StudinTexas

by Calista Fox

  “Dammit,” she said. “What if he slips right through everyone’s fingers?”

  Sam’s arm was around her shoulders and he pulled her a bit closer to him. “Don’t go talking yourself into a frenzy.” He gave her a gentle squeeze to reassure her, though in truth, Sam was deeply concerned himself. It was unsettling to know Willet had set up camp so close to the inn. And it agitated him that he still couldn’t do anything about the bastard. Couldn’t go after him on his own.

  He knew better than to leave Sky, though. Not to mention, Sam worried that he wouldn’t have a cool enough head to do exactly what he’d told Sky to do the night she’d explained about Nashville and Willet breaking into her trailer in Luckenbach. He’d advised her to shoot him in the leg if he returned, because she’d forever regret it if she aimed higher and killed him.

  Sam would regret it if he did the same. He was smart enough to know he might not be able to control himself if things got out of hand with Willet and the con man created an even bigger threat to Sky.

  Shitty position to be in all the way around, and he hoped like hell that the sheriff and his deputies found Willet tonight. There was only so much waiting he could do himself.

  “You just hang in there, darlin’,” he said, trying to comfort her. “It won’t be much longer, I’ll bet—” A flash of metal caught his eye. Sam drew up short and tucked Sky even tighter against his body.

  “What is it?” she asked in an alarmed voice.

  “Not sure.” He reached for the flashlight in his back pocket and whipped it out. The beam of light swept through the trees to the east and down to the shoreline.

  “I don’t see anything,” she whispered.

  He shifted the flashlight and the ray penetrated deeper into the dense forest, still close to the water’s edge.

  “There,” he said, his gut clenching. “It’s a boat.”

  “The inn rents three of them out to guests.”

  “We keep them at the dock,” he reminded her. “Not down the way from my cottage.”

  He felt a tremor run through her. “Shit.”

  Sam took her by the hand and moved forward to investigate. But his radio crackled and then he heard Al Wilbury, one of the security guards, say, “Sam, come in.”

  He jerked the radio from his jeans and hit the comm button. “Yeah. What have you got?”

  “I need you at the stable ASAP.” The tension in his tone kicked Sam into high alert.

  “Be there shortly.” To Sky, he said, “Come on.” They walked briskly toward the boat, Sam shining the light on it and confirming it was empty—and not one that belonged to the inn.

  Then they raced over to the cottage and hopped onto the ATV Sam used to get around the property. On the ride up to the stable, he had Caleb on the radio and told him to meet him there, and to phone the sheriff to get him out to the ranch.

  Sky practically squeezed the air out of Sam with her arms wrapped so tightly around him. His gut twisted and adrenaline pumped through his veins.

  That son of a bitch Willet had gotten onto the property by boat. But there were surveillance cameras everywhere around the ranch that were monitored by a guard onsite, at the front gate.

  As soon as they reached the stable, Sam got back on the radio and contacted John Conrad, the guard currently on duty at the entrance to the ranch.

  “Keep an eye on the monitors. We’re looking for a male on the property.” Sam relayed Willet’s description as a refresher, since he and Caleb had already explained the situation to the staff. “Expect the sheriff,” he added.

  Then his fingers twined with Sky’s and they stalked into the stable.

  The dire look on Al’s face brought Sam to an abrupt halt. “What?” he demanded.

  “It’s Midnight.”

  Sky ripped her hand from his and ran to the back stall, flinging the door open. Sam’s heart constricted.

  “Goddammit,” he muttered under his breath.

  “He’s gone,” Sky said as she stepped back into the aisle.

  Al told them, “The latch on his gate isn’t broken. No forced entry—or exit. It’s like someone just slid the lock open and let him waltz out.”

  Sam’s gaze slid to Sky, who was clearly distraught, her face a disturbing alabaster color.

  “Darlin’,” he said, feeling her terror to the depths of his soul. “The property is fenced. He’s not going anywhere.”

  A breath later, he was back on the radio to John and warned him to be on the lookout for Midnight.

  Caleb and Reese arrived while Sky paced nervously.

  Sam explained the situation.

  Caleb scrubbed a hand down his face. “Fuck,” he said.

  “I am so sorry for all this trouble,” Sky said in a panicked and remorseful voice.

  “Now, sugar,” Reese said as she gripped her friend by the shoulders. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for this.”

  “Reese,” she said, “Mac got on the property by boat. You can bet he let Midnight out of the stable because…because…” Her brow furrowed as she seemed to search for a plausible reason. Unfortunately, one hit her hard, if the shock and dismay that crossed her face were any indication. “Oh shit. He saw me with the horse.”

  Sam’s eyes narrowed on her. “How do you know that?”

  “Makes perfect sense,” she said, her tone suddenly raspy with emotion. “We walked him yesterday, you and me. Down to the lake, by your cottage. There were boaters in the area. Any one of them could have been Mac, scoping this place out. If he saw me with Midnight, he’d know that horse meant something to me. He knows how I feel about those animals.”

  “You don’t think he’s going to hold Midnight ransom for sixty grand, do you?” Caleb ventured in a gruff voice. “He’s not that desperate, is he?”

  Sam didn’t think it was possible, but Sky turned even whiter.

  “He is that desperate,” she whispered. Reese slipped an arm around her shoulders. “Which means he might find a way to get Midnight off the property. We have to do something. We have to find that horse.”

  “I’ll go search for Midnight. You stay here, Sam.”

  “No,” Sky said. “If you’re going, then Sam has to go with you. You can’t just go on your own, Caleb.”

  “Now hold on—”

  Sam gripped his brother’s shoulder. “She’s right. I’m not letting you out to search on your own. Sky can stay here with Reese and Al. There’s no way Willet can get to her here. Al has a gun.”

  Caleb nodded. “Fine. Let’s make this a quick sweep.” He had his own radio in hand and contacted the other two security guards who patrolled the vast acreage, apprising them of the situation.

  One said, “I just found Midnight. I’m in the southwest quadrant, not far from the med facility. He’s backed into a corner, looking restless.”

  “Don’t go near him,” Caleb insisted. “Just keep an eye on him. And keep your wits about you.”

  Sam took the radio and gave Willet’s description once again, then advised the guard that he was likely armed and dangerous. “Don’t engage him if you come across him. Just hang back. We’re on our way.”

  Sky’s fingers curled around the material of his T-shirt at his abs. She stared up at him imploringly. “Save that horse, Sam. Don’t let anything happen to him.”

  He nodded. Then he kissed her.

  “Don’t let anything happen to you, either,” she whispered against his lips. “Or anyone else.”

  “It’ll be all right.”

  Unfortunately, his words didn’t chase away the fear and dread clouding her deep-blue eyes.

  Sam backed away and turned to Al. “Don’t let Sky or Reese out of your sight.”

  “They’ll be safe with me,” he assured Sam.

  To both women, Sam sternly said, “Do not move an inch. I am not kidding. Do not make us worry about you.”

  Sky swallowed hard. Nodded her head.

  Reese said, “Of course. We’ll be right here.”

  The tension fill
ing the stable pressed in on Sam, but the urgency of the situation propelled him into action.

  “I’ll get the hackamore,” he told Caleb. “We’ll take the ATV to get to him.”

  He retrieved the bridle, then cupped the side of Sky’s face. He stared into her eyes and said, “Promise me you’ll stay put.”

  “I will. I swear it. Don’t worry about me. Save that for Midnight.”

  He kissed her again, then strode out, Caleb at his side.

  * * * * *

  “That fucking asshole,” Sky murmured as her fists balled at her sides. “I should have shot him that night in Luckenbach. In fact, if Sam gets his hands on him, Mac will wish I’d shot him when I had the chance.”

  “The sheriff’s on his way,” Reese said. “Caleb called, like Sam told him to, so it’s just a matter of time. They’ll get Midnight and—”

  “What if Mac gets away?” Sky interjected, her heart thundering. “Will he just come back tomorrow night or the night after that?”

  “No,” Reese insisted. “Especially now that we know how he got onto the property. You know Sam and Caleb. They’ll quadruple security. Bring in guys from Austin, if they have to.”

  Sky’s mind reeled. “This is a nightmare. Jesus Christ, what a goddamn nightmare.”

  They were all but held hostage on the ranch, while Mac was…where?

  “If that asshole hurts a horse or anyone else,” she said through clenched teeth, “I will hunt him down.” She stomped her foot, once again wanting like hell to kick Mac in the balls. Hard. Really, really hard. The kind of hard that would send him straight to his knees and make him scream in agony.

  Reese gave her a quick hug, then said, “You need to stay out of this from here on out.”

  Sky stared at her, incredulous. “How can you even suggest that? I’m the reason we’re all in this boat.”

  “No. Mac Willet is the reason we’re all in this boat. You realized he was trying to extort money from you and you got the hell out of Nashville.”

  “When I should have gone straight to the police.”

  She knew her mistake. She owned up to it.

  “I understand why you didn’t,” Reese said. “Ginger didn’t want to go to the sheriff after she was robbed and assaulted in her boutique. She didn’t want the reverend and Lydia to know what had happened to her, because Lydia was so hell-bent on getting Ginger’s lingerie shop shut down. Ginger thought it’d just be one more black mark against her if anyone knew. As though she’d brought on the trouble herself because she sells sexy lingerie.”

  Sky bristled. “How anyone could lay a finger on that sweet girl is beyond me.”

  “Well, she stood up for justice, and it prevailed. It will for you too. You just have to let the authorities do what they do best. And let Sam protect you.”

  “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt, Reesie.”

  “I know. We all know. You just have to trust in everyone, Sky.”

  Conceding the point, she nodded. Though the tension didn’t ease within her.

  Minutes later Sam’s voice came over Al’s radio and he said, “We have Midnight. Willet’s not in sight. Caleb’s walking the horse back. I’m on the ATV. I’ll do a perimeter search with the others.”

  Sky reached for the radio and said, “Be careful, please! Both of you.”

  “You know we will, dar—”

  A loud pop made Sky’s heart launch into her throat. A second one followed. “Sam! Sam! Are you okay?”

  “Didn’t come from this direction,” he said in a tight voice. “You stay put, you hear me? We’re on our way. Let me talk to Al.”

  She thrust the radio toward the guard and they worked their way through checking in with everyone, luckily making satisfactory connections. No one had been hurt or was in immediate danger.

  To Reese, she said, “Those were gunshots. I know the sound as well as my own voice.”

  And the shots agitated some of the jumpier horses. Sky tended to them, starting with the white Arabian, talking calmly, trying to soothe him, though she was equally on edge. Both Reese and Al joined the effort with the other horses.

  All the while, Sky tried to discern Mac’s intentions. He obviously hadn’t come for the horse. Did he even know what a huge chance he was taking by being on the property? Maybe he had no idea of the amount of people who knew to be on the lookout for him.

  What exactly was his plan? To separate her from Sam? That didn’t mean he’d get her alone. There were plenty of others around to keep him from getting close to her. If he’d kept tabs on ranch activity from his post on the lake, he had to have come to the realization that the Painted Horse had plenty of security. Though he likely wouldn’t know about the surveillance cameras and round-the-clock monitoring.

  In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t as though he could storm the stable. Especially with Sam and Caleb on their way back. Then again, he might not even have ascertained they were on their way back.

  Jesus, what was he thinking?

  Sky tried to shake off a bit of anxiety, hopeful Mac would quickly come to the conclusion that trying to get to her on the ranch was fruitless. With any luck, he’d fired a couple of shots because he was pissed off and had then taken the old heave-ho in the boat, knowing he wasn’t going to get around all of the activity on the premises.

  When she reached the back of the stable, she poked her head around the corner of the open double doors and surveyed the lit area that encompassed an open corral. Six pens were arranged to the right of the corral and another six to the left, spanning a good stretch of land. The horses outside appeared relatively calm, not quite as disturbed as the ones inside. Though one of the mares circled her pen nervously.

  Behind Sky, Reese called to Al to help her with Bells. She glanced over her shoulder to see both moving cautiously into the stall. Sky wanted to help the mare outside. She stepped into the corral, took a couple of short strides, then decided it was best she not be out in the open, even in a contained area.

  She turned around to retreat into the building, but the shadows along the outer wall shifted and a hand shot out, strong fingers curling around her upper arm and yanking her to the side with such force, she stumbled and fell against a hard body.

  Mac’s hard body.

  She didn’t have a chance to gasp in surprise, let alone scream. His other hand clamped over her mouth and he shoved her heartily so that her back slammed to the wall, knocking the wind out of her.

  He pinned her in place and said, “You’d be much better off not caring so much about these damn horses. I knew you couldn’t resist calming them down.”

  She wasn’t able to answer, but her eyes widened with fear. Exactly how long had he been watching her on the ranch?

  He leaned in close and, in a menacing voice, said, “Here’s the plan. We’re going to get in my boat and go back to my camp. I’ve got duct tape for your mouth and to bind your wrists. You’re such a nice piece of ass, Sky, I think I’ll have one more go at you.”

  Fury and panic raced through her. Shit! Where were Sheriff Johnson and Ryan? Why didn’t she hear sirens already? How far away could they possibly be?

  Sky tried to breathe. Tried to calm her raging insides. She remembered that Deputy Baker had staked out Mac’s car… Provided the sheriff didn’t call him out to the ranch as backup, he’d be there if Mac got her that far off the property.

  But what if the sheriff had called him out to the Painted Horse?

  Oh God.

  Her knees nearly buckled.

  Mac continued. “In the morning, we’re going to a bank in Austin and we’ll walk out with a check for two hundred grand, in my name.”

  Her wide eyes narrowed.

  “The extra hundred and forty is for all the frustration you’ve caused me. I have to have the money, Sky. Or I’ll be one more body buried in the Vegas desert.”

  Son of a bitch, why couldn’t the loan shark or whoever he owed money to have gotten to Mac before he’d gotten to her?

&nb
sp; “If you’re thinking of not cooperating or going to the police after I get the check, just remember that I know where your daddy lives. And your twin sisters are in Austin. I’ll happily pay them a visit if you start talking. Tie them to a bed, facedown, and ram their tight asses.”

  He was absolutely fucked in the head!

  Sky thrashed against him, as best as possible, which wasn’t saying much because he had her caged by his body and the wall.

  “We keep this between us, you hear me?”

  He had no idea she’d gone to the sheriff?

  “Your new boyfriend doesn’t need to know, either. I’ll let you go after we’re done and we’ll call it even. But if you shoot off at the mouth, Sky, I’ll come back and shoot some of these horses.”

  A chill ran through her, making her shudder.

  “Let’s go,” he said. “And don’t even think of trying anything, because I have your gun.”

  He hauled her up against him, his hand still on her mouth. Sky gave serious thought to sinking her teeth into his fingers and drawing blood, getting her to release him enough for her to scream. But he was clearly too far down this path of criminal intent to just let her go, especially without shooting a horse out of sheer angst. Or shooting her…

  Quickly jerking open the side gate Sky had forgotten all about, he shoved her through it and then maneuvered her so her back was pressed to his chest. He pinned her arms at her sides with his massive arm wrapped around the front of her. He walked briskly toward the wooded area that led down to the lake. Panic seized Sky. In the dense patch of trees, no one would see Mac taking her hostage.

  She dug in her boot heels to slow the progress, but that only prompted him to lift her slightly off her feet. Her legs flailed and she kicked clumsily at his shins.

  “Save your energy for later, Sky,” he said with a grunt. “I want you all wild and worked up when I fuck you again.”

  Asshole!

  She bucked against him, writhing harshly, but as she’d once told Sam, she was no match for Mac physically.

  They reached the shore and he set her on her feet. A breath later, she caught the wail of sirens so close, she knew the sheriff and at least one of his other deputies were on property.