Chapter 1
EIGHTEEN MONTHS LATER
Naomi King drove from Blue Ridge Hollow toward her home, the heater of her SUV humming and a handwritten list of errands folded beside her cup holder—feed store, hardware, post office.
Ordinary things.
Comforting things.
All her tasks completed.
Shopping in Blue Ridge Hollow wasn’t quite the same as shopping in New York City, but it was still fun. She’d even gotten her favorite pumpkin latte from the coffee shop in town. It had been a nice break from her ordinary routine at Refuge Cove.
Sometimes, she felt like she was one of the women hiding out there. She wasn’t, though. She helped run the place.
It was a huge change from her old life in finance in New York.
But it was good . . . especially since her mind still couldn’t remember the violent attack that had almost claimed her life—even though her body did. She reacted to sudden noises and sounds as if her life were in danger. Her therapist had said it was normal as her body processed the trauma.
However, nothing about her jumpiness, sleepless nights, and anxiety felt normal. They were all haunting reminders of what had happened to her.
She cast aside that memory and focused on the road ahead. The curves were tighter here, and trees pressed closer on both sides.
This part of her drive took her through the middle of nowhere. There wasn’t even any cell service in this area.
Naomi eased off the gas as the road bent left.
That was when she saw it.
Movement in her peripheral vision. A flicker of something dark cutting through the woods, too fast, too close to the intersection she was about to pass.
Her eyes darted left.
A red pickup sped down the side road, headed right toward her.
If her calculations were correct, they would collide in less than five seconds if the other driver didn’t slow down.
And the other driver wasn’t slowing down.
If she braked now, he’d hit her door.
She had no choice but to accelerate.
God, help me!
Naomi put all her weight on the pedal.
It was too late.
The truck slammed into the rear corner of her bumper.
The collision jerked the wheel out of her hands and snapped her forward against the seatbelt.
Her ribs compressed.
Her breath punched out.
The SUV spun, tires shrieking over asphalt. For one horrible second Naomi was weightless and directionless. The world tilted sideways as her vehicle slid.
She grabbed the wheel with both hands and pulled hard, fighting it, her pulse hammering in her ears.
The SUV lurched to the right, skidded another few feet, and shuddered to a stop on the narrow shoulder.
The engine sputtered, then died.
Silence dropped, broken only by the ticking of cooling metal and the ragged sound of her own breathing.
Naomi sat frozen, hands still locked on the wheel and her heart slamming against her ribs.
Her mind caught up in pieces.
The truck.
The impact.
The way the driver had come out of nowhere and hadn’t even slowed.
What was wrong with him?
She glanced in her rearview mirror.
The pickup truck sat behind her, close enough she couldn’t see its grille.
She drew in a deep but shaky breath. Forced her pulse to slow.
It was probably a distracted driver. Someone checking their phone.
Accidents happened, right?
So why did something about this feel purposeful?
Why hadn’t the driver even tried to stop?
Heart pounding in her ears, she tried to start her SUV again.
Nothing. She wasn’t going anywhere. Not right now.
Naomi opened the door and stepped out.
Cold air bit at her cheeks. She took two steps back and lifted her gaze.
The driver’s door of the pickup swung open, and someone climbed out.
Just not anyone.
Travis Henderson.
Dread flooded her.
She knew she’d seen that truck somewhere before.
She observed the man as she tried to gather her thoughts.
Travis Henderson had an unshaven jaw and dark hair that fell across his forehead like he’d just rolled out of bed. A toothpick worked slowly between his teeth. He had the kind of looks that might have been charming if they weren’t paired with cold eyes and a crooked smile.
He definitely wasn’t the kind of person Naomi wanted to deal with alone on this isolated road. The way he looked at her made her skin crawl.
Travis straightened slowly as he paced toward her. A faint smile tugged at his lips, and he casually tucked his hands into the pockets of his worn, dirty jeans as he looked at her SUV.
“Well, well, well . . .” he drawled. “Would you look at that?”
Naomi’s skin prickled. Nothing about his words sounded apologetic.
That shouldn’t surprise her. Still, she’d hoped she was wrong. She’d hoped she’d misread the situation.
All she wanted was to get back in her SUV, lock the doors, and put distance between her and Travis.
She didn’t. Not yet.
She couldn’t show any weakness, or he’d pounce on it.
She forced her voice to remain level as her gaze met Travis’s. “You hit me.”
Travis shrugged. “Anyone ever call you Captain Obvious before?”
She ignored his snide remark. “Did you even slow down at all as you approached the road?”
He smirked—and that was all the confirmation she needed.
This had been on purpose. Somehow, Travis had known Naomi would be coming this way at this exact time of day. He’d been waiting to strike.
She felt certain she’d been targeted—especially given the history between the two of them.
She glanced up and down the road.
It was empty. There were no houses nearby or passing cars.
Only the lonely ribbon of road and trees.
Her pulse thudded harder.
“You should’ve slowed down.” He leered at her. “Road’s tricky here. Thought you’d know that by now being as smart as you are and all.”
“I had the right of way. You were supposed to stop.”
His smile widened a fraction, as if he liked the fact that she’d noticed. “Guess we’ll have to call it an accident.”
Something cold slid into place in her chest.
He wanted to catch her alone out here. But why? What exactly was he planning?
She forced her mind not to play worst-case scenarios like reels from a thriller movie.
But a memory tried to slide its prickly fingers around her.
Her attack in New York, she realized. Her body was responding to what her mind couldn’t fully remember.
Her pulse began to race as panic tried to kick in.
She couldn’t let that happen. Not now.
She needed every ounce of strength she could muster.
She steeled herself before saying, “You need to step back.”
Instead, Travis moved closer.
Not close enough to touch her. Just close enough that she had to tip her head back to keep eye contact.
“Relax, Queen Naomi,” he said. “I’m not gonna bite.”
Naomi’s fingers curled into her palms, and her heart raced. Queen Naomi? What did that mean?
The nickname was the least of her concerns at the moment.
He could kill her out here, and no one would be around to witness it. Or he could kidnap her or do other terrible things.
She had to stay strong.
She glared up at him. “I said back up.”
He looked her up and down, his gaze lingering a little too long in places it shouldn’t before he finally met her gaze again. “You always look like you’re bracing for something—and it’s not a royal coronation.”
He was baiting her. She knew that.
But she couldn’t let him get to her.
She raised her chin, questions stabbing her thoughts. “How did you know I was coming up the road? Did you see me head into town earlier? Were you just waiting here for hours for me to come by again so you could trap me out here with no one else around?”
Satisfaction stretched through his gaze.
She shivered.
“Hey, now . . . you’re reading a little too much into this, aren’t you?” Travis’s gaze flicked to her SUV and back, then he shrugged. “Not many people use this road. Mostly just my family . . . and yours.” He paused before staring her dead in the eye. “Should just be my family.”
Her stomach tightened.
Travis and his family lost their land when they weren’t able to pay the property taxes. Naomi’s older sister, Sarah, and her husband had purchased nearly three hundred acres in the government-sponsored sale.
Sarah had, however, insisted the Hendersons keep their home. She’d given the family a parcel of land, with no strings attached. It had been a kind gesture, one she hadn’t been obligated to make. She’d done so out of the goodness of her heart.
But the Hendersons had never forgiven the Kings for taking their property, and they were determined to make Naomi and the rest of her family miserable.
Travis leaned toward the back of her SUV, peering at the bumper. “Barely a scratch.”
Barely a scratch? She would beg to differ.
“That’s what you get when you drive something built to take a hit,” Travis continued. “Vehicles like yours are just asking for it.”
Just asking for it?
The tension across her back pulled tighter. “I’m calling the sheriff to file a report. I’ll need it for insurance.”
“Sheriff Sutherland?” Travis raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I bet you do want to talk to him.”
The way he said it made her skin crawl.
What did he even mean?
She took a step back, the hair on her neck rising.
Travis inched closer, matching her stride without breaking eye contact.
“Too bad there’s no cell service out here.
Besides, I don’t have insurance, so I’m not going to be much help.
Let’s face it—insurance is a scam anyway.
I’d say I’d pay for your damages, but let’s not kid ourselves.
I ain’t got no money for repairs.” He paused.
“Maybe we can discuss other means of me paying you back . . .”
She had no idea what he meant by that, and she didn’t want to find out.
“You know . . .” Travis lowered his voice. “It’s funny how things work out. Your family swoops in, takes land that doesn’t belong to them, and suddenly you’re acting like you’re so important around town. Like you’re royalty.”
So important? Royalty? Why would he say such a thing?
Was it because she’d just been added to the county planning commission? Did he see this as a way of her family claiming more property? Because that wasn’t why she’d joined the commission.
Her gaze locked with Travis’s. “Sarah legally bought that land.”
“Legally,” Travis repeated, his lips narrowing as if he were tasting the word. “Funny thing about being legal. It ain’t always the same as being right.”
Naomi’s heart pounded so loudly she was sure he could hear it. She heard the threatening undertone to his voice.
“People need to be taught lessons,” he continued, his gaze narrowing and his voice dropping lower. “About the way things work around here. Locals don’t like it when strangers show up and act like they own the place.”
Arguing with him would get her nowhere. She knew that.
She needed another plan.
Her gaze darted to the road again.
It was still empty.
Please, Lord. Send someone. Please.
“You should be more careful.” Travis moved so close that she felt the body heat radiating from him. “People around here don’t forget.”
She crossed her arms, desperate to put space between the two of them. “I’m not discussing this with you.”
He glared at her. “You already are. My family bled for that land. And now you Kings act like you’re saviors, like you deserve that property just because you decided you want it.”
“We mind our own business, and we help dogs,” Naomi muttered the familiar excuse. “That’s all.”
She and her brother were actually helping abused women, but she didn’t say that. She and Caleb didn’t advertise what they did at Refuge Cove. Part of their objective was to keep that quiet. Instead, people in town thought they ran an animal shelter and boarding facility.
Officially, they also ran a nonprofit, invite-only retreat center—at least, on paper that was what they did. It was their way of keeping the shelter invisible.
Travis tilted his head. “Helping dogs? Helping yourself is more like it.”
She backed up until her shoulder brushed the side of her Expedition.
Her options narrowed. With her vehicle possibly inoperable, she was trapped out here. With him.
Travis knew it.
Had he picked this spot to ram into her because he knew she’d be cut off from help?
As she glanced at him, something dark flickered behind his eyes.
She locked her gaze with his. “So, why did you purposely hit my SUV?”
His smile vanished. “Careful. That’s a serious thing to accuse someone of. I’d hate for a pretty little thing like you to get hurt because of some false accusations.”
He reached for her, and his fingers grazed her cheek.
She stiffened and slapped his hand away.
Travis didn’t care. If anything, he seemed amused.
He took another step.
Fear trembled through her.
She had to keep her panic at bay, but it felt like a losing battle.
As the space between them disappeared, so did any remaining doubt that this was an accident.
What would she do if he pulled a knife? Or a gun?
She was strong, but Travis was stronger. He could easily overpower her.
She could possibly lock herself in her SUV. But Travis could grab her before she reached it. She didn’t think she’d get that far.
Her lungs tightened.
Please, Lord . . . help me!
Growing desperate, Naomi glanced behind him.
The darkening road was still empty.
She wasn’t just uncomfortable right now, she realized.
She was in serious trouble.