Rain hammered against the windshield as Emily Carlson drove through the empty stretch of Highway 19, one hand protectively resting on her swollen belly. 32 weeks pregnant and exhausted, she just wanted to reach home. Her doctor had warned her to reduce stress, but life apparently had different plans. Her headlights sliced through the darkness, revealing nothing but endless road until suddenly blue and red lights exploded behind her. A police cruiser.
Emily’s heart jumped. She wasn’t speeding. She wasn’t distracted. Why was she being pulled over? She slowed, pulling to the gravel shoulder. The rain softened slightly, but the night remained cold and tense. The cruiser parked behind her, and before she could roll down her window, she heard it. A deep, aggressive bark.
A German Shepherd, massive, muscular, and bristling with alert intensity, lunged against the back window of the police vehicle. The dog’s snarling silhouette flashed under the patrol car’s lights. Emily swallowed. Why is he barking at me? A tall officer stepped out, adjusting his rainsicked jacket. His expression was unreadable as he approached.
Behind him, the K-9 continued barking wildly, snapping, growling, and pushing its snout against the glass like it wanted to break free. The officer reached Emily’s window. She rolled it down slowly. “Ma’am,” he said, leaning closer, eyes narrowing. “I’m Officer Grant. License and registration, please.
” She nodded, hands trembling slightly as she passed them over. The K9 barked again, louder this time, almost frantic. Grant glanced back, his jaw tightened. He doesn’t usually react like this. Emily forced a small smile. Dogs usually love me, not this one. His tone carried something more than suspicion. Concern, maybe. Stay in the car. Don’t move.
He stepped away, returning to his vehicle. The German Shepherd snarled, fixing its piercing gaze on Emily’s car, pacing and barking with increasing agitation. Thunder rolled over the hills, adding to her nerves. She rubbed her belly soothingly. “It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s fine. We’re fine.” But she didn’t quite believe it.
Moments later, Officer Grant returned, this time with his posture rigid, hand resting on the grip of his holstered gun. Ma’am, he said slowly. I’m going to need you to step out of the vehicle. Emily froze. What? Why? Did something happen? The K9 barked again, sharp, urgent, like an alarm. Now, please. His voice hardened. Step out carefully. Hands where I can see them.
Her pulse thudded in her ears. Officer, I’m pregnant. I can step out, but please tell me what’s Ma’am. He wasn’t yelling, but his tone cut like steel. Out of the car, Emily took a slow breath. She pushed the door open, wincing at the sudden cold. The rain had turned into a misty drizzle, but the wind stung her face.
She stepped out, hugging her stomach. The canine erupted into another explosive round of barking. Officer Grant stiffened, “Stay still.” Emily nearly whispered, “Why is your dog acting like that? What did I do?” Grant looked at her longer this time like he was studying her face, her posture, her hands. Then his radio crackled.
Unit 12, what’s the situation? Grant clicked the button but didn’t look away from Emily. K9 is reacting strongly. Possible signal. Possible signal. Emily’s stomach dropped. Copy, the dispatcher replied. Proceed with caution. All units nearby, stand by. Emily felt her throat tighten. Officer, I I don’t understand.
Grant inhaled sharply. Ma’am, my dog is trained to detect fear, distress, and the scent of blood. Emily’s breath stopped. Blood? Her hands instinctively flew to her belly, but she felt nothing. No pain, no wetness, no cramping. I’m fine, she whispered. I’m not bleeding. My baby is fine. But Grant didn’t look convinced.
The German Shepherd scratched desperately at the window, barking louder than ever. something primal, urgent, almost panicked. Then Grant said something that made her skin crawl. “He’s also trained,” he continued slowly to detect the presence of another person inside a vehicle. “Dad or alive?” Emily staggered backward.
“What?” The officer raised his flashlight, shining it inside her car. His brows furrowed, his body went rigid. “Ma’am.” He stepped closer to the door, hand now fully gripping his weapon. What is that under your passenger seat? Emily blinked. What? Nothing. I don’t know. Thunder cracked overhead. The K-9 barked once, short, sharp, like a command.
Officer Grant’s voice turned icy. Back away from the car. Now, Emily’s knees shook. But now. She took a shaky step backward. Grant opened the passenger door slowly, firearm drawn. Emily’s breath hitched as he crouched, lifting something from the shadows beneath the seat. His face drained of color, turning pale, ghostly, terrified.
In his hand was a small blood smeared cloth wrapped around something metallic. Emily gasped, heart pounding in her throat. I I’ve never seen that before. I swear. But the officer wasn’t listening. His jaw clenched violently, eyes locked on the object like it was a nightmare made real. he whispered barely audible over the wind. God help us.
Then he looked at Emily with a horror she couldn’t understand. Ma’am, this isn’t just a bloodied cloth. He swallowed hard. This is evidence from a missing person’s case. Emily nearly fainted. What? She croked. What case? What are you talking about? Officer Grant stepped back, radio shaking in his hand. Dispatch, this is unit 12, he said, voice trembling.
K9 was right. We found something. We need backup immediately. This is connected to the Cold Creek disappearance. Emily stared at him speechless. Cold Creek. The case all over the news for weeks. A woman gone without a trace. Her baby kicking inside her felt suddenly like a cry for help. Her voice broke.
Officer, I swear to you, I didn’t put that there. Grant didn’t lower his gun. We’ll figure that out, he said darkly. But right now, you’re a prime suspect. Emily’s breath came in shallow bursts as the wind whipped across the roadside. The German Shepherd, Rex, according to his collar, was no longer just barking. He was frantic, pacing in the back seat, eyes locked on Emily like she was a threat or in danger.
Officer Grant stepped back toward his cruiser, but kept his gun trained loosely in her direction. His voice crackled through the radio. Dispatch, unit 12. Suspect is cooperative but distressed. I need backup now. K9 indicates high-risisk alert. High risk. Emily’s head spun. I’m pregnant, exhausted, and just trying to get home.
How did this happen? She wrapped her arms around herself, trembling. Officer, please. I don’t know anything about that cloth. Grant didn’t answer. He moved to the front of her car and shined his flashlight again, scanning the seats, the dashboard, the floor. Then another bark from Rex. short, forceful warning. Grant froze. Rex doesn’t make that call unless he’s detecting something else, he muttered.
Emily tried to steady her shaking voice. Detecting what? Grant didn’t look at her. Movement. Emily felt all the air leave her body. Movement inside her car. But there was no one. She’d been alone for hours. She’d stopped only once at a small gas station near the county line. She’d grabbed water and a sandwich.
She’d used the restroom. Someone could have. No, impossible. I would have noticed, wouldn’t I? Grant suddenly motioned her back. Ma’am, I need you to stand near the cruiser, behind it. Emily backed away slowly. Her heart thundered beneath her ribs, each beat painful. She could feel her baby shifting restlessly, as if sensing her fear.
Grant opened her back door, gun raised, flashlight stabbing through the darkness inside her SUV. There’s something,” he whispered, leaning closer. Emily could barely breathe. He reached inside slowly, carefully, and lifted a folded black jacket from the floor. He shook it open. A heavy metal object tumbled out and hit the ground with a dull thud.
Emily flinched. A crowbar, rusted, stained, not with mud. Grant stiffened. Blood. Emily backed up until her shoulders hit the cruiser. “This isn’t mine,” she cried. Officer, I don’t own a crowbar. Rex let out a low growl. Grant’s jaw tightened. Ma’am, he said, we need to talk about where you’ve been tonight. I told you.
I went to my prenatal checkup in Greystone, then I drove straight home. Grant stared at her sharp, calculating. No stops. One, Emily whispered. The gas station. Grant cursed under his breath. That’s exactly where the victim was last seen. Emily’s skin chilled to ice. You think I kidnapped her? She shouted, voicebreaking. I’m 8 months pregnant. Grant didn’t blink.
Criminals come in all forms, ma’am. She stared at him in disbelief. The world felt unreal, like she’d stepped into a nightmare she couldn’t wake from. Rain soaked her hair, her clothes, her shoes. Her baby squirmed anxiously. “Please,” she begged. “Just search the car fully. I have nothing to hide.” Grant hesitated, then nodded.
He kept her where she was, one hand on his gun, the other pushing a button to unlock the rear of her SUV. The trunk swung open. Emily expected to see nothing. Empty space. Maybe some grocery bags. But instead, Grant’s flashlight caught something that made him jerk backward. A duffel bag, black, stained, partially unzipped.
Emily’s voice came out in a trembling whisper. What? What is that? Grant didn’t answer. He pulled the zipper. Emily screamed. Inside were bundles of rope, duct tape, gloves, and a cell phone, white, cracked, splattered with dried blood. Grant picked it up with gloved hands. The back was engraved with a name. Mara Kensington, the missing woman.
Emily staggered in horror, tears streaming. No, no, no, no. I’ve never seen that bag before. I swear. Rex barked, a piercing, urgent sound that echoed into the dark. His paws scratched violently at the glass again. Grant took a shaky step back, staring between Emily, the bag, and the cell phone. “This is worse than I thought,” he muttered.
Emily felt her legs giving out. “Officer, please believe me,” he raised his gun again, not at her, but at the car. “Ma’am, the K9 is detecting a live scent. Someone is or was in this vehicle recently.” Emily’s stomach twisted. Her breath grew shallow, then a faint sound, soft, muffled, coming from the trunk area. “Did you hear that?” Grant whispered.
Emily nodded slowly, terror clawing up her spine. Rex barked again, short, sharp, directional. “The sound came again, a weak thump, barely audible.” Grant moved closer, sweat mixed with rain on his forehead. He lowered his head to the trunk space. “Hello,” he called carefully. Is someone in there? Silence. Then a faint broken whisper.
Help me. Emily’s heart stopped. Grant’s whole body jolted. His gun dropped slightly as he ripped the remaining panel off the trunk wall. A cramped hidden compartment was built into the car’s structure, one Emily had never known existed. Inside, a woman’s pale shaking hand slid weakly into view. Grant gasped. Oh my god.
Emily felt her knees buckle. The missing woman, Mara Kensington, was in her car, alive, barely. Her voice cracked with desperation. Please don’t let him find me. Please, he’ll kill us both. Grant froze. Who? Who did this? Mara’s trembling finger pointed, not at Emily, but past her into the darkness behind the cruiser. Emily turned slowly, her breath choked in her throat.
A shadowed figure stood across the highway, motionless, watching them. As lightning flashed, she saw his face. Someone she knew, someone who should have been hundreds of miles away. The shot ripped through the night like lightning, tearing the sky apart. Emily squeezed her eyes shut, arms instinctively wrapping around her belly as she braced for the burning impact.
But it never came. Instead, a roar echoed across the highway. Rex. The German Shepherd launched himself between Emily and the bullet, his massive body colliding with hers and knocking her to the ground. The two fell hard onto the wet gravel as the bullet whizzed overhead and slammed into the cruiser’s rear windshield, exploding glass across the road. “Rex!” Officer Grant shouted.
Emily gasped for breath, her heart thundering as Rex stood over her, teeth bared, growling so viciously he sounded like something summoned from the depths of war. The hooded man clicked his tongue. Teach annoying mut. He raised his gun again, but Grant fired first. A burst of gunfire split the storm.
Sparks flew as bullets slammed into the asphalt near the attacker’s feet. The hooded man dove behind a tree, vanishing into the shadows. Grant grabbed his radio, voice frantic. Dispatch, shots fired. Officer under attack. Multiple suspects, backup now. Static. No response. The storm had swallowed the frequency again.
Daniel, still pinned in the mud beneath Grant’s knee and Rex’s fury, began to laugh. A low, broken, chilling laugh. “You’re too late, officer. He’s not alone.” Emily forced herself to sit up, pain shooting through her hip. “What do you mean?” she cried. “Daniel, who is that man? Why did he call you brother? What is going on?” Daniel’s smile twisted.
Blood smeared across his teeth. You really thought I traveled to Chicago alone? You thought business trips were work? He chuckled darkly. I wasn’t working. I was meeting him. My real partner. Emily’s stomach twisted. Partner in what? Grant slammed Daniel’s head down again. Shut up. Daniel ignored him. Emily? His voice turned poisonous.
Marrying you was the biggest mistake I ever made. You ruined everything. You ruined my life. And now you’re ruining the plan. Emily staggered backward, nausea rising in her throat. Plan? She whispered. What plan? Daniel smirked. Insurance? That’s all you ever were. Your pregnancy just made it easier to Grant cut him off sharply.
Do not finish that sentence. But Daniel wasn’t listening anymore. His eyes had shifted, focused, hungry, mad. You really want to know the truth? He whispered. Before he could speak, Mara’s weak voice rose from the trunk compartment. He trafficked me. Emily’s blood went cold. Mara continued, voice trembling, words struggling to escape her ravaged throat.
He and his brother, they run a ring. They take women from gas stations, parking lots, hotels. They drug them, sell them. Daniel snarled. You stupid. Grant drove an elbow into his spine, silencing him. Mara sobbed. I escaped. I hid in the closest car. I thought it was empty, but it was hers. I didn’t know. Emily felt her world shatter.
She had unknowingly been driving a kidnapped woman across the county. Daniel’s voice rose again, venom dripping from every word. She wasn’t supposed to survive. But now that you’re all involved, he grinned. My brother will finish what I started. As if on Q, another gunshot cracked from the trees. Grant dove down, dragging Daniel with him.
Emily dropped to the ground and curled over her stomach. Rex leapt in front of her again, barking viciously at the darkness. The second bullet hit the trunk inches from where Marlo was hidden. Her scream, weak and terrified, pierced the storm. Stop shooting, Emily cried. She’s hurt. She’s pregnant, too. Everyone froze.
Even the attacker in the trees. Silence swallowed the road. Grant turned sharply toward the trunk. Pregnant, Mara, are you? But Mara’s trembling voice cut him off. 6 months. Please, please help me. Emily’s chest tightened painfully. Two pregnant women caught in the crossfire. A madman in the woods. A trafficker pinned to the ground.
A K-9 ready to tear someone apart. The storm howling like a beast. Everything felt like it was collapsing. Grant gritted his teeth. Emily, he said urgently. Listen to me. You need to get Mara out of that trunk and away from the road. Go behind the cruiser. Keep low. I’ll cover you. Emily swallowed hard.
But what if he shoots again? Rex nudged her hand with his nose. Protective, steady. He would shield her. He would shield the baby. And Mara Grant made eye contact with the dog. Rex, guard. The German Shepherd stood tall, muscles tense, eyes burning. Emily took a deep breath, adrenaline rushing through her veins. She crawled toward the trunk, rain and mud soaking her clothes, her hair plastered to her face.
Every second felt like borrowed time. Grant fired another warning shot into the trees. “Stay back,” he shouted. “No response. Only the storm.” Emily reached Mara, who lay half unconscious inside the cramped compartment. Her skin was pale. Her eyelids fluttered. “I’ve got you,” Emily whispered. “I promise I’ve got you.” She reached in, hands trembling, lifting Mara carefully.
The woman let out a weak cry of pain, clutching her swollen stomach. Emily’s voice cracked. I know. I know. We’re going to be safe. Just hold on. Together, they crawled behind the cruiser. Rex followed closely, shielding them with his body. Then, a rustling in the trees. Quick, sharp, close. Grant’s head whipped toward the sound.
He raised his gun, but someone else stepped out. Not the hooded man, someone bigger, broader, wearing the same jacket. Another brother. The attacker’s voice echoed coldly across the road. You should have stayed out of our business, officer. Grant stiffened. Emily’s mind screamed. There were two of them the whole time.
The second brother raised his gun. Time to finish this. Emily’s breath stopped. And then Rex charged. Rex shot forward like a missile, muscle, fury, and instinct exploding at once. The second brother fired. The gunshot thundered across the highway. Emily screamed, “Grant Dove!” Mara clutched her belly and curled into Emily’s arms, but Rex didn’t stop.
The bullet grazed his shoulder, blood spraying through the rain, but the German Shepherd didn’t even falter. His jaws clamped around the attacker’s wrist before the man could fire a second shot. The gun flew from his hand, clattering across the pavement. “Rex, hold!” Grant shouted. But the K-9 wasn’t letting go. He was fighting for more than protocol.
For Emily, for Mara, for the unborn babies. The attacker roared in pain, flinging his arm wildly, trying to shake the dog off. The storm intensified, wind howling, rain pelting the road like needles. The first brother, Daniel, took advantage of the chaos. He twisted violently under Grant’s knee, driving his elbow into the officer’s ribs.
Grant gasped. Daniel shoved him hard, rolling away through the mud. Emily saw him stand, swaying, drenched, furious, his eyes locked on her. “Emily!” he shouted, voice cracking with rage. “You were supposed to stay quiet. You were supposed to obey.” Emily’s whole body shook. Mara trembled beside her. The babies inside them stirred like they understood the danger.
Emily forced her voice out. You’re a monster. Daniel’s face contorted with hate. No, I’m a businessman. And you? He pointed at her belly. You’re carrying my retirement plan. Emily felt sick. All the lies, all the disappearances, all the business trips, all the missing money she’d blamed on stress, it hit her like a title wave.
Her husband was a trafficker, a kidnapper, and she had been living next to the devil without knowing. Daniel stepped toward her. Grant struggled to his feet, clutching his bruised ribs. “Stop! Don’t take another step!” Daniel ignored him. Lightning cracked again, and another set of headlights appeared in the distance. A siren. “Finally, backup!
