Chapter 1 #2
The SUV sped along, dust flying behind it.
Maya Sullivan Price, the owner of the Broken Chains Ranch and good friend to Elena, joined her in watching the approach. “Who’s that?” Elena asked.
“My cousin.”
“Oh yes. We’ve met. Mr. FBI Special Agent Collin Sullivan.”
“Sully to most. Pain in the neck to others,” Maya murmured.
Elena laughed. “I’ve always found him pleasant enough.” More than. But she kept that to herself. “Who’s with him?”
Maya pulled Elena to the side, out of hearing range of the others. “I’m just letting you in on this because I have permission. He has his new partner, Piper Whitaker, and a young girl who witnessed a murder with him. Her name is Olivia Callahan.”
Elena’s laughter faded. “Oh, how terrible.”
“Yeah. Sully and David used to work together in some capacity at the Bureau. David and I talked about it and agreed to let them hide out here until the trial.” She waved her phone. “Sully called and said they were attacked on the way but managed to escape.”
“Attacked! By who?”
“The people who want his protectee dead, I would assume.”
“Poor girl.”
“They were working a case, and the murder she witnessed was in conjunction with that. It’s turned into a RICO investigation starting before the murder that Ollie witnessed.
There were two or three before that. Anyway, it’s a big trial, in every sense.
” The stakes were higher now that the case fell under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute.
“She’s a foster kid. Been in and out of the system almost as long as she’s been alive. ”
The words kicked Elena in the gut. “Life can be so unfair.” She knew that better than most. Maya’s dark eyes glistened, reflecting the same compassion swirling in her own heart.
“But,” Elena said, “if she’s coming here, we’ll take care of her.”
“We?”
“Yep.” She gave a decisive nod. “We.”
Maya hugged her and looked back at the others.
“I don’t want them to know or worry about this.
I hesitated to say yes when Sully asked if he could bring her here.
But David and Sully felt like this was the best place for her.
” She shrugged. “I’m still not sure, to be honest. The ranch is supposed to be a place of calm and healing, not a hideout for people on the run.
But the girl . . .” She chewed her bottom lip.
“I had a hard time saying no to this one.”
“Understandable. I mean, how do you say no to that?” Elena said.
She glanced at one of the vets fiddling with the distiller.
“You should let Aiden in on it. He was special ops and is completely trustworthy—in spite of his scruffy appearance.” His black beard curved around his chin and his bushy brows could use a good trim, but he had the kindest heart of anyone Elena had ever met.
Thankfully, the program had worked for him, and he’d be leaving in a couple of days.
“Maybe. Right now, all anyone knows is that my cousin, his ‘sister’”—she signed air quotes—“also my ‘cousin,’ and her ‘daughter’ are coming to visit.”
“Right.”
Maya bit her lip. “I pray I’m making the right decision,” she said, her voice soft.
“You’ve said over and over that you want this ranch to be a refuge. A place of restoration. Well, there you go. If that girl has seen a murder, she’s going to need us to be that place.”
Maya’s worry faded from her features. “I knew you’d say that. With your therapy and counseling experience, it may be you who’ll be able to help Ollie the most.” A former military nurse, Elena was also certified in wilderness therapy and trauma counseling.
“I’m happy to help her any way I can, you know that, but Rachel’s probably the better option for any therapy.” Rachel Evans, their art therapist, was a former military chaplain. She had her own counseling practice and split her time between her office in Whitestone and the ranch.
“We’ll just see what she needs, then make the judgment as to who can help her the most.”
“That works.” Elena nodded to Adam, another vet at the ranch working through wounds left by war.
“He was in the foster system a few years, and from what little he’s shared, I can tell you, for some kids it’s not a fun place to be.
In some ways I think his wounds from that are worse than the ones he got in combat.
” She shot a pointed look at his titanium leg attached to what remained of his thigh.
“Yeah,” Maya whispered. And then there was no more time to chat. The SUV pulled to a stop in front of the house about fifty yards away from the barn. “All right,” Maya said. “I’m going to get everyone settled.”
“I’m right behind you,” Elena said.
“Thanks. They need to meet everyone as soon as possible so they can be familiar with who belongs here.”
And so they could also know if someone didn’t belong.
Elena dismissed her class with promises to finish the project in their next session, then followed Maya to the main house. She let her gaze scan the area behind it in the direction of the mountains that hid . . . a lot.
“You okay?” Maya asked.
“Yes, why?”
“You’ve seemed a bit preoccupied lately. Distracted.”
Ouch. She’d been that transparent? “I ventured into town for the first time since coming here instead of using a delivery service, and I saw someone who reminded me of my childhood.” She’d finally convinced herself she’d be okay.
That even if someone from the prepper community recognized her, there wasn’t anything they could do to her.
Not anymore. Getting to that moment, to that ability to go into town alone, had been a huge stepping-stone to putting the past behind her. The fear. And then she’d seen—
“Your childhood? With the cult?”
A snort slipped out. “Preppers.” Elena said the word with a mild tone and small smile. The argument was a familiar one.
“Cult.”
She wasn’t convinced they were an actual cult, but she wasn’t convinced they weren’t either.
They hadn’t started out that way in Virginia, but when they’d left the group there to join the one here in Tennessee .
. . yeah, it was very different, so maybe “cult” was the right label.
It hurt to think that. She still cared about people up on that mountain in the distance.
But every time she thought about going up there, her mother’s voice stopped her.
“They’re dangerous. Stay away. Hide. Don’t let them catch you.
” And so, she stayed put. Close enough to be at the compound in an hour or so on horseback, but every time she thought she was ready to try, guilt swarmed her.
Like she was betraying her mother’s wishes.
Going into town had been hard enough. “Okay, whatever. But yeah.”
“Who?”
She sighed. “It doesn’t matter. It was just a glimpse. I’m probably seeing things.” But she didn’t think so. “Let’s focus on your company.”
“Fine, but you’re spilling the tea later.”
Elena should have known better than to try to hide anything from the person who knew her best.
The main house was set on a ranch that spanned about five hundred square acres.
Elena lived in the lower-level apartment of the main house with an entrance around the back, affording her lots of privacy, while Maya and her husband, Gideon, had the top space.
Elena’s small living area, complete with two bedrooms, a den, and a tiny kitchen, was all she needed—and more.
She was the only worker who lived in the big home, and she paid a modicum of rent because she didn’t feel right mooching off her friend.
Although to hear Maya tell it, Elena was the one doing the favor.
The tall man who’d just exited the vehicle was Collin Sullivan.
Sully. Elena had talked to him a few times over the past six months she’d been here.
And Maya had told her all about the cousin she adored, so she felt like she knew him.
Maybe. He favored Maya in looks. Dark hair, dark eyes, deeply tanned skin even in November.
Five o’clock shadow. A couple of inches over six feet.
He caught her staring and held her gaze, a hint of amusement coloring his eyes. “Hi.”
Busted. “Hi. Good to see you again.” Thankfully, her voice was steady, no hint of her weirdly rapid pulse. And with her turtleneck and hoodie on, there was no way for him to see the heat climbing into her neck. Hopefully, it would stop before it could reach her cheeks.
“You too,” he said.
The back door opened, and he turned his attention to the teenager climbing out.
The witness. Poor girl.
The front passenger door opened, and a woman with blond hair pulled back into a tight ponytail and a hard expression emerged. Her green eyes scanned the area, then swept back to the house.
Maya went to Sully and hugged her cousin.
“Welcome. We’ll get you all set up. I’ve got a four-bedroom cabin available that’s not too far from the house, but secluded so you can easily see if anyone approaches.
It’s set pretty close to the lake and has an updated security system. It’s called Serenity.”
Sully nodded. “That sounds perfect.”
Maya smiled. “Let’s hope it can live up to its name.”
“Definitely.” He frowned. “Where’s David?”
“In town checking on a client.” While David was in charge of security for the ranch, he and his team also had private clients who hired him on a regular basis. “He should be back sometime tomorrow, I believe.”
“I can’t thank you enough for being willing to take us in at the last minute like this.
Our last three places were compromised, and we’ve been running out of options.
I talked to Claire.” Claire Ogden, their SSA, Supervisory Special Agent.
“She said ASAC Winters recommended I find a place and keep it secret between the three of us. And you, of course. This place came to mind, and here we are.”
Elena raised a brow. “Sounds like you’re trusting someone you shouldn’t.”
His gaze collided with hers, and it was like a physical impact smack in her gut. She swallowed. Weird.