Chapter 5
5
A rcher ignored the electrical current running through his body, seeking an outlet as he held Annalee upright. “We can go to the cabin. You already have the keys.”
“Sorry about that,” she said, those blue eyes looking right into his soul. “It was the only way to make sure you couldn’t follow me.”
“Your antics caused a dustup with my siblings.” His suspicions were confirmed. Annalee was, in fact, back in town, and she’d taken his keys so he couldn’t go after her.
“Can we have this conversation later?” Panicked eyes scanned the area.
“I have a couple of questions that need answers first. Is this a crime scene?”
“Not unless driver stupidity is illegal,” she said. “But, please, let’s go before…”
“What?”
“I’ll tell you after we’re safe,” she said before pleading again.
Given how panicked she looked, Archer rightly assumed he wouldn’t get any answers from her if they stayed put. They needed to get out of the area. Besides, he had all the picture evidence he needed to show Travis. “Shut down the vehicle, and we’ll go.”
Annalee nodded. She did as requested without argument. Something was clearly working in the back of her mind, but she wasn’t ready to talk about that or anything else until they got to safety.
“Now what? Which way do we go?” she asked, wide-eyed.
“We’ll take my truck back to the cabin.” He figured they’d be safe there for the night. Asking about Owen’s connection to her situation would have to wait until he got her inside the vehicle. “Can you run?”
“I’ll manage,” she said, reaching for his hand. Contact sent more of that damned electricity coursing through him.
Rather than get too concerned, he dismissed the reaction as history repeating itself. His body might still respond to her touch, but his brain warned against reading too much into it. The response was muscle memory and nothing more.
With their hands linked, he wound his way back to The Sky’s The Limit and the only vehicle left in the parking lot—his. He realized they’d left supplies Annalee had brought in her car. After depositing Annalee into the passenger seat, he claimed the driver’s side. She dropped the key into the cupholder as he checked his cell for any updates from the family.
A message from Hudson sat there. Archer immediately opened it. It was short. Hudson checked in with the family, saying he was sorry that everyone was worried. He said his phone had run out of battery—an Owen move if ever there was one. But Hudson hadn’t spoken to their brother since the morning, and then it was only to say hello before going in separate directions for the day. Hudson apologized for missing the remembrance, stating that he got hung up straightening out one of the deals Beau had initiated and had lost track of time during the personal visit to one of Beaumont’s longtime clients.
Relief was short-lived. One mystery solved. One to go.
Archer placed his cell in the second cupholder as he glanced at Annalee. Make that two to go. The woman sitting next to him was a complete puzzle to him. This wasn’t the time to wonder if he’d ever really known the real Annalee.
“What is it?” she asked, motioning toward the phone. “What’s wrong?”
“Hudson turned up, but Owen is still dark.”
“Oh,” she said as he navigated out of the parking lot and onto the farm road, heading toward the cabin. “When was the last time anyone heard from him?”
“Check the phone for yourself.” Archer figured it would be the easiest way for her to get caught up with the goings-on from his end.
She studied the screen intently as she scrolled.
“I’m so sorry, Archer,” came out as she brought a hand to cover her mouth.
“What do you suspect happened to Owen, and how is he connected to you?” The questions popped out of his mouth like a thoroughbred out of the gate on race day.
“I’m not sure,” she said, setting the phone in the cupholder.
“Not good enough, Annalee.” He meant it. She wasn’t getting off that easy now that they were in the safety of his truck.
“I realize that,” she said with more than a hint of shame. “However, that’s all I have right now.”
“You need to come clean or tell me where to drop you.” Once again, he meant every word. He’d spent the past few hours worried sick about his twin while being haunted by the notion he’d seen her, too. The latter had been confirmed. Annalee was here in the flesh, beautiful as ever. And Owen was still missing, which was unacceptable.
“Something might have happened because of me,” she said.
“No, shit.”
She grunted.
“I’m just saying there’s no need to rehash the obvious.” He wasn’t trying to offend her. “I need the truth from you, Annalee. Are you capable of being honest?” Damned if he didn’t wish he could reel those words back the moment they left his mouth. He chalked it up to his wounded pride talking, a bad move if he wanted her to open up. “Don’t answer that question. It wasn’t fair.”
Annalee leaned her head against the headrest and pinched the bridge of her nose like she was staving off a headache. “Going to your cabin might be a mistake.”
“I apologi—”
“It’s not that,” she cut in. “If Owen was confused for you, and then the bastard realized his mistake, going to the cabin might be walking right into his hands.” She looked at him, and he could feel the intensity of her gaze. “That’s right. I’m afraid Owen might have been mistaken for you.”
“Why would anyone be after me?” It had been years since he’d associated with Annalee or her mother. “Why come here at all?”
“To draw me out of hiding.” She dropped her hand and then clasped her fingers in her lap, twisting them like a pretzel.
“I’m confused. What could you have possibly done to cause someone to abduct my brother?” He couldn’t fathom her breaking the law, at least not with a serious crime. Granted, she’d lifted his keys from his pocket better than any pro, but that didn’t mean she was a hardcore criminal. “Is this related to an ex? A boyfriend? Husband?”
“I’m not in a curr…no.” She stumbled over the words like that was the last question she’d expected to hear.
“Most women are hurt by the person they trust most.” It was a sad fact. One he’d read about and been sickened by. No woman deserved to be abused, and especially not by the person they loved.
“That’s not the case here,” she reassured. “You’re on the right track, but it’s not about me. I’ve watched my mother’s relationships too long to fall into the same traps, and I’ve long believed that I’m better off alone than with someone who could raise a hand to me or spew out hurtful words.”
“Then, tell me what’s going on with Becca.”
“I can’t.”
“Not good enough, Annalee.” He clenched his back teeth. “My brother’s life could be on the line here.”
“You’re right, but my hands are tied.” She issued a sharp sigh. “This has to do with my mother, and it’s not my story to tell.”
“It is when my brother turns up missing,” he argued. “Is Owen still alive?”
“I hope so.”
Hope wasn’t good enough for Archer.
“If they mistook him for you, which I think we can assume has happened, then he should be safe as long as we don’t show our hand,” she said.
“What does that even mean? Show our hand? And who the hell are they ?”
“I honestly don’t know.” Based on her tone, she was telling the truth, which added fuel to the fire of frustration burning inside him.
“And you have no idea where this unknown person tied to your mother might be keeping Owen?”
“I don’t.” Again, she was being honest. At least, he believed so. A lot of time had passed since they’d been seventeen and in love, but he could still tell when she was emphatically telling the truth. Or was he? Had he really known her then when he hadn’t seen her exit from his life coming? He’d been blindsided in the worst way. But that had happened a long time ago. He’d grown up. Changed. Become an expert at reading people and protecting his heart.
Hurt me once, shame on you. Hurt me twice, shame on me. Old sayings held the test of time for a reason. They were true.
“Do you have the faintest idea as to where Owen might be?” He asked the question a second time, and he would keep asking until he stirred an idea. She had to have some idea, even if the knowledge was tucked in the back of her mind where it wasn’t readily available.
“I’m drawing a blank, Archer.” She shook her head. “If that changes, you’ll be the first to know.”
“I think we both know I’m not a patient person by any means,” he said. They were short on options.
She nodded and offered a small smile.
“I’ll think of a better place to go than the cabin so we can figure this out and come up with a plan.” It gave his mind something else to focus on besides Owen.
“Archer, I’m sorry for dragging your family into my mother’s mess,” she said, sounding like her battery was almost completely drained.
What the hell was he supposed to say to that?
Annalee turned her face toward the passenger window as tears welled in her eyes. She tried to cover a sniffle with a cough. All the frustration and anger welled up with nowhere to go but out. If Archer realized she was crying, he would feel sorry for her. She didn’t want his pity. Being with him again reminded her there was still goodness and honesty in the world. The manner in which she’d been brought up by her mother had tainted Annalee’s view of people.
Out of nowhere, the crack of a bullet split the air. Annalee suppressed a scream as she immediately turned to Archer to see if he’d been hit.
He white-knuckled the steering wheel as he struggled to keep control of the truck as it swerved.
Another shot was fired.
Archer released the same string of curses she’d been thinking as she suppressed another scream.
“Are you hit?” she asked, scanning the windows for bullet holes or cracks. She had no idea what a shot-out window should look like and preferred to keep it that way.
He shook his head as he struggled against the wheel. “Someone is attempting to blow out the tires.”
“What can I do?” Was there a weapon she could use to fire back? The evidence in her backpack would give them a fighting chance, but that was back in the woods, and touching it could erase or muddle the bastard’s fingerprints.
“Get down before they fire off another shot,” he instructed.
“Okay.” With shaky hands, Annalee managed to release her seatbelt. She slid down onto the floorboard, noticing how Archer had shrunk down in his seat, making himself as small as he humanly could. With his broad shoulders and tall frame, he would make an easier target while sitting upright.
“Maybe I can get a look at the bastard,” he said. “Maybe we can figure out who he is or get enough of a visual for the law to bring in a sketch artist.”
“Absolutely not,” she said without hesitation. Knowing who was after her would be a good step in the right direction.
“Why haven’t you gone to the law already?” he asked. “Wouldn’t that be the best way to help your mother?”
“I would if I could, believe me, but I can’t.”
Since a full-blown discussion was out of the question under the circumstances, they tabled it.
Archer cursed again as another shot was fired. A loud bang was followed by a whoosh sound. The truck rumbled, the sound reverberating through it, and bounced. As the vehicle swerved, he visibly fought against the steering wheel no doubt in an attempt to maintain control. Annalee extended her arms, her fingers reaching for anything to stabilize her if the truck rolled.
“Hold on,” Archer said before giving the wheel a hard turn. A flapping noise sounded. The truck vibrated. Gravel spewed as he lost control and landed in a ditch.
“We have to go,” he said, reaching for her hand and then dragging her out of the vehicle.
Back to the woods? A shiver raced up her spine. At least she had Archer this time. But the threat had caught up with her, and questions mounted as they raced deep into the trees. He would demand answers soon.
They ran. Archer barely broke a sweat, whereas she was gulping air. Her lungs felt like they might explode.
“You’re doing good, Annalee. Keep going.” His encouragement had a positive effect on her. Made her want to dig deeper and find the strength to keep going. But then, he’d always been the light.
After what felt like an eternity of barreling through trees, she said, “I’m sorry, but I have to stop.”
The pinch in her side had expanded to the point it felt like her appendix was bursting, and she couldn’t get enough air in her lungs to stop from hyperventilating.
Archer let go of her hand after they stopped. Breaking the connection caused a physical ache in her chest, far worse than the pain in her side.
“Breathe through your nose and out your mouth, if you can,” he said as he scanned the area. He positioned himself between her and where they’d come from, no doubt in case the bastard with the loose trigger finger followed.
It took several minutes, but Annalee managed to calm her body down. Her nervous system was another story. Her nerves were fried, which had everything to do with the situation as a whole. Being with Archer kept her from full-scale panic. She’d kept herself together so far; she could keep going. This seemed like a good time to turn those words into a mantra.
Archer walked over and placed his hands on her shoulders as if to steady her. Then, he looked her square in the eyes. “Tell me everything you know, and don’t leave anything out. I mean it, Annalee. Not even if you think something’s inconsequential.”
The update didn’t take long. “I’m supposed to meet my mother on Sunday in Waco at the Magnolia Market.”
“I know the place,” he said. Everyone did now that HGTV had put the city and two of its most famous residents on a television show that had become popular.
“Two days ago, we were supposed to give a sign that we were okay,” she said.
“And?”
She shook her head.
“My mother was supposed to leave a note taped to the table in the corner of our favorite coffee shop in Austin.” The two of them had a lot of favorite spots. Growing up in a gypsy-like lifestyle had a few perks. Being homeschooled by her mother hadn’t been one of them, which was the reason Annalee had insisted she go to regular school when they’d moved to Saddle Junction. She’d had no delusions of becoming the homecoming queen and couldn’t have cared less, but she’d wanted to know what a normal high school experience looked like.
After spending time with Archer, she’d realized their broken parts fit together perfectly, and it had scared the hell out of her.
Even now.
“I’m guessing there was no note,” he said.
“That’s right.” She issued a sharp sigh. “I left a backpack in the woods with a very important object in it. It’s the reason I’m on the run. My mother asked me to hold onto it. In fact, her life depends on me keeping it safe.”
“What the hell could be that important?”