She opened her eyes and he held the phone to her ear. “Kat.”

  “Oh, my gosh, Jennie. I am so glad to hear your voice.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Fine. Just a bump on the head.” She paused and Jennie could hear her draw in a deep breath. Maybe nausea was wreaking havoc with her, too. “Listen, Jen. I think the cartel must be tracking you though the GPS in your phone. At least, that’s the only way I can think of that they could’ve found you at my house. So I need you to turn it off. And take the battery out just to be sure. Okay?”

  “Tell Wes,” Jennie said, reaching the last of her reserves.

  “Okay,” Kat answered. “I’ll tell him, and we’ll come to the hospital as soon as Ethan gets here.”

  “Talk to her, Wes.” She let her eyes drift closed.

  She felt Wes take the phone back and quiet descended on them for a few moments.

  “Yeah. OHSU. That’s the one.” The hospital affiliated with Oregon Health and Science University was one of the best in the city and the closest hospital. “No, we’re fine. The car has GPS and it’ll take us right there.” He disconnected and touched Jennie’s knee. “Kat told me to turn off your phone and take out the battery so that’s what I’m going to do. Okay?”

  “Can you write down her phone number first? Just in case I need to call her from the hospital.”

  He nodded then found a pen in the console and wrote the number on the back of a receipt.

  “Put it in my pocket.” She started to relax. Well, as much as her throbbing head would allow. Everything and everyone was okay. She could go to sleep, and when she woke up, she’d see Ethan and his family.

  The thought put a smile on her face for a second before the pain was too much.

  “Okay. Here we go,” Wes said, and Jennie felt the car pull onto the street.

  The tires lulled her toward sleep, and thinking of Ethan, she started to drop off. She’d come close to death and she couldn’t wait to talk with him. To tell him that he was right. She was hiding behind a wall and she was ready to come out from behind it. To see if they could work as a couple.

  Sleep beckoned.

  The GPS voice jerked her awake. It said to take the I-405 North ramp.

  What? This wouldn’t take them to the hospital.

  “Where are you going, Wes?”

  “Ah, I wondered when you’d figure out we weren’t headed to the hospital.” He laughed a disturbing laugh. “Too bad you didn’t sleep for the whole drive.”

  By the time she pried open her eyes again, he was looking at her, his eyes hard and mean. His mouth a slash of anger.

  “Remind me to thank Kat for telling me you could be tracked by the GPS in your cell.” A flat smile. “Oh, that’s right. You won’t be alive to remind me, now, will you?”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Ethan jumped from his truck and raced across the street toward Kat. She’d called to tell him Jennie was safe with Wes and his anxiety level had dropped, but physically seeing her was the only thing that would make him completely relax.

  Ethan climbed over the barricade and pulled Kat into his arms.

  “Don’t ever scare me like that again, okay?” he whispered into her smoky hair.

  She pulled back with a scowl where the smile had been. “You think this was my fault?”

  “Absolutely not. I know you’re well trained and did the right thing. I just don’t like the fact that my little sister was attacked.” He gave her a tight squeeze, and keeping his arm around her shoulder, he moved them toward Cole.

  She stepped away and he noticed an angry gash on the back of her head. “This doesn’t look good. You need to have this checked out.”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “It’s not nothing,” Cole said. “The medics wanted to take you in.”

  She crossed her arms. “I need to stay here.”

  “I can take care of things,” Cole replied.

  Ethan clasped his hand on Kat’s arm. “I’ll take you.”

  She shook it off. “And what if I don’t want to go?”

  “Please.” Ethan used a cajoling tone. “I want to go check on Jennie and would like you to ride along with me.”

  She crossed her arms. “Fine. But I’ll decide if I want to have my head looked at.”

  Not if he had anything to do with it. “I need to borrow your SUV, bro,” he said to Cole. “With the way this princess likes to be pampered, my truck won’t be too comfortable for her and Jennie both.”

  Kat socked him and he grabbed her in a good-humored hug as Cole dug out his keys.

  Thank You, God, for keeping her safe.

  He took the keys and released Kat. “Call us if anything comes up.” He shared a concerned look with Cole then took off with Kat.

  Once on the road, he glanced at her. She leaned against the door, her posture rigid. She was upset, but she wasn’t going to let him see it. Then she’d have to worry about how he was feeling.

  Well, he wouldn’t let her get away with not talking about this. “I’m sorry about your house, Kat.”

  She shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

  “It is a big deal, and you should be upset.”

  “It’s just stuff. It can all be replaced. The important thing is that Jennie’s okay.”

  “Both you and Jen.” He shook his head. “I can’t tell you how worried I was.”

  She laid a hand on his arm. “Let’s just forget it, okay?”

  He nodded, but knew at some point she’d need talk to someone about it. He’d make sure one of them was available to listen.

  His phone rang. He glanced at it mounted on the dash. “It’s Detective Tilden.”

  “Calling you instead of me. So much for the brotherhood of police officers.”

  “Don’t get testy, Kat. He must have a reason for calling me instead.” He clicked his speaker button. “Detective.”

  “We got a hit on the prints at the darkroom. Name’s Artie Clemmons. Turns out the DEA had his file flagged. He’s a cleaner for the Sotos Cartel.”

  Ethan let out a low whistle.

  A cleaner did just what the name suggested. Cleaned up messes. The job usually involved permanently silencing the person who caused the mess. In this case, Jennie.

  “I’m guessing you’re telling me this because the DEA is looking for help in bringing him in.”

  “Exactly. They’d like your client to take a look at his mug shot to see if she recognizes him.”

  “I’m on the way to see her now. Can you email the picture?”

  “You got it. Just get back to me tonight so I can get the DEA off my back.” His wary tone said he’d had his fill of the Feds breathing down his neck.

  “I’ll do my best,” Ethan promised then punched End. “It’ll be interesting to see who this guy is.”

  Kat peered at him. “Interesting isn’t the word I’d use.”

  Ethan caught the worry in his sister’s tone and decided it was best not to add to her concern by saying anything more until they could look at the picture. They made the rest of the trip in silence, and at the E.R., Ethan led the way to the duty nurse.

  “We’re here to see Jennifer Buchanan.” He ended with a smile, hoping to ease her harried expression.

  “Hold on.” She typed on her keyboard then frowned. “We don’t have anyone by that name.”

  “Try Jennie.”

  His phone chimed. Good. The photo from Tilden. Ethan unlocked the phone.

  “Sorry, sir,” the nurse said, pulling his attention back. “No Buchanan at all.”

  “There has to be a mistake.”

  “No mistake, sir.”

  He was starting to get miffed. “Maybe she just hasn’t been entered in the system yet.”

  She drew in a deep breath and sighed. “Then she’d still be sitting in the waiting area. No one is allowed in the patient area without being entered in the computer.”

  Ethan looked at Kat and the concern in her eyes gave him pause. He was still thinking this was a mistake, but she clearly thought something had happened to Jennie. Kat had done the right thing in telling Jennie to turn off her phone, but right now he wished they could call her and clear this up.

  “Where’s the waiting room?” he asked.

  “Down the hall to your left.”

  “C’mon,” he said to Kat. “Let’s make sure she isn’t in there.”

  “And if she isn’t?”

  “Then I’ll make a scene until they agree to let me look for her.”

  As they walked, he thumbed through the menu on his phone and opened the photo.

  He came to a dead stop and held out the phone for Kat.

  She gasped. “That’s Wes.”

  “Also known as Artie Clemmons.” Ethan stared at the mug shot of Jennie’s old boyfriend. “And he has Jennie.”

  * * *

  Wes wanted to kill her. Jennie wasn’t going to let that happen. She leaned against the door and pretended she’d passed out. She needed to gain her strength if she was going to escape. Escape. How foreign that word was when it came to Wes.

  She never saw that coming. When had he hooked up with Sotos? Was it recent? Or was he connected to the gang when they were together?

  He’d taken her to Mexico once, not long after his accident. Left her alone on the main drag and said he had to see a man about a prescription. She’d bought his story. Many Americans saved money by buying prescription drugs in the farmácias lining the streets in border towns.

  Maybe he wasn’t buying prescriptions after all. Maybe he was meeting with Sotos.

  She shuddered.

  “We’re almost there, Jen,” Wes said. She hadn’t fooled him—he knew she was awake. “The bridge is up ahead.”

  Almost there. The GPS’s directions said he was taking her to Sauvie Island, the same place they’d enjoyed the corn maze. The island was mostly agricultural and recreational with a large wildlife area. At this time of night, the roads were deserted and people who lived on the island were fast asleep.

  It made sense that Wes chose to bring her here. There weren’t many places in close proximity to Portland where you could kill someone and dump the body without immediate discovery. And there were even fewer places he had visited during his brief stay in Portland when they’d met.

  “I really hate to do this,” he continued, “but it’s all your fault.”

  Her fault, ha! He had a choice. He didn’t have to kill her.

  She felt the car slow, and she peeked from under veiled lashes. Good, her eyelids weren’t as heavy. Maybe she’d be able to fight when needed.

  Wes turned off Highway 30 and crossed the bridge. This was the only route onto the island. Maybe that could help her if Kat and Ethan had gone to the hospital, discovered she was missing and started looking for her.

  Had they even arrived at the hospital yet?

  Lord, please guide Ethan to me. Keep him safe.

  The car turned left and she knew they were heading north, probably heading toward the wildlife preserve. If so, he’d have to slow down to make the curve in the road. That was her chance to bail out of the car. She felt around to see if she was wearing a seat belt. No. Good. It would be easier to get out the door.

  She crept her fingers forward on the arm and found the door lock. Holding her finger over it, she took deep breaths to calm her racing heart and oxygenate her blood. The click would give her away. She had to be ready to run when she pushed the button.

  She pulled up her knees. Good. Things seemed to be in better working order. Now she simply had to wait for the right moment. Soon the car slowed. She pressed the button, jerked open the door and pushed her body from the moving vehicle.

  “What the—?” Wes said and shot out an arm.

  She felt his fingers graze her jacket before she tumbled into the ditch and rolled. She tucked into a ball and the gravel bit into her knees, her arms. She came to a stop in a deep puddle.

  The car squealed to a stop and then crunched on the gravel shoulder. He was coming after her. Adrenaline flowing, she got to her feet and took off, running blind into the night.

  Please, God, help me get away.

  Her legs felt as if she’d strapped on weights, but she ran. Over ruts.

  Ran. Through scrub.

  Ran. Down a hill.

  A log grabbed her foot.

  She flew through the air.

  Pain shot into her ankle. Up her leg. Excruciating.

  Wes’s footfalls pounded loudly through the field, a flashlight tracking her every move.

  Ignore it. Get up. Run.

  She jerked to her feet.

  Ran. Hard. Through more ruts. Stumbled again and again until her elbows, knees and head were all screaming in pain.

  She gasped for breath. Pain stole it away. She couldn’t run anymore.

  She peered through the darkness. Couldn’t see Wes or his light. She looked forward. A copse of trees. About a hundred yards away. She could hide. Had to hide.

  Could she get that far without him seeing her? She had to. She turned onto her belly. The earthly scent of the soil rose up to meet her. She dragged herself over the mud.

  “You can do it, Jennie. You can make it,” she kept whispering to herself.

  Mud caked her hands, now raw from clawing through the shrubbery.

  Oh, Lord, please.

  Hand over hand she pulled. She pushed with her feet.

  Made little progress as the mud slowed her down and ripped away her remaining strength.

  She kept moving, but only by inches now.

  Wes’s light found her. The beam dancing over her like a searchlight.

  She laid her head on the cold ground, pine needles rough against her cheek.

  Lord, please, I need You. Don’t let me die.

  The prayer hung on her lips, and spent, she waited for her killer to arrive.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “What hotel did Wes say he was staying at?” Ethan demanded. He’d tuned out Wes most of the time, not wanting to face his jealousy. Now it could cost Jennie her life.

  Kat laid a hand on his arm and replied with a well-known Portland hotel.

  Hope found a glimmer in his heart. “You stay here and get checked out. I’ll head to the hotel to see what I can find.”

  “Not happening, bro. If you’re going, I’m going.”

  “Fine. But don’t slow me down.” He didn’t wait for her but ran for his car. He felt cruel for expecting her to keep up after what she’d just been through, but maybe she’d realize she wasn’t fit enough to do this, and she’d head back inside.

  But she matched him step for step.

  He clicked his locks and they climbed in.

  “Maybe we should call this in,” Kat offered. “Dispatch could have a uniform at the hotel in minutes.”

  He glanced at her as he eased out of the space. “A patrol officer wouldn’t let us search the room. We’re the only ones who can make sense of anything Clemmons left behind.”

  “We can’t just waltz up to the front desk and ask for Clemmons’s key. We’ll need help gaining access to the room.”

  He sped up and merged onto the road. “I’d rather not involve someone we don’t know in that. Can you call in a favor with Tommy?” Ethan felt certain Kat could convince her old partner to tell the front-desk clerk this was official police business.

  “If I can find him, I’m sure he’ll meet us there.”

  “Then call him. But the less he knows about our plans, the better off he’ll be.” Ethan turned back to his driving and negotiated the deserted streets while listening to Kat talk with Tommy.

  “He’s on his way.” She stowed her phone.

  “Good.”

  Details settled, Ethan couldn’t keep his mind off Jennie’s fate any longer. His gut was tied in a knot, his heart torn in two. It was bad enough that Clemmons had taken her, but his last personal conversation with her hadn’t been positive. Telling her she felt unworthy of love couldn’t be the last real conversation he had with her.

  Father God. Please don’t let things end this way. I love Jennie. How I love her. I need her alive and with me. Please, please, I beg of You, keep her safe until I can find her.

  His prayer hung in his mind as he parked in the lot alongside Tommy’s Explorer.

  This was a positive sign. He’d already gotten there. Ethan and Kat headed for the front door and found Tommy leaning against the wall by the elevator. Over six feet and commanding in a dark suit with white shirt and blue tie, he looked like a businessman staying at the hotel. But his face said he’d seen years of violence on the streets and was wise to it all. From what Kat had told Ethan, Tommy was the epitome of the perfect officer.

  Once he knew what they were doing here, would he let them into the room?

  Tommy gave Kat a piercing look. “Didn’t know you were bringing Ethan.”

  “Must’ve forgotten to mention that.” She reached out for the key card in Tommy’s hand.

  He rolled his eyes and held on to it. “Not so fast. Suppose you tell me what this is about before I put my career on the line for you.”

  “Fill him in on the way up to the room,” Ethan said.

  Since Tommy was the only one in the group who knew Clemmons’s room number, Ethan held out his hand to encourage Tommy to take the lead. They boarded the elevator and Kat gave Tommy the barest of details before they reached the seventh floor and the door slid open.

  Outside room 739, Tommy unlocked the door and Ethan bolted past him.