Erin's Way (22 page)

The truck slid to a gravel crunching halt next to him, and two doors slammed.

“Sam!
Shit!
It looks like he’s been shot. Call 911, Carter.” Stoner bent over him, grasping his shoulders carefully. Even through the haze of pain coating his vision, Sam saw how pale the older man’s face was. “Erin? Where’s Erin, Sam?”

“Gone, I think. Haven’t been able to check the house. Be careful.” Through the pain, he fished in his memory for something to tell him. He’d heard footsteps and voices. “At least two men. Don’t know how long ago. Before sunrise.”

“Carter!” Stoner yelled. “Get the rifle out of the truck. Erin’s been taken. Sam looks like he’s been shot twice, also has a head wound of some sort. I’m going in to check the house.”

Sam grabbed Stoner’s sleeve with his uninjured arm. “Take my gun. Don’t worry about me. Find her. Find
her
, Stoner!”

Sam’s eyes squeezed shut, but he couldn’t hold back the tears. Their moisture tracked down the drying mud on his face.

Stoner cupped his hands around Sam’s neck. “I will. We will. Hang in there, son. We’re going to get you help, then find her, you hear me?”

Sam grimaced against the pain that surged through him, and sobbed. He was mortified. To cry was bad enough, but to cry in front of Stoner? When the other man put his arms around him, Sam stiffened for a moment in surprise, then relaxed.

“It’s all right. We’ll get her back. Erin’s tough. Remember that.”

Sam nodded slowly and painfully. Stoner released him, took Sam’s gun and disappeared. Sam had no idea how much time passed before he heard Stoner say the house was empty. Shortly after, the wail of sirens split the morning quiet. With pain dulling his awareness, Sam watched what looked like the entire world show up. While the EMTs cut away his clothing to get to the bullet wounds, deputies as well as state troopers crawled over the farm, sealing off the area and searching for evidence.

The staccato shouts of voices and radios and the rumble of diesel engines all mixed together in his pain-fogged brain. There was only one thing that remained clear. Erin. They had to find her, had to find her before it was too late.

A young EMT bent over him. Sam recognized his face, but couldn’t think of his name. “Okay, Sheriff, we’re going to move you to the stretcher. One, two, three. Lift.”

The movement made his stomach roll, but Sam clenched his jaw and stared at the pink of the morning sky. In his peripheral vision he watched the movement around him, listened to the hum of the paramedics’ conversations.

“Both bullets traveled clean through.”

“Just missed the brachial artery.”

He tried to turn his head, but they had immobilized it.

“Saw one,” he croaked.

In an instant, his lead detective was next to him.

“Sheriff. You saw one of them?”

Sam pulled at the memory trying to escape his fogged brain. “Friend of hers. Try hotel. Truck stop. Rick or Matty.”

“Can you give me a description?”

“Evan can.”

Everything around him dimmed as the roaring in his ears grew louder. Sam struggled against it. He had to stay awake. Had to be able to help Erin.

* * * *

Stoner stood to one side, not sure what he was supposed to be doing, but feeling like he should be doing something. His daughter had been kidnapped. That much was clear, and whoever had done it thought they’d left Sam for dead. The fact the kidnappers would gun down the county sheriff without any apparent second thought was terrifying. If they would do that to Sam, what would they do to Erin? She’d feared the people she suspected were drug dealers would come after her. Guilt gnawed at him that once again he’d let her down. Had they thought they could just put Erin at Sam’s place and she’d be hidden? They had all gotten too relaxed, too casual. Now his daughter was missing and the man she loved was seriously wounded.

His phone vibrated. Stoner reached for it and saw it was Catherine.

“Katie…” He tried to keep the tension and fear out of his voice, but they’d been married far too long for that.

“Whatever it is, Stoner, just tell me. Don’t soft pedal it.”

“Sam’s been shot.”

“Erin?” He heard the plea in his wife’s voice.

Stoner swallowed. “Missing. Kidnapped. Sam’s got a couple of wounds. They’re getting ready to transport him right now. Call Evan and Tabby. Let’s get them both to the hospital. I just”—he paused to take in a deep breath—“I need to see them, pick their brains about anything Erin might have said.”

“Oh dear God. I’ll call right away.” No hesitation. No fear. It was what had always fascinated him about her. She took everything in stride, stepping in and stepping up to do what needed to be done.

“I’ll come get you, Katie. I need to clean up before we head to town.”

He ended the call and leaned against his truck. For the first time in a long while, he felt every single one of his years. In six months’ span, this was the second time he’d stood covered in the blood of someone dear to him. They’d been able to save Tabby, and it looked like they would save Sam, but the thought he might lose Erin when they’d only just gotten her back was almost enough to drive him to his knees.

“Senator? Can you answer a few questions?”

He opened his eyes. Sam’s lead detective, an older, burly man he’d known for years, stood in front of him.

“Sure, Jim. How could I do anything else?”

“Sam mumbled something about seeing one of the kidnappers. Said it was a friend of your daughter’s.”

Stoner frowned. “She doesn’t have any friends around here that I know of. She’s been living in the Virgin Islands until recently, and Detective, I have to tell you she left there and came back here because she overheard arrangements for a drug deal. She was afraid someone might come after her.”

The detective’s eyes narrowed. “Sam
knew
this?”

“Yes. He and Evan were checking things out. We were trying to keep it quiet. As I’m sure you know, anything involving our family always seems to get into the press. Erin didn’t want that. Neither did Sam. We were afraid it would lead them directly to her. So Sam moved her in with him to provide protection and what we hoped would be a safe place to hide.”

Jim raised a brow. “That’s a little difficult to do when everyone in town’s seen the two of them together.”

“Sam was taking precautions,” Stoner said in Sam’s defense.

“You know who these people from the Virgin Islands might be?” Jim asked.

“Not the dealers, but she did have two friends who showed up, also trying to lay low. But I only know first names. Rick, he was the captain of the
Sprite
, the boat on which Erin worked. And Matty, one of the crew.”

Jim looked thoughtful. “Where did they sail out of? I can probably chase down names that way.”

“Saint Thomas, I think.” Stoner stared after the departing ambulance and swallowed. There’d been bad blood between him and Sam over the years, but any idiot could see Sam was head over heels in love with Erin. The connection that had always existed between Sam and his daughter had only grown stronger. Stoner was afraid what would happen to either one of them without the other. He knew probably better than anyone just how far back their attraction stretched. Twelve years ago, it had infuriated Stoner and shamed Sam, but now he couldn’t think of a man he’d rather see with her.

“I need to find Evan. Sam says he’s seen the two guys.”

Stoner nodded. “He’ll be at the hospital. Sam’s a close friend.”

* * * *

Erin hated the foggy, floating feeling that sent her mind spinning off in several different directions at once. She wanted to keep her eyes shut, but she was so dizzy. Hoping the spinning kaleidoscope behind her eyelids would go away, she carefully opened her lids.

Her face felt tight. When she tried to rub it, she realized two things. Her hands were bound behind her, and tape covered her mouth. Her eyes popped all the way open, and the light from the bedside lamp sent a jolt of agony to her visual cortex. As quietly as she could, she shifted, hoping to see where she was. It appeared to be a suite of some sort. Not many hotels had those. She listened carefully, and in the distance detected the low rumble of big trucks. The truck stop.

She closed her eyes again as the arguing from the other room filtered back to her.

“He’s supposed to come back today. I either have to be there or make it look like I’ve checked out and left him.”

“I need him…and you too. You can both help with the girl.”

“Looks to me like she’s pretty quiet right now. You didn’t overdose her, did you?”

Cruel male laughter rippled over Erin’s nerve endings.

“If I did, you’re the one who loaded the syringe.”

“According to your instructions.”

“Let it go. She’s fine. She’ll be out for a while. Let’s make sure the place you found is ready so we can move her.”

Erin tried to speak around the tape. She wanted to warn Matty not to trust Andre, but the only thing that came out of her mouth was garbled.

The door shut behind them. Erin strained her ears, but she could no longer hear anyone. Had they left her alone? Fat lot of good it did her, with tape over her mouth, her hands bound, and her ankles taped together. Maybe she could still get to the phone, dial 911 with her toes, something. Erin tried to shift her body on the bed, but it was much harder than she thought. Her legs felt heavy and unwilling to obey her commands. Finally, she managed to roll from side to side. Just when she thought she’d made it, she fell off the bed, cracking her head against the night stand.

Now she lay on the floor, feeling blood trickle down her forehead, and knowing she was stuck. With an exhausted, defeated sigh, Erin pressed her head to the floor. The tears she had held back for years trickled from the corners of her eyes. What happened hardly mattered anyway without Sam. His name spiraled through her brain over and over. Despair crept along her veins, as cold as trailing an ice cube down an arm.

“Sam! Can you hear me? Come on, Sam. Open your eyes for just a moment so I can see you’re still there.”

“Donshoutjenny.”

Light feminine laughter floated over him, disturbing his peace as effectively as her voice had. “You are one lucky guy, you know that?”

“Erin?” His heart pounded as he waited for an answer. He couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes, fearing what he would read in Jenny’s expression.

“No. That’s not what I meant, though everyone’s out working on it from Jake’s guys to your deputies. Even Evan and the state guys.”

Sam opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling. He shouldn’t be lying here in a hospital bed. He should be going out to help find Erin. He tried to throw back the covers, then realized he had all sorts of tubes and wires stuck to him.

“Whoa, big boy!” Jenny gently pushed him back. “You can’t go anywhere right now. You’ve been in surgery for the past few hours. While you were lucky both bullets shot through and didn’t do any major damage, we still had to clean things and repair what we could. You’re down a leg and an arm right now, so you’re out of commission, Sam.”

He stared at Jenny. “Have to find her.”

His stomach knotted and his heart ached as much as his wounds. He’d sworn to protect her and failed. He’d taken precautions in town, but an attack in the dark on the farm hadn’t crossed his mind.

She touched his forehead. “I know you have to find her, Sam, but for once you’re going to have to rely on the men you’ve trained and the other men in her life. Evan has already given everyone an excellent description of Rick and Matty. He and Stoner are working closely with everyone involved. But you have to rest. In addition to the bullets, you took a nasty crack to the head. You’re damn lucky to be alive, Sam.”

With a reassuring touch to his shoulder, Jenny left him alone.

He didn’t feel lucky to be alive. He closed his eyes, but he couldn’t shut out the thoughts that tortured him. Where was she? Was she even alive? And worst of all… How could he have been so incredibly naïve? He should have put additional protection on her and the farm. Should have done something other than carry his backup gun. He had allowed his ego and libido to get in the way of the basics of sound police work.

Several hours later, Sam was staring out the window when he heard the noise at the door. Evan and Jenny entered the room with Stoner and Catherine right behind them.

“A little crowded for ICU, isn’t it?” Sam’s voice was a hoarse rasp.

Jenny came forward. “I’m making an exception. Besides, I’ll bust you out of here tomorrow morning to a regular room.”

He scowled. “I’d rather go home.”

“That would be an option if it were only the arm wound, but for two bullets and a concussion, you have to serve extra time.”

Sam turned his head away from them. He appreciated Jenny’s effort, but he couldn’t forget what loomed over all of them. Erin was gone.

“Any luck?” he asked softly.

Evan stepped to the foot of the bed. “Not yet. Jim and a couple state guys have a room at the hotel next to the truck stop staked out. Your man Rick was registered there, but no one’s been there all day, so we’re keeping an eye on it.”

Sam ground his teeth together in frustration. He knew how these things played out. The longer a kidnap victim was gone, the smaller the chances were of survival. His brain thrust a picture at him of life without Erin. He closed his eyes against the desolation.

“I have to get out of here.” He started to move.

“Whoa!” Jenny’s voice cracked like a whip. “Sam, you’ll be of no use to her dead.”

His eyes swiveled to her. “And if I don’t go, she could end up dead.”

Catherine gasped. Sam’s gaze darted to her. He turned his face away in shame. He wasn’t the only one in pain in this room. “I’m sorry,” he choked.

He felt lost, empty. Just at the point where he’d finally realized the difference in their ages didn’t matter, that she didn’t care that his farm wasn’t Richardson Homestead, she was gone. He had planned to ask her to marry him. They should have been curled up on the couch. He would have given her his grandmother’s ring. It had sat in the box on his dresser where he kept his most personal possessions for years. He’d never questioned why. Now he realized he’d been waiting for her to grow up, to come back. He could almost see her eyes light up. His vision blurred, and Sam blinked the moisture away.