by Kat Martin
He didn’t want her to go. Ellie was everything he’d ever wanted. She represented the kind of future he yearned for but had given up on long ago. He wanted Ellie to stay. But deep down, he was afraid of making the same mistake he had made before.
Kade’s worst fear was falling in love with a woman, then finding out she had betrayed him. He couldn’t handle it again.
He heard Ellie’s footsteps receding down the hall toward her bedroom. She wouldn’t be joining him in his big bed tonight. Or any night in the future.
Pressure built in his chest. Kade lifted his whiskey glass, downed the contents in a single long swallow, and headed upstairs.
CHAPTER FORTY
ELLIE WIPED TEARS FROM HER CHEEKS AS SHE WALKED INTO HER BED room. She had known this was coming. It was just a matter of time. No matter her feelings for Kade, she couldn’t live with a man who didn’t trust her.
Stripping out of her clothes, she showered and changed into a Denver Broncos sleep tee. Tomorrow, she’d pack her things and drive back to the city. She didn’t think Kade would stop her.
He’d told her from the start he wasn’t interested in a relationship. At the time, she’d thought that was what she wanted too. Except the man was Kade, and she had fallen in love with him.
She dragged in a shaky breath. She’d keep working the case, follow the theory she had come up with that the same man was responsible for all four murders.
Which would eliminate the sheriff, who had no connection to Frank Keller or the Red Hawk Mine. Any of the Mountain Ore execs could be the killer, but Murphy was off the list, and Tony Russo didn’t have the handsome, sophisticated demeanor that Phillip Smithson had or the sexual allure and movie-star looks Rick Egan possessed. She didn’t know Barbara’s tastes in men, but Phillip and Rick were both handsome as sin, and a woman on the prowl would be easy prey. On the way back to Denver, she’d stop and talk to Savannah, show her internet photos of the two men.
Weariness settled over her. And sadness and a deep sense of loss. She climbed into bed and tried to read, but it was impossible to concentrate. Worry about a killer warred with thoughts of the man upstairs.
She’d been a fool to let things go so far, to let herself fall so hard for Kade. She was desperately, hopelessly in love. Tears formed a lump in her throat, and her eyes burned. She wanted to cry, but she refused to give in to the urge. At least Zoe had a chance for a happy ending. And Maria.
Ellie closed her eyes, but tears leaked from beneath her lashes. She was in love with Kade. But whatever Kade felt for her, it wasn’t enough. Real love required trust, and after the way Heather had betrayed him, Kade would never trust a woman again.
It was two a.m. when she finally gave up, took an Ambien, and managed to fall asleep. Exhausted, she overslept the next morning and woke up groggy, her chest aching with the tears she’d held back last night.
Breakfast was over, the men all gone to work.
As she had guessed, she didn’t see Kade. Instead, she carried her bags out to her rented Jeep Cherokee and loaded them into the back. A leaden sky and thick gray clouds promised rain, and the temperature had dropped below freezing. The prediction for tonight was even lower as an early-winter storm swept in.
Dreading the drive back to Denver, she returned to the kitchen to say goodbye to Maria and Dolores. Maria must have read the sadness in her face because she followed her out to the car.
“You should stay,” Maria said. “You should fight for him. Señor Kade loves you. Sometimes a man needs time to figure things out.”
She almost smiled. “You mean like Alejandro?”
“Sí. Alejandro is happy, and so am I. But Señor Kade . . . he is not happy. He told me you were leaving, and I could see in his heart that he wants you to stay. He needs you, Ellie.”
She just shook her head. “Kade doesn’t love me. Or at least not enough to trust me. I’m sorry, but it has to be this way.” She leaned over and hugged the girl who had become a woman since they had met and also a very good friend. “Say goodbye to Alejandro for me.”
Maria wiped a tear from her cheek. “I will. Vaya con Dios, mi amiga.” May God go with you, my friend.
“You too, Maria.”
As Maria walked back into the house, Ellie swallowed the tears clogging her throat. She was going to miss this place, more than she ever could have guessed. But it was past time to leave. She headed for the barn. She had one more goodbye to say before she left the ranch.
It was Saturday. The barn doors were closed against the storm, but she could hear Billy moving around inside. Entering through the side door, she heard the shuffle of horse’s hooves and the sound of Billy’s voice as he spoke quietly to Sunshine.
He looked up, spotted her, and smiled. “Hey, Ellie. You come out to go riding?” Smoke stretched out on his belly just outside the stall, patiently waiting for his best friend.
Ellie barely managed a return smile. “No, Billy, I came to say goodbye. It’s time I went home.”
“Home? I thought this was your home.”
“Denver’s where I live. I’ve done what I needed to do in Coffee Springs. I can finish my work just as well from my office in the city.”
Billy walked out of the stall, closed and latched the gate. Smoke rose and joined him. “What about you and Kade? I thought the two of you might . . . you know, get together.”
Her heart squeezed. “I thought that might happen too, but things didn’t work out. Kade’s a good man. I wish things could be different. I just came to say goodbye before I left.”
“Are you sure you can’t stay a little longer? I think you should give Kade another chance.”
She leaned over and hugged him. “He knows where to find me.” Though she didn’t think Kade would come after her. He just wasn’t ready. She didn’t think he ever would be.
“Take care of Smoke,” she said, stroking the dog’s shiny coat. Smoke gave a soft woof, as if he knew how sad she was, and butted his head against her hand. Ellie gave him a last rub and started back toward the Jeep.
“Stop right where you are.” The voice came from behind her. Turning, she saw a man in a ski mask standing next to Billy, pointing a semiautomatic pistol at his head.
Shock and fear tightened a knot in her stomach.
“Ellie . . . ?” The boy stood frozen, his blue eyes big and anxious.
“Just stay calm, Billy. Everything’s going to be all right.” Her heart beat frantically. She looked at the man with the gun. “What do you want?”
“My car’s up the trail. We’re all going to take a little drive.”
Adrenaline poured through her. She thought about the gun in her luggage. No way to get to it. Her phone was in her purse. She looked at Billy, whose face was the color of sun-bleached straw. The gun pressed to his head didn’t waver.
Running wasn’t an option. If she screamed for help, Maria and Dolores would rush to her aid, and both of them could be killed.
“Who are you?” Her pulse hammered. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out what was going on.
“You’re the detective. You figure it out.”
“Let him go, and I’ll do whatever you want,” Ellie said.
“You’re both going to do exactly what I tell you. You don’t, and the kid dies.”
A low sound came from Billy’s throat. Ellie realized he was thinking of making a move, doing something to take the gunman down.
Her pulse leaped. “Billy, listen to me. Do what the man tells you, and everything is going to be okay. All right?”
Seconds passed.
“You hear me, Billy? We need to do what he says.” If he didn’t, one or both of them was going to get shot, maybe killed.
“Billy?” she pressed, her eyes locked with his, silently relaying a message—at the first opportunity, they would resist.
“Okay, fine.”
The thoughts whirling around in her head began to slow and point in one direction. He knew she was a detective? Was this the man who’d shot Frank a
nd Earl? Was he one of the men at Mountain Ore she and Kade had talked to? With the mask on, she couldn’t tell anything about him. Still, there was something familiar about his voice.
“Put your hands behind your back,” he said to Billy.
Ellie cast the boy a warning glance, and he complied. Pressing the pistol into Billy’s side, the gunman dropped a zip-tie loop around Billy’s wrists and pulled it tight.
“Now you,” he said. “Turn around.”
She wanted to fight him. But she didn’t have an opening, and there was every chance he would kill them both. She needed Billy safe before she could resist. She felt the barrel of the gun press into her ribs, put her hands behind her back, but kept her wrists slightly spread, a trick she had learned in self-defense class.
The gunman used the same technique as before, dropping a thin loop of nylon over her wrists and pulling it snug. Ellie glanced around, praying one of the men would ride in, then praying he wouldn’t. She didn’t want anyone getting killed.
Smoke was whining, jumping up and down on Billy’s legs, sensing the boy’s fear.
“Tell the dog to stay. Do it, or I shoot him.”
“Sit, Smoke! Stay there, boy. Stay!” The dog sat down at Billy’s feet.
“Be stupid to yell for help. You’ll only get someone killed.”
Billy’s mouth thinned, but he nodded.
“Now get going.” He shoved Ellie forward. “Walk out the door at the back of the barn and head up the trail. Take the path to the right and follow it to the top of the hill.”
Ellie started walking. The gunman shoved Billy, and he stumbled into line behind her. “I’ve got the gun pointed at the back of the kid’s head,” the man said. “Either of you try anything, the boy is dead.”
Ellie kept walking, out through the back door of the barn, her legs trembling as she took the fork in the path to the right. She heard the barn door slam shut, locking Smoke inside so he couldn’t follow. She wondered what Kade would think when he returned and found her car still there with all of her stuff inside.
She bit back a bubble of hysteria. Kade would probably think she’d run off with Jonas Murray.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
KADE SPENT THE MORNING REPAIRING THE DIRT ROAD UP TO THE summer camp. Clearing weeds, removing fallen trees, using a chain saw to cut the dead logs into firewood hadn’t done a damn thing to keep his mind off Ellie.
An image of her pretty face rose in his head, her big green eyes and fiery auburn curls, her sexy curves, the passionate woman he couldn’t get enough of. He remembered the way she’d slid her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. How was your day? Simple words that banished his troubles and filled his heart with warmth.
Ellie. She was the best thing that had ever happened to him, and he was letting her walk out of his life. Letting her walk away because he was too much of a coward to tell her the truth. Tell her he was in love with her. That the reason he had behaved like such an ass was because he was afraid of losing her to another man.
But Ellie was nothing like Heather. She was honest, and she was loyal. She was there when he needed her, always stood by him, and never let him down.
She was everything he wanted and more.
His gut tightened. He wanted her. Hell, he needed her. Instead, he had driven her away. Now he wasn’t sure he could convince her to come back to him. Even if he asked her to marry him, it might not be enough.
Marriage. He wanted that, he realized. Wanted to build a life with her. Maybe even have kids. The thought filled him with quiet determination. Ellie was his. Deep down, she must know they belonged together. They were a perfect fit.
He’d been a fool to let her go. And Kade was no fool.
Now that the fog had cleared from his brain and he’d admitted the truth, he took the four-wheeler and headed down the mountain, arriving back at the ranch a little after noon. Dark clouds had settled over the valley, and drops of rain had begun to fall.
When he spotted Ellie’s white Jeep Cherokee, he breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t left yet. He still had a chance.
His long canvas duster flapped around his legs as he walked into the kitchen. No one was there. Maria and Dolores wouldn’t be back to start supper for at least a few more hours.
He walked through the house calling Ellie’s name, but got no answer. There was an emptiness in the rooms that said she wasn’t there.
Beginning to worry, he went back outside to look for Billy, figuring the two of them must be together, but as he glanced through the window of the Jeep, he saw Ellie’s suitcases in the back, her purse in the passenger seat.
His unease built. Kade opened the car door and looked inside her purse, saw Ellie’s cell phone. A knot began to build in his stomach. She always carried her phone. No way would she go off somewhere and leave it behind. He took the phone out and checked her recent calls. Her friend Zoe’s name appeared as the last call she’d made, and that was yesterday.
A sense of urgency had him moving faster, striding rapidly toward the barn.
“Billy!” Sunshine was there, nickering softly at his approach. A can of grain had been spilled on the ground in front of her stall and hadn’t been cleaned up. Lady was in another stall. She hadn’t been grained, and there was no sign of Billy.
The knot tightened as Smoke raced toward him, whining, and barking, yapping frantically. The dog raced off toward the back door of the barn, turned around and raced back, started barking again, then rushed back to the door.
Cold fear replaced worry. “Where are they, Smoke? You know where they are? Show me where they are, boy.”
The dog ran back to the door and starting scratching to get out. When Kade pulled the door open, Smoke shot off up the trail. The dog paused a moment where the path forked and sniffed the ground, then headed up the path to the right, Kade just behind him.
The dog moved faster, and so did Kade. The rain was picking up, steady drops that began to pool on the ground. He pulled up the collar of his duster and kept moving. Neither of them stopped till they reached the top of the hill.
No sign of Ellie or Billy. He took a look around and noticed a place where the grass had been flattened and boulders formed a barrier that made the perfect place for a watcher to survey the ranch from above.
Fresh fear shot through him, and his pulse accelerated. Turning, he followed Smoke on up the trail, which was rapidly turning to mud. As he hurried behind the dog, he pulled out his cell and phoned Wyatt.
“Ellie and Billy are missing. We need to start a search.”
“Maybe they just went for a hike or something.”
“Someone’s been watching us from the hill above the barn. I’m calling Sheriff Carver. I’m not waiting this time.”
“Where are you?” Wyatt asked, his tone shifting to dark and serious.
“I’m at the top of the hill. I’m going after them. I’ll stay in touch as long as I can.” Until there was no cell service. Kade ended the call. Smoke was bouncing anxiously up and down, winding around his legs.
“Go on, boy. Go find Billy and Ellie.”
Smoke barked and took off running. As Kade followed the dog along the trail, the narrow path winding through a grove of aspens, then climbing into the pines, he phoned the sheriff. He figured Carver would give him some guff about it being too soon to worry, but surprisingly he didn’t. Too much had been happening. Too many people were dead. The thought chilled him.
“I’ll put the word out and get some men together for a search party,” Carver said.
“This may be the same guy who shot Keller and Dunstan. If it is, he could be driving a dark green Hummer.”
“I saw the BOLO, and Webb Fischer called me about it. My deputies are on the lookout for a car like that in the area.”
“I’m following the trail up the mountain behind the barn. The path goes over the ridge, then in a half mile or so, it starts down the back side of the hill.”
“Listen, Kade. Don’t try to handle this on your own. You
could get people killed, including yourself.”
“Sorry, can’t hear you. Signal’s fading. I’ll let you know if I find them.” He heard Carver curse as he ended the call. No way was he waiting. Not when Ellie and Billy’s lives could be in danger.
Smoke raced back to him, then turned and ran back along the trail. Kade followed. He wished he were armed. Everything inside him warned that Ellie and Billy were in serious trouble.
And if Ellie’s theory about the killer was correct, it was all his fault.
* * *
The gunman had forced them off the trail some distance back, taking a longer, more circuitous route through a stand of downed pines, a field of dry grass, then over some boulders, so they couldn’t be followed. The rain was falling steadily now, washing away their tracks. With every step farther away from the ranch, Ellie’s fear swelled.
Ahead through the trees, she spotted what appeared to be a vehicle, which had pulled off a dirt road into a knot of trees where it was mostly concealed. The car was a dark green color, and as they drew near, she saw it was a Hummer.
Her blood ran cold. This was the guy who had murdered Frank and Earl. She had no doubt that if she and Billy got in the car with him, they would be dead.
“Where are you taking us?” She needed to get him talking, draw things out, look for an opening.
“I’ve got a nice spot prepared for you. A place we can enjoy ourselves. And we won’t have to worry about anyone interrupting us.”
She started to ask about Billy, beg him to leave the boy and just take her. But Earl Dunstan was dead because he’d known too much. The only way they were going to survive was to escape.
Ellie kept walking. She’d been steadily working her hands free of the zip tie, twisting her wrists one way and then another, tugging the stiff loop up and down, looking for a way to pull her hands through the narrow nylon ring.
“I need to catch my breath,” she said, stumbling to a halt beneath a tree. Turning around, she flicked a glance at Billy. This is the place, she silently told him. It’s now or never.
