Chapter 20
Wyatt waited almost two hours for Callie to regain consciousness, but she didn’t stir. If they remained so close to the barns and activity, it was only a matter of time before they were spotted.
There was a chance the people who owned the ranch didn’t work for the Saints, but there was also a good chance they did.
It wasn’t something he was willing to risk.
He was trying to figure out how to get away from the ranch when a truck pulled up. An older woman got out, greeting the others. By the way she ordered them around, it was clear she owned the ranch.
But what interested Wyatt was the back of her truck. The tailgate was down, and there was a tarp spread out in the back. It would be perfect cover for them.
He wasted no time gathering Callie into his arms and waiting for the individuals to turn their attention away. It came when they walked into the barn.
Wyatt stood and rubbed his shoulder against the palomino’s neck. “Thank you.”
Then he hurried to the truck and climbed in the back. He shoved aside the tarp and carefully set Callie down before lying beside her. No sooner had he covered them than he heard voices.
“Want me to get the tarp?” a man said.
“Naw,” came the woman’s reply, growing closer as she spoke. “I’ve got an appointment in town that I’m already late for. We’ll get it when I get back.”
The sound of the tailgate closing drowned out her next comment. Wyatt listened as she walked around the truck and got inside before starting the engine. The vehicle pulled away, and he released a breath.
It was stifling under the tarp, but it kept Callie out of the sun. When the truck hit a hole, she moaned but didn’t wake. The longer she remained unconscious, the more worried he became.
As the vehicle picked up speed, he lifted the tarp near his head and looked around the bed. He smiled when he spotted the cooler. Reaching over, he lifted the lid and slipped an arm inside. His fingers brushed ice, then frigid water before finally hitting on a bottle.
He wrapped his fingers around it and lifted. His mouth salivated when he saw it was water. Quickly, he opened it and drained the entire bottle before grabbing another.
This one was for Callie. He put his hand beneath her head and lifted as he placed the bottle against her mouth. Water trickled against her lips before running out of the sides. He then parted her lips with his thumb so that the water could fall into her mouth.
When she swallowed, he wanted to shout with joy. Slowly, he fed her a little of the water at a time until she turned her head away. He was pleased with getting her to drink. Now, if only she would wake.
As the truck bounced along the road, he checked Callie’s wounds, careful not to move beneath the tarp too much. So far, his quick stitching job had done the trick.
He laid back and made sure the tarp covered them. His hand brushed hers. Then her fingers curled against his. He closed his eyes, his chest constricting.
Wyatt used the time to relax. He didn’t sleep, but he dozed enough to rest his mind and body. With his hand against Callie’s and his finger on her pulse, he was able to feel her steady heartbeat.
His eyes snapped open the moment the truck began to slow. When it turned, he pushed aside the tarp to see outside. The trees had given way to open spaces with the occasional building.
Damn. They were headed back to town.
Wyatt turned his head to look at Callie to find her eyes open and looking at him. “Hey,” he said.
She smiled sleepily, her eyes drifting shut before opening again as if it took great effort. “Hey.”
“Thirsty?”
When she nodded, he brought the water to her lips and helped hold her head up again until she drank her fill. She let out a sigh as her eyes closed again.
It took longer before she managed to lift her lids once more. He smoothed a lock of hair from her lashes. “How do you feel?”
“Horrible,” she croaked.
That made him smile. “We’re in the back of a truck right now. I’ll get us home.”
Her lips turned up at the corners at the mention of home. He didn’t stop her when she fell back asleep. It was enough that she had woken long enough to talk to him.
His thoughts shifted to his next move when the truck came to a stop and the engine cut off. The door opened and shut quickly, but he waited several minutes before he sat up enough to peek over the side of the bed.
They were at the edge of town with just enough people that someone could spot them. Wyatt looked for vehicles to steal when he spotted a vacant lot next to them with an older model truck with a For Sale sign in the window.
Wyatt slipped over the side of the truck and hurried to the pickup. He tested the handle and found the driver’s door locked, but the passenger side wasn’t.
He quickly opened the door and hot-wired the vehicle. Then he ran back to Callie. He looked around to make sure no one was watching before he lowered the tailgate and threw the tarp off her. Once she was in his arms, he promptly got her inside the waiting truck.
In minutes, Wyatt had pulled out of the parking lot. As he drove away, a woman walked out of the building to the vehicle that he and Callie had stowed away in.
He couldn’t have timed it better.
A quick pass through town brought him to where he’d stashed their bags of food and equipment. He took a few minutes to grab the supplies before pointing the truck north, straight to the Loughman Ranch.
Twenty miles later, he had to stop for gas. He grabbed a baseball cap from his bag that he’d thrown on the floorboard and tugged it low over his face.
He kept his back to the store cameras and his head down as he filled up the gas tank. Unfortunately, he was paying with cash, so he had to go inside. There was a teenage couple in front of him, so he threw down the two twenties at the register to cover the cost and walked out without saying a word.
Then he was back on the road. He took the cap off since the windows were tinted and glanced at Callie. She was curled in a ball on her left side with her head by his legs.
He combed his fingers through her hair several times before resting his hand on her shoulder. As the miles passed, he thought of the Saints.
They had no idea where he and Callie were at the moment.
It took some of the pressure off him, but it wouldn’t last long.
The Saints no doubt had the ranch under surveillance, but with a property the size of the Loughman’s, not all it could be watched at all times. No doubt they had drones to aid them.
That meant he couldn’t just pull up in the driveway if he wanted to keep as much heat off Owen and Natalie as possible. The only way to do that would be to come in from the back of the property. It would mean a long walk to the house, but it would keep the Saints’ eyes off them.
Wyatt heard something vibrating in the bags. He pulled over to the side of the road and took out Callie’s cell. Though he didn’t recognize the number, he answered it.
“Wyatt?” asked a female voice.
He thought he recognized who it was. “Who is this?”
There was some noise as if she handed the phone to someone else. “Wyatt?” Owen asked. “Is that you?”
“Yeah, brother, it’s me,” he said with a smile.
Owen laughed. “Where are you? We’ve been calling the two numbers Callie gave us all day.”
Wyatt pulled back into traffic. He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he glanced at Callie. “Our plans changed.”
“Are both of you all right?” Owen asked after a pause.
“Callie’s been shot twice. I’ve stopped the bleeding, but she’s been out most of the day.”
“Shit. What happened?”
Wyatt sped down I35 toward Hillsboro. “Orrin sent us a warning that an old enemy of mine was coming after us.”
“Who?”
“Ahmadi.”
Owen grunted. “He’s a nasty one.”
“I was willing to stand my ground since we had a good place, but then the Reeds showed up.”
“Callie’s family? How? Why?”
“The Saints.”
“Son of a bitch,” Owen ground out.
Wyatt changed lanes to go around a slower car. “That was pretty much my feeling, too. Despite taking days to set up traps for anyone who wanted to attack us, my instincts told me that we had to leave.”
“That’s when they found you?”
“We left at night and got away without anyone seeing us. We stopped at a town to steal a car, and that’s when a group of Saints stumbled upon us. There were only two at first. One came at Callie while another attacked me. By the time I’d taken care of my guy, Callie was gone.”
“They took her?”
“She ran. After being shot twice. I found her attacker a short distance away. She put three slugs in him, but by that time, the other eight were after her. I killed the one left behind as guard and followed.”
Owen blew out a breath. “You obviously caught up with them.”
“I didn’t understand why Callie had slowed.
They caught up with her, and while she fought and killed three of them, I got my hands on the other four.
That’s when I saw how badly she was wounded.
” He paused, choking up thinking about it.
“Owen, I don’t know how she got as far as she did having lost so much blood. ”
“She needs to rest. So do you.”
“I know. That’s why I’m bringing her home.”
“Good,” Owen stated.
Wyatt looked at the clock on the dashboard. “We’ll reach the ranch in about an hour and a half. I’ll go to the back of the property.”
“I can bring some horses out to you.”
“No,” he hurried to say. “Don’t stray from your routine. I don’t want to alert anyone who might be watching. Besides, I’ll wait until it gets dark before I bring Callie to the base.”
“We’ll be waiting.”
Wyatt hadn’t realized what talking to his brother would do to ease his anxiety. He didn’t like having to count on anyone. With his team, they were as cohesive as a single person. Everyone had a job, and everyone did it.
But this was different. This was about being a team, but it was also about family. And right now, he needed his family. It was hard for him to admit, but there it was.
“Wyatt?” Owen called.
He cleared his throat. “I’m here.”
“It’s going to be fine. Callie is going to be fine.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll call Cullen and alert him. He and Mia should return to Texas as well.”
Wyatt gripped the phone so tightly the plastic crackled in protest. “No.”
“But—”
“No. Leave Cullen there. I’m risking you and Natalie enough by returning home. Cullen is doing what he can in Virginia. Besides, the battle will probably be over before he can get to the ranch.”
There was a long stretch of silence before Owen said, “A few weeks ago, I’d have said you were just a mean bastard, that you hated your family. But now I see you for who you really are.”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Sure you do. You worry about all of us. All the time. You know returning to the base means another attack, but you’ll do it because you know we can defend the ranch and because you want a safe place for Callie. Yet, you’ll go to extremes to keep Cullen away—to protect him.”
Wyatt wanted to tell Owen he was full of shit, but the words didn’t come. “I’ll see you soon,” he said and hung up.