Endangered Heiress

by Barb Han

  The mirror wasn’t completely fogged up, so she saw him clearly. Owen.

  Cornered, Madelyn searched for anything to use as a weapon. She picked up a shampoo bottle and threw it at him but he batted it away. She screamed.

  “Your boyfriend is outside with the cops. No one can hear you,” Owen said, and there was a strangely calm quality to his voice that sent an icy shiver down her spine.

  “We can talk about this, Owen. Settle this out of court.” Madelyn kept her eyes on him as she reached for a towel. Thoughts of the self-defense class she’d taken when she was younger ran through her mind.

  “You’re lying.” He took a threatening step toward her. She reacted by jabbing her fist toward his face in panic. And then she felt an iron grip around her forearm as she tried to pull back. He was bigger than her, obviously, and surprisingly strong. His wild eyes said he was long past talking at this point.

  “I’m not. I promise,” she countered.

  “You just had to keep pushing. You wouldn’t be happy until my reputation was ruined,” he said, and there was so much anger in his voice, his eyes. “This was supposed to be simple. I’d kill you and problem solved. It was perfect. No one would’ve suspected me after learning that you were a Butler.”

  “Wait. How’d you know?” The admission stunned her.

  “There are spy devices that can be placed on work desks and in homes,” he said.

  He’d believed her to be having an affair with her coworker. It all made sense now.

  His other hand came up to her throat, and in the next moment, the back of her head slammed against the tile of her shower. He was in her face and her body revolted at his touch.

  He ran his finger along her jawline and she tried to turn her head away from him but he forced it back. “Look at me, bitch. I want my face to be the last thing you see before you die.”

  That was all it took for a burst of adrenaline to strike. Madelyn shot her knee up to his groin. Owen’s eyes bulged, his grip momentarily weakened but not enough for her to gain the upper hand. He pressed his body against hers, essentially closing off any space for her to be able to do that again, and she wanted to vomit.

  Her hands flew everywhere, trying to gain purchase as the room started to spin. She gouged at his eyes and he released a string of curses.

  He was too strong and she was losing consciousness. Madelyn couldn’t scream. Reasoning would do no good.

  But when Owen pressed his lips to hers, she bit and at the same time used all the strength she had for a final push. She bucked off the wall and he took a step backward, caught his legs on the tub and tripped.

  Owen splayed out on his back and she jumped over him as she screamed with everything she had inside her. Her neck felt like it had rope burn where his hands had been and she had a hard time catching her breath as she gripped the doorknob, half expecting to be pulled back any second.

  The door opened partially before the cold fingers closed around her right ankle. She tried to shake his hand off but he was too strong.

  “Hudson! Help!” she shouted.

  “I already said your new boyfriend can’t hear you.” Owen’s other hand caught her other ankle. His hands felt like vise grips.

  Madelyn grabbed on to the counter for leverage and tried to kick out of his grasp. Panic had her heart pounding her chest. Panic because she thought she might never see the cowboy again. She grabbed her brush from the counter and threw it at Owen’s face. He turned his head in time and she missed. Her hairspray can was next.

  With shaking hands, she pulled off the cap and then sprayed it toward his face.

  That got him coughing and the distraction gave her a chance at freedom. She dashed down the hall and toward the front door. A chair had been secured under the knob.

  By now there was pounding at the door as someone tried to break through from the other side.

  “Hudson!”

  “Madelyn, can you move whatever’s blocking the door?” he asked, and his voice was the only thing calming her racing pulse.

  “I’ll try.” The kitchen chair was secured pretty tightly. Adrenaline and fear had her panicking too much to think clearly. Could she jump out a window? As she glanced left, she saw Owen emerge from the hall. He had something in his hands and she knew for certain if she couldn’t get this door open it was all over.

  Madelyn pushed at the chair and rattled the door handle. She’d managed to unlock it but couldn’t think clearly.

  “Think you can escape me?” A shrill sound tore from Owen’s lips. “I’ll follow you. You know that white sedan? It’s me. The man in the tree line? Me. The cops can’t catch me before you get what you deserve.”

  “Everyone knows it’s you. Go through with this and you’ll spend the rest of your life in jail,” she said.

  “You wouldn’t drop the charges, Madelyn. My reputation is already over.” He dived at her knees, knocking her onto the unforgiving wood floor.

  Madelyn screamed as her head made contact. She tried to scramble to her feet but Owen was on top of her, his fists banging against her head, her body. After taking a boot to the midsection, she curled into a ball to protect herself. Another hard kick landed on the back of her head.

  Owen was spewing curse words as he beat her.

  Madelyn curled into a tight coil, rolled onto her back and sprang toward him. Her feet connected with his knees. His legs buckled and he hit the floor next to her.

  There’d been three loud thumps against the door. It exploded open on the fourth.

  And then Hudson was there, on top of Owen, wrestling him to the ground. An officer was working beside him, restraining Owen’s feet.

  Owen got off a good kick and the officer stumbled into Hudson. In the confusion, Owen managed to get free and grab the officer’s gun. He came up standing, pointing the gun from the officer to Owen to Madelyn.

  “Everybody back up,” he shouted, and his expression was feral. “Put your hands where I can see ’em.”

  All three of them complied as he took a step toward Madelyn. “Wrap a blanket around yourself.”

  Madelyn pulled the cotton blend from the back of the couch and did as he said.

  “Take it easy,” Hudson said in a soothing voice, hands up. “We can work this out.”

  “There’s no ‘we.’ Madelyn’s coming with me. She knows what she did wrong.” Owen looked at her. “Get over here.”

  She looked to Hudson, who nodded almost imperceptibly.

  “I said, ‘Now!’” Owen’s gaze narrowed.

  “Okay,” Madelyn agreed, moving next to him.

  He stepped behind her, wrapped an arm around her midsection and placed the officer’s gun at her temple.

  Madelyn gasped. The look on Hudson’s face nearly brought her to her knees.

  “It’ll be okay,” he reassured her, but he looked hollowed out.

  All she could think was How? She didn’t ask. Because it would never be all right again if Owen got her out that door and into his vehicle. Everyone seemed to realize it.

  One last glance at the cowboy as she was being ushered out the door and he mouthed three words that renewed her strength and brought a sense of calm over her... I love you.

  She loved him, too. She’d known it almost from the minute they met. Before that Madelyn had never believed in love at first sight. She believed in attraction. A pull. But never real love. And yet she knew this was special. Real.

  If she didn’t act fast, her life would be over. She knew that if Owen got her to a second location there’d be no walking out. He’d have a secure place where he’d torture her to his heart’s content before killing her.

  The time for action was...

  Now!

  Madelyn signaled to Hudson with her eyes. And then she dropped to the floor, catching Owen completely off guard. His eyes had been focused behind him at th
e officer and Hudson.

  Before he could react, Hudson dived on top of him and Madelyn clamped her arms around his legs. She heard a snap when Hudson made contact and figured one of Owen’s legs had just broken.

  He shrieked in pain as he was pinned to the ground outside of her apartment door. Hudson’s knee staked his arm and Owen’s hand flew open, releasing the gun. Madelyn scrambled to get it before Owen could recover. She gripped it as the officer rushed toward them. She scooted as far away from Hudson and Owen as she could as the two men fought.

  Owen was no match for Hudson in a fair fight and the cowboy easily dispatched him. Before Owen could mutter another curse, he’d been flipped over onto his stomach; his face was eating concrete and his hands were being zip-cuffed behind his back.

  The officer immediately retrieved his weapon and holstered it. He called it in and helped Madelyn to her feet.

  Embarrassed, she secured the blanket around her.

  “You can go inside,” the officer said, taking pity on her. But she couldn’t. She needed to see Owen being taken away in the squad car. It was the only way she’d ever feel safe again.

  “Enjoy spending the rest of your life behind bars,” Hudson said as he walked Owen to the back seat of his former boss’s SUV and personally secured him inside the vehicle.

  As soon as they drove off, he turned to Madelyn. There was so much emotion in his eyes as he took her in his arms.

  “I thought I’d lost you,” he said into her hair, and his voice rolled over her. “Let’s get you inside.”

  Madelyn walked beside him. Her place was a wreck and it felt a lot like her insides. The nightmare was over. It would take a little time to come to terms with that, but Owen was going to jail. He couldn’t hurt her or any other woman again.

  She threw on yoga pants and a workout shirt and pulled her hair into a ponytail. “Being here is strange.”

  Hudson had been watching and there was so much appreciation in his eyes. There was another emotion, too, and she couldn’t quite pinpoint it.

  “I meant what I said before, Madelyn.” He walked to her and took her in his arms. His strong heartbeat against her ear brought so much comfort. “I love you.”

  She looked up at him. Tears threatened. Not tears of sadness but tears of joy. “I love you, too, Hudson.”

  “I’ve been waiting for the right words to tell you that I don’t want to live without you. I love you and I want you to come home with me to live. Permanently.” He didn’t wait for a response. Instead, he tilted her face up and kissed her. “But I understand if that’s not what you want.”

  “I’m ready to build a new life with you,” she said, and she felt him exhale against her chest. “You should know that I intend to keep working. Maybe not as a journalist but I need to keep writing even if it’s a blog. And I intend to make amends with my new family, the Butlers. Can you still love me if I claim my birthright?”

  “I don’t care what you call yourself as long as we belong to each other,” he said without hesitation. “Besides, I know who you really are. You’re brave, intelligent, beautiful. And if you’ll have me, I’ll stick by your side for the rest of my life.”

  “Forever sounds like a great place to start” was all she said before he picked her up off her feet and held her. “And just to clarify, I’m saying yes.”

  He kissed her, long and slow. “Let’s go home.”

  And she wanted to tell him that in his arms, she was already there.

  * * * * *

  Look for the next book in

  USA TODAY bestselling author Barb Han’s

  CRISIS: CATTLE BARGE series,

  TEXAS GRIT, next month.

  And don’t miss the first book in the

  CRISIS: CATTLE BARGE miniseries:

  SUDDEN SETUP

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  SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM

  The twisted machinations of a ruthless cult leader have robbed Lola Dayton of her life—and her baby. Now it’s up to Sheriff Flint Cahill to find the truth buried beneath Lola’s secrets and her family’s lies.

  Read on for a sneak preview of

  COWBOY’S REDEMPTION,

  A CAHILL RANCH NOVEL from

  New York Times bestselling author B.J. Daniels!

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  Cowboy’s Redemption

  by B.J. Daniels

  Chapter One

  Running blindly through the darkness, Lola didn’t see the tree limb until it struck her in the face. It clawed at her cheek, digging into a spot under her right eye as she flung it away with her arm. She had to stifle the cry of pain that rose in her throat for fear she would be heard. As she ran, she felt warm blood run down to the corner of her lips. The taste of it mingled with the salt of her tears, but she didn’t slow, couldn’t. She could hear them behind her.

  She pushed harder, knowing that, being men, they had the advantage, especially the way she was dressed. Her long skirt caught on something. She heard the fabric rend, not for the first time. She felt as if it was her heart being ripped out with it.

  Her only choice was to escape. But at what price? She’d been forced to leave behind the one person who mattered most. Her thundering heart ached at the thought, but she knew that this was the only way. If she could get help...

  “She’s over here!” came a cry from behind her. “This way!”

  She wiped away the warm blood as she crashed through the brush and trees. Her legs ached and she didn’t know how much longer she could keep going. Fatigue was draining her. If they caught her this time...

  She tripped on a tree root, stumbled and almost plunged headlong down the mountainside. Her shoulder slammed into a tree trunk. She veered off it like a pinball, but she kept pushing herself forward because the alternative was worse than death.

  They were closer now. She could feel one of them breathing down her neck. She didn’t dare look back. To look back would be to admit defeat. If she could just reach the road before they caught up to her...

  Suddenly the trees opened up. She burst out of the darkness of the pines onto the blacktop of a narrow two-lane highway. The glare of headlights blinded her an instant before the shriek of rubber on the dark pavement filled the night air.

  Chapter Two

  Major Colt McCloud felt the big bird shake as he brought the helicopter low over the bleak landscape. He was back in Afghanistan behind the c
ontrols of a UH-60 Black Hawk. The throb of the rotating blades was drowned out by the sound of mortar fire. It grew louder and louder, taking on a consistent pounding that warned him something was very wrong.

  He dragged himself awake, but the dream followed him. Blinking in the darkness, he didn’t know where he was for a moment. Everything looked alien and surreal. As the dream began to fade, he recognized his bedroom at the ranch.

  He’d left behind the sound of the chopper and the mortar fire, but the pounding had intensified. With a start, he realized what he was hearing.

  Someone was at the door.

  He glanced at the clock on his bedside table. It was after three in the morning. Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he grabbed his jeans, pulling them on as he fought to put the dream behind him and hurry to the door.

  A half dozen possibilities flashed in his mind as he moved quickly through the house. It still felt strange to be back here after years of traveling the world as an Army helicopter pilot. After his fiancée dumped him, he’d planned to make a career out of the military, but then his father had died, leaving him a working ranch that either had to be run or sold.

  He’d taken a hundred-and-twenty-day leave in between assignments so he could come home to take care of the ranch. His father had been the one who’d loved ranching, not Colt. That’s why there was a for-sale sign out on the road into the ranch.

  Colt reached the front door and, frowning at the incessant knocking at this hour of the morning, threw it open.

  He blinked at the disheveled woman standing there before she turned to motion to the driver of the car idling nearby. The engine roared and a car full of what appeared to be partying teenagers took off in a cloud of dust.

  Colt flipped on the porch light as the woman turned back to him and he got his first good look at her and her scratched, blood-streaked face. For a moment he didn’t recognize her, and then it all came back in a rush. Standing there was a woman he’d never thought he’d see again.

  “Lola?” He couldn’t even be sure that was her real name. But somehow it fit her, so maybe at least that part of her story had been true. “What happened to you?”