Her pulse raced as she heard James behind her. He had started running as well.
The branches from trees brushed against her face, causing scratches, but Sandy didn’t stop. She was running the race of her life. Nothing would stand in her way, not even if she got lost in the woods.
Desperate to outrun James, Sandy didn’t see a broken tree trunk a few paces from her. Her foot struck it, causing pain to shoot through her body and she fell heavily.
“Argh,” she groaned and tried to pull herself to her feet.
“Don’t move,” James said as he reached her and pointed his gun at her.
Sandy sighed heavily. It was over.
Chapter 8
“Please be careful, Seth. I don’t want anything to happen to you,” Malcolm said into the phone.
Seth grimaced. He understood his brother’s worry, but he didn’t want to hear such things when he was afraid of what James might have done to Sandy already.
“I would have said that you should leave it for the cops but for the fact that I would be wasting my breath,” Malcolm added.
Seth had to smile at that. His brother knew him well.
“Mal, I know this might be too soon to ask, but if Jules were in Sandy’s shoes, would you sit back and allow the cops handle everything?”
Silence greeted his question.
“You’re right. You have to be there for Sandy. And yes, it might seem too soon, but I’d be there for Jules. As a matter of fact, I’d move the earth to find her,” his brother replied.
Seth smiled. It seemed that when the Banners loved, they did it with all their heart. If he and Haley were still a couple and such a thing happened to her, he would react the same way. When he loved, he did so wholeheartedly.
“Thanks for understanding. I’ll let you know whatever happens,” he remarked with a small smile.
“All right. Please be careful.”
“I will,” Seth replied and ended the call.
He and Malcolm both knew that he wouldn’t be careful, not if it involved saving Sandy’s life. He would do whatever it took to rescue his beloved woman.
On impulse, he called Haley’s number to find out how she was faring. He was informed by the caregiver he hired to take of her that she was sleeping.
He couldn’t help feeling sorry for Haley. She had done a decent thing by giving him up, which she should have done a long time ago to avoid getting hurt. As soon as she saw that he had moved on, she should have accepted that she had lost him forever.
But no, she had sought to come after him and now she was hurt terribly by the state of things. He didn’t like the way things turned out between them with her losing the baby she obviously loved, but there was no helping it.
Seth let out a deep breath as he waited for the cops. They had called him a few minutes ago to inform him that they got a tip where James might have taken Sandy.
After leaving the hospital, he had driven to the outskirts of Plyrock to the place where they had found Malcolm’s truck. He had looked around for anything they might have missed. Since it was daylight now, he had thought that he would find something the cops hadn’t found in the moonlit night.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t found anything. So, he had returned to the ranch to take a shower and have a bite. He had watched with humor at how Malcolm and Jules tried to hide the fact that they were now a couple. Seth had found it a comic relief to take his mind away from his worry for Sandy.
“You two know you aren’t fooling me, don’t you?” he had questioned when he got tired of watching them try to hide their feelings for each other.
Jules eyes had widened while Malcolm had frowned. Seth had laughed and said, “Look, we’re all adults. I don’t think you two have to hide the fact that you spent the night together. It’s no big deal.”
Silence had descended on the breakfast table after his words. Seth had regretted voicing it out loud. He should have kept his mouth shut and continued observing them with amusement.
Jules had blushed and said, “We’re not trying to hide it from you or anything. We … I …” She had glanced in Malcolm’s direction. “I’m just a little shy about it. After all, both of us were at each other’s throat ever since I came here. It all looks like pretense, which isn’t the case actually.”
Seth had nodded and offered her a smile. “Of course I know it isn’t the case. Only a blind person wouldn’t be able to see the chemistry between you two. In fact, Sandy and I had planned to matchmake both of you.”
At the mention of Sandy’s name, he saw tears in Jules’s eyes. He had wanted to yell at her that her friend wasn’t dead, so she didn’t have to look so sad at hearing her name. He had controlled himself and simply excused himself from the table.
A few minutes later, he had left the ranch and driven again to the outskirts of town. This time around, he hadn’t bothered stopping at the spot they had searched last night and that morning. He had driven on, along the lonely road with the hope that he would find an abandoned car somewhere in the woods.
He had driven to the next town and back when the cops called him to tell him what he considered very good news. The cops had told him not to get his hopes up.
“Nine times out of ten, these leads turn out to be dead ends. The townsfolk want to help so much; they see things that aren’t there. I can’t begin to tell you the number of calls we’ve had concerning several cases where almost everyone knew who committed the crime,” one of the officers had warned him.
Seth understood that there was a possibility it was a hoax but he decided to remain positive. He didn’t have anything to lose hoping the informant was right. If Sandy wasn’t there, then they would have to look someplace else. But he hoped the info was true.
According to the informant, he said last night as he drove along the interstate, he had seen a blue sedan driving into the woods. He had wondered what anyone would be doing in the forest at that time of the night. He had shrugged it off and continued his journey.
The policemen had asked him to accompany them in order to show them the place. The man had readily agreed to go with them. The worry now was if the man would be able to remember the exact place he saw the car. He claimed that he would recall it because of the unusually crooked trees in that area.
Seth could only hope that that was the only place in the woods with strange-looking trees.
Sweat trickled down Seth’s face even though cool air was coming in through the window. Sweating was the least of his worries. All his thoughts were on Sandy.
He was afraid that the cops would race to her location with their sirens blaring. He was troubled that James might panic and then shoot Haley. He didn’t want that happening. If only he knew the identity of the informant or had his phone number, then he would have persuaded the man to take him to the place.
James wouldn’t see him coming. He would simply use the element of surprise on him and rescue Sandy and then call the cops. But if the cops came with their convoy, James could easily hurt Sandy and bolt before their arrival.
Seth gripped his steering wheel hard. He had pressed one of the police officers for the informant’s identity but the man had been adamant about not giving it to him.
“Mr. Banner, while we don’t want you interfering with police investigation, we also don’t want you to get yourself killed. James has proven to be a dangerous man who might shoot you on sight before even asking who you are. You’ve got to have faith in us. We’ll handle it.”
Seth gritted his teeth with frustration. If only he knew the location. He would have to wait for the cops to arrive so that he could go with them. He hoped that they wouldn’t use their sirens. They had a better chance of catching James by surprising him than alerting him of their presence.
Moments later, two police cars raced past him. He had a rush of adrenaline as he started the car and went after them. Thankfully, they were not blaring their sirens. It meant they intended to use stealth to catch him. Joy raced through him.
Seth drove al
ong the interstate after the cops, hoping that they wouldn’t stop him from coming along with them. If they had noticed a car following them, they gave no indication. Most likely they knew he was the one. When his phone started ringing and he saw that it was one of the cops calling him, he chose not to answer. He definitely knew he would be instructed to go back.
Seth continued after them. They turned from the tarred road onto a dirt road leading to the woods. Seth’s eyes narrowed as he wondered how the James would have found such a lonely place in the woods as his hideout.
His eyebrows rose when the police cars drew to a stop. He wondered what was going on. One of the officers alighted from the vehicle and walked toward the jeep.
He hoped the cop wasn’t coming to tell him to either go back or stay there while they went on.
“Mr. Banner, I suggest that you either go back from here or remain here. We’re going forward on foot because we don’t want to alert him to our presence.”
Seth gave the man an incredulous look. “Do you really think I’d go back after coming this far, officer?”
The man shrugged. “It’s a suggestion.”
Seth smiled. “Thanks for your concern but I’m going to see this through to the end. Sandy is my woman. She means everything to me. I can’t stay back here and not do anything. You don’t understand the guilt I feel that she’s in this situation. It’s something I did … didn’t do, that caused her to be here. I have to fix it.”
The policeman looked at him with pity, trying to decide if he should come along or not.
“Wait here,” he said and walked toward his colleagues who were waiting.
Seth watched with his heart in his throat as the men debated among themselves if he should come with them. Finally, the one who came to speak with him beckoned with his hand for him to come.
Seth released a relieved breath and got out of the car. He walked over to the cops and thanked them for allowing him to tag along.
“I promise not to get in the way,” he said even though he knew he wouldn’t adhere to that if Sandy was in danger and needed him.
As he brushed past the first police vehicle, he saw the man who had come along with the cops to show them where he’d seen the blue sedan turning into. Seth paused to say hello to the man.
“Thank you very much,” he said and gave him his card. “Please call me. I have a reward for you.”
The man smiled brightly and his head bobbed up and down as he took in the details on the card.
Seth followed the cops as they walked down the dirt road. It became hard to walk with stealth when they had to step on dry leaves. Seth’s heart leapt when he saw a house in the distance.
The cops saw it too and started signaling to one other. Seth darted a nervous tongue across his parched lips. Sandy could be in there hurt and in danger.
Since he promised the cops that he wouldn’t interfere with their investigation, he forced his legs to slow down, even though he wanted to run to the house yelling for Sandy.
He had proposed that stealth be used to get to the Sandy but now that he was within reach of her, he found it extremely difficult not to run forward calling out, asking if she was okay.
They reached the house and the cops indicated for him to stay back while they went forward. Some of the cops with their guns raised went to the front door while two others went around the back of the house.
Unexpectedly, they heard the sound of a gunshot and a scream. At that point, nothing could have stopped Seth from running forward.
“Mr. Banner! Wait!”
Seth didn’t listen. All he thought about was Sandy in danger. He needed to reach her to save her even if it was at the cost of his life. He heard the cops running after him.
Seth grounded to a stop when he saw James holding a gun over Sandy who was lying on the ground. Seth was close enough to see bruises on her face. He gritted his teeth. The bastard had hit her. he would pay with the last drop of blood in his body, Seth swore.
Although he knew it was a foolish act, he surged forward. All coherent thought disappeared from his head. He only thought of rescuing Sandy from such a cruel man. He feared that James, upon sighting the cops, would see his situation as hopeless. And then to achieve his wicked goal, he would shoot Sandy and then most probably kill himself.
Seth couldn’t allow that. It was better he tried to get to James before he thought of that than leaving things to chance.
“Stop, Mr. Banner!”
James turned around just then and his eyes widened with shock. Apparently he hadn’t noticed their presence. After a second of immobility, he lifted his gun and aimed at Seth.
Seth ducked the first time and the bullet whistled past him. He was afraid that it might hit one of the cops behind him. He hoped it wasn’t so, because it would be his fault if such a thing happened.
Seth covered the distance between him and James but just before he reached him, James aimed the gun at him again and pressed the trigger. This time around, the bullet hit Seth in the shoulder, but it didn’t stop him from hurling himself at James.
Sandy screamed as Seth fell heavily on the ground. James had moved just in time so Seth had missed him by mere inches.
James raised his gun again to fire at Seth but he was stopped by a shot from one of the policemen that missed his shoulder by inches.
“Drop your weapon, Mr. Cutler,” the cops shouted.
Seth saw the devilment in the man’s eyes as he lifted his gun again. He couldn’t shoot, however, because another shot from the cops hit him in the shoulder. He staggered backward and aimed his gun at the policemen. More shots rang out, hitting James in several places on his body.
Seth watched as life seeped from James before he fell heavily on the ground. Relief poured out of Seth in waves. Sandy was safe. It didn’t matter that he had a bullet in his shoulder. Sandy was safe. Even if she didn’t want to have anything to do with him again, the fact that she was no longer in James’s hold was enough for him.
Seth closed his eyes and allowed the blanket of darkness to swallow him. In the recesses of his mind, he heard a scream and saw Sandy, kneeling beside him and gazing at him with tears rolling down her face. Then the darkness finally covered him.
Chapter 9
“No!”
Sandy screamed and shook Seth vehemently.
“You can’t leave me. Please don’t. Please.”
Tears poured down her face as she feared that the worst had happened. She lifted her gaze to the policemen who had surrounded James.
“Please call 911. He’s hurt. James shot him,” she yelled at them.
One of them came forward to examine Seth. Then he ran to one of the cars and picked up his radio.
For as long as she lived, Sandy would never forget the fear that ran up her body when James pulled his gun at Seth. She had tried to dislodge the gun from his hand with her legs by kicking him, but it apparently hadn’t been enough to stop the bullet’s release.
However, she would have liked to think that it was because she had interfered with his aim, Seth took the bullet in his shoulder instead of his heart which she believed James had intended.
The inexplicable joy she had felt when she saw Seth standing there with a determined look on his face would forever be fresh on her mind. All she could think of then was that he had come for her. He hadn’t been having a nice time with Haley, but accompanying the cops in search of her.
The realization that he cared enough for her to do that had made her very happy. So blissful, that for a moment, she had forgotten the dire situation she was in. She had looked at Seth, and all the love she had for him had poured out through her eyes.
I love you, she had wanted to shout at him, not caring whether it would make James utterly furious.
The man she loved had left his pregnant ex-girlfriend to come look for her. If anything ese didn’t show that he loved her, his presence there did.
And then an evil thought had crushed her spirit. A voice had asked her what if he ha
d done it out of guilt. What if he had come along because everyone would have thought him to be heartless if he hadn’t come with the policemen?
Her joy had dented a bit but then when he started coming forward with determined strides, she had thrown away the theory of guilt. No man who was plagued with guilt and motivated by anything other than love would have strode forward in the face of being shot by a deranged man.
Too shocked for words, she had watched as Seth advanced to try to save her. It would remain one of the glorious moments in her life. To have a man who loved her enough to put his life at risk just so that she would be free—he was a keeper.
At that moment, she didn’t care if he was the wealthiest man in the world or had five baby mamas. She loved him with all of her being and if he would forgive her for running out on him again, then she would love for things to return to normal between them.
When something warm dropped on her hand, Sandy’s eyes enlarged when she lifted her hand and saw the unmistakable red stain.
Seth was bleeding! He was dying!
More tears ran down her face. Oh, no, this couldn’t be happening. Seth couldn’t die. She wouldn’t let him.
She shook him heavily.
“Ma’am, I wouldn’t advise you to do that. You could be causing more harm,” one of the cops waiting around said.
Sandy sniffed, “You don’t understand. I love him. He can’t die without knowing that.”
The man shook his head. “He’s not going to die. It’s a shoulder wound. Don’t worry; paramedics are already on their way.”
Sandy didn’t accept that it was just a shoulder wound. The fact that Seth had been shot and was bleeding was enough to frighten her.
“Please come back to me,” she whispered into Seth’s ear.
The policemen hovered around her asking questions, but she refused to answer. She was too distraught to put a lucid thought together. Besides, she couldn’t say anything, not when Seth was bleeding in her arms.
The policemen had made him comfortable as best as they could while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.
Just Guard Me Forever Page 5
