Page 135 of Noel Secrets

“You had a wreck.”

Suddenly, her eyes flew open wide, fear shining in them. “That man. He ran me off the road. He came toward me?—”

“It’s okay. He’s gone. Another driver stopped and I guess it frightened him away.”

Clay motioned toward the woman standing outside the window. When Darby glanced her way, she waved.

“I hear sirens.” The woman started up the hill. “I’ll go up and meet them.”

As the adrenaline rush of the moment eased and it appeared she was okay, anger set in at her and what might have happened. “What were you thinking, leaving the house without me, Darby?”

“I had to go to David.” She gripped his hand. “Please, I have to know my son is okay.”

He nodded and took her phone. It still seemed to function. “I’ll call the camp and let them know what happened. Once we’re sure you’re okay, I’ll take you to see him.”

That seemed to settle her for the moment.

The sirens in the distance grew louder, and Clay spotted several vehicles parking up the embankment. “The first responders are here, Darby. The fire department will probablyhave to cut you out, but I need to make room for them. I’ll be right outside, okay?”

She clutched his hand a moment longer then nodded and released it. He climbed out the way he’d entered just as several police, firefighters, and paramedics hurried down the embankment.

“Is she conscious?” the paramedic asked.

“Yes, but she’s trapped inside the car.” Clay made room for the rescue crew and paramedics to reach her then gave the few details he knew about the vehicle that had run her off the road. “The woman who arrived first can give you more information. All I saw was someone running back up to his SUV. I didn’t get a good enough look to identify him or the license plate number.”

He wanted to kick himself. He shouldn’t have made such a dumb mistake.

While the paramedics and fire fighters worked to get her out of her vehicle, he looked up the number for her son’s camp in her phone and called David’s counselor.

He picked up on the first ring. “Jason here.”

“This is Agent Walker of the FBI. I’m calling about Darby Foster. There’s been an accident. She was on her way to the hospital to see David.”

The man who answered paused for a moment before asking, “Why? David’s playing football. I can see him from here.”

“Darby got a call, saying he fell off a horse and broke his leg, and she needed to meet him at the hospital.”

“Dude, I don’t know who made that call, but it wasn’t us. David is fine. His group hasn’t even been horseback riding yet this week.”

Clay grimaced as he stared back at her now-totaled car.

She could have been killed. This had all been a ploy to get her out in the open for the attack.

He thanked Jason then slid his phone back into his pocket. Once Darby was able, they’d head to the camp. He knew she wouldn’t rest well until she saw David and knew he wasn’t injured. And it wouldn’t hurt him to get her cell phone records so he could find out who had placed that call.

Someone had lured her to the camp, using her son as bait.

Darby held her breath and prayed silently, forcing fear to the edge of her mind as the firefighters worked to pry her from the crumpled van. She couldn’t fall apart—not with David in the hospital, waiting for her. She had to get to him.

As they freed her then lifted her out, she caught sight of her van, the front end mangled beyond recognition. Her temple throbbed and every inch of her body ached, but she brushed the paramedic’s concerns. The gash on her forehead ached, making a perfect match to the cut on her cheek from the attack earlier that morning. She bit her lip to keep from laughing bitterly at the symmetry.

Clay appeared at her side and helped her up the hill toward the waiting ambulance. After checking her vitals, the paramedics prepared to transport her, but she shook her head. “I have to get to my son. He’s hurt and in the hospital.”

“Which hospital?” the paramedic asked. “Regional Medical Center is the closest hospital. If he’s there, you can see him after the ER doc checks you over.”

She hesitated. The camp had told her the hospital’s name, but it slipped her mind in the chaos. She looked to Clay. “Did you get the hospital name when you called the camp? If not, it’s in my phone’s GPS.”

His eyes widened and he lowered his eyes and crossed his arms. Something was up with him.