Chapter Thirty-One
“How long do you think it’ll take for them to get here?” Jack asked as he and Nate hurried through the snow to Nate’s house. “They’re practically on the other side of the mountain.”
“With the shortcuts we have around here, they’ll be here before dawn.”
“That precarious path you’re talking about? They’re going to end up getting really hurt, or worse.”
“Given the situation, I think they’re willing to risk it.”
From the response Nate had received, Sheriff Rogers was more than happy to help him out. Apparently, they’d had several suspicious disappearances in recent months. They knew something bad was happening, but not exactly what. Rogers wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Apparently, his niece was one of the girls who vanished, and his sister was beside herself not knowing what happened to her. Nate could only hope they would find something that would put those suspicions to bed.
“Anyway, we’ll meet them on the road once I’ve gotten the map Daisy drew up for us.
” Nate sidestepped a pile of snow, his foot sinking further than he realized, and he caught himself before he fell over.
The snow was up to the top of his ankle.
He hadn’t realized how close he was to the edge of the sidewalk.
“Then we’ll meet with the US Marshals and figure out a game plan. ”
“What if someone tips them off? Do you think someone is aware of who I am?” Jack asked.
“I don’t know, but we’ll have to move quickly regardless. I want to know that Rachel is safe, and that can’t happen until those men are arrested and locked away.”
“Rachel?” Jack stopped and frowned. “Don’t you mean Daisy? She was the one trapped in there.”
“What?”
“You said Rachel.”
“Oh.” Nate blinked. “Did I? Sorry, I was talking about Daisy. Although Rachel is linked to that place, too.”
Jack tilted his head to one side, regarding him curiously.
“Have you got something to tell me? That my wife’s machinations actually worked?”
“What?” Nate scowled, feeling his face getting warm. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Then why are you behaving like this? You’ve messed up a few times, talking about Rachel instead of Daisy. It’s like you’ve got your wife on your mind more and more.”
“I should, given she’s my wife.”
Jack gave him a knowing smile, which made Nate uncomfortable. Jack had probably figured out what was going on. He wasn’t about to get into it; he was more worried about Rachel and how to keep her safe. If he could protect Daisy, then he could protect his wife.
He wasn’t about to let her be taken away, not when he’d only just figured out his own feelings toward her.
“Marshal Calloway!”
Biting back a groan, Nate turned and saw Whitlock, Mae’s father, hurrying toward him. He was hugging a large coat around his frame, his teeth chattering away.
“What is it, Mr. Whitlock?”
“I thought I ought to tell you.” Whitlock jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Mae and I just saw that man… Vane, I believe it was?... he was leaving with some men in a wagon.”
Nate froze. Not what he wanted to hear. Jack stared in shock.
“What? Isaac Vane was here?”
“Yes, and not alone, and I’m not just talking about the men who were with him.
” Whitlock’s expression was grim. “There were two women in the cart with him, tied up and fighting like heck. One of them got a slap that made her stop. The other looked close to Mae’s age.
” He hesitated. “The woman… the one who got slapped… I think it was Rachel.”
Nate felt the bottom drop out of his stomach.
No, this couldn’t be happening. Whitlock had to be wrong.
Nate started running, slipping and tripping over his own feet with the snow almost coming up to his knees.
His heart was racing, his head pounding in panic.
Whitlock had to be mistaken. It couldn’t be his wife.
Rachel and Daisy were safe. Vane couldn’t have found out where they were.
But his fears were confirmed when he reached the house. He could see that the door was wide open, practically swinging on its hinges. Snow was already starting to collect in the house.
This had happened some time ago. He’d missed them.
His heart in his mouth, Nate ran into the house and checked each room, flinging doors open as he went.
“Rachel! Daisy? Rachel!”
The house was empty.
Rachel’s bed looked like it had been slept in, and there was a blanket tangled on the floor by the fire. The poker was across the room from where it was normally kept.
There were clear signs of a struggle. There were snowy footprints melting all over the room, and one of the chairs had been upturned. There was also some blood on the floor. Nate crouched and brushed his fingers over it, inspecting them with the blood smeared across them.
It was still fresh. Was it from one of the kidnappers? Or from Rachel or Daisy? Nate hoped that it wasn’t from Rachel. If she was seriously hurt…
“Oh, my goodness.” Jack entered the house, followed by Whitlock. He stared at the room and the mess. “They must’ve taken them by surprise.”
“I can’t see either of them opening the door to Vane.” Nate got to his feet. “And given the state of the door, Vane forced himself inside.”
Whitlock’s face was white, his mouth open.
“What’s going on? Why would he do this?”
“Daisy was one of the other girls,” Nate said grimly. “Vane obviously wanted her back.”
“But why take your wife?”
“They don’t care if the women are married or not, just as long as they can bring people in. They’ll take any woman who will bring in the money.”
He hated thinking of Rachel like that. Her mother had tried so hard to get her daughter away from that place, and now she was going to where she’d been born.
Nate felt like he’d failed her. He had promised to look after her, but he hadn’t been able to. His heart ached knowing he had disappointed Rachel.
“Nate.” Jack appeared at his side, taking his arm and leading him to the settee. “You need to sit down.”
“I can’t…”
“You’re about to collapse. I think you need to sit down before you fall down.” Jake pushed him down and made him sit. “Take a moment. You don’t want to go off half-cocked, do you?”
Nate knew Jack was right, but it didn’t make him feel any better. He was still panicking about Rachel and what could be happening to her. He couldn’t fail her now.
The edges of his vision were beginning to swirl, and he had to press his hands against his eyes, to get rid of it. He couldn’t lose his composure right now. That would make things worse. He had to keep it together. Rachel was relying on him. So was Daisy. Nate wasn’t about to let Vane and Pike win.
The thought of Rachel being with those men made him sick.
“Breathe, Nate.” Jack crouched before him. “Just take deep breaths. You’re gasping for air right now.”
“I…”
He couldn’t say more as he struggled to not pass out. Jack gripped his wrists and eased them away.
“Deep breaths,” he said slowly. “In and out. Keep doing that until I say stop.”
It had been years since he’d had an attack like this. It was the last time his father had beaten him, telling him that he was useless and wasn’t worth anything.
He still carried the guilt for his mother’s death. Sometimes, Nate felt like he was the one at fault. His father believed it vehemently until he died.
There were times when he felt guilty, and it flared up again now. His father would be laughing at him now, saying that he could’ve seen this coming. He knew Nate would amount to nothing.
Maybe he was right. He’d seen something in Nate that nobody else did.
“Nate!” Jack shook him, jerking him out of his thoughts. “Pull yourself together! You’re not going to be any good to anyone like this!”
“We need to get him leaning over.” Whitlock’s voice sounded a long way away. “Get his head between his knees.”
Nate felt himself being moved around, and then he was staring at the floor between his knees. He wanted to fight back, but he could feel the dizziness fading, his breathing slowing. After a moment more, all he had was a pounding headache.
“Better?” Jack’s voice was gentle, near his ear. “Let’s sit him back.”
Nate was urged upright, and he slumped against the settee. Jack looked concerned as he peered up at him.
“How are you feeling now?”
“What… what just…”
“You were starting to panic, and you were struggling to breathe.” Jack frowned. “I hadn’t seen you like this since we were children.”
He didn’t say anything further, and Nate was glad about that. Whitlock likely knew what had happened with Nate’s father and how Nate was treated, but it wasn’t something he liked to broadcast. Even though it had been years since his father died, Nate still felt the ache in his chest.
The mental scars were just as bad as the physical ones.
“Can you give us a moment, Whitlock?” Jack asked.
“I’ll go and see if I can get some of the other townspeople to join us.” Whitlock headed toward the door. “We can’t let this happen. First my daughter and now Mrs. Calloway… this has been going on for too long.”
He left, disappearing into the dark. Nate closed his eyes, wishing the pounding in his head would stop. He was feeling like everything was pressing down on him.
“I can’t believe this. I was trying to help someone, and I ended up losing my wife.”
“You haven’t lost her, Nate.”
“Not yet. But she’s been kidnapped…” Nate rubbed his hands over his face. “I promised that I would protect her. I’d look after her and make sure she was safe. She deserves that after what she went through.”
“And you haven’t lost her. You’re going to get her back.” Jack moved to sit beside him. “Just because they’ve taken her doesn’t mean they’re going to hold onto her for long.”
“I hope not.”
Jack regarded him in silence for a moment.
“Your attack was about your father, wasn’t it? You had him in your head just now, telling you how useless you were.”
“Don’t.” Nate rubbed at his chest. “I hate remembering that disgusting man. He ruined my childhood.”
“But he’s also what’s holding you back. It’s why you haven’t married, isn’t it? Before Rachel, I mean.”
Nate glared at him.
“You know perfectly well why I wasn’t interested in marriage. You’ve heard me talk about it often enough.”
“But there’s a deeper-seated fear going on there. I’ve known for years.” Jack paused. “You think you’re going to turn into your father, don’t you?”
Nate hated that they were talking about this. Rachel had been kidnapped! Surely, she was the priority right now. But Jack seemed intent on talking about that man who had claimed to raise him, albeit reluctantly.
“You think if your wife died in childbirth, you’d blame your child just as much as your father did with you,” Jack continued.
“Shut up,” Nate growled.
“You do realize that you’re letting him dictate things in your life that shouldn’t have anything to do with him. Especially now he’s gone and never coming back.”
“Jack…”
“If you continue to let him, he’s going to be the one who controls your life, even when he’s not here!
How can you live your life like that?” Jack shook his head and scowled.
“I thought you were stronger than that. I didn’t approve of what Isabelle did when she shouldn’t have gotten involved, but she was worried about you.
She wanted you to stop running away from your fears.
Nate wanted to lose his temper, to lash out at Jack and tell him to shut up.
But Jack’s words were sinking in more than he thought, and Nate knew, deep down, that his brother-in-law was right.
He was running away from happiness because he didn’t want to experience it and lose it so quickly afterward.
Nate didn’t deserve her. But he didn’t deserve to lose her either.
“You need to get yourself together and focus on getting Rachel back, along with Daisy.” Jack tapped the side of his head.
“Get that man out, and put Rachel in. Concentrate on her. That will be more than enough to get focused. And you need to be quick about it because Rachel and Daisy don’t have much time. ”
Nate rubbed his hands over his face, realizing that he was shaking. He stood and began to pace around, trying to get rid of his nerves.
Jack was right. He couldn’t let panic take over, and he couldn’t get furious over what happened. He was angry, but blind rage wasn’t going to help. Rachel needed him, and he needed to be in control.
And they had to move quickly in case they decided to move her elsewhere.
All Nate was certain of now was that he had to bring his wife home.