by Various
Jameson nodded. “You’re right. She called more than an hour ago. I barely heard a thing. I don’t think she understood anything I tried to tell her.”
“I’m sure there will be search parties all night for folks that have been affected by the storm,” Mr. Callimer said. “We’ll go to the police with what we know and make sure Avery is on the list to search for. We just have to keep in mind we’re not sure she’s near here. But we will not give up hope.”
“No sir, we won’t. I’m going to find her,” Lucas promised. If it’s the last thing I ever do.
Sirens wailed in the distance. This time, it was the sirens of help.
******
Head pounding, Avery awoke to a heavy weight on top of her. She was buried under a large pile of debris. She was alive! She’d survived the storm. Where was Rodney? And how in the hell was she going to get out of this with her binds? Avery opened and closed her hands. Her wrists hurt like hell from being twisted up behind her. The chair was on it’s side. If she was lucky and able, she could find some sort of sharp edge within the debris and cut the ropes. It was a long shot, but the only thing she had to hope for.
When her left hand palmed a stick with a jagged edge, Avery let out a silent thanks. The tricky part was going to be getting the ropes in the just the right angle to cut through them without slicing her wrists open.
She would do whatever she had to do. With all this rubble, who knows how long rescue workers would take to find her? By then, Avery would die from lack of food, water, or bleeding out. There was blood. She felt it. Smelled it.
If Rodney was alive, he’d be coming back for her. Avery had to get out of here before that happened. Wincing, she slid her wrists over the stick. Each thrust, she felt the ropes loosening. It was working! She might just be free in no time. At least from her binds. She then had to figure out where she was, and if moving any of the piled debris was an option. Hope faded, but only for a moment. Until the last thrust. Avery screamed against the tape as the edge jabbed her hard in the wrist. Pain shot up her arm. Please, please, please let her not have a sliced vein.
But she was free! She could move her hands. They hurt like hell, but Avery had full range of motion. Cringing at the thought of getting that tape off her mouth, she decided to just suck it up and rip.
One, two, three.
Avery thought her lips were going to come off with the tape, but at least it was off. Be strong. You’re almost there.
Avery worked on untying her ankles. She still had shoes on. Good! Running around in the storm’s aftermath, who knew what sharp objects awaited. It was difficult to muster the energy to get her feet untied, and the heavy boards and pieces of the structure she’d been in held her down, but she pushed through.
She let out a rejoiced cry when the ropes were off her feet. Okay, next step. Get the hell out from under this mess. Avery scooted away from the chair. She crawled on all fours now, even though blood seeped from her wrist, she could still move it for the most part. Enough to get her out. Avery lifted her non-bloody wrist and shoved at the stuff above her. Some of it moved easily, and some didn’t. It was enough to work with.
When Avery climbed out of the debris and studied the surroundings, it looked like a bomb had gone off. Trees down, car alarms going off in the distance, and everything smelled of blood and death. Avery bent down, holding her stomach as she tried hard not to be sick. It was so dark! How was she going to get out of here without tripping on something or falling into a hole or-?
Avery tore at the sleeve of her shirt. She had to find a way to stop the blood flowing from the gash on her wrist. She gathered enough cloth to wind it around her wrist. It wouldn’t hold for long, but it was a start.
Deep breaths.
Don’t panic. Whatever you do, don’t panic.
Umm, yeah. Avery was already in a panic. She raised her right foot and stepped lightly forward. Another step. So far, so good. No falling through, no nails shoved up in the bottom of her shoe. But this was just the beginning. Avery had so far to go.
She remembered search teams from previous storms. Especially the ones that hit at night, like this one. When her dad was younger, he’d join them. People would search the rubble and look for survivors. So there was hope. How widespread was the damage? It could still take a long time for someone to come Avery’s way. If only she knew where Rodney was. That would at least help her feel better.
Lightning flashed in the distance. Avery hadn’t thought about more storms. If another nasty one hit, she’d be screwed.
Still taking small, slow steps, Avery’s foot slammed into something. A body? A small light gleamed from beside whatever it was. Avery picked the object up. A flashlight! Yes! She almost squealed out loud until she pointed the light beam downward.
Avery almost lost it. Her foot had stumbled on Rodney’s body. He was certainly dead. His open, wide eyes were glazed over and he’d lost so much blood. But to be sure, Avery bent and felt for a pulse. She half expected him to jump up and grab her. That happened all the time in those stupid scary movies she used to watch with Jameson or Laura. Avery shivered. No pulse. She was thankful that she was safe from this man, but it was still tragic that someone lost a life. Now, she may never know what he wanted, or even who he was.
Avery sobbed and moved away from the body. She held the flashlight out, shining the beam left and right to ensure she could see everything around her.
Where is this place? She could be anywhere right now. Avery had no sense of time. It had been at least eight o’clock when Rodney stopped at that gas station, but after that ... she could have been out for hours, both times.
The dim light helped Avery find a vehicle. Though most of it was destroyed from flying wood, drywall and a ... refrigerator, Avery recognized it as the car she’d ridden in.
There was a chance that her stuff could still be there. Though her cell phone was dead, Avery could still gather a few things to help her get out of there, and if Rodney had a phone, he could have been lying about it being dead. Which meant Avery could make a phone call. Not that she could tell anyone where she was, but she could probably find an app that had some kind of GPS locater or something.
She wouldn’t push her luck that far, but her heart filled with hope. When she pulled on the door, it didn’t budge. Poising the light in the windows, sure enough, Avery spotted her suitcase, and her purse on the front seat of the car.
The air had been so eerily calm before that when a gentle breeze ruffled her hair, Avery nearly jumped.
She was definitely on edge.
Avery would have to break the window. Not that there wasn’t plenty of items around to help her smash it. She’d just have to watch for flying glass. She already had one cut. Searching the nearby ground, Avery spotted a large enough branch that might do the trick. She grabbed it, but it was so heavy. She’d have to put the flashlight down.
To save battery life, Avery clicked the light off, throwing her in the midst of darkness. With a grunt, she lifted the branch and held it like a baseball bat, prepared to smash the window. The first try didn’t get her anywhere. Avery was so overcome with dizziness that she fell flat on her butt. “Ooph!”
She sat for a moment, trying to gain her strength.
Moments later, Avery climbed to her feet again, picked up that branch and slammed into the window harder than before. “Damn you, break! Break!” she screamed.
It worked. The glass shattered. Avery shielded her face with her good hand and waited for the shards to fall away. She grabbed her purse and reached for the flashlight again. If Rodney had a cell phone, it was either in the car, or it was ... oh damn. He could have been carrying it. Which meant if she had any chance, she’d have to-
Oh please no.
Avery crouched by the car and waited for the nausea to pass.
Okay, first things first. Check the car and hope for the best.
Not in the middle console. The driver’s side was hard to see since there was a large tree crushing that side
of the car.
If only she had charged her phone last night. Or in the afternoon before she knew she was leaving. Charging her phone had been the last thing on her mind. Hindsight was definitely 20/20. Nothing she could do about it now.
Time to regroup. Avery slowly stood. With a shaky hand, Avery opened the glove box. Unable to keep her hand steady, the flashlight spotlighted a bottle of water on the floor board. Avery reached for it and then stopped. That bottle had to have been the one Rodney put something in to knock her out. No! She couldn’t have that water. Couldn’t take that chance.
In the glove box was a phone. It looked like it hadn’t ever been used.
Had he purchased the phone specifically for this occasion?
Just how far had he thought to carry out his act?
Who cared, as long as the phone works. He had to have activated it already, which meant that unless that battery was dead too, Avery could call 911.
Think. Think of the last place you saw.
It’s better than nothing.
She had to come up with something!
Avery dialed 9-1-1.
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” a kind female voice answered.
“I- I’ve been a victim of a kidnapping. The kidnapper is dead. The tornado- Everything is destroyed. I don’t know where I am!” Avery thought she could handle herself, but now talking to someone, despite the imminent relief, she was afraid. So afraid! That lightning she’d seen was closer. There was nowhere to hide, unless she crawled into the car.
“Okay, ma’am calm down. Are you hurt?”
“Yes. My wrist. My face, my stomach ... I’ve been bleeding. I’m so tired. It’s dark,” Avery whined. She sank to the ground again, her back to the car. Her sobs became uncontrollable. “He- he drugged me, and the last place I remember was a sign off Interstate 10. We’d left a gas station, some kind of convenience store. The exit I saw last- it was 457 I think. But I don’t know how far I am from there now.”
“We’ll figure it out, honey. Just stay calm, stay awake. The storm ravished areas were pretty clustered together, so that along with the information you gave us should at least be able to narrow it down some.” Avery heard typing. “What’s your name?”
“Avery Callimer. I live in Harmony’s Echo. I was trying to get back home after a trip when-” Avery’s voice broke. She fought to keep her eyelids open. “I’m leaning up on a black Cobalt,” she babbled. Anything that would help, right?
“Okay, Avery. We’re got plenty of search parties looking around these areas for survivors. I don’t know how long it will take to get to you. The number on your phone isn’t showing up. Do you have a number we can reach you at in case we get disconnected?”
“My phone is dead. I don’t know this number. I found it in the glove box.”
The woman swore under her breath. “We’ll get help for you soon, Avery. Just hang in there with me, okay?”
Avery’s teeth chattered as light raindrops fell. “I’ll try.” She was cold. So cold. She had a jacket in the suitcase, if only she could get up and reach it. Avery’s legs were so weak, she wasn’t sure that was possible. “I’m so cold.”
*****
Lucas stood with Avery’s friends and family as the chaos continued. Fire engines and ambulances and local police were parked in the inn’s lot, checking everyone out for injuries. Lucas had to have explained probably four or five times the dire situation with Avery, and how they needed to locate her right away. By the fifth time, he might have gotten through.
Standing by one of the police cars, he heard something come through the scanner that caught his attention. He heard someone mention the name Avery. Lucas waved the cop over, who’d gone to talk to Jameson. As he approached, Lucas pointed to the car. “I heard the name Avery over the scanner!” Please, let someone have found her. Found her alive.
The officer spoke back and forth with the dispatcher. Lucas couldn’t tell everything they’d said, but he thought they might have a vague location where Avery may be. When the cop got out of the car and looked at Lucas, his heart leaped to his throat. “Where is she? Is it her?”
The cop held up a hand. “9-1-1 got a call about ten minutes ago from a woman named Avery. She doesn’t know her exact location, but she gave the dispatcher enough information for a general idea. We’re getting a search party together right now to comb the area.”
“I’m going with,” Lucas declared defiantly. Nothing, not even the law, would keep him from getting to Avery.
“As am I,” Jameson stated from beside Lucas. When had he come over here? It didn’t matter. Lucas was glad for reinforcements from someone he at least kind of knew. The most surprising voice that spoke up next came from Paula.
“I’d like to help, too,” she said almost too softly to hear.
The cop looked like he wanted to argue, and opened his mouth to say something until his partner spoke up for him. “Let them come. Frankly, if we have volunteers, we shouldn’t turn them down.”
“But who knows what kind of damage there is. Liabilities-”
“I think we’re all adults,” Lucas stated. “We know what we are getting into. Let us help. We care a great deal about Avery.”
“Fine. We need to get going now. I hear there’s another line of storms on the horizon. We can’t be putting everyone at major risk, so our window of opportunity is small right now.”
Lucas went to talk to the Callimers and Belinda. He’d never forget the united front Avery’s birth mother and adopted mother held. Both gave him a stern warning.
“Bring our daughter back to us.”
They didn’t have to ask twice.
Chapter Twenty Nine
Two hours later, Avery still hadn’t been found. The search party ended up being about thirty five people. Most split up into groups of three. Jameson and Lucas went together. Debris crunched beneath his feet as Lucas swung his flashlight beam every direction, hoping for a sign. He yelled out her name. Rain fell in steady patterns, but at least it wasn’t the severe drenching type. In fact, Lucas couldn’t recall the last time he’d seen a lightning bolt. In terms of the storm, the worst may have been far behind them. Now it was time for clean up efforts and searching for the missing.
The one slight consolation was that they said Rodney was dead. That had to have come from Avery when she called, but Lucas wouldn’t believe it until he saw that bastard’s cold body for himself. If he actually was alive, someone would have to hold Lucas back, because he planned to beat the crap out of that bastard for what he did to Avery. Double crossing jerk.
At times, Lucas felt no better than the man. He’d lied and broken her trust, too.
But you didn’t kidnap her with some agenda.
No, that much was for sure. But he’d played Avery. Something he cursed himself for every moment.
“Lucas. Look.” Jameson pointed his light about fifteen yards ahead. Debris. A very large pile of it. And it looked like a vehicle nearby.
“It’s worth looking into. If not, maybe we’ll find someone else in need of help,” Lucas said and made a run for it. The closer he got, the more he hoped. “Avery! Avery, are you here?”
Jameson followed close behind, calling out for Avery.
Lucas’s breath caught when he saw a body, half of it covered with boards and branches. Without hesitance, he cast the flashlight beam over the body, a sinking feeling crept into his abdomen. “Jameson, that’s Rodney’s body.” The son of a bitch really was dead. Which meant Avery could be near by.
“Avery! Oh, Avery! I found her! Lucas, she’s right here!”
Lucas whirled around to where Jameson’s voice came from. He rushed through the rubble, tripping once and landing face first in the mud. Bleh! He rushed to his feet quickly, spitting out the nasty taste of dirt. When he got to Jameson, he finally saw her. Avery, crumpled up in a heap on the wet ground right next to a car, her purse and a cell phone less than a foot away.
“She’s breathing, she has a pulse. Avery’s alive!”
Jameson yelled. “She’s bleeding bad from her wrist, though.”
Lucas sank to his knees beside her, gathering Avery in his arms. “Avery, sweetheart. Wake up. You’re safe. We’ve got you.” She didn’t open her eyes. Blood caked her face and her arm. She was muddy, but damn it, she was alive!
Jameson pulled out the walkie that had been given to him and called it in. “We’ve got her. She’s alive, but unconscious! Hurry, she’s lost quite a bit of blood.” Jameson described the area.
Back up was on it’s way.
Lucas shouldn’t have moved her, but he couldn’t go another second without holding her in his arms. Jameson tapped his shoulder. Lucas tore his eyes away from Avery. Jameson held out his jacket and gestured at her. Understanding, Lucas nodded and helped Jameson to cover her. Poor thing was soaking wet.
“I’m going to stand on the other side of the car and make sure they can find us,” Jameson said softly. Lucas felt bad for the guy. He had a history with Avery and then here came Lucas, moving into her life and changing it. Lucas wouldn’t blame Jameson for wanting to kick his ass, even if he had no claim on Avery anymore. Jameson was still a close friend, someone important to her, and being a damn good sport about all of this. Not many would take this as well as Jameson. Lucas admired and respected him for that. Later, he just might have to tell him.
Lucas had no idea how much time passed while he held Avery, softly begging for her to wake up and talk to him. In the distance, sirens wailed. He heard shouting from not too far away. Help was coming.
“I love you so much, Avery. I will spend forever making it up to you, and if you’ll let me, I’ll be that man you deserve. Just wake up. Open those beautiful eyes and look at me,” Lucas begged, staring down at her unmoving form and waiting.
“Sir, you’ll need to move over so we can treat her,” a paramedic told Lucas gently, coming up with some of the others. Lucas nodded and lowered Avery carefully on the ground. He never wanted to let her go ever again, but he knew they could do things he couldn’t and right now Avery needed the medical attention. Lucas moved back, his gaze setting one more time on Avery, then reached for his phone. The Callimers, Belinda, and the others would be waiting for word about her. The least he could do right now was fill them in.
