Chapter 12
12
E vents had been coming at Archer so fast that he hadn’t had five minutes to stop and process the big picture. Beau had made a good point. The situation was weird.
Annalee studied the wall for a long moment. “The change of plan came after the bastard found my mother and the law got involved,” she said after a thoughtful pause. “I’m guessing he still wants the weapon, too. The instructions about calling off the law meant they must be close enough to see the chopper. Do it, or Owen and my mother will die.” Annalee shivered. She bit her bottom lip—a lip that he’d had no business letting his gaze linger on earlier. Damn kissable lip.
Hudson’s gaze shifted to Archer once Annalee was finished talking. “Your truck has been towed to the main house, by the way. The deputy collected shell casings that appear to have come from a bolt action rifle.”
“I thought hunters used those,” Annalee said. “Does that mean we’re dealing with some kind of deer hunter?”
Archer was impressed she knew even a little about guns. “Not necessarily, but it might be a clue toward putting together a profile.” In all the excitement, he’d forgotten to ask about her mother’s known associations. This seemed as good a time as any. “Travis is likely going to ask you for a list of names: boyfriends, friends, and any known associates of your mother’s.”
Annalee sucked in a breath. “I’ll do my best, but I can guarantee that she doesn’t have any friends. As for boyfriends, I’m afraid that’ll read like a rap sheet. And, besides, do we really have time for him to track down her past boyfriends?” Her cheeks turned a darker shade of pink as she spoke. He understood being embarrassed by one of your parents, or both. Archer didn’t have much of a relationship with his mother. The woman had abandoned her children for her own safety, according to Kade. He’d also said their mother leaving had been necessary for her own survival, so Archer couldn’t judge her for abandoning the family. Beaumont would never have let her take “his” children away from him. Keeping them was another way in which the asshole had punished his wife for walking. It was odd because Beaumont would have turned over heaven and earth to find them and bring them home if his wife had run away with them. Yet, the cold-hearted man hadn’t wanted to have anything to do with them once he had sole custody, a feat the family lawyer had most likely pulled off. Now, Beaumont was dead. His lawyer had been murdered. The two could rot in hell as far as Archer was concerned.
The note Beaumont had written to Archer popped into his thoughts. Should he open and read it or burn it? That was the question. Until he decided for sure, he’d keep it tucked in the miscellaneous drawer in the kitchen on top of a box of matches.
Switching gears back to the case, he could see how someone figuring out they’d abducted a Sturgess might make them decide to take a shot at a big payday. Something else was bothering him. “Why keep holding onto Annalee’s mother? What purpose does she serve?”
Hudson picked up his coffee mug. Before taking a swallow, he said, “Insurance?”
“Could be,” Archer said. “In case things go south with Owen.”
Annalee cleared her throat after taking a sip of fresh brew. Her gaze bounced from Hudson to Beau and back. “I’m so sorry that my mother got you guys tangled up in this mess. This is my fault.”
To Archer’s surprise, both his brother and half-brother were shaking their heads before she finished her first sentence.
“Life happens to all of us,” Beau spoke up first. “We make mistakes and then hope those people we care about and want in our lives forgive us. No one is perfect.” He issued a grunt. “Least of all me. Save your apology. It’s not necessary here.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Hudson chimed in. “We aim to be good people, but we’re far from perfect. The best we can do is show up for each other and have each other’s backs.”
A mix of emotions passed behind Annalee’s eyes. Gratitude. Appreciation. Loneliness.
Archer wished there was a way he could take away the last one because it broke his heart. Then, again, she’d broken his once already. If he let her in a second time, would history repeat itself? Prove him a second-time fool? Show him that he didn’t learn from his mistakes?
Or would something else happen? Something he’d wished for a long time ago and had a damn difficult time moving on from?
Shoving the questions down deep, he reached for Annalee’s hand. The muscles in her face relaxed a notch at contact. He liked having an effect on her. It showed him what her words couldn’t, that she still cared more than she wanted to voice.
He needed to change the subject before he went down a rabbit hole. “Do either of you know when Travis should get here?”
“I’m here right now.” Travis’s voice drew the attention of the quartet. With his hair sticking up at odd angles and stubble on his chin, he looked like he hadn’t slept in a week. Becoming acting sheriff while gaining a three-year-old in the snap of a finger looked to be taking a toll. Not to mention the fact more criminal activity had occurred in the once-sleepy town recently than in the county’s entire history. The last part was probably an exaggeration, but it sure as hell felt true.
Everyone stood. After greetings and an introduction, Travis joined them on the couches. He clasped his hands together.
“I called all available deputies to search for the suspect,” Travis said. “Aerial support is on standby, waiting for a green light.” His gaze shifted to Annalee. “I’d like to know where you stand on using all available resources to locate Owen and your mother.”
Annalee stammered. “It’s not an easy decision.”
“We will take every precaution on our end, including backing off when we think it’s required.” Travis leaned forward. “Ultimately, this is my call. However, I want your input. And I want the family’s input since this impacts their brother.”
Annalee pulled out her cell. “You’re welcome to take a look to see if you pick up on anything different in the messages. They were clear to me. Bring in the law and our loved ones die.”
She set the phone on the coffee table after unlocking it. With two fingers, she pushed the small device toward Travis. “Please. Be my guest.”
He heaved a sigh before picking it up and scrolling. Then, he set it down between them. “If they kill Owen or your mother, they lose all the leverage they have. We need to tread lightly because situations like these can go south.” He shot a look of apology. “It’s true.”
Annalee squeezed Archer’s fingers as tensions raised in the room.
“And we need to find the sweet spot of when to push and when to back off,” Travis said.
Which all made sense in the theoretical world. This was the real world, though. Owen was being held captive. Becca was there, too.
“What do we do next?” Annalee asked after sucking in a breath.
“My hope is that you’ll be contacted, and we’ll go from there based on what is demanded.” Travis checked his cell. Took a second to respond. “The ransom amount has been dictated.”
“The bastard hasn’t said where to drop the money or when.” Annalee threw up her free hand in frustration.
“Those instructions should come next,” Travis said.
“Should I reach out and ask?”
Travis shook his head. “The lack of clear instruction most likely means the suspect is shooting from the hip right now. The change in direction wasn’t planned.”
That made sense, considering all that had gone down in the last few hours.
Archer had a question. “Why shoot at us?”
“To scare Annalee into producing the evidence is my best guess,” Travis said. “Or to stop you long enough to take the gun themselves.”
“This seems like a good time to hand over the backpack so you can run prints,” Archer said, doing just that. Travis might not know the answer to Archer’s next question but it was worth asking. “Is this person working alone or with a network?”
Travis accepted the evidence. “Actions so far lead me to believe there’s only one or two suspects involved.” He lifted the backpack. “This might just give us their names.”
“My brother is a big guy, and he would fight anyone who tried to force him to do something he didn’t want to do.” Archer knew his brother, and there was no way Owen would voluntarily comply. “Is there any chance he’s…” Archer couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.
“Our next step can be to ask for proof of life,” Travis said after setting the backpack down again.
“Should I go ahead and do that now?” Annalee asked.
“Remind me how long it’s been since you last heard from your mother.” Travis clenched his jaw.
Annalee checked her phone. “It’s been an hour and a half.”
Would asking questions be the equivalent of poking the bear? They were about to find out.
Getting a taste of what it felt like to have real support caused Annalee to realize just how bad her relationship with her mother had been. And yet, she couldn’t give up on Becca. Her mother hadn’t been born bad. She just didn’t know her worth. Granny had said it was her fault. She’d stayed quiet when she should have spoken up about the physical abuse Becca had suffered at the hands of her father. Annalee hadn’t known her grandfather. Had never met the man. She would, however, like to punch him in the face to show him what it’s like to take a jab to the nose. Life had been hard. Granny said she’d prayed when she should have grown a backbone and stood up to her husband. Women weren’t taught they could do that back then. They were meant to keep their mouths closed and stay in the kitchen.
Annalee couldn’t imagine that.
Becca dated what she knew…abusers. She numbed herself when it got to be too much. And life often got to be too much for her mother. Cycles repeated themselves. Annalee had decided to be the first to break it. Dating or marrying abusers had ended with her.
Had she gone overboard by not trusting anyone?
Annalee didn’t want to analyze the answer to that question.
Right now, she wanted to figure out a way to provide peace to the Sturgess family, even if it only lasted a few minutes. They needed to know if their brother was alive. They deserved to know.
She picked up her phone a second time. “What do I say?”
“Write exactly what you think you should,” Travis said. “In your own words.”
Annalee caught onto the fact Travis wouldn’t want the text to come off like she was being coached by someone in law enforcement.
She reminded herself to breathe before typing.
How do I know my friend is still alive
He is
Who is this
Nothing.
The phone went silent.
Annalee glanced up at Travis.
He held up a hand. “It’s okay. They weren’t expecting to hear from you, and they’re coming up with a game plan.”
She nodded. It was impossible not to stare at the screen. A watched pot still boils, eventually.
And then it came.
This is Owen, not Archer
Same deal applies
Annalee didn’t need to look to Travis for her response.
Prove it’s him
She tilted the device so Travis could see and waited for his approval before hitting send. His nod came immediately.
Three dots appeared. And then disappeared. This happened a couple of times before a text came through.
A picture of Owen with today’s timestamp popped on the screen. Annalee suppressed a gasp. His hands and ankles were bound, tied to some kind of wood beam. Electrical tape covered his mouth. There was hay on the ground.
“I think I know where this is,” Archer said after studying the photo for a few seconds.
“It’s out on the property, right?” Hudson asked.
Archer nodded. “We haven’t used that barn in a long time, to my knowledge.”
“Because it’s small and used to be for Henry and his family.” Hudson glanced up at Annalee. “He used to be a trainer who lived on the property. Beaumont set up a double-wide out there, saying it would be easier to keep an eye on his trainer. Keep an eye on a man’s family, and you’ll see everything you need to know about him.”
Beaumont had kept his children in fear. Annalee had seen it firsthand. Fear had turned into hate once the Sturgess children had reached a certain age, and now he was gone. Instead of a feeling of loss, she sensed they were more hopeful now.
Archer was already at his feet, standing. “Let’s roll.”
“Hold on.” Travis’s warning didn’t appear to have much impact on any of the family members, except maybe Beau. “We can’t go running in, guns blazing.”
“I wouldn’t do that.” Archer’s face twisted. “However, we know the area, and we can encircle the building without making a sound.” He glanced around the room. “No one here would risk Owen and Becca’s lives. You know that, right?” It was more a statement than a question.
Travis’s phone buzzed. He picked it up, glanced at the screen, then frowned. “Still no luck with putting a trace on the texts, except to say they’ve been bouncing off a cell tower in the next town over.”
“Those texts are coming from Sturgess property,” Archer said. “I guarantee it.”
“I agree with my brother,” Hudson said, offering reinforcement.
Beau chimed in next. “Same here.” He caught Archer’s gaze. “I would walk through fire for any one of my siblings if they asked me to.”
A hint of respect passed behind Archer’s eyes.
Under normal circumstances, the moment happening between brothers would bring tears to her eyes. Right now, though, finding her mother and Owen was all she could focus on.
Except a little chink in her armor burst, creating a small opening. Could she let Archer in?