Live for Me (Hallow Ranch)

Chapter Thirty

Abbie

“What the hell is this, Abbie?” Ricky roared, gesturing to the only painting that hadn’t been destroyed when he completely raided my house, the one I'd hidden underneath the bed when I got here.

It was propped up on against the porch steps, the afternoon sun rays flooding down from the heavens through the treetops, highlighting each one of my tedious brush strokes.

I looked at the painting for half a second before meeting his eyes again. His thin dark hair was wild due to him running his hands through it constantly for the last five minutes. His skin was sleek with sweat, the stains spreading over the front of his Wildlife Warden button up. He had a gun on his hip, but he’d tossed his badge in the backseat of his car before he dragged me here.

To the cabin.

What scared me the most—and there was a lot—was that Ricky knew where this cabin was.

“Look at it, Abbie!” he demanded, coming for me.

I tried not to flinch when he reached out, grabbing the top of my hair and turning my head to face the painting.

It was a portrait, the only one that hadn’t been completely destroyed by my stalker.

One I’d been working on for over six years.

It was a portrait of Beau, and the reason why it was taking so long to complete was because of his eyes. I could never find or mix the right shades of blue.

Beau’s blue was one of a kind.

Beau’s blue was my favorite blue.

A sharp pain shot through my heart, knowing I may never get to see that blue again.

Ricky yanked my head back with a growl, and my eyes widened just before he backhanded me. My head snapped to the side, the pain in my scalp no worse than the throb in my cheek. I bit the inside of my mouth, drawing blood to stifle my screams.

I didn’t want to give him the fucking satisfaction.

“After all I’ve done for you,” Ricky hissed, shoving my head back against the tree and walking away. Once his back was to me, I leaned forward, scrambling to get the rope undone.

An hour ago, I was set to have lunch with Valerie and Harmony. After spending days on the ranch, Valerie decided we needed a break. It took an hour of convincing our overprotective cowboys, but when Denver’s gray eyes softened, I knew we’d been given the green light. It was just supposed to be a lunch. Quick. Simple. Easy. Safe.

Then, Ricky Johnson walked in, giving me his cocky, sinister smile.

Even though he gave me the creeps, I never thought it could be him. Everything happened so fast, but one thing was for certain: I was the only one who’d gotten hurt. Thank God.

“What do you want, Ricky?” I asked, wincing as pain flared in my wrist. He’d twisted it before shoving me into his car.

The man whirled, looking at me like I’d betrayed him.

Disbelief scattered across his features, and he slowly looked up to the sky, feeling defeated. “I just don’t understand it, Abbie. All I’ve done is try to protect you—to love you in the way you deserve,” he said, yelling the last few words.

I looked over to the cabin. “Why did you bring me here?” My voice was surprisingly level, given the circumstances.

He scoffed, rolling his eyes and throwing his hands out. “I was trying to be nice, Abbie! I wanted to make sure you had all your things before we left.”

Goosebumps scattered across my skin. “W-what?”

Frustrated I wasn’t on the same page as him, he stalked back over to me, his arms wide. “I’m just trying to take care of my wife, but look at what being nice gets me,” he barked, pointing back to the painting. “My wife should not be fucking painting pictures of her ex.”

My wife.

My wife.

My wife.

Sweet fucking Monet . This man was insane.

Bat shit crazy.

His dark eyes snapped over to mine, fury taking over now. “I don’t think I should be nice to you anymore, my love. I think I’ve given you too much freedom…too much grace.” I pressed my tongue to the roof of my mouth and my back against the tree, pulling my knees up. He bent over slightly, getting in my space, his soulless eyes pinning me in place. “I should’ve killed that cowboy when I had the chance.”

I jerked.

“Hell, I still had those military contractors on my fucking payroll back then, and either one of them could’ve easily taken the shot when Beau was down on one knee, trying to take you from me.”

I stopped breathing.

No.

No.

It couldn’t be.

It couldn’t—

A soft chuckle left him then, and he reached out to touch the cheek he’d just backhanded. “I hated hitting you that night, Abbie. I hated doing it just now too, but you have to learn to listen. It’s the only way this is going to work.”

Ricky wasn’t just my stalker.

Ricky was the man who drove me away from Hallow Ranch.

Ricky was the one who made me break Beau’s heart.

His eyes scanned my face for a moment before he sighed in disappointment. “You know, I thought something happened to you two weeks ago. I was scared shitless, my love. I came over—like I usually do—to spend some time with you while you showered, and your house was empty. Then, you didn’t show up at work the next day…” He trailed off, pulling his hand away to rise to his full height. “None of it made sense until I found the bounty hunter at your house, and now, I’m thinking I should’ve killed him too.”

Ash.

He was talking about Ash.

“Then, Hallow Ranch had been calling my fucking office for days, which pissed me off. All I cared about was finding you; I couldn’t give a shit about this damn ranch. You were my main priority, but then, Chase Bowen started getting on my ass about it.” He paused, looking at me. “Do you know how fucking annoying that man is? And the way he treats your mother is criminal.”

My mother?

All of a sudden, a wave of dizziness slammed into me, and my eyelids felt heavy.

Ricky made a satisfied sound. “Glad to finally know those drugs are finally kicking in.”

“What the hell do you know about my mother?” I pushed out, my words slightly slurred.

Fuck. Fucking fuck. He drugged me.

And I didn’t know with what.

He shot me a look. “Abbie, who do you think has been the one taking care of her, providing her with what she needs all these years?”

I didn’t— what?

“Babe, I understand you needed to go off and start your career, but you shouldn’t have left Sheri all alone,” Ricky said plainly. “She’s a good woman.”

“She beat me,” I whispered. “She threatened to sell me to the men in town for money.”

My tongue felt heavy, and I didn’t understand why I said that. I never talked about that with anyone. The only people on this planet who knew about all the horrors I’d endured during my childhood were Jigs and Beau.

Everything around me became fuzzy, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

“Just take a nap, Abbie,” he sighed. “I’ll pack your things, and then we can go.”

As I fell to my side, the only thing I saw was the man who’d ruined my life walking into the cabin where I was supposed to spend the rest of it.

Then, everything went black.

Beau, I’m sorry.

I love you…