by B. J Daniels
“You’re hurting me,” she said, keeping her voice down. He released her arm and stepped back as if he didn’t trust himself. “Just let me go. It’s for the best. And, Wade? Don’t let your father make you do something stupid.”
“What does that mean?”
“My mother and your father have their own selfish reasons for wanting us together. I wouldn’t take their advice.” With that, she opened her car door and climbed in to roll down the window. “My lawyer will have the paperwork to you soon. Just sign it and let’s part amicably, okay?”
She didn’t give him a chance to answer as she turned the key in the ignition and drove away. He was still standing there looking after her when she pulled onto the street. They would never be amicable. She would be lucky if he gave her the divorce, let alone left her alone. No, she thought, fighting tears. She’d be lucky to get out of this alive.
* * *
LEDGER WATCHED THE celebration feeling strangely outside it. After twenty-five years, one of the twins was back. It was more than surreal. He glanced at his father. Travers looked so happy it made his heart ache with joy. But he was the only one, Ledger thought as he surveyed the family. They all looked as stunned as he felt.
He saw Nikki watching Vance. Or did they now start calling him Oakley? Nikki was sharp; that was what made her such an excellent true-crime writer. She saw things that other people missed. And she knew people. Look how much she’d uncovered in a very short time recently.
She was frowning as she studied Vance. Ledger wasn’t sure he could call him Oakley, even if the twenty-five-year-old would answer to it after all this time.
His father was suggesting another bottle of champagne as he put an arm around his long-lost son. Vance just looked uncomfortable in his new role.
Ledger moved closer to Nikki in time to hear her whisper to Cull, “Something’s wrong.”
His brother sighed. “He has the toy,” Cull said quietly. “He has our blue eyes. He looks like us. But more to the point, he passed the preliminary DNA test with flying colors. So what are you saying?”
Nikki shook her head and looked to Ledger. “You feel it, don’t you?”
He nodded. “It just feels...”
“Wrong,” Boone said, joining them at the edge of the party.
Just then their father called them over so he could fill their champagne glasses.
“Whatever it is all of you think you know, keep it to yourself,” Cull warned them. “Look at Dad. He’s happy. So I’m happy. It will take some time, but let’s make the best of this.”
* * *
MEMORY IS A funny thing, Abby thought. One minute her mind nagged at her to remember what had happened that night in the garage and later in the kitchen. The next, she would get a flash. Just enough to make her stop what she was doing to try to hang on to it before it disappeared again.
She’d realized that she was missing one of her favorite earrings. Knowing that Wade should be working and away from the house, she’d driven out to look for the earring.
It was while down on her hands feeling around under the bed for the earring, when her fingers closed on it, that she had her strongest flash yet. She froze as the memory came to her like the trailer of a movie. She saw Wade and his father in the garage, their heads together in serious conversation. But this time, she heard what they were talking about.
At the sound of a vehicle pulling up in the yard, Abby jerked up, banging her head on the bed frame as she drew back, the earring biting into her fingers. Her head swam for a moment from the pain, from the memory, from the sound of a car door closing and heavy footfalls on the porch steps.
She rose and looked out the bedroom door toward the front of the house. At the sound of a key in the lock, she knew it had to be Wade. He would have seen her car parked out front.
Abby looked around as if for a way to escape. But the bedroom window was painted shut and she’d never be able to get down the hallway to the back door without being seen. If Wade saw her trying to get away from him, it would only make it worse.
Indecision froze her to the spot. She felt sick to her stomach from what she’d remembered. She wished she’d never remembered. Just as she wished she had forgotten about the earring. She should never have come back here.
But she realized that knowing what she now did, she would have to go to the sheriff. She had no choice. Wade wasn’t a good husband. He had a miserable temper and he often struck out when he was hurt or mad or drunk, which was often. But she’d never thought he was a bad man. She’d often felt sorry for him, knowing how he was brought up by his father.
But after what she’d heard Wade and his father discussing in the garage... Once she went to the sheriff, she would never be safe. If Wade didn’t get her, his father would. She would be just as good as dead. Her only other option would be to stop Wade before he and his father went any further—as if anything she could say would convince her husband to go against his father.
She’d forgotten all about her earring until she heard it hit the floor. She hadn’t even realized it was still in her hand until she’d dropped it. Bending down, she felt around for it in the dim light of the bedroom. She’d just recovered it when she heard a floorboard creak behind her.
“Abby?”
She hadn’t heard him come down the hallway. Now he was standing in the bedroom doorway.
He saw the look on her face and swore. “You remembered.”
Now she really was trapped.
Chapter Eight
ABBY BACKED AWAY from her husband. She’d never seen such fear and fury in his eyes before.
“You are going to keep your mouth shut. Is that understood?” he demanded as he advanced on her, matching each of her steps with one of his own until he backed her into a corner.
“Wade, I’m begging you not to do this,” she said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice and failing.
“Begging?” He laughed. “I like the sound of that.”
“I’m serious. I’ve gone along with a lot since we married, but this—”
“This is our ticket out of this hellhole. Come on, don’t pretend that you wouldn’t like a nice big house like the McGraws’.” He snickered. “Just the mention of that name and your eyes sparkle, but it’s not the house you crave, is it?”
“Please, don’t start on that.”
“Don’t even want to hear Ledger McGraw’s name on my lips, do you?”
She bumped hard against the wall. He had her trapped and he knew it. She’d put up with so much from him in the time they’d been married. At first he’d been so sweet, so understanding. He’d put her on a pedestal, but then he’d been fired at his feedlot job. His father had gotten him on as a sheriff’s deputy and Wade had changed. He’d become more like the father he’d told her he despised.
He was close enough now that she could see the fire burning in his dark eyes. He desperately wanted to hit her.
Why had she tried to reason with him the night before he’d put her in the hospital? Why hadn’t she gone straight to the sheriff when she’d found out what he and his father were up to?
Too late now. If only she could reach the gentle man who often cried in her arms after hurting her.
“Ledger McGraw,” he repeated, his mouth twisting in an angry sneer. “I think my saying his name hurts you more than if I was to knock you into next week.”
“Wade, this isn’t about Ledger. This thing you’re planning is cruel and illegal.”
“Illegal?” He guffawed. “Honey, did you forget who you’re married to? I’m a frigging deputy sheriff. There ain’t nothing illegal when I’m carrying my badge and gun.”
She feared he believed that. It would explain the change in him since becoming a deputy. She’d been a fool to provoke him by trying to change his mind. Even if she backed down
, she had his ire up. He was going to hurt her.
And then what? Suddenly she wasn’t sure how far he’d go to keep her from telling what she’d overheard him and his father planning.
* * *
“I NEED YOU to come right over,” Wade said into the phone, his voice breaking.
His father swore. “What did you do?”
He glanced over the body lying on the floor. “It wasn’t my fault but I might have hit her too hard.”
His father swore again. “Don’t do anything, you dumb ass. Just stay there. I’ll be right over,” he said before slamming down the phone.
Wade hung up and rubbed a hand over his face. Then pulled it away, shuddering as he saw it was covered in blood. He quickly wiped it on his pants.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” he said, hitting his forehead with his palm. Why did he let it go so far? Why didn’t he just walk away before it got so bad? Maybe he could have talked some sense into her. Why did he have to take it out on her?
“Because I’m my father’s son,” he said in disgust.
Walking over to Abby, he squatted down beside her. She didn’t look that bad. His old man had taught him not to hit a woman in the face. Didn’t want the neighbors talking or, worse, someone down at the sheriff’s department being forced to call him on the carpet because everyone in town had seen his wife’s black eye.
But he must have hit her in the face this time because her nose was bleeding and after her concussion...
His back door banged open. Angry footfalls marched down the hallway. He turned as his father came storming into the room.
“She still alive?” Huck asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You didn’t check?” He let out an angry snort and, shoving Wade out of the way, squatted down to check her pulse. “You lucked out, you worthless little prick. She’s still breathing. How long has she been out?”
Wade looked around as if the answer was in the room. “I don’t know.”
His father rose and glared at him. “What are you doing beating on her again?”
“You mean like you used to hit me and Mom?”
“Watch your mouth, smart boy,” he said, stepping to him. Huck grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. “Why pick a fight with her today, of all days? Do I have to remind you that we have too much at stake for you to be calling attention to yourself with the authorities again because of some petty argument with your old lady? What were you thinking?”
“It wasn’t petty,” he gasped out. His father was choking him with the balled-up shirt at his throat. “She knows.” He wiped a hand over his face, smelled her blood on him still and rubbed his palm against his jeans.
Huck let go of him and took a step back. “How?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. She must have just remembered. She’ll tell.”
Huck swore and turned to look at the woman on the floor. “We don’t have any choice, then. We can’t take her back to the hospital. I know someone who’s an EMT. We can take her to him. He’ll cover for you, and if she’s smart, she’ll keep her mouth shut and go along with it.”
Wade bit at his cheek. He hated to tell his father but he didn’t think Abby would be going along with anything anymore.
“It may take more than that,” he said quietly.
Huck turned to look at him. “What are you saying?”
“I don’t think she’s going to keep this to herself. Not this time.”
His father took a step toward him. Wade raised his arms to protect his head and waited for the force of Huck’s punch to knock him to his knees.
Abby moaned.
Wade peeked from under his arms, surprised his father hadn’t struck him.
“We’d better decide what to do with her,” Huck said. “But first, you have any whiskey? I could use a drink.”
* * *
ABBY DIDN’T KNOW how long she’d been lying on the floor bleeding. She groaned and tried to sit up. Her ribs protested violently and she had to lean back against the side of the bed. The room began to spin and she thought she might throw up. She closed her eyes, fighting the nausea. She could hear Wade and his father in the kitchen. From the clink of ice in the glasses, it sounded as if they were having a drink.
How was that possible with her lying in here on the floor, fading in and out of consciousness? Or had, this time, Wade thought he’d killed her?
They had lowered their voices, but she could make out most of what they were saying since this house was so poorly insulated. Her head ached. She had to concentrate hard to understand the words.
“...get rid of her body...have to do it tonight...can’t just dump it anywhere.”
Fear spiked through her. They couldn’t be talking about getting rid of her. Getting rid of her for good. But even as she thought it, she knew it was true. Wade had gone too far this time. He thought he’d killed her.
She realized that he couldn’t take her back to the hospital or questions would be asked. He might lose his job. He loved being a sheriff’s deputy. He’d never give that up just because this time he’d hit his wife too hard.
Abby caught hold of the edge of the bed and pulled herself up. She realized she’d left a bloody handprint on the spread. For a moment, she stared at it, thinking the spread would have to be soaked to get that out.
A noise in the other room brought her back to the pain in her body, the ache in her head. She felt dizzy standing and wasn’t sure how much longer she could stay upright.
Get out before it’s too late, a voice screamed in her head.
She worked her way to the door and looked out. She could still hear Wade and his father in the kitchen. They were talking in very low tones now. She only heard the occasional clink of a glass or an ice cube.
They would be coming back for her soon.
She looked toward the back door. It seemed too far away to reach given how dizzy she felt, but she started for it, moving at a snail’s pace as she used the wall for support.
She felt dazed, not even sure she was awake as she reached the door and tried the lock. Unlocked. It felt slick in her hand as she turned the knob and the door swung open.
A cool breeze hit her in the face, and from some survival instinct older than time, Abby knew she had to run for the trees now. If the men in the kitchen felt this breeze, they’d know she’d opened the back door. They would know that she was trying to get away.
She ran, the first step jarring her ribs and making her hurt all over. She ran bent over, her arms wrapped around her middle as if she could hold herself together. She didn’t look back. She didn’t dare. She had to believe she could reach the trees. She didn’t think past that.
Abby stumbled on a tree root, lost her balance and went down hard. The fall knocked the air out of her and hurt her already aching ribs. She rolled over on her back and lay there, gasping like a fish out of water.
Over her head, stars glittered, making her think she was blacking out again. Her vision cleared as she caught her breath. She lay there listening, expecting Wade and Huck to find her and that her painful run for safety had only been a waste of time and effort.
Hearing nothing, she was suddenly aware of the weight of her cell phone in her pocket. She pulled it out, but for a moment, she couldn’t think who to call.
Not her mother. Not her friends. She couldn’t drag them into this. Wade had already warned her what he would do to them. As she held the phone, she felt a sob rise in her chest.
There was only one person she could call. She got up and stumbled deeper into the woods. She thought for a moment that she wouldn’t be able to remember his number. But it was right there when she touched the keypad. She prayed he hadn’t changed his cell number as she waited for it to ring.
The first ring filled h
er ear, making a sob escape. She held her breath as it rang a second time. “Please answer. Please.”
She had no one else to turn to. She couldn’t call the sheriff where Wade and Huck were both deputies. They would talk their way out of it even if she were believed.
It rang again. He wasn’t going to answer. She gripped the phone tighter, feeling all hope slipping away.
She was just about to give up when Ledger answered on the fourth ring.
She began to cry so hard with such relief that she couldn’t speak.
“Abby?”
She managed to get out two words. “Help me.”
He didn’t hesitate. “Just tell me where you are.”
* * *
“SHE’S GONE!” WADE CRIED as he rushed back into the kitchen, where his father was finishing off the last drop of whiskey in the bottle. Fortifying himself for what had to be done.
“What do you mean, she’s gone?” Huck demanded, slamming down his glass.
“She’s not lying in there where we left her. There’s blood on the spread and on the wall...”
“Come on, she can’t have gotten far in her condition.”
Wade returned to the bedroom, checked the bathroom and even looked under the bed.
“This way, you fool,” his father snapped.
As Huck stepped out of the bedroom, he saw the handprints along the hallway. They led straight to the back door, which was standing open.
“What are we going to do?” Wade cried. He’d had just enough whiskey that he felt warm inside, but his head felt fuzzy. Everything about this felt surreal.
“She can’t get far on foot,” Huck said after checking to make sure she hadn’t taken one of the cars. “We would have heard her start up the engine, if she had.”
Wade headed for the stand of cottonwoods along the creek behind the house. It was a straight shot from the back door and seemed the obvious place to try to hide.
He hadn’t gone far, though, when he found her shoe. It lay on its side next to the creek. He whistled for his father to join him as he looked deeper into the dark shadows of the trees.