"What are you going to do?" The words made Nate's head pound, and he pushed his palms into his temples and dropped his head between his knees.

"I have to go."

"Go."

Nate didn't look up but heard Brady's soft footfalls fade.

He took a deep breath, wished he knew how long he'd been out. Probably not more than a few minutes. But still, something might've happened. Maybe Rick had taken Marisa and Ana and left while Nate dozed on the roadside.

No. Rick's red Audi was still there. They hadn't gone anywhere.

He stared toward the cabin. Forced his gaze to stay up. Forced himself to his feet. His head was still pounding, but the black cloud around his vision was gone.

He staggered to the side of the road and leaned against a tree. He could be here when Marisa and Ana were rescued. At least he could do that. And he'd made the call.

Yes, he'd done something good. And they would be rescued.

Thank God.

He closed his eyes. Countless terrible scenarios flittered through his vision. Shootouts, stabbings. Death.

A sound had his eyes snapping open. A voice.

"Move."

A man's voice. It came from the wrong direction. Nate peered toward the lake, closer to the cabin he'd come from. There, two figures picked their way slowly between the trees and shrubs. A tall man, broad-shouldered, with a grip on a slender woman. Rick pushed Marisa forward. She stumbled, kept upright.

No child.

He didn't want to think about what that might mean.

Nate moved silently along the road, parallel to them. His head still pounded, but the dizziness had passed. The adrenaline helped.

He lost them when they passed behind a cabin. He ran to the other side, peered around it. There they were. He could only see black, one taller than the other, in the light of the hazy half-moon above.

The figures kept moving, and Nate did, too. He reached for a pocket—nonexistent on his pajamas. He must've dropped his phone on the road.

Another cabin, he raced to the other side, saw the two figures emerge. They passed behind another cabin, and he followed. Nate was keeping their pace easily. Though the trees were sparser between the cabins than they would be in the forest, they were still thick.

Nate felt better, stronger. His head still pounded, but he was regaining his strength.

They reached the cabin where he and Marisa had been staying. Nate crept around the side, stopped at the back corner, and looked into the trees for some kind of weapon. He found a branch, but when he touched it, it felt nearly rotted. He dropped to his knees. There had to be something.

The man said, "Where are the truck keys?"

"I don't know."

Nate dug beneath the bracken. Surely, surely...

The man did something Nate couldn't see, and Marisa answered with a pained gasp.

"Don't lie to me."