Shit.I did. After everything with Doyle, I had to get a new number. But then the men who took Rylee left a note, and I had to call their number from my new line. It was a mess.
I forgot my father didn’t have the new one.
“I’ll explain later. It’s Rylee.” My voice cracked as I held back a sob. “She’s been kidnapped.”
A roar of anguish was his first reaction, followed by a bellow of rage. “Where are you?”
“I’m on my way to Vegas to meet with the kidnappers.”
“Fuck, baby girl. You’re not going alone.”
“There’s not enough time.” Oh, God. I really screwed this up. “I’m sorry. I should have called sooner.”
He couldn’t make it. I was so stupid. Tonopah, where he lived, was three hours from Vegas.
Why didn’t I call sooner?
“I’m in Vegas! The rodeo is in town.”
The rodeo. I forgot how he used to attend every year. He had friends who ran the circuit.
“I don’t know what to do.” I clenched the steering wheel, terrified, stressed, and shaking from the combination. “I don’t know if I’ll reach the hotel in time.”
“Come to the rodeo. We’ll go together.”
“Dad.”
“Trust me, Rachel.” He paused as if he struggled to say something else. “Please, baby girl.”
Now that I’ve called him, there was no other choice.
“Okay.”
“How close are you?”
“Twenty minutes out.” My engine sputtered. I nearly panicked as the speed began to slow, until there was a little chug, and then the car lurched forward, the needle rising as my speed increased again.
“Good. How much did you bring?”
He didn’t ask what the ransom was, and that meant he knew how situations like this were handled.
“Twenty thousand. Every dime I’ve got,” I admitted.
“It’ll be okay. I swear it, baby girl. We’re gonna get Rylee. Don’t worry.”
Worrying was all I’ve done since the second I found the note in my daughter’s room. She’d been taken out of bed during the night while we both slept. They knew the code to my alarm system. I still didn’t know how they cracked it, but the only logical conclusion was that Doyle somehow found the new code after I changed it, then shared it with the kidnappers.
“I don’t know if they’ve hurt her,” I replied with anguish, revealing the horrible thought I’d been trying to hold back. My shoulders caved with the confession. “Dad, I don’t. . .”
I couldn’t finish the sentence.
“I’m going to make this right.” His voice sounded like it stretched too thin, as if he felt my fear and sorrow as deeply as I did. “I swear, we’ll find Rylee.”
I had to believe him because I was out of options.
“I’m right here.” I could hear him breathing harder as he ran. “Let me know when you’re close.”
“I will.”
Seventeen minutes. That was all I had left.
I had to pray it would be enough.
