Chapter 21
The dream was always the same. She tried to wake herself, but just like the many times before, she couldn’t. Ice filled her veins when Boyd’s man Brick bound her hands behind her and motioned for two men to take her.
Taryn struggled to get away, but it did no good.
No matter how many times her feet connected with them, they didn’t so much as flinch.
She knew she was being brought to her execution.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Her life was supposed to be with Jace.
She wasn’t supposed to end up selling drugs to help her father and brother pay back a debt that shouldn’t have become hers.
Lightning flashed in the sky, followed immediately by a long rumble of thunder. The warehouse loomed before her as the men hauled her inside the darkened building. Her rapid heartbeat slamming against her ribs drowned out the sound of Brick’s boots on the concrete.
Brick looked back at her, his dark brown eyes meeting hers briefly as he walked beneath a couple of lights.
Then he halted and turned to face her. She tried to catch his attention again, hoping that she might convince him to help her.
A form took shape out of the darkness behind Brick. Then the men holding her stopped.
And Boyd came into view.
He had his hands behind his back as he stopped beside Brick, and the two of them exchanged whispers. Taryn tried to hear what they said, but she couldn’t make out anything. Her once easy life had turned into fear and dread.
“If you’re going to kill me, get it over with,” she told them.
Boyd’s head snapped to her as he halted mid-sentence.
Brick’s look of shock made her wonder if she had lost her sanity.
Only a fool would bring attention to themselves in this scenario.
Maybe she had gone mad. All she knew was that she couldn’t live like this any longer.
If she couldn’t be free, then there was no reason to keep living.
“I’ll get to you,” Boyd replied.
Taryn heard a sound behind her. She twisted to see two others being dragged in, though they weren’t fighting like she had been. Her curiosity turned to shock when she realized that the other two were her brother and father. They were shoved to their knees on either side of her.
“Dad,” she whispered when he and Ben were settled.
One of the men holding her yanked down on her arm. She fell to her knees so hard she feared she had cracked her kneecap. Her father wouldn’t look at her. His head hung so low, his chin touched his chest as tears ran down his face.
Taryn then looked at Ben. He glanced at her, and the terror in his eyes sent her into an all-out panic situation.
That’s when she knew. Boyd was going to kill all three of them.
All Taryn could hope for was that they’d spare Payton.
She was the most innocent of all of them.
The more time that passed without her arrival, the more Taryn hoped that her prayers might be answered.
“Someone has betrayed me,” Boyd said.
Taryn squeezed her eyes closed. She knew this part. This was where Boyd killed her father in front of her. She couldn’t watch it again. She wouldn’t. She kept telling herself to wake up, that she was reliving a nightmare. But nothing she did untangled her from the dream.
“Haven’t you, Taryn?”
Her heart dropped to her feet as her eyes snapped open. She found herself looking into Boyd’s blue eyes as he aimed the gun at her face. This wasn’t the usual nightmare. And that alarmed her even more. “No.”
“You went to Jace. You told him who I was. I warned you what would happen if you betrayed me.”
She shook her head furiously, unable to comprehend what was going on. “No. No, please. I-I didn’t do anything.”
“You think you can be free of me? Never. For this betrayal, I’m going to take your sister’s life.”
He swung the gun to the side. Her father no longer kneeled beside her. Instead, it was Payton, tears coursing down her face.
“Taryn? Help me. You said you would protect me.”
Taryn swung her head to Boyd, trying to think of something to say, when he fired the gun.
Taryn jerked upright as she came awake at the sound of the gunshot in her dreams. She was breathing heavily, her heart racing.
“Easy,” Jace said as he sat up. “You’re safe, darlin’. Everything is fine.”
Taryn dropped her head into her hands. Nothing was fine. She might be safe, but her sister wasn’t.
“It was just a dream,” Jace said as he pulled her into his arms.
She crumpled against him and let the tears flow.
A long time passed before she stopped crying.
He held her through it all. When she finally raised her head and wiped at the tear streaks on her cheeks, Jace didn’t ask her to tell him what had happened.
He offered her a smile and a box of tissues.
Taryn found herself grinning as she took a tissue to wipe her nose.
“It’s dawn. You hungry?” Jace asked.
She shrugged. “A little.”
“How about one of Velma’s blueberry donuts?”
They were her favorite, but of course, he would remember that. “I’ve not had one in forever.”
“I’m craving one of her cinnamon rolls myself.” He tugged on her hand. “Come on. Let’s treat ourselves.”
She let him pull her from the bed. “I need to stop by the drugstore.”
“No problem.” He kissed her before turning to get dressed.
The dream began to fade, and with it, her fear.
At least, for now. She pulled on her jeans and a sleeveless shirt before she wound her hair up in a messy bun.
Then she went into the living room to find her shoes she had kicked off the previous night.
Jace was waiting for her near the garage door by the time she grabbed her purse.
The drive into town was done in comfortable silence as the radio played. She looked at everything as they passed, noting what had changed and what hadn’t. All too soon, they pulled up to the drugstore.
They got out and walked inside, hand in hand. Everything felt like it had before Boyd had taken her away. She could almost believe the last years hadn’t happened. When Jace stopped to look at a cat toy, Taryn continued on to the pharmacy to get the morning-after pill.
As she stood in line, she realized that someone had walked up near her. She moved over, thinking they needed room to reach something on the shelf next to her. She glanced at them. Then quickly did a double-take when she recognized the face.
Brick’s dark brown eyes met hers. “Picking up something for yourself? Or someone else?”
Her heart skipped a beat.
He nodded to the pharmacy desk. “You’re up.”
Taryn glanced at the clerk and woodenly walked up to the counter.
She asked for the pill and waited as the employee found it and brought it back.
Her hands shook as she pulled out cash to pay.
She glanced behind her to see if Brick was still there, but he was gone.
And that worried her more than if he were still standing there.
The fact that he was in town could only mean bad things. Brick was completely loyal to Boyd. Was he here for her? Or was Brick in town for the undercover agent? She got her receipt and put her change in her wallet.
“Hey.”
Taryn jumped, dropping her purse and the bag with her purchase when Jace touched her arm.
He studied her for a moment before picking up the items and putting his hand on her back. “What happened?”
“One of Boyd’s men was in the store.”
“Who? Where?”
She looked around as they walked through the aisles, but she could no longer find him. “Brick. He’s gone.”
“And you’re sure it was him?”
“Yes.”
Jace didn’t say another word as they hurried from the store and got into his truck. “Do you know what he drives?”
“I . . . no,” she said with a shake of her head. She studied the cars in the lot, trying to see inside the vehicles. “I don’t see him out here either.”
Jace looked at her. “What did he say to you?”
“He asked if I was getting something for myself or someone else. Then he told me it was my turn at the counter.”
“That’s it?” Jace asked with a frown.
Taryn shrugged. “That’s it.”
“Did he try to take you? Did he ask if you had the money?”
She shook her head. “All he said was what I told you.”
“Well, looks like he just wanted to remind you that you were being watched.”
“What do we do?”
“Nothing. You’ve got time before you have to be in Fort Worth. For all he knows, you’re just catching up with an old friend.”
Taryn’s hands shook as she fastened her seat belt. “Yeah.”
“We can go home,” Jace offered.
She turned her head to look at him. “Boyd has already taken so much from us. I’m not going to let them take another second. Let’s have breakfast.”
“I agree completely,” he said with a sexy grin.
But as he backed out of the parking spot, Taryn noticed that Jace scanned faces and vehicles, looking for threats. And so was she.
When they reached Velma’s, they decided to eat there. Taryn scarfed her blueberry donut down so fast that she wanted another. Jace happily ordered a second as he devoured the huge cinnamon roll and drank a mug of coffee. Taryn opted for a latte.
It wasn’t long before Jace had her laughing as he filled her in on stories from the time she had been gone.
When she was with Jace, it was easy to forget the trouble that awaited them.
He’d always had that ability. Not only was he likeable, but there was also something about him that drew others. Women, especially.
When he had been with her, he never gave any other women even a glance. Taryn never worried about him cheating. But it was also why she was surprised he was single.
“How are your parents?” she asked.
Jace smiled as he swallowed his bite of food. “The same. They’re going to be so happy you’ve returned. I haven’t told them yet because they’d want to see you.”
“And they don’t need to know about all of this while it’s going on,” she finished.
He reached across the table and took her hand. “They’d want to help.”
“I wouldn’t let them. I’m barely allowing you.”
“I know,” he said with a chuckle. “But as soon as we get back, we’ll head there for some dinner and a ride to the river.”
“Oh, that sounds heavenly,” Taryn said. “Both the horse ride to the river as well as your dad’s amazing steaks and your mother’s cherry pie.”
Jace chuckled.
She pushed away her empty plate. “I hope you aren’t going to leave without letting them know where you’re going.”
“Clayton and Abby will tell my parents and Cooper’s mom after we leave. We know better than to take off and not let someone have information to tell our families.”
“Good.”
Jace held her gaze. “I think Boyd’s idiotic for allowing you to return to your hometown to do what he ordered. But I’m glad he did. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be together now.”
“He doesn’t care about the money. It’s about controlling me.”
“That’s right, but it’s all about to change.” Jace cleared his throat, a smile on his face. “So, when do you want to go down to the courthouse?”
She laughed, loving how he always knew when to change the subject. “You do know there’s a seventy-two-hour waiting period after we apply for a marriage license before we can get married, right?”
“And you know that I have connections, right? It can be waived with a court order.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re serious? I thought you wanted to keep it secret.”
“What I want is to marry you. What do you say?”
She hesitated for just a moment before she nodded. “I told you last night I wanted to be your wife. That hasn’t changed.”
“Then let’s go see what we can do about that.”
She scooted from the bench as they walked out together and drove to the courthouse.
Taryn waited in the lobby as Jace spoke to the front desk.
A moment later, he was shown into an office.
She used that time to freshen up in the bathroom.
She took her hair down, ran her hands through the strands, and dug into her purse for some lip gloss.
Fifteen minutes later, Jace returned with a piece of paper in his hand.
“You got it?” she asked as she rose to her feet.
He looked shocked. “You doubted me?”
“I wasn’t sure there would be time.”
“The benefits of living in the same town all my life. Come on. They’re waiting for us. Unless you want to change. We can come back.”
She glanced down at her jeans and shirt. “We can have another celebration later if we want to. A fancy dress doesn’t matter right now. You do.”