The search team arrived at the house and Mark led the men to the barn. The dogs smelled the area and then immediately started pulling at their chains to follow her scent. Mark didn't waste any time in following them.
Lucas and Alex were right there at his side and the three of them followed the search team through the woods. Mark couldn't figure out why she would have possibly come this way unless it was against her will.
About a mile through the woods that bordered his property, the search crew leader stopped, pulling everyone in for a talk.
"I see a cabin over the rise there and the dogs seem to be leading us straight to it. Now we don't know if Emily got hurt and sought out refuge, or if she was kidnapped but with the blood and the direct path leading to this place, it looks more like a kidnapping to me," the search leader said.
"Let's go then," Mark said with a growl. If some beast had his wife, he was going to get her back right then and rip the man to pieces.
"Mark, I know you want to immediately rush in but that's not the smart thing to do. We need to sneak up on the property. If someone has taken your wife and he's inside with her and knows we're there, it will turn into a hostage situation. The best outcome for Emily is if we can catch this guy on the outside. We're going to come at the cabin from different directions. Let's do a radio check to make sure your ear pieces are working. No one speaks louder than a whisper," the leader commanded.
It was obvious to all involved the guy was a former military man. Mark was grateful he was the one in charge of the operation.
They split up and slowly made their way towards the cabin. Mark was with his brothers and the search leader was coming in from the side. As they crept closer, Mark heard a commotion and the dogs started going crazy.
"I've got him," Mark heard someone yell.
"Check the cabin," another voice piped in. Mark didn't need any more prompting than that. He sprinted the last hundred yards, calling out Emily's name and threw open the door, not worried about his own safety.
When Mark looked in the dimly lit cabin and saw Emily lying there, tied to the bed, every instinct in him said to run back out the doors and kill the man who had done this to her. There was no way he could leave her long enough to do that, though.
"Mark, I knew you'd find me," she sobbed, as he gently sat on the bed and touched her. He felt all over her body, to make sure nothing was broken and then bent down to gently kiss her swollen mouth.
"I'm so sorry this happened to you, baby," he said, through clenched teeth. He began untying her and had to hold the rage in, as he saw her reddened wrists and ankles. He couldn't believe what that monster had put her through.
"I'm okay Mark, you got here before he could hurt me," she said to him, with tears streaming down her dirty cheeks.
Mark lifted her up onto his lap and sat there holding her close, so grateful she was safe. He continued to rub her back and run his hand over the bump on her belly. "The baby?" he asked, afraid to hear if anything was wrong.
"The baby is fine, I've been feeling movement but I definitely want to go get a check up right away. He hit me pretty hard in the head."
Mark could see the dried blood on her beautiful hair and his whole body was tensed for a fight. He lifted her up and carried her out of the cabin. He couldn't stand to have her in there for one more minute.
Soon they heard the sound of sirens, as the police and paramedics were coming down the overgrown dirt driveway. Mark held her in his arms until the ambulance came nearer. He quickly walked over to it and laid her gently down on the stretcher. The paramedic hooked her up to some machines and soon the sound of their baby's heartbeat could be heard over the chaos all around them.
Mark breathed his first sigh of relief since discovering she was gone. He glared over at the man who was currently being loaded into the back of a police cruiser.
"Mr. Anderson we have some questions we need to ask both you and your wife," an officer said as he approached the ambulance.
"My wife needs to go to the hospital right away; can you please follow us there?" Mark asked the man.
"We can do that. This guy is getting taken into lock-up, so he won't be harming anyone tonight," the officer said and then walked away.
"We're going to jog back over to the ranch and meet you at the hospital," Lucas said, before he turned and started running up the hill with Alex.
Mark felt better as the ambulance started making its way towards the hospital. He would feel much better when they confirmed everything was okay with both his wife and his unborn child.
Emily was rushed into the ER and soon after, seen by one of the doctors, who happened to be a personal friend of Mark's.