Chapter 11
A woman screamed. Cassie whirled toward the sound. It came from inside a vehicle parked near the house. The engine started, and the sedan sped off a few seconds later. As it zoomed away, a shot was fired.
Cassie brought her hand over her mouth to suppress a gasp. In the next second, Hudson was on top of her, guiding her to the ground while covering her with his body. Beau came running out of the barn as the sedan kicked up a dust storm.
“Get down,” Hudson warned.
Another shot fired. Cassie looked back in time to see Beau knocked back a step as blood splattered from his neck.
The kitchen emptied out into the backyard as the sedan disappeared. Kade made a run for his truck.
“No. Stop!” Cassie snapped. Hudson was already on his feet, offering a hand up. She took it as Kade froze. “He’ll kill her.”
“Jarek?” Hudson asked.
“Or someone he sent for me,” she said. “He’s getting desperate to find me and this might be his way of forcing a trade.”
Hudson and a couple of the others ran to Beau, who stood there with a blank stare. He must’ve been in shock. One of the twins shrugged out of his shirt. “Use this to stem the bleeding.”
“I’ll see where Travis is,” Chloe said.
“Involve your husband, and Nikki will die.” Cassie left no room for argument.
“We have to go after him,” Kade said, stabbing his fingers through his hair.
A man who looked too much like the others to be anyone but Conrad came gunning toward them on a beautiful black mare. “What just happened?” He barely got the question out before he threw his legs over the side of the horse and dismounted.
Chloe stepped up and took the reins. “I’ll take care of Magic.”
Panicked eyes darted around, taking in the scene. “Where’s my wife?”
“We need to talk,” Kade said. “But first, Beau needs a doctor.”
The other twin was already on his cell, no doubt calling for emergency services.
“Travis will want to know everything,” Chloe said. “He needs to be in the loop.”
Cassie couldn’t allow that to happen. She couldn’t allow any of this to happen. “This was a bad idea… Coming here.” She glanced around, searching for the quickest escape route.
“Please, don’t—”
“I need to know what happened to my wife,” Conrad interrupted Chloe.
The twin who’d been on the phone came running over. “It’s not as bad as it looks. Beau was nicked at the base of his neck. Based on the amount of blood, the bullet missed the carotid artery.”
“Thank you, Archer,” Chloe said.
He nodded. “Hudson is requesting everyone go back inside until we’re certain it’s safe to be out here. The doc is on his way to tend to Beau, so there’s no need for anyone to leave the property.”
“I’m not going anywhere without answers,” Conrad said, digging his heels in. “Unless it’s to go after my wife.”
Cassie couldn’t blame him, considering all that was going on—his wife’s condition and the fact she was caught in the middle, now trapped.
Chloe gave a quick rundown of the situation.
“This is all my fault,” Cassie said to him as they ushered her back inside the house.
Everyone followed, including Beau, who was flanked by Hudson and the twin who must be Owen.
Everyone circled around Beau as Chloe filled Conrad in on the details. Hudson was distracted by Beau’s injury. This would be the perfect time to grab a pair of keys, slip out the back door, and make herself seen in public.
How had Jarek known she was on Sturgess property?
She realized he must know. The person who’d abducted Nikki had most likely been sent to snatch Cassie. It made sense with the way Jarek operated, flying under the radar and sneaking around.
Nikki had been at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Cassie should have known Jarek would take advantage of any weakness. It was one of the many reasons she’d never told him about her son. Though she couldn’t be certain he hadn’t figured that out, too.
She took a step back from the group, and then another toward the door. Slowly, carefully, she moved closer to the exit.
Seeing the family rally around Beau warmed her heart.
He deserved the attention, the concern, the acceptance.
Blending into an already formed family was one of the most difficult things you could do.
She’d tried and failed a couple of times.
She’d been sent back into the system for not “integrating” into a family as much as they’d hoped.
Overhearing those words at ten years old hadn’t exactly brought her out of her shell.
If anything, she’d retreated even more. Closed herself off even more.
That experience had made it easier for Jarek’s love-bomb technique to work on her. More of that guilt and shame surfaced.
She’d been fooled once. She would never fall for that trap again.
If she ever opened herself up to the possibility of a relationship with someone, the person would need to be a quiet, steady presence in her life.
Words meant nothing compared to actions.
She’d learned the lesson the hard way that words were nothing more than empty promises.
Her mistakes were etched in her brain, never to be made again.
The pain those mistakes had caused was that they hurt too many innocent people. She deserved better, and so did they.
The moment her hand touched the door handle, Hudson looked. He frowned before handing off the duty of keeping pressure on Beau’s neck.
Before she could open her mouth to explain, Hudson was in front of her.
“I’ll take you wherever you want to go,” he said, masking any emotion with a robotic tone. “Please don’t go right now. Not until we know it’s safe to walk out that door. If anything happened to you…”
“I can fix this, Hudson.”
“Not without risking your own life.”
He was right.
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” she said.
“Is that what you think we want?”
“It’s what your family deserves.”
He turned around and cleared his throat in a move that drew all the attention to him. “Does anyone in this room blame Cassie for what just happened?”
Heads immediately shook.
“Does anyone think she should leave so she can offer herself in an exchange?”
“Absolutely not,” came a quick response from Chloe. The others offered similar sentiments as grumbles filled the air.
“You’d be walking right into the hands of the enemy,” Conrad said.
Tears welled at the show of acceptance and support. Cassie sniffed them back.
“I can’t do this to any of you.” Chin to chest, she started toward the back door.
Hudson followed. “I can’t force you to stick around, nor would I try.
All I can ask is that you think twice before you walk out that door, and if you go, that you’ll allow me to come with you.
” The pit of tension deep in his chest threatened to explode and burst through his ribcage.
He caught her gaze as her hand rested on the knob.
“I would be a wreck if I didn’t know that you were okay. Going back to Jarek isn’t the answer.”
Cassie didn’t move. She bit down on her bottom lip, and her gaze unfocused like she was searching inside herself for the right answer.
He understood her predicament. Stay, and she risked getting people she barely knew hurt, while a newly pregnant person was used as a pawn against her.
Leave, and she would be walking into the arms of the person who would do her the most harm.
“He’s a liar,” Hudson continued. “Which means Nikki could end up hurt or dead, either way. The damage is done. Let’s not make it worse. Besides, he’ll keep her alive if he thinks he can use her for a trade, if that turns out to be the case.”
Cassie took in a long, slow breath and kept chewing on her lip.
“He won’t harm her while you’re here. He’d risk losing his bargaining chip.” He studied her expression and got a green light to keep going. “You walking out the door alone is the surest way for Nikki to end up hurt.”
“He’s right,” Conrad said from the other side of the room. “I can imagine how difficult this decision is for you. Just know that everyone in this family will support whatever you decide while doing everything we can to bring Nikki back safely.”
Owen stepped up next. “I’ve been in Nikki’s shoes.
I’ve been used as bait to bring someone out into the open.
I think I speak for her, and all of us, when I say that getting Travis involved really is the best course of action.
Nikki is intelligent and has been in danger before.
She’ll also be working to free herself.”
On a sharp exhale, Cassie said, “Okay. I’ll hold off and give this more thought.”
Relief flooded Hudson. Going off half-cocked never helped a situation, and he couldn’t lose her. In the short time they’d known each other, he’d told her more than he’d told the people he’d known his entire life.
Accepting help was already a big leap of faith for Cassie. Hudson wouldn’t hold his breath that she would agree to open up to the sheriff.
“You don’t have to do this all by yourself,” Chloe continued. “We’re all here for you and will stand by your side. No one should have to suffer more abuse at the hands of an asshole. He should be brought to justice.”
“Agreed,” Cassie said. “But this is so much bigger than him. He has contacts that could do serious—”
“Who might want to distance themselves from someone the law is watching.” Chloe’s well-timed interruption looked to be working. Cassie was building up a powerful story in her mind that caused visible stress. She hadn’t let herself consider other outcomes.
Cassie looked directly at Hudson. “Do you think I should speak to the law?”
“I do,” he said. “Not just anyone, though. Travis can be trusted. He’s dealt with delicate situations before, and he’s family. He cares about Nikki as much as we do.”
Heads nodded as the sound of a vehicle pulling up caused a distraction. Owen ran over to the window.
“It’s the doc,” he said before excusing himself.
Cassie stepped away from the back door to allow passage. “If that’s what you think is best,” she said to Hudson. “I’ll speak to the sheriff.”
“Chloe?” Hudson said, glancing over his shoulder.
“He’s been delayed but is still on his way.” She was already fishing her cell out of her pocket as Owen led the doc inside the kitchen.
“Is there a place we can go and talk?” Cassie asked Hudson.
He nodded before taking her hand in his, noticing how small hers was by comparison and yet how well it fit. She fit.
Once they were safely inside Beaumont’s old office, Cassie turned to face him and then reached for his other hand. Eyes wide, she said, “I’m not used to having so many people around, let alone people who are in my corner.” Her pulse pounded at the base of her throat.
“Big families can be overwhelming at times,” he said softly.
“It’s good, though,” she said, “in the grand scheme of things. I’ve just never relied on someone else to help me make important decisions. I was on my own before Jarek and, after, he made the calls whether I wanted him to or not.”
It was almost impossible to fathom someone as strong as Cassie being controlled by someone else.
But then, a talented manipulator was a force that could overcome even the strongest person.
Was that how his mother had felt living with Beaumont?
Her reason for escaping made more sense to him now that he looked into fearful eyes.
Could he find room in his heart to forgive his mother for abandoning the family?
“Here’s the thing,” Cassie said, hesitation in her tone. “Knowing you can trust someone in here,” she pointed to her heart, “doesn’t always translate to knowing you can believe in them here.” This time, she pointed to her forehead. “Does that make sense?”
“Yes.” He cracked a small smile. How many times had logic gone to war with his heart since he’d met Cassie? A whole helluva lot. “It makes perfect sense.” He paused a beat. “You can trust me, Cassie.”