Chapter 18
18
A rcher scooted in between Annalee and Russ. “Where’s Becca?”
“I don’t know,” Russ said like he didn’t have a care in the world. “Caught, I guess.”
It wouldn’t surprise Archer one bit to learn Russ had sacrificed Becca to secure his own freedom in the heat of the moment. The bastard. More of that white-hot anger burned in his veins. Russ needed to go down.
But how without risking Annalee’s life?
“You two are gonna be my ticket out of this shithole of a town,” Russ said with a sneer.
“Guess what? The law already knows your name,” Archer said. “You can get out of these woods, but you’ll be hunted down. If not by the law, then by me.”
Russ laughed. “Last I checked, I was the one holding the gun.”
“Why don’t you set it down and fight me? Let the best person win.”
“You think I’d fall for that?” Russ asked, indignant. “Even injured, you’re no doubt stronger than me physically.” He tapped the weapon to the side of his head. “That’s why I rely on this.”
“Empty air?” Archer was purposefully enraging Russ. He needed them alive, so he wouldn’t shoot unless he absolutely had to.
“Brains, you idiot.”
Archer mocked Russ by mimicking his words. “What are you? The Tin Man? Out here in the woods searching for your brain cells?”
Russ’s lips thinned, and his gaze narrowed. The man was clearly rattled. Archer was making progress. “Do you think you’re funny? That you are the smarty-pants? Then, how come you’re the one bleeding, and I’m getting out of here scot-free?”
“Are you?” Archer needed to spread seeds of doubt in the man’s mind. In his experience, weak people resorted to base crimes rather than put in the work to make a better life for themselves. Staying inside the guy’s head and keeping him talking for as long as possible would give help a chance to arrive.
Russ walked around them in a circle. When Archer started to move with him, Russ protested. “Move again, and I’ll shoot her between the eyes.”
Archer brought his hands up, palms out so Russ could see he wasn’t trying any funny business. There was a sweet spot between creating doubt and angering Russ enough for him to shoot. Archer needed to back off and wait for an opportunity to strike.
“Get up, bitch.” Russ kicked her side.
Annalee grunted as anger ripped through Archer like a savage wildfire, destroying everything in its wake.
“She can’t stand,” Archer said.
“What’s the matter? Baby girl can’t speak for herself?” The mocking voice was fingernails on a chalkboard.
Archer could stand putting his own skin on the line, not hers.
A shot of adrenaline tamped down the pain in his ankle enough for him to stand on it when the time came. More of that anger joined in, threatening to burn him from the inside out.
Russ kicked her again.
It took all of Archer’s willpower not to turn around swinging. This seemed like a good time to remind himself taking action right now would do more harm than good. This bastard was going down. Archer would see to it.
However, his tombstone would never read “Here lies a patient person ,” so he had to fight hard against the urge to act.
Think it through. Wait for the opportunity to emerge. Don’t force it.
All those words made sense on a logical level. Emotionally, they sucked.
“I’ll get up,” Annalee said, fear in her voice. Fear that caused Archer’s hands to fist. “I just need a second.”
“What do I look like? An idiot? You pulled one over on me once. You won’t do it twice.”
Russ stepped to the side, close enough for Archer to make a move.
One mistake could cost Annalee’s life. She was losing blood and needed medical attention. The reality had to be factored in as he contemplated the right time to strike.
Come a step closer, asshole.
“Can I help her, at least?” he asked, figuring it would make a difference if he was already standing.
Russ took a step toward Archer and fired off a kick.
Instinct took over. Archer grabbed the man’s ankle and twisted. Russ flew to the ground, hitting the dirt hard.
In the next second, Archer scrambled onto his knees and on top of the bastard.
“Scoot away,” he said to Annalee. From the corner of his eye, he saw her frantically searching for something. The gun?
Russ tried to spin around onto his back. The bastard came up with the weapon and, in his haste, tried to use the butt of it to deliver a knockout blow to Archer’s head.
“Not today, asshat,” Archer said, grabbing the weapon before wrestling it out of Russ’s hand. Once Archer held it, he tossed it far away and out of reach so he wouldn’t risk Russ gaining control of the weapon. There was no contest in hand-to-hand combat, even in his weakened state. But that didn’t mean Russ was going down easy.
Fingers dug into the gashes in Archer’s ankle. Pain shot through him. He grunted a few choice words that would have made Beaumont wash his mouth out with soap.
Throwing an elbow, he managed to knock Russ’s hand off, giving a small reprieve from the intense pain.
Archer pivoted, spinning like an alligator with prey in its jaws. A tree trunk stopped them, nailing him in the shoulder. The injuries were racking up, but he was only concerned for Annalee. If she didn’t get help soon, she could lose too much blood. She could pass out.
The image gave him a boost of much-needed adrenaline. Full strength, he could take Russ down in a heartbeat. With the blood loss and injuries, he struggled to bring the bastard down.
Russ bucked at the right moment, throwing Archer off.
A shot fired. Russ screamed in pain as blood squirted from his thigh.
Archer glanced up in time to see Annalee standing, feet apart in an athletic stance, aiming the gun at Russ.
“That’s right, Russ. I’m not going to kill you. But you will feel the pain of being shot.”
Sirens came wailing toward them. Someone must have heard the shot.
“The first bullet is for me. The second will be for my mother.” Her skin was bleached sheet-white, her lips blue, as she let her finger hover over the trigger mechanism.
Russ folded into a ball, grabbing his legs and pulling them up to his chest. “Don’t shoot again.” His voice came out in a whine.
“Don’t get up, and I’ll con…”
Annalee dropped to the ground, unconscious. Archer dove toward her, then palmed the gun so Russ couldn’t counterstrike. Unlike in the movies, when someone was shot, they kept coming.
“Stay with me, sweetheart,” he whispered to Annalee as he kept the weapon trained on a sobbing Russ. The man made Archer want to throw up.
In the next minute, the cavalry arrived. Travis and Owen came bolting toward them, along with several EMTs.
“Help her, please,” he said to them as Travis immediately stopped beside Russ.
“I need medical here,” Travis shouted.
One of the EMTs broke off and ran over to Travis. He kneeled in front of Russ, who was handcuffed and in a sitting position now. A whitecoat was already working on Annalee as a third stopped next to Archer.
“Take care of her,” Archer instructed. “I’ll be fine.”
“Sir, you’re losing blood,” the EMT said. “I suggest you let me attend to you so you can be there for her when she’s conscious again.”
Archer issued a sharp sigh before nodding.
“I’m Seth,” the EMT said, his name on a tag.
“Where’s Becca?” Archer asked as Owen sat down beside him.
“She’s being transported to the hospital with a deputy escort,” Owen replied. “She’s going to be okay.” He nodded toward Annalee. “What happened?”
“The bastard shot her then hit her in the back of the head with a rock. He kicked her, too.”
“He will be going away for a very long time,” Owen said. “Rest assured.”
“I’ll see to it personally,” Travis stated.
Annalee’s eyes opened as the EMT worked on her. “Archer.”
“I’m right here,” he said, squeezing her hand. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
Her eyelids fluttered and then closed, causing panic to grip him.
Annalee woke with a start. She sat bolt upright and immediately searched the room.
“You’re okay,” came the deep timbre she wanted to wake up to every day for the rest of her life.
She sought out the voice then exhaled when her gaze found him. Archer. He was right there.
“It’s dark,” she said as he scooted a chair next to the bed and sat down. “You’re alive.”
“I’m good,” he said. “And it’s the middle of the night.”
“That must mean I’ve been out for several hours,” she reasoned.
“You’ve been out for a day and a half,” he said, pressing the nurse’s call button.
“My mother?” she asked as she tried to let the news soak in.
“She’s good,” he said. “They plan to release her from the hospital and into custody tomorrow morning at seven a.m.”
Annalee didn’t know what to say to that.
“For what it’s worth, she says she never meant for any of this to go so far,” he said. “Becca was tricked with the evidence and then was conned into asking for the ransom. The only condition for her going along with the scheme was that no one get hurt.”
“Why fake her own kidnapping?”
“To make the whole scam seem legit to you,” he said. “Russ was always after my family’s money, and your mom knew you’d come to Saddle Junction if you thought I was in trouble.”
“I still can’t believe she would involve your family and put you in harm’s way,” she said with a headshake that hurt like hell.
“She genuinely seems ready to face up to her crimes,” he said. “Believe me, I wasn’t ready to hear it, at first. She asked for paper and pen so she could write letters of apology to myself and Owen. She wrote one to you, too.” He motioned toward a folded-up piece of paper lying on the tray table near her bed.
“I’m not ready to hear an apology just yet,” Annalee said after a thoughtful pause. “I’ll find a way to forgive her someday, but only if she’s serious about seeking help and making real changes in her life. Then she’ll have to stick with them. I’m done bailing her out. This was the last straw.”
“From the sounds of it, she’ll take what she can get from you,” he said.
“She hurt you, Archer.”
“Yes.”
“She was responsible or, at the very least, an accomplice in abducting Owen.”
“Yes.”
“It’s hard to forgive those actions,” she said, figuring she might as well tell him how she felt. “It’ll be hard because she hurt the person I’m madly, deeply, and profoundly in love with. Someone I’ve loved since I was seventeen years old. Someone I know I’ll love until the day I die. And I don’t know how or if you can forgive me for the past, let alone for what my mother has done now. But if you could find it in your heart to give me a second chance, I promise never to hurt you again.”
There. She’d laid her feelings on the line. The ball was in Archer’s court now.
He leaned forward, his expression unreadable.
Then, he reached over for her hand and covered it with his. When he locked gazes with her, the amount of love and understanding in his eyes nearly brought her to tears.
“I never stopped loving you, Annalee.” He kissed the back of her hand. “I’m crazy in love with you. You’re the person I want to wake up to every morning for the rest of my life. You’re the person I want to come home to and talk about my days. You’re the person I want as my best friend and lover. You were my first love and you’ll be my last. And I’d be honored if you would do me the great honor of marrying me.”
Heart full of emotion, tears streaming down her face, Annalee said, “Yes, Archer. I’ll be your best friend, I’ll be your safe place, and I’ll be your wife.”
Archer kissed her so tenderly it robbed her breath. Her bones became liquid under his touch. And one word came to mind… home.
After never feeling like she’d belonged anywhere but here, she’d finally found her shelter, her love, and her place to call home.
And she planned to never let go.