Chapter 28
28
A phone buzzing at two in the morning was never good news. Out of habit, Hardy reached for his phone, but his head felt as if he was a couple of steps behind. He’d only been asleep for an hour.
“Yeah?”
“Hardy, we got a problem.”
Immediately, all traces of grogginess left him as he stood up from his bed. His heart started beating double time. If someone sent Stephanie another weird package, Hardy knew he was going to freak out on someone. “Talk to me, Dan,” he said as he bent down for his jeans.
Knowing it was Dan at the front gate, all his senses went on alert. He’d been the one to tell them about the box of bullets delivered and he’d been the one who couldn’t find anyone when Crenshaw had discovered someone had tried to cut the electric line.
Hardy didn’t want to think that Dan could have something to do with someone discovering Stephanie’s wher e abouts, but someone had to have given Timothy information. “What’s up?” he asked in a clipped tone.
“You’ve got a visitor.”
He stilled. A visitor wasn’t a break-in. But it made no sense. “Who is it?” he asked as he buckled his belt.
“It’s Timothy Jones.”
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“I wouldn’t lie about this, Hardy. And for the record, he doesn’t look good.”
“Give me a sec.” Tossing the phone on the bed, he reached for his henley and pulled it over his head.
“What’s wrong with him? He strung out?” he asked as he started looking for a pair of socks.
“He could be, but I don’t think so,” Dan said slowly, like he was sizing the man up right in front of him. “I mean, if he is, it ain’t from drugs. It’s more like he’s wearing an expression that I’ve only ever seen on inmates, back when I worked at the state pen. Sometimes guys would get cornered or join with a group that was deadly. Those guys would walk around either looking like they were scared to death or on a doomed mission.”
“Okay. Where is he? And do you have your gun out?”
“He walked here, Hardy. He’s on the other side of the gate. He doesn’t look like he’s fixin’ to go guns blazing or anything.”
Slightly calmer, Hardy shook his head. Only Dan could sound both intense and like they were shooting the breeze at the same time. “What does he want?”
“Well, he wants to talk to you.”
“To me or Stephanie?” Timothy wasn’t going to get within a hundred yards of her, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try.
“He only said you. I mean, he said he wanted to talk to the dude who was watching the Amish girl and works for the rich guy.” A hint of humor entered his voice. “I figured that wouldn’t be anyone but you.”
“It sounds like it,” he said as he walked to the bathroom and splashed some water over his face.
“So ... he’s watching me through the window. What should I do?”
“Keep an eye on him. I’m heading your way right now. You sure he didn’t drive in? You check the cameras yet?”
Opening a cabinet, he pulled on a pair of socks then padded back to the bed and stuffed his feet in his boots.
“I checked them and it’s all clear. Honest to God, the kid just walked on up to the gate.”
“Hopefully you saw him before he got that close.”
“Sorry, but I didn’t notice him at first,” he replied after a brief pause. “It’s pitch-black out here tonight. Guy scared me half to death when I noticed him.”
“Let me get Carter and we’ll be there in five. You checked for a gun, right?”
“Yes, sir. He was armed, but he handed over his weapon. He said that was all he had on him.”
Hardy felt like rolling his eyes. Timothy could have easily lied about having another gun or a knife on him. But, at the end of the day, Dan didn’t have the experience that Hardy did. He’d done what he’d been taught to do. Be the first line of defense and then call for help. “Hang tight. I’m on my way.” He grabbed his wallet, a ball cap, and his keys.
“All right. But um, I don’t think he’s going to be good with Carter showing up too.”
“He’ll have to deal because he doesn’t have a choice.”
“Yes, sir.”
He walked down the hall and knocked twice on Carter’s door.
Carter answered immediately. “Yeah?”
Still standing in front of the closed door, he said as loudly as he dared, “Carter, it’s me. We got trouble.”
“Come on in.”
When Hardy walked in the plush, huge room, he had to scan the area to find Carter. He was already throwing on his jeans and a flannel. “Dan called from the guard shack. Our guy Timothy showed up. He’s outside the gate and waiting for me to come on out to talk to him.”
He froze. “Are you serious?”
“I pretty much asked the same thing. It doesn’t make sense, does it?”
“Not unless it’s a trap.”
“If it is, it’s a pretty poor one.”
“I agree.”
Hardy stood next to the door as he watched Carter take down a picture, enter in a combination to the safe behind it, and finally pull out a handgun and a round of ammunition.
There was more than one gun in the safe.
“You need anything in here, Hardy?”
“I’m good.”
“All right then. Let’s go see what this guy wants.”
Hardy followed Carter down the stairs and shrugged on his jacket as Carter pulled out a leather coat. Just as they were leaving, Stephanie found them.
She was dressed in a robe and slippers. Her hair was hanging in sheets around her shoulders. Against his will, he couldn’t help but notice that she looked as beautiful as ever.
And completely scared to death. He hated that—and vowed to do whatever was in his power to make sure this would be one of the last times she’d ever feel that way.
“Hardy? Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” he assured her. There was no reason for her to know what was going on. Not yet, anyway.
“Are you sure?”
She’d come up to his side. She was so close that he could smell the faint scent of lavender on her skin. “Of course. I’m sorry I woke you, Stephanie.”
“I couldn’t sleep anyway. Why are you up?”
He’d give a lot to tell her it was nothing she needed to worry about. No. He would give a lot for her to still be sleeping and getting a break from the constant stress she’d been living under.
But perhaps it was just as well that she was aware of what was going on. Well, some of it, at least. She was the one with a target on her back. Giving in to the urge, he curved a hand around her cheek. Allowed himself a moment to caress her skin. When she leaned into his touch, he knew that she needed the connection as much as he did. “Someone’s at the front gate,” he said, trying his best to keep his tone light. “He wants to speak to me. I thought I’d better get Carter too.”
“At this time of night? Why?”
“I don’t know. That’s why we need to go see him.” He ran a hand down her hair, liking the way the strands tangled in his fingers. Giving him a reason to keep touching her a little bit longer. “Now, it would be wrong of us to keep him waiting much longer. It’s pretty miserable out, yeah?” When she nodded, he moved his hand away. “We’ve got to go.”
“Hardy.” Carter’s voice was firm.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered.
“Wait. Is it about the ranch?”
“I’m not sure.” Not really the truth but not a complete lie either.
“When we leave, I’m going to put on the alarm. Don’t open a thing, Stephanie,” Carter said. “Not even a window. You hear me?”
“Jah.” She swallowed. “Should I wake Bev?”
After a pause, Carter nodded. “It might be a good idea.”
She continued to stare at him. “This man, this visitor. It’s about me, isn’t it?”
Man, he didn’t want to answer. But he couldn’t lie. “Yeah.” When she paled, Hardy stepped forward. “Stephanie, I’m sorry. I know you’re scared and I know you have questions. But I don’t know anything else yet. I need to go.”
She swallowed. “All right.” She clutched part of her robe in her right fist, wrinkling the section as she held it in a death grip. “I guess you might be gone awhile?”
“No telling,” Carter said. “But we’ll be gone as long as it takes to put a stop to this.”
She visibly relaxed. “All right.”
“All right then,” Carter echoed as he went to the door.
Hardy couldn’t leave her without adding another batch of warnings. “Listen. You keep your phone nearby, you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“And turn the dead bolt as soon as the door closes. We’ll call soon.”
“All right.”
He hesitated, telling himself not to do what he wanted, which was to pull Stephanie into his arms and hold her close. Tell her all sorts of sweet things but most of all reassure her that she didn’t have anything to worry about because he would make sure she was fine.
But they didn’t have time, and those words would be lies. He honestly had no idea what was going to happen. All he knew for certain was that it was unlikely that this situation was going to end happily.
With that littering his mind, he turned to follow Carter out the door.
He didn’t look back at her. Instead, he slammed the door shut behind him. As soon as he heard the dead bolt click into place, he punched in the security code.
She was as safe as he could hope for her to be. Hopefully it would be safe enough.
While he drove the five minutes to the front entrance, frowning at the rain splashing against the windshield, he filled Carter in on what Dan had reported.
“What’s your gut feeling?” Carter asked.
“No idea. I have a feeling that we’re going to learn a lot when we see Timothy.”
“I concur.”
When he stopped beside the guard shack, it was easy to spy Timothy lurking just beyond the gate. He was leaned up against an arrangement of boulders, part of the design of the grand entrance to the Russell Ranch.
Carter got out first. He didn’t have his gun in his hand, but it was clearly visible on the side holster that was strapped to his chest and peeking out of the leather coat.
When Hardy alighted, he kept his weapon in his hand. He’d long since gotten over pretending that he and Timothy were ever going to have a reasonable conversation.
Dan popped his head out. “He’s been over against that rock the entire time.”
“You see him on his phone?”
“No, sir. He’s hardly moved. It’s like he’s worn out or something.”
“Did you call the sheriff yet?”
Looking unsure, Dan shook his head. “I didn’t want to do anything without your instructions.”
“Good thinking,” Carter said.
“Do you want me to call now, sir?”
Carter shook his head. “Let’s wait a sec. I want to know what’s going on first. What do you say, Hardy?”
“Same.” They could have just walked into a trap, but it didn’t feel like that. Instead, he was getting the feeling that Timothy was relieved to see them. Like they were the answer to one of his prayers.
Of course, that made no sense at all.
But there was only one way to find out.
Walking a few steps forward, he called out, “Timothy Jones, is that you?”
The man stood up straight. “Yeah. You the man who’s been looking after the Amish girl?”
“I am. My name is Hardy. Now how about you tell me how you know about her.”
“I just do. And now I need your help.”
Carter laughed softly. “That’s a pretty big request, boy, seeing as you’ve had a pair of women scared to death for over a week now.”
Timothy opened his mouth. Shut it again. Seemed to half look like he was going to pass out. “Everything I’ve done has gone wrong. I ... I just got in with the Broken Arrows, but I’m in over my head.”
“Why do you want to talk to us?”
“Because I can testify against them, and you can get the law involved and put them away.”
“Word around here is that you deserve to serve time.”
“Yeah, well, it doesn’t matter to me one way or the other. If I go behind bars, they’re going to send someone to kill me. But if we don’t stop them, they’re not only going to go after the Amish girl, they’re going to take Audrey.”
“Who’s Audrey?” Carter asked.
“My ex-girlfriend.”
“His ex-girlfriend,” Carter mumbled. “Now ain’t that a new spin on this fork?”
“How come she’s your ex?” Hardy asked.
“She broke up with me when I joined the Broken Arrows.”
“She’s a smart girl.”
Instead of looking the least bit relieved, Timothy seemed to get more agitated by the second. “So, will you help me? This is important. Like, there’s no time to spare.”
The rain had just started coming down harder. Timothy was soaked to the skin.
“I’ll let you come in, but you’re going to be cuffed,” Carter said. “I’ll shoot you if you try anything.”
“Yeah. All right. Please.”
Hardy exchanged looks with Carter. Something wasn’t right. Not even close to being right. “Why are you so freaked out?”
Dan popped his head out. “Mr. Russell, we got us another problem. The south fence was just breached. Whoever’s there cut the wire.”
“That’s them,” Timothy said.
Carter turned to him. “That’s who?”
“Kane. And I don’t know. Whoever he has with him.”
Carter’s voice rose. “You had the gall to ask us for help when you knew you were being followed? You brought them onto my land?”
“I didn’t know I was being followed,” he protested, looking more pained by the second. “I’m begging you—help me help Audrey.”
He wasn’t lying. The kid—who was likely not even twenty years old yet—might be a lowlife and not even all that smart.
But he was desperate.
He was also telling the truth about one thing. There was an Audrey in his life and he was scared to death about her getting hurt or abused. Hardy motioned to Dan to open the gate.
“Come on.”
“What?”
“Get in my truck. And Lord help you if you mess up those leather seats. Those are the King Ranch edition. I’m going to secure you, all right?”
“Yeah, sure.”
As Hardy pulled out some zip ties from a side compartment in the truck, Carter said, “I’ve got Sheriff Johnson on the line. He’s trying to get here, but the storm’s knocked out most of the power in town and uprooted a tree. It’s blocking most of an intersection. Plus, the creek is rising on account that everything’s already been saturated.”
Of course it was.
“Understood.”
They were on their own.
Luckily for everyone involved, he liked it that way. He could have some control. “I’ll take care of Timothy.”
“I’ll be with the women.”
Carter stared hard at him before turning away, leaving a trail of unspoken words and warnings in his wake. There was a very good chance that even with the best security money could buy, they were about to be in a fight for survival.
Things had gotten worse, but he was ready.
He was ready enough.