Chapter 13 #2
Richards’ green eyes narrowed, a flicker of surprise followed swiftly by anger.
“Bret is a different beast entirely. But yes, I’m aware he wanted to ensure you didn’t secure this deal.
He's the one who actually pointed us in your direction. The fact that there’s something you want that can be useful to me was bonus. ”
“Why?” she pressed, matching his intensity, focusing on the changing tide in his rhythm.
“Messy things, divorce settlements, you know? Your loss here is his gain."
"You mean his company's gain? BMG Industries stands for Bret McGowen, right?"
"Ah, he wondered if you'd found the files in your search for divorce discovery."
"You mean the International contracts and investments? The deals with shysters like you?" She was bluffing. She'd found no such files, but now realized that Bret was worried that she had.
“Perhaps.” Richards leaned back, his smugness returning.
“But we're straying from the purpose of our meeting here.
And it's reminding me that I won't be able to just stop at property acquisitions to deal with you, Heather. Sometimes, the message needs to go beyond just words—especially when it comes to you. Bret knew that too. Intimidation doesn’t come without consequences.”
There. That was it. With Richards’ admission rolling from his tongue like a confession, Heather’s breath caught. If they could connect this to a tangible threat—if he tied his illegal dealings and threats to Bret, they had their case.
At that moment, several FBI agents emerged from the shadows, surrounding the porch like wolves ready to pounce.
Martinez stepped forward, determination etched into her features.
“Darren Richards, you are under arrest for conspiracy to commit intimidation and harassment, among other charges. You’re done threatening Heather Prescott and this town. ”
Darren’s grin faltered, replaced by disbelief that morphed into anger as he struggled against the agents closing in. “You have nothing! I was just talking business!”
“Not when your business is connected to those listening devices we found at the Prescott ranch, and certainly not when you’ve been colluding with Bret McGowen to instill fear,” Martinez said, brandishing her credentials.
Richards opened his mouth to protest but was swiftly silenced by the firm grip of an agent tightening around his arm.
For Heather, a wave of relief washed over her, the tension she'd been holding onto snapping away as the adrenaline ebbed.
As the agents loaded him into the back of a vehicle, she felt her adrenaline begin to ebb. It would only be a matter of time before they located Bret and held him accountable for his part in Darren Richard's illegal dealings.
“Nice work out there,” Lyle whispered, appearing by her side and folding her into his arms. The feel of his warm, masculine body against hers made her heart begin to gallop all over again. His face was soft with pride, and Heather couldn’t help but smile back.
“I couldn’t have done it without you all,” she said, her voice quivering with emotion.
When they returned to the ranch, Heather's nerves were still humming. She didn't think she'd ever be able to settle until Bret's whereabouts were accounted for. Darren had admitted that he was working with Bret. But where was he? Was he still in Dallas, letting Darren handle the dirty work?
Clearly, Darren’s objective was to take over her business, giving him another false entity to run dirty money through. And Bret was his accomplice. If Bret hadn’t been seeking revenge, her business most likely would never have been on Darren’s radar.
Heather got out of her Jeep and it was mere moments before Lyle was beside her, as if he never wanted to let her out of his sight again.
Thankfully the guests who'd been at the ranch had left. They weren't expecting another set of customers until the end of the week, which would give them time to restock and get ready.
"I should probably start moving my stuff back into the cabin."
"Not until we get the word that Bret's been apprehended," he said.
She had to admit, his words gave her some relief.
They made their way into the kitchen where Mike was perusing recipes. He looked up. "I can't tell you how difficult that was for me to stay behind."
"But I appreciate you keeping Charlotte," Lyle said. "Where is she, by the way?"
"She's up in her room coloring with the puppies. Said the cat was going to give the dogs a tutorial."
Lyle laughed and went up the stairs, just to make sure all the animals were behaving. But when he got to Charlotte's room, his heart began to pound. Pudge was curled on the end of the bed. The puppies were burrowed under the pillows. But Charlotte was nowhere in sight.
"Charlotte!" he called and strode to the window, checking below in case she was playing outside.
The alarmed sound of his voice drew Heather, Joe and Mike upstairs.
"What's wrong?" Mike asked.
"Charlotte's not here."
"What do you mean she’s not here? Where else could she be? I left her here playing with the puppies. I've been in the kitchen the whole time. I would have seen her if she'd gone outside."
"If she'd gone out the kitchen door," Kenny said from the hallway. "She could have used the front door."
"Damn it," Mike said. "I was watching her." His tone was both worried and defensive.
"Calm down," Lyle said, even though he wanted to scream and run at the same time. "We'll find her. She's probably in the barn."
Heather's heart was beating so hard she thought she might be sick.
She wanted to believe that the little girl was in the barn, but there was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Charlotte rarely went anywhere without Pudge.
And Pudge was fast asleep on the yellow quilt at the end of the double bed.
They all raced out of the house. “Charlotte!” Lyle shouted again, desperation clawing at his throat.
Moments crawled by like hours as they searched the property, frantically calling out her name until it echoed off the walls of their sinking fears.
As the reality of the threat settled back in, a wave of confusion morphed into paralyzing panic. "Charlotte!" Heather’s voice cracked as she ran and searched every place she could imagine the little girl playing.
And then it hit her like a thunderclap. Darren Richards’ final words—‘Intimidation doesn’t come without consequences.’
Her resolve to fight for Charlotte’s safety hardened, and she felt something primal awaken within her.
Every moment that passed deepened the gnawing realization that they might be underestimating their former adversaries’ depravity. Heather knew firsthand that Bret could be both ruthless and mean.
My God, would he have taken Charlotte as a means of getting back at her?
Heather wanted to scream. She was the cause of this. She’d brought danger into the Watkins’ home. Charlotte was missing because of her. She just knew it.
All of the old feelings she'd experienced when Becky had gone missing came back and swamped her. She needed to stay calm. Hysteria wouldn't do anyone any good. Nor would ‘what-ifs’. And time was of the essence.
Because she would not lose anyone else she loved. Never again.
"I'll get the dogs. They're our best chance to locate her."
Lyle, his face filled with dread and fear nodded.
Heather grabbed her phone and punched in Jerry Hilden’s contact.
She barely let the line engage. “Jerry, I need you to bring Benny back to the ranch right now. A little girl is missing and I need him.” Assured that Jerry understood the urgency, she hung up and put a shaking hand on Lyle’s arm.
“All these dogs know Charlotte. That will make their job easier.”
He nodded again, his jaw tight, his eyes portraying a sort of paralyzed shock. Then like a startled bird, he shook himself out of his stupor and began barking orders.
"Kenny, call the sheriff. Mike, see if you can round up the neighbors. And call Grandpa. Ask him to get the plane in the air. Joe, get those FBI people back here.
“Already on it.”
The four men moved in quick, military precision as Heather rushed into the house for both Pudge and an article of Charlotte’s clothing. In addition to the scent on her clothing, every working dog on this ranch knew that cat’s scent was connected to Charlotte.