Chapter 14
The thing about being moved around your whole life is that compartmentalizing your feelings becomes second nature. To survive, you have to become really good at picking up on a moment’s notice and moving on.
This time, though, leaving was going to mark her with a permanent scar. She wasn’t even out the door yet, and she already missed Hudson.
Cassie sighed as she got ready. She lifted a backpack, filled it with fruit and bottles of water, and then shrugged the strap over her shoulder.
The house was quiet, a sharp contrast to the earlier buzz of activity in the kitchen.
The hum of that past conversation buzzed in her head as she moved through the space and toward the back door.
Halfway across the room, it occurred to her that there might be an alarm set.
She glanced around the room, searching for the telltale red dot that said an alarm was armed.
Hudson had said there’d been a rash of crime recently. Installing a house alarm made sense. Would the keypad be in the kitchen, though?
She glanced around and didn’t see anything. What about the hallway leading to the garage?
A quick check revealed nothing; there was no sign of an alarm system anywhere. Open the door, and you’ll find out.
Did she really believe there was an alarm, or was she looking for a stall tactic? Besides not wanting to be alone out there in the woods, which was a terrifying thought, she was having a hard time leaving Hudson. You’ve always relied on yourself. This is no different.
Okay, you’ve got this.
With that, she reached for the door handle, half expecting someone to step into the room and stop her. A twinge of disappointment settled in her chest when no one did.
The night air was warm against her skin. She closed the door behind her and headed into the thicket behind the barn. She could stay in the trees and move along the road. Borrowing a vehicle crossed her mind. Great way to get caught.
She would have to leave her rifle in Hudson’s truck. Making noise might wake someone. She couldn’t afford it.
Chirps filled the air. The thought of insects crawling around in the dark gave her the heebie-jeebies. She wasn’t ten minutes into her trip before walking into a spider web. Cassie let out a yelp as she fought her way through the spider’s silk. She involuntarily shivered. She spit.
This escape wasn’t off to a good start.
Keep going. She repeated those words in her head until they became a mantra. You can make it another five minutes. Anyone can walk for five minutes. Five minutes is nothing.
A few tears welled in her eyes, escaped, burning a hot trail down her cheeks. The thought of never seeing Hudson again stole the air from her lungs, causing her to gulp for precious oxygen.
She hadn’t felt this way since…ever.
After walking for what felt like hours, she paused to rehydrate.
The sound of a vehicle coming down the road startled her at first. But then, she remembered ranchers kept hours like bakers, often waking up and starting work around four o’clock in the morning.
She couldn’t fathom waking at this ungodly hour on a regular basis.
The six-month stint she’d spent as a barista in Austin around her sixteenth birthday had proved she wasn’t cut out for early mornings.
To her, this was and would always be the middle of the night.
The vehicle was moving slowly. Hudson? Was it him? Was he out looking for her?
Hope was quickly dashed. Why would he be? If anything, one of the Sturgess family members was out searching for Nikki. As they should be.
Why would anyone care what happened to me?
The sounds of a twig snapping to her left caused her to pick up the pace. It might be her imagination or, just maybe, the mountain lion.
Hudson rolled out of bed, still half asleep.
He snatched his cell off the nightstand while rubbing his eyes with his free hand.
After turning off the alarm, he set the phone back down and then headed toward the bathroom.
Cold water from a quick shower woke him up faster than a cup of coffee ever could.
He needed caffeine. Coffee was non-negotiable.
He would put on a pot and check on Cassie.
Yesterday had been one long day. She needed to catch up on sleep. Dark circles had cradled those emerald eyes of hers, and she must have yawned half a dozen times on the way home last night.
Home?
Funny, he hadn’t thought about the ranch as home before.
Especially not the main house, where Beaumont had dished out various punishments for the slightest infraction.
What he’d called discipline, most would call abuse.
The name didn’t matter. Either way, the scars were real.
He had plenty on his arms and the backs of his thighs.
Beaumont had once speared Hudson’s hand with a fork for being a lefty.
Beaumont had forced Hudson to use his right hand, stating that lefties were retards.
No son of Beaumont’s was going to be classified as stupid, he’d said.
Hudson had learned to do things with his right hand. His handwriting was worse off for it. His teachers had joked that he had a doctor’s handwriting. He’d never seen the humor.
Heading downstairs, the sun peeked through the windows. The house was still quiet, so he was caught off guard when he smelled coffee halfway down the stairs. Conrad sat at the kitchen table, nursing a cup.
“Morning,” Hudson said to his brother. One look at the concern lines on Conrad’s face said there was no word on Nikki.
Conrad stood up. The two exchanged a bear hug.
Hudson knew better than to make promises, so he didn’t. Instead, he glanced at Conrad’s near-empty cup and asked, “Ready for a refill?”
Conrad nodded, then sat back down. He scrubbed his hand over the stubble on his chin. Red-rimmed eyes said he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep last night.
“I lost someone very close to me once,” Hudson said to his brother.
Conrad’s eyebrow arched. “You did? When?”
“It was a long time ago. Her name was Adina. We were barely nineteen years old and crazy in love.” Hudson went to work refreshing Conrad’s cup before pouring his own.
“What happened?”
“She had a rare bone cancer.” Hudson brought over the mugs, set them down on the table, and then sat opposite his brother. He shook his head. “She tried to fight it. Not knowing what was going to happen was the worst. Those few months of roller coaster emotions were the most miserable of my life.”
“You were a kid.” Conrad took a sip of coffee. “I wish you’d said something, man. I would’ve liked to have been there for you.” He shook his head and frowned. “You must’ve felt alone.”
Hudson could see so clearly now. “Beaumont did a number on us, didn’t he?”
“Bastard,” Conrad bit out. He paused a beat and then lifted his gaze. “Why are you telling me this now?”
“I believe in my heart we’ll find Nikki alive and well,” Hudson said, not allowing any other outcome. “This is the hardest part. The waiting. It’s the worst kind of torture.”
Conrad released a slow exhale and nodded.
“I heard voices,” Beau said at the doorway. “Okay if I join you?”
“Pull up a seat,” Conrad said.
“Coffee?” Hudson asked.
“That’d be great.” Beau’s injury delayed his trip to find his mother. He glanced around the room. His eyebrows drew together. “I expected to find Cassie in here.” He eased onto a chair.
“Why is that?” Hudson stopped halfway across the room and turned to Beau.
“She’s not in her room.” Beau’s expression dropped to outright concern. “The adjacent bathroom door is open. So, I assumed she would be in here with you guys when I heard your voices.”
Hudson abandoned his trip across the room, backtracked, and headed down the hallway toward the guest bedroom.
Shit.
The room was empty. The bed had been made. The towel she’d used to shower was folded up on the counter in the adjacent bathroom.
Panic shot his pulse through the roof. Where the hell was she?
He shot through the ground floor faster than a heat-seeking missile searching for its target, but came up empty.
Hudson raked a hand through his hair as he stood, dumbfounded, in the kitchen. “Are all the vehicles still here?”
Conrad was up and at the window in two seconds flat. “Looks like they are.”
“Which means she’s out there on foot.”
Shit.
Cassie. Where did you go?
After racking his brain for a few minutes, he knew.
Hudson grabbed his keys and bolted out the door before anyone could stop him. The second he stepped outside, a female figure caught his eye. She was moving through the thicket beyond the barn, staggering.
The back door swung open, the screen smacking against the wall as Conrad bolted out faster than a champion thoroughbred out of the starting gate.
“Conrad!”
All hope the female was Cassie died when he heard the voice. A different relief washed over him as he realized Nikki was alive and running toward them.
Hudson studied the area around her as Conrad picked up the pace, running toward the person he loved without regard for his own safety.
“Here,” Beau came up from behind and handed Hudson a shotgun. “Take this.”
“You’re just in time.” Hudson took the offering and aimed as he scanned the area searching for any signs of movement. Would Jarek be careless enough to follow Nikki out of the thicket?
If the man was anywhere near, he wasn’t shooting.
Maybe he didn’t want to risk a murder charge.
Someone like Jarek, who had a pilot’s license and access to a private airplane, could disappear across the border.
He wanted Cassie. He wanted her alive. He wanted to hold her hostage, either to have her all to himself or to punish her for leaving him in the first place.
The twisted sonofabitch wouldn’t get a chance if Hudson had anything to say about it.
Halfway across the distance to the barn, Nikki and Conrad reunited. Embraced. He quickly placed his arm around her and ushered her to the house.
“Did she escape or was she released?” Hudson asked, pausing for a moment as they approached.
“I escaped,” Nikki said.
“Was there any other female around?” Conrad asked, cluing in. Escaping versus being released could make a difference as to whether Jarek had Cassie.
Nikki gave a small headshake.
“She’s out there somewhere,” Conrad said. “Go find her.”
He waited until his brothers and sister-in-law were safely inside the house before making a beeline for a ranch vehicle. He chose one of the oldest, a beat-up pickup truck that was rarely used. After turning the key to start the engine, he checked the gas gauge. A full tank meant it was go time.
Without any idea how long ago Cassie had taken off, it was impossible to gauge how far she’d gotten. Her destination came to him in a rush. It was obvious now. She was going to check on the kid she believed to be her son.
And then what, Cassie?
The obvious answer would be to disappear. No way. He couldn’t let that happen. It wasn’t fair that she should be treated like a criminal, sent into hiding for making the simple mistake of getting involved with the wrong person. She’d tried to walk away, break free from Jarek. He stood in her way.
Hudson scanned the skies in search of low-flying aircraft that would tell him Jarek was searching for Cassie, too.
The mountain lion still hadn’t been caught to his knowledge.
Marcus had promised to send an update as soon as the animal was captured.
The animal posed an additional threat to anyone alone in the woods.
Cassie had to be exhausted. She’d looked tired as hell last night. Even so, even though her problems were mountains, she’d still been more concerned with comforting Conrad than with her own safety.
Speeding away from the ranch, Hudson figured Cassie had left a short while after everyone had gone to bed. They’d been tired, and she would’ve correctly assumed that they’d pass out for a few hours. Enough time for her to be long gone before anyone checked on her.
Shit.
Cassie forced one foot in front of the other as she bit back another yawn. Adrenaline had worn off an hour ago, leaving her tired down to the bone. Her body ached for a soft bed. The thought of the one she’d given up to be out here hammered home that her choice hadn’t been her best move.
Another twig snapped.
Was someone or something following her?
The sun was up. The road was close. She did a full three-sixty to see if anything caught her attention.
Nothing.
Would going out in the open help? Maybe she could cross the road and walk on the other side. It would be just her luck to get stranded out here with the mountain lion; a true full-circle moment.
She sprinted across the deserted road. Out here, she could hear a car coming from a distance. No one could surprise her. At least, not easily. If someone was stalking her in the woods, that would be a different story. A person would show themselves by now, right?
Not necessarily. Not a hunter.
Ducking behind a tree, she held her breath as she turned around and waited.
Show yourself, bastard!