Drawing up her knees, she let herself drift into a deep lethargy. It was the only way she knew to preserve her sanity.
* * *
TOM HATED BEING so helpless. Even pushing himself up against the pillows brought a jagged pain and a wave of dizziness. He put a hand to his bandaged side and winced.
“Take it easy,” Craig Jarvis advised. “You’ve only been out of surgery a few hours. You’re lucky the bullet passed right through, but it’ll still take a few days before you’re back on your feet.”
Tom lay back, breathing hard. He didn’t feel so lucky. “Rae may not have a few days. I need to get out of here now.”
“I’ve got every available deputy out there looking for her,” Craig said. “We’ll find her.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Look, the kidnappers still want that money and we’re coordinating with the family. As soon as they call, we’ll arrange a swap.”
“Assuming that’s why she was taken.”
“Why else?”
Tom turned his head to the window. “I don’t know. This seems like something different.”
“Different how?”
“That’s what I’ve been lying here trying to figure out.” He reached for the water beside his bed. Raising his head to take a sip exhausted him. “I need to get out of here.”
“You need to rest. I’ll keep you posted every step of the way. You have my word on that.”
After Craig left, Tom managed to sit up, but he couldn’t muster the strength to swing his legs over the side of the bed. His clothes must be around here somewhere. If he could just get to his feet—
A phone buzzed. He looked around in confusion until he spotted his cell on the bedside table. Craig must have brought it to him. Or maybe he’d had it in his pocket when they brought him in.
He reached for the phone and lifted it to his ear. “Brannon.”
“I know where she is, Sheriff.”
His pulse jumped. “Who is this?”
“I saw where they took her. If you want to see her alive, you’ll do exactly as I say.”
* * *
AS IMPOSSIBLE AS it seemed, Rae had almost managed to doze off when a scraping sound awakened her. She lifted her head from her knees and glanced around her darkened surroundings. What was that? Sounded like something heavy being dragged across stone.
She lifted her gaze to the noise. To her amazement, a crack appeared in the ceiling, allowing dim light to filter down into her prison. The opening grew wider and a face appeared.
Rae jumped to her feet, pressing back against the wall. “Who are you? What do you want with me?”
“Move back,” a voice ordered.
A wooden ladder dropped down, almost clipping Rae’s shoulder before she stumbled out of the way.
The face appeared above her again. “Come on!”
Rae went over to the ladder and stared up into the light. “Dylan?”
“Hurry! He’s coming back and I don’t know how soon help will arrive.”
“Who?” Rae tested the rungs and then started to climb. “Who’s coming back?”
Dylan grabbed her wrists and hoisted her through the opening. “You don’t know where you are, do you?”
She glanced around. They were in a barn. She could smell hay and motor oil. A welcome aroma to the dank air of her underground prison.
“That Fenton dude brought you here,” Dylan said. “This is his barn.”
The name shocked Rae, though she didn’t know why. Hadn’t Tom been suspicious of Blaine all along?
“How did you find me?”
“I’ve been watching him. After Sophie was taken, I started noticing things. Remembering things. Like how I saw him hanging around outside her house once. Like how he would sometimes come into the Corner Café and just stare at us while we ate.”
“Why didn’t you tell the police?”
“You think they’d believe someone like me? They tried to pin everything on me. I’ve had cops on my tail ever since I got out of jail. As soon as I managed to shake them, I came out here to look for proof.”
“That was dangerous.”
“I guess. But I wasn’t going to let him take Sophie again. When I heard you were missing, I figured he’d have you someplace close. That’s when I found the trapdoor. I think they must have built the barn over an old storm cellar. No one would ever have thought to look for you down there.”
“Except you.” She caught his arm. “What about Tom? Sheriff Brannon?”
Before Dylan could answer, the sound of a four-wheeler caught his attention. He swore under his breath. “He’s back.”
“We should make a run for it,” Rae said.
“No time. We’ll have to hide and hope that he doesn’t check the cellar.” He kicked the ladder down into the hole, shoved the cover back into place and spread a little hay over the entrance. He nodded to the loft as he got to his feet. “Up there!”
“What about you?”
“Just go!”
Rae scrambled up into the loft and flattened herself against the floor so that she could peer down through the cracks. Blaine Fenton strode into the barn a few moments later. He put aside his shotgun and then lifted his head to scan the cavernous interior as if sensing something amiss. From her vantage, Rae couldn’t see Dylan. She hoped that he was well hidden. Hoped they both managed to make it out of the barn alive. To think that a man she’d once planned to marry had become a cold-blooded killer...
She wouldn’t think about that now. Keep calm. Keep quiet. Please, please let him move on.
Instead, he moved deeper into the barn, heading straight for the cellar. As soon as he found her missing, he’d search the place from top to bottom. He’d find Dylan’s hiding place and then he’d come looking for her in the loft...
A car engine sounded outside and then a door slammed. Fenton reversed course and headed back to the front of the barn, grabbing his shotgun before he opened the door to peer out.
* * *
SOMEHOW, TOM HAD managed to get up from bed, dress and make his way down to the lobby of the hospital, where he called Billy Navarro to come and pick him up. The rookie gave him an uneasy look as he climbed into the car.
“Sheriff, you don’t look so good.”
“I’ll be fine. I need to get to my vehicle.” He gave the officer directions to Rae’s house, where he’d left his SUV. Then he said, “And here’s what I need you to do.”
A few minutes later, he was headed out of town, deep into the piney forest. Backup was on the way, but none of his officers had had time to study a map of the rural area the way Tom had. They didn’t know the back roads. He drove as close to the ranch as he dared and then got out to go the rest of the way on foot.
The effort put too much strain on his stitches. By the time he had the barn in sight, the wound had begun to bleed. He ignored the pain and kept going. His plan had been to find a side or back entrance into the barn and lie low until help arrived. But his strength ebbed, and his head had begun to swim. He took another step, faltered and then pitched forward to the ground.
* * *
BLAINE FENTON BACKED away from the entrance as the newcomer stepped inside. Rae tried to position herself so that she could see them through the cracks. A voice rose, chillingly familiar, and she had to suppress a gasp. A wave of terror washed over and then a sick realization. No. Please, no.
Below, her brother said urgently, “I’ve changed my mind. I want to call it off.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Fenton retorted. “It’s too late to call anything off.”
Jackson said in a hushed voice, “You mean—”
“I mean we have a deal and I’m holding you to it. Now isn’t the time to get cold feet.”
Jackson tossed the backpack to the floor at Fenton’s feet. “Take the money. You earned
it. A million dollars will get you a long way from Belle Pointe. I never want to see you around here again.”
“Damn right I earned it. But I’m not leaving town. Not yet. The cops would be all over me.”
“Then stay. I don’t care. Just let her go.”
Blaine moved slowly toward him, his arms extended in supplication. “Let’s just talk this through,” he said in a placating tone. “Think back to when you first came to see me. You were worried about the business, remember? You said your old man was going to replace you as CEO. He was talking about cutting you out of his will, too, and leaving everything to your sister. Has that changed?”
“No,” Jackson admitted.
“If I let her go, you lose everything.”
Her brother fell silent. “How will you do it?”
“You leave that to me.”
“It needs to be quick. I don’t want her to suffer.”
“She won’t feel a thing. She’ll just disappear and no one will ever find a trace. In a few months, the strain will get to your old man. I’d be surprised if he lasts another six months after this. All you need is a little more patience and then everything you ever wanted will be yours.”
Rae lay motionless, but inside her heart flailed as her mind raced. Her own brother wanted her dead. He’d hired Blaine Fenton, her ex-fiancé, to kill her. The ransom money was to be his payment. It was never about Sophie. Rae had been the target all along.
A few bits of hay drifted down through the cracks. Jackson held out his hand and caught one between his fingers, then slowly lifted his gaze to the loft.
“Someone’s up there.”
Fenton glanced up, too, and then, pumping the shotgun, he started up the steps. Rae glanced around, searching for a weapon or a way out.
Then she heard Dylan call out. “Hey, over here!”
The footsteps paused. Rae heard a shuffling sound, and then the sound of a shotgun blast reverberated through the barn. Fenton pumped the weapon and fired again.
Rae leaped to the top of the steps. “Stop it! I’m the one you want!”
Fenton lifted his head with a smile. “Nothing personal, Rae, but a deal is a deal.” He lifted the shotgun.
“Freeze!”
Fenton turned. Rae turned. She stared in astonishment as Tom stumbled forward and took aim, steadying one hand over the other.
“Lower your weapon,” he ordered.
Fenton hesitated for a split second before he spun and fired. Tom fired back. For a moment, the barn seemed to explode. When the dust cleared, Rae saw the bloom of blood on Fenton’s shirt before he tumbled backward down the steps.
Tom called out to her. “Rae! You okay?”
“I’m okay. Where’s Dylan?”
“I’m here. I’m fine. He didn’t touch me.”
Jackson stood frozen. His gaze went from Fenton to Rae, and for a moment, their gazes clung. Then he picked up the backpack and ran.
Rae wondered why Tom didn’t stop him, but then she saw that he had dropped to his knees. The gun fell from his hand. Before she could reach him, he collapsed to the floor without a sound.
“Tom!”
Dylan came out of his hidey-hole. “Is he dead?”
Together they rolled him over. His eyes fluttered open. Rae let out a ragged breath as sirens sounded outside the barn.
Chapter Sixteen
It was Tom’s first day back at work. A month was too long for any man to remain idle, but he hadn’t exactly been lolling away the hours on vacation. Physical therapy had been a beast. There were days when Tom had wondered if his life would ever return to normal, but Rae had been there to encourage his recovery. Don’t push yourself. For God’s sake, take it easy for a change.
She stopped by every day to check on him and spent most of her nights at his house. She cooked, cleaned and ran errands. Saw to his medicine and doctor’s appointments. This on top of her duties as the new CEO of Cavanaugh Industries. Sometimes Tom felt as if they were an old married couple. He didn’t mind that feeling.
He sat in a back booth at the Corner Café and watched as she crossed the street. She wore a suit and heels today. Her hair was pulled back in a bun. She looked capable and efficient. A woman ready to take on the world. Tom found himself thinking about that lace slip. He admired the all-business Rae, but he pined for the other Rae.
Reaching into his pocket, he ran a hand over a velvet jewelry box. Tom didn’t know what had come over him. He wasn’t an impetuous man. It was way too soon to even think about anything permanent, and yet there he sat with a ring in his pocket. He thumbed open the box and admired the sparkle of the diamond beneath the table. Too soon. Way too soon.
She came through the door and he quickly slipped the box beneath his napkin. Sliding into the booth across from him, she gave a weary sigh. “What a day.”
“Trouble at work?” Tom motioned for coffee.
“It’s always something. I thought I would like being in charge, but I miss the days when I could hide out in my office surrounded by numbers.”
“You could always resign,” Tom said.
“Maybe I will one of these days.” But they both knew she wouldn’t. Her family, what was left of it, depended on her. The last Tom had heard, Lauren was divorcing Jackson and selling the house and Sophie had moved in with her grandfather. Rae was the glue holding it all together.
“I have some news,” he said.
She looked up from her coffee. “Bad news?”
“I guess that depends on your perspective. Jackson may have been spotted in Costa Rica. It could be just a rumor, but I’ve asked a buddy down there to check it out.”
“What happens if they find him?”
“He’ll be arrested and brought back home to face charges.”
She stared down into her coffee. “I still find it hard to accept that my own brother tried to have me killed. We’ve always had a difficult relationship, but what did I do to make him hate me so badly?”
“That’s not on you, Rae. Don’t take on his guilt.”
“I guess.” She glanced out the window with a frown. “Jackson’s gone. Riley and Mom are gone. Dad’s getting frailer by the day. Soon it’ll just be Sophie and me. Thank God, she has Dylan. What a hero he’s turned out to be.”
“People will occasionally surprise you,” Tom said.
“You do that all the time.”
He scoffed. “I’m no hero. I managed to get myself ambushed and shot.”
“And yet you still saved the day.” Rae reached for his hand. “Funny how things turn out sometimes.”
“Isn’t it?” He toyed with the napkin.
Rae’s gaze sharpened. “What’s that?”
“I need to ask you something. But I think I already know the answer.”
“What is it?”
He slid the box across the table with the tip of his finger. She gazed down and then up in astonishment. “Tom, I don’t—”
“I know. It’s too soon. A month ago, you still hated me.” He squeezed her fingers. “But life’s short, Rae. No one knows that better than we do.”
She opened the box and took a peek inside. Then she snapped the lid closed and put a hand to her heart.
Tom gazed into her flooded eyes. “Don’t say anything. I’ll take the ring back and next time I’ll do it the right way. Flowers, candles, down on my knees. I’m not the most romantic person. I don’t know how to go about these things.”
She rose and leaned over the table to kiss him. “Yes,” she whispered against his lips.
A few people sitting nearby clapped. Someone whistled. Rae laughed at Tom’s discomfit and kissed him again.
* * *
Look for the next title in the Echo Lake trilogy
by Amanda Stevens coming next month.
A Desperate Search available wherever
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Keep reading for an excerpt from Ambush Before Sunrise by B.J. Daniels.
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Ambush Before Sunrise
by B.J. Daniels
Chapter One
JoRay “Jinx” McCallahan stormed into the sheriff’s office, mad, frustrated and just plain beside herself.
Sheriff Harvey Bessler looked up from his desk in surprise, saw her and groaned good-naturedly. “Let me guess. T.D.?”
“What am I supposed to do about him? I’m already divorcing him. I’ve got a restraining order against him—like that does a lick of good. I’ve run him off with a shotgun. But short of shooting him, he just keeps coming back.”
“All you have to do is call when he breaks the restraining order on him and we’ll pick him up.”
“And he’ll be back on the street within hours even madder and more determined to drive me crazy.”
Harvey nodded sympathetically. “Unfortunately, we don’t have anything else we can hold him on. Unless he is caught in the act doing something illegal...” The sheriff motioned her into a chair before he leaned back in his own to eye her over the top of his cheater glasses. “How are you doing other than that?”
She scoffed as she took a seat. She’d been coming to this office since she was a child. Her father and Harvey had been best friends up until Ray McCallahan’s recent death. Because of that, Harvey was like a second father to her. She’d been fortunate to have such good men in her life.
Without a Trace Page 19
