Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
Anson
“There!” I point to Chris on the screen as we review the footage of the CCTV that’s aimed at the old foreman’s house.
It’s currently serving as the haunted house for Bull Rush Ranch’s Fall Festival.
The Stocktons have had plenty of trouble the last few years, and while I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, right now I’m grateful as hell that it means every inch of this part of the ranch is covered in cameras.
“Fuck. Yeah. I see it.” Ramsey nods at the shadowy figure I spotted rounding the bushes. It disappears through a back door a few moments later. I’m cursing the fact we left it unlocked, but then with all the cameras, guns, and security on this ranch, we thought there wasn’t a lot to worry about.
“It’s Chris. Has to be. Look at that. Looks like a prison jumpsuit, doesn’t it?”
“Absolutely.” Ramsey nods along. He would know. He spent time in one himself.
“All right. Any recommendations?” I look to Bishop Bradford and Levi Stockton, Ramsey’s brother-in-law and older brother, a former merc and the family’s head of security, respectively.
“I got the makings of a plan.” Bishop looks between us. “We wait until this thing ends and everyone starts to clear out. The less attention we draw and the fewer people on the ranch, the better for everyone involved.”
We all nod along with his assessment.
“You said that fireplace is jammed, right?” Bishop looks at Ramsey.
“Pipe’s broken somewhere in the attic. So it was venting smoke up there.” I explain.
“Perfect.”
Ramsey gives him a skeptical look.
“For our current purposes anyway.” Bishop tilts his head and then looks at me. “You all didn’t happen to set up any fog or smoke machines for the haunted house or the hayrides, did you?”
“Yeah. There’s one in the house and another couple on the hayride path.”
“Let’s gather those up. Direct them into the fireplace so that they vent out into the attic. We want to smoke him out. Make him think the house is on fire. Bristol might even unknowingly help sell it for us if she tells him about the fire hazard that happened this morning.”
It’s a good plan. I get why he led a team and why Levi wanted his help with security at the casino.
“We want him to come down to us,” Bishop continues.
“If we have to breach the attic, it could get messy fast. We don’t want him to be able to use her as a hostage, so the quicker we separate them, the better.
One of us should be planning to grab her and get her to safety while another of us takes him out. ”
“I’ll take care of her.” I volunteer because if it’s life or death for Bristol, I want to be the one standing between them.
“Sounds good. We’ll work to disarm him. Let’s try not to use guns if we can avoid it. With the smoke and the tight space, not to mention Bristol, we don’t want to take unnecessary risks. We just need to knock him unconscious.” Bishop looks around at the rest of us for our input.
“They said they believed he was armed and dangerous on the news. He may have a gun himself. He could have stolen one off a guard or on the way in. There are a lot of unknowns.” Levi makes a good point.
“Bring yours. I’ll bring mine. Everyone else, let’s focus on non-lethal options. I assume we want the cops to be able to return him to prison at the end of this.”
“That all depends on what he’s done to Bristol in the meantime.” I give my two cents. If he’s touched a hair on her head, I don’t know that I’ll be able to keep myself from paying him back in full.
I have every faith in Bishop’s plan. At least that it’s the best one we’ve got under the circumstances. Breaching the attic is more than we’re equipped to take on, but as we watch the smoke fill the fireplace, my nerves ratchet up higher and higher until I can hear my own heartbeat in my ears.
When Hazel screams for Ramsey outside the house as we planned, calling for help because she’s pretending it’s on fire, I feel it thudding against my chest so hard I worry it’ll come straight through my ribcage.
All our eyes turn to the ceiling as we hear the scrape of boots across the floor.
There’s a shout on his part, and I hear a voice that sounds like Bristol urging him on.
They clatter across the floorboards of the attic, and we follow the sound to the attic door in the ceiling.
We surround it, bandanas wrapped around our faces to try to seal out as much as possible from our airways in a pinch.
As the door drops down, the smoke that had been slowly seeping in around the cracks starts pouring into the room, dimming the lights and lowering visibility.
Thankfully, Chris climbs down the steps first. Probably too scared for his own life to care about hers, and too desperate to think through the strategic error he’s making.
But for me? For me it’s fucking golden. I use the wrench I brought in with me and slam it against the back of his skull as soon as his boots hit the floor.
He groans, buckling over and reaching for something at his side.
Ramsey jumps on his back, and Bishop grabs his hand.
But not before he gets a shot off. It ricochets through the dark, and my heart kicks up in my chest to a full fucking gallop at the sound of it. I hear Bristol scream above us, retreating back into the attic as we wrestle Chris to the ground.
Bishop manages to disarm him as I get a glancing blow in across his cheek
“I warned you what would happen if you ever hurt her again.” I slam my fist into his jaw.
I want to break every bone in this man’s body for what he’s done and what he planned to do.
That crack sends him reeling to the ground, his knees buckling, and he falls forward.
I hear a crunching sound, and I assume he’s just broken his nose as he falls flat on his face.
There’s too much smoke to tell for sure, but I can hope.
It’s the least he deserves for what he’s done to Bristol.
Ramsey keeps his weight on him while Levi uses a rope to tie his hands and then his feet. He works fast, racing the clock before he becomes conscious again. I step to the bottom of the stairs, only concerned about one person right now.
“Bristol?” I call out.
“Anson?”
“It’s me. Come on down, darlin’. I got you,” I call up to her, tossing the wrench to hold out my hand.
She reaches down, holding onto the ladder for dear life, and then takes my hand before she drops the last three steps to the bottom.
She rushes me, slamming into my chest and wrapping her arms around me as I cradle her.
I kiss the top of her head and tell her she’s going to be okay, again and again. As many times as she needs to hear it.
“I knew you’d come.”
“Always.”
“I was terrified we were gonna die up there. Or the bats were going to come back.”
“You’re all right now.” I hold her tight and promise myself I’m never letting her go again. “I’ve got you.”
“We’re going to get him downstairs,” Bishop and Ramsey announce as they haul Chris’s limp body toward the stairs.
“We should get downstairs and outside. Turn the smoke machines off,” Levi adds, and I nod.
Bishop, Levi, and Ramsey then work their way down the stairs, carrying Chris like a roll of carpet. I snatch Bristol up in my arms, not willing to let her go right now, and head for the stairs.
“You don’t have to carry me. I can walk. He didn’t hurt me.”
“If it’s all the same to you.” I shake my head.
“Okay,” she agrees, burying her head against my shoulder and allowing me the chance to take care of her.
It’s a rare moment for Bristol, and while I’m grateful she trusts me enough to let me hold her like this, I’m furious that he put her in a position to make her feel that way. If it were up to me, I’d never let her face something like this again. I’d make sure of it.