“With my baby.” He stared straight ahead.
“Holy shit, man. What the hell are you going to do?”
“I don’t have a clue. For now, I need to focus on making sure Grace is okay. This is my fault. I left her at the festival knowing that asshole was capable of anything.”
“We’ll find her. I called Creed. The team will gather and look for her. You know we won’t stop until we locate her. Should you go to Hawke Landing and wait?”
Ruger couldn’t be angry. He knew the question came from good intentions. In the business of search and rescue it was an unspoken rule that any time a mission was close to a relative of a member they were expected to step back. “Not happening.” He dialed another number and on the second ring it was picked up. “Willow? Ruger here. Any news?”
“None yet. The team left fifteen minutes ago. As soon as I hear something, I’ll let you know,” she assured him.
“I need you to do something for me. I need help in finding Gam Hill. Any address on file. Any friends. Call Conley. He’ll give you the info.”
“No problem. I’ll have that for you ASAP.”
“Thanks.” He clicked off and dropped his phone into his lap.
“No wonder you got drunk.” Hank whistled.
“When I get my hands-on Gam, I’ll wring his neck.”
“So what are you thinking? Is he doing this out of vengeance? Anger?”
“Hell I’ll take a stab. I’d say he’s pissed and blames Grace for convincing Priscilla to leave him.”
“Gam isn’t smart.”
“He’s impulsive. Which means we don’t have much time.” His phone rang and he pressed ‘talk’ without reading the screen. “Ruger here.”
“Son, you need to come to the ranch now,” his ma said.
~~~~~
Her temples ached.
Her neck throbbed.
And her mouth was dry.
Grace shifted and realized her wrists and ankles were bound in rope.
Forcing her eyelids open, she blinked up at the yellowed ceiling.
Turning her head, which took great effort because her head hurt so bad, she tried to figure out where she was.
On the other side of the room was a cement wall with the word “captive” spray painted on it.
Strong smoke filled her lungs. Someone was smoking.
Was she not alone?
“Look who’s awake,” came a male voice.
“You promised me that you wouldn’t hurt her,” a woman whispered.
“What did you think would happen? That I’d bring her here and offer her tea?”
Grace recognized the voice. Gam. Was Priscilla with him?
“Priscilla?” Grace called out.
The sound of heavy footsteps thudded on the floor. A second later a hand grabbed her hair and jerked her head up a few inches from the mattress. She screamed at the pain that rammed into the back of her head. She hadn’t suffered from a migraine since the first day she arrived in Montana, but she felt the aura of one coming.
“Not so brave now, are you?” Gam turned her around, his face lingering within an inch of hers. “We’re gonna have some fun.” Spittle landed on her cheek.
“We don’t have to do this.” She could barely get her voice to work.
“Shut up,” he growled.
He gave her a toss and her head bounced off the mattress.
She searched the room further, looking for anything. She found Priscilla sitting on a flowered chair, her knees tucked close to her chest, her long hair hanging in wet strands around her cheeks. She shifted and Grace could see that her eyes were red rimmed, and her mascara was smeared down her face.
“Priscilla?” Grace whispered.
She didn’t look over.
“What’s going on here?” Grace tried again. Her mouth was so dry.
Priscilla finally dared a glance. “I’m sorry, Grace. I had no clue—”
“Shut up or I’ll make you shut up,” Gam pushed the words through clenched teeth.
Lowering her eyes to her lap in obedience, Priscilla didn’t say another word.
Feeling some of the lethargy fading and the blood returning to her limbs, Grace lifted her chin and focused her attention on Gam who was sniffing something into his nose. He wobbled. His eyes were bloodshot. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but you need to let me go before things get worse for you.”
“You’re not in the position to make demands,” Gam slurred. “If you didn’t want to be involved you shouldn’t have encouraged my family to leave me.”
Grace glanced at Priscilla who tilted awkwardly in the chair. Gam squatted next to her, took out a syringe from his pocket and tapped it lightly.
“Leave her alone!” Grace yelled. “What are you doing? Get away from her.”
“Paradise, ain’t it, baby?” He pushed up Priscilla’s sleeve.
“Ruger will look for me,” Grace told him.
“He won’t find us, not for a while. Even he ain’t that good.”
“What do you want?”
“I don’t want a damn thing. At least not yet,” Gam snickered.
“Then why am I here?”
“I haven’t decided yet, but I have a few ideas.” He pulled a knife from his back pocket and showed it to her. “I’m wasting my time here.” He wavered over and pressed the knife against Grace’s throat. She felt the sharp tip penetrate her skin.
“You won’t get away with this,” she warned.
“I already have. Now, you decide, do you want to help me?”
“Help how?”
“Leave her alone,” Priscilla muttered.
Gam snorted. He took three strides to Priscilla, grabbed her hair tight in his fist and jerked her head back so hard that she cried out. “Maybe I’m better off on my own. I’m getting sick of you and that brat kid anyway.” He put the knife to her neck.
“Stop!” Grace called out. “I can get you money. How much do you want?”
This got his attention and he lowered the knife a few inches. “I’m not a patient man,” he snarled.
“Tell me how much you want.”
He finally let go of Priscilla’s hair and she fell out of the chair.
“How much you got?”
Her mind raced as she quickly calculated how much it would take to get him to let her and Priscilla go. “I can get you a thousand.”
With a smirk, he shook his head. “If you can get a thousand then you can get me more.”
“Fine. Untie me and let’s go to the bank.”
“Right, bitch! I don’t trust you,” he snarled.
“Then you don’t really want money. I guess you’ll just kill me then.”
He flung the knife like an axe and it stuck in the door. “Killing you sounds like a good time, but I might just be willing to make a fair exchange.”
“I’ll get you the money, but I can’t from this room. Let Priscilla go and then we’ll make a plan.”
He clasped his hands and looked at her over his knuckles. “You’re not in the position to negotiate.” Pushing forward, he sneered, “I think I’d like ten grand.”
“You’re asking for a lot of money. If you want it then you have to prove to me you’re a man of your word.” She didn’t trust him any farther than she could smell him. “Priscilla, where’s Sam?” He wasn’t in the room and Grace hoped he was okay.
With an incoherent word, Priscilla’s head bumped the floor.
Gam clapped. “Bitch couldn’t wait to get her hands on some paradise.” He swiped the back of his hand across his nostrils. “Like a dog to a bone. You sure she’s worth negotiating for?”
“I’m sure she is. Now do we have a deal?” Grace pressured. The last thing she wanted was to give the man one cent of her money, but if it saved her life, and Priscilla’s life, then Grace would pay what she had to.
“She’s no use to me anyway.” He gave her a hard push with his boot, and she groaned. “Get out of here. Go.”
It took a lot of
effort for Priscilla to make it to her feet. Gam grabbed her up roughly by her shirt, ripping the cotton. She could barely stand on her own two feet as her eyes rolled back into her head.
He held her steady and close. “Listen, cunt,” he bent near her ear, “you tell anyone where I’m at, I’ll hunt you down. You hear me?”
Tears rolled down her cheeks and she nodded. “I won’t tell,” she slurred.
“Then get the fuck out of here.” He gave her a hard shove toward the door and she fell to her knees. She crawled the remaining feet to the threshold. Gam turned to Grace, clicking his tongue. “It’s just you and me now, sweetheart. Let’s get payday finalized.” He smiled.
“Untie me. We’ll have to go to the bank.”
A long hesitation passed. He pulled the knife out of the wood and dropped down next to Grace. She could see the glint of the blade as he brought it close to her cheek. “Don’t get any dumb ideas.” With a lowering of his hand and a flick of his wrist, he cut the rope off her wrists and then her ankles. She felt much more powerful free from the restraints.
Rubbing the soreness from her hands, she spotted the verse on her wrist and felt a spark of bravery. She slowly stood, a little wobbly at first because her ankles hurt. Whatever he’d given her to knock her out, some remained in her system. Pushing passed the ache in her head, she decided she was getting the hell away from Gam. She sized him up, weighing her risks. He could barely stand which was to her advantage.
A plastic baggie stuck out of his back pocket. More drugs?
“Let’s go!” He grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the door. “Walk,” he commanded.
The hallway was consumed in shadows. Without knowing what was in front of her, she carefully followed the narrow passage. Her senses were overcome with cigarette smoke and mildew, making her head throb. Her foot hit something with a soft thud and she looked down. “Priscilla!” Grace squatted and gave the woman a shake. Was she alive? “She needs help!”
“We made a deal, remember? I let her go. It’s not my fault she only got twenty feet. Now get up.” He grabbed Grace’s hair and lifted.
“Let go! You want this deal then don’t touch me again!”
His laughter came out in a cackle. “Spirit, I like it.” He leaned in and breathed on her. “Maybe we should stay right here.” He licked her cheek.
Grace gave him a push, but because he still had his fingers knotted in her hair, he didn’t go but a foot or two back. “Are we getting the money or what?”
“Up the stairs.” He pointed the knife.
The steps creaked with each step and once she made it to the top floor, she quickly scanned the shaded space, looking for a way to escape.
“Through there.” He pushed her toward a doorway. The kitchen was lit with a dim light above the sink. Grace’s mind turned with a plan. If she didn’t act soon she might lose her chance.
Once he realized she couldn’t withdraw ten grand out of the ATM would he kill her? The banks were closed and no way did she want to get stuck with him for hours until morning. As he sobered up, he might not be as willing to bargain.
The floor creaked under her as she stepped across the worn and dirty linoleum. She stopped to ask him, “Can I get a drink of water from the sink? I’m so thirsty I can barely breathe.”
“Make it quick,” he bit out.
Turning on the faucet, she used her hands to make a cup and sipped. It wasn’t a lie, she was parched, but it bought her some time.
Seeing that the baggie had raised out of his pocket another inch, she decided it might be her last opportunity…
Grabbing the bag, she had it in her hand before he could react. He reached for it, but she was fast and had the seal open, holding it close to the stream of running water. His eyes widened and his lips parted. He looked like he was close to losing his last bit of oxygen.
“Give it back!” His upper lip curled.
“No.” She moved it closer to the faucet.
“I’m going to slit you dead, woman!”
“Make one move and I’ll ruin everything that’s in this bag.” She had no clue what drugs were in the baggie, but by his worried expression she guessed they were worth something.
“I thought we were forming a friendship,” he muttered. “I see I was wrong.”
“The only friends you have are the drugs in this bag. Let’s make a new plan.”
~~~~~
Ruger squatted down in front of Sam who was sitting in one of the rockers on the porch of the main house at Wilder Ranch. The boy wasn’t crying, but Ruger could see the fear in his eyes. Hannah stood close behind Sam for support. Hank was at the bottom of the steps pacing.
Reminding himself to stay calm so he didn’t scare Sam more, Ruger patted the kid’s hand. “Hi, Sam.”
“Hi.” He swiped the back of his hand across his runny nose.
“You okay?” He didn’t look like he was hurt, physically, but Ruger knew inside the kid was probably a wreck.
He gave a jerky nod. “Yeah.” He hiccupped loudly.
“Son, can you tell me what happened? Do you know where your ma is?”
With the mention of Priscilla, tears welled in his big brown eyes. He sniffed and clasped his tiny hands together. “S-she’s in a room.”
“What do you mean in a room?” Ruger wanted to rush and get the information he needed but he realized that would only scare Sam and then he might forget the most important details.
“I was eating a hot dog and…” He lowered his gaze to his untied tennis shoes.
Ruger paused before asking, “It’s okay, buddy. You’re safe here. Nothing can hurt you here at the ranch. I want to help your mom. Okay?”
He lifted his chin and nodded. “Gam was mad. He stuck a pencil here in mommy.” He pointed to the area inside his elbow. “She got sleepy.”
“Did they go somewhere?”
He nodded. “They were arguing about something and he hit mommy. She started crying. He told us not to move.”
Ruger gritted his teeth and it took him great effort to relax some. “I know this is hard but it’s important. Where did he go?”
Tears fell down the boy’s dirty cheeks. “He took Grace. She was asleep too.”
Ruger heard his ma’s moan. “Sam, where did Gam take your mom and Grace?”
“He dropped me off here, by the road, and told me to come up and sit here on the porch and don’t move.”
“You did a great job listening. Did he tell you where they were going?”
A curl of hair fell over Sam’s forehead as he shook his head. “No.”
Anger rolled through Ruger. He patted Sam’s shoulder. “You stay here with Hannah.”
Standing, Ruger made his way off the porch and joined Hank. “I think Gam has them close. He wouldn’t have gone out of his way to bring Sam here. If they were driving from the fairgrounds, I bet they drove east after dropping the boy off.”
“Good point. I’ll phone the team and we can search every house within a ten-mile radius.”
“The ice cream house.”
Hearing Sam’s words, Ruger turned and jumped up the steps in one leap. “What is it, Sam?”
“The ice cream house.”
“Ice cream house? Is it an ice cream shop?” Ruger asked with the patience he had no clue he owned.
Sam shook his head. “No. When we go there a man wears an ice cream shirt. Like the ones at the dairy shop where mommy takes me. I can play on the windmill. It’s big. That’s where they go inside. The man gives them candy.”
“Thank you, Sam.” Ruger rubbed his tight jaw. He said to Hank, “He’s talking about Harland Mason’s old house. After he died his son moved in. It’s ten minutes from here.”
“Let’s go!”
The two men ran to the truck and kicked up rocks as they sped out. Ruger said a silent prayer. He had to find Grace safe.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“DON’T MOVE, GAM.” She waved the baggie near the water. This was her only hope.
&nb
sp; Some of his shock dissipated and he smiled. His eyes were like dark pits. “You think you have me by the balls? I’m the one with the knife, bitch!” He lunged for her.
Grace dropped the bag in the sink and ran, but she didn’t get far before Gam had his hand in her hair, dragging her to the dirty floor. She kicked, landing her foot solid in his thigh. He groaned, but he didn’t loosen his hold.
He had a grasp on her leg now as he climbed up her body.
Screaming, she slammed the heel of her hand in his nose. Blood shot out, squirting with each beat of his heart. He was yelling as he grabbed his face and brought the knife upward…
“That’s it! You’re done!”
Gam’s hand was kicked and the knife went flying. His eyes widened in shock as he looked up. “What the fuck!”
“You’re done!” Ruger bit out. He stood above them.
He reached down, grabbed Gam’s shirt by the collar and lifted him to his feet. His face was covered in blood. He tried to pummel Ruger’s chest but it was no use.
Crawling across the floor, Grace leaned against the wall, watching Ruger pound his fist into Gam’s jaw. The man dropped to the floor.
“You okay?”
She lifted a chin up. Hank was there too. “I’m okay.”
“Let me help you up.” He took her arm and helped her to her feet. “Lean against the wall.”
He stepped over and patted Gam’s shoulder. “Wakey, wakey.”
Gam’s lids fluttered and he mumbled something incoherent.
Ruger came to Grace and dragged her into his arms. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I’m okay. Just sore. Priscilla. She’s at the bottom of the stairs. We must help her, Ruger. Gam gave her something.”
“Okay.” He looked down into her face. “You stay here. Sheriff Conley is on his way. I’ll go get Priscilla.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“I’M GLAD YOU’RE okay, Priscilla,” Grace said to the woman who sat on the other side of the round table in the visiting quarters at the jail. She looked much better than the last time Grace saw her motionless on the floor two days ago.
“Grace, I didn’t know Gam planned to hurt you. I promise.”
Unsure of what to believe, Grace only wanted the woman to get well for Sam’s sake. “Okay.”
Cowboy Wilde (Cooper's Hawke Landing Book 2) Page 21
