn’t kidnapped at the same time, but I was with him.”

  “I am so glad you got out safe. He’s been sick with worry that he couldn’t get back there to help you.”

  She looked over at Benjamin and smiled. “I’m fine. How did you shake them? Delta said you were a bloody mess when you stumbled into your apartment.”

  “I ran and ran, cross-country. It felt like every vehicle I saw was after me. Someone shouted at me, probably just to help me, but I jumped and fell over something and got all scraped up. Finally I hid under a tarp in the back of a delivery truck that I hoped was going somewhere and caught a ride that eventually ended up back in town, really close to the hospital too. So I checked myself in. I was such a wreck, beside myself, and feeling pretty low. I reported the kidnapping—of you and me—to the hospital staff, who called the sheriff’s office, while giving me an IV of fluids. That helped a lot because I was dehydrated too. Still, I was too scared to stay there because I felt like a sitting duck. Then I phoned the deputy myself and told him that, but … he didn’t really seem to be too bothered.

  “After I made it home and met up with Hannah and Delta, we got my car and tried to find the house where I was held to get you some real help, Rebecca, but it was dark at this time, and I was that hidden hitchhiker for a big portion of my escape, so I couldn’t find the damn place,” he admitted, his voice strained. “And when I called back and told the deputy that, he said they would handle it, how I shouldn’t go back there or the kidnappers might recapture me. I am so sorry, Rebecca. I knew that you were still there.” He threw up his hands. “Thank God, you made it out of there.” Then Benjamin snatched Rebecca in his arms and gave her a big hug again.

  She smiled and gently disentangled herself. “Thankfully we both got out. Now maybe you two can relax.”

  “But can we?” Hannah asked nervously. “He was kidnapped from his apartment, and they probably know his car too.”

  “That’s a very good point,” Delta pointed out. “If they took him once, what’s to stop them from taking him again?”

  Benjamin looked over at him in horror. “Surely the kidnappers don’t really want to do that, now that the authorities are finally involved. Although that evil boss lady has already been picked up…”

  “My concern is,” Delta explained, “that we still don’t understand exactly why they took you and Rebecca captive in the first place. Also, now why does the company need you to be silent surrounding some upcoming sale, yet they didn’t silence you? We have some ideas but no proof yet. From what Rebecca says about Reggie, your captor was trigger-happy and kept threatening to shoot her and Gracie.”

  Benjamin swallowed. “I know. I was kind of worried about that myself. None of it makes any sense.”

  Delta nodded. “I don’t trust the sheriff’s department either, other than maybe Deputy Halvorson. And, so far, we don’t know exactly what the kidnappers and the company are up to, although we have some doozies of theories we are bouncing around. Still, until we figure out what is driving the company to kidnap you and to even threaten to kill you, we’ll be in trouble ourselves. However, I have a team of people looking deeper into the company and even into the sheriff’s office. Still, we need intel fast to fend off these people, who still seem intent on getting to you and Rebecca.”

  Benjamin nodded solemnly. “I don’t plan to go back to my apartment. I could stay here at Hannah’s place, but, if the sheriff’s office or any of the bad guys know that we’re an item, then she’ll be in danger, and I don’t want that either.”

  Hannah walked over and wrapped her arms around Benjamin. The two of them just cuddled close, clearly exchanging support and conversing quietly.

  For Rebecca, it was a poignant moment, and she worried that she didn’t have any such long-term support in her life. Except that thought had no sooner crossed her mind, when a hand slid across her shoulders, and she was tucked up against Delta’s chest. She smiled at that. “Always there to give comfort,” she teased.

  He nodded. “At times like this, that’s exactly what you need.”

  She sighed happily and snuggled in closer. “I can’t say I ever expected you to be like this.”

  “Ha, you probably didn’t have the time to consider this, not while kidnapped, or now on the run. So, you just weren’t really thinking about it.”

  “I don’t know that I was mulling over much of anything,” she muttered. “I … I was mostly worried that you would take Gracie away from me.”

  Delta looked at her in astonishment. “I wasn’t trying to take her away. I was trying to confirm that she was safe and in a good home.”

  “Yes, but who’s to say whether it’s a good home or not?” she asked, with a wry look in his direction. “For somebody who absolutely loves that dog, any threat that I might not be good enough to keep Gracie was paralyzing.”

  Delta smiled, held her close, and whispered, “I don’t see any issues, so you need to rest easy. My boss has okayed it as well so it’s all good.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear that,” Rebecca replied, feeling a certain amount of relaxation hitting her shoulders at those simple words. “I was afraid you didn’t have the power to make that decision and your bosses would see this case differently. You could have told me that earlier.”