by Barb Han
Jordan knew this part of the property like the back of his hand, and he knew exactly where Rushing Creek wound through the trees. The creek was at its widest half a mile up, so he headed there figuring that would give Jason enough space to work with now that he had two victims. Had that been his plan all along?
Courtney wouldn’t have gone down without a fight or making a sound, which meant she’d been surprised. Frustration was a punch in the solar plexus. Taking in air hurt.
He couldn’t allow himself to doubt that she was alive. This jerk was rubbing their noses in his ability to come and go as he pleased, taking whatever he wanted. Well, this was Kent property, and Jason Millipede didn’t belong there.
It was time for Jordan to take his rightful place alongside his brothers and sister. It was time to put the past behind him and move on with his life. It was time to look to his future—a future with Courtney, if she’d have him.
For several minutes, Jordan moved through the trees toward the small clearing. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, thrumming at a frantic clip.
* * *
PAIN SHOT THROUGH Courtney’s head as she tried to open her eyes. It felt like her head might explode. What the hell had happened?
And then it all came rushing back to her. Jason Millipede had whacked her in the back of the head with a blunt object. She was on Kent property in the woods. She tried to scream but couldn’t. There was something covering her mouth. Courtney forced her eyes open and was startled to find a pair of blue eyes staring back at her.
It took a second to register those frightened eyes belonged to Amy.
Relief that she was alive washed over Courtney. Her next thought was about Jordan. If something happened to Amy, he would be devastated. Courtney strained to get a better look and could see that Amy’s mouth was covered with clear tape.
She tried to move, but her hands were tied behind her back. Pain registered with movement. Courtney assessed that she was lying on her side in some type of shallow grave. Creepy-crawlies ran up her back at the thought of being buried alive.
But that wasn’t the death Jason Millipede wanted for them.
On closer appraisal, Amy seemed...off. Courtney remembered the ketamine that had been used on the other victims. Maybe he hadn’t planned for Amy to be alive this long.
There was something on top of them, and from what Courtney could gather it was a branch. Someone would have to fall into the grave with them in order to realize it was there.
Was this what he did? Stored his victims in a freshly dug grave. Drugged them so they were compliant. And then once he was ready and had them in position...
Another icy chill gripped her spine.
The ground was hard and cold. Courtney thought about the little nugget growing inside her. She became more resolved to stay alive.
Trying to talk was pretty much impossible. She tried to move her legs and feet. They were bound together at her ankles.
Movement made her brain hurt.
She heard footsteps and froze. She listened. Jordan would be looking for her, as would Zach and Isaac. The four of them had been on the hunt for Amy, and the others wouldn’t give up. If anything, the search would intensify.
Courtney knew for certain if Jason took them to another spot, it would be even more difficult to escape. So, when the branch moved and she saw his face, she waited until he got close enough, and then she unleashed hell.
Amy seemed to catch on and she rolled onto her back and thrust her feet toward Jason, connecting with his chest.
He made an animal-like growl before he seemed to realize he’d made a mistake. Courtney figured it was now or never, so she kicked with everything she had and knocked him back a couple of steps. Blood squirted from his nose. She rolled onto her side and scrambled to get to her feet while Amy did the same.
Jason disappeared from view, and she realized he’d come back with something to knock out her and Amy or kill them this time.
She scooted toward Amy and motioned for her to go back to back. Tape wasn’t hard to tear once a small tear was made. Courtney struggled with it for a few precious seconds before she was able to dig her nail hard enough to rip the tape on Amy’s wrists. Amy immediately ripped off their mouth tape and started to work on Courtney.
“No, go. Get out of there. Undo your ankles and go get help. Jordan, Zach and Isaac are out here somewhere. Find them and bring them back.” Courtney used her stern law enforcement voice. It was authoritative, and people instinctively knew she meant business.
Amy hesitated.
“Go. The second you’re safely away from here, I’ll start screaming to draw attention,” she urged.
“I can’t leave you like this. We can fight him together. We’re stronger together.” Amy went to work on Courtney’s wrists. “I’m not as fast as you are, but I’ll get it.”
True to her word, she worked the tape until Courtney’s hands were free. She immediately removed the tape from her ankles with Amy’s help.
The two locked arms and set out to run on wobbly legs.
“Not so fast.” Jason’s voice was shrill. They heard the snick of a bullet being engaged in a chamber.
“On three, we need to shout as loud as we can and dive for the tree,” Courtney whispered. She’d only been in there a short time, and still her legs and arms hurt. She could only imagine how painful it must be for Amy right then.
“Let’s do this,” came the hushed response.
“One. Two. Three.” Courtney held on to Amy as they ran behind a tree, screaming as loud as their voices would carry.
“I said stop,” Jason’s agitated voice demanded.
When they didn’t, he fired a shot.
Courtney pulled Amy to the ground. The pair huddled together as they continued to shout for help.
“How could you do this to me, Amy?” Jason shouted. “I thought you were special. You’re just a tramp like the others. My aunt warned me about girls like you, and she was right. You pretend to be nice, but really all you want to do is hurt me like the others did. I did everything to show you how strong I am now. Everything I accomplished was to impress you. Instead, you look at me like I’m the one who’s evil. You fight me and try to run. This is how you repay me?”
“Breanna deserved to live,” Amy said quietly. “Hurting someone else to prove you’re somebody doesn’t make you look stronger. It makes you pathetic.”
There was something almost pitiful about Jason.
But he was a coldblooded killer, and her sympathy stopped right there.
* * *
JORDAN HEARD THE SCREAMS. He also heard the shot. And then there was nothing but quiet.
Pain shot through his calves and his thighs as he pushed his legs harder. All he could think about was seeing Courtney and Amy alive again. He let that thought motivate him to run when his lungs might explode from needing air.
He was too close to lose her. So he pushed harder. And then he slowed his pace to a catlike crawl. He stalked closer toward where the noise had been.
Another shot fired, and someone screamed.
It was near pitch-black outside, but his eyes had adjusted to the dark long ago. His hands were frozen, so he rubbed them together as he neared the direction of the gunfire. He could only hope it was Courtney’s gun and she was in control of it.
When he happened upon the scene, he realized Jason had the gun.
Neither Courtney nor Amy was anywhere to be seen.
He neared the lone gunman with stealthy precision. And then Jordan saw Jason put the gun to his own head.
“Oh no you don’t, bastard,” Jordan said as he tackled Jason from behind in time to knock his hand away from his head in time. Blood squirted, but Jordan knocked Jason onto his stomach on the hard ground. He went to work stemming the flow of blood. “You don’t get to take the easy way out and die. You’re going to s
pend the rest of your long life behind bars, where you belong.”
Zach and Isaac showed up at almost exactly the same time.
“We need an EMT and zip cuffs,” Jordan said to Zach.
“I have a pair right here. EMT is on the way.” Zach dug his knee into the perp’s back as Amy and Courtney rushed over.
“Is everyone okay?” Jordan was on his feet in half a second and by Courtney’s side.
Isaac and Amy embraced a second later.
“We made it,” Courtney said. “We survived.”
Jordan pulled her into an embrace, where she stayed. It didn’t take long for the scene to bustle with activity.
Amy gave her statement—she’d stopped to help a stranded motorist and had been attacked from behind before something was shoved into her mouth.
Jordan couldn’t leave Courtney’s side if he’d wanted to. He’d almost lost her once, and when all this settled down, he had something to say to her.
It took a solid hour for her to be cleared from the scene. A deputy had brought over a warm blanket. Another was given to Amy as the Jacobstown Hacker was being hauled off in handcuffs.
Jordan turned to Courtney and was pretty sure he saw nothing but love in her eyes when she looked at him. “There’s no rush for our relationship to magically work out. But I know what’s in your heart, and I happen to love you with all of mine. I want you to know that I’m willing to wait as long as you need to be able to say the words back. I love you, Courtney.”
“I don’t want to wait to tell you how I feel, Jordan. Life is uncertain and can be taken away in a second. I know that I have work to do and I’m far from perfect, but I love you in a perfect way. I want to have a family with you.” She touched her stomach. “And this child will be the luckiest kid on earth to be surrounded by so much love.”
He kissed her. “I have a real shock for you. I want you to be my wife.”
“Then all that’s left for me to say is yes. I’ll marry you, Jordan. I’m ready to spend the rest of my life with you. You are the only person I’ve ever truly trusted with my heart. The only person I can ever see myself loving. It’s always been you—even before the tragedy that left me broken. With you, I feel like I’ve found home, a real home, and not just a place to lay my head at night, because up until you that’s all I’ve ever done.”
“Good. Because I’m done running away. I want to run to you and to our family. Because I can’t imagine loving anyone more than I love you. I don’t care where you want to settle down, because you’re my home.” Jordan wrapped his arms around the woman who would be his bride and pressed his lips to hers. “I almost lost you tonight. I never want to have that feeling again.”
And he kissed her. His love. His Courtney. His home.
Epilogue
“Good morning, Mrs. Farmer,” Courtney said to her former neighbor.
“You’re glowing,” Mrs. Farmer said as she put both hands on Courtney’s very round, very pregnant belly after greeting her at the door while Sassy jumped and barked around Courtney’s ankles. The gold band on Courtney’s left hand sparkled against the sunlight.
“She’ll be here in a week or two. Maybe sooner from the way I feel.” Courtney handed over a basket filled with fresh fruit and a few muffins. It had become their favorite Monday morning meal.
“Where’s Amy today?” Mrs. Farmer asked, ushering Courtney through the door and to the kitchen table after Courtney picked up Sassy and gave her snuggles.
“She and Isaac decided to take a trip out of the blue. Just the two of them,” Courtney said with a smile. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she came back married.”
Mrs. Farmer burst out laughing. “Sounds like something Amy would do. Those two deserve all the happiness in the world.” She shook her index finger in the air. “And so do you. You deserve that gorgeous man you married.”
Courtney’s cheeks flushed at the compliment.
“Amy said to tell you she’ll see you next week and that I should give you a big hug for her.” Courtney embraced the woman who’d become family. “Jordan sends his love.”
“I’m surprised he let you out of his sight,” Mrs. Farmer teased.
“He is definitely a husband on baby watch. But I think he also knows that I wouldn’t miss our breakfasts for the world.” A cramp struck, and her belly felt like it contracted, reminding her that she wouldn’t be waiting too much longer to meet her daughter.
Her daughter. Courtney’s chest filled with so much love it felt like she might burst every time she thought about her little girl. She credited her sessions with Sara Winters for helping her break down her walls and enjoy all the love that surrounded her now. She still had work to do and it would take time, but she looked to the future with hope for the first time. Hope was a beautiful thing. Happiness was even better.
“I squeezed fresh juice this morning.” Mrs. Farmer beamed.
“Well, we better eat before this baby decides to come and interrupt our meal,” Courtney teased.
Mrs. Farmer caught her gaze. “Did you make a decision about going back to work after the baby’s born?”
Courtney glanced down and touched her stomach. “I have a feeling that I have my work cut out for me right here. I don’t want to miss a minute of her day.”
“You’ll never regret being home with your child,” Mrs. Farmer agreed. “Jenny and Hanson are bringing my Ellie bell later this fall.”
Her son-in-law’s job had moved the family to Europe three years ago. They’d offered to move back when Mr. Farmer passed away, but Mrs. Farmer wouldn’t have it. She’d said she wanted them to live their lives. She wasn’t ready to leave Jacobstown to join them because she felt closer to her husband here.
The warmth in Mrs. Farmer’s voice when she spoke about her family caused a few tears to fall from Courtney’s eyes.
There were no better words than love, family and home. Having all three made Courtney feel like the luckiest person in the world.
* * *
Don’t miss the previous books in
USA TODAY bestselling author Barb Han’s
Rushing Creek Crime Spree miniseries:
Cornered at Christmas
Ransom at Christmas
Ambushed at Christmas
What She Did
What She Knew
Available now from Harlequin Intrigue!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Isolated Threat by Nicole Helm.
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Isolated Threat
by Nicole Helm
Chapter One
In the dark of his apartment, Brady Wyatt considered getting drunk.
It wasn’t something he typically considered doing. He stayed away from extremes. If he drank alcohol, it was usually two beers tops. He’d never smoked a cigarette or taken a drug that wasn’t expressly legal.
He was a good man. He believed in right and wrong. He believed wholeheartedly that he was smarter, better and stronger than his father, who was currently being transferred to a maximum-security federal prison, thanks to a number of charges, including attempted murder.
When Brady thought of his twin brother nearly dying at Ace’s hands, it made him want to get all the more drunk.
Brady wished he could believe Ace Wyatt would no longer be a threat. His father wasn’t superhuman or supernatural, but sometimes...no matter what Brady told himself was possible, it felt like Ace Wyatt would always have a choke hold around his neck.
Once he could go back to work, things would be fine. Dark thoughts and this sense of impending doom would go away once he could get out the
re and do his job again.
The fact he’d been shot was a setback, but he’d taken his role as sheriff’s deputy for Valiant County, South Dakota, seriously enough to know being hurt, or even killed, in the line of duty was more than possible.
He’d been shot helping save his soon-to-be sister-in-law. There was no shame or regret in that.
But the fact the wound had gotten infected, didn’t seem to want to heal in any of the normal ways no matter what doctors he saw, left him frustrated and often spiraling into dark corners of his mind he had no business going.
When someone knocked on his apartment door, relief swept through him. A relief that made him realize how much the darkness had isolated him.
Maybe he should go stay out at his grandmother’s ranch. Let Grandma Pauline shove food at him and let his brother Dev grouse at him. Being alone wasn’t doing him any favors, and he was not a man who indulged in weakness.
He looked through the peephole, and was more than a little shocked to see Cecilia Mills standing there.
Any relief he’d felt at having company evaporated. Cecilia was not a welcome presence in his life right now, and hadn’t been since New Year’s Eve when she’d decided to kiss him, full on the mouth.
Cecilia had grown up with the Knights, on the neighboring ranch to his grandmother’s. Duke and Eva Knight’s niece had been part of the fabric of Brady’s life since he’d come to live with Grandma Pauline at the age of eleven—after his oldest brother had helped him escape their father’s gang, the Sons of the Badlands.
While Brady had been friends with all the Knight girls, Cecilia was the one who’d always done her level best to irritate him. Not always on purpose either. They were just...diametrically opposed. Despite her job as a tribal police officer on the nearby reservation, Cecilia bent rules all the time. She saw gray when he saw black, and even darker gray when he saw white. She was complicated and they didn’t agree on much of anything.