Chapter 10

CHAPTER

TEN

Heidi couldn't ignore the tremble raking through her as she sat beside Donald in the front seat of the black SUV.

Where was he taking her?

She'd glanced down the street before they left and had spotted a white work van a few houses down. She didn't know why, but she wondered if Stephen was inside.

Maybe it was wishful thinking, but she hoped that was the case. Otherwise, she was in this all alone.

"Where are we going?" Her tight chest rendered her voice breathless.

Donald gripped the steering wheel and didn't even bother to look at her.

He had AirPods in his ears, and she was nearly certain someone was feeding him directions on the phone. Every once in a while, he muttered something indiscernible.

He drove entirely too fast for the neighborhood. Zipping around corners. Not stopping at stop signs. It wasn't safe.

However, nothing felt safe right now. Heidi didn't foresee that changing anytime soon either.

"Where are we going?" she repeated.

"You'll see when we get there."

She hated feeling helpless. Feeling like this was out of her control.

But now that she was in the car with Donald, she didn't know how to change course.

She pressed her eyes shut. Dear Lord, please help me. Protect me.

Praying was the best thing she could do right now. She'd learned to rely on God after her mom's accident. Before that, she'd felt lost at times, even empty and unsure what she believed.

She'd turned to academics. Had gotten a full-ride scholarship to UGA to study business. She'd been on the right track to success.

But seeing her mom suffer had brought Heidi to her knees. She'd cried out to God, begging Him to help her.

And He had. He hadn't healed her mom, but He'd helped bring Heidi peace. She'd begun to read her Bible and pray. She'd found a nearby church and had joined a Bible study.

She'd even had what she called her "guardian angel" watching out for her. On more than one occasion, she'd felt danger around her. Once a man had followed her from the grocery store only to disappear after she rounded the corner.

Another time a man had pounded on the door outside her house, acting as if he might break the structure down. But he'd eventually left.

Still another time the pipes had broken at her house, and she wasn't sure how she would pay for the repairs. The next morning, an envelope with five hundred dollars cash had been left outside.

Every time something like that happened, she thought she heard someone humming in the distance.

Her guardian angel.

She wasn't sure she would have gotten through her mother's accident and death without God.

She wouldn't get through this without Him either.

Trying not to be too obvious, she glanced behind her.

At first, she didn't see the white van. She thought maybe she'd misinterpreted the entire situation when she left her house.

Then the vehicle appeared several cars back. Far enough away that no one else should notice.

"What are you looking at?" Donald barked, glancing behind him. "You see something?"

Heidi scolded herself. What was she thinking? She should be a better actress than this.

She might just sabotage her one chance of being helped.

"I'm just nervous," she told him. "You made it sound as if someone could be coming after us right now."

"You see something I don't?"

Heidi shook her head. "No. Like I said, I'm just nervous."

"You don't be nervous. Let me handle this."

Yet she had no confidence Donald could handle this situation.

She hoped her gut instinct was correct and that was Stephen in the white van back there. But she had no way to tell for certain.

As they continued down the road farther from her house, Heidi realized she could be headed away from the only life she'd ever known.

"Where is he taking her?" Stephen muttered as he stared at the interstate in front of him. It was busy with cars weaving in and out.

"I have no idea," Gage said. "But Heidi is okay for now. Let's just keep following them."

Stephen intended on doing just that. But that didn't mean he liked this situation. Not at all.

He should have tried to contact her this morning. Should have reached out some way to let her know she wasn't alone in this.

But he'd never expected Rafferty to make this move. He should have known better.

Heidi had to be frantic.

Stephen's gaze shifted to a gray Camry three vehicles in front of them. "Is it just me or is that guy sticking with Donald also?"

"You mean the gray sedan? I noticed too. Let's keep an eye on it."

Had Rafferty sent another of his men to make sure that Heidi made it safely to wherever he wanted her to go?

Stephen wouldn't put it past the man.

Unless . . . it was someone with other intentions.

He kept an eye on both vehicles as they headed away from the metropolitan area and toward a rural area. Where in the world was Donald taking Heidi?

The farther away from the city they got, the harder it would be to remain concealed, especially since there was less traffic.

Twenty minutes later, Donald turned off the main road onto a two-lane road leading past several old farms to the northwest of the city.

The gray car turned also.

Stephen gripped the wheel tightly as he waited to see what would happen next.

As if to answer that question, the gray sedan suddenly accelerated.

The driver charged toward Donald's vehicle.

"What the . . ." Gage muttered.

The next instant, the gray car pulled into the other lane . . . and rammed into the side of Donald's SUV, sending it barreling off the road.