Chapter Twenty-Three
S adie’s heartbeat thudded loudly in her ears as she watched, helpless, while the men roughly hoisted Dale’s limp body onto the other chair. His head lolled to the side, blood trickling from the wound on his temple. They bound his wrists tightly to the arms of the chair, the zip ties digging into his skin, just like hers. But unlike her, they zip-tied his ankles to the chair legs.
The sight of Dale, usually so strong, now so vulnerable, filled her with a cold, paralyzing fear.
How could she stop them from hurting him? Could she reason with the intruders? Was there more of the cartel outside waiting to attack her friends? Would Mac or Cooper come back soon? And what about Gabe? Surely someone would return to the house shortly.
What if they were too late?
That thought resurrected her adrenaline. She might be on her own. It might be up to her to keep Dale alive long enough for the cavalry to arrive.
With that in mind, she studied the intruders, trying to quickly ascertain if she had a chance. Both men had black hair, dark eyes, tan complexions, and Spanish accents. But where one was clearly a thug who’d enjoying using brute force his entire life, the other was young and gave off an educated vibe. Why was he involved with such a beast? Although, the younger guy was calling the shots.
It didn’t make sense. What else was new?
“Why are you doing this?” she finally asked, and the movement increased the pain in her face. “What do you want?”
Sadie held her breath and counted to ten until the throbbing subsided.
The younger man, his face hard as stone, looked at her with disdain. “You can’t help us,” he sneered. “You’re only alive to keep him in line.”
Great. Another brute. She already had a hard dislike for him for screwing with her sanctuary. This only added to her dislike. Sadie was trying not to let it interfere with her wits, because she needed them now more than ever.
Her gaze returned to Dale, praying he would wake up soon. Her desperation grew with every second, knowing their lives were hanging by a thread, and there was nothing she could do to save them.
But she couldn’t just sit by.
“Look, maybe I can help,” she said, trying again.
Dale groaned, catching everyone’s attention. Excitement spread across the brute’s face, while impatience ruled the young man’s.
Dale’s eyes slowly opened. “Who the hell are you and what do you want?”
“Ah, you’re awake. Good.” The young guy smiled, but his gaze remained cold. “Pedro, go outside and make sure no one gets in,” he ordered.
Several thoughts shot through Sadie’s head. If he sent Pedro outside to stand guard, then did that mean there were no other cartel members outside? If not, who were those six heat signatures in the woods? Why hadn’t she heard any gunfire? And where was Mac? Cooper? RJ? Dean?
Pedro grumbled but left, and within seconds, she heard the back door close.
The remaining guy turned back to Dale and folded his arms across his chest. “My name is Ricardo.”
Dale lifted a brow. “I take it your last name is Ortega.”
“Correct,” Ricardo growled, his gaze now menacing. “What do I want? Revenge, Taylor. Revenge for my father.”
Sadie’s blood ran cold as she realized who this man was—the son of Miguel, the cartel leader Caspian and his SEAL team had taken down years ago.
“Your father was a piece of shit cartel head who killed innocent people for fun,” Dale said calmly, and Sadie’s heart dropped to her knees.
What was he doing? He shouldn’t provoke a madman.
Ricardo’s gaze narrowed, his expression deadly. “I could so easily have killed you and your woman many times over the past few weeks.” He withdrew a device from his pocket and smirked as he waved around what looked like a small cell phone. “It was fun watching you scurry to put security measures in place that are no match for this baby. I paid handsomely for it on the dark web, but it was well worth the money. So you see? I might not have been able to get to your dad, but I had easy access to both of you. You’re just lucky I was waiting for Caspian to arrive. I went through a lot of trouble hanging around for the right moment to get that horse to throw your father. Then the wrong Taylor comes home. What’s the matter with your brother? Doesn’t he love his father?”
Sadie’s heart raced, her fear mingling with anger as she glanced at Dale then back to Ricardo. “You don’t know anything about Caspian or Dale. They’d do anything for their father, and for each other. You’re the one who doesn’t understand love, and that’s why you’ll never win. You’re just a coward, hiding behind your cruelty.”
“Such brave words from a helpless woman,” he sneered, putting away the device. “And I loved my father, right up until the day Caspian killed him when I was ten.”
“Your father got what was coming to him,” Dale said in that same calm voice.
Ricardo lifted his chin. “And now, so will the two of you. But first, I need you to call your brother.”
He swiped Dale’s phone off the table and lifted it in the air. She’d seen the guy fish it out of Dale’s pocket earlier and try unsuccessfully to unlock it.
“And how do you expect me to do that with my hands tied?” Dale glared, defiance burning in his eyes.
Their captor shrugged. “You’re clever enough to figure it out. But if you don’t, I’ll make sure your little girlfriend here pays the price.”
Sadie’s heart lurched at the threat, but she also watched Dale struggle with the decision. No matter who got hurt, Dale would never forgive himself. Since she was the only one here, she wanted to keep it that way. “Dale, don’t do it,” she pleaded, even as fear gripped her. “Don’t let him—”
Before she could finish, Ricardo rushed over and backhanded her so hard, her chair swayed. Although she tried, she couldn’t stop a sharp cry of pain from escaping her now painful lips.
“Don’t you touch her,” Dale threatened, his voice filled with venom, as he wrestled against his restraints, rocking his chair. “Do it again and I’ll kill you!”
Ricardo laughed, a cold, heartless sound. “Now it’s big words for a man who’s tied to a chair. Make the call, or she gets more. Or maybe I’ll let Pedro have his fun while you watch.”
Sadie tried to speak, to tell Dale not to give in, but fear had stolen her voice. She could see the anguish in Dale’s eyes, the internal battle he was fighting. But she didn’t want him to risk his life—or Caspian’s—because of her.
Dale looked at the phone in Ricardo’s hand, then back at Sadie, anguish and rage churning in his eyes. “Fine. I’ll do it. Just don’t touch her again.” He blew out a breath. “Give me the phone,” he said, wiggling the fingers of his right hand.
“Now you’re being smart,” Ricardo claimed, reaching over from a safe distance as he shoved the phone under Dale’s hand.
His gaze met hers, and her chest squeezed. He was up to something. But what?
She noted his eyes shift quickly to her right three times.
“Hurry up, Taylor,” Ricardo said, moving closer to her. “Get your brother on the phone for me, now!”
She watched as in one fluid motion, Dale let the phone slip from his hands, and as it fell to the floor, he lifted the chair enough to slam one of the legs down onto the device, shattering it into pieces.
“You bastard!” Rage twisted Ricardo’s face. “Your girlfriend’s going to pay for that,” he spat, pulling a knife from his boot.
Then the guy turned to face her, those cold eyes hot with fury as he raised the blade. Dale surged to his feet, the chair still tied to him, and charged, bent over, at Ricardo.
Realizing, just in time what Dale had been trying to tell her, Sadie immediately pushed to her feet and stumbled awkwardly to her right, just as Dale barreled into the vengeful man.
The impact sent him crashing into the stone fireplace, cracking his head with a sickening thud. Dale didn’t waste a second. He pivoted to hit the stone with his chair, over and over until the force of the impact broke the wood, freeing his arms and legs in the process.
“Sadie, close your eyes,” Dale warned, his voice urgent.
She obeyed, squeezing her eyes shut as she heard the sounds of a struggle, fists meeting flesh, grunts of pain. Then, a loud thump echoed through the room, and silence fell.
Her heart pounded in her ears, terror gripping her. Oh God… What if it was Dale who had fallen? What if—
“It’s okay, Sadie,” Dale’s voice broke through the terrifying silence, warm and reassuring. “You can open your eyes now.”
She opened them slowly, her breath catching as she saw Ricardo’s crumpled body on the floor, blood trickling from a wound on his head, cheek, and mouth. Dale was standing over him, breathing hard but otherwise unharmed. He rushed toward her with Ricardo’s knife and cut her loose. Then he cut his restraints, and the broken parts of the chair crashed to the floor.
“Are you okay?” he asked, pulling her to her feet, concern darkening his gaze.
“So much better now that you’re okay,” she replied, a lone tear escaping down her face.
Careful of her bruises, Dale crushed her close. “I’m so sorry, Sadie. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have opened the door.”
She shifted back and met his anguished gaze. “No, it’s not. If you hadn’t, I would’ve. We had no reason to believe they weren’t firemen.”
He shook his head, obviously too guilt-ridden to listen to reason. “I should’ve known better.” Then the guilt clouding his gaze turned to something much darker. “Who else hit you?” he asked, examining her face. His gentle touch was a stark contrast to the murderous glint in his eyes.
“Pedro,” she replied, then stiffened. “He could come back. We need to—”
Dale shook his head. “It’s okay. Bastard’s lucky Cooper got him before I did.”
She blinked. “Cooper? But how do you know for sure?”
He pointed to the monitors where she could clearly see Cooper handing over the restrained beast of a thug to the sheriff. A second later, the calvary entered the house, no doubt unlocking the door with some sort of gadget. They entered the room and glanced from the unconscious Ricardo to the busted chair pieces scattered on the floor, then to Sadie.
Anger darkened their eyes when their attention rested on her throbbing cheek.
“You okay, Sadie? Dale?” the men asked in unison, as Mac bent down to check Ricardo’s pulse before pulling out a set of handcuffs to restrain the slumbering man.
“Yes,” she replied, and those tears welling in her eyes spilled down her face as relief washing over her. “I’m okay. How about the horses?”
Cooper smiled. “Safe and sound, although the barn is in rough shape.”
She turned to face Dale, frowning at the large bump on his temple. It matched the one in her throat. “Sorry about the barn. Maybe if I’d stayed at home, this—”
He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face. “None of that. This was a good plan.”
“And a successful one,” RJ pointed out.
Mac nodded. “Take this conversation to the kitchen. I’ll wait with Ricardo. Gabe and paramedics are going to be in soon.”
Dale nodded, and his arm stayed around her as they relocated to the kitchen where the half-chopped vegetables sat on the counter. He pulled out a chair for her.
She shook her head. “I’m good like this.” She tightened her hold on his hip and his arm returned to slide across her back.
Yeah, she was perfect like this, holding him. She needed his arms around her right now. Well, forever would be her wish.
A smiled tugged at his lips. “Me, too.”
“So, it was a bunch of kids in the woods,” RJ stated, regaining their attention.
She frowned. “Kids?”
“Apparently, Ricardo paid them a thousand dollars to stroll through the woods on your property,” Dean informed.
She smiled. “So, no one got hurt?”
“You two did,” Mac stated, walking in to join them. “And don’t think you’re going to give me any trouble when the paramedics come in here in a few minutes to check you out and take you to the hospital.”
Dale opened his mouth, a protest eminent from the irritated look in his eyes.
Sadie quickly pressed her finger to his lips. “Hey, if you don’t go, I don’t go.”
The guys chuckled in the background.
He blinked, then exhaled. “Fine. Well-played, Sadie Quinn. Well-played.”
A second later, the front door opened, and loud, hurried footsteps echoed through the living room. “Dale? Where the hell are you? What happened?” Caspian stormed into the kitchen, eyes wild with worry and anger.
Dale stilled, then smiled. “Hey, Cas. You’re late for the barbeque.”
His brother glared. “Not funny. Someone going to tell me what happened?”
Sadie squeezed Dale’s hand in encouragement.
After blowing out a breath, he briefly filled his brother in. “So, it’s like I told you. We could handle it.”
Cas grunted then turned to greet the others with a few handshakes, before he walked closer and winced at her face, which was very encouraging. “Hi, Sadie. Sorry you got sucked into my mess.”
“I’m not,” she told him honestly as she snuggled against Dale. “I regret nothing, because it put me closer to your brother.”
Dale’s hold on her tightened.
A smile twitched Cas’ lips, and for the first time since he’d charged into the room, his gaze wasn’t so dark. “’Bout time he made a damn move.”
The others chuckled and nodded in agreement.
Caspian’s gaze turned serious again. “I really am sorry. I should’ve been here sooner,” he growled. “You both got hurt because of me.”
Dale smirked, wincing slightly. “Always drama with you, Cas. We handled it.”
“Besides,” Cooper said, “weren’t you supposed to arrive in the A.M.?”
“Think you skipped a few hours,” RJ teased.
Dean shook his head. “Nah, he was right on Caspian time.”
Cas smiled. “See? At least someone here makes sense.” He met Cooper’s gaze and cocked his head. “And I told you I was catching the first flight out. It just happened to leave this evening.”
Sadie smiled, despite the pain. “Your timing could use some work.”
Dale’s chuckle rumbled through her, and everyone laughed, even Cas.
“Come on, brother,” Cooper said, cupping Caspian’s shoulder. “Let me buy you a drink and really catch you up to speed.”
One by one, the men drifted out to give Gabe their statements, leaving the two of them alone in the kitchen.
“Thought they’d never leave,” he said, dipping down to tenderly kiss her nose. “I’m perfect, now.”
“So am I,” she whispered, reaching up to touch his face while tears returned to burn her eyes. “You saved me.”
Dale gently cupped her face and stared with such adoration in his eyes, those tears spilled over. “I’ll always save you, Sadie. Always.”
He kissed her forehead, then cradled her close, and the commotion around them instantly disappeared. The nightmare was over, but Sadie knew that the bond between her and Dale had only just begun. Together, they’d faced the darkest of challenges, and together, they would face the brightest of futures.
Rainbow bright.