"He said someone could be tracking me because I was a runaway, and to leave my phone in the back of the pickup truck. You weren't following my phone, were you?"
Grayson raised a brow. "After you had run off two other times, you had better believe it."
Ivy sighed. "I'm glad you had been."
"So what finally clued you in that he wasn't a good guy?" Rowland asked.
"He stopped for gas, and I looked for his car registration, thinking I should at least know his name. The registration listed Clem Rivera. He left his phone in the truck and went inside to pay for his gas. He got a call on his phone, and whoever the caller was said, "Hey, Big Bear, did you get the girl yet?'
Grayson knew she was going to get herself into trouble this time.
Ivy ran her hand through her hair. "I was terrified. I didn’t even know if Billy existed at that point. But before I could jump out of the truck, Big Bear, according to the phone caller, was at the truck’s door, got in, and drove off. We were going slow at first, and I knew this was my only chance to get away safely. I pulled open the door and jumped out, figuring there were enough people around that he wouldn't go after me."
"The driver and his passenger, who had picked her up, took down his license plate number, but the vehicle had been stolen," Rowland said. "He wasn't a bear, right?"
"No. Human," Ivy said.
Rowland said, “Clem Rivera reported that his truck had been stolen half an hour earlier at the restaurant where he worked.”
"Great."
"We issued a BOLO, Be on the Lookout, for it. Other deputies went to chase the kidnapper down, but he abandoned the truck at the movie theater. He'll be on foot unless he steals another vehicle. Can you describe the man?" Rowland said.
"Black-haired, big nose, flat forehead, dark brown eyes, tanned, white, about six-three. He was heavyset, not as muscled as my brothers, and he smelled of a few too many beers. He looked like he was about forty."
"I'll have a sketch artist come by, and you can give her a description."
"Oh, and he had an accent that sounded like he was originally from Boston."
"I'm on it." Rowland hurried out of the room.
It wasn't too much longer after that that a woman came into the room and pulled a chair up to the bed. "Okay, I'm going to need a description for the sketch, Ivy, if you could give me as many details as you can remember."
Once she was done, Ivy turned to Grayson. "I don't think there was a sixteen-year-old son, do you?"
He wanted to ask her if she was crazy, but he said, “This ploy has been done tons of times. That’s why I was worried about you when you agreed to meet with some unknown man in Kalispell. Even if he’d been a teen like you, he could have been bad news. You don’t know who you’re going to run into. We had a case where a guy murdered his girlfriend when he was fifteen. He had met her online.”
“Fifteen? Omigod. I’m sorry. I should have listened to you. I just figured you believed everyone was bad because of the business you’re in.” Ivy turned to Kendra. “He’s a bounty hunter.”
“So am I,” Kendra said.
Ivy’s jaw dropped. Then she smiled. “You’re perfect for each other.”
He didn’t know about that, but he thought maybe Ivy was finally beginning to listen to reason. He was glad she was still alive, and she hadn’t been hurt worse. He noticed a deputy sheriff was sitting outside the door to Ivy’s room. She would need protection while her kidnapper was on the loose until Grayson could return Ivy home. Their dad and Marcus could take care of her then.
“Did you get my phone for me?” Ivy asked.
“The deputy sheriff has it. He was trying to figure out who Big Bear was.”
“He should have called himself the Big Bad Human. When can I get out of here?” Ivy asked.
The doctor returned with the nurse. “I’ve decided to cast the arm. It will only be in a cast for three weeks. The hairline fracture should be healed by then. You can leave the clinic after we’re finished. But you’ll need someone to protect you until you return home, unless they catch the guy who kidnapped you.”
The doctor began layering soft stockinette and padding, then covered it with moistened plaster strips, molding them to Ivy’s arm. Then she trimmed the edges.
“Okay, that will take between twenty and thirty minutes to dry, and then you can go.” The doctor left the room.
“What are you going to do, Grayson?” Ivy asked.
