Texas-Sized Trouble

by Barb Han

  Yet.

  Chapter Five

  The business front of Wired was the enclosed front porch of a house on the outskirts of town. The lots were a good acre in size, so there was plenty of distance between neighbors. A pair of compact cars were parked on the side of the house in tandem. Ryder parked on the street to make sure he didn’t get blocked in. Although he doubted there’d be a rush when it opened at noon. The place gave new meaning to the words small business. There was a closed sign hanging on the screen door but he could see activity inside.

  “Act like we know what we’re doing,” Ryder said to Faith as she took in the place. Her wide honey-brown eyes told him she was learning something else new about her brother. That gnawing feeling returned, and Ryder kept circling back to her family.

  He opened the screen door and instructed her to stay close behind him.

  A sallow-cheeked guy who couldn’t be a day older than twenty was parked behind a desk, his gaze fixed on the screen in front of him.

  “Hold on,” he said without looking up. His chair was balanced on the back legs as he swished a mouse back and forth on an oversize pad and made barely audible grunting noises.

  There were a couple of kids hunkered over a keyboard in one corner. A few open computers were dotted around the small room. There wasn’t much in the way of decor, a few folding tables with poker chairs tucked underneath. The walls were covered with gaming posters announcing the next big release.

  Sallow Cheeks cursed before tossing the mouse to the side. “So close to winning that one. What can I—” The second his eyes connected with Ryder and Faith, he froze.

  “We’re not cops, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Ryder said, assuming that most kids were going to confuse them with people in positions of authority. There was no question that they looked out of place at Wired.

  Sallow Cheeks regained his composure. “Oh, no. Didn’t think you were. Besides, I run a legit business.” He waved his right arm toward a framed permit hanging on the wall behind him. Ryder couldn’t fault the kid for making money.

  “She’s looking for a relative. We were told he comes in here sometimes,” Ryder continued, forging ahead.

  Faith fingered the screen on her cell phone and then held it out toward Sallow Cheeks.

  “I’m Marcus, by the way,” he said, pushing hair off his forehead as he squinted at the picture of Nicholas.

  Ryder introduced both himself and Faith.

  “Yeah, I’ve seen that kid before. He doesn’t come around much. He has a friend. What’s his name?” He tapped his knuckles on the desk.

  “Is it Kyle?” Faith asked.

  “Right. Kyle usually swings by on Friday nights. He’s brought this dude before.”

  “Nicholas Bowden?” Ryder asked.

  “I guess.” Marcus shrugged. “The kid was kind of quiet, you know. Mostly hung in the background when Kyle showed up to play.”

  “Do you remember the last time he was in? Nicholas?” Faith asked.

  “A week ago.” Marcus glanced at his computer screen. “Maybe two?”

  “Was he with a girl?” Faith continued.

  Marcus rocked his head and his eyes went wide. “Hannah.”

  “Do you know her?” Faith asked.

  “She just started coming in a few weeks ago. Never saw her before that,” Marcus said.

  “You don’t have an address for her, do you?” Ryder asked, wondering what a knockout, as Kyle had described her, would be doing hanging around with tech geeks. And there was no other explanation for hanging out at a place like Wired other than being a bona fide computer nerd.

  “Nah.” Marcus leaned backward, balancing on the back two legs of his chair.

  “No credit card record?” Ryder asked.

  “I wouldn’t be able to give that to you anyway, dude. But, no, a girl like that doesn’t usually have to pay her own way if you know what I mean.”

  “Are girls like Hannah common around here?” Ryder asked, figuring he already knew the answer but needed to check anyway.

  “Nah. It would be nice, though,” Marcus said.

  “When was the last time you saw her?” A look crossed Faith’s features that Ryder couldn’t exactly pinpoint.

  “Not since that kid was in. They paired up and left together. Haven’t seen either one around since,” he said. “But that’s not really saying much. He wasn’t a regular.”

  “This might sound like an odd question, but do you remember who was doing the picking up?” Ryder asked, and that netted a strange look from Faith.

  Marcus nodded with a wink toward Ryder. “Definitely her. And that’s probably why I remember it so clearly. I mean, she was hot and he was okay if you know what I mean.” He shot an apologetic look toward Faith when she frowned.

  “I hear you.” A guy would notice something like that. “If you happen to see him, would you mind asking him to call his sister? He’s probably caught up with this new girl and just forgot to check in with her, but she’s worried.”

  Marcus nodded with a knowing look that said it wasn’t the first time he’d received that kind of request. “I’ll let him know if he shows up here.”

  “Thanks a lot.” Ryder offered a handshake before escorting Faith outside.

  Neither spoke until they reached the truck.

  “I can’t believe Nicholas has been there and never mentioned it,” she finally said after buckling in.

  Ryder could see where that detail might still be on her mind. However, he’d locked onto something else. “She targeted him.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Ryder put the gearshift in Drive and rolled the wheel left with his palm, guiding his pickup onto the street. He banked a U-turn at the next driveway. “She came on to Nicholas, not the other way around.”

  “He’s a good-looking kid,” she defended.

  “Hear me out.” Ryder located the highway and followed the GPS’s instructions. “I get that Nicholas is nice-looking. He’s also fifteen and full of hormones. He’d be attracted to any pretty girl who walked in front of him.”

  “Sounds pretty Neanderthal when you put it like that but, yes, I’m sure he is a normal, healthy fifteen-year-old boy,” she said, her arms folded across her chest.

  “So, let’s think this through for a minute, because while Nicholas might still be young I don’t get the impression this Hannah is his age and certainly not as innocent.”

  “What are you suggesting?”

  “That there might be a reason a girl so out of his league became interested in him,” he said, guiding them back onto Main Street.

  It dawned on Faith. “She was some kind of decoy to get him alone so someone could snatch him.”

  “Once she isolated him, he could be kidnapped a helluva lot easier and everyone would think that he’d run off with a pretty girl,” Ryder said. Between that and the note, someone was going to great lengths to buy time. “And the question should be why? Why would Nicholas be a target? What purpose would it serve? The first thing that comes to mind is money.”

  “Maybe someone figured out he’s a McCabe and has contacted my father for ransom,” Faith said, catching on to the theory. “That note wasn’t his handwriting.

  “It’s not like I can ask my father outright. Hannah might be the key to finding Nicholas,” she added. “Where do we start looking? Marcus back there doesn’t know who she is, and neither did Kyle.”

  Ryder one-handed the steering wheel. “Can you access your father’s email or desk?”

  “Ryder.” The distress in her voice had him taking his eyes off the road long enough for a quick glance at her. She was bent forward, holding her stomach.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. He was already looking for an exit.

  She must’ve picked up on
his worry because she added, “Sick.” Her hand came over her mouth.

  “Hold on the best you can until I can get off the road,” he said.

  “Gas station,” she managed to get out with a dry heave.

  Ryder navigated onto the service road, and got to a Valu-X gas station pronto.

  He’d barely come to a stop when her door flew open and she hopped out, bolting toward the little patch of grass near the service road. Bent over, she heaved as he pulled her hair from her face and rubbed her back. He wasn’t cut out for feeling helpless.

  “What can I do?” he asked when she finally straightened up.

  “Water would be nice. And maybe some crackers,” she said, and he didn’t like how small and vulnerable her voice had become. He was used to strong and fiery Faith. These changes must be part of the hormones she’d talked about earlier. If so, he had a lot to learn about pregnant women, because he intended to help her through this and the next four months until the baby was born.

  “I’ll see what they have,” he said. “Will you be all right?”

  “Yeah.” Her face was sheet white.

  “Is it normally this bad?” he asked.

  “It’s much better than it was. Any little thing upsets my stomach now. I guess the stress from the day isn’t helping. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine in a minute,” she said, her cheeks returning to a pale pink, which he liked a lot better than the ghost-white hue from a few minutes ago.

  He stood there another couple of seconds, not wanting to leave her.

  “It’s already settling down,” she said, urging him to go.

  Ryder nodded, only because she looked steady on her feet and her lips were pink again.

  Inside, he located a bottle of water and a package of saltines next to the dustiest can of Campbell’s soup he’d ever seen. At least they had crackers. His mother used to give him 7Up to settle his stomach, so he grabbed a bottle of that, too. As for himself, a shot of black coffee was all he needed to keep his mind clear. He poured a large cup.

  Ryder pulled a twenty out of his money clip as he heard what he thought sounded like a muffled scream coming from outside.

  A quick glance out the window warned that something was dead wrong. There was an SUV angled toward his pickup, blocking Ryder’s view.

  He tossed the twenty on the counter and tore out of that store faster than the clerk could say that he forgot his items. Suddenly none of those mattered. Not while Faith might be in trouble.

  * * *

  FAITH TRIED TO scream again, but a hand clamped over her mouth. She’d thought the SUV that had pulled up beside Ryder’s truck was there to use the air pump until a man had come around the side toward her. Then it had dawned on her that this was the same SUV that had followed her before.

  The man’s dark beady eyes that had been focused on her left no room for doubt about his intention—he was coming for her. The rest of his face was covered and she couldn’t get a good look at him. She’d bolted. Her weak legs had threatened to give out, and that was the only reason the man caught up to her.

  He’d hauled her off her feet and was carting her toward the familiar-looking SUV. She could see that there was another man at the wheel, but his features were hidden behind sunglasses and a bandanna. If the guy holding her managed to get her another twenty yards and inside that truck, there’d be nothing Ryder could do.

  She twisted and turned but couldn’t shake free from his viselike grip. She had to think fast or he’d stuff her inside the cab and they’d be gone.

  Lifting up her right foot, she jabbed it backward with all the strength she could muster, scoring a direct hit with the heel of her boot to his groin.

  He grunted and dropped to his knees, taking her down with him. She popped up on all fours, struggling to gain purchase in the gravel. If she could crawl, claw or scoot to Ryder’s truck she could hop inside and lock the doors.

  “Ryder,” she managed to shout through heaves as she scrambled to her feet.

  She succeeded in gaining a few steps of forward progress before a hand closed around her ankle, the iron grip brought her down flat on her face. She hit the pavement hard; her hands smacking down first were the only things keeping her head from banging against the cracked surface.

  Before she could get her bearings, she was being hauled upright again. The driver was there, too, gripping her around the midsection as Dark Eyes clutched her legs from behind. There was no fighting her way out of this one, but that didn’t stop her from trying. She kicked, twisted and screamed. Her only prayer was that the baby wasn’t being somehow hurt in the process.

  She glanced up and screamed again in time to see that Ryder had heard her and he was already barreling toward her.

  He was going to be too late, she thought as she was being tossed inside the cab of the SUV.

  “That man coming toward us is Ryder O’Brien. You won’t get away with...whatever it is you’re planning to do to me. And if you do, that man will see to it that both of you rot in jail or don’t live long enough to see another sunrise. So think very hard about your next move.” Threatening was the last line of defense, and she could only pray it would work.

  The driver shot a look toward Dark Eyes. “Hey, man. I didn’t know an O’Brien was involved. That wasn’t part of the deal.”

  “She never told me anything. I don’t care who he is. Go, or we’ll both end up in jail,” Dark Eyes demanded.

  “Who is she?” Faith asked. If the men were talking about being hired by a woman, then her father couldn’t be involved. Could he?

  Chapter Six

  Ryder hopped inside his truck and jabbed his foot onto the gas pedal. The forest green late-model SUV was fifty yards ahead as he navigated onto the road. The license plate had been removed so there was no way to call this in and get Tommy’s help. Since this was outside Tommy’s area he couldn’t do much except make a call to the local sheriff. Not unless the driver took her into Collier County where Tommy had jurisdiction.

  Even so, Ryder would see it snow in the middle of a Texas summer before he’d allow these jerks to get away with Faith. They’d better not harm a hair on her head if they knew what was good for them. Or do anything that might hurt the baby growing inside her...

  A solid wall of frustration and helplessness slammed into Ryder. He felt a knife cutting through his chest, ripping out his heart. And that sent all kinds of confusing emotions slashing through him.

  He understood his feelings for Faith, no matter how complicated they’d become. Hell, they’d defied logic from day one. But a baby he hadn’t even met yet? How could he be ready to trade his own life for a little carpet-crawler he hadn’t even seen? Faith barely had a bump as far as he could tell. But that didn’t matter to Ryder. All his protective instincts were jacked into high gear and the thought of losing anyone else bit through him, hard and sharp. Residual feelings from losing his parents?

  He was making good progress toward the SUV when brake lights surprised him and the vehicle pulled to a complete stop in the middle of the road. Ryder followed the driver’s lead, keeping a few yards of distance between them in case they opened fire. Adrenaline shot through the roof. He opened his door and eased out, making sure to keep metal in between him and the SUV in front in case someone started shooting. His pulse hammered and all he could think was how much the men would pay if they did anything to hurt Faith or his child.

  He expected to see one of the men and was shocked when Faith stepped out instead. Her hands were high in the air as she turned toward him.

  Were the men baiting Ryder? Did they have plans to hurt her? Right in front of his eyes?

  He slid his right hand in the back floorboard until he felt his shotgun. If these guys decided to be stupid enough to hurt Faith in any way or send metal his direction, he planned to take them both down. Leave Faith unharmed and
they could live. The thought of watching as Faith was shot hit him harder than a physical punch.

  Faith started walking toward him. One step at a time. That’s right. He had no idea what these guys were up to, but he planned to be ready for anything.

  “Don’t follow us and we won’t hurt the lady, okay?” the driver shouted and there was too much tension in his voice.

  Could it be that easy? Or was this a trap?

  The man was staring at Ryder from behind the barrel of a rifle, and Ryder couldn’t get a good description of him.

  “You got it, man.” Ryder’s heart hammered harder against his rib cage. A few more feet and Faith would be home free. He didn’t dare make a sudden move for fear the driver would react.

  “We don’t want trouble,” the driver said. “You get her and we drive away. No police. No trouble. Got it?”

  “No one’s been hurt so no harm’s been done,” Ryder said. “That changes and we’re talking a different story.”

  “You’re cool with the terms?” The tension in the driver’s voice had all the hairs on Ryder’s neck pricked.

  “As long as nothing happens to the lady, I have no reason to go after you,” Ryder shouted back. A few more steps and she’d be close enough for him to make a move to save her if the driver fired. He’d throw himself in front of her to block the path if needed.

  “Throw your keys into the field,” the driver barked.

  Ryder did.

  Even so, this was too easy, and Ryder figured that as soon as she got to him the driver and whoever else was in the SUV would open fire. Then the driver surprised him a second time by sliding into the cab and pulling away.

  Ryder bolted toward Faith, putting himself between her and the truck as it sped away.

  “Are you hurt?” Ryder asked, taking her in his arms and pulling her around the door of his own cab to shield them both.

  Her heart pounded against his chest and her body trembled.

  “I’m fine,” she said, clearly shaken, but her defiant chin shot up, strong. Or maybe she was just too stubborn to let herself show fear. Probably a little of both, having grown up with three older brothers who didn’t exactly have a reputation for being soft on anyone.