Chapter 37
lina
“Please be there. Please be there. Please be there,” I prayed as we drove down the dirt road to the double-wide on the other side of the ranch. Reed had to be there. I tried calling him again, but he still didn’t pick up. “Shit!” I hit the steering wheel.
“What’s wrong?” Penn asked from where she sat in the front seat.
“Oh, nothing. Just don’t tell your daddy that you got to ride in the front without your booster.”
Penn giggled into her hand. “I can keep a secret.”
“Can you? Because I need you to keep this one. Hopefully, he doesn’t see us pull up just like he did when you were driving the UTV. Otherwise, I’m in big trouble.”
“Do you need me to hide?” She started to duck beneath the window.
But when we pulled in, Reed’s truck wasn’t there. “No …” My voice waned, biting my tongue to keep from cursing again in front of Penn.
I parked and cut the engine. “Let’s just go inside, and I’ll try calling him again. He may be on his way over here, so let’s just stay here while we wait. We’ll go inside and see if we can find a movie to watch. Come on.”
I jumped out of the truck and hurried to the passenger side to help her down.
“Can we watch Frozen?” she asked as I picked her up and set her feet on the ground.
“Absolutely.” Holding her hand, I fumbled for my key ring with all the ranch keys. I inserted the key into the lock but found the front door already unlocked. “Does he usually keep the front door unlocked?”
Penn shrugged. We got inside, and I helped her take off her boots.
“Can I go get my Elsa doll to watch the movie with us?”
“Sure, princess.” I toed off my boots, trying to find some semblance of calm so as not to worry Penn. “I’ll get the movie started, and then we can find some snacks.”
She skipped away down the hall to her bedroom while I went to the living room to turn on the TV.
It took me a few minutes to figure out how to stream the movie, but once I had it cued up, I turned to head to the kitchen.
Blowing out a big breath, I told myself everything was fine.
There was no need to worry. Reed probably just went back to the stables and would be back soon.
“Penn!” I called. “What would you like for a snack?”
Opening the pantry beside the fridge, I looked inside, searching through the different cereals and crackers.
Boots sounded in the hallway, and for a moment, I thought it must be Reed. But that didn’t quite make sense to me.
“Penn?”
I closed the pantry and walked out of the kitchen, stalling in my tracks. My heart lurched in my chest, my entire body going rigid.
“Hi, Lina.”
reed
“You can’t keep running from me!” I yelled into the pines, starting to get frustrated.
He was still a few yards in front of me, fallen branches cracking under his boots. I was leading with my 9mm as I navigated through the trees. Wayne Urban was a sneaky bastard. I had to give him that. Probably why he was so good at stalking Lina.
I had to be on his heels now. My ears strained to listen to his movements, to follow which direction he was going, but my heartbeat was so loud in my ears, it was nearly drowning out his footfalls.
It didn’t help that we were starting to go deeper into the wooded area, away from the ranch, where dried pine needles created a carpet on the forest floor, muffling the sound.
“We had an agreement!” I called out to him. “And I made you a promise if you didn’t follow through on your end!”
I stopped to stand still, hoping to quiet my pulse enough to hear what direction he was going. Even breathing sounded like the roar of jet engines to my heightened hearing.
“Fuck,” I cursed to myself.
When I was on my way to Romy and Jude’s house, I spotted him creeping along one of the fence lines.
I intended to go to his house soon, but fortunately, he’d come to me.
After quickly checking on Penn, I hopped back in the truck, speeding down the dirt road to where I saw him last. Swinging the steering wheel to the right, I hit the gas and off-roaded across the field.
I’d barely cut the engine before I grabbed my Glock from beneath the seat and hopped the fence after him.
The crunch of what must be a pine cone sounded behind me. I spun on my heels, leveling the barrel in that direction.
Movement shifted behind a tree. Our eyes connected. His going wide, mine narrowing, before he pivoted and started running again.
I growled, clipping the gun at my waist to bolt after him.
This time, with him in my sight, I wasn’t about to let him go.
I used every bit of power I had to propel myself forward, gaining on him as he stumbled and fought for his footing on the uneven ground.
He may have fear fueling his flight right now, but I had rage and a family to defend, and that was far more powerful.
I needed to know what Junior was up to before it was too late.
Before he got near Lina. Before the whole ranch was at risk.
Hissing breaths through gritted teeth, I threw myself at him, tackling him to the ground.
He grunted, the air leaving him momentarily, giving me a chance to wrap my hand around his neck and dig my knee into his back. Kicking his legs, he squirmed, trying to get out from under me.
“Going somewhere, Wayne?” I pulled my gun, pressing it to the back of his head.
He froze beneath me, his hands raising to his sides to show he was unarmed.
“You’re an idiot if you think you can trespass on private property and not get shot. The least you could do is come armed.”
“Who said I was unarmed?” he grumbled against the ground.
“What? Do you have another knife somewhere ready to slice me?” I asked, letting go of his neck to check his pockets and coming up empty.
He tried to shift, to loosen my hold, but I dug my knee harder into his back and pushed his head into the dirt.
“I warned you what would happen. You didn’t want me to come after you, Wayne. That was the wrong move.”
I put as much of my weight as I could against him. “Get off me,” he muttered against the ground.
“You think this is what Lina felt when you cornered her?” I moved my hand from the back of his head to his jaw, digging my knuckles in, pressing his face as hard as I could without breaking it. “Do you think this is what she felt when you put your hands on her? Doesn’t feel very good, does it?”
He groaned a sound that sounded a little bit like a “no.”
“Now you’re going to tell me what you know.”
lina
“Get away from her,” I said firmly. I was surprised my voice sounded so calm compared to how my entire body was vibrating with panic.
Junior’s hand rested on Penn’s shoulder. Her little eyes were big, bouncing between Junior and me as she hugged her Elsa doll.
“I don’t think you have a say in any of this,” he said, stroking his dirty-blond scruff that shadowed his face.
“The fuck I don’t,” I ground out between my teeth. My hands balled at my side as I searched the kitchen for anything I could use as a weapon within reach. “Come here, Penn.”
Penn took a step toward me, but Junior’s hand gripped her firmly, making her stall in her tracks and look up at him. “Don’t you want to go see your mama? She’s been missing you.”
She stared at him, not saying a word. She looked so scared, and I was barely holding my shit together, not wanting to freak her out more, but this was so fucked up.
“Reed’s going to be back any minute,” I warned him.
He cocked his head, looking at me like I was the stupid one. “No, I don’t think he will be. He’s a little preoccupied at the moment.”
I could feel my face fall and my stomach twist. “If you did anything to him, I’ll make sure you don’t walk off my ranch in one piece this time.”
He clicked his tongue in disappointment, shaking his head. “See, that’s where you Larsens keep fucking up. This isn’t just your ranch.”
“Fuck you,” I seethed.
His lips tipped up. “I don’t think there is anything I need to worry about here.”
He leaned down, picking up Penn. I gulped, fear washing over me like acid. “Don’t.” I took a few steps toward them, my muscles locking up when I noticed the grip of a gun sticking out from his waistband.
“It’s all right, Penn,” he said, stroking her hair.
I felt like I was going to be sick.
“We’re going to go see Mommy now.”
My mind reeled, trying to make sense of what was happening, trying to figure out what I should do as he turned his back to me and walked out the door with Penn in his arms.