“Oh!” I cry out, the sound ripped away by the wind and heavy rain.

I hit the ground with a thud. The slick mud made me lose my footing and I fall flat on my face. My phone slips from my grasp, and lands…

I have no idea where. It’s quickly washed away. I pull myself up, ignoring the pain on my palms, which are scratched up from trying to break my fall. Great, a lovely mixture of mud and blood. I glance down at my feet, the cold water already filling my shoes and swirling around my ankles.

That’s the last thought I give to my father or to breakfast. I glance at my car. The water has already buried my tires by a few inches.

Wet and muddy, my heart doing flips, I trudge away from the swiftly swelling creek along the road toward higher ground. I’m soaked through to the skin and I need to get to safety. A broken tree branch is caught on the muddy torrent and whacks me in the shin. I’m no match for water. Nothing is.

I didn’t survive years in captivity to die this way.

I have to move. And fast.

30

AUSTIN

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Someone’s pounding on my freaking bedroom door. Again.

I’m already up, just coming out of the bathroom. Chance has Miles and me trained now, but damn. I blearily glance across the room to the clock on the side table. It’s barely six.

“What the fuck do you want?” I yell.

“You decent?”

Of course. Chance’s voice.

I’m in my boxers. “Barely.”

The door opens, and Chance walks in.

“Sure, please come in.” I roll my eyes.

“Hey, is Carly here? Please tell me she’s here.”

A jolt of fear lances through me. I stiffen and narrow my gaze. “No. She went home last night. You know that. I took her myself.”

“I know, but her father’s on the phone. Apparently they were supposed to have breakfast this morning, and she’s not there.”

“What?” That lance of fear morphs into all-out panic. “What do you mean she’s not there?” I shout.

“Talk to him yourself.” He holds out his cell.

I grab it from him and put it to my ear. “Mr. Vance?”

“Where the hell is she, Bridger?”

“She’s not here. I swear to God. I dropped her off last night. I watched her go inside, even spoke with your wife.”

“That’s correct,” he replies.

“No note?” I ask.

“No.”

Chance is watching me, easily following the conversation.

“We need to find her. Where could she have gone, and why?”

“Stop lying to me, Bridger,” he snaps.

I run a hand through my hair. “Mayor, this is serious. I don’t know where she is. You have a right to be panicked. I am, too. Please. We need to work together to figure this out. What can you tell me? Was her bed slept in?”