Wrecked for You

by Mayer, Kristin

  “There was a fourth.” Kane’s words stopped us in our tracks.

  We whipped our heads around to look at him. “What?”

  Kane rewound the footage and pointed to the plane. “Watch the back right corner of the screen. If he’d gotten out a few seconds before, we would have never seen it.”

  In the next few frames, something black rolled out of the plane and then took off. Kane switched cameras. A man ran between the two buildings and into the woods. “Gotcha, prick. Mariah, you and I are going to go hunt us an asshole.”

  Kane set his jaw with the harshness of steel.

  Mariah stood at attention, waiting for Kane’s command. “Change of plans. I’m going to track this guy while you go to the Red Onion.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Kory

  It was hard to tell how far from town we were. To keep from being seen, I’d crawled onto the front floorboard of the truck. Since the pilot had stayed with the plane, we’d had to get into the vehicle without being noticed. If Landon knew I was there watching him, it would change the entire tone of our meeting. Hayden had pulled his truck into the garage that connected to the office. Kane, Mariah, and I had slipped in before Anthony arrived.

  My goal was to convince Landon to move on. But he’d brought an additional person we weren’t supposed to be aware of. That left me uneasy. Landon had contingency plans himself. That alone gave some validity to the information my parents had given me. I hoped they had been truthful. Even if we weren’t able to have a relationship, deep down, I needed to know they loved me.

  The image of the man in black running into the woods circled through my mind. From the moment I saw him, ice ran through my veins.

  From the back seat, Kane asked, “How far are we? From the tree line it looks like we’re getting close.”

  To make sure no one saw him, Kane lay flat in the back seat. Mariah was on the floorboard.

  “One, maybe two minutes.”

  There was some shifting in the back. “Don’t roll to a complete stop. Just slow down enough for us to hop out. I’ll have my phone on silent, but I’ll check it frequently. Text, don’t call. I won’t pick up. Has anyone followed us?”

  Hayden looked in the rearview mirror. “No, not a soul. Are you armed?”

  The truck began to slow down.

  “Does an elk shit in the woods?”

  Hayden shook his head and chuckled. “Smart-ass. Okay get ready.”

  “Be careful,” I called from the floorboard.

  “That’s my middle name. You put that bastard in his place.”

  I smiled. “That’s the plan.”

  The door opened and closed, and then we were speeding up again. Hayden seemed to keep a keen eye on his surroundings as we drove. I hated not being able to see, but so far, things seemed okay.

  “You’ve got this, sweetheart.”

  I hugged my knees closer to my chest as we got closer to town. “I know. I just wish it could be over with. And we knew the outcome.”

  “We will soon enough. Do you remember the sign if you think something is wrong?”

  “Touch my forehead.”

  “And don’t let him talk you into going anywhere else.”

  “I won’t.”

  We’d gone over the plan a hundred times since we’d finalized it in the wee hours of the morning. Everyone was running on fumes. Ike and Amie were with Alexa at the clinic, which brought everyone we loved closer to town. “You can get up now. No one is following us.”

  I crawled up in the seat and settled in. “What if he refuses to listen? I know we talked about this last night, but, Hayden… he might never let up.”

  “Let’s not go there until we have to. If Landon is as smart as your parents give him credit for, he’ll distance himself. I’m sure he’ll monitor things to make sure we hold up our end of the bargain, but he doesn’t have to be here to do it.”

  I hated the fact that there was a chance he’d always be in our lives, lingering around the edges. Loose ends were never good. People like Landon hated loose ends. And we’d be a huge stain in his carefully crafted world. But like Hayden said, we had to focus on the hand we were dealt until we knew more about the game we were playing.

  We reached my truck, and I expelled my breath in a rush. “Here we go.”

  I grabbed the door handle, but before I could get out, Hayden leaned over and grabbed my hand. “Be careful. You’re the most important thing in my life.”

  “I will.” I touched his cheek. “Thank you for saving me from a life I never wanted.”

  He put his forehead to mine. “Kory, you saved me, too.”

  Maybe we had saved each other. He gave me a quick kiss that I wanted to last longer. “I need to go.”

  “I know. I’ll be right behind you.”

  When I opened the door, the cold air greeted me with a renewed fervor. From what the locals were saying, it was unseasonably cold so far this winter. Everyone expected record-setting snowfall. Thanksgiving was less than a week away, and I hoped this was all behind us by then. I was excited to have a holiday full of laughter and love. Growing up, Thanksgiving had been a formal affair with Landon’s family. This year, I planned to get up early and cook with Amie all day.

  I got in my truck and picked up my phone. Sure enough, I had a couple of missed calls and a text from Landon. We’d decided to leave my phone in the truck just in case Landon was tracking me.

  I opened the texts.

  Landon: Landed. Call me when you get this. Looking forward to seeing you.

  My stomach turned a little more. Here we go. I pushed call on my phone and put the truck in drive. I couldn’t look at Hayden, or I would lose focus. It was time to bring my A game and end this nonsense. It was up to me to seize my future.

  Landon picked up on the first ring. “Hey there. I thought you might have stood me up again.”

  I laughed, hoping it sounded real. “No, not this time. When did you get here?”

  “About a half an hour ago. I figured I’d walk around town to see what Skagway had to offer.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I thought we were meeting closer to noon. I saw a friend and stopped to talk. Time got away from me.”

  A horn honked in the background. Landon was still outside. “No worries. Yeah, it seems like everyone knows everyone here. Welcome to Mayberry.”

  “Yeah, it’s nice.”

  I wondered if Landon had asked about me. If so, he would have questions about Hayden.

  Landon didn’t say anything else. “How was your flight?”

  “Smooth. We had a great tailwind from Anchorage.”

  “Anchorage?”

  So, he was keeping with this story. Why didn’t he come straight here from Washington?

  “I had a little business to attend to up there. I’m considering expanding some operations. I thought maybe we could meet at a park, talk before we went to eat. There are some things I’d like to talk to you about in private, get your thoughts.”

  No way was I going to be with him alone. Think. My mind was getting more confused the closer I got to town. Stay in control of the situation. “Can we do that after lunch? I skipped breakfast, and I’m starving. The Red Onion has the best fries in town.”

  He paused for longer than necessary, probably thinking of a way around what I’d said. He had to know if he pushed too hard, I wouldn’t show up. “Sure. I’ll get a table. How long until you arrive?”

  “About fifteen minutes.”

  “Perfect. I’m looking forward to catching up, Kory.”

  “Me, too.”

  We hung up, and I took a few measured breaths. My skin was crawling at the thought of sitting down to a meal with him. I decided to update Hayden. He answered on the first ring.

  “How’d it go?”

  I glanced in the rearview mirror. Hayden was about five car lengths behind me. “It went well, I think. He wanted to meet at a park first. But I convinced him to go to the Red Onion. I think my assertiveness startled him.�
�

  “Ass.”

  Before, I would have agreed to meet at the park first. So much about how everyone catered to Landon’s family made sense now.

  “He’s out walking and mentioned everyone knowing everyone. I wonder if he knows about us.”

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  I wanted to be as confident as Hayden sounded. We entered the city limits, but he stayed back a few car lengths. “Just remember, Drake and I will have eyes on you the entire time. If you get uncomfortable, get up and leave or give me the sign. Don’t put yourself at risk.”

  “I won’t. Promise.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Kory

  Hayden followed me into town. It wasn’t too busy, which was good. The fewer people who saw me with Landon, the better. I parked in front of the Red Onion and stared at the door. This is it. And there was no script. For the first time since leaving the hell of my old life, I wished I knew how this was going to go. If only it could be perfectly orchestrated right down to the responses I would receive.

  But that wasn’t life.

  I saw Sylvia poke her head around the corner of the building. Damn it. The Twiner sisters had a knack for being in the right place at the worst possible time. I loved the ladies, but today was not the day to deal with them.

  Hayden stayed in his truck and stared where Elvira came around the corner. When they made eye contact with me, I knew they had some questions.

  Yeah, if I tried to avoid them, they might make things worse by lurking around the Red Onion.

  I got out of the truck and waited for Elvira. Where had Sylvia gone? There was no telling. “Kory, you’re just the person we wanted to see.” Elvira pulled out her pencil from her gray bun. “Do you, by chance, have a second for a few questions?”

  “Of course. What’s going on?”

  She patted my shoulder. “Well, we saw there was a newbie in town. He asked if you were seeing anyone. Is there trouble on the horizon?”

  Oh shit, Landon asked about me. For a second, I wasn’t sure what to say, then recovered. “Oh, he’s just a friend I met. We’re meeting for lunch to catch up.”

  I gave her a placating smile, hoping she left the topic alone.

  Sylvia ran up to us, nearly out of breath. “I told you not to leave me, Elvira. I had to get my notebook out of the car.”

  “Well, Kory was about to go inside. And you know how Drake has told us we can’t harass his patrons.” She tilted her head. “Did you want me to lose the story?”

  Sylvia rolled her eyes and retrieved her pencil from the notebook around her neck. “Still… you should have waited.” Then they turned their attention on me. Sylvia beat Elvira by asking the first question. “So, no problems between you and Hayden?”

  I looked at Hayden, who got out of his truck and gave us a wink. “No, none. We’re going to go have lunch with a friend.”

  They giggled, following my gaze. Sylvia said, “He sure is smitten. Okay, Elvira, let’s head to the clinic. We need to let Hollis and Devney know they’re going to be a success story in our new matchmaking business.”

  Oh, geez. Matchmaking? I wasn’t getting into that now. Hayden must have heard because his shoulders shook with laughter.

  “Good luck with Hollis and Devney. Do you have any other questions?”

  Elvira finished jotting something down. “I think we’re good. We’re going to go get this newsletter out.”

  “Sounds good.”

  They scurried off, talking a mile a minute. A matchmaking business? Heaven help the town of Skagway.

  I entered the Red Onion. A few patrons were scattered about, but other than that, it was fairly empty. Normally the smell of the food here was welcome, but right now my stomach was in knots.

  The man I’d seen at the hangar earlier sat at the bar. He glanced my way, and I still wasn’t able to place where I’d seen him. It was bothering me, and I searched my mind for people I knew who were associated with Landon. I couldn’t remember a time I had been with him or his family when this man had been there.

  Landon stood and interrupted my thoughts. His green eyes were calculating even as he gave me a soft smile. Until today, I hadn’t noticed how ruthless he seemed. It was hard to keep a smile on my face, but somehow, I managed. My instincts screamed at me to not go to him. I had to force one foot in front of the other.

  I loathed him. I loathed everything about him. I especially hated what he stood for.

  As I got closer to him, the smell of his cologne made my stomach roll. It was smooth yet potent. “It’s good to see you, Kory.” He gently touched my elbow and pressed his fingers into my skin.

  It was a possessive touch that put me on edge. I paused, saying nothing but simply staring, and he released me. I managed a smile and put a little distance between us. “It’s good to see you, too.”

  “You look beautiful. More beautiful than I remember.”

  I hadn’t expected him to be that forward. “Oh… umm… thank you.”

  I took the seat across from where Landon stood and was surprised when he moved to sit next to me. This was beginning to make me a little uncomfortable, but I needed to press forward.

  Drake approached the table. “Can I get you something to eat?”

  Landon looked at his watch. “Yes, two burgers with fries. One medium rare and one medium well. Add extra ketchup on the medium well one. That’ll be all, thank you.”

  What the hell? It was creepy that he knew how I took my burger. It was getting a little hot, and I sipped the ice water in front of me.

  Drake stared at Landon. Hard. Then he said, “Order coming right up. It’s good to see you, Kory. I don’t think I know your friend.”

  I waved my hand through the air dismissively. “This is Landon. He’s a friend from back home. He thought he’d drop by on his way back to Washington.”

  “Well, enjoy Skagway. I’ll have the burgers out in a few.”

  It was unlike Landon to be so rude and ignore Drake. He checked his watch again; there was definitely something else on his mind.

  “So, tell me about this place. What made you pick Skagway? Was it the guy you are seeing?” There was a slight bite to his tone.

  Something was off, but I couldn’t place it. My head began to throb as the headache came back with a vengeance. A fog settled into the corners of my consciousness, and my skin grew warmer. I felt like I was growing numb. I tried to respond, but whatever I’d wanted to say seemed less important than it had a few minutes ago. “I… umm… I…”

  Words were hard to sort through as the fog rolled in faster. What’s going on? I was supposed to do something if I felt uncomfortable. Am I feeling uncomfortable?

  Landon leaned in closer to me. “Kory, I want you to take a drink.”

  Without another thought, I picked up my glass and took a drink.

  “Good girl. I want you to tell me you’re ready to go home to Washington.”

  Like a robot, I responded, “I’m ready to go home to Washington.”

  “Good girl.” He nodded, leaning even closer. “I’m going to make you my queen. You’ll want for nothing. I’ve wanted you for as long as I can remember.”

  I stared at him, trying to make sense of what he was saying. Queen? I knew I wanted to stay here, but I couldn’t voice my thoughts. Or maybe I wanted to go.

  He checked his watch again and then reached across the table. “When I tell you, we’re going to get up. You’re going to come with me. Understood? No questions.”

  “Understood.” It felt like I had no control over anything, and I just had to listen to everything Landon said to me.

  “Good girl. It’s time for all the games to end. You belong by my side.”

  There were loud bangs all around. I tried to move, but Landon grabbed my arm. “Come, Kory.”

  I stood and followed him outside. Something was wrong with me. I wanted to scream out for someone to help me, but the words never came. My body refused to listen to me. The fog rolled in thicker, heavier, weig
hing me down. It brought the darkness. The woozy feeling was taking over.

  Landon put his arm around me. “The dose I gave you might have been too strong. There’s a medical bag on board. Stay with me a little longer, Kory.”

  The words meant nothing to me, and I fought to stay awake. My eyelids felt heavy. I wanted to fight, but I couldn’t. My body wasn’t my own anymore. As we cleared the door, I took big gulps of air, trying to fight off whatever was happening to me.

  “Take her. She’ll be out in the next five minutes. We need to get her to the plane for treatment. Do you have a car?”

  Treatment?

  “Yes, it’s around the corner. I hot-wired one that was parked just outside of town.”

  “Good, let’s go.”

  My legs left the ground, and I was in someone’s arms. Who’s holding me? Before I could turn my head to look, the alley door burst open. Hayden came out holding a gun. Why is there a gun? What’s happening? Nothing was making sense. “You’re not taking her.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Over my dead body,” Hayden responded.

  Landon pulled something out of his pocket. “That can be arranged.”

  Hayden took a step closer.

  “If you shoot me, this man will kill her.” The grip on me tightened, and I moaned. He was hurting me.

  We lurched back a couple of steps. A dog growled. Then a deep, raspy voice came out of nowhere. “Not if he has a knife to his throat, motherfucker.”

  Kane. That has to be Kane.

  It took too much effort to look his way. Hayden cocked his gun. “Put. Her. Down.”

  My head became heavier, and it was getting harder to breathe. None of this made sense. I wanted to panic, but the world was closing in on me too fast. What’s happening? Who’s holding me? Why is Hayden yelling? I was too tired to fight anymore, and I let my eyelids close.

  “Kory, are you okay? Kory? What did you to do her, asshole?”

  Through the fog, I could make out the sounds of sirens. Pain shot through my head, and the darkness finally claimed me.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven