Stella slapped me hard across the cheek. “You’re nothing to me. You’re nothing but a little boy who cannot handle a real woman. I will take you down. You can bet on that. I’ll find that micro-chip, and when I do, I’ll own this company.”
By the time she finished spitting her words, the guards threw back the door and entered with guns drawn. Stella raised her hands in defeat, but I was certain this was a painful new beginning, rather than a peaceful end.
I called Grandfather to keep him abreast of the situation. “Stella’s gone, and I’m headed right back to Texas as soon as I get business under control here. Travel agents are monitoring the flights for her name, and the FBI is watching for her. I need Wrenn to make a statement, but without a phone, that isn’t going to happen.”
“I can’t believe you let her get away without finding out where that place was.”
“Don’t rub salt in the wound. I have a plan, and I’ll let her hide out because she’s safe, but when I need to find her, I know how. The truck would’ve just been easier. She’s so damn stubborn.”
“And you’re not, son?”
“Goodbye, Grandfather.”
I went back to the conference room to find my team elbows deep in projects, like busy bees on steroids. They had QC records and regulatory team members on their way in. Seemed that Stella and some of her flunkies had been in the process of a huge takeover and had left more of a paper trail than they’d probably thought.
Had the Chinese government not complained about distribution, we wouldn’t have known, until things were too late to resolve. Stella had no idea that my insiders within the government had told me about the new chips being released. Chips that weren’t ready for the open market. It had been a huge tip-off.
I went back to my office and stared at the picture of me and Wrenn that was taken on the Kiss-Cam at the Stars game, grateful that a friend had taken a snap shot of it and emailed it to me. It was my favorite picture of us.
I pulled out the sonogram photo from my wallet and kissed my little peanut.
Stay safe, little one. Daddy’s on a roll now.
Chapter 31
At my next appointment with Dr. Ainsworth, she was pleased the baby was growing and my blood pressure had returned to normal. I supposed a couple of weeks hanging out at the farm, studying and spending time with Justin was exactly what the doctor had ordered. Although, she still didn’t let me off easy and asked that I come back again in two weeks.
With a good deal of time to spare, I treated myself to ice cream. The first serving went down so quickly that for a moment, I thought someone had swapped out my cup with their empty one.
I was a pregnant piggie, but I couldn’t help myself and went for a second helping, ordering Mint Chocolate Chip. As I ate it slowly, my heart was gripped in angst over Dane. I remembered sharing ice cream with him and then making love in the car on the way home. He could label it whatever he chose, but to me, anytime we were together—his body blending with mine—we were making love.
I craved that man with all my soul, but didn’t see a light creeping in to our dark tunnel. He’d kept me at a distance, talked to me like an employee, and pushed me beyond arm’s reach at a time when we were just mending our trust issues—a time I needed him the most. It couldn’t get any worse, or could it?
I lost myself in my thoughts, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying. I vaguely noticed people watching me, and one lady even patted my shoulder as she left the ice cream parlor.
On my way out of town, a sign for a pizza joint caught my eye. Food made everything better, right?
I found a place to make a U-turn and decided why the heck not.
Of course, they questioned me when I said anchovies because no one likes them, but finally they obliged me, and when the pizza came out of the oven, it smelled like it was sent from heaven.
I thought about the pizza Dane had sent over and his sweet message inside the box. Again, another memory that mentally ripped me to shreds.
I needed him. Hiding from my pain didn’t make it go away’ it prolonged the inevitable. Paired with the fact he didn’t even know where I was made it even worse. For all he knew, I’d walked out of his life for good.
When I crossed the bridge, I realized the gate was open. That was unlike Justin, he always paid attention to the tiniest of details. I stopped to close it and lock it behind me.
When I made the turn to pull the car into the barn, I noticed the lights weren’t on inside the house, yet I knew I’d turned them on before I left, so I wouldn’t come into a dark house. Justin had probably turned them off out of habit. Regardless, I found my hand was subconsciously rubbing the holster through my skirt.
I got out of the car and went to close the barn door.
Someone hit my face with an extremely bright light.
“Don’t move,” a woman’s voice ordered, and something poked me in the back, something hard like the muzzle of a handgun.
I recognized her voice. Stella.
Just the sound of her made my skin crawl and the hair stand up on the back of my neck. “How did you find me?” I asked, trying to look away from the light.
“Not too hard. You shouldn’t be so stupid as to leave your purse in your desk without a lock.”
The bitch was seriously dumbing down to me? “What does my purse have anything to do with anything?”
“A tracker, honey. I put a small duck key chain in the bottom of your purse. I’ve had my eye on you for some time. You have something that belongs to me.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do. Although, you don’t know you have it.”
I thought for a moment what she could be referring to other than Dane, and I came up empty. I needed to make her understand Dane and I were over. “You want Dane, you can have him. He’s not with me anymore. I tried to make him choose between me and China, and he chose that damn company.”
“That damn company, as you call it, was my life, and because of you, he tossed me to the side. Fired me and left me penniless.” Her voice was getting closer, yet the light wasn’t moving. She wasn’t alone.
I needed to keep her talking, hoping Justin would show up soon. “I doubt that. Dane wouldn’t do that. He said he cared for you.”
“Stupid little bitch. This is all your fault. Move. We’re going to your little shack up the hill.”
Leave it to Cruella de Vil to identify my home as a shack. Bitch would get hers. I would make sure of it.
Someone pushed me from behind to move me forward.
The person holding the light shined it at the barn door. “On second thought, let’s tie her up down here,” Stella commanded.
Oh God no, please, not this place.
The owner of the light opened the car door and turned on the headlights. In front of the lights, the saddle hook from the ceiling hung in clear view. That was when I also got a glimpse of the two bodies standing beside me—Stella and Carl.
They pushed me forward again, and Carl used the brightness of the headlights to find horse reins. With one hand, Stella kept a gun pointed at me. With her other, she shoved me up next to him, and he tied my wrists together, pulled my arms above my head, and secured me to the saddle hook for the second time in my life.
Immediately, I began to feel the burn through my shoulders and neck. I felt the virtual slash of the whip hit my skin, ripping at my old wounds. The thought of being there terrified me. I fought the urge to panic.
“What do you want?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“Lover boy will trade the world for you,” she said with a laugh.
“Don’t bet on it. He doesn’t know where I am. I ended our relationship and left him.”
“Honey, I’m not as stupid as you. Enjoy your night with the creepy crawlies.” Her laugh was sinister. She snapped a photo of me with her cell phone in mockery.
Carl used an old handkerchief from his pocket to gag me. They shut off the car lights and closed the barn door behind them, leaving me in the
dark and dirty barn harnessed to the beams. Pain was radiating down my body, and the fear of being left to die, unable to protect my baby, terrified me.
Helpless, I thought about the last time I was in the same position. My father had taken to beating me to try and make me conform. He hadn’t won. His cause was lost, and even though I’d kept his secret even in his death, he did not deserve my choice to remain quiet, nor did he have power over me. I’d chosen not to tell my mother to spare her from the emotional agony that knowing would provide. Because of that, I’d become stronger, and only the tough survived.
I started wiggling my hands and trying to stretch the leather of the reins. I tugged hard and heard the groan of the wood beams above me. Dust and dirt trickled down on top of me. The harder I pulled, the more I heard the crackles of the wood beginning to give way. Suddenly, it dawned on me that if the beam broke, it could fall on me, killing me or leaving me seriously injured. If it fell on the car, Stella might hear the noise and come running.
Changing tactics, I began to work the loops of the leather on my wrist. The burning of my flesh told me I was ripping my skin, but I didn’t care. If I could get one loop to move, it would give me enough flex in the leather to get my hands free.
Hours seemed to pass slowly as I worked to loosen the binding. Gradually, the first ring began to give way. Within thirty minutes, I had my hands free, but I was still a hostage and had to figure out my escape from the barn.
The door did not give way, no matter how hard I shoved on it. I opened the trunk of the car and searched for a flashlight, but, of course, came up empty. One of my abductors had taken the keys to the car, or I would’ve used it to ram the doors.
The only way out was to climb the beams and try to crawl through of one of two tiny windows on the far side of the barn, but the twenty-foot or more drop from the windows on the other side wasn’t going to be easy. The reins would be helpful to lower myself closer to the ground.
Instead of the bright headlights that might draw their attention, I used the interior lights of the car to inch along the rafters of the barn. I had the reins tied around my waist to keep my hands free to climb.
The windows were difficult to reach, and I needed something to push them out with. I used the grip end of my gun and knocked both of them out. The car didn’t give off enough light for me to see the shards, so I slowly felt for each point and knocked them as smooth as I could. When my eyes adjusted to the moonlight, I found my jump to the ground was going to be too long, even with the reins.
When I hit the ground, I landed on my right foot first and fell backwards to my butt and back. The jar reverberated from my toes to my neck and knocked the freaking breath out of me. It hurt like hell, but I didn’t care as long as the baby was protected.
I sat there on the ground for a few minutes before I felt the baby move. I was free—once again that miserable hook wouldn’t win over me. As I gained my composure, I listened to make sure no one was coming after me. Unsure of my next move, I thought about Justin. If they’d hurt him or were holding him captive, I didn’t know what I’d do.
My foot hurt like hell, but I managed to hobble to the front of the barn. I peaked around the corner and saw the lights on inside my house. I couldn’t see any human shadows outside, but that didn’t mean anything. I knew for certain there were two of them, but I didn’t know if more were in the house.
If I could make it to Justin’s, I could call the sheriff.
It took me a while following the fence line by moonlight to get to Justin’s house. I was shocked to find him tied to a chair as I peeked in the window. I didn’t see Stella or her crew around, so I slipped in the back door by the kitchen.
“Get out! They’re coming right back,” he whispered.
“How many are there?” I watched the door over my shoulder as I untied him.
“At least four.”
“Where’s their car?”
“No idea. We gotta get out of here. Take Stephan’s truck and go to his place. They cut my phone line and took my cell and all my guns.” Justin opened a drawer and pulled out Stephan’s keys. I recognized the fob instantly.
We slipped out the back. That truck was loud, and there was no missing it when it fired up, but Justin hit the gas and bolted out of the barn, almost taking out a few cows along the way.
I watched to make sure we weren’t followed.
“Get your seatbelt on,” he yelled.
Chapter 32
Dane
The request for ransom threw me for a loop. I’d just returned from China and was checking on Grandfather when my cell chimed with a text.
Anonymous caller ID: ten million dollars and you get the girl and the chip back
Oh, dear God, they have Wrenn and the chip? How’s that possible.
I responded to the text. You’re bluffing.
The next message contained a photo. When it finished downloading, my gut gripped me and my knees gave out on me in Grandfather’s kitchen.
Wrenn was bound, gagged, and hanging from something. Her eyes were full of fear.
I typed out my response. If you hurt her, I will make certain you die.
No response came. I woke Grandfather up, and we notified the authorities that Wrenn had been kidnapped. Within half an hour, Grandfather’s house was swarming with law enforcement who were trying to analyze the photo and find the sender.
Agent Kirby indicated in most cases that burner phones were used, and traceability was difficult if not impossible. I paced as the news began to settle in. I had no idea where she was, but I remembered her phone had been left at my house, and it had Justin’s number.
Agent Kirby rode with me, as two other officers followed, while I went to my house to get her phone. When I called Justin’s number, it went to voicemail.
“What’s the name of the ranch Justin works for?” Agent Kirby asked.
“I don’t know that Wrenn ever told me. If she did, I don’t recall it.”
Agent Kirby scrubbed at his jaw. “I find it difficult to believe a man of your stature knew so little about her.”
I didn’t like what he was insinuating. “When we were together, we didn’t live in our pasts. Wrenn’s life was hard and full of pain from that place. The only glimmer of life that she spoke of was her mother. Trying to dissect her history only brought her sadness. I’m not evil, Mr. Kirby.”
I paced until the officers finally made me take a seat. After calls to the other officers at Grandfather’s, they confirmed Stella had returned to Dallas a week prior, which meant she’d had time to put this scheme together and certainly had motive. She was the only one who cared about that chip. What she never realized was that it had failed in the QC tests for compatibility, and once the company was able to prove that, the chip was worthless. She didn’t ever see the finished reports or else her goonies had led her down the wrong path for some serious dollars.
While minutes slowly ticked by, we waited. What we were waiting for left me clueless.
Agent Kirby’s phone rang, and he jotted some things down. “Who’s Carl?” he asked.
“He was my ranch foreman until a few weeks ago when I fired him. Why?”
“We were able to pull quite a few records from Stella’s phone, and it seems she sent a number of text messages to Carl. Arkansas was mentioned numerous times. We’re working now to see if we can find the last tower that was pinged by her phone.”
“Somehow they’ve found Wrenn, which means she went back home to Arkansas. Her roommate will know where it is. She hasn’t told me over the last few weeks, but now that we know it’s a kidnapping, she’ll tell you.”
“Call her,” he ordered.
I dialed Karina’s number from Wrenn’s phone.
“Thank God, I’ve been worried sick,” Karina answered.
“It’s Dane. Don’t hang up. Wrenn’s been kidnapped.”
“Oh, shit. Where? What? Tell me.”
“We think she’s in Arkansas. What’s that town?”
; “I have no idea, but I do remember how to get there.”
“Okay, you’re on speaker. Start talking.”
Karina gave us directions, and the agents utilized a satellite program similar to Google Earth. They started calling out town names.
“Hatman, yes, that’s it,” she exclaimed.
“You’re sure?” Agent Kirby asked.
“Yes, very. Dr. P—Dr. Palmer will know how to get to her place. There’re several turns off the county roads. It’s in the boonies. His number is in her phone.”
“Thank you, Karina. We’ll be in touch.” My words came out with difficulty. I felt bile roll in the back of my throat. Anger pulsed through my veins in place of blood.
“I pray she and the baby are safe,” Karina said softly, her voice cracking.
We hung up and searched for Dr. Palmer’s number. As he spoke with the agents, he assured them he wouldn’t go vigilante on them and offered his office as a command post.
Local and state law enforcement were activated, and we headed to the airport to catch a helicopter. I had to fight my way on board, but I assured them I could either ride with them or I was hiring my own. Either way, I was going to be en route to the best thing that had ever happened to me, and I prayed she would alive, so I could tell her how sorry I was and how much I loved her.
I thought about what I’d say to her. I craved to hold her in my arms again. I loved to lay in bed and watch her sleep, the silent rhythm of her heart beating as she took in soft breaths. When she opened her eyes for the first time in the morning, she always blinked hard at least three times, while adjusting to the light. She hit the snooze twice and set her alarm early just so she could torture us both. Her face had such a natural glow, shadowed by her dark hair. She was the most beautiful without make-up.
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