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He needed to find Zoe.
CHAPTER37
MITCH
Mitch was still walking an hour later. The dogs had been sent out, and they’d followed her scent until they’d lost it.
He stood at that point now. She couldn’t have vanished into thin air, so that meant she’d crossed the river. The problem was, the rapids were strong and he didn’t think she’d have made it to the other side if she was injured.
Mitch shook his head. He looked downstream and started running, careful not to trip and end up in the river himself.
After ten minutes and no sign of her, he was beginning to question his theory—but then he saw a shadow on the edge of the river. At first, in the dim light, he’d thought it was a large rock, but the closer he got, he realized it was not a rock at all.
“Zoe!” he screamed as he sprinted toward her, careful not to slip himself and crack his head open. That would not help her.
“Zoe!” he said, almost skidding to a halt on the wet river bed.
He fell at her side, pulling her into his arms.
He checked her for a pulse and exhaled in relief when he felt one. He checked her breathing, and when he felt her shallow breaths he thanked God.
He pulled his phone from his pocket. “Jackson! I’ve got her! Track my location!”
He ended the call, putting his phone beside him. He saw the clip in her hair and pulled it out, throwing it in the river. He never wanted to see that clip again.
“Zoe, hang in there, please! You’re okay! Everything is okay!” he said, praying that was true.
Her white gown was stained and ripped, and in the darkness he couldn’t tell the extent of her injuries.
She’s alive and breathing on her own, he thought.That’ll have to be good enough at this stage.
He kissed her forehead. “I’ve got you. Open your eyes, Zoe. Everything is okay.”
She groaned, but her eyes remained closed.
Jackson came sprinting up to him with a team of medics behind him.
“Let’s get her on a stretcher,” Mitch said. “I haven’t done an injury assessment.”
The medics took her from his arms and he stood back, feeling helpless, but knowing she was in the best hands she could be in. He walked beside them as they made their way back to the cottage, listening to everything they said, making sure she remained stable. When they put her in an ambulance, he jumped in the back. He was not letting her out of his sight.
In the light of the ambulance, he could see her injuries and it was like a kick to his stomach. Her abdomen was stained red and she had a large cut across her temple.
He let out a shaky breath.
The medic shone a light in her eyes. “She’s heavily drugged; her slow reflexes indicate it’s possibly a paralytic or neuromuscular-blocking drug. Heart rate is slow but stable. Oxygen saturation is improving.”
They cut open her nightgown and assessed the wound.
“Stab wound to the abdomen. Not a typical stab wound—it looks like the knife might’ve slipped,” the medic said.
Mitch’s heart raced the entire way to the hospital.
“Which doctor is on tonight?” Mitch asked.
“Dr. Roberts,” one of the medics responded, and Mitch exhaled a long breath. Dr. Roberts was the most experienced there, and Mitch personally knew he was a good doctor. Given how small Redwater was, they sometimes had traveling doctors and Mitch hadn’t been impressed by some of them, but he approved of Dr. Roberts and said a quick prayer of thanks to God.
Zoe might believe God had abandoned her over the past few years, but tonight was a series of miracles that indicated otherwise. Given her injuries and that she’d been drugged, Mitch couldn’t believe she’d made it out of the cottage.
