Chapter 6
It was probably wishful thinking fueling Ivy’s next thoughts.
The ones that said answers to what was happening and why were just a few clicks of a keyboard away, and that she would somehow understand what was happening and why her sixty-two-year-old father had been abducted.
He didn’t have any money to speak of, so it couldn’t be related to financial gain.
What else could it be?
Based on Beau’s description, this place had been nothing like the fantasy she’d conjured. Her parents had finally given her a brother. She wouldn’t have traded Eric for the world. He’d taught her how to live in the moment. His smile was the purest, most genuine thing she’d ever seen.
Hot tears pricked the backs of her eyes at the memories. The words, gone too soon, didn’t begin to describe his life.
She refocused as Beau’s laptop sprang to life. He’d said food and coffee could wait, so they’d gone straight to his laptop that had been charging in the butler’s pantry, where there’d been a sea of electronic devices.
“I got something,” Beau said. “Let’s change the settings to lock my phone so no one can access the information. I didn’t have time before. I had to stick and go.”
“Thank you for coming back to find me, by the way.” She realized she hadn’t thanked him before.
“No need.”
She studied him. “You kept your word, and that means a lot to me.”
“I wouldn’t have gone without you,” he said. “I hope you didn’t worry about that in the woods. You had enough going on in that beautiful mind of yours.”
The compliment caused a red-hot heat to climb up her neck.
Ivy had always deflected them in the past. Most of the time, they’d been attached to pick-up lines, which made the compliments feel insincere.
Beau was different. His words had been spoken with that deep timbre of his.
His voice had a way of running over her and through her at the same time, warming her.
The man could read the contents of a cereal box and make it sound sexy.
He most definitely had a gift.
Ivy got the impression he didn’t realize how attractive he was or how genuine he came across. Or that his physical presence offered comfort she knew better than to allow.
“I’ll set a boundary around the strip mall so that I’ll be notified if the phone leaves the area.” His fingers danced on the keyboard.
“I’m impressed,” she said. “I should’ve done the same thing to my phone before Clay tossed it out the window. At least I tried to use voice activation to call the cops. It almost worked.”
“I’m guessing that’s when they chucked it out the window.”
“That would be correct.” She stared at the screen.
The location he was talking about was an abandoned strip mall.
Photos of the mall showed waist-high weeds growing from the cracked concrete of the parking lot.
The area looked like it had been deserted for years.
A rusted bull stood on top of an equally weather-worn sign that had probably announced the stores at this location at one time.
“Looks like it’s been abandoned for a long time. ”
Beau nodded. “Someone with computer skills could manipulate this location. They might’ve discovered the phone. They could be trying to throw us off the scent, or we could walk into a trap.”
Ivy issued a sharp sigh. “Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out why anyone would want my father.
You have this…” She waved her hand around.
“Or at least part of it. I can see where someone might want to abduct your mother for ransom.” She frowned.
“Not that I’m saying that’s okay by any means—it’s not.
“Except there’s been no mention of money, and no one has reached out to me.”
She sat up and rubbed her temples. “You’re right.
They must think I know something or my father does, and they wanted to…
maybe torture me in front of him to get him to talk.
” She couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth as possibilities.
“This all sounds like something that would happen on TV, not in real life.”
Beau reached over and took her hand in his.
It felt like the most natural thing for him to touch her.
The electrical current exploding through her nervous system was a familiar comfort now.
Attraction was one of those logic-defying things.
So was love, which explained why Ivy had always been so bad at it.
This—whatever was happening between them—was nothing more than trauma bonding.
They were literally the only two people in the world who could understand what the other person was going through right now.
Ivy’s last relationship had been similar.
She’d lost her mother, her brother, and her father in many ways.
Her next-door neighbor had been suffering the loss of his wife and child after both had died during the birth.
For six months, they’d had a push-pull relationship with highs and lows that had nearly crushed her.
Ivy hadn’t experienced anything that intense since she was fifteen and had her first boyfriend.
At the time, she hadn’t realized she’d been trying to fill the void left by her losses.
Her emotions, as well as her neighbor’s, had been all over the place, shifting between anger and depression.
Seeking love and acceptance from outside, she’d gotten involved with the wrong guy.
At the time, he hadn’t appeared to be a risk.
He’d been into her. Said he never thought a girl like her would ever talk to him, let alone be his girlfriend.
She’d basked in the attention, even though it had been the wrong kind.
Ivy pulled her hand away from Beau’s. There was no need to repeat the same mistake a third time.
Relationships that started during or after a recent trauma didn’t work.
They were built on a termite-infested foundation, and it was only a matter of time before the pests ate their way through, causing the whole thing to collapse.
Beau cocked an eyebrow, clearly confused at the sudden change in her demeanor.
“I just think it’s best if we don’t rely on each other too heavily right now,” she said to him. “You seem like a great person, but—”
“Save the ‘It’s me and not you’ speech,” he said, his tone sharp. “I was only trying to offer comfort when it seemed like you could use some.”
Had she hurt his feelings?
Of course, she had. That was a stupid question. The man had clearly been trying to be nice, and she’d let her past mistakes color his kind gesture. Would he understand if she explained?
“I’d apologize, but I think it’s good for both of us to be clear about the reason we’re together right now,” she said, trying not to let emotion take the wheel.
Her emotions begged her to trust him. Hell, to trust anyone.
She’d been burned too many times to fall for that trick again—the one that said she had the slightest clue about who wouldn’t take advantage.
Logic told her to protect her heart at all costs because the pain that followed a trauma-bond relationship made you rethink who you were at the most basic level.
Ivy reminded herself to unclench her teeth. She took in a slow breath and then released it.
She didn’t need a complication like that when life had turned around for her father, and they’d been doing so well.
“Fine,” was all Beau said.
“We’re clear then?”
“Crystal.”
Why did that one word stab her in the center of her chest? Why did it make breathing hurt?
Beau figured Ivy’s reaction was probably for the best. It stung.
Of course, it did. His ego had taken a hit.
More like a sucker punch. The last thing he needed was more complications in his life.
Ivy had the word “complicated” practically stamped on her forehead.
She was smart. She was beautiful, with that raven hair and those violet eyes that were a million miles deep.
They were like looking into pools, the depths of which were completely unknown. She was intense and focused.
All the traits he would normally want in a partner.
His body’s reaction to her had caught him off guard.
No one had made his fingers crave to touch them in the way she did.
Not one person had ever made his chest ache to be close to them in the way she did.
And not one person had ever made him want to kiss her so deeply that she forgot her own name in the way she did.
He’d had enough change for one year.
Beau almost laughed out loud. He’d had enough change for one lifetime. Enough for all eternity.
His attraction to Ivy might be a force of its own, but he had one priority—find his mother.
The temptation to text Emma was strong. He wanted to figure out a way to prove she was still alive.
The message could have been sent moments before someone had realized she’d still had a phone.
Or, she might have been forced to send him a cryptic message that only he would understand.
They’d watched the movie, There Will Be Blood, over and over again, the summer they hadn’t been able to finagle the finances to make a trip to the campground.
“You know that I can’t stay here and rest while our family could be moments away from dying, right?” he asked, forcing his thoughts back to the bigger problem.
“I do,” she said as Kade entered the kitchen from the back door.
“Hey,” he said as he made a beeline to the coffee machine. His gaze bounced from Ivy to Beau and back; his expression giving away nothing.
“Morning,” Beau said to him.
Kade grabbed a cup of coffee and then joined them at the table. “I’m Kade,” he said to Ivy, his eyes wide with surprise to see her there. “Beau’s brother.”
Those words punched Beau, causing a knot to form in his throat.
He gave a quick nod of acknowledgment to Kade before taking a sip of coffee.
Words escaped him, and the impact of the sentiment caught him off guard.
Kade wouldn’t say those words lightly. He wasn’t a casual person, so it meant the world to Beau that the words came out of Kade’s mouth so naturally.
“Ivy,” she said before accepting a handshake. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too,” Kade said before biting back a yawn. He took a sip of hot brew and then turned his full attention to Beau, who gave him a quick rundown of everything that had happened. “What are we doing today to get your mom back?”
“We?” Beau wasn’t trying to point out the level of division between him and his brother. He was in shock and wanted to confirm that he’d heard correctly.
“That’s right,” Kade said, like it was the most natural thing. “You didn’t think this family support thing was a one-way road, did you? You’ve done nothing but pitch in since you showed up.” A grin hinted at the corners of his mouth. “Well, maybe not the exact moment, but you know what I mean.”
Beau chuckled. Movement hurt. He must’ve gasped because Ivy’s hand immediately moved to his forearm in the kind of touch that promised reassurance, comfort, and a hint of something a helluva lot sexier.
The electrical current running between them crackled in his ears.
However, as much as he might want to acknowledge the surge, it wouldn’t lead to anything good.
She’d been clear. They were being forced to be together and, even though he could swear she was on the same wavelength, nothing could happen between them.
Her body language might lead him to believe otherwise, but he didn’t go where he wasn’t invited. Period. End of story.
“So, what’s the plan?” Kade asked, breaking into Beau’s thoughts.
“We have a location where we believe both of our parents are being held.” He repositioned the laptop so Kade could see the screen.
Kade’s face twisted like he’d just bitten down on a sour blueberry. “You can’t leave.” His gaze dropped to Beau’s shoulder.
Technically, Beau didn’t say he was leaving. He guessed his desire was that obvious. “We have to—”
“No, you don’t.” Kade shook his head as he cut in. “That’s what we’re here for.”
“I can’t let any of you put yourself at risk. This could be a trap. There’s no proof that my mother or her father is being held there. If you walk in with guns blazing, someone is probably going to get hurt. I can’t allow that.”
“Have you thought about drone surveillance?” Kade asked, staring at the rim of his coffee mug.
Beau blinked. “No, I guess I haven’t.”
“They make ’em the size of a bird now, and we can be far enough away to stay out of sight. No one has to put themselves in harm’s way to investigate the site,” Kade said.
Ivy exhaled sharply. “Is that even possible? Where would we get one of those?”
“I ordered a handful,” Kade said. “After everything that’s been happening around here in recent months, it seemed like a good idea to be prepared.
” Kade had been recovering from survivor’s guilt when he’d learned the baby Bree Kyndall was carrying belonged to him, but a killer had tried to stop them from getting a second chance at love.
Then there was the stalker who’d been after Chloe and, as it turned out, her portion of the family inheritance.
Conrad had found himself at the center of a murder investigation when the family lawyer had been brutally killed, and Conrad had been the last person seen holding the murder weapon.
A text announcing that Archer’s twin brother, Owen, was dead had brought more danger to Rescue Ridge Ranch and Saddle Junction.
Then, just when Owen had been healing from being abducted because he’d been confused for his twin, he’d answered a call for help that had thrust him right back into danger—and the sights of a killer.
Most recently, Hudson had been placed in danger when he’d run into Cassie.
Saddle Junction was supposed to be a quick stop until she’d met Hudson, and saved him from a rare mountain lion attack.
After realizing she was in serious trouble, Hudson hadn’t hesitated to help her right back, even when it put him in danger.
So, yeah, the Sturgess family had a history of showing up for each other.
Beau had never felt part of that…until now.
Should he lower his guard? Let Kade and the others help?
Beau had always prided himself on his ability to handle problems on his own. He’d never needed anyone’s help before. Why should he now? Wouldn’t that just make him weak? Indebted to a family that he was still feeling his way with? Did he even want to be a Sturgess?