by Nika Rhone
“Right when they think they’re going to get their wayward bride back? Yeah. They wouldn’t want her friends to get anywhere near her once that happened.” Which only confirmed Daryl’s earlier suspicions that Lister and McCall had been ordered to bring Amelia back, willing or not.
They’d failed in their first attempt. Daryl had little doubt that there would be a second. Staying on the ranch was the safest thing they could do until they came up with a new plan. All of the hands had been apprised of the situation and warned to watch for anyone on or near the property that didn’t belong. Judging by their looks at the news, it was clear Amelia had won the men over during her short stay. Every one of them was ready and willing to stand in her defense. The thought of anyone manhandling their “sweet little Amy,” as Zeke had now dubbed her, turned them all into a pack of overprotective big brothers.
Including Daryl.
The only difference was the way Daryl was thinking of Amelia was far from brotherly. He could deny it all he wanted, but somewhere along the line he’d started thinking of her as a woman instead of a job. And not just any woman. One who appealed to him in ways he’d never expected she might. Amelia Westlake was the farthest thing from what he considered his type, and yet, she was the woman who’d been popping up in his dreams for the past three nights, disrupting his sleep and making him irrationally irritable toward her, as though it were her fault he couldn’t seem to stop waking up in a hot sweat, aroused and unfulfilled to the point of pain.
He wasn’t sure if he owed Doyle a debt of gratitude for giving him this assignment, or a punch in the mouth.
Breakfast had barely been cleared when the house phone rang. Daryl’s stomach clenched at Kim’s voice. She was calm, but there were tears in her voice as she asked if he would get Hank.
“Is Winnie okay?”
“Yes. No, not really. She’s not getting any answers about Kyle from the Blackhawks because they don’t know anything yet themselves, and she’s starting to think the worst. I keep trying to tell her not to think that way, but, well, I’m about at my wit’s end. I’m hoping your father might have better luck talking some sense into her.”
“Okay. Let me get him.” Daryl turned to Amelia, who’d come to stand at his side as soon as he’d uttered Winnie’s name. “She’s okay,” he said in response to the concern etched on her face before handing her the phone. “It’s Kim.”
When Daryl returned with his father, Amelia was still on the phone, nodding as she listened.
“Uh-huh. No, I understand. Yes, that’s not a problem. No, I’m happy to help. I’m sure we can convince her. Them, too.” Amelia looked up and said, “Okay, see you soon. Here’s Hank.” She handed off the phone and motioned for Daryl to join her on the other side of the kitchen.
“Kim was able to convince Winnie to come home to the ranch?” Daryl asked.
“Not exactly. But I’m sure we’ll be able to change her mind.”
“We?” He got a very bad feeling about that little word.
“Hank and Kim.” She hesitated. “And you and me.”
“Absolutely not.” The reply was instantaneous, no thought needed.
“Daryl, I know you don’t want me to leave the ranch, but—”
“No.”
“But this is the only way—”
“No.”
“But—”
“No.”
“Winona needs to be here, in her home, where she’ll have the support of her family. And since she seems to have inherited the same stubborn gene you have, it’s going to take all of us to convince her to budge from her apartment.”
“Gang up on her, you mean.”
Amelia looked pained by that description, but she said, “If that’s what it takes.”
It probably would, based on past experience with his sister once she’d dug her heels in on something, but that didn’t mean he was willing to put Amelia’s safety in jeopardy. “No.”
From the exasperated look she gave him, Daryl almost expected her to stamp her dainty foot. She didn’t. She poked him in the chest. Hard.
“Look, I know you’re just doing your job and trying to protect me, but if you’d stop being a butthead for a second, you’d see that I have to do this. And I’m going to,” she added with a definitive nod. The Princess had spoken.
“It’s not just my job,” he muttered, rubbing his chest before looking at her in disbelief. “Butthead?” He loved that her cheeks grew pink as he watched, but the determination in her eyes never wavered. Damn. She wasn’t going to back down on this. He almost missed the timid version of her that would have immediately agreed with whatever he told her to do, no matter her own feelings on the matter.
Realizing he was still rubbing the spot where she poked him, Daryl dropped his hand and sighed. “I don’t like it.”
Amelia seemed to take that as a concession because she smiled and said, “Everything will be fine. You’ll see. We’re just driving into town and back again. Nothing will happen. Let me get my purse, and we can go.”
Turning to watch her hurry from the room, Daryl caught his father watching him with an amused expression on his face. Evidently, he’d finished his conversation with Kim in time to overhear some of what had passed between Amelia and Daryl. “I never said yes,” he said to his father.
Hank shook his head, still grinning. “You didn’t have to.” He slapped Daryl on the shoulder as he walked past. “I’ll meet you both out front.”
While Amelia and Hank chatted about horses during the drive, Daryl stayed silent, vigilant for any sign of the black SUV or any other vehicles that didn’t belong in the area. One glance in his rearview mirror happened to catch his father in the backseat of the crew cab doing the exact same thing despite his easy banter with Amelia.
Daryl relaxed by a fraction, but he still took a circuitous route to Winnie’s place. When he finally parked in the driveway, he was confident they’d arrived unobserved.
Getting Winnie to abandon her vigil in the apartment was easier to accomplish than anyone had expected, and it was all because of Amelia.
Rather than shower his sister with compassion and sympathy, Amelia took a different approach. After a brief consultation with Kim, Amelia sat on the sofa beside Winona, who was still in her pajamas and looking like she’s been on a week-long binge, her face swollen from crying and her lips chewed ragged.
Plucking away the pillow Winnie had clutched to her chest, Amelia flung it aside. “Okay, sweetie, this pity party is officially over.”
Winnie’s bloodshot eyes widened in disbelief. “What?”
“You heard me. Let’s go. We need to get you in the shower and into clothes that aren’t quite so ripe.” She got up, clearly expecting Winnie to do the same.
His sister stared at Amelia like she was crazy. So did Daryl. What the hell was she doing? Couldn’t she see Winnie was upset? What happened to the woman who had all the patience in the world for shy little Annelise? Who’d been polite to the people trying to freaking kidnap her?
“Why are you being so mean?” Winnie voiced Daryl’s own unspoken question as her eyes filled again.
“I’m not mean. I’m practical. Sitting here worrying yourself sick over what might or might not be happening with Kyle is a useless waste of time, not to mention bad for you and your baby.” She nodded when Winnie’s hands went protectively over her belly. “You need to think about that little person first, yourself second, and Kyle last.”
“Last!”
“That’s right. He’s the only one you have no control over at this point.”
“So?” A tear leaked down Winnie’s cheek.
Amelia appeared unfazed by it. “So you handle the things that you do have control over.”
“I’m scared,” Winnie whispered.
“It’s okay to be scared. It’s not okay to let it cripple you. Trust me, I’m something of an expert on that,” Amelia added with what sounded like more than a little self-deprecation. “So let’s go. Shower, clothes, and som
ething to eat.” She didn’t wait for Winnie to comply, simply took her arm and pulled her to her feet.
“I’m not hungry,” came the petulant reply as Winnie allowed herself to be led toward the bedroom.
“Too bad.”
Daryl would have stepped in and stopped Amelia’s bullying right then if he hadn’t seen the look of relief on Kim’s face. He waited until the door closed behind them before turning to his stepmother.
“Why did you let her talk to Winnie like that?”
“Because she was the only one who could.” Kim took a deep breath and almost managed a smile. “Who wants omelets?”
Watching Kim head for the tiny kitchen, Daryl noticed for the first time that she was looking almost as ragged as Winnie. There were dark circles under her eyes, and while Kim had always worn the ageless beauty most of the women he knew with native blood had, she suddenly looked as though she’d aged a dozen years in one night. It was clear the past twenty-four hours hadn’t only been rough on his sister.
Still, he didn’t see why she thought it was okay for Amelia to bully the poor girl into submission.
He started to get the idea he’d been looking at things all wrong by the time Amelia had finished harassing his sister into eating most of the food Kim put in front of her and drinking a full glass of milk. Winnie grumbled and complained, but when she was done, Daryl had to admit she looked a thousand percent better than when they’d first arrived. There was still sadness in her eyes, but at least she no longer looked like it was going to swallow her whole.
By the time a small bag was packed and Winnie bundled into Kim’s car along with both her parents, Daryl had completely reevaluated the situation. Tapping his fingers on the truck’s steering wheel as they navigated the narrow streets out of town, he said, “The two of you planned that.”
“It was Kim’s idea,” Amelia replied with a sigh, “but I agreed with her. Winona was making herself sick with crying and worrying. She needed someone to give her a push in the right direction.”
“Which is why you were so determined to come even though you knew it could be dangerous for you to leave the ranch.”
“Yes.”
He stewed over that for a minute as they sat at a red light. “You should have told me the plan. I could have done the same thing and left you safe at home.”
The noise Amelia made could only be called a snort. “You? Please. The first sign of tears and you would have caved. Hank, too.” She lifted her chin in challenge. “Tell me I’m wrong”
The hell of it was he couldn’t. Winnie’s tears had always been his kryptonite. As for his father…yeah, same there. Just look at poor Lollipop.
“She wouldn’t be so upset if the Blackhawks would just keep her in the loop about their damn son,” Daryl muttered. He knew it was an unfair judgment, but hell, this was his baby sister. He got a pass on being rational when it came to her.
“They were, until she started calling them every half hour even though they’d promised to let her know about any updates they got on his condition. Which isn’t good,” she added in a softer voice laced with concern. “I’m not sure what will happen if he…”
“Don’t borrow trouble.” God knew they had enough already.
When they reached the main road leading out to the ranch, Kim’s car had already outpaced them, a mere speck in the distance before it disappeared around a curve. Daryl’s attention stayed firmly on the road ahead and behind. Both were clear of traffic. If anyone tried to get close, he’d see them coming a mile away. But even that knowledge couldn’t stop the itchy feeling his instincts were giving him in warning.
“Do we know why he was in Texas in the first place?” Daryl asked.
“Winona said he got the wild idea a few months ago that he could make some fast money working the oil rigs. She didn’t want him to go, but he was determined to come back with a pocketful of cash.”
“Stupid kid.” Then again, hadn’t he gone off and done pretty much the same thing with the rodeo? It hadn’t all been about the money, though. Danger had its own high that could be just as addictive.
“That’s why she was so sure he was going to ask her to marry him when he got back,” Amelia said.
Maybe. Or maybe the guy had just seen his ticket out of Hayden. Daryl could certainly relate to that. Only, he hadn’t left a girlfriend behind to worry about him. A pregnant girlfriend.
It was all moot, anyway. Whatever Kyle might or might not have intended, all that mattered now was making sure no matter what, Winnie and the baby were taken care of.
Something on the road behind them caught his attention. It grew larger fast enough to let him know the vehicle was laying on a good amount of speed. That didn’t necessarily mean it was trouble, but the closer it got, the more certain Daryl was their not-so-friendly visitors from yesterday had turned up again.
He grabbed his phone and handed it to Amelia.
“What’s this for?”
“We have a tail.”
“What?” She twisted in her seat to look behind them before turning back straight. “Who do I call?”
“If we need help, hit pound nine.” He’d set up the signal with his father before they left the ranch, just in case.
Amelia looked at the phone in her hand like it was a grenade. “Do we need help?”
“Not yet.” The vehicle was close enough that he could make it out as a black SUV. Daryl punched the accelerator. His truck was built more for off-road endurance than speed, but its engine was powerful enough that he hoped to at least maintain their lead.
They did. The SUV got close, but never overtook them. In fact, Daryl wondered if they were trying to catch them at all. It seemed more like they were following, waiting for something.
But what?
Instinct flared just before they went around a blind curve. Only intense defensive driving training and the fast reflexes he’d learned on the back of angry fifteen hundred pound bulls kept them from colliding with the vehicle that had been parked across the road. He jerked the steering wheel to the right, allowing them to slide around the front end of the second SUV and off the paved surface into the loose dirt at the side of the road. There were a few heart-stopping seconds when the tires spun before they finally caught traction and propelled them back up onto the road, squealing as they hit the blacktop in an angry chirp.
“Oh, my God.” Amelia twisted in her seat to look behind them, her hand grasping the seatbelt like a lifeline. “Are they insane?”
The first SUV duplicated his end-run maneuver and accelerated toward them again. Easy for them. They’d known about the blocked road and had been herding them toward it. “Determined.”
“Determined to what? Kill us?”
“Pound nine. Now.” He couldn’t take the time to check and make sure that she did it. He put his full attention to staying ahead of the two vehicles that were steadily gaining ground on them despite the fact he had the accelerator almost pinned to the floor. If they could just make it to the turnoff for the ranch before either of them caught up, they might have a chance.
That prayer went unanswered when the first SUV rammed the back bumper, making the truck bounce forward and shimmy a little, the wheel almost ripped from his hands. Growling a litany of curses, Daryl tightened his grip and did his best to coax a little more speed from the engine. But for every inch he gained, the SUV closed the gap, bumping them twice more before easing back and swinging into the oncoming lane to inch up along the truck’s left side.
Daryl knew immediately what they were doing, but there was no time to do anything about it other than shout, “Hold on!” as the SUV veered into the truck’s left rear fender in a textbook PIT maneuver, pushing the truck sideways. Training in both performing and evading the precision immobilization technique had him wanting to turn the spin into a J-turn, but the second pursuing vehicle made that defensive tactic too risky. The best he could do was try to control the slide enough so the truck didn’t overbalance and flip.
It worked right up until the back tires slipped off the edge of the blacktop and the world went sideways.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Are you all right?” The question was out before the truck came to a full, shuddering stop. A fast glance over showed Amelia white-knuckling the seatbelt strap with one hand and the oh-shit bar with the other, but other than huge green eyes that looked like they belonged on an anime character, she appeared okay. Still, he needed to hear it.
“Yeah.”
The word was too breathy to have any substance, but Daryl didn’t have time to coddle. Twisting the wheel, he gave the truck as much gas as he dared without spinning out the tires in the loose dirt and digging them in deeper. It might be built for severe off-roading, but even the truck’s beefy suspension couldn’t help them if the axle ended up buried.
“They’re coming.”
The warning wasn’t necessary. The two SUVs had stopped, one ahead and one behind the truck’s position, each angled to prevent them from continuing down the road in either direction should he manage to get them back onto it. The drivers stayed with their vehicles, but the passengers were out and approaching the truck.
“Hold on.”
Muttering a prayer, Daryl engaged the four-wheel-drive and punched the gas. The truck lurched forward, straining for a second before pulling free of the dirt mire and over the lip of the blacktop, sending both men scurrying out of the way. Without slowing, Daryl continued over the road and off the other side. No one was expecting that, including Amelia, who made a little noise of surprise as they bumped down over the edge.
There was more loose dirt on this side, but he had the proper momentum to power through it this time. As soon as he reached firmer ground, he cut the wheel and made a wide turn back toward the road, where he regained the blacktop yards beyond where the first SUV had stopped to block the road.
A quick look in the mirror told him they weren’t giving up yet. Both SUVs were right behind them again, and he doubted they would be quite so gentle if they got close enough to try that trick a second time. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to make the truck go any faster. The SUVs closed the gap with every second that passed.
