Chapter 6
6
T he night air chilled Kade to the bone as he exited his pickup. Tucking his chin to his chest, he walked toward Weezie, careful not to step on any tracks. Chloe had all but forced him not to sell his own truck while he’d been in the service, and as much as it burned him to admit, she’d been right. She’d promised to drive it once in a while and keep it parked next to her trailer ready so he could drive when he returned to Saddle Junction. She’d said it would be safer for her that way because strangers would always think a man was home. Kade had almost laughed out loud. Did strangers ever come to Saddle Junction, he’d teased. Not on purpose. The only folks in town either lived here or had a relative who did. Others traveled through, not to, the small Texas town.
This knowledge should reassure him in Bree’s case, but the hairs on the back of his neck pricked, and he had a bad feeling as he approached her abandoned vehicle. A tow would be here soon, no doubt. Time moved slower in a place like this. Folks weren’t in a hurry like in big cities. This frustrated him most times but benefitted him in this case because it gave him an opportunity to check out the scene before evidence could be disturbed.
Kade walked the perimeter, palming his phone with his flashlight app lighting the way. He gave a wide berth so he didn’t plant his boots on top of other tracks.
Based on tire track marks, a vehicle had pulled up behind hers. He snapped a pic of the tread marks in the gravel. A person had most likely gotten out on the driver’s side. On the road, gravel was spread thin making it impossible to grab an imprint, unlike on the shoulder where it was at least an inch thick.
He came around the front of Weezie after examining the back. Again, he took note of the busted back window. There were the usual nicks and dings but nothing that signaled recent damage to the bumper.
From the looks of the gravel, an altercation had occurred here. And then…
Hells bells.
There were drag marks leading down the side of the vehicle and running a couple of car lengths behind it. A snapshot of Bree being dragged to—what? a trunk?—flitted through his mind. Flames of anger licked through his veins.
Even to a civilian, it was obvious what had happened here. How had the sheriff missed this? Or was he downplaying the scene so no one would panic?
Kade raked his fingers through his hair and released a pained, guttural groan. His first thought was for Bree to come home safely. His second was for the baby to survive. In a matter of hours, parenthood had been given and possibly taken away.
Another thought struck. Bree could go into labor if she was put under too much stress. Being abducted certainly qualified. Trying to deliver a baby while being held captive could take both her and the baby’s lives.
Standing here wouldn’t do a lick of good, so he took another slow lap around Weezie. Bree’s handbag was inside, so he collected it. A question struck. Why hadn’t the sheriff or one of his deputy’s done the same? Wouldn’t a law enforcement officer collect the purse along with anything else useful as evidence?
Kade navigated back onto the gravel road toward town. The sheriff’s office was a good twenty-minute drive, according to his navigation system. He’d only had one beer, not even that much, so he was good behind the wheel.
He turned onto Farm Road 12 a few minutes later, his headlights illuminating a patch of road in front of him. Trees and underbrush lined the road due to recent rains.
A deer shot out of nowhere. Kade swerved and heard a thud. He was out of his truck and around to the passenger side in a heartbeat. The deer took a couple of steps back before regaining its senses and sprinting in the opposite direction.
Kade fished his cell from his back pocket and flicked the flashlight app. No harm. No foul. And the deer didn’t seem worse for wear. Lucky buck.
Climbing back into the cab, he shut the door and buckled in. There’d only be black-tailed deer where he was heading in a few weeks. It was strange to think of calling another state his home. Part of his soul would always be in Texas. So would all his memories, and many of those he could live without.
Being in Saddle Junction made him think of Zeke. The two had grown up together. They’d met in football practice, and Zeke had hated Kade the first time they’d met. Kade had strolled into the head coach’s office freshman year at six-foot-four-inches and with muscle to back up his tall frame. Having someone cut in on Zeke’s starting spot during freshman year in a town where Friday Night Lights was the way of life had seemed to set Zeke off.
From day one, the pair had butted heads, literally and figuratively. Then, one night, Kade had drawn the fury away from Chloe and had taken a beating from Beaumont.
The next morning, Kade had walked into the dressing room at five a.m. The welts on the backs of his thighs had made walking hard as hell. He’d made up an excuse before refusing to change out for football practice. Coach had bought the excuse too easily. No one seemed to want to rock the boat or risk losing the star quarterback if the state pulled him from Beaumont’s home. Plus, there was the added bit about no one wanting to go up against Beaumont. Teachers and administrators had turned a blind eye. Not Zeke.
Zeke had stood in the opposite corner of the dressing room, arms folded, staring Kade down as usual. An emotion had flickered across his face when Kade winced as he sat down.
Zeke walked over and sat down beside Kade. Neither spoke right away.
Kade leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped. He readied himself for the insults Zeke should’ve hurled about Kade’s dedication to the team and how the star quarterback couldn’t afford to take a day off.
Instead, he bowed his head and closed his eyes. “My dad likes to use the belt buckle on me he won during his rodeo days. Says he’s making me a man.”
The words sat thickly between them. Kade didn’t do emotion. Not then. Not now. If he did, he would’ve thanked Zeke for sharing what Kade knew firsthand was rough to talk about openly.
A few more minutes had passed as Kade tried to find the right words. He’d never told a soul about what he’d suffered.
“He started to go after Chloe again.” His sister had screwed up royally in the man’s twisted mind. “She got behind on her chores. He walked in hot from the barn.” Kade shrugged. “Figure I’m a better punching bag than a little girl. That’s all.”
One look from Zeke and Kade knew he didn’t need to explain further. Zeke nodded, stood up, and walked toward his locker. He finished getting dressed before half-turning his head to say, “You want to grab a bite after class today?”
“Sure.” Kade had played the whole beating off like it had been no big deal, but it had been.
The two had been inseparable ever since that day. Zeke had signed up for the military on the same day Kade had. They’d gone through basic and special operations training together. Zeke said it had been his plan all along, but somehow Kade doubted it. The two had made some ridiculous teenage pact to always have each other’s backs.
Kade veered left at the fork in the road. The wrong direction for the sheriff’s, he knew. There was something he needed to do first, a place he needed to go. It was close enough to the abduction site to make him wonder if it would make a good place to park and hide until any heat blew over.
After cutting off the engine and locking his truck he walked the short path brought back a whole mess of memories. The first time Zeke had shown Kade this place. The first time Kade had drank a beer. The first time Kade lost his…hell, he didn’t need to continue that walk down Memory Lane. Thinking about sex always brought him back to his weekend fling with Bree. She’d pretty much ruined him for casual sex ever since. Moving on after mind-blowing sex had never been an issue before her. He’d chalked it up to nostalgia or history.
She belonged to Zeke. And he was gone.
If Kade had told his buddy about the weekend he and Bree had shared, would Zeke have dated her when it had been his turn to come home on leave?
Probably not. Zeke never would’ve made a move on someone Kade was interested in. And vice versa.
Bree must’ve realized what a huge mistake she’d made in sleeping with no-commitment Kade and had decided to move on to the stable friend. Zeke had said he loved her and wanted to make things permanent, while Kade had made it clear to her that he didn’t do repeat performances.
The news about Zeke and Bree had come as a shock, though. Zeke would’ve worked his butt off to make Bree happy. Kade had nothing to give except disappointment and pain.
Case in point, look how much he was hurting his baby sister by moving away. Was it stopping him? Nope. He was a bastard who was only capable of hurting those closest to him, those who cared about him the most.
He shoved those thoughts down deep as he stood on the water’s edge, looking across the pond. There were no other vehicles here, so he started to turn back and head to the sheriff’s.
A noise jerked him from his reverie. An animal? Was it hurt? The sound echoed through the barren cornfield. Kade glanced toward his truck before taking off in the direction of the cries. It would be fine parked there since he’d cut the engine and pocketed the key. There was no one else around for miles. It was night. If he could help the poor animal, he felt a responsibility to try.
He fished his cell phone from his back pocket and flicked on the flashlight app to steer the way toward the sound.
After a couple of minutes of jogging through an empty field, he stopped and listened. He listened carefully but didn’t hear the noise again. He stood still for a minute.
Nothing.
His flashlight app gave him a field of vision of roughly seven feet, give or take. Not much to go on. Kade increased his pace, a wave of frustration crashing into him that he couldn’t find the hurting animal.
A jolt of anger blasted his chest. The accompanying feeling of helplessness brought him back to that transport, to watching his best friend as he’d been shot.
Kade dropped to his knees. Unbridled anger fired holes through him like rounds shot from an AR-15—rapid, random, and relentless.
A scream tore from his throat as he pounded the unforgiving soil with both fists.
And then he heard the sound again. It could be an echo of his own cries or his mind playing tricks on him. In the next second, he was on his feet, with his boots moving in the direction of the wounded animal.
Determination and focus had him stalking through the darkness. An old barn came into view. Was the animal trapped inside? Hurt? Kade doubled his pace.
As he neared, he saw that a word had been scribbled backwards in the dirty window. He mentally rearranged the letters to read…H E L P.
Kade mumbled a slew of swear words. Going inside without thoroughly casing the place first or collecting intel could be a costly mistake. He had no idea what waited in the barn. All he knew was the strangled cry would haunt him if he didn’t act fast.
He crouched low. His pulse pounded as an all-too-familiar surge of adrenaline thumped through him. He felt alive again. Coming out of his old life—the only life he’d known for well over a decade—and into the real world after sixteen years of service was a bigger shock than he’d expected.
With the swipe of his thumb, he cut off his cell’s flashlight. One more swipe and the volume control was muted. He crawled toward the building, keenly aware of every noise. The cool wind gusted and blasted against the windows.
He hadn’t expected to need to rely on skills gained in the military here in Saddle Junction. This entire situation had caught him off guard.
Instinct took over, and he prepared to face an unknown enemy. This he understood. This had been his life for the past sixteen years. This made him feel like blood pumped in his veins again. A lot of good any of this would do. Soon enough, he was getting the hell out of Saddle Junction and moving on to a new life.
After waiting silently for minutes that ticked on, Kade moved to the barn. The building itself was old and abandoned. Wood siding had splintered and yielded to the harsh elements.
The creaky door threatened to give him away as he opened it enough to slip inside. It was pitch black. Kade’s eyes had adjusted to the night a long time ago, but the moon provided some light out there, unlike in here.
He swiped in front of his face in case of cobwebs. Spiders gave him the willies. He moved left, slowly and methodically, checking one corner and then the next. On the third, he touched a leg. The ankle he found was feminine. Whoever she was, she didn’t budge. And then it struck him who this might be.
Bree.
Was she alive? Kade located her wrist—which was far too cold—and, thankfully, found a pulse. There was no way Bree would come to a place like this of her own free will, let alone abandon her vehicle and personal belongings. The fact that she wasn’t moving even after he’d touched her sent his thoughts spinning. What had made the noises?
He swept the area, checking the final corner until he knew for certain no one else was inside the barn. Senses heightened, he moved back to where she lay in the third corner. Taking out his phone and shining the flashlight on her was a risk, but he needed to see what he was dealing with before he moved her. If she was injured, he could do serious damage.
He cupped his hand over the screen and dimmed the light on his phone. Bree was curled on her side, arms and legs limp. He watched her chest for signs of breathing, relieved when he saw it move in a steady rhythm. He touched her stomach, praying for movement.
“Bree,” he whispered, not wanting to scare the life out of her if she stirred. She was dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt, and socks—no boots, which was odd for her. Then again, nothing about this situation was right.
Kade moved the light to her face, ignoring the inappropriate attraction stirring in his chest at seeing her again. Seeing her like this was a shock to his system. Hannah had said Bree had been missing for hours. Thank heaven she was still alive.
There were bruises on her face. Cuts. A knot tightened in his gut at the thought of someone knowingly doing this to her.
“Wake up, sweetheart,” he said in a low voice.
When Bree didn’t so much as bat those pretty eyelashes, the knot tightened another notch. Dried blood was caked on her neck. The person who’d done this to her would have the upper hand if Kade were caught unaware. The twisted sonofabitch could show at any second. This wasn’t the time to regret leaving his shotgun locked in his truck back at the pond. Moving her was a risk he had to take.
Kade hit 911 on his keypad and the speaker button, then tucked it inside his jean jacket pocket. Scooping Bree up, she was dead weight in his arms.
The dispatcher’s voice came on almost immediately.
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?” He recognized the voice as Holly Corden’s.
“I found Bree Kyndall in a deserted barn near the Hollow. She’s breathing but unconscious. Physically, she seems fine. Legs and arms are in order. She’s been doped, maybe. She’s not responding to my voice, and I’m currently carrying her, running through the cornfield toward my vehicle, which is parked at the mouth of the path to the pond out at the Hollow.”
“Confirming this is Kade Sturgess on the line.” Holly’s voice was all-business.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Okay, good.” Even through the jeans pocket, he could hear her typing. “I’m sending emergency personnel your way, Kade. I’m alerting the sheriff’s office right now.”
“Get ’em here fast.” It wasn’t a good sign that Bree didn’t so much as stir while he jostled her around. He didn’t have time to be gentle and still book it out of there.
“Can you stay where you are?” Holly asked.
“Once I get to my vehicle. I don’t know who did this to her, but he might still be in the area. I’m sure he planned to come back for her.” Kade wasn’t breaking a sweat. His training kicked in, and he was used to carrying heavier soldiers plus eighty pounds of gear. He was vulnerable while she occupied his arms and his only weapon was inside the truck.
“Can you stay on the line with me, Kade?”
“I’m here. At my truck.” He reached his truck on the passenger side and managed to retrieve his keys from his pocket. He clicked the key fob to unlock the door. A few seconds later, he tucked Bree inside. He crawled over her and slammed the door shut, immediately locking them both inside. He started the engine to get some heat going. “She’s cold.” Too cold.
“Are you inside your vehicle?” Bluetooth picked up, and Holly’s voice boomed through the speakers.
“Yes.”
“Do you hear sirens yet?”
Kade strained to listen. It took a few seconds, but he heard them. “Yes.” He grabbed the fleece blanket he always kept tucked behind the seat and unfolded it before covering her. He checked her pulse again. It was weak, at best.
“Do you see lights, Kade?”
Swirls of light brightened the night sky. “Right on time. Thank you, Holly.”
Bree was in trouble. The fact she’d been missing for hours in the cold wasn’t lost on Kade. Her belly was still big, so she hadn’t gone into labor.
“Come on, sweetheart.” You can’t die on me, too.
Bree blinked. Movement hurt. She heard a familiar voice, a calming voice, his voice. Kade. Was it a hallucination? She had no idea what day it was, and her head hurt. Everything hurt.
Her heart wanted the voice to belong to him even though, logically, she realized it was impossible. The memory of being assaulted while heading to the ranch crushed through her thoughts.
Then, the silence.
She’d felt strange ever since. Bits and pieces came together. When she’d come to—she had no idea how long she’d been unconscious—her brain had been fuzzy, off balance, and it had been that way to varying degrees ever since.
Bree couldn’t seem to break the heavy fog coating her brain.
The baby? Was her child still alive?
There’d been a man. Icy fingers gripped her spine as she remembered him. They squeezed. Her body shivered. It had been so cold. She was so cold. Lying on her back hurt.
Her thoughts bounced back to the man who’d attacked her. Did she know him? He’d seemed familiar. She couldn’t put a finger on how she knew him. His face had been hidden the whole time.
She racked her brain, trying to pull a description. Nothing. Only blankness and blackness where there should be something besides fear. Blackness and pain. Her heart still hurt. Her ankle felt raw.
Bree had summoned enough energy to scream before she’d blacked out again.
And then there’d been warmth and lights. Voices.
A warm, masculine—familiar?—hand held hers, tethering her back to reality. It felt like a lifeline and kept her a notch below panic. She tried to move her fingers, to connect to the life force she felt so strongly against her fingertips.
Sirens made her skull pound.
Bree tried to force her mouth to move, to form words, but exhaustion dragged her under again. And, again, everything faded to black.