Chapter 19
Agun.
The man had a gun pointed straight at her.
Katherine’s world stilled, her heart lodged in her throat and mind worked in overdrive.
She raised her hands in the air as she faced her attacker.
He wore military-style fatigue pants with a stained tan T-shirt.
Wrinkles along his brow told her he was older than she was, maybe middle aged.
He wore his hair short, and a full beard covered the bottom of his face.
Not one tingle of recognition rang inside her.
“I don’t want you to hurt anyone,” she said, hoping to take his attention off Ollie.
He tilted his head to the side, and a twisted smile curved his cracked lips. “Isn’t that funny. You don’t want me to hurt anyone, but you had no problem using your power to ruin other people’s lives. Seems a bit hypocritical, don’t you think?”
“You have the wrong person. I didn’t ruin anyone’s life, at least not on purpose. I don’t even know who you are.”
Bailey barked non-stop from where she stood on the other side of the fence, nearly drowning out her own thoughts.
The man huffed out a humorless laugh. “Shocking. Too self-absorbed to even know the chaos you caused. It’s a good thing I’m here to set things right.”
Her brain went into overdrive, trying to both decipher who stood before her as well as how to get away from him. She might not know the woods outside of Cody’s house well, but the path they took the day before was to her left.
Which meant the ravine Ollie fell down wasn’t far away.
If she could make a run for it, she could get down the ravine and hide. Her phone was in her pocket. She could call Cody, and he’d find her. It might be a long shot, but it could work.
The man tapped the gun against the side of his head. “I can see those wheels spinning. Not a good idea to try and come up with some stupid-ass plan.”
Refusing to show her fear, she inched up her chin. “Why not? You think I should just do whatever you tell me? Accept my fate without even trying to fight back?”
“You can try, but then I might have to put a bullet in that poor, helpless kid. The way these two trees part, I have a perfect shot. He’ll never see it coming.”
An icy terror like she’d never known flooded her system. “Please,” she said, her shaking voice belaying her every emotion. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just don’t hurt him. He’s a little boy. He’s done nothing wrong.”
Begging for her son’s life broke her heart in two and created a soul-deep hatred for the man standing in front of her.
She’d never been a violent woman. She’d always believed communication created understanding.
But right now, all that bullshit washed away, revealing a mother who’d rip anyone to shreds if they hurt one hair on her child’s head.
But she had to keep her cool. One misstep wouldn’t just put a bullet in her head, but potentially one in her son’s as well.
“As long as you do what I say, I’ll leave him alone. But one wrong move and I make no promises.”
“Just tell me what to do. I swear,” she said. “I’ll do whatever you say.”
“Glad to see I’ve gotten your attention.” He reached into one of the pockets on the side of his pants, pulled out a red bandana, and tossed it her way.
She snatched it out of the air.
“Tie that around your eyes. I don’t want you seeing where we’re going. I’d knock you out but hauling your ass to my truck would be too much trouble. But first, toss me your phone.”
Her hands trembled as she handed over the phone then hooked the fabric around her face.
The smell of stale cigarettes and sweat threatened to activate her gag reflex.
She was tempted to tie the bandana in a way that she could catch a glimpse at where this man was taking her.
But she couldn’t risk doing anything to upset him.
At least not with Ollie so close.
A hard yank on her elbow pulled her forward. She tripped over her own feet, struggling to stay upright as she was dragged along. Twigs snapped and leaves crunched with each step. Her mind spun as she tried to figure out which direction she traveled.
Time was an illusion. Her heartbeat the only sound in her ears.
Her compromised vision messed with her senses, and it took every ounce of will power to put one foot in front of the other.
When she stepped on loose stone and the heat of the sun beat down on her face, her fear spiked to a new level—they were out of the woods.
The energy around her shifted, and the feel of her captor’s body next to hers made her want to recoil. But she stood tall, refusing to let him see how shaken she was.
“Now that we’re by my truck, I don’t have to worry about keeping you awake.”
She opened her mouth to scream, but something hard smashed against the side of her head. Her body crumpled to the ground and her eyes slid shut as one thought played on repeat in her mind.
At least Ollie’s safe.
Leaning over the table, Cody glanced through the photos Tommy had brought by for Katherine to see. “You really think one of these guys could be who we’re after?”
“Hell, I don’t know, man. Seems like a long shot, especially since Katherine didn’t recognize either of them. But we’re grasping at straws.”
“Anyone call them? Check for alibis?” Cody asked.
“Owen’s on it now. I figured if I could get a positive ID from Katherine, it’d give us more ammo for Owen to use. No luck there, but that doesn’t mean we’re off the mark.”
Cody tossed down the photo. “Doesn’t mean you’re on it either.”
“By the way,” Tommy said, reorganizing the papers and placing them in the folder. “Sorry about what I said on the phone earlier—that crack about the family being bad or whatever. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Cody snorted. “Trust me. That’s the least of my worries right now.”
A knowing grin spread on Tommy’s face. “My sister can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but don’t let that scare you away. I think you two would be good together.”
It took some self-control to not react to him calling Katerine a pain in the ass. Instead, he zeroed in on the other part of his sentence. “You do? Hasn’t really seemed that way.”
“Yeah, well, I was caught off guard.” Tommy shrugged. “But you’re a good guy. Always have been. You and my sister just kinda click. Don’t let her push you away because she’s scared.”
Cody sighed. He was about to have this conversation with Katherine. He didn’t need to have it with her brother. “When all this shit passes, the fear can go away. Maybe it’ll be easier to know where things stand then.”
“Dude, it’s not all this shit that she’s afraid of.” Tommy waved a hand over the file resting on the table. “She’s scared of being hurt. She’s gone through hell the past year. A type of hell I never want to experience. But she survived. She doesn’t want to go through that kind of loss again.”
“And the first time she waffled even a little about her feelings, I all but shoved her out the door. Son of a bitch. What the hell was I thinking?”
“Probably that you’re a little scared too, but don’t worry, I won’t say a word.” Grinning, Tommy winked. “You’ll be fine. If being with Sadie has taught me anything, it’s communication fixes all kinds of mistakes. That and flowers. Always bring home flowers.”
Urgency rushed through his veins to fix his blunder and make things right. He’d reassured Katherine they could take everything at whatever speed she was comfortable with, and the first chance he got he pushed her too far and made her feel badly. Damn, he was an idiot.
Not wanting to waste another second, he headed for the back door he’d left open when he’d stepped inside moments before.
“Mom! Hurry up!” Ollie yelled.
Bailey’s incessant barking urged Cody to run outside. Crisp air skimmed his cheeks, and he lifted his hand to shield his eyes against the blinding sun.
Ollie sat in his wheelchair on the lawn. He shifted his body back and forth, bracing his palms against the armrests to lift himself a little in the air as he looked out to the woods beyond the fence.
Bailey stood at the gate. A low growl rumbled from her throat.
Katherine was nowhere in sight.
“Ollie, where’s your mom?” he asked and jogged down the deck steps.
“I threw the ball over the fence. She went to get it and hasn’t come back yet. I don’t know what’s taking her so long.”
Terror sat heavy in his gut as he raced across the grass. “Tommy, get outside now! Stay with Ollie.”
He didn’t wait for a response as he swung open the gate and charged into the dense cover of trees.
Bailey stayed beside him, her nose pressed to the ground.
“Katherine!” he called, feet pounding through the dense foliage and searching for any sign of her.
Nothing but the sound of Bailey’s labored breath and birds chirping overhead answered. He stilled, turning in a circle to scan the area. A round green ball caught his attention, and he sprinted to the tennis ball.
He wanted to charge through the forest and track her down, but he had no idea which way she went. Fear tightened like a noose around his neck and cut of his breath. His mind spiraled higher than the white, puffy clouds as a dozen worst case scenarios spun in his head.
No, he couldn’t go down that path. He had to act—had to call in Owen and every other deputy at his disposal and find Katherine.
Sprinting back to the yard, he found Tommy standing at the gate. His eyes were wide, mouth pressed in a tight line. “Where is she?”
“She’s gone. Call your brother. Whoever took her has a head start. We need to move fast.”
Tommy grabbed his phone and made the call.
“Cody?”
Ollie’s scared little voice almost brought tears to his eyes.
He walked over to the boy and crouched in front of him.
“Where’s Mom?”
“I don’t know, buddy.”
“Does the bad man have her?”
Dear Lord, how could he look this boy in the eyes and answer his questions honestly without breaking his heart?
He grabbed Ollie’s hand and squeezed. “I think so.”
“Are you going to find her?”
“I’m going to do everything I can to bring her home. I promise.”
Ollie threw his arms around Cody’s neck, his tears soaking through the fabric of Cody’s T-shirt.
As much as he needed to get moving, he held the boy tight for a minute longer. He didn’t take his promise lightly. He’d move heaven and go to hell and back to bring Katherine home. Not just because Ollie needed his mom, but he needed the woman he loved.