Chapter 24
Reid clenched his jaw to keep from losing his cool. Tara’s annoyance wasn’t surprising, but he’d hoped she’d be open to a calm and rational conversation. If that was his goal, he couldn’t misstep and raise his voice.
Not like that would help anyway.
Tara pursed her lips, to match his pissed-off expression. “So you’re going to talk to me like I’m an adult now, huh? Not a baby sister you have to always look out for? Is that why you had your friend keep an eye on me and call you when I’m about to do something you won’t like?”
“I never told Madden to keep an eye on you. He called because he knew how important it was.” He threw his hands in the air. “He called because he knew you wouldn’t. And you should have, Tara. You can’t just run away and leave me wondering where you are.”
“Like you did?”
Her words hit him harder than the IED that took out his tank overseas.
They’d had this argument so many times, and this time, he really needed Tara to hear him.
He gripped both her shoulders and ducked his chin so she couldn’t look away.
“I did run, and I left you behind, and I’m sorry.
But I couldn’t take you with me and I needed to get out to save myself.
I was afraid if I stayed, I’d become Dad. ”
Tara’s facial expression softened. “You could never.”
He lifted a shoulder. “I might. Every time he called, it made me want to drink. Every time he needed me to bail him out or he guilted me into giving him money or walked away from rehab, I wanted to drink. If I didn’t put distance between me and him, it would have created the same demons in me that he has fought all these years.
It would have killed me. And now what kills me is thinking the same thing might happen to you. ”
Tears hovered above her lashes. “I won’t ever be like Dad, but I can’t walk away and not help him. I can’t give up hope.”
“You might not end up like him, but my fear is you’ll end up like Mom.”
She squeezed her eyes closed for a beat and the tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I don’t want you to lose hope,” he said, pressing on. “Not in Dad and not in anyone. You have a big heart. It’s one of your best qualities. But you’ve given up so much. Lost so much. When will Dad be forced to look out for himself? Clean up his own messes?”
“He’s all alone. He doesn’t have anyone looking out for him.” Tara wiped her eyes and sniffed.
Reid struggled to hold back his frustration. “He’s our father. He’s supposed to look out for us, not the other way around.”
“I know that, but… I don’t know. That’s just never the way it’s been. He’s always needed me more than I needed him.”
“But that doesn’t make it right or mean it’s the way things always have to be.
” He gave her shoulders a little squeeze.
“Eve and I talked about this last night. She helped me to see the flaws in the way I’ve viewed things all these years.
Seeing that doesn’t mean I’m cured of my bad thoughts or self-destructive behavior.
But realizing I need to make a change is the first step, right, Eve? ”
He glanced over his shoulder and frowned. “Eve?”
She wasn’t there.
A boulder of apprehension sat in his gut as he bounced onto his tiptoes to peer above the growing crowd. “Eve!”
A few curious glances from passersby were the only response.
Tara gripped his arm. “She was just right there.”
“I know,” he snapped and grabbed his phone. He dialed her number and pressed the phone to his ear. “Come on. Pick up. Pick up.”
Her voicemail message came on, and his apprehension turned to cold, blinding panic.
“We’ll find her,” Tara said. “She couldn’t have gone far.”
He stared into the reassuring eyes of his sister as fear pressed against his windpipe, blocking the path of his breaths to escape.
He struggled to take in air, to let it out.
Struggled to see beyond the suffocating reality that Eve wouldn’t just walk away.
She wouldn’t wander off or do anything to make him worry.
“Reid, look at me.” Tara kept her voice calm and steady. She flattened her palms on either side of his face. “Eve may or may not be in trouble. Either way, we have to find her right away, okay?”
Unable to speak, he nodded his agreement.
“You know what to do now. So do it.”
He finally let out a shuddering breath. Tara was right.
This was his job, and he wouldn’t stand here and fall apart when Eve’s life could be at stake.
With his phone still in his hand, he called Madden.
While he waited for an answer, he said, “You head south. Call out Eve’s name and keep your eyes open for anything unusual.
If you see anyone who looks familiar, ask if they’ve seen Eve. ”
Tara took off, her pace quick.
When Madden answered, he headed north.
“Hey, man. How’d it go with Tara?”
“No time for that,” he said as he waded through the crowd. He scanned each face, praying one of them would be Eve. “Eve’s gone.”
“What? How did that happen?”
“I don’t know, man. She was right there when I was talking with Tara. Now she’s missing.” He pounded forward. His heart threatened to beat through his chest with each step. “Tara and I split up to find her. I need your help.”
“You got it. I’ll get Dax and Ben to search and have Lily make some calls. Maybe someone got ahold of her and needed something. Don’t worry. We’ll find her.”
Disconnecting, Reid dialed Eve one more time. When she didn’t answer, unshed tears stung his eyes. This couldn’t be happening. He’d taken his focus off her for one second. How could someone take her from practically right under his nose?
As he pounded the pavement, pulse racing and gaze scanning every face he passed, the cold, hard truth formed a hard ball in the pit of his stomach.
Tyson Brown had gotten his hands on Eve, and it was all his fault.
The hard grip on Eve’s arm bit through her long-sleeved shirt. Instinct told her to yell, to scream, to yank away from the man leading her through the maze of people.
But if he had Suzy, she had to do whatever he told her. Had to stay strong and calm, prepare herself to fight tooth and nail to keep the little girl safe.
The farther away from Main Street they walked, the thinner the crowd became until they left the chaos and laughter behind. She kept her mouth shut as her mind raced. Once she had Suzy in her arms, she’d scratch Tyson Brown’s eyes out if she had to in order to escape.
Tyson steered her down a back alley that bled out to a side street where his truck was parked. “Get in and don’t try anything stupid.”
Her heart pounded as she reached for the handle. Her arms ached to wrap around Suzy. To hold her close and let her know everything would be okay. Opening the door, she hopped inside while Tyson hurried around the front and climbed into the driver’s seat.
She searched behind her in the tiny space between the bench seat and the window. Desperation lodged in her throat. “Where’s Suzy?”
Snickering, Tyson hooked an arm on the seat, his fingers skimming the top of her shoulder, and shot out of the alley.
He sped forward, putting distance between them and the town faster than she could wrap her mind around what was happening.
“Did you really think I had her? That she was just patiently sitting and waiting for us in my truck?”
“I don’t understand,” she said, voice shaking. “What did you do to her?”
“I didn’t do anything with her. She’s probably still back at the parade. I just took her picture because I needed to get you away from that macho baboon that’s always panting after you.”
Anger clashed with relief, leaving her dizzy. “So she’s safe?”
He shrugged. “How should I know?”
Blowing out a ragged breath, she rubbed her temple, trying to regain her senses. He didn’t have Suzy. He’d used the girl to break down her guard and keep her quiet while he got her away from safety.
And now she was screwed.
She struggled to regain her composure. Keeping her wits was paramount in making it out of this alive. She stared out the window, keeping mental track of each turn as he navigated out of town.
“So what now?” she asked. “What do you want from me?”
He spared her a quick look and maneuvered his hand from behind her shoulders to slide down to rest on her thigh.
“All I wanted from the start was to thank you for your kindness. I mean, you bought my meal. That means something. I understand my enthusiasm scared you, and if that jackass wouldn’t have interrupted, I could have made you see how great we could be together. ”
Digesting his words, her stomach dipped. He wasn’t just dangerous and violent, he was delusional. She debated the best way to handle him. As much as she wanted to smash her fists against him and scream, she feared it wouldn’t get her anywhere.
“And what about you breaking into my home? Was that supposed to make me feel better?”
His jaw dropped, as if befuddled by the question. “Of course. You love flowers. I left you my best work, then I picked as many as I could find. If he wouldn’t have taken you away, we could have had a perfect evening.” He tightened his grip on her thigh, the cold edge creeping back into his voice.
Her body stiffened. She didn’t want to upset him any more but was afraid whatever she said would only push him closer to the dangerous edge where his mind teetered.
She needed to take a different tack. Get him talking about what he planned so she could figure a way out.
“Is that what you want for today? To make up for losing out on the perfect night?”
He shot her a wide grin before returning his focus to the country road. “Exactly.”
“And where are we going?” She watched the scenery fly by, noticing the road sign she’d spied not long ago when she’d been sitting in Reid’s truck on the way to the fairgrounds.
Maybe that’s where he was taking her. Back to a place he was familiar with, where he’d been while stalking Dana. She and Reid had assumed he’d stayed close to the rodeo circuit, slept somewhere he’d been before. It made sense he’d been close to the fairgrounds all along.
She made mental note of all the places she’d gone when visiting the rodeo with her parents. If she could get away from him, there were a dozen places she could hide—places she could find help.
“Someplace special. Someplace where we can be completely alone.”
The turn to the fairgrounds passed by her window and crushed her plan before she’d fully gotten it off the ground.
She had to shake off her disappointment and figure out another idea.
If she was going to escape, she needed to buy some time.
Distract him and maybe make him believe she bought into his twisted delusion.
“I appreciate the effort you’ve put in, but I’m not sure how comfortable I am taking things to such an intimate level when I don’t know much about you. ”
He snorted. “With those posters plastered all over town, I bet you know plenty.” He patted her leg then snaked his hand to rest at the back of her neck. “You’re so tense. Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure and wipe all that stress away when we get where we’re going.”
She suppressed a shudder. She didn’t need to give him any more reasons to be annoyed. She forced a laugh that came out clipped and brittle. “I’ve been so busy, I haven’t seen any posters. Why don’t you tell me what brought you to Cloud Valley?”
His fingers gently dipped into her stiff muscles at her neck. “Apparently, fate.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
He blew out a long breath and shook his head.
“My wife left me, and I thought it was the end of the world. But I followed fate to this pretty little town, leading me right to your doorstep. Now I can show you what the others didn’t want to see.
I can love you the way they wouldn’t let me love them. ”
Dread pushed her past her limit. She couldn’t sit alone in this truck and listen to a murderer spouting nonsense about love. His nearness made her skin itch, and she stared at the door handle, contemplating her options.
He hadn’t used a weapon on her—hell, he hadn’t even shown her one. If she could wait until the truck slowed, maybe she could hurl herself out of the vehicle and run. Without a weapon of her own, it might be her best chance of escape.
“So will you?” he asked, bringing her back to the moment.
She swallowed hard. “Will I what?”
“Let me love you?”
Forcing a tight smile, she nodded. “Sure.”
“Good, because we’re almost there.”
He turned onto a familiar road, and she straightened in her seat.
He was taking her to her favorite park. She knew these woods better than anyone.
All she had to do was get away from him and get a big enough head start to find all her favorite hiding spots—places she used to hole up in as a child while playing with her father.
The empty parking lot loomed ahead, but Tyson drove past, opting to bump along a narrow trail that wove through the trees. He removed his hand from her neck, circling both fists around the steering wheel. The truck slowed as he navigated around upturned roots and over bumpy terrain.
Now was her chance. Steeling her nerves, she slowly inched her fingers toward the handle. Her pulse thundered like crazy in her ears, and she’d swear he could hear the frantic pounding of her heart. Keeping her eyes fixed straight ahead, she closed her hand around the cool metal.
“You’re going to love what I have planned. I promise you. This will be a day you’ll never forget. As long as you live. I promise—”
Before he could finish, she threw open the door and launched herself out of the truck. She slammed against the ground, skidding over loose stone and dirt, the impact knocking the air from her lungs.
The truck screeched to a stop.
Without wasting another second, she staggered to her feet and ran.