Stolen Away (Hearts of Montana)

by Jennie Marts

  “I’m glad you came with us. And I wanted to tell you that Sophie is sleeping at her friend’s house tonight, so I was thinking of spending the night over at Zack’s. If you’re comfortable staying alone tonight—not that you’re really alone—Cash is right across the yard.”

  She wasn’t sure if the thought of him being so close made her feel better or made her even more uncomfortable. “I can go home tonight. I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”

  “Don’t be silly. I want you to still stay at the farm. I’ll feel better knowing you’re there, especially after this afternoon. Besides, it would help me, because you could feed the kittens and keep an eye on them tonight, and I won’t have to bother Cash.”

  “Yeah, since he had those plans and all.” Emma hated the curl of envy that filled her stomach as she wondered if his plans involved another woman. “Okay, I’ll stay. Helping out with the kittens is the least I can do. You’ve been so great to me.”

  Zack pulled up and rolled down the passenger window of the truck. “You sure you don’t want to ride back with us, Emma? We could easily drop you at Tucked Away.”

  “I’m sure. I’ve got my car.” She gestured to the alley behind the diner where she’d left her car that morning. “Thanks again for the pizza.”

  Charlie opened the door and climbed into the truck. “We’ll watch you to make sure you get to your car okay.”

  There was no use arguing with them, so she nodded and started down the darkened alley. It was a small town, and there was no one around, but the dim shadows still felt a little creepy, and her heart rate sped up as she quickly walked to her car.

  Pretend to be brave.

  Reaching her car, she hurriedly fit the key into the lock then turned to wave good-bye. “Thanks. I’m good.”

  Zack gave the horn a little toot before pulling away. She unlocked the door as the noise of his engine faded.

  An ominous chill raced down her spine as the slight sound of a whisper-click came from the dark alcove on the other side of her car.

  A flicker of flame sparked in the gloom, illuminating Earl Purvis’s face as he lit a cigarette.

  He drew a sharp inhale of tobacco then stepped out of the shadows. “You havin’ yourself a pretty good night there, sister?”

  Chapter Eight

  Emma clutched the car door, her heart pounding hard against her chest as she fought the panic that was building there. “What are you doing here? I told you to stay away from me.”

  Earl ambled around the back of the car. “Yeah, I got to thinking about that, and it didn’t sit very well with me. We’re still family, Emma, and I feel like it’s my duty to watch out for you while my brother is wasting away in a jail cell.”

  He didn’t add that she was the one who put him there, but she knew he was thinking it. Correction—he put himself there. She had to keep reminding herself of that fact. But it wouldn’t do any good to argue the point with Earl.

  “I don’t want or need you to watch out for me.”

  He sidled closer, now only a foot away, and close enough for her to smell the booze oozing from his every pore. “See now, I think that you do. It appears that you’ve taken up with the wrong sort of crowd. In particular, Cash Walker. That guy’s bad news. He’s got himself a reputation around town as a bit of a ladies’ man, and I don’t think that’s the kind of guy I want sniffing around my sister-in-law.”

  An image of Cash’s grin flicked through her mind, giving her courage, even as every part of her wanted to flee in fright.

  She pulled open the door—her trembling hands slick with sweat—afraid she might drop the keys she still had clutched in her fingers.

  All she wanted to do was slide into the driver’s seat, but she was terrified to turn her back to him. She knew all too well the consequences of turning your back on a pissed-off man. “Who I’ve taken up with is not your concern. I told you to stay away from me.”

  “I am staying away from you.” His voice was sticky sweet as he moved to the other side of the car door and held it open for her. “I’m not even touching you. I’m just making sure you get in your car all right. There ain’t nothing wrong with that.”

  But there was something wrong with it. Something in the sinister look in his eye that told her he had something else up his sleeve.

  Trying not to let him see her fear, she slowed her breathing as she turned with him, her back now against her seat. All she had to do was sit down and pull the door shut. And then snap the lock down.

  It sounded easy, but she knew it wouldn’t be. Earl was like a snake, crafty in his meanness, and she never knew when he would strike. All of the Purvis brothers knocked one another around, and she’d seen Earl’s anger flare at the slightest provocation.

  She needed to be quick, but careful not to set him off, cautious enough to keep the snake from striking.

  The dark edges of the alley faded away as all of her senses focused on the danger surrounding her.

  “I’ll be fine now. Thank you.” She slid into the seat and pulled the door toward her.

  Almost there, inches away. So close.

  Earl’s hand grabbed the door, yanking it back and out of her grasp. He leaned his face into the gap above the door, his tobacco and booze-scented breath wafting toward her with his menacing words. “You be careful driving home now, sister. I wouldn’t want you to have an accident.”

  He slammed the door shut, and she jumped in her seat. Jamming the keys toward the ignition, she fumbled and dropped them to the floor. She could hear Earl laughing as he stood outside the window, but she didn’t care.

  All she cared about was starting the car and getting the hell out of this alley. She wiped her hand on the leg of her jeans, then groped the floor for her keys.

  Finding them, she shuffled through for the car key, then shoved it into the ignition.

  Please start.

  She had a sudden new terror that Earl had somehow disabled her car, and he was just waiting for her to realize it. Waiting for her to get back out and that’s when he would assault her. Or worse.

  No. She couldn’t go there. She’d heard stories about her brother-in-law, some of them from him, and she knew he could be brutal and violent toward women. She couldn’t think about that. Instead she prayed.

  And her prayers were answered. She almost wept with relief as the engine caught and started. She threw the car into gear and pressed on the gas. Gravel spit behind her as the tires spun then gained purchase and the car flew out of the alley.

  Her knuckles were white as she gripped the wheel and tried not to cry.

  I’m okay. I did it. I was brave, and I got away.

  Taking a deep breath, she tried to slow her heart rate as she worked to convince herself she was okay. She snapped on her seat belt and hit the lock button on the door. Not that he would be running down the road after her, but locking the door somehow made her feel safer.

  She made the turn out of town and onto the highway toward the farm as a strong sense of foreboding suddenly surrounded her.

  If Earl didn’t attack her, then why was he there? What did he want? She knew he wasn’t really concerned about her welfare, but something had him waiting for her in that dark alley.

  There had to be more going on here. They’d been in the pizza place for hours. Had Earl been waiting all that time for her? For what reason?

  The speedometer was inching close to fifty-five, and she applied the brakes as she approached the curve in the road.

  Except nothing happened.

  Instead of the normal pressure of the brake pedal, her foot went straight to the floor. She pumped the brakes, but again, nothing happened.

  Fighting the panic forming in her chest, she tried to stay calm and think. She downshifted into second gear, but that only slowed the car a little.

  The curve came up fast, and she pulled on the wheel, twisting her whole body into managing the curve in the road. Her shoulders wrenched as the car fought her, skidding on the pavement.

&nb
sp; Her gaze flicked over the highway, looking for a way to slow down. Anything to reduce the speed without causing the car to spin or roll.

  She ordered herself to stay calm as everything in her fought to spin out of control. Thankfully there weren’t any other cars on the highway.

  A guardrail lined the side of the road up ahead, and she steered the car toward it.

  She hit the gravel of the shoulder too quickly, and the car jolted as the passenger side collided with the railing. The seat belt bit into her shoulder as it locked, and the eerie scream of metal filled the air as her car slid along the steel barrier.

  The railing wasn’t long enough, and the car was still going too fast as it leaped forward when the barrier ended. She grabbed for the parking brake, pulling it back to slow the car.

  She must have pulled too hard, because the car went into a skid, spinning in a circle and crossing the road.

  Everything had been happening too fast, until this minute, when time slowed down, and she felt like the car was spinning in slow motion.

  A motion that she had no control of.

  Hitting the gravel of the other shoulder, she screamed as the car continued to skid. It hit thin air as it flew off the side of the road and slid into the ditch.

  Emma’s body slammed against the seat belt, and her teeth clacked together as her head shot forward and hit the steering wheel.

  But at least the car had stopped. And no one had been hurt. No one but her.

  Adrenaline was flowing through her as she frantically looked around at the damage. She couldn’t tell the extent of her injuries, but she had a smear of blood on her arm, and the front half of the dashboard had crumpled forward, pinning her legs.

  She was trapped. Reaching into her front pocket, she slid out her cell phone. Her list of contacts was pitifully small, but it didn’t matter, there was only one person she wanted to call.

  …

  Cash paced the floor of the bunkhouse cabin, wishing Buckshot, the other ranch hand, were home in the cabin next door.

  Nearing seventy, Buckshot had worked on Tucked Away for most of his adult life, and Cash had always suspected his heart belonged more to Gigi Tucker than to the land itself. He’d never married but was close to his sister’s family and was spending the month visiting them in Colorado.

  He could sure use Buck right about now. Sharing a beer or a game of checkers would take his mind off a certain brunette whose shy smile had his palms sweating like a high school kid with a crush.

  He peered out the front window at the still-empty driveway in front of the house. Why weren’t they back yet?

  His gaze flicked to the clock above the mantel. It was after nine.

  How the hell long did it take to eat some pizza?

  His big “other plans” for the evening included fixing the fence gate and eating a bologna sandwich while he barely watched an old crime series on television.

  Some plans.

  He’d been listening for Charlie’s and Emma’s cars to pull into the driveway, figuring he might amble over and see how things went. Or not.

  Yeah, probably not. Best to let sleeping dogs lie and not stir up anything more with Emma. If things had gone well with Stan tonight, she didn’t need him around messing up her good thoughts of him.

  But now he was starting to worry.

  He was just being stupid. Acting like an old mother hen.

  They could have decided to go see a show, or maybe they went back to Zack’s or out to the lake. They sure didn’t have to check in with him. He was nobody’s father. And he didn’t want to be.

  His cell phone rang, and he practically dove for it where it sat on the coffee table. Expecting it to be Charlie, he was surprised to see Emma’s name come up on the screen—he’d programmed it in after she’d called him the last time.

  But why would she be calling him now?

  He had a bad feeling something was wrong as he tapped the phone and held it up to his ear. “Emma?”

  “Cash? I need help.” Her voice was soft and weak, breathless as she spoke. “I’ve been in an accident.”

  He was already out the front door and running for his truck. “I’m on my way. Where are you?”

  “In the ditch. I was heading back to Tucked Away. I spun out and went off the other side of the highway, right after the big curve, but before the Haring farm.”

  “Okay, I’ll be there in two minutes. Are you all right?”

  “Um, I’m not sure. My legs are pinned under the dash, and I hit my head, and there’s some blood.”

  Oh Lord, please let her be all right.

  His foot pressed the gas pedal as he pushed his truck to eighty miles an hour. He slowed as he passed the Haring farm, scanning the ditch for signs of her car.

  There. He spotted the red glow of her taillights as they stuck out of the ditch.

  The car was face down, practically standing on end. “I see you, Emma. I’m gonna hang up, but I’ll be right there. Just hang on, darlin’.”

  He screeched to a stop, opening the door and racing toward the car. His boots skidded in the soft dirt as he slid down the embankment next to the car. “I’m here, Em. Hold on.”

  Reaching up, he awkwardly pulled the handle, releasing the door, and jumping out of the way as it fell open toward him. The window had broken, and chunks of glass scattered across the ground.

  Emma was leaning forward, held in place by her seat belt. She turned her head and let out a cry of relief as she reached out her hand. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “I’m gonna get you out of there.” He took her hand, squeezed it in his, then leaned into the car, trying to assess the damage. Tipping her head toward him, he could see a small cut above her eye, but it didn’t look too serious. At least he hoped not. She also had blood smeared on her arm and across her lap. “Where are you hurt?”

  “I hit my head and scraped my arm, but otherwise I think I’m okay.”

  “Can you move your legs? What if you’ve got a back injury? I don’t want to risk hurting you more. I think we should call an ambulance.”

  “No. I can’t afford an ambulance or another hospital bill. I’m not that hurt. I can wiggle my toes and feel my legs, I just can’t get them out from under the dash.”

  “I’m not worried about how much it will cost. I’m worried about you. What if you have a concussion?”

  “I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine, just a little banged up. I know what a concussion feels like, and if I have any problems I’ll go to the doctor tomorrow, but I don’t need an ambulance right now. I just need you to get me out of this damn car.”

  “All right, for now. But if I have even one cause for concern that you might be concussed, I’m taking you in to the doctor. Deal?”

  “Fine. It’s a deal. Now, please just get me out of here.”

  The front of the car was crumpled in, and her legs were trapped under the mangled dashboard. He ran his hand along one of her calves, then the other, trying to see if her legs were actually caught on something. They didn’t appear to be.

  Stepping into the open frame where the car window used to be, he reached an arm across her middle and searched for the seat belt release. “Can you brace your arms against the dash? I’m gonna try to catch you, but once I push the button, I don’t want you to fall forward and bust your head on the steering wheel.”

  She held out her arms and locked them on the dashboard.

  “Ready?”

  She nodded, and he pressed the button. The belt loosened, and her body slumped forward onto his outstretched arm. He slowly pulled her toward him, easing her legs out from under the dash. “Easy there. I’ve got you.”

  He took a step back, drawing her all the way out of the wrecked vehicle, and pulled her into his arms as he sunk onto the grass. “You’re okay now.”

  She trembled in his arms as she buried her face in his neck.

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. I came up to the corner, and suddenly I had no brak
es. Like nothing. The pedal went right to the floor.”

  “Have you been having problems with your car?”

  She shook her head and took a deep breath. “No more than usual. I mean, it’s an old car, it has plenty of problems. But no problems with the brakes. I just had them replaced last spring.”

  A sinking feeling struck him. “You don’t think…?” Surely this was going too far for them. This was too low. Even for those redneck bastards. “Do you think Earl and Junior had something to do with this?”

  “I don’t know. Earl was waiting for me in the alley, after we got back from having pizza.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I don’t know. He said he just wanted to check on me.”

  “Check on you, my ass.” Anger bubbled up in him, and he took a deep breath, trying to control it. Trying to focus on Emma instead of tearing out of there to find the Purvis brothers and rip ’em a couple of new ones. “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “Why would I?”

  He hated that question and hated to think about the answer.

  Why would she call him? He didn’t have any claim on her. Just because he felt this insane urge to protect her didn’t mean she wanted to be protected by him.

  He shrugged. “Because I’m your friend.”

  “Well, I’m not used to having a lot of those.” She looked down and rubbed at the smudge of dried blood on her arm. “Actually I’m not really used to having any at all.”

  “Well, you’ve got one now. You have more than one. If you don’t want to call me, call Charlie or Zack or Cherry or Taylor. I’ll make sure you have all of their numbers. Call any of us, and we’ll be there for you.”

  “I appreciate that. But honestly, I didn’t have time to call anyone. It all happened so fast. I walked up to my car, and he just appeared. All I wanted to do was get out of there.”

  “I get that.” He reached up and pushed back her bangs to get a better look at the cut on her forehead. “I don’t think this is gonna need stitches, but I still think we should run you up to the emergency room and have them check you out.”