Vengeance (Oak Grove Suspense Book 1)

by Reese A. Stephens

  “She’s alive. We have a really good lead. We’re heading out in the morning. I just wanted to see Dylan.”

  “Oh, your mom came and got him. I hope that was okay.” She looks worried.

  I shake my head. “Right. She sent me a text. I totally forgot. He’s probably better off over there and away from all this mess. Maybe you guys should head out.”

  “Nonsense. We’ll be just fine. I want to go with you when you go get my baby,” Tom says. I look over to the couch where he’s sitting, cleaning his gun. “Don’t give me any crap about me being a civilian. You know I served this country longer than you did.”

  “I don’t doubt your skills, Mr. Thorn. I just know if you get hurt, your daughter will kill me.”

  He laughs as he stands up and walks over to me. He slaps my shoulder, staring me straight in the eyes. “Son, I think it’s time you started calling me Tom, and I don’t care what Shayla wants, I’m going.” I nod at him.

  “Okay. I’ll let you know what time we’re heading out.”

  Gale pats my cheek. “You need to eat.” She grabs my arm, pulls me to the kitchen, and gently pushes me down in the chair. “I made meatloaf.”

  I groan and rub my belly. “My favorite.”

  “I know.” She kisses my forehead. She sets a big plate of food in front of me and smiles. “Eat.”

  About an hour later, I’m back over at my house going over maps and anything else we think might help with a plan to get Shayla back. It’s already dark, so we’ve planned to do a flyover at daybreak. It’ll make it less suspicious if they happen to see us. The land is located on a common flight route, though not many helicopters fly by.

  The quiet hum of our working is abruptly interrupted with the phone ringing. “Marsh … hold on.” He put the phone on speaker. “Go ahead, he can hear you.”

  “We lost Daniels. He arrived at his apartment. Moved around for a while and then turned the lights off. We waited about fifteen minutes, then approached to put up some hidden surveillance cameras. We noticed his back door was open and a few potted plants were broken. It appears he climbed down the emergency ladder and headed into the woods. We’ve searched the house and planted a few bugs, just in case, but the trail ends at the road. It looks like he had a car parked off the road. The tire tracks are headed north.”

  I curse, grabbing my coat. Marsh grabs my arm. “Let go!”

  “No. You’re doing it again, Ryan. You’re not thinking rationally. I know this is hard for you, but you can’t go running off when something doesn’t go our way. We will find him, but we need to be prepared.”

  I jerk my arm out of his grip. “Fine. Let’s get this stuff nailed down and go.”

  “We will, but we need to wait for daybreak.”

  “Great. Hopefully they don’t kill her tonight.”

  I turn and run up the stairs to my room. I know I’m being unreasonable. I just can’t do this any longer. I decide to shower and get some rest. I’m obviously not helping the guys anyway. Sleep does not come easily or last long. I wake up a little before four. I head downstairs. No one is up yet and I’m fine with that. I grab a cup of coffee and sit out on my back porch in the cold. It’s peaceful.

  “I was wondering if you snuck off in the night.”

  I snort as I turn to look at Marsh. “You didn’t check?”

  “Nah, almost did though.” He sits down in the chair beside me. “We have a plan.”

  “Lay it on me.”

  “Jon was able to secure a small plane from a neighboring farm. It’s common for this guy to fly over that area several times a day. He gives flying lessons. They’ll have no idea we know where they are. That is, if there’s anything to find. Jon, the owner, Paul, and Riley are going up. They’ll do four fly arounds, just like the lessons, and then if there’s a need to go back up, they’ll go at the next lesson time. That way, there’s no suspicious activity, but I think once will be enough. Riley will chart everything while in flight.”

  “Sounds good. When will we move in?”

  He takes a long sip of his coffee before answering me. “I know you want to bust in there and take them down, but we have to do this legally and safely. I talked to your chief, he’s agreed to send his men with us and a couple of the surrounding towns are giving us a few men as well. We’ll have enough to surround the house.”

  “Okay.”

  “That’s it?” He looks at me in disbelief. I don’t believe I’m conceding either.

  “Yeah, I put you in charge of this. I can’t get in the right headspace. I need you on this one. My future is in your hands.”

  He gives me a half smile and then slaps my leg. “You’re gonna owe me big.” He heads back inside. He’s right, I will.

  After everyone gets up and we have a huge Gail Thorn breakfast, the guys leave to do the flyover. It will take them about two hours to get to the farm, another two hours at least for the flyover, and then two hours back, so we’re looking at them not getting back here until at least one this afternoon. Hopefully, we can head out of here to get Shayla by early evening. Until then, I’m stuck here waiting, which is killing me.

  Around ten, my phone rings. It’s a number I don’t recognize.

  “Hello?”

  Shayla! Oh thank you, God! I listen as she tells me of the plan to get Dylan and the confirmation that Lester Harvey is definitely working for Mathis. Unfortunately, she doesn’t confirm Trevor, but that’s okay. I know he’s in on it. His sneaking out of his apartment was confirmation enough for me. I hold the phone for a few seconds too long after her abrupt goodbye.

  “What’s going on?” Marsh asks.

  “Dylan. They’re after Dylan.” I snap out of it, shaking my head. “Where is he?” I ask. Then remember he’s at my mother’s. “Is Jon with him?”

  “No. He’s headed to the flight center.” I knew that.

  “So, no one is guarding my mom’s house?” I ask, getting angry.

  “No, she’s not been involved. Ryan, what’s going on?” Marsh asks.

  I shake my head and dial my mom’s number. “Hello?”

  “Where’s Dylan?” I demand. I don’t even attempt to hide my anger. Why didn’t I make someone watch the house?

  “What’s wrong, Ryan. He’s still in bed. He hasn’t been sleeping well. He was so exhausted. I told him to sleep in as long as he wanted.”

  I take a few calming breaths. “Mom, please go check on him.”

  “Okay, sweetheart, hold on.” I can hear her walking and the rattling of the bedroom door. “Dylan,” she says softly as if she’s trying not to wake him. “Oh, God! Ryan, he’s gone!”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Shayla

  A constant tugging on my wrist wakes me from my sleep. No, my unconsciousness, I’m pretty sure I was clubbed in the head by something hard. Blearily, I open my eyes. Trevor sits on the bed beside me, typing on his laptop, my wrist is handcuffed to his, jerking about as he types away.

  I glance around the room without moving my body and notice that we aren’t in my room. I’m pretty sure this is his room, though I’d thought it was Mathis’ when I was snooping around. It too is done in a fifties style. It has much more masculine tones of navy and black, but the walls are painted a stark white. Framed black and white photos top his dark mahogany dresser while clothes are thrown on the back of a navy colored chair in the corner of the room. The only thing that is blatantly out of place is the very modern TV that sits on top of his matching mahogany chest of drawers. My eyes settle back to him to find him gazing down at me with a half-smile.

  “How’s the head?” he asks. His tone isn’t angry like I imagined it would be.

  “Hurts,” I say, stopping to clear my throat. “What happened?”

  He turns and sets his laptop on the nightstand, and then moves back to me with a pen light in his hand. He quickly flashes it in my eyes and then moves down in the bed so we are lying face to face. I want to jump out of the bed and away from him, but I know that won’t get me anywhere b
ecause I’m cuffed to him. I’m sure that was his intention.

  “Lester hit you on the head with a rock. I thought he’d killed you at first. There was so much blood, but head wounds are like that. Once, I got you inside and cleaned up, I knew you’d be fine. It wasn’t that big of a cut.”

  He reaches towards me and I flinch, but he doesn’t stop. He gently moves my hair back and runs his finger tip over the cut, making me wince.

  “You’ll be fine. It’s already starting to heal.”

  “Why am I cuffed to you?”

  He lets out a sardonic chuckle. “You think I’d risk letting you get away from me again? Shayla, I don’t think you understand how much you mean to me. I can’t lose you. If you were to have gotten away last night you would have frozen to death, or been mauled by a wild animal. These woods aren’t safe. They’re known for their vast population of wolves and coyote.”

  “I don’t understand why you care so much. Why do you want to be with me when I can’t return your love?”

  He lifts my chin so that I’m looking him in the eye. “You will.” He presses his lips to mine, but I don’t kiss him back. Thankfully, he doesn’t make it an issue. “Let’s get you breakfast and I’ll explain to you what’s going to happen in the next few days.”

  He gives me little choice as he hauls me out of the bed. I stumble, but he helps me right myself until I’m able to walk on my own. I feel dizzy and sick to my stomach.

  “I’m pretty sure I have a concussion,” I tell him.

  “Oh, I’m sure you do. You’ve been out for hours. I gave you fluids and kept a check on your vitals. Like I said, I knew you’d be fine.”

  “You should’ve taken me to a hospital, Trevor. You couldn’t have known if there was swelling or internal bleeding. I could have died. Where would that have left your grand plan?”

  He stops abruptly and turns to me. “Are you questioning my skills as a doctor?” I glare at him. “I do have basic lifesaving equipment here. I never would have done anything to jeopardize your life.”

  “You’re jeopardizing my life right now by keeping me here!” I yell. I instantly regret it, as it makes my head throb. I clutch my head with my free hand.

  He tsks at me. “You’re only making things worse for yourself, Shayla. Please calm down. You’ll be fine. I have some pain pills in the kitchen.”

  He pushes me to sit down at the table, then removes the cuff from his wrist and attaches it to the table leg. He moves over to the refrigerator and pulls out a carton of eggs and a tube of sausage. He goes to work, preparing my breakfast with his back to me as he talks.

  “Mama is coming over to meet you tonight. I know you probably won’t feel like cooking, but I want you to make a pot roast. You can start it after breakfast. It should have plenty of time to cook by suppertime.”

  “What makes you think I know how to cook?”

  He snorts. “I know all about you, Shayla. I happen to know that you enjoy cooking, especially baking. Though, you do tend to stick to healthier, new age-y types of food.”

  “I do like to bake, but I don’t really enjoying cooking.”

  I feel more satisfaction in correcting him than is probably sane. It just drives me crazy that he thinks he knows me so well. It bothers me even more knowing that he has so many things about me right.

  “Well, either way you will fix a pot roast. I have my aunt’s recipe, it’s my mother’s favorite.”

  He sets a plate of fried eggs and sausage in front of me and my stomach lurches. I gag. Seeing my reaction, he removes the food and replaces it with a plate of dry toast.

  “How about some toast?”

  I nod a minuscule amount and watch as he sets my plate on the counter before taking his seat beside me as if we were an old married couple. I nibble on my toast and sip the juice he’s given me, wondering why on earth he’s doing all of this. Surely I never gave him the impression that I would enjoy being his little housewife. After he finishes his food and cleans up his mess, he turns back to me.

  “You won’t be allowed to roam freely anymore. Someone will be with you at all times. Although, I’ll give you privacy in the bathroom. Today, you will shower and make yourself presentable for my mother. I’ve laid your clothes out on your bed. You can put the roast together right now.”

  He lays a recipe card on the table in front of me and then releases the cuffs. I pick up the card and read it. It seems simple enough, but it’s not something I want to do. None of this is. I lay the card back down.

  “And if I say no?” I ask.

  He narrows his eyes at me. “If you refuse, then I’ll have to punish you.”

  I shove the card away. I’m so sick of him and his twisted delusions. I want to go home. I want my son. I want Ryan. I can’t be here anymore and I will not play his ridiculous game any longer.

  “Is that your refusal?” he asks.

  I glare at him. He grabs my arm and hauls me out of the chair. He pulls me over to the counter top where he’s left the ingredients out for me. He slaps the recipe down in front of me.

  “Do it!” he commands.

  “No.”

  He growls at me. “Do it now or I’ll get the belt.”

  I turn calmly to him. “I’m not yours, Trevor, and I will never love you. I don’t want to meet your mother. Although, now that I think about it, I’d really love to tell her all about how you kidnapped me and that you are forcing me to be here against my will. I’m sure she’d love to know how sick her son …” I don’t get to finish my thought as he backhands me hard across the face. I stumble into the countertop. My head throbs and I see stars as the dizziness comes back full force. I turn away from the counter and vomit all over Trevor. He curses and jumps back from me.

  “I don't know why you insist on making me so angry. This is all your fault. If you’d just do as you’re told I wouldn’t lose my temper and you wouldn’t be hurting right now. In spite of what you might think, I don’t like to hurt you, Shayla.”

  “Sure you don’t,” I sass.

  “Shayla! Stop this.” He pulls me to my room, shoving me down on the bed. “Shower and change clothes. I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”

  I sit there. I don’t know for how long, but it feels like it could be thirty minutes. I don’t move until the door knob turns and Trevor returns, freshly clothed and showered. He lets out a heavy sigh and releases the buckle on his belt, pulling the belt free.

  “Why do you make me do this to you? I don’t want to hurt you, but you won’t listen. You give me no choice.”

  “You do have a choice. You can let me go. If you really loved me, you’d let me go.”

  He scoffs. “This isn’t some fairytale. I won’t let you go. I need you. Don’t you understand that? I need you so much that I’ve changed my plans for you.”

  “How so?”

  The very thought of him changing his plans sends my stomach to my feet. Nothing good will come of this. I just know it. He runs his hand through his hair and it reminds me of Ryan, which makes my eyes water and my chest ache.

  “I wanted you to be here with me, meet my family and learn to love me. Then, I planned on marrying you and having children with you. We could have a good life together. But now …” He shakes his head and my stomach revolts. “Now, I have to move things along faster. We’ll be married tomorrow afternoon.”

  I stare at him dumbfounded. “No!” I say harshly, jumping up from the bed. “You promised you wouldn’t force me.”

  He moves toward me and I back up, hitting the dresser. He pins me there with his hands on either side of me, his face inches from mine.

  “I don’t want to, but you’re forcing my hand. Tomorrow you will marry me and tomorrow night we will consummate our love.”

  “I will never willingly do anything with you!” I yell in his face.

  He smiles at me. It’s unnerving. “Oh, you will.” He turns. “Jason,” he says slyly.

  Mathis appears in the doorway with my son blindfolded and gagged with his
hands bound in front of him.

  “Dylan,” I say, my voice breaking as tears start to pour unbidden from my eyes.

  “Mom,” Dylan mumbles through his gag, fighting to get away from Mathis.

  Trevor nods to Mathis and he takes Dylan away. “No!” I yell, trying to move away from Trevor, but he holds me tightly.

  “You will do what I say or I will let my cousin take your punishment out on your son.”

  “Fine! Fine! You win. Okay. Is that what you want?” I scream at him.

  He grins. “It is. It’s exactly what I want.” I sag in defeat. He pulls me into his arms, hugging me. I hate him so much right now. He kisses my temple. “Now, shower and change. Mother will be here at six.”

  I just nod. All the fight in me is gone.

  “And, I put the pot roast on for you,” he says as he walks out the door.

  I blow out a breath and then do as I was told. After my shower, I fix my make-up and hair just as Trevor has asked me to do. I dress in the clothes he’s laid out for me, another June Cleaver dress, then go to the door and find that it’s unlocked. I walk to the kitchen and see Dylan sitting at the table, still blindfolded and with his hands bound.

  “Dylan,” I say, rushing to him.

  I pull the blindfold off and see that he has a black eye. “You hit him?” I turn to Mathis. He just shrugs but offers nothing. “Are you okay?” I ask Dylan, still checking him over.

  “Yeah, I’m okay. I’m just tired.”

  “Are you hungry?”

  He nods. “A little.”

  I jump up. “Where are you going?” Trevor asks.

  “He’s hungry. I want to fix him something.”

  Trevor shakes his head. “No, you do what you’re told and be on your best behavior with my mother, and then I’ll let you feed him.” He turns to Lester and Travis. “Take him to the building.”

  “What? No! Please don’t do this. I swear, I’ll do whatever you want, Trevor. Just let him stay.”

  Trevor wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me to him. He kisses my forehead. “Prove it to me tonight and I’ll let you tend to him.”