Chapter 69

69

Meyra couldn't panic. She couldn't. She'd found help. She'd gotten away from Auggie and Junie and Em's evil father. She had gotten away. She was alive, and the baby was alive. And she had people who could help her.

She pulled the little baby out of her sweatshirt. Bruce Tyler had pulled her from the carrier and shoved her at Meyra and told her to get out. That they were divorcing, that it was him not Meyra. And she'd get over him eventually. Then he'd thrown the carrier out of the van.

That man was totally insane.

She put the baby into Dorie's arms. "Take her, Dorie. Take care of her. Hurry. Get her in the car."

And then Meyra turned. They were maybe a quarter of a mile away from that place. But Sage and Gil lived ten miles that way. They weren't far from help.

"I have to go back. I have to. Brandt needs me. I just left him there—Bruce Tyler put me in his van and we just drove away, with Katie." Meyra turned. To go back the way she came. "Get help, Dylan. We have to help him."

"What do we do?" Dorie said. She held the baby really close. To keep her warm. It was far too cold for a baby out here.

"Keep her warm. Go to Gil's house. Go to Gil and Sage. Go up this road to Preston Road, and turn left. Just keep going. There will be help there. At Sage and Gil's. I promise. Her daddy is dead now. They killed him. She'll need help."

"Who is she?"

Dylan looked down at the baby. "Her name is Katie…her dad is a guest at the inn. He's dead, Mey? You sure?"

Meyra fought a sob. "Yes. He's dead. I saw him, Dylan. I saw him lying there when Bruce was carrying me out. He was dead."

"Then what do we do?" Dylan looked at her sister. "Go, Dorie. To Gil and Sage's. Meyra and I—we're going to go find her man."

Meyra didn't want Dylan to get hurt. "No. Go with Dorie, Dylan. Go."

"Not going to happen. I may not be a real Talley yet, but I do know one thing. A Talley doesn't let another go on a daring rescue mission alone. Dorie, get that baby somewhere safe. Meyra and I have a seriously hot millionaire to rescue, you know."

Dylan was already moving toward the big blue truck, just sitting there on the edge of Wreck Curve Road, door open, engine idling. She looked at Meyra. "Well, if we're going to do this, let's do it. Stealing a truck is so what I do, you know. So what I do."

Dylan was already sliding the driver's seat up as close to the wheel as it would go.

Meyra bent down. She grabbed Katie's car seat and handed it to Dorie. "Go. You need to get help, Dorie. For us all. Just don't stop. Get help, go! "

"Yeah, I have heard that line before." Dorie looked at her, fear on her face, as she held that innocent little baby. Dorie was just a teenager, she had to be so scared. "Be careful, you two. No matter what. We love you, you know."

Meyra nodded. She loved Brandt, too.

And he needed her now.