was ready to dispose of the body. Bree said nothing to Matt. There was no point in driving his anxiety higher with speculation.
But if Holly was consistent, Cady was already dead.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Pain rocketed through Cady’s head. She blinked, but all she could see was darkness. She moved her legs, and a wave of nausea swept over her. She lay still for a few minutes, breathing.
Where was she? What time was it?
One side of her face pressed into a flat napped carpet, and it suddenly lurched under her. The sound of an engine accelerating followed. She was in the back of a vehicle. Something lay across the other half of her face. No. It was draped over her whole body. Underneath, the air was stifling. She lifted a hand to move the canvas from her face and discovered her hands were bound together in front of her body.
The attack came rushing back. The blow to her head. Her falling to the ground. Being dragged. Darkness.
Whoever knocked her out had kidnapped her.
Her breaths quickened, and her stomach spun. She probably had a concussion. On the second attempt, she managed to move the heavy canvas off her head. Fresh air hit her face, and she gulped it down. A minute later, her stomach settled. She turned her head to examine the vehicle. She was in the back of a small SUV. The night sky showed through the back window.
The vehicle slowed. The tires grated, and the vehicle bumped as it left the smooth surface of a road. The SUV stopped. She heard the driver shift gears. The engine went quiet. Then the door opened.
Shit.
No time to plan an escape. She’d have to play dead. She pulled the tarp back over her head and held still.
The back of the vehicle opened, and the canvas was pulled off her. Raindrops fell on her face. Cady kept her eyes closed and tried to control her breathing, but it felt ragged in her chest.
She heard her kidnapper’s breaths come closer. Cady opened her eyes to slits. A shadow leaned over her. She rolled to her back, pulled her knees to her chest, and kicked out with both feet. But her movements were slow and clumsy. Her kidnapper ducked and grabbed her legs. A fist struck out and slammed into Cady’s temple.
Dizziness rolled over her. The cloudy sky spun. She closed her eyes against another bout of nausea. Breathing through her mouth, she opened her eyes. A woman stared down at her. Her face was blurry. Her hair was a fuzzy blonde halo.
Shannon Phelps?
Cady squeezed her eyes closed and opened them again. The blurriness cleared, and the face came into focus. It wasn’t Shannon, but someone who looked remarkably like her.
The woman reached out and grabbed Cady by the ponytail. “Get out.”
Pain tore across Cady’s scalp. She reached her bound hands toward the base of her ponytail and held it against her head to minimize the force.
“I said get out.” The woman yanked harder.
Cady’s head jerked, and her scalp screamed in agony. Tiny lights sparked in front of her eyes. Fighting the dizziness, she sat up. Everything swirled around her. Before her brain could settle, the woman dragged her from the back of the vehicle. Cady untangled her legs and swung them over the raised lip of the cargo area. Her sneakers hit the pavement and she stood. The woman released her. With wobbly knees, she leaned her butt against the back of the vehicle. She pressed her bound hands to the top of her head and the pain that throbbed beneath her skull.
Rain bathed her face and soaked her hair and clothes. The cool water and fresh air cleared her head. After the world stopped spinning, Cady heard something beyond the beat of her own heart: the rush of water. She glanced around, taking in the road, the surrounding woods, and the iron beams overhead. The car was parked in the middle of the bridge on Dead Horse Road.
One thought dominated Cady’s mind: this woman was going to kill her. She didn’t have time to figure out who this woman was or why she had kidnapped her. She needed to stall as long as possible. She needed to get away.
But how?
“Who are you?” she asked.
“None of your fucking business.”
Cady followed the yellow line painted down the center of the road. The blacktop was a ribbon of darkness, winding up the hill and disappearing into the forest. It wasn’t a busy route, but a car could come along