The Rancher's Return

by Karen Whiddon

  “Well?” he prodded. “If you have something to say, say it.”

  “When I left you, still asleep in my bed, I knew what I needed to do. So I scribbled a quick note to you and I went to find Tim.” She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. She took a long drink of water, willing her voice to remain steady. “I intended to break it off with him.”

  Surprise flashed across his rugged features, but he didn’t comment.

  Briefly, she closed her eyes. Even after all this time, the horrible scene still had the power to paralyze her. “I walked in on him and Alex arguing. Of course, I didn’t know who Alex was then.” Her throat felt raw. This might be past history, but the memory of it still hurt.

  “Go on,” he urged.

  She tried to speak and couldn’t.

  “Alex Ramirez and Tim were arguing? And then what?”

  “Yes. The instant Tim saw me, he looked afraid. He ordered me to leave, but Alex grabbed me. I knew from the expression on Tim’s face that it wasn’t good, but I didn’t know how bad. Not yet.”

  She took a deep, shaky breath, aware what she had to tell him next would be painful. Miserable, she tried to find the right words, then decided just to say it.

  “Alex killed him.” The words came out in a hoarse whisper. “He turned around, pulled out a pistol and shot Tim dead. Right there, right in front of me. And when I freaked out, he told me to calm down or he’d kill me, too.”

  Reed swore. The dark shadow in his gaze spoke of his contempt for her, of the fact that he disbelieved her story. She told herself that didn’t matter, that it was justified. Just like she’d actually come to believe she deserved to be treated the way Alex had abused her.

  “And then Alex tied me up, put me in the trunk of his car, and took me back to his mansion.” Such a simple sentence could not possibly convey the horror of what had happened. That night and for many days and nights after. Years, actually.

  “And no one noticed you were gone?” He couldn’t quite hide his disbelief.

  “With everything that happened, I think they assumed I fled out of cowardice.”

  Silence, while he considered this.

  “How’d you escape?” Reed asked. “And when?”

  Heaven help her, her lower lip started quivering. She coughed, using her hand to try and cover it up. “Just now. Today. Despite knowing Anniversary is the first place Alex will look, I needed to come to you and try to make things right before I go on the run.”

  The skepticism in his eyes made her feel sick. “I shouldn’t have come here. I see that now.”

  “Then why did you?” he asked quietly. “Really, why did you?”

  She shrugged to mask her pain. “You were the only other person I could think of who would care. The only person beside myself who would give a damn about what Alex had done. Not only to Tim, but to you. And me. With all my heart, I believe he should pay.”

  Clearly not believing her, he didn’t speak again, so she collected her purse and turned to go. Head up, shoulders back, hoping like hell she projected an attitude that was different from how broken and defeated she felt inside.

  She got half the distance to the door before he stopped her. “Wait.”

  Though she knew she should have kept moving, she froze. “Yes?”

  “All right. I’m still listening. Tell me more, make me believe you. Why would a man as rich and powerful as Alex Ramirez do such a thing? What was he even doing with my brother?”

  Exhaustion made her sag, though the instant she realized this she straightened her shoulders. “Politics isn’t the only thing Alex is involved with. He runs a huge drug operation in central Texas. Apparently Tim was working for him.”

  He knew, she saw. The emotion passing over his face might have been fleeting, but she realized he understood that this at least was the truth.

  “You’re telling me that you witnessed a politician kill my brother and he let you live.”

  “Yes. As his prisoner.”

  “Why? Tell me why he’d do that?”

  She looked him in the eye and gave him the truth. “Because he’s a sociopath.”

  Silence while he digested this. Then he asked, “Do you have proof? Something besides your word that this man killed my brother and kept you prisoner?”

  “No.” She swallowed. “Only my word against his. And I had no idea that he’d framed you and had you sent to prison. You’ve got to believe me. I just found out the other night when he got drunk and started bragging.”

  “I’m having trouble with the entire story. If you were his prisoner, how’d you escape now?”

  Cheeks burning, she told him her shame. “After three years, he’d loosened his hold on me. I wasn’t always kept locked up. I really think he believed I wouldn’t go.”

  “Did he treat you well, then?” He asked the question with deceptive calmness.

  “Well? I wouldn’t call it that.”

  Hazel eyes burning, he tilted his head. “Then what would you call it?”

  “Reed, he beat and raped me. I was a possession to him, a toy to do with as he wanted.” She tried to sound matter-of-fact, even though saying the truth out loud felt both mortifying and painful. “He enjoyed hurting and humiliating me. In the early months, I tried to escape and he blackened my eyes and broke my ribs. If I hadn’t figured out a way to get away now, I have no doubt once he got tired of me, he would have eventually killed me.”

  “Forgive me, but I can’t bring myself to feel sorry for you. Your story is far-fetched and bizarre.”

  “I know.” She resisted the urge to hang her head. “Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.”

  His features hardened. “I see. Let me ask you something, and I need you to tell me the truth, for once. Even though you claim Alex Ramirez did it, I have to ask. Was it you, all along? Did you kill my brother?”

  Stunned, at first she couldn’t speak, couldn’t respond. She should have expected this. In fact, she probably would have wondered the same thing had their places been reversed.

  Finally, she found her voice. “No. I did not.”

  “Excuse me if I don’t take your word for it.”

  Finally defeated, she straightened her spine and nodded. “I understand. Believe me. I’ll leave and let you go back to your life.”

  “Wait.” This time, he stopped her before she turned. “Give me something to help me believe, to make me understand. You’ve come here with this story, which you have to admit is way out there. You claim you not only witnessed my brother’s murder, but you’ve been kept a prisoner by the killer, who just happens to be the lieutenant governor of Texas, a guy who’s considered a front-runner for governor next election. Does that about cover it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Kaitlyn, I want to believe you....”

  “But you just can’t. I understand.”

  “Then give me something.” The fierceness in his voice made her blink. “You’ve got to have something, some sort of proof, no matter how small, that would help me accept what you say as truth.”

  Swallowing, she realized she did. Turning slowly, she lifted her shirt and showed him her back, with its jagged and horrible crisscross web of scars.

  Chapter 2

  Stunned, Reed couldn’t speak. He could only stare. Once upon a time, he’d explored every inch of Kaitlyn’s perfect body. He moved forward, reaching out his hand, withdrawing it at the last moment. Some of the red, raised welts were recent, while others bore the whitish appearance of old scars.

  “He did this?” he asked, his voice sounding as if he’d swallowed gravel.

  “Yes.” Dropping her shirt, she turned. Her perfect face appeared expressionless. Except for her eyes. The shadows in them reminded him of prison. “He likes whips. And chains. And other instruments of torture.” She shuddered. “And I was his own personal plaything. That’s all the proof I have.”

  “It’s enough.” Stomach twisting, he tried to find the right words, finally settling on two. “I’m sorry.”
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br />   “So am I.” She dipped her chin, acknowledging the sentiment, though he knew—like her apology—it had come too late. She turned, giving him one last lingering glance. Not imploring. More like resolute. “And now, I’ve got to go. Once Alex realizes I’ve escaped, he’ll stop at nothing to find me.”

  He didn’t care, he shouldn’t have cared, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. “Where are you going?”

  One delicate shoulder lifted in a shrug. “I don’t know. I’ve got to keep moving. Otherwise, I’m dead.”

  He thought of his ranch, of the secluded frame house a few hours away, where he’d taken to spending more and more of his time. “I have land my uncle left me about southwest of Mineral Wells,” he said. “It’s a small, working cattle ranch. I’ve got livestock there, with hired hands looking after the place. It’s really remote and accessible only by a dirt road. It isn’t much, but there’s running water and electricity. If you don’t mind the isolation, you can stay there.”

  Watching him warily, she nodded. “Thanks. If you want to give me directions, I’ll head that way now.”

  He wasn’t sure he wanted her to go alone. “Give me a minute. I need to think.”

  She seemed to practically vibrate with impatience. “Please don’t take too long. I don’t have a lot of time. Alex is a powerful man and very successful at getting rid of people. I can’t tell you how many times he’s bragged about the people he’s made disappear. I know too much, therefore I’m a liability he’ll need to eliminate. He has people working everywhere. If someone sees my car and reports back to him...”

  Refusing to let her rush him, he continued to consider. If he was jumping into this mess, he needed to study all angles.

  Finally, he glanced out the window, at the low-slung, glossy car. “That Jaguar won’t do well there. Plus, it’ll stick out like a sore thumb. Is it his?”

  For maybe a second, she looked abashed. “Yes. It’s one of many. He’ll want it back.”

  Right then, he decided. “We need to move it. Leave it in a parking lot downtown.”

  “Then how will I get to your place?”

  He hoped he wouldn’t regret what he was about to say. “I’ll drive you. It’s about time for me to run out there and check on things. I can stay out there a little while. And I’ve got a four-wheel drive pickup that makes the trip perfectly.”

  After snatching his keys off the counter, he grabbed his laptop and motioned for her to go ahead. Instead, she stood frozen, staring at him.

  “But what about this?” she sputtered, gesturing at his house. “I don’t want to take you away from your life here in Anniversary. What about your job?”

  “My job can be anywhere I want it to be, as long as I have this.” He held up the laptop. “Now let’s get a move on. Especially since you seem to think Alex or one of his people could show up at any moment.”

  Still she didn’t move. “What about clothes? Food? Medicines? Shouldn’t you pack?”

  “I have everything I need at the ranch. I go out there all the time. Come on.” And he opened the front door and stepped aside so she could pass.

  They parked the Jag at the marina. Reed hoped doing so might make anyone in pursuit think maybe Kaitlyn had gone somewhere out on the lake in a boat. This would buy them a bit more time.

  Reed watched as Kaitlyn climbed out of the sports car, her long legs glistening in the sun. After removing an overnight bag from the backseat, she strode to the edge of the water, and then tossed the keys in. She then walked over and got into his truck, her expression relieved.

  “That felt good,” she said. “Like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”

  He moved to adjust her visor and she flinched. More proof, though she probably didn’t realize it, of what she’d endured. “Easy,” he said. “I’m not going to touch you.”

  Nodding, she gripped the door handle with one hand as he put the truck in gear and they pulled away.

  “I’m a bit on edge,” she told him unnecessarily. “So please don’t mind if I ask you how you can be sure we won’t be followed.”

  “I’ll answer as honestly as I can. I can’t, at least not until we leave the cities and the highways behind. It’s a lot easier to tell on a two-lane road. We’ll be skirting around Dallas on 635 and then picking up 820 to go around Fort Worth. It’s a bit of a drive, so you might as well settle in and try and get comfortable.”

  Though she nodded, he could tell she still felt antsy. That was all right, he didn’t blame her. In a way, she’d just gotten out of prison. He remembered how that had felt. For a while, everything in the outside world had seemed surreal.

  They were crossing through Irving, former home of the Dallas Cowboys, when she faced him. “Why are you helping me?” she asked. “I’m assuming it’s because you’re going to try to figure out a way to get Alex arrested for his crime.”

  “Crimes,” he corrected. “Plural. And yes, you are a witness and therefore extremely dangerous to him. So I’ve got to keep you safe while I get the feds working on this.”

  “Feds?” She sounded horrified. “You can’t... You don’t understand. Alex has people working for him everywhere.”

  “In law enforcement? Even in the FBI?”

  She nodded. “Yes. He’s not just involved in drugs. He’s got his finger in a lot of other things.”

  “Weird. According to the media, Alex Ramirez is a blasted saint. Every news story about him talks about his good works and generous charitable contributions.”

  “It’s all a front. He uses a lot of the charitable organizations to launder money. You wouldn’t believe all the illegal operations Alex is involved with.”

  “And because you know all this, you’re even more dangerous to him.”

  “Yes. There’s no way he’s going to allow me to live. We have to be careful about who we approach. Alex has boasted many times about having the FBI and the DEA on his payroll, even people in the governor’s office and the Senate. There’s no way to know who to trust.”

  Reed cursed. “If you’re telling the truth, this sounds like the mafia or a cartel. Organized crime.”

  “In a way, it is. Whatever you want to call it, it’s dangerous. Getting in his way—protecting me—would be risky. In fact, I’d call it a death sentence. Especially if he thinks you know anything, which he will. Before you decide to help me, I want to make sure you understand.”

  “I get that.” He flashed a grim smile, still not one hundred percent convinced. “I’ve already given up three years of my life and lost my brother. Damned if I’m letting him get away with anything more.”

  “Taking him down won’t be easy.”

  “I understand.” He shot her another glance, his emotions raw and confused. He’d spent the past three years hating her, and now to learn she’d been just as much of a victim as he? If her story was true, that is.

  “Tell me specifically how you escaped,” he asked as casually as he could. “If you’ve been under lock and key as you say, how’d you manage to get away even with his being more permissive?”

  “He got drunk and forgot to lock me in my room. Either he thought he did or maybe he believed I was completely brainwashed.” She looked down, as if embarrassed. “Stockholm syndrome and all that.”

  “Were you?”

  “In a way.” When she raised her chin to meet his gaze, her expression was bleak. “I haven’t been allowed off the property in all this time. I wasn’t permitted any contact with other people, except for his employees. Even if he let me go outside the house on the grounds, he or one of the men he’d assigned as guards, was with me.”

  She swallowed, the stiff way she held her shoulders telling him of her tension. “I’d come to believe I deserved to live like that. I came to feel the pain was punishment well deserved. Over time, after hearing the same things repeated over and over, I was beaten, both in body and spirit. He saw this. It made him happy. I believe he didn’t think I’d ever have the guts to run.”

  Her quiet
, matter-of-fact tone moved him more than he wanted her to know. Clearing his throat, he swallowed hard. “But you did.”

  “Yes. He was drunk. For whatever reason, he brought you and Tim up. He was gloating about sending you to prison and furious that you’d gotten out.” A shadow crossed her eyes. “This time, when I heard that, something inside me snapped. After he passed out, I left. No one even tried to stop me.”

  The more she spoke, the more he believed her. “How long do you think you have until he realizes you’re gone?”

  “I don’t know. Usually, when he drinks like that, he looks for me first thing in the morning when he wakes up.”

  The grim twist to her lovely mouth told him why.

  Drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, he changed the subject. “You really didn’t know I was initially convicted of killing Tim?”

  “No. I honestly had no idea. I wasn’t permitted access to television, internet or even newspapers. I’m sorry.”

  Which meant he’d spent a lot of time hating her for no valid reason.

  That thought so blew his mind he had to think of something else. “I’m pretty sure Alex won’t risk searching for you himself. There are too many things that can go wrong. He’ll send people. Most likely he’ll also use the media. People who have never met you might have your picture.”

  “What are you suggesting?” She frowned. “That I wear a disguise?”

  “More like a complete overhaul. You won’t even recognize yourself when you look in the mirror. At least for when you go out. Do you wear contacts?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, then we’ll get colored, non-prescription ones and change your eye color. Your blue eyes are very striking. We’ll tone that down. I’m thinking a muddy brown.”

  At first she appeared startled. Then she smiled, sending a jolt of lust straight to his gut. He remembered her smile. Though already beautiful, her smile lent her a sweetness, a girl-next-door look that tugged at his heartstrings. Just like before, when she’d been with his brother and Reed had wanted her so badly he’d burned with it. The times when he’d come across her sitting on the couch in flannel pajamas, without makeup and with her hair in a careless ponytail had been when he’d thought her most irresistible.