At first I thought it was a piece of folded paper that had been carried on the wind from somewhere. But when I reached it my heart began to thump. I didn’t pick it up, didn’t want to touch it. I backed away with my hands cupping my mouth, unable to breathe. I inhaled deeply and released the breath in a scream.
I stumbled down the path, almost tripping, but the image of the fresh snow-white calla lily loomed in my mind.
Grace and Dustin heard my screams before I reached the house and they burst out the door. I collapsed on the front steps, panting, my heart nearly exploding inside my chest.
They waited until I had calmed down, and then Dustin led me into the house. He asked me to sit at the kitchen table.
I explained to them what I saw and they looked at each other, perplexed. They obviously thought it was nothing.
“He did it to me once before. The first time I escaped… I found a calla lily on my breakfast tray at the inn where I was hiding. I had carried calla lilies on my wedding day.”
“It was a really windy morning. Are you sure the flower wasn’t swept onto the path somehow?” Dustin’s brow was knitted. “Randy and Marge have a big flower garden not far from here. Maybe—”
“If the wind had dropped it there, it would have been dirty. But it was clean and placed strategically on a small patch of grass.” I looked at Dustin with pleading eyes. “He’s close. I can feel it.” My words were a whisper now.
Dustin grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Do you want me to take you somewhere else that’s safe? We could leave right now.”
“No.” My body screamed yes. But my mind knew the truth. Wherever I went, he would find me. Running exhausted me. I was terrified to death, but I could be the bait that put Jude behind bars. “I don’t want to leave, but I do need some kind of protection.”
Five minutes later, Dustin had called Rimes, who promised to drive to the ranch as soon as possible to take a look at where I had found the flower and ask me a few more questions. In the meantime, one of his colleagues in Stony Creek would come to the ranch.
When I asked him for protection, he went through the process of applying for a protection order. The process sounded too complicated and time-consuming. Dustin, furious at how long the process could take, told Rimes he would personally hire a bodyguard to watch me.
After a few phone calls to a local security company, a burly man with a hunched back, thick black hair, and a thick mustache arrived. His name was Steve. For a moment he brought back memories of Nolan, Jude’s driver and bodyguard, but this man had a warmer look to his face and he smiled easily, even if he didn’t speak much. When he did speak, he had a mild British accent. He made me feel safe, not suffocated as I had been in Nolan’s presence.
Nothing else suspicious occurred in the week after Steve started the job, and I started thinking that maybe the flower had been a coincidence after all, but still I stayed on my guard, especially since the police still hadn’t located Jude. He could be anywhere, near or far. Out of desperation, I even tried calling the phone number that only the two of us knew, but apparently the number no longer existed.
Since no more prostitute deaths had been reported, I wanted to believe that maybe he had skipped the country, but I knew firsthand that his obsession ran too deep. He wouldn’t leave so easily. He was just hiding well until the police gave up, or he got closer to what he wanted most. Me.
Chapter Thirty
I sank my body into the bath and allowed the sudsy water to swallow me whole and the heat to seep into my skin. I leaned my head back and watched the flickering candles that rested on small wooden plates attached to thin chains hanging from the ceiling. The room was aglow with soft, soothing light.
To distract myself from thinking about the fact that it had been almost three weeks and the cops still hadn’t located Jude, I closed my eyes and thought of Dustin, remembering his kiss that night we went out with the guys. I felt a tingle down my spine. I still had strong feelings for him, feelings I pushed down because my life was just way too complicated right now. But he still cared for me.
“He’s never brought a woman here before,” Grace had said to me a few times. “You must really mean a lot to him.”
One thing was for sure. As soon as Jude was behind bars, I would start a new life—my own life. I would no longer be looked after by a man. I was even toying with the idea of signing up for art or photography classes. I could become a wedding photographer or something else fun. And of course I’d paint or sculpt. My heart warmed at the idea of being free to follow my bliss, to do all the things that made me happy without asking for anyone’s permission. I’d never willingly give my freedom away again. And when I was ready for a relationship, it would be with someone who gave me the space to be me, the space to breathe. Someone like Dustin.
I didn’t even realize I’d fallen asleep, but it must have been for a while because when I opened my eyes, they felt heavy and the water had cooled. I climbed out of the bath and wrapped a large towel around my body, goose bumps appearing on my skin as the cool air hit it.
Ten minutes later I was lying on top of the sheets, trying to read, and wondering whether I should just change and go to sleep or wait for Dustin. I checked to see if he had called. It was Friday and he had gone out for a drink with the guys. He had been hesitant about leaving me, but I assured him I’d be okay. And Steve was downstairs doing his job.
There were three missed calls from Dustin and one text message.
I read the text first, but it was made up of a single word: Don’t.
I squinted as if I would be able to read the meaning that way. What did he mean by don’t? Maybe he had been in the process of writing the text and decided to call instead. But it was weird that he wasn’t home yet and it was almost eleven. He was always home by ten. I clicked on his name. I would just return his call, not ask him where he was. I wasn’t his wife and I didn’t want him to feel as if I was controlling him.
The call went straight to voicemail. I looked at the phone for a while, gazing at the text, still wondering what he had meant to write. And then I gave up and placed it next to me on the bed. I fell asleep immediately and was woken up about an hour later by sounds coming from downstairs. I figured it must be Dustin talking to Steve. It couldn’t be Grace, because she and Travis had planned to visit her niece for the weekend. And even if Grace were around, she wouldn’t come over so late.
I climbed out of bed and looked out the window. It was definitely Dustin. His truck was parked outside.
I heard banging noises, then a door slam. And then there was total silence.
Since I was awake, I decided I’d go downstairs to say goodnight to him. Even with Steve around, I felt safest around Dustin.
“Dustin?” I called as I went down the stairs, feeling the bare wood under my bare feet.
Most of the lights downstairs were on. Still calling his name, I checked his office first, then the kitchen, but he wasn’t there.
“Steve, is Dustin home?” I called as I went to the living room. The light was off. Was Steve outside? He usually went outside to smoke. But why would he switch off the light? I flicked it back on.
My blood ran cold and I cupped both hands to my mouth, stumbling back. “Jude…”
“Hi, darling. Surprised to see me?” he said, a grin spreading across his face. Then he took a swig straight from the bottle of alcohol he was carrying. He swiped the back of his hand across his mouth, then slammed the bottle against the coffee table.
This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t really be here, in Dustin’s living room.
“Don’t do it,” I whispered, my mouth dry.
Jude stood, his eyes narrowing to slits as he approached me. The smile didn’t leave his face. “What shouldn’t I do, sweetheart?”
A shiver of fear swept through me and I grabbed the railing. I didn’t have time to think. “No,” I said and bolted for the front door. No way would I be stuck in a house with a man who wanted to murder me. Outside I had more
space to run. Dustin and Steve were obviously not inside, but they were probably somewhere on the ranch. They would hear my screams.
He was faster than me, and my legs were shaking too hard. He grabbed me by the hair and pressed his mouth to my ear, his breath hot and tinged with alcohol. “I don’t have time for games, Haley.” He yanked my head back and slammed it into the front door. My breath shot out of my lungs and white pain flashed in front of my eyes. When I tried to inhale, a rag was pressed against my mouth and nose. He was knocking me out, and I could do nothing to stop him.
Chapter Thirty-One
The urge to vomit was so strong my body lurched forward, my stomach muscles contracting to push up the bile, my throat opening to let it gush through. But nothing came out. My body continued to jerk forward. That was when I noticed a familiar pressure on my wrists and ankles. I was bound.
Fear coursed like liquid fire through my veins and my eyes flew open. I blinked several times, trying to clear the clouds from my mind. I gritted my teeth as I tried to pull my hands—which were behind me—apart, to no avail. I sucked in a breath, filling my lungs with the faint, sweet smell of hay that was ever present in the barn.
“Don’t even try.” His voice sounded different from the one I used to know, the one I had fallen in love with. It was gritty and angry now.
My heart bruised. He had finally found me and I hadn’t seen it coming.
I lifted my head and it screamed with pain. It lolled from one side to the other before I managed to hold it upright. My mouth felt dry and my tongue too large inside my mouth. I licked my lips and tasted blood. I instantly remembered the impact of my forehead against the wood. “How?” So many questions raced through my mind. How did he even manage to drag me all the way to the barn with no one noticing? Where was Steve? Where was Dustin?
“How I found you?” He was sitting on the floor near the door of the barn, with the door closed behind him. He looked different. He wore a beard now and his hair was longer, falling over his ears. He was stroking something that lay next to him. My heart contracted when I realized it was Hope, her eyes glued to me as if pleading for me to rescue her.
Anger surged inside my veins. “Don’t. Don’t hurt the animal.”
He said nothing for a while. Then he stood, opened the door, and pushed Hope outside. Through my fear, I breathed a sigh of relief.
He locked the door with a key he produced from his pocket. “I installed this lock earlier today and no one even noticed.” He slipped the key back into his pocket and leaned against the door. He stroked his beard. “I could have found you a long time ago, but I thought you would be reasonable and return by choice. I’ve been on this ranch for quite a while. But you were too blind to see it.” He laughed, the sound low and dusty. “The flower I left in your path was one of my genius moves, wasn’t it?”
“What?” My lips moved, but my heart was beating so loudly in my ears, I hardly heard my own voice.
“After all this time, you still don’t really know me, do you?” He shrugged. “Okay, I have a confession to make. The new ranch hand… Gary? Yeah, that was me. It’s amazing what a bushy beard, contact lenses, and a wig can do.”
My body froze and my mind numbed as I registered his confession. He was around all this time, watching me? “How could you do this?”
“I have another confession to make.” His lips twisted into a cruel smile. “Your trusted bodyguard, Steve, was actually Nolan. He’s an amazing actor. Just like me, his brother. Of course, the guy who did our makeup takes most of the credit.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. My knees were shaking. Steve was actually Nolan? And Nolan was Jude’s brother all along, pretending to be his chauffeur? Was I really that blind? Or was I just stupid?
I raised my chin and squared my shoulders. No, I refused to beat myself up because of Jude’s cruelty. That was what he wanted and he would not get it from me. Not anymore. “You’re a very sick man. You disgust me. I know you killed those prostitutes… those innocent women. You make me sick.” I spoke the words with all the hate and disgust I could muster.
“Those women were dirty whores.” His voice was calm. “Just like you were, before I gave you a shot at a new life.”
My heart rose and then crashed. “They were human beings, with families and…”
“No,” he said coolly, pushing away from the door and coming to tower over me. “They were tools to help me get you back.”
I shrank back into my chair, clenching and unclenching my fists behind me.
“I warned you, Haley. Time and time again, I warned you that if you betrayed me, people will get hurt.” He sucked air in through his teeth and jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Want to know something else?”
I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t even breathe.
He lowered himself at my feet and placed his hands on my trembling knees, his fingernails digging into my skin. His face was so close to my face that I smelled the alcohol on his breath. “Want to know when I killed the first one?”
I blinked. I could do nothing else. Having him so close made me ache with dread.
His face creased into a sadistic smile. “The day you told me my love was suffocating you.” He blinked. “That’s right. The day you insulted my love for you, I went out and fucked and killed another woman, to keep me from murdering you. People got hurt because of your stupidity and refusal to obey me. It’s all on you. You make me do things I don’t want to do.” He closed his eyes as though in pain, then opened them again. They were dark and empty.
I felt sick again as my mind transported me back to that day. The day I thought he was still human and not a monster, when I thought he was my husband. He had disappeared for hours. Who would have thought that out of anger, my husband would go out and kill someone? It almost felt like a joke, or the plot of a movie. Things like that didn’t happen in real life. Or did they, and we were just too blind to see? Too afraid to look evil straight in the face?
I curled my lips and spat into his face. “You sick bastard.” I moved from side to side, struggling to free myself even though I knew it would not work, that I’d only be hurting myself. “I hope you burn in hell.”
His hand shot out and slapped me hard across the face. I winced but refused to look away. I looked deep into his dark, cloudy eyes. I held his gaze. I wanted him to see the hate brewing in mine. I had been afraid of him for a long time, but right now, in this moment, the fear was overridden by anger. If my hands were free, I would have lunged for him, done my best to claw his eyes out.
“Haley, Haley.” He sneered and stood up. “You disappoint me. That’s not the way you talk to your husband. Don’t you ever learn? After everything, you’re still acting like a bitch.”
“You’re not my husband.” My lips trembled with each word. “I hate you with everything in me. You will not get away with this. It’s only a matter of time before someone notices I’m missing and comes looking for me. My bet is, they will bring the police.”
“Are you talking about your boyfriend?” His voice was loaded now. “The man you’ve been fucking for God knows how long? Dustin Brannon. I should have known the bastard was not to be trusted.”
“Don’t talk about him that way,” I spat. “He’s a better man than you could ever be.”
His face creased with fury. “The photo of you in the paper, a few phone calls, and a simple search for a high school yearbook online. Who would have thought you two went to high school together?” He shrugged. “Well, it was a no-brainer after that. Once I figured out that he had helped you escape, I knew what I had to do. It wasn’t hard tracking him down. The locals of this shit town were pretty friendly. Imagine my luck when I was told he was looking for a ranch hand.”
Oh my God. Dustin’s truck had been outside; I’d seen it through the window. He must have come home. Sudden fear hit me like a brick wall and my heart started to race. “Where is he? What did you do to him?”
“He gave me a lift from the pub, bu
t he had no idea tonight would be the night I revealed myself. Where is he? I put a bullet through his head. He must have bled out by now.” He sighed. “I doubt he’ll make it.”
Tears sprang to my eyes and gushed down my cheeks in streams. “Oh my God… oh my God…”
“Shhhh,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you say goodbye to him. Maybe he’s still hanging on to life. But I doubt it. I wanted to have a little chat with you first, make sure we’re on the same page. “He stood, made a half-turn, and swept his hand around. “Romantic place to bond, isn’t it?” He thrust the hand through his hair. “Well, my genius plan is this: After we talk a little about our future, we’ll go back to the house and I’ll cut his throat while you’re watching. Just to make sure he’s gone for good and won’t meddle in our lives again. After that, you and me, husband and wife, will be out of here and on our way to a new life in Africa. Nolan is already busy making arrangements. He’ll pick us up when we’re ready.”
I was gasping for breath now and couldn’t stop crying. Dustin’s lifeless face filled my mind. I couldn’t believe he had to die like this, and because of me.
“You know, after what you did, I’d love to just strangle you right now, but I love you too much, Haley. I love you so much that I’m giving you yet another chance. But if you try to walk away from me again, I’ll strangle you and chop your body up into little pieces. Then I’ll put them in a blender. No one will ever find you.”
I squeezed my eyes tight to try pull myself together. As much as I wanted to grieve for Dustin, I feared crying for another man would just antagonize Jude. “Why are you doing this, Jude? Why me? Why don’t you just move on with someone else? You can have any woman you want.”
“Not anymore I can’t. I can’t go back to the life I had before, the life you ruined. And I won’t be able to find the woman I want, the woman I need. Not one with your kind of blood flowing through her veins.”
Dangerous Intentions (His Agenda 2) Page 10