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Chapter33

Colt

Colt almost ran into Hudson. The teenager skidded to a stop when he saw Colt. “I tried to stop him!”

“Which way did he go?” Hudson knew Ben. The two talked about football and dirt bikes every time they were in the store.

Hudson pointed to the bay doors. “That way.”

Colt pushed his run to the max. If they got out of the parking lot, their chances of finding him would diminish. The midday sun was blinding, but an older black car pulling out of a parking space caught his attention. The vehicle backed out fast, and Colt’s assurance that the kidnapper was attempting an escape ticked up. He almost reached the vehicle before it shifted into drive. He called on a speed he hadn’t used in years, but the car was too fast. It sped through the parking lot toward the main road, leaving Colt behind.

He couldn’t catch it on foot, and he couldn’t let them get away. Where had he parked the truck?

Tires screeched, and Colt looked toward the end of the parking lot. A red Ford F-150 blocked the road leading from the parking lot to the main road.

Colt kept running. If he was lucky, this would stall the car enough to let him catch up.

As soon as the hopeful thought entered his mind, the reverse lights lit up on the black car.

Uh-oh. Colt stopped running, stared at the blacked-out tag, and waited to see which way the car would go. A second later, it started backing up, headed straight toward Colt.

Fight or flight? He definitely wasn’t running away if Ben was in that car. The guy would have to run him over first.

And it looked like getting run over was a possibility as the car sped toward him. Colt stretched out his hands and braced his feet for impact, hoping the guy driving wasn’t too keen about committing vehicular manslaughter today.

A louder engine roared, and a blue pickup sped across the parking lot. The truck pulled into the row thirty feet in front of Colt just before the car slammed into its passenger side.

“Hudson!” The kid wasn’t old enough for a license, but his quick thinking might have saved Ben.

Colt ran to the truck and knocked on the window. “You okay?”

Hudson gave him a nod and a thumbs up.

Colt ran around the truck and jerked open the back passenger door of the car. Ben had his head tucked between his knees and his hands over his ears.

“Ben! Are you okay?” Colt wanted to drag Ben out of the car, but the fear of injuries stopped him.

Ben nodded, still crying.

The man in the front seat groaned and opened the driver’s side door. His dark, shaggy hair fell over one eye, and his coat hung loose over his skeletal frame.

“Don’t move!” Colt shouted. There was no way that guy was getting away after trying to take Ben.

Colt ran his hand over Ben’s head, shoulder, and arm. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay,” Ben sputtered through tears, and his shoulders shook.

“Stop!”

Colt looked up and out the windshield at the man’s shout. Noah and Camille Harding raced toward them. Colt should have recognized that red truck.

Camille would know what was happening, and no doubt Noah would already be running to catch the man.

Wrapping his arms gently around Ben, he whispered, “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“That man wouldn’t let me go!” Ben shouted.

“You’re safe now.”