He loved her with a passion. Not having her in his life would definitely drive him crazy. She was everything he needed and wanted in his life.
With that thought, Seth sidestepped Haley and walked out of the kitchen. He grabbed the keys to the jeep off their hook.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Ignoring her, Seth strode back into the kitchen and out the back door. Haley continued yelling at him not to leave her alone. He simply kept quiet and climbed into the jeep.
Quickly, he drove around the house toward the gate. He shook his head and a small smile touched his lips when he saw Malcolm and Jules kissing on the porch.
So much for their animosity toward each other. He had noticed the chemistry between them in waves as they argued.
Seth sighed heavily. At least his brother would be happy with the woman he apparently had a thing for. He could only hope that their love for each other would supersede any challenges. He himself had a mountainous task ahead of him.
Seth drove to the diner, knowing that Sandy would be there. He hoped he wouldn’t face an obstacle in seeing her. The members of her staff, he had noted, could be quite protective of her.
He sighed when he remembered that he would also have to face Aunt Karen. She would be very disappointed in him. She had repeatedly begged him not to break her niece’s heart. He would have a lot of explaining to do.
When he reached the diner, he wasn’t surprised when he was told that she wasn’t there.
“Look, I really need to talk to her. I have to explain what really happened,” he pleaded, placing both hands together for emphasis.
Annie looked at Mary who just placed an order with the cook. “He’s looking for Sandy but doesn’t believe that I don’t know where she is.”
Mary’s eyes widened. “She isn’t here. I thought I saw her in your truck about thirty minutes ago but I’m not sure.”
Annie gave him a stern look. “What happened?”
Seth realized that they were telling him the truth. “Nothing serious.”
“Why don’t you call her number?” Mary suggested.
“I have. She isn’t picking up,” he replied with frustration lacing his voice.
Annie and Mary both brought out their phones and dialed Sandy’s number. They gave up after trying three more times.
“She isn’t picking up,” Annie said in a worried tone.
Seth sighed. “I’ll go to Aunt Karen’s place. Please call me the minute she gets in touch with any of you.”
They nodded and he hastily walked out of the place, hoping that Sandy would be at her aunt’s.
Seth kept on calling her number until someone finally picked up. At first, he was joyous, thinking that she finally answered. But then he realized it was his brother. Malcolm told him that he had heard the phone ringing and had gone to investigate.
Seth wanted to ask him why he was only just now hearing it, but he changed his mind. If he did, Malcolm’s answer might distract him from his mission. He wouldn’t be surprised if Malcolm hadn’t found Sandy’s phone because he and Jules had been engaging in more than just kissing. The sparks between them were enough to set off a volcano.
Seth sighed as he remembered that it had been the same between him and Sandy when they first met. It still was, thankfully.
The knowledge that Sandy didn’t leave the ranch with her phone troubled Seth. There was no way he could reach her to tell her that he was sorry. He couldn’t even send messages to her. It would be in vain.
Seth became even more worried when he got to Aunt Karen’s house and was told that Sandy wasn’t there. He believed the woman wasn’t lying, because with a worried frown on her face, she allowed him in. She even went as far as telling him to search the whole house if he didn’t believe her.
“What have you done to her?” Aunt Karen shouted at him. “Didn’t I tell you not to hurt her?”
He sighed. He had known she wouldn’t be happy about the latest incident.
“As usual, Sandy ran off without waiting for an explanation from me,” he pointed out bluntly.
“Are you blaming her for your mistake?”
“I’m not. I’m very worried about her. I’m scared that she might have come to harm. So I wish she would just stop running away and face issues head on,” he explained tautly.
Aunt Karen was silent at that. Her face contorted in a frown. “Where can she be?”
“I’ll find her,” Seth simply said and walked out of the house.
He didn’t know where he was going to find Sandy, but he had to keep looking even if it meant going up to the dog park. She might have gone there since she found the place so peaceful. But he didn’t know if she would go there at this time of the day as the place was closed to visitors.
Seth drove to her house and was upset when he didn’t find her there. He had knocked repeatedly on the door until her neighbor came out to tell him that she wasn’t at home.
“She came and left,” the woman told him.
“How long ago?” he asked earnestly.
“About an hour or so,” she replied and was about to shut the door when she added, “A man also came to look for her and decided to wait for her as well. I’m not sure, but I think he left with her when she came.”
Seth stiffened.
“Could you please describe the man to me?” he questioned when he finally found his voice.
“Curly red hair, brown eyes, average height, looks to be in his forties or so,” she said and shut the door before Seth could thank her.
The blood froze inside Seth. The woman just described James. Could the bastard have abducted Sandy?
Trepidation clenched Seth’s chest. Most likely that was what happened.
“No!” he exclaimed and quickly rushed to the car. He swung in and drove to the police station. The cops had to be alerted that James had finally struck. Thank goodness he had reported the man weeks ago. At least now they would believe him as there was a witness in Sandy’s neighbor.
Seth’s heart beat rapidly against his chest. He hoped that Sandy was okay. If anything happened to her, it would be his fault. Regret washed through him. He should have told her everything as soon as she came back from the hospital.
He had instead taken the coward’s way out, and now he feared that Sandy would be the one to pay for it. He hit his steering wheel hard, cursing himself for messing things up. All he could do was pray that she was safe.
Chapter 3
“Pull over,” James suddenly barked at Sandy, startling her.
They were in the middle of nowhere, on the road to the next town. She didn’t understand why they would stop here.
“Why? There’s nothing here,” she protested vehemently.
“Haven’t I warned you not to question me?” he shouted and swung his hand to strike her but she ducked and almost lost control of the car.
“Be careful, you fool!” he yelled at her as she struggled to bring the car back under control.
Sandy saw it as an opportunity to cause an accident so that she could hurt James and get away from him. But something that she couldn’t understand stopped her. So, she had to pull the car to a halt by the side of the road.
“Get down,” he said and waved the gun at her. “Don’t get any ideas. Remember I won’t fail to pull the trigger to end your miserable life.”
Sandy nodded and did as she was told. The moon cast a bright sheen in the sky, making it look like dawn was breaking. So, she was able to see clearly when she looked down the lonely road, praying that a car would come along so she could scream for help. All around them were thick bushes. She wondered if this was going to be it for her.
Did James have the idea of killing her here? But then, why would he threaten to shoot her if he really did have the plan of murdering her eventually?
Sandy reasoned that with such a warped mind as his, he might be planning to play with her emotions until he was ready to do away with her.
A tremor went through her at what wa
s obviously James’s plan. Tears stung her eyes at the helplessness of her situation. Her gaze moved from one side of the road to the other. She could make a run for it into the woods. Given that he wasn’t planning on killing her yet, she didn’t think he would actually shoot her.
Darting a nervous tongue across her parched lips, she placed one foot after another and began running in the opposite direction. She heard his curse and before she knew it, she crashed on the ground with him on top of her.
“Bitch! I thought I told you not to try anything.”
Sandy turned around when he got off of her and she started fighting him. She swung her arms around, catching him in the face which made him grunt. He tried to stop her flailing hands but she continued until he cocked his gun and shot in the air.
Breathing heavily, she glared at him with hatred. Then he rose and kicked her in the stomach. Sandy held on to herself, gasping at the pain.
“I swear I’ll kill you if you ever try that again,” he threatened with savage bite. “Now, get up!”
Sandy stayed on the ground clutching her stomach until he jerked her painfully by the arm. She winced and pulled herself to her feet. He pushed her in the direction of the bush.
“Where are we going?” she questioned with alarm.
“Shut up and keep moving.” He pushed her again and she stumbled forward. She fell heavily on the ground and groaned at the pain she felt in her elbows.
James growled. “Don’t get on my last nerve, Sandy or you’ll regret it.”
Desiring for him not to put his hands on her again, Sandy stilled herself against the pain and rose. Her eyes fell on a dirty blue car parked a few feet away.
Her heart leapt in her chest. James had obviously been planning this for a while. He must have started with his evil thinking when he saw her at the dog park weeks ago.
If only she hadn’t left the ranch in anger, she wouldn’t have fallen into his trap. But what else could she have done? Stay back so that she could be fed more lies by Seth. Besides, she couldn’t have stayed there forever. At some point, she would have returned to her house and a life outside Seth. She couldn’t have depended on him forever even though that was what he obviously intended until he got tired of her the way he had of Haley.
Sandy pushed thoughts of Seth from her mind. If she continued to think of him, she would lose her wits and never be able to escape from James which would be very disastrous for her.
“Get in,” he curtly told her, pointing the gun at her after opening the trunk of the car.
Sandy shook her head. “I’m not getting into the trunk.”
“Do what I say or you’ll regret it,” he rasped and she sighed. He sounded like a broken record she never wanted to listen to again.
“You can threaten me all you want, James. I’m not getting in there. You might as well shoot me now and get it over with.”
He glared at her, snarled and grabbed her hair. He yanked it so hard, tears sprang out of Sandy’s eyes.
He twirled his hand around her hair and jerked it harder. Sandy groaned with pain.
James laughed and dragged her into the trunk. Still engulfing her in wicked laughter, he slammed the trunk shut. Tears rolled down Sandy’s face. But she wasn’t going to lie quietly in the trunk. She wouldn’t cooperate with the bastard who had caused her mother years of misery.
Screaming, she used her hands and feet to create a lot of noise in the confined space.
“Let me out of here, you bastard,” she yelled at the top of her voice.
Sandy’s heart slammed in her chest when a gunshot rang out. She fell silent immediately when she heard another shot.
James was actually shooting into the trunk! The crazy bastard had made good his threat of shooting her if she didn’t cooperate.
Her eyes widened when the trunk opened to reveal his wickedly smiling face.
“Now you know I’m not joking around, don’t you? Defy me again and I’ll start with your kneecaps,” he threw at her and slammed the trunk shut again.
The sound reverberated in Sandy’s ears. Shaken, she remained quiet, realizing that she had to stay quiet and docile for now until she could find a way to escape.
Although she was frightened, she tried to remain calm. If she wasn’t in control of her emotions, James would get the best of her. She didn’t allow him to do that to her years ago; she wouldn’t start now.
Sandy remained silent all through the journey to wherever he was taking her. She felt around her for anything inside the trunk she could use to hit him when he opened it. Unfortunately, she could find nothing.
She thought of flying out and attacking him as soon as he opened it, but she didn’t think that would work. She might just end up getting shot in the process.
The car finally pulled to a stop after what seemed like he had driven for about thirty minutes. Sandy waited with her pulse racing as she heard him slam shut the door and head over to the trunk. She heard him whistling and gritted her teeth. He was enjoying this.
What a psychopath!
Sandy’s head lifted when she heard the whistling moving away. Everything became silent, and then she heard the sound of a door opening and closing.
What in the world was going on? Was he going to leave her there?
When he didn’t come back, Sandy realized that this was some sort of punishment simply because she had defied him.
What a twisted man! Why her mother had to fall in love with him of all the men in the world still baffled her.
But she couldn’t blame her mother. James had come on all sweet and caring as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. Later, he showed his true colors which astounded both of them.
As time went on, Sandy began to wonder if James had completely forgotten about her. She wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case since he appeared to be mentally unstable.
But then it would pose a great problem if she was left there a few hours more. Sweat was already making her shirt stick to her body and dripping down her forehead.
After what seemed like hours on end, she heard a door open. Still whistling, James came back to the car. Then he paused by the trunk. Sandy almost screamed with frustration.
When she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, he finally opened the lid.
“Get out,” he barked.
“With pleasure,” she muttered and struggled to get out of the tight space without any help from him.
Sandy took in deep breaths of fresh air and sighed. James took her hand and jerked her toward the house in the middle of nowhere. Sandy’s gaze moved all around her, trying to discover the direction she would run when she escaped.
She wondered what James did to the owner because she didn’t think that he would be able to afford the house given that he hadn’t only been in jail these past years, he couldn’t keep a steady job.
In the past, he either went to work late after a drunken binge the previous night or he picked a fight with his boss or coworker. He would be fired.
He was truly a deadbeat.
James jerked her toward the house. He opened the door and pushed her in. She stumbled into the room and was appalled at the stench and filth everywhere. Pizza boxes, chip bags and empty beer cans littered the place. This appeared to be the place he had chosen to hole up in after his release from prison.
Sandy would have felt sorry for someone like him but for the fact that he was a despicable man who had thrown away the love her mother offered him.
He yanked her hand and dragged her down the narrow hallway. He pushed her into a bare room. Apparently, this was going to be her prison until she escaped.
Sandy decided to remain calm and pretend as if she wasn’t planning anything. Her gaze flickered to the window that was bare of curtains. The bars across the window were narrow, not something that she could squeeze herself through. She wondered if they were loose enough for her to pull out quietly. She would definitely try it as soon as he left the room.
However, she had to make it seem as if sh
e was so cowed that she couldn’t possibly think of escaping.
It wasn’t difficult for tears to run down her eyes. Thinking of Seth’s betrayal and her present situation was enough for her to be teary-eyed.
“I just have one question to ask. Why are you doing this?”
He threw back his head and laughed. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself from asking that question.”
His face became menacing while she sobbed quietly. “I want you to suffer the way your mother did. That diner is mine. It will be mine when you’re gone. You will sign it over to me or you will never see the light of day again.”
Sandy’s forehead scrunched in a frown. Did that mean he wasn’t planning on killing her at the end of the day?
“If you want the diner, no problem. I’ll sign the document so that you can let me go.”
Later on, she would contest it in court. Well, that was if he let her go. She didn’t think he would, so she would have to find a way to outwit him.
He laughed humorlessly. “You’re not getting away from my grasp so easily. I’ll make you suffer before you sign it. You can’t tell me what to do. I’ll tell you when to sign it.”
With that, he stepped out of the room and banged the door shut. She heard the key turn in the lock and sighed. Quietly but quickly, she walked over to the window overlooking the woods, and tried to pry the bars from their anchor holes.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t pull them out. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that they were pretty new and had been sealed into the walls recently.
Tears clogged in her throat as it dawned on her that she would have to find another way to escape. Letting out a heavy breath, she pulled herself down onto the bare and dirty floor.
Recalling what Seth did to her had tears running down her face. Frightened and heartbroken, she lay on the ground and wept.
Chapter 4
Seth raked his fingers through his hair as he continued down the road after the police car. He was grateful for the moonlight which made seeing easier at that time of the night.
Just Guard Me Forever Page 2
