Closer to You (A Haven, Montana Novel)

by Jill Sanders

  “Still,” he said, turning back to Mike. “Find the bastard that did this. I’m taking Rea to the clinic.”

  He walked out, holding onto Rea’s arm, and helped her into the corporate car. For the next hour, he stood by her as she was examined and cleaned up. Thankfully, she didn’t need stitches.

  When they walked out of the clinic, Brian stood outside, leaning against the company car.

  “Tyler.” Rea stopped him from marching forward. “Let’s see what he wants first.”

  He sighed as they walked toward the man.

  “Are you okay?” Brian asked Rea. Tyler noticed genuine concern in his voice.

  “I’m fine,” she said as they stopped a few feet away from him.

  “Who did this?” Brian asked.

  “I . . . I didn’t see clearly,” she answered.

  Then Brian’s eyes moved to Tyler and he saw the temper return. “This is all your fault,” he said. “If you’d just shut down McGowan Enterprises after your dad died then there wouldn’t be all this trouble.”

  “Oh?” He took a breath to give the man a piece of his mind, but Rea interrupted him.

  “Brian, if Tyler shut down his business, I’d be out of a job and would have to move to the city,” she said. “More than half of this town would have to follow. Haven relies on the McGowans.”

  Brian glanced between them. “You shouldn’t be working so early.”

  “I’m fine,” Rea said again.

  Tyler could tell that Brian wanted to say something else, but he stepped aside as Tyler opened the car door for Rea and helped her inside.

  “If you need anything . . .” Brian said just before she shut her door.

  Tyler turned to face Rea’s son.

  “You’ve poisoned her against me,” Brian hissed.

  Tyler didn’t want to engage the man, so he simply stayed quiet as he walked around to the driver’s side.

  “I’m taking you home,” Tyler told Rea once he shut the car door.

  “No, I’ll be okay. Really, I have . . .”

  “You have to rest,” Tyler said, heading toward her place instead of the office.

  She tried to argue with him the entire drive to her place, but he was having none of it. He helped her inside and made sure she was comfortable.

  “Tyler.” Rea stopped him just before he left. “It wasn’t Brian.”

  “I believe you,” he said. “We’ll find out who it was.”

  She nodded, then fixed him with a serious gaze. “Don’t let Kristen slip from your fingers this time,” she added.

  He smiled and hugged her. “I don’t intend to.”

  When he got to the office, Trent and Tyler were there. Someone had put a board over the broken glass and Trey was sitting at Rea’s desk, on the phone.

  “How’s she doing?” Trent asked.

  “She’s okay. I took her home so she could rest,” he said.

  “I’m ordering the glass,” Trey said and gestured toward the door. “Been on hold for fifteen minutes.”

  Tyler slapped his brother on the back as he headed to his office. “Better you than me.”

  “Aren’t those the same clothes you wore last night to dinner?” Trent joked as he followed him.

  “Shut up,” he mumbled.

  Less than an hour later, Kristen and her boss walked into his office. She was back in an expensive skirt suit, this one in a soft caramel color, along with another pair of sexy heels that matched. She’d tied her hair in a loose bun that sat at the nape of her neck.

  Mr. Burnett cleared his throat, stealing his attention from Kristen.

  “We thought we’d give it one more shot.” Mr. Burnett shut his office door behind him. “Your brothers told us to come on back.”

  Tyler sighed and motioned for them to take a seat.

  “I happened to look over the new proposal,” he told her boss.

  “And?”

  “The answer is still no.”

  For the next few minutes, he listened while Mr. Burnett tried to convince him he didn’t know what was best for his family’s company.

  With each successive refusal from Tyler, Mr. Burnett looked closer to completely losing his patience.

  That was fine with Tyler. He’d lost his own the moment he’d seen Rea’s blood.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Kristen held her breath as the men’s argument escalated.

  Finally, she’d had enough, so she stood and walked out of Tyler’s office without a word. Believing the men fully absorbed in their shouts, she was surprised when someone grabbed her arm.

  Turning, she looked up at a very angry Mr. Burnett.

  “We’re done here,” he said as he maneuvered her down the hallway toward the front door.

  She glanced back and noticed Tyler standing inside his office door, watching her.

  She jerked her arm away from him. “Why are you so insistent on closing this deal?”

  He glanced toward Tyler and then lifted his hand to grab her once more, but she moved beyond his reach.

  He lowered his voice so that Tyler wouldn’t be able to hear him. “It’s my job. Our job.”

  She glanced over at Tyler, who glared at her boss.

  “It’s my job to present a compelling offer and a solid case for selling,” she said. “But we can’t force a client into a decision.”

  Mr. Burnett brushed past her and didn’t stop until he was standing outside. Not yet ready to let the topic drop, she followed.

  “Why does it matter so much?” Her heels clacked on the pavement outside. “What did they offer you? The CEO position?” She jerked her chin up. She’d heard rumors when she’d been back at home. Seeing his eyes heat in response, she realized all the rumors were true. Mr. Burnett had been promised a higher position if he could bag Tyler’s business. Which meant Mr. Burnett’s position was going to be opening soon.

  Suddenly, she realized why he’d sent her on this trip. He was prepping her for his position.

  “I’ve made my deals.” His eyes narrowed. “You’d be wise to follow suit.”

  She took a step back and shook her head. Her eyes moved to the remaining glass door and she saw Tyler standing inside, watching them.

  There had been a time a few weeks ago when she would have done anything to get Mr. Burnett’s job. But the thought of forcing Tyler’s hand—tempting him to sell out his principles for material gain—caused her stomach to roll. She was no longer the person who had stepped, or rather, been carried off the plane nearly two months ago.

  Her eyes met Tyler’s through the glass and she realized what she had to do. Shaking her head, she said, “I’m done playing games and trying to climb the ladder.” She took another step back, looking her boss in the eye. “I thought it was what I wanted . . .” She glanced around and sighed. “I was wrong.” She turned and began walking toward the hotel.

  The cool air felt good, and she decided a nice long walk through town, back to her hotel would be just what she needed to clear her head. But before she made it a few steps, Mr. Burnett grabbed her arm again.

  “If you walk away now, don’t expect me to suggest you for my position,” he hissed.

  “I don’t think you understand.” She took a deep breath and realized that the fresh air was making her think clearer than she had in a long time. “When I walk away, I no longer want a position at JB Holding.” Her chin rose slightly when she watched the shock cross his eyes.

  “Think about what you’re doing,” he said, dropping his hand from her arm.

  “I have been doing a lot of thinking.”

  “You’re tired.” He tilted his head as his eyes ran over her. “You’re one of our best—”

  “Which is why I’ve decided I’ve been wasting my talents.” She smiled. “It’s time I moved on to bigger and better things,” she added and turned away.

  Half a block later, she felt so much lighter. Like the weight had been lifted from her shoulders. For the past few years, she’d stressed about where she wa
s going and what she could afford and how to get further up in the business. She’d wasted a lot of time stressing. Now, however, she was freed.

  No more games. No more telling clients half-truths, or parsing words to convince them that whatever deal she was offering would be the answer to all their problems. No more.

  She’d walked for almost half an hour and had ended up only a block away from the hotel when she heard someone behind her. Before she had a chance to turn around, pain exploded in her head and then everything went black.

  Tyler watched Kristen and her boss leave and was about to head after her, but Trey stopped him.

  “Let them hash it out,” Trey said. “We’ve got a few things to talk about.”

  Trent nudged Tyler back toward his office. “Let’s talk.”

  He had a distinct impression that his brothers were cornering him.

  “What?” He walked over and sat down behind his desk, one that was a lot bigger and newer than the one his father had built for the trailer. “What do you two want?”

  “Something has to change,” Trey said, sitting down across from him. Trent moved over and sat next to him.

  “For the past few weeks, we’ve had to deal with your . . .” Trent paused as he struggled to find the right word.

  “Shitty attitude,” Trey supplied.

  Trent sighed and nodded. “Yeah. Then Kristen shows up again and you’re back to your normal happy self.”

  “Shut up.” Tyler stood up again and started pacing in front of the window.

  “See,” Trent smiled. “Pure sunshine and rainbows.” He waved toward Tyler. “When are you going to be man enough to own up to the truth?”

  Tyler turned around and narrowed his eyes as his brothers. “About what?”

  “Kristen.” Both of his brothers said it at the same time.

  He turned back toward the windows and closed his eyes. “What good would it do?”

  “To us? Nothing. To her . . .” Trent said.

  “Everything,” Trey finished.

  He turned back toward his brothers. “What do you two screwups know about this?”

  “Nothing . . . yet,” Trent said, smiling. “But we’re not so dumb as to not see love when it’s staring us in the face.”

  “And, trust me, it’s staring at us now,” Trey added.

  After a moment, he asked, “How?”

  “Go to her, open up. Dad always told us that if you know it’s right, you’ll find the right words,” Trent said.

  Tyler turned back toward the window and watched a hawk fly across the sky. “She belongs in the city.”

  “I think she is the best person to decide where she belongs. Where she wants to be,” Trey said.

  Tyler glanced over his shoulder.

  “Go.” Trent stood up. “We’ve got things here.”

  “Now?” Tyler felt his heart rate double.

  “There’s no time like the present,” Trey said, standing up.

  “She’s with her boss,” Tyler said.

  “No, I saw them going in different directions,” Trent replied. “I’m sure she’s back at the hotel by now.”

  Tyler thought about it and decided that no matter what, getting out of the office for the day was just what he needed.

  Grabbing his jacket, he left without a clear plan. He was still so worked up from seeing Rea hurt and dealing with Kristen’s boss that he doubted he could think straight enough to form a complete sentence with her. As he stepped outside, he decided he’d take his time heading over to the hotel. A nice slow drive would clear his mind.

  So he drove. And drove. When he ended up at the dead end up in the state forest, he hopped out of his truck and headed to the trails.

  He had an inkling of what he wanted to say. How he felt about her. Hell, he’d known that since the moment she’d stepped off the plane the first time. But knowing himself and actually telling her were two different things.

  He turned on a trail that would lead him up higher over the town. He didn’t even mind that he’d worn his work boots instead of his hiking boots. The steel toes weighted him down as he walked, but his comfort was the last thing on his mind.

  When Haven finally came into view, he stood and looked out over the town, unseeing, as he ran over the right words to say to her. He must have stood up on the side of the mountain for an entire hour. When he heard other hikers around him, he gathered his thoughts and started back down the trails.

  Ready or not, he was going to tell Kristen his mind today. And, he figured, he might as well do it in style. He thought about hitting the flower shop and the liquor store for a bottle of champagne before heading to the hotel.

  When he drove into town, he was passing the hotel when he spotted the police cruisers parked out front with their lights on.

  His heart skipped and he jerked the steering wheel until he stopped directly behind one of the cars.

  “What’s up?” he asked Mike.

  “It seems we’ve got a missing person.”

  “Who?” A loud buzz started in his head.

  “Well, Tim Colwell found a woman’s purse laying in the middle of the sidewalk about half a block down. When he contacted us, we brought it over to the hotel, only to find out the lady isn’t here. Her boss, there”—Mike nodded to Mr. Burnett, who was standing just outside, glaring at him—“says he left her back at your office and walked over to the diner to get some food, then went back to the hotel.”

  “Why do you think Kristen’s missing? Maybe she just lost her purse?” Tyler asked, his heart pounding as he tried to ignore the sense of building dread. He pulled out his cell phone to call her, but Mike held up a phone in an evidence bag.

  “Her phone was here, charging in her hotel room. Tyler, we also found some blood. Tim spotted a pool of it near where he found the purse. Tony’s down there now—”

  Tyler didn’t wait to hear the rest. He barged into the open hotel door and looked around Kristen’s room. Everything looked in order, nothing like the night when they’d discovered all her belongings destroyed. He rushed back outside. “Where was her purse found?”

  Mike pointed down the street and Tyler took off at a run. When he reached Tony, he felt his entire body shake. The pool of blood at his feet was relatively small but still, it was big enough that his worry tripled.

  He punched his brother’s cell number, holding his breath, and glanced around helplessly, hoping some clue would jump out at him.

  “Hey, I thought—”

  “Is Kristen there?”

  “No?” Trent turned the word into a question.

  “Ask Trey. Has either of you seen her since she left earlier?”

  He heard Trent put a hand over the phone, then came back a moment later.

  “No, what’s going on?”

  “The cops think she’s gone missing. They found her purse and her phone. And some blood.” Just saying it out loud had his body shaking again.

  “Where?” Trent asked. Tyler rattled off the cross streets.

  “Be there in a sec.” His brother hung up.

  Tyler dialed his mother’s number and repeated the questioning, with the same results.

  When his brothers and mom showed up, they found him badgering Tony with questions.

  Tyler was in full panic mode. His mother took him by the arm and pulled him close.

  “Tyler, I need you to take a breath.”

  “I love her, Mom. I was going to tell her,” he blurted out.

  His mother didn’t look surprised. “We’ll find her. But I need you to get it together. Can you do that?” she asked.

  He took a couple deep breaths and then nodded. “Yeah.” He knew he had to get himself under control, but he just couldn’t will his mind into gear. Not when it was overwhelmed with all the horrible possibilities.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  A constant dripping sound woke Kristen from a deep sleep. The moment her mind kicked in gear was the exact moment the pain roared in.

  At first, she beli
eved that she’d left the bathroom sink on, then the pain spiked further and she cried out and tried to reach for her head.

  Only her hands wouldn’t move.

  It took her a few moments before her eyes adjusted to the darkness. The throbbing in her head didn’t help as she tried to focus.

  She pulled air into her lungs to scream, but when she let it out her head spun and her stomach rolled and she knew that if she tried it again, she’d be sick. Her voice echoed, which gave her a clue that wherever she was, it was large and empty.

  She allowed herself a small rest, then wiggled until she was in a sitting position. The ground was soft enough, but it was damn cold. She shivered but forced her body into stillness. If she was going to figure out where she was, she’d need to overcome her discomfort.

  She realized she’d lost a shoe. The toes of her right foot were painfully cold. She could tell she’d been dragged through the mud since it was caked all along her back side and hair. Her outfit was probably a complete loss. Not that it mattered, since she was pretty sure that she was going to die.

  Her eyes had adjusted well enough that she could see she was in a cave of some sort. She noticed some large wooden planks that made up a makeshift door. Through the thin space at the bottom of the door, she could see it was pitch-dark beyond.

  Her hands were bound together in front of her with duct tape and when she moved, the tape dug into her skin. Suddenly, she remembered the YouTube video one of her coworkers had shown her a few years back. How to get out of duct tape.

  “Well, here goes nothing.” She raised her arms over her head and slammed them down hard on her knees. Pain shot out through her wrists, but the tape broke. “Damn.” She rubbed the sore spots, then stood and tossed off her other shoe. She didn’t want to limp around and if given the opportunity to run, she wanted to be ready. She moved to the door and tugged, but it didn’t budge.

  She felt around the edges of the door, searching for the hinges—a point of weakness. They must have been on the outside. When she banged on the door in frustration, she heard heavy metal knock against the outside of the door. Was it secured with a padlock?