“Get some clothes on,” Chance says. “As soon as you’re ready, we’re out of here.”

No.

This can’t be Carly’s car.

The vehicle is off the road, and it looks like it slid a dozen feet or more to the side. A mud slick, at least six inches thick, coats the pavement. It’s clear the creek flooded the banks with not just water, but debris and dirt from upstream. The bridge didn’t wash out, but it’s a fucking mess.

“Austin…” Miles’s voice. “From the debris line on the side of her car, it doesn’t look like it was hit too bad. The mayor hasn’t gotten here yet. She was clearly closer to our place.”

“I’ll call the mayor.”

As soon as Chance brings the truck to a stop, I bolt. It’s barely raining now but the sky is thick and heavy with clouds and possibly more rain. The wind’s strong, but I don’t even feel it.

I run to the car.

“Carly!”

I pull on the door handle, but it’s locked, and she’s not in the driver seat. I pound on the window. “Carly! Carly! Carly!”

I’m shouting at nothing because she’s not inside. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.

Meanwhile, my brothers walk around the vehicle.

“Good,” Chance says from the back. He must’ve made the call with the mayor a short one. “Clearly, she wasn’t in a collision. The car is fine.”

“Fine!” I grit out and wave my arms. “What about this is fine? She’s not here. Someone… Someone took her. Someone fucking took her again!” I grab the sides of my hair and pull. “Fuck!”

Chance inches toward me. “Austin. No. What are the chances of—”

“The chances are good! They took her once, and they want her again! Damn it!”

Miles ambles toward us, and—

Crack.

“What was that?” He leans down. “Oh.”

“What is it?” Chance asks.

“A phone. A cracked phone now.”

“Let me see.”

He hands it to me.

I recognize it instantly. “It’s Carly’s. This is her case, with a golden retriever on it. Her phone. They made her give up her phone!” I throw the phone back on the wet ground, lean against the wet car, and bang my head on the roof as the rain continues to pelt me.

“Hey,” Miles says. “Here comes the mayor.”

“Yeah, he said he was almost here,” Chance replies.

I don’t care. He can blame me if he wants. Because I don’t care. If Carly is gone…

Fuck!

The oncoming car screeches to a halt, dredging up water and splashing the three of us.

I don’t care.

I don’t care about any of this.

“Where is she?” Vance demands as he exits his vehicle.

“There’s no evidence of a collision,” Chance says. “She’s not here, Mayor.”

“Damn it!”

I hear him stomp his feet on the wet road.

I don’t move.

“Damn it all, Bridger,” he says, although I’m not sure who he’s talking to. Until he gets in my face.