Salvation [Slick Rock 15] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Becca Van

  Chapter Fourteen

  Carly sighed as she finished washing the dishes from lunch. She really wished that she could get out and have a change of scenery but didn’t want Ridge, Bull and Rocky going ballistic on her ass.

  It had been a week since she’d been shown that photo of the man at the airport, and with each day that had passed, she felt as if she was safer and safer. Although she loved cooking for her guys and keeping the house clean and tidy, she was sick of staring at the same four walls.

  She’d been out to the barn a few times to watch the animals give birth, and while she loved seeing such a miracle, she needed more stimulation. Cat and her men had visited again, and she’d met Sallyanne Darwin, Will, Rick, and Frank Blanchard. Sally had only recently arrived in Slick Rock when she’d been in danger from a thug who’d raped the poor woman. Sally’s story had made her predicament seem tame.

  She’d also heard about the other women arriving in the small, rural Colorado town when they’d been on the run from trouble and wondered if there were guardian angels looking over the men and women of the town. Maybe they were being led here without even realizing it so that the men could rush in like modern day conquering heroes and get the girl.

  Carly snorted at that fanciful thought but then reconsidered. Her suppositions could have merit.

  She’d spent the morning baking. The jars in the pantry were full of homemade cookies, there were sweet pies in the freezer, and she’d even made three cakes, sending one of them to the bunk house for the ranch foreman and the other men. There was so much food ready to go she wouldn’t need to cook for a week.

  She was just about to go into the living room and watch a movie when Bull came rushing inside. He rummaged through a couple of drawers looking for something, and, when he found what he wanted, turned back toward the door.

  “We have a few cows and a couple of horses in labor.” Bull held up the satellite phone. “I need to go out to the back pasture and help our mare. She’s having trouble. The vet has already been called and will contact me to get the exact location when he’s nearby.

  “Rocky and Ridge are helping to pull a calf from his momma in the barn. Hopefully, we won’t be out all night, but I have no idea how long this is going to take.”

  “Is there anything I can do?” Carly asked.

  “Just stay inside where you’re safe, baby.” Bull moved toward her, planted a hard, all too brief kiss on her mouth, and rushed out again.

  Carly sighed. She wished she could go with them, but she knew not to even bother to ask. Ridge had taken her for a ride on his horse, her in front of him since she’d never ridden before, and though she’d enjoyed it, especially being out in the fresh air and sunshine, Ridge had been tense the whole time they’d been out. He’d been scanning their surroundings and been distracted, keeping his eyes out for any danger.

  She appreciated her guys’ diligence, but she hated that they were so on guard and tense all the time. So she’d accepted the fact that she would spend most of her time in the house until Scott Gold had been caught. However, the more she thought about the man in the photo, the more she was convinced that he’d skipped the country.

  She’d just sat down and pressed play on the remote when the house phone in the kitchen rang. She hurried out to answer it.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Carly, it’s Cat. Are my guys at your place?”

  “Um, I don’t think so. Oh, Bull said that one of the mares in an outer paddock is having a difficult labor. Maybe they jumped the fence to help out.”

  Cat sighed. “Damn.”

  “What’s wrong?” Carly asked.

  “I have a flat tire. I’m halfway between town and home.”

  “Have you tried calling them?”

  “Yeah.” Cat sighed. “They must have their cell phones on silent. They would do that so they didn’t frighten the laboring horse, if that’s where they are.”

  “Ridge and Rocky are in the barn aiding a cow having a hard time delivering her calf, too.”

  “Everything seems to happen at once,” Cat commiserated.

  “How far are you from here?” Carly asked.

  “I’m closer to you than home.”

  “I’ll come get you.”

  “Do you think that’s wise?” Cat asked.

  “Scott can’t know where I am. No one’s reported about seeing any strangers around as far as I know. And Luke showed up with a photo of a man who looked a lot like that fucker at an airport check-in counter.”

  Cat was silent for a few minutes, obviously thinking things through. “Okay, but you need to be really careful. I wouldn’t ask you to come get me, but it could be hours before my guys even know that I’m stuck.”

  “Tell me where you are. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

  Cat told Carly her location, and after she left a note for her men propped up near the kettle and coffee pot, she snagged the keys to Ridge’s truck off the hook and headed out, hoping that when she got back Ridge, Bull, and Rocky didn’t ride her ass for helping out the other woman.

  She was surprised that her Rocky and Ridge didn’t come out of the barn when she started the truck and drove down the driveway, but the building wasn’t that close to the house, and they were probably too concentrated on helping the cow give birth to worry about anything else.

  Carly turned left and headed toward Slick Rock, hoping she would see Cat soon. The hair on the back of her neck was standing on end, but she put her disconcerting feelings down to paranoia and being out on her own after being sequestered in the house for a few weeks.

  She sighed with relief when she spotted the red truck and slowed before pulling over to the shoulder. Cat was sitting in the driver’s seat and smiled and waved as Carly turned off the truck and got out. Cat was half out of her vehicle when Carly heard the loud roar of an engine. She turned to see a big, black truck barreling toward her at a fast pace.

  “Carly, run,” Cat screamed.

  Carly felt as if she was moving in slow motion. She spun about and ran toward Cat and her truck, but she felt as if she was trying to run through knee-deep snow. The sound of squealing tires as they skidded on the tarmac was so loud she couldn’t hear anything else, and she pushed herself as hard as she could. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard it hurt, and she couldn’t draw a deep breath.

  She made it to Cat’s truck, opened the front, passenger side door and was about to jump in when an all too scary, familiar voice shouted from behind her.

  “If you don’t want your friend hurt, you will come over here and get into my truck. Now!”

  Carly turned to look back over her shoulder, and her eyes widened in shock when she saw that Scott had the gun in his hand pointing at Cat’s chest. She began to tremble as adrenaline surged through her blood and body with the flight-or-fight situation. She glanced back over to Cat and saw the other woman was frozen with fear and looked as if she was about to pass out. She was that pale.

  Carly’s hand released the handle on the truck door and, just before she turned back to Scott, met Cat’s gaze, trying to convey how sorry she was.

  Carly wrenched her eyes from Cat’s, turned toward Scott’s truck and took a shaky step.

  “Carly! No!” Cat shouted as she came out of her frozen stupor.

  Carly ignored her new friend’s pleas and took another step, and another. There was no way she was going to be responsible for Cat getting shot.

  “Get in. Now!” Scott shouted when Carly came abreast of the passenger side door. Scott shifted the aim of his gun toward her as he slid across the bench seat back behind the steering wheel.

  She licked her dry lips, drew in a ragged breath, and opened the door before getting inside. She took a moment to glance at Cat again, hoping the other woman would realize she’d left the keys to the truck in the ignition and go and get help. She cursed herself for her stupidity when Scott pushed his foot down on the accelerator and drove away.

  She’d been so intent on getting to Cat an
d helping her out she hadn’t even bothered to grab her purse or cell phone. She was sitting in the truck, which belonged to a crazy megalomaniac, with no way to call for help.

  “Fucking bitch,” Scott shouted as he slammed his hand down on the steering wheel again and again. He was glancing into the rearview mirror frequently while steering the truck, and the gun was still in his hands.

  Carly huddled against the passenger side door, keeping as far away from the crazy man as possible and hoped like hell he didn’t shoot her. She glanced into the side mirror and her heart flipped in her chest when she saw Ridge’s truck coming up behind them, fast.

  Terror shook her body when Scott pressed his foot down harder on the accelerator. The outside flew past the window so fast she couldn’t focus and ended up closing her eyes. When he took a corner too fast and she was thrown across the seat and into him, she gasped with fear and quickly moved back to her own side of the truck. She grabbed the seat belt and clipped it in, all the while praying they would have an accident or roll the truck. If that happened, maybe she wouldn’t be hurt too bad since she’d put her safety belt on. It was also a newer model truck which had numerous airbags in strategic places.

  She clutched at the belt near her shoulder and prayed that she would get out of this alive, let alone uninjured. Scott screamed another curse as he took another corner too fast, and when she peered in the side window again, she saw Cat was falling behind. While she wished her friend continued to follow them, she also didn’t want the other woman to push the parameters of how fast she was comfortable driving and end up crashing and killing herself.

  She tried to get her bearings to remember where he was taking her, but she was so scared she couldn’t make herself concentrate and lost count of the number of turns that Scott took. He was also being cagey by keeping to the back roads and away from the main thoroughfare.

  Carly wished she could go back to when Cat had called for help. She hadn’t wanted to disturb her men when they’d been busy with the laboring animals, but now she wished she could walk into that barn and ask one of them to go and help her friend out. If she had, she wouldn’t be in the predicament she was in now.

  How long they’d been traveling for, she had no idea. It could have been hours or minutes. There was no way for her to tell. She hadn’t known what time it was when she spotted Cat stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire. Time hadn’t had any meaning unless it was keeping herself busy to fill it in.

  She peered in the side mirror again, and when she saw that Ridge’s truck was way back, she realized that Cat wasn’t able to keep up with Scott’s speeding vehicle. Cat was going to lose sight of them soon, and then she was going to be all alone. It was going to be up to her to find a way out of her situation. That meant she needed to collect herself, push past the terror, so she could think straight.

  Carly took a few deep breaths and held them before releasing them slowly. Each time she did so her panting began to slow, as did her racing heart. Hopefully, now that she was beginning to calm a little she could figure out a way to escape. She thought about going for the gun, but she could end up being shot since the weapon was still in his hand. What do I do? What do I do?

  * * * *

  “Hey, baby, what’s wrong?”

  Bull glanced up to see Hank on his cell phone, and from whatever his woman was telling him, it wasn’t good. The man had gone pale and tense.

  When Hank looked up and locked gazes with him, his stomach dropped and the hair on his body stood on end. Hank took a step toward him, and when he was close enough, he clasped his shoulder.

  Bull’s knees went weak, and he had to lock them so he wouldn’t collapse on the ground.

  “We’ll be there as soon as we can, baby. Stay in the truck with the doors locked and whatever you do, do not get out of that vehicle.” Hank finished his call, glanced at Wally and the vet before inhaling deeply.

  “A man has just abducted Carly.”

  The roaring in Bull’s ears was so loud he couldn’t hear anything else. He could see Hank’s lips moving, but couldn’t understand the words he was speaking. Hank grabbed his other shoulder and shook him slightly. That action brought him back from the brink of panic, and the roaring in his ears dissipated.

  “Get ahold of yourself, man. Your woman needs you.”

  Bull swallowed audibly and nodded before saying in a hoarse voice, “Let’s go.”

  “I’ll drive while you call your brothers.”

  He hurried after Hank to the truck and was on the phone before he closed the door. Barry and David jumped into the back seat, and they were off.

  “Carly’s been taken,” Bull said as soon as Ridge answered his cell.

  “Fuck! Where is she?” Ridge shouted into the phone.

  Bull realized he hadn’t even taken the time to question Hank. “Where?”

  “Cat followed them as far as she could. The fucker was heading toward Dunton.”

  “I heard,” Ridge was panting as if he were running. “Rocky and I are already heading out. Has anyone called the sheriffs?”

  Ridge must have been talking loud enough for Hank to hear because he answered the question without Bull having to relay it. “Cat called Luke. We’ll meet them when we get to Cat.”

  Bull slammed his fist down on the dash and put his cell on speaker so that Ridge and Rocky could hear the conversation. “How the fuck did he get to her? She was inside the house. My brothers would have heard that bastard coming.”

  “It’s our fault.” Hank sighed and cleared his throat.

  Bull couldn’t work out why he’d said that but waited for the other man to continue.

  Hank slowed the truck as they neared the road, and after checking both ways, pulled out before planting his foot on the gas pedal.

  “Cat was on her way back from getting a few things in town. She got a flat. She tried to call us, but since we didn’t want to scare the laboring horse, we’d all put our cells on silent. She called your house, and Carly answered. She left in Ridge’s truck to pick Cat up.”

  Ridge roared angrily, and Rocky growled.

  “Oh fuck!” Barry leaned forward in his seat.

  “Shit!” David sighed.

  Bull could hear the guilt in all three men’s voices, and he shook his head. “It’s not your fault. That fucker wasn’t going to give up until he had her.”

  Ridge drew an audible, deep breath. “Does Cat have eyes on our woman?”

  “No,” Hank answered. “She followed them for as long as she could, but the guy was going so fast and driving recklessly. Cat couldn’t keep up with them, but she says that he was heading to Dunton.”

  “There are so many places he could stop at along the way,” Rocky said. “What sort of vehicle is the asshole driving?”

  “Black Ford Ranger, and she got the license plate. Luke would have an APB out on the fucker already.” Hank glanced in his rearview mirror.

  “Fuck!” Bull ran his fingers through his hair. “That bastard could go bush and we’d never see where he went off road.”

  “We’ll find them, Bull.” David squeezed his shoulder, offering his support.

  “I hope so. The thought of our woman in that fucker’s clutches…tears me apart.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Carly’s hand ached from holding the oh-shit handle above the door. She was glad she had something to hold on to, otherwise she could have ended up being thrown all around the front of the cab or bruised from the seatbelt across her chest and stomach.

  Scott had taken the corners way too fast, and she’d been scared he would lose control of the truck and end up flipping it. When she saw the sign for Dunton, she hoped that Scott kept going and driving through the small town, hoping like hell that Cat had contacted the authorities and that the police and her men were looking for her.

  However, when he slowed the truck about ten miles from that landmark, she began to shake with fear again. She held her breath when he turned off onto a barely visible track and put
the vehicle into four-wheel drive mode. She gnawed on her lip until it felt sore and swollen and nearly cried out when Scott drove over a deep rut that had her jostling in her seat. One of her teeth pierced her lip.

  He’d been muttering to himself the whole time he’d been driving, and while she’d caught a word or two, most of his ramblings were incomprehensible. Carly wondered if she spoke to him he would become distracted and she could manage to get away.

  “Why are you doing this?” she asked and hated that her voice trembled.

  “Why? What do you mean why?” Scott practically shouted as he glanced her way before turning his gaze back to the track. “You fucking know why.”

  “No, I don’t,” she said with a calm voice, and though she’d sounded confident, she was anything but. She was scared out of her mind.

  “Why did you leave me? We were so happy together. Why did you run?”

  Carly wiped her bleeding lip with a trembling hand. The guy definitely had more than one screw loose. It sounded like the whole tool box full was missing.

  “There never was any us, Scott. You need help. If you let me go, I’ll make sure you get the help you need.”

  “Shut up. Shut the fuck up.”

  Carly glanced at the hand that held the gun in it and shook when she saw his fingers tighten around the grip. He had one finger hooked into the loop where the trigger was, and if she made him too angry, he might shoot her by accident. She decided that maybe silence was prudent after all.

  The sun was sinking in the west, and since the track was surrounded by forest, trees and other smaller bushes, it was darker than she would have liked. If she got away from him, she could end up totally lost out in the middle of nowhere. The only consolation she could see was that it wasn’t cold. Although it would definitely cool off when the sun set.

  She had on a pair of shorts and a tank, and while she wouldn’t be in danger of suffering from hypothermia, she was going to get cold. That was, if she actually got away from him.