Hostage Rescue

But Caden was there to steady her.

“Gwen?”

“I’m fine.”

“How are you really feeling?”

She hesitated. “Like I was hit by a truck.”

“I’m not surprised,” he said as they kept walking. “What about your head?”

“Just a slight headache.”

“As soon as we can stop, I’ll get you some more pain medicine. Any nausea or dizziness?”

She was shaking now, as much from the cold as from fear. “I’m just sore and tired.”

She knew what he was thinking. Headache, confusion, dizziness, nausea—the symptoms of a concussion. If it was a concussion, treatment meant she needed to rest, but there was no more time for that. Instead, they were looking at a long hike out of here. Her only option was to push through.

They stepped onto the other bank and started downstream, keeping to the dark shadows of the canyon to ensure they stayed hidden.

“I’ll be fine.”

They walked in silence along the side of the river. She tried not to think about where her brother was, or what would happen if the men found them. She just had to keep moving. Had to make sure the men didn’t catch up to them. Caden stopped every twenty yards or so and listened to the night sounds. She could no longer see the flashlights or hear the people after her, but she knew they were out there.

“Did you hear something?” she asked.

“Yes, I’m just not sure if it’s them.”

Another few yards down the river, he steered them behind an outcropping of trees. She was barely able to distinguish his movements as Caden pulled his weapon out of his holster. Gwen shivered in the darkness. She had no idea what their plan should be, or how they were going to defend themselves if those men struck again. But clearly, they needed to be ready for anything.

“Caden…”

“Have you ever used a gun?” he asked.

“A few times at a shooting range. Why?”

“I need to go out there and figure out which way they’ve gone. Make sure they’re not behind us, but I don’t want to risk doing that with you. I also can’t leave you defenseless.”

She shook her head, wanting to scream at him not to leave her, but she knew he was right. They needed to know where the men were. But was leaving her alone the solution?

“You’ll be fine if you stay here.” He tilted back her chin and caught her gaze. “I promise I’ll be back.”

“I don’t want the gun. You’ll be defenseless.”

“I have no plans to confront them. Not at this point, anyway.”

He rechecked the weapon. “Leave the safety on and don’t shoot unless you absolutely have to. And when I come back…don’t shoot me.”

She watched him walk away, then stood frozen in the shadows until she lost track of time. Five, ten…fifteen minutes… She had no idea how much time had passed, but she heard every sound around her. Her ankle throbbed and her head pounded. She didn’t want to be here alone and hated the helpless feeling overtaking her. Hated that she was a liability. But there was nothing she could do to change the situation.

She studied the surrounding terrain, listening carefully for anything that sounded out of place, but every noise caused her pulse to quicken and her heart to race. What if something had happened to Caden? What if she was left alone to find her way out of the canyon? The river churned beside her, crickets chirped. If those men were out there, close by… No. She gripped the gun tighter. She wasn’t going to panic. She had to be ready. Caden was counting on her to stay calm. Which made her want to laugh. As part of her job, she’d stood her ground to protect dozens of vulnerable children who had dealt with domestic violence, trauma and child abuse, but put her in the middle of a potential gunfight and her only instinct was to run.

Something rustled behind her.

She turned around and aimed the weapon in front of her. “Whoever you are, don’t come any closer. I’m armed.”

“Gwen…it’s just me.”

Her heart pounded as Caden came into view. She took a step backward and realized she’d been holding her breath. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

She handed him the gun, barrel first, glad to have the weapon out of her hands. “Did you find them?”

“They’re headed upstream like I hoped. Can you keep moving?”

She nodded.

“Good, because we need to put as much distance between us and them as possible. And in the meantime, pray we find someone to take us downriver once the sun comes up.”

Caden glanced at her, impressed by the grit and determination in her step, knowing it had to be painful. Not that it changed anything. She’d once told him exactly what she thought about him, and he was pretty sure that even with all the time that had passed, her feelings toward him hadn’t changed, either.

He’d never been able to forget her words that night. She’d caught up with him in the parking lot as he was leaving the rehearsal dinner. Twenty-four hours before he was supposed to marry Cammie. Instead, everything he’d thought was real—everything he’d believed about his fiancée—had all turned out to be a lie, and his plans for the future had suddenly come crumbling down around him.

If you don’t think she’s the one you want to spend the rest of your life with, then fine. Better now than after you’re married. But I hope you never forget what your selfishness is about to cost you.

He’d stood in front of Gwen, lights from the barn where they’d planned the dinner twinkling in the background. He’d wanted to tell her the truth. That his actions hadn’t been what broke things off between him and Cammie. But he’d seen the anger in Gwen’s eyes and knew how loyal she was to her friend. No matter what he would have said at that moment, she never would have believed him. And all these years later, he was sure she still wouldn’t.

Gwen let out a soft groan next to him.

He grabbed her waist to make sure she didn’t fall. “Gwen…”

“Sorry, I just stepped wrong. I’m fine.”

He studied her gait. Her limp was definitely more pronounced.

“You’re not fine. We need to stop.” He flipped on his flashlight, then reached down and checked her ankle. “It’s swelling again.”

“I’m fine, Caden. I can keep going.”

“If you don’t take care of this, you won’t be able to walk out of here. We’ve put some distance between them and us. You need to take some pain medicine, soak your ankle in the river water and rest, at least for a few minutes.”

She hesitated, then nodded. “Fine. But just for a few minutes.”

“We’ll leave your shoe on in case your ankle starts swelling.”

He found a small inlet, where the water moved slower next to the shoreline and there was an outcropping of rocks where they could sit. He handed her the pain medicine and some water from his backpack, then kneeled down in front of her and eased her shoe into the water. It might not be an ice pack, but it was the next best thing.

“How does that feel?” he asked.

“Cold, but good.”

Moonlight filtered down the canyon wall, bathing the rock’s crevices in a soft glow of light before shifting across the water. While he loved exploring the canyon during the day, there had always been something captivating about the scene at night.

“You’re shaking,” he said, sitting down beside her. He needed to get her out of here.

“I’m just cold.”

“The temperatures drop significantly down here at night.” He moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her. “On the bright side, it gets too cold for venomous snakes.”

She shivered next to him. “I’ve tried not to think about what might be out here.”

He glanced across the darkened river, knowing it was impossible. The most dangerous enemy out there wasn’t the wildlife.

She needed a distraction.

“I’d like to hear more about your job,” he said. “You mentioned you represent children.”

“Yeah. The center I work for was started to help ensure that child victims didn’t fall through the cracks. We work primarily through stopping any abuse before it starts, but we also support victims of all forms of abuse.”

“Sounds like an important mission.”

“It is. We end up being advocates for these families through the entire process, giving counsel and support through the criminal investigation and ensuring that the victims and their families have the resources they need.”

“That’s got to be a challenge.”

“It is. While I love my job, I want to do more than the system allows. One of our goals is preventing abuse but there are still issues that are hard to deal with.”

“Meaning?”

“I help ensure the children get placed into a safe environment and defend their rights, but most of these kids need more than that. They need help learning how to communicate and resolve conflicts. And also figuring out what they are made of. That with the right resources they can thrive.”

“Any ideas on how to do that?”

“Yes, actually. I’ve spent the past few months researching several programs for at-risk teens that are located right here in the state. So many kids struggle navigating into adulthood, but the potential is there. If they aren’t intentionally worked with, most of them will never reach that potential. And the majority of the kids I deal with don’t have anyone at home to advocate for them, let alone teach them basic life skills. All they need sometimes is someone who cares. Someone who can teach them how to problem-solve and set goals. I’ve seen it work firsthand, but instead, we’re losing too many of our young people.”

“You’re passionate about these kids.”

“Sorry.” She let out a low laugh. “I do tend to go overboard when someone asks me.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about. Anyone can go to work every day and do their job, but I find so many people end up losing the passion that put them there in the first place. Sounds like you haven’t done that.”

“One of the things I’m actually looking at is a wilderness program where at-risk youths, in particular, can address issues and uncover their strengths in an outdoor setting.”

“Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t remember you being the outdoor type.”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t. Not back in college, at least. I was definitely more of a bookworm.”

“What changed?”

She hesitated, making him wonder if he’d asked the wrong question.

“Aaron and I… Our parents were killed in a car crash about six years ago by a drunk driver,” she said, finally.

“Wow… I’m so sorry.”

“It turned our world on end, but especially for my brother. He was nineteen, impulsive and anything but serious about life. I struggled reaching him for a long time, but eventually found that this was a way for us to connect. He loves the outdoors, so we plan something different every few months. We’ve hiked Pikes Peak, the Rio Grande Trail, Bear Creek Falls… Last year we even tried downhill mountain-biking for the first time at Crested Butte.”

“He’s fortunate to have you.”

“It’s mutual. Losing someone you love changes you. It makes you realize how fragile life is and reminds you not to take people for granted.” She pulled her foot out of the water. “We should go. They know I’m injured, and more than likely assume we’re still around here. It’s not going to take them too long to realize they’re headed in the wrong direction.”

He helped her up, knowing she was right. He hoped to have them both out of the canyon by dinnertime tomorrow, but there was no way to know how this would play out. Expecting to outrun the men if they came back was foolish. Which meant they were going to have to outsmart them, and the way to do that was to get out of here as soon as possible.

But he was already questioning his decision to try to leave via the water. There were too many sections that even experts found intimidating, and he wasn’t sure if she’d be able to handle it physically. He shoved aside the questions. Worrying wasn’t going to help and certainly wasn’t going to change the situation. Once he got a signal on his cell, he could arrange for a helicopter to pick them up downriver, but in order to do that, they had to keep moving.