dragged her attention back on task. She’d make amends somehow to Abby. Knowing her friend, the ceremony would be recorded. Kristi could watch the ceremony after Abby returned from her honeymoon in a month. “I caught up with her outside the room where her rehearsal dinner was in full swing. She was very relieved to see me.” A smile curved her lips. “Abby was afraid her dress wouldn’t arrive in time even though I never miss a deadline or delivery time.”
“Did you join them for dinner?”
“The hotel staff had dinner waiting for me in the suite. It’s one of the perks of being the owner’s daughter. Anyway, I’ve been working 18-hour days for weeks to finish Abby’s dress and several others. I was too tired to change into formal evening attire and make the social rounds. Abby’s mother took the dress to her suite, and I went to my room to eat dinner. When I finished, I moved the serving cart to the hallway for the wait staff and planned to go to bed. Didn’t quite work out that way.”
“What happened?”
“When I turned to go back inside the suite, I heard a snapping noise behind me. Before I could see what made the noise, pain shot through my body. I blacked out.”
“Stun gun,” Rafe told Marcus.
“Ouch,” he said, his expression filled with sympathy. “What happened when you regained consciousness, Kristi?”
“I woke up when we arrived at the cabin where Rafe found me. The kidnappers dragged me from the van. I fought them, but my coordination was off, and I made them angry.” Her voice broke as fear swamped her anew.
“They expected you to be terrified, cowering at their feet,” Marcus said. “But you didn’t do that. You stood up to them.”
Her lips curved. “A lot of good that did me. I have bruises to show for my efforts.”
“They hurt you.”
The smile faded. “They punched me, kicked me in the ribs, yanked me off the ground, and slammed me against the side of the van. The meanest kidnapper in the bunch told me if I continued to fight, I’d pay with a lot more than bruises.”
Rafe’s grip tightened.
“He threatened to rape you?” Marcus asked.
“An implied threat. I was terrified.”
“Understandably so. What happened next?”
“The men forced me to go inside the cabin to the bedroom where Rafe found me. They tied me to the bed.” Again, she stopped. Why was this so much worse than when she had relayed the story to Rafe the first time around?
She swallowed hard and forced herself to continue. “Once I was restrained, one of the men drugged me. I lost consciousness again seconds later, and woke up when Rafe climbed through the window to rescue me.”
Kristi relayed the flight to safety, including the incident where Bull found her hiding behind the bushes. “I thought he would hurt me and take me away before Rafe returned. Fortunately, Rafe has impeccable timing and knocked Bull out without trouble. Not long after that, Josh and the others arrived to help.”
She continued to tell him about the harrowing ride down the mountainside. “I couldn’t see much,” she admitted. “Rafe wanted me on the floor of the SUV for protection. All I can tell you is I heard gunshots and explosions, and then it was over. Josh drove us to Memorial Hospital where Dr. Anderson examined me.” She grinned. “I fell madly in love with that man. He’s the sweetest guy I’ve ever met.”
Marcus chuckled. “All the women say that. My wife says if she hadn’t fallen for me first, she would have fallen hard for Doc Anderson. I don’t know how he does it.” He sobered and shifted his gaze to Rafe. “Any problems in the hospital?”
“Another thug showed up dressed as an orderly to take Kristi for a CT scan. He wasn’t happy when I refused to let him near her. Josh hauled him to the station for questioning. I haven’t heard the results of that yet. After that incident, Anderson released Kristi, and Wolf Pack brought her here until we come up with a plan to keep her safe.”
Marcus frowned. “How did this guy find her at Memorial? You and Durango wouldn’t miss a tail.”
“Our best guess is someone discovered her father had a tracker embedded under her skin, learned the frequency, and followed the signal to Otter Creek. That problem has been resolved. Rio and Jackson removed the tracker.”
“How do you feel about all this, Kristi?”
“Ticked off and afraid at the same time. I’m ticked off that