Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
K elly leaned against the truck window the whole way home. No amount of cold noses to the palm by Zeus was going to bring her out of it. No bank account. No way to get one without a job. No way to get a job in the situation she was in. No wonder Nathan found it so easy to manipulate her. She had no other option but failure.
The moment Sam pulled back into the Wayside parking lot, she reached for the door. When he parked, she dashed outside.
“Kelly? Where are you going?” He’d tried to get her to talk about her thoughts and feelings on the ride home, but she couldn’t admit how completely down this made her. Her life shouldn’t hinge on twenty-five dollars, but it felt like it did. She resisted the urge to think about the times one of her clients would intentionally give her a tip knowing Nathan hated that, would take it, and would accuse her of keeping some back even if she didn’t. That client would always come back to her the next day to see the damage one of Nathan’s men would do to her face because of it. Asking him not to would only mean he’d give her a bigger tip the next time, ensuring a more severe punishment.
Nathan didn’t trust her word because he couldn’t see honesty in anyone.
“I just need a walk,” she called over her shoulder.
“Take Zeus with you.” He sent the big dog after her.
Though she loved the dog, she just wanted to be alone with her nagging awful thoughts. No one was going to convince her she wasn’t worthless today. The way the lady at the bank had looked at her and the way the bank account manager had assumed she was lying only added fuel to the fire.
This world seemed created to keep people down, no matter how badly they wanted to get out. Rules meant to protect people were used to keep those who had been violated from seeking relief. Nathan was a liar who’d stolen her money, enslaved her by promising to pay her and never doing so, then refusing to let her go once she’d left. Those were simple, basic human rights and yet she felt like she wasn’t worthy of them because of rules.
Kelly wandered along the inside of the fence, close enough to the barn so she wasn’t out of sight but far enough where no one but the horses and Zeus would bother her. Zeus stayed within a few feet just far enough away to give her space. To the casual observer, he probably looked thoroughly engrossed in the smells all around him, but she knew him well enough after the last few days that she could see he was like a coiled spring, ready to pounce into action. He wasn’t merely sniffing the grass. He was sniffing for strange scents that might harm her.
Since Nathan had continually asked her to go to the east side of the fence, she headed west, deeper onto Wayside land instead of near the edge. Random poles along the fence line were longer than others, and camouflage trail cameras were mounted on them. She frowned up at one. They weren’t exactly hidden. If anyone wanted to get onto the property, they could clearly avoid those.
Curiosity got the better of her and she followed the fence. Her mind needed something else to think about outside of her current troubles, and Wayside was safe. Connor had told her so. Sam had even told her she was welcome to walk all over the grounds as long as she told someone she was going, which she had.
After a few hundred yards or so, the fence headed into a sparse patch of trees and the cameras seemed to disappear. She stood near the fence and searched, but found nothing hidden in the branches or on the trunk. Was she merely blind to where they were hidden or was this a break in their security? Sam had told her Dominic was a security and technology expert, so that seemed unlikely. Yet, where could they be?
Oddly, she didn’t feel eyes on her out here like she felt in her room. She sat by the fence and took a deep breath, letting the frigid ground work its chill through her clothes, reminding her she could still feel. She was a person who mattered because she had feelings. Maybe she wasn’t to the point of hopes and dreams yet, but it was a start. Baby steps.
She closed her eyes for a moment and leaned back against the fencepost as flurries hit her cheeks and forehead. She shivered, realizing she hadn’t dressed for snow. The ride in the truck had been warm and she’d only worn a bulky sweatshirt. “Zeus?” Where had he gone and how long ago had he left? She couldn’t remember seeing him for a while, but her mind had been focused on other things.
“Zeus?”
Snow came down faster, and she couldn’t see more than a few feet away from her. She berated herself for not taking the cellphone Connor had offered her the second day she was here. He’d told her it wasn’t a phone with a plan, so no one would know it was hers except him, Lacy, Edwyn, and Sam. No one else could reach her. But she’d refused. She hated phones and wanted nothing to do with them.
Now, if she had it, she could call Sam and ask if Zeus had returned without her. She couldn’t leave him alone out in a blizzard, but her sweatshirt was already wet after just a few minutes, and she had a long walk back to her cabin.
“Zeus!” she forced her voice to yell, and her throat protested. “Where are you?”
She remembered Sam had said if she blew her whistle three blasts, he would come from anywhere on the ranch. She’d thought wearing the little whistle was annoying, since it was always cold against her skin under her shirts, but she dug it out and quickly blew three blasts that she could barely hear through the wind and driving snow.
“I need you to come, right now,” her voice shook, and tears clouded her already limited vision. “I can’t leave you out here.” But if she didn’t go soon, she’d freeze. Zeus hadn’t left her side since Sam had told him to watch her. What had made him roam now?
She clung to the fence, calling for him and searching through the blinding white. Something caught around her ankle, and she went down hard on her knees. Her hands scraped on a large rock near a fencepost .
He hadn’t come. “Zeus?” her voice sounded weak, and she realized she was absolutely exhausted. She needed to get home and rest. Get warm. Dry. “Sam . . .” No one would find her out there. She hadn’t told anyone exactly where she was going. “Help me.”
With all her reserves, she tugged herself back to her feet through the chattering of her teeth. She could do this. She was stronger than this. Living through the worst humanity could throw at her had made her strong enough to last through a blizzard. She’d get home, tell Sam, and he’d know exactly what to do. He would know how to bring Zeus back.
She tried blowing on the whistle one more time and heard a bark far off. “Zeus!” she called, risking herself by staying where she was. If the dog was following the sound of her whistle, she couldn’t keep moving. “Where are you?” she whispered; her words barely understandable through her shuddering jaw.
After a minute, Zeus bounded toward her, covered in snow and carrying something in his mouth. “What have you got there?” She reached down and he gave a soft growl.
Kelly backed away, not sure what else she could do. “That’s not for me, huh? Well, we’d better get back to Sam. You can show him.”
Zeus pressed on like he knew she had to stick to the fence, and Kelly followed until she was soaked to the skin and her muscles screamed for a break. The wind ate at her energy and resiliency. Soon, just taking another step became so painful tears streamed down her face. “Zeus, I can’t. Go get Sam, boy. Go get Sam.” She fell to her knees and her face hit the ground. Even the sharp cold wasn’t enough to give her the energy to get up. Hopefully, Sam could get there quickly. Her eyes closed and her mind blocked the cold.
Sam looked at his phone for the third time in twenty minutes. Where was Kelly? She should’ve come back the moment it started snowing. He went outside and blew on his whistle to bring all the dogs to him that weren’t in the kennels.
Max huffed toward him from around the barn, balls of snow already clinging to his long tail, but he didn’t seem to be bothered by the sudden blizzard. Sam waited to see if Zeus would respond to his call. In some ways, he hoped the dog didn’t. He should stay with Kelly. But if he didn’t, Sam would have no way to track where Kelly had gone.
He rushed to the house and through the maze of halls that lead to the security station near the back of the large house. It was intentionally confusing to find, so anyone breaking in would have a hard time getting to whoever was manning the cameras. Dominic sat at a desk with about twenty screens in front of him.
“Dominic, I need to know where Kelly is right now.”
He turned and gave a nod. “Thought you’d be here. I last saw her around the west grove in pasture one. That camera is well-hidden, though I think she was looking for it right before it started to snow.”
“Is she still there?” That grove was over a mile away, though he could get there faster with a horse.
“No, I saw her walking along the fence back toward the barn, but the snow got so thick I couldn’t follow her anymore. Plus, she seemed to be really clinging to the fence and the last few sightings I had of her were just barely the top of her gray hood. Are you telling me she didn’t return? I was about to call you to make sure she got back okay.”
“She didn’t. I need to find someone to help me find her.”
Dominic nodded. “Brendon mentioned that Dee is interested in helping as much as she can around here. After what happened to her, fighting is a big goal of hers.”
Dee had been taking self-defense courses after she’d been kidnapped and violently attacked and drugged. She was also the perfect choice because she was a nurse, though she hadn’t returned to work after the incident. “Perfect. I’ll find her.”
Though he had to be fast.
Sam headed back down the winding hall, already scrolling for Brendon’s number in his phone. As soon as he saw it, he pressed the number. Avoiding a detour down Brendon’s hall would save time if he could manage it.
“Sam, what can I do for you?” Brendon asked, his usual calm self.
“Is Dee around? Kelly is missing. There’s a blizzard outside. She went missing on the cameras.” He kept his statements short and packed with information as he made his way back toward the kitchen.
“She’s here. I’ll have her get on some cold weather gear and meet you in the living room.”
“Thanks.” Sam hung up as he picked up his pace to a jog. He might get there before Dee, but he also had to grab outdoor gear thicker than what he’d worn to the lodge. Lacy met him just outside the kitchen.
“Sam, where’s the fire?”
“Kelly’s missing.” He didn’t even slow down.
“What? What can I do?” Lacy called .
He whipped around and kept moving backward. “Go to her cabin and turn up the heat. Find some heated blankets. She was chilled when she first got here, but then was too hot. I regulated it for her, but it’ll be too chilly in there if she’s been out in this.”
He went back to his task. This was his fault. He should’ve gone with her. He hadn’t wanted to smother her because that would be bad for her, but the fact was, he’d move heaven and earth for that girl. He’d assumed that feeling had changed, but he’d just buried it. Now it reared like an untamed horse. He’d find Kelly, no question about it.
Dee jogged from the hallway and met him, already in a thick ski parka and wool hat. She commonly wore hats after she’d been assaulted because they held her short hair partially over her face to cover the deep scars. No one talked about it, because Dee was incredibly sensitive about what had been done to her. Brendon had assured her he didn’t want her to have plastic surgery for his sake. If she wanted it after she was fully healed, he’d support whatever she decided.
Sam could understand why she wouldn’t want a reminder of what she’d been through every time she looked in the mirror. Dee pulled the hat down tighter over her head and looked away from his eyes. “Do I need my medical equipment?”
“I hope not, but as long as it won’t freeze, you might want to have it. I can get us there by horse. I’m just worried that with this snow coming down as fast as it is that I could end up accidentally stepping on her.”
A sharp bark from just outside had Sam running for the door. He swung it open and Zeus, covered in snow, stood outside. He had something at his feet that he must have dropped in order to bark. Sam picked up the glove, but he didn’t recognize it. He’d have one of his dogs try to track it later, since it was a man’s glove, and that was troubling. “Do you know where Kelly is, boy?”
Zeus yipped quickly and raced off the step.
“Thank the Good Lord,” Dee said as she tried to plow her way through the quickly accumulating snow. “Looks like we’re going to get about a foot. That’s what I get for not looking at the forecast. It’s been threatening this for days. I didn’t think it would ever come.”
Sam gave her a nod, but other than being a complete nuisance and danger, the weather didn’t interest him in the slightest. “Do you have everything you need because I don’t think Zeus is waiting. I’m so glad he’s a breed that’s used to cold weather.”
“True. Let’s just worry about getting her back to the lodge or her cabin. I’ll assess her where it’s not freezing.” Her teeth already chattered in the cold, and he could feel the temperature dropping. Kelly hadn’t been wearing a coat when she ran off, and he’d assumed she would go to her cabin after she got cold. Apparently, she hadn’t.
“Kelly!” he called, hoping she would hear him. Even if she couldn’t respond, she would know he was looking for her.
At least it was still early in the day, and they had at least another two hours of light. If they’d stayed at the park longer, this would be a twilight search. He mentally shook his head. No, it wouldn’t. She wouldn’t have gone if it had been snowing already. He needed to be better, do better. Kelly was under the mistaken impression that no one cared, because he’d been told he couldn’t show her any care. As of today, that ended.
Zeus barked two quick yips and Sam took off at a run toward the dog. He heard Dee behind him, but he had no intention of waiting on her. Chivalry went out the window when a life was in danger. “Kelly?”
Zeus nosed the ground near the fence, right under a camera. Sam waved to let Dominic know that he’d found the right spot, then went right to work moving the snow that was on top of Kelly.
She was soaked so completely that her light gray sweatshirt was dark. Her jeans were thoroughly soaked through. “Kelly,” he mumbled her name. “I’m here. We’ll get you home.” He shrugged off his huge coat and wrapped her up in it. The coat would trap the dampness against her skin, but he wasn’t about to take off any of her wet clothes while they were still outside.
“Dee, Lacy probably left Kelly’s cabin light on. Can you run back and make sure everything is ready the way you need it? Maybe she could make sure Kelly has something warm to drink? I’ll carry her as fast as I can, but you’ll be faster than me without anything to carry.”
Dee gave him a thumbs-up as she turned and ran back toward the houses. Dee had been a runner and was getting back into running as she healed, but the snow would slow anyone down. He was grateful that she would be able to do what he’d asked, because Kelly would need immediate heat and probably whatever help Dee could offer.
“We’ll get you back home, where you belong . . . with me.” He wasn’t going to take no for an answer anymore. He would protect her by being at her side. No one was going to get to her again. She would never feel worthless again if he had anything to say about it.