Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-three
Alice
The world blurred past in streaks of asphalt and dust. Shelby had both hands welded to the wheel, her jaw clenched, eyes locked on the empty stretch of road ahead. The dial on the speedometer spun all the way to the left and shook as she pressed the pedal to the metal.
My hands were slick around my phone. I pressed redial again, holding my breath through every ring. Straight to voicemail. Caleb still wasn’t picking up.
“Come on, come on,” I muttered, hanging up and trying again. Nothing. He must’ve been on some far corner of the ranch without reception. That was the only reason he wouldn’t answer his phone, especially when he knew I was with Jesse.
Between attempts, I shot Shelby a look, hoping by talking to her, I could calm her enough so we didn’t end up in a ditch. “Do you know where he’s taking Jesse?”
Her knuckles whitened further on the steering wheel. “It has to be the damn fishing cabin.” Her voice trembled, but it wasn’t fear. Shelby was angry. Furious. “He’s been crashing there since I threw him out. He has nowhere else to go.”
“Where exactly is it?”
“On Elkhorn Lake. It’s a rotted-out piece of shit.” Shelby leaned forward over the wheel like sheer willpower could make the car go faster. “If he lays a hand on my boy—” Her voice broke. “I’ll kill him, Alice. I swear to God I’ll kill him.”
“He won’t. We’re not far behind him. We’ll get to him.” I was telling myself this as much as I was her. It had to be true. Kent was nowhere in sight, but there was no way we were more than two minutes behind him. We’d get there in time. Jesse would be fine, and I’d bring him home to Caleb.
I hit redial again, but there was no answer. With shaking fingers, I switched to the keypad and dialed 911.
When the dispatcher answered, I gave them every detail I had, which wasn’t much. We were told to pull over and wait for the police, but I didn’t relay that message to Shelby. There was no way she would take it well or comply.
“They’re sending someone,” I told Shelby, my voice thin.
“That’s good.” Her jaw went rigid as she glared at the road in front of us. “Don’t ask me to stop. One day, when you have kids, you’ll understand why I can’t do that. I have to get him back.”
“I’m not going to ask you to stop,” I said as calmly as I could. “Please just be careful. You won’t be any good to Jesse if you crash this car, okay?”
Her hands tightened on the steering wheel as she sucked in a ragged breath. Then she let it out slowly and nodded. “I’m fine, Alice. Just hang on.”
That was all I could do. Hang on and keep dialing Caleb.
Shelby’s nostrils flared. “He’s not picking up?”
“No. I think he’s out of pocket. Some cattle escaped because of the storm—”
“Right. Call Bill. He’ll get on the radio, let Caleb know what’s going on.”
“Bill?” I hadn’t thought of Caleb’s right-hand man. Even if I had, I had no way of contacting him.
“His number’s in my phone.” She picked it up from the center console and tossed it to me. “Bill will find Caleb.”
She was right. As soon as I spoke to Bill, he promised he’d track Caleb down. He didn’t ask many questions, and that was good, because my jaw was shaking so hard, it was difficult for me to speak. My heart was lodged in my throat, and my teeth wouldn’t stop chattering.
I was a little bit of a mess, but Shelby was like steel. Her anger at Kent drove her forward and love for Jesse kept her steady.
We turned down a narrow road, and the blacktop gave way to gravel, then dirt, the car fishtailing as Shelby jerked the wheel hard. Dust billowed in our wake, sunlight flashing through the trees until the road opened to a small lake covered in scum.
A few shacks sat slumped along the shoreline, their tin roofs rusted and sagging. Kent’s car was parked crooked in the dirt, and he was standing at the trunk.
Shelby slammed to a stop right behind him, and he spun around, eyes wide in surprise.
Shelby was already out of the car. She yanked open the back door, grabbed a rusted tire iron from the floorboard, and charged forward with a guttural sound more animal than human.
“Shelby!” I cried, scrambling after her, but my voice was nothing against her rage.
Her first swing crashed into the side of the trunk with a metallic clang. Kent stumbled back, throwing his arms over his face.
“Where’s my son?” Shelby’s demand ripped through the hot, heavy air. The tire iron came down again, splintering his brake light.
“I’m sorry.” Kent’s voice cracked, his back hitting the car as he cowered, hands trembling in front of him. “Shelby, I’m sorry. I wasn’t gonna hurt him, I—”
“Don’t say my name!” She swung again, and her aim was true. Kent screeched as the iron slammed into his bicep, and Shelby’s whole body shook. “Give me my boy back!”
“I just needed some money,” he tried. “Then I was going to bring him back. I swear it.”
I stood a few feet away, my phone limp in my hand. Maybe I should have tried to stop Shelby when she raised the tire iron to hit him again, but…I didn’t want to. This man had taken Jesse. When he fell onto the ground, yowling in pain, I could only think he deserved exactly what he was getting.
And still, my pulse thundered with the only words I couldn’t let myself speak out loud.
Where is Jesse?
The thought hadn’t even finished forming when a faint, muffled thump came from the car.
My breath caught. I shouldn’t have even been able to hear it. Not between Shelby yelling and Kent’s begging, but I had. There was no denying the second thump.
I darted around Shelby, past Kent’s pathetic whimpering, and yanked open the driver’s door. My fingers fumbled across the dash until they found the trunk release. With a sharp click, the lid popped.
“Jesse,” I cried, rushing to the back.
Shelby froze midswing, her eyes snapping to me then the open trunk. She dropped the tire iron with a clatter and lunged forward.
There he was. Our sweet boy, curled up in the dark, his face streaked with tears.
“Mom!” Jesse’s scared, broken sob cut me in two.
Shelby had him out of the trunk and in her arms in the blink of an eye. Her fury melted into raw, desperate love. Jesse was almost as tall as her, but she held him to her chest and rocked him like a baby as he clung to her, her own tears pouring down.
“I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you. I’m here.” Between comforting murmurs, she kissed his hair and promised he was safe.
Kent was a sniveling heap in the dirt, clutching his arm, muttering apologies no one wanted to hear.
If I’d had it in me, I would have kicked him for good measure, but all I could do was stagger back until my shoulder hit the hot metal of his car.
My legs were close to giving out as adrenaline fled my body.
Leaning there, I let my own tears spill, quiet and unstoppable, my chest heaving as the terror drained out of me.
Jesse was safe. That was all that mattered.
Then, faint at first, the wail of sirens drifting over the lake got louder as they drew near.
Help was coming, but my chest was still achy and hollow. There was only one thing that would make it better.
I needed Caleb.