by Becky McGraw
"We're not dating, we're partners on this search, and I work for his sister," she corrected him. They weren't dating, they'd made love three times now, well almost, but with what Ethan told her the other night, she didn't have any ideas that would lead to something else in the future. They were just too different.
Her heart twisted in her chest, but she untangled it. Rocky had enough to worry about right now, without worrying about loving a man who was her polar opposite.
Whoever Sarah was, Rocky envied the woman. If she was different, soft like Sarah evidently was, loving Ethan Cassidy would be a lot easier.
"I figured out why I couldn't find my dad at base camp," Brad told her and her eyes swung up to his.
"He's lost too?" she asked in confusion.
"No, he's tracking Ethan. I found a GPS tracker in the cab of his truck earlier, and a set of our old turnout gear behind the seat, along with a bloody knife and some other stuff. After the inspector talked to me, I put two and two together and figured out they thought someone had been trying to kill Ethan. Between the stuff I found, the way my dad has been acting lately, and the questions the inspector asked me, I figured out at base camp it must be my dad."
"Did you let the police know?" she asked with fear for Ethan gripping her heart.
Brad's face turned red and he told her, "He's my dad, and I thought I could find him first and talk some sense into him."
Rocky had left Ethan alone in that cave with Amelia, without a way to protect himself. Dumb, dumb, dumb, she castigated herself.
"Oh, God," she groaned. "Ethan and Amelia are in that cave without a weapon."
"Let's go," Brad said and turned to walk back through the woods.
"Where are you going?" she asked incredulously.
"I left my ATV a mile back, so I didn't make noise.
"We don't have time to go back for your ATV. Double up with me, I'll take you there," she invited then got up on Reed, before shoving her shotgun in the scabbard.
"Um, I don't ride," he told her looking at Reed like he was a lion about to pounce.
"You just have to hold on, now get your ass up here," she told him impatiently.
"Yes, ma'am," Brad mumbled then walked around the side of the horse.
Rocky pulled her foot out of the stirrup, slid up in the saddle, then told him, "Put your hand on the horn, and put your left foot in the stirrup, then swing your right leg over his rump and sit behind me."
Brad bounced, pulling on the saddle and Rocky shoved down on the right stirrup when he put his weight on the left and swung his leg over.
"Now what?" he asked.
"Put your arms around me and hold onto the horn," she replied then clicked to Reed and he started forward.
"It would probably be easier to follow the tree line and go around to the dirt trail at the back," he told her. "The undergrowth gets pretty think back here, which is another reason I left the ATV."
"Okay," Rocky said then turned Reed to the right and walked through the trees back toward the field. "Do you have a radio?" she asked.
"Yeah, I do," he responded, but it didn't sound like he wanted to use it.
"Call in reinforcements," she told him firmly. "Your dad is in enough trouble, and there's no guarantee we'll find him before he gets to Ethan and Amelia. He'll be in a hundred times worse trouble, if we don't stop him."
And Ethan would probably be dead.
Rocky's heart flipped in her chest, then an fear formed an iron fist around it and squeezed. Even when she'd saved Ethan from the flood, she hadn't been this scared.
Kicking Reed in the side, she urged him to move faster, then sent up a prayer that Ethan and Amelia were still safely sleeping in that cave.
She hadn't taken Ethan seriously when he told her someone was trying to kill him. Thought he was being paranoid. A big mistake, maybe the biggest of her life, second only to falling in love with the irritating, overprotective, heroic, wonderful, sexy and oh so wrong for her man.
After they'd gone a little ways, when Brad didn't use his radio to call for backup like she had asked him to do, she repeated the request. "Um, you should go ahead and call in the cavalry, Brad, it's gonna take them a while to get there."
His arms tightened around her and Rocky glanced down to see his knuckles were white on the horn, before he explained, "When we get out in the open, I will. These trees will block the reception."
Rocky nodded, fighting back a niggling sensation at the back of her neck. This man was trying to help her save Ethan and Amelia, she reminded herself, then took a deep breath before edging Reed to a faster speed so they could get to them, before his daddy did.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
Ethan stubbed his toe on a rock he hadn't seen and stumbled. Mr. Thomas jerked him upward by his arm and he groaned as the zip tie cut into his wrists.
His hands were numb, and his feet felt like he had been walking over hot coals as they moved into a particularly rocky spot on the way to the woods. He remembered this spot, because last night on their way to the mesa, he had gone over the same rocks, and that's why his feet were so sore right now. He also knew the rocks would only get sharper and denser in a few minutes.
"You need to walk faster," Mr. Thomas hissed and let his arm go.
"Lend me your shoes and I'll do that," Ethan told him with an angry snort.
Amelia started oohing and ouching beside him and she grabbed his arm. "Put her on my shoulders and I'll carry her," he told Mr. Thomas. The child's soft feet would be ripped to shreds by the time they got to the woods. "Her legs are short, so she'll just slow you down anyway," he added when it looked like the man didn't give a shit about the kid's feet.
The man's hand landed on Ethan's shoulder and drove him to his knees. "Come here, kid," he ordered and Amelia whimpered but walked up behind Ethan and he sat down on his haunches so she could climb on board.
With his back as weak as it was, Ethan had no idea how he was going to get back to his feet with her on his shoulders, or if he even could walk with her there and keep his balance without his arms.
But damned if he wasn't going to try.
"Lay over my shoulder," he told her. He knew a fireman's carry would be the easiest way to carry her. Thank God, she was a small child. She walked around the front of him, then stepped on his thigh and laid her body over his shoulder. Tucking his chin against her back, he got his right leg under him, then pushed upward with all his strength. Amelia wobbled, almost sliding off his shoulder and Ethan shuffled left to get her weight balanced. She put her arm around the back of his neck, which helped.
Taking the first step, a pain shot up Ethan's spine, and he sucked in a sharp breath. When he took another tentative step forward, he realized the extra weight was going to drive those sharp rocks deeper into his sore feet, but just focused on getting over them to the soft grass, so they could both walk again.
"I could go faster and hold her if you'd cut this damned zip tie. I'm not going to run with you holding a gun on me," Ethan reasoned, even though he damned well would at the first opportunity. If he could walk with Amelia over his shoulder, with enough motivation he could run. And he was definitely motivated.
"Not likely, I didn't fall off that turnip truck yesterday," Mr. Thomas replied with a dark chuckle. "And if you knew what I have planned for you when we get to those woods, trust me you'd be running."
Ethan swallowed down the fear and nausea that tried to consume him, and kicked his brain into gear. If he did run, if he could run, he had no doubts that Mr. Thomas would shoot him in the back, maybe shoot them both. Although that might be preferable to whatever this manic had planned for them in the woods, there had to be something else he could do to avoid that.
Ethan almost groaned when his right foot touched soft grass, instead of cutting rocks when it landed. He stopped and dropped to his knees then leaned forward to drop Amelia to the ground. "There, baby, you should be able to walk now," he told her gruffly and huffed a relieved sigh, then bent his head to try and
gather the strength to stand again.
She stroked his cheek, then leaned in and kissed him there. "Thank you, Mr. Ethan."
"Get up!" Mr. Thomas ordered and kicked him in the back. Ethan did groan then, and fell on his side, where he sucked in a breath fighting the pain in his back and in the soles of his feet.
Mr. Thomas raised his gun again and pulled back the hammer then pointed it at Amelia and she whimpered taking a few stumbling steps back from him.
"Stop scaring her, asshole!" Ethan ground out then sucked in a deep breath and fought to get up to his knees, then staggered to his feet. When he looked up he saw a horse and two riders near the tree line and his heart went into overdrive. It had to be Rocky, he couldn't make out her face, but he saw that blonde hair and recognized Reed.
Had she gotten help? he wondered and squinted against the sun trying to see who was riding behind her. It was definitely a man from his size, and he was wearing tactical gear.
"Okay we're out of the trees, get someone on the radio," Rocky insisted.
There was a hesitation, then she heard the click of a gun behind her, before it was pressed into her ribs and Rocky sucked in a breath cursing herself for not trusting her instincts.
"My dad isn't a bad guy, he's just torn up over my brother's death. I'm helping him get out of here," he told her, then ordered, "That's them walking over here, ride over there."
Rocky scanned the field and saw three figures walking toward them in the distance. Fear coursed through her when she recognized Ethan's dark head, and Amelia's blonde hair. She couldn't tell if they were hurt, but they were walking, so that was something.
They weren't dead...yet.
If Rocky didn't figure out something quickly though, they could be.
All of them could die, including her, if Brad Thomas had it in his mind to get rid of witnesses to protect his daddy. She didn't doubt he would do just that, if he had gone this far to protect him. Obviously this man wasn't any more stable than his father.
"Put the gun up and get down, and I'll forget this happened," she offered in an even voice trying to keep calm between them.
"I can't," he replied, his voice choked with emotion, then shoved the pistol harder against her side.
"You can," she cajoled. "I'll help you get your dad out of here, and nobody has to know about this." A little spurt of hope shot through her when the gun was pulled away from her side.
"You won't tell Ethan about me pulling the gun on you?" he asked suspiciously, but moved it farther away from her. "And you'll help me get dad out?"
"Yes, I'll help you get him out, and no, I won't tell Ethan," she replied firmly.
To save Ethan and Amelia, she would help Brad get his father out of the woods, but there was no way she could let the man go. Ethan would never be safe.
Brad didn't need to know that though, but he should however find a good attorney for himself too, because he was going to need one. She wouldn't tell Ethan about his complicity, but she would tell the police.
"I don't have anything to gain by lying here, Brad, you have me, and it's a bad situation all the way around. I can help us all get out of this mess safely."
The gun fell from her side and she breathed a sigh of relief when she felt him lean to the side to put the gun back in his holster.
His arms closed tighter around her, then told her, "Okay, let's go."
Rocky urged Reed into a fast walk, then transitioned him past the trot to a canter, heading toward Ethan. Brad rocked in the saddle behind her and his arms loosened around her, which was good news for Rocky. She glanced down and noticed that his grip on the horn relaxed too. When that happened she held her breath as they got closer and closer to the group. If she could get him off the back of this horse, she would have a chance to do something to fix this situation.
Now all she had to do was decide how she was going to get him off, and when. The stock of her shotgun was hard against the back of her thigh, and she could pull it pretty quickly. It was loaded, she had left the shells in the barrel, which excited her.
When they were within twenty yards of the group, Ethan's face fell into a dark frown and his eyes moved behind her to Brad and his jaw tightened. Rocky noticed his hands were behind his back, and figured he must be tied up. That made her decision for her, she had to put Brad off balance if she was going to pull this off.
She put Reed into a sliding stop and when his rear end went down, she shoved back against Brad with all her might. Like she expected he fell backward and did a somersault off the back end of the horse. She spun Reed then backed him at the same time she pulled her shotgun and pointed it at Brad.
"Don't move, fucker," she growled fiercely when Brad went for his pistol, then alternating her glance back and forth between him and his father who had his gun pointed at Ethan, she said, "Drop your gun, Mr. Thomas."
"I'll blow your boyfriend's brains out," the older man promised then told her, "You throw that shotgun down at my feet."
"Not likely," she said and pulled the hammer back, as she told him, "You want to lose two sons, you go ahead. There are two shells in here and I'm pretty good, so odds are I can blow your brains out too before your son hits the ground."
The gun wavered in the old man's hands and he swallowed. Rocky could see the craziness in his glassy eyes, and had no idea what the man would do.
"Brad if you want your daddy to live, talk to him," she ordered gruffly.
"Dad, put the gun down, we'll work this out," he said loudly then shot a glare at Rocky. "She's going to let us walk out of here."
"Yes, I will," Rocky lied steadily and noticed his hand drifting toward his holster again. "Try it and I'll shoot you, Brad...I don't want to, but trust me I will."
"Go for his head, baby," Ethan told her weakly, shooting a glare at Brad. "He's wearing a vest."
Mr. Thomas moved closer to him and put the pistol to his temple. "Shut the fuck up, Cassidy."
"Okay, here's what's going to happen," Rocky said evenly and Ethan's eyes shot up to her. "Mr. Thomas you are going to cut that tie on Ethan's hands, and he's going to get Amelia and put her up here with me, then get up behind me. You and Brad are going back into those woods and find his ATV to get out of here." Rocky backed Reed a little bit and stared into Mr. Thomas's eyes. "It's the only way to end all this with everyone alive."
"I want him dead," Mr. Thomas responded belligerently nodding at Ethan his jaw tight, his grip on the pistol white-knuckled. Rocky thought for sure the gun would go off accidentally. She looked into Ethan's eyes and saw fear, and despair, but resignation too. He thought he was going to die.
Not on her watch. Firming up her determination, Rocky hissed impatiently, "If you don't want your other son to die, because of you, let him go."
Brad huffed out a frustrated breath, then added, "C'mon dad, don't be stupid, let him go. Let's get out of here."
He took a step toward his father, and stood between Rocky and his dad. "Jimmy wouldn't want you to be doing this shit. You're going to ruin both of our lives."
"She's not stopping me for getting justice for your brother!" he yelled and then in slow motion, Rocky watched as his arm swung wildly with the pistol and he aimed it toward her right before fire exploded from the end.
Amelia screamed and Ethan yelled "No!" as he dove into Mr. Thomas and both of them went down, with Ethan on top of him.
Reed reared and she leaned forward pushing his front end down. When his feet landed, she saw Brad clutch his chest, before falling to his knees to lean over gasping. Rocky settled Reed down, then slid to the ground and ran toward where Ethan and Mr. Thomas struggled. She saw the gun about five feet from them, and picked it up.
"Stop!" she yelled loudly taking a couple of steps back, so nobody could rush her. The shotgun was under her left arm, and she held the pistol out in her right hand. "Cut that damned tie off of his hands, then see if Brad is dead, Ethan," she instructed.
Ethan rolled off of Mr. Thomas and laid on his back struggling to catch
his breath. When he caught it, he told her, "He's not dead, the bullet hit the vest."
Right then, Brad rolled to his side, and she heard velcro being pulled apart, before he sat up and pulled the vest open to look down at his chest. Pulling the vest over his head, he then pulled it off and tossed it to the side, before lifting his t-shirt to inspect the nasty bruise on his chest.
"Sonofabitch, dad you could have killed me!" he shouted then pushed up to his feet. Mr. Thomas wasn't going to answer him though, because a glance told Rocky the man was out cold, and she huffed a relieved breath. She figured his head had hit the large rock on the ground beside his head when Ethan tackled him.
Rocky swung the pistol toward Brad and ground out, "Throw your damned gun over here, Brad, or I will kill you!" When he went for it in a rush, she added, "Easy, two fingers."
She had seen that on some cop show she had watched, so she figured it must work. If he was only pinching it, not gripping it, he couldn't shoot her.
His eyes held dark humor as he pulled it out like she instructed, then swung his arm and tossed it over to land at her feet. "Who you dating here, Ethan? Dirty Mary?" Brad asked with a short laugh.
"Now put your damned hands up," she ordered gruffly.
"You have no idea, just don't cross her," Ethan warned him then gingerly walked over to Brad and turned his back to him. "Cut this damned tie off."
With a wary glance at Rocky, Brad reached down into his boot and pulled out a knife Ethan knew would be there. When Brad slit the zip tie, blood rushed to his numb fingers and Ethan groaned then rubbed circulation back into them.
"Now give me your radio, man," Ethan told him and held out his hand.
"Ethan, I'm sorry about all this," he told him and held his eyes.
"Your dad is sick, Brad," Ethan told him. "Hopefully, they'll get him the help he needs. I'll help you find a good attorney for him."
"He's going to need one," he said and glanced at Rocky.