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Since then, he’d never touched a drop of alcohol, knowing its impact on him.
“Looks like the hacker who sent the ransom e-mail has slipped away to another server farm. Damn.” Scott’s tone gave a clear signal that his hope to find Erica alive was disappearing fast. “This is a big provider, too.”
Dylan felt his gut tighten. Whoever was behind Erica’s abduction—Kip, Niklaus, or some other guy—he was extremely talented. Right now an image of Erica glassy-eyed and unbreathing was clawing at the back of his mind. For the first time in years, he craved the dullness Jack Daniel’s could bring.
“Keep looking, Scott,” he instructed. “We’re not giving up. There’s something here that will help us find her.”
Scott nodded.
Dylan wasn’t a praying man, but for the fi
rst time since childhood, he begged God for a favor.
Save her.
* * * *
10:05 a.m., Friday – three hours from Destiny, Colorado
As the car began to roll again, even with the hood over her head, Erica felt tears roll down her cheeks.
There were so many things she wished she’d said to Reed and Sawyer. They’d been her only family after their parents died. She was so happy that her brothers had found love with Nicole.
Eric and Scott had been the best bosses, friends, and advisors a woman could ask for. She smiled weakly, thrilled they’d found Megan.
Even the Stones, the three who rounded out the orphan posse, had found true love in Amber.
What have I found? Only heartache. She would never have her own family. No kids. Nothing. Her dream of Dylan and Cam? Just a dream.
Death was gunning for her. Two previous events had made that clear.
The first event had been back at TBK where she’d made the biggest mistake in her life. She could’ve been killed if Megan and Gretchen hadn’t shoved down their fear and used their heads. Unlike she’d done. Those women had been so brave and smart.
I need to do the same if I have any chance of surviving this.
The second attempt had been up at her brothers’ cabin. A crazy bitch from Chicago who wanted Nicole dead had come close to shooting Erica if not for a lucky twist of fate.
This one—the third in the Reaper’s attempts—was likely to succeed in placing her in the grave.
Her heart was still racing as dread swamped every one of her conscious thoughts.
She wasn’t sure where these criminals were taking her or how long she’d been their prisoner, but she could tell by the popping of her ears that they were descending. This had to be a much lower elevation than Destiny, her hometown in Colorado.
Had there been anything she could’ve done to prevent this from happening?
She’d arrived at work early, as per normal, at seven in the morning. It was one of several of her routines she’d been able to continue these past few months. Some of her other daily procedures were hit and miss.
God, why can’t I let go of the past? She knew she needed to, but only time would allow her to heal.
Time? She wasn’t sure she had much more of it. Still inside the trunk, her mind spun with a million thoughts.
Her whole world had been flipped on its head when an employee had made it past her desk by coercing her to comply with a pistol aimed at her head. She’d almost gotten everyone killed, especially Megan.
Kip Lunceford, Megan’s ex, had been behind the whole mess.
Could my kidnapping be a part of the same scheme by Kip? How?
He was still in prison in solitary confinement. She didn’t think it was possible this could be connected. Besides, the men who’d taken her had distinct Russian accents. They had to be connected to the Mitrofanov syndicate that Sheriff Jason Wolfe was trying to bring down. Nicole, her brothers’ fiancée and also the sheriff’s new deputy, was helping him build the case.
