Admiration glinted. “Good for you.”
Ten minutes later, they were seated in a booth. She said, “It’s a good thing you made reservations. I think the whole town turned out here.”
“I figured it would be like this.”
Conversation flowed and Holly managed to relax and enjoy it in spite of the meeting with Alex. He must have decided to leave because she never saw him enter the place.
The steak had never tasted better and Holly didn’t want the evening to end.
She took a sip of tea and leaned back to sigh. “I’m stuffed.”
Eli set his fork on his plate. “I know the feeling.” He nodded in the direction of Buckeye and his daughter. “They came in a little while ago.”
Holly smiled at the man who waved back. Then his brow furrowed and he said something to his daughter who nodded. Buckeye rose and approached their table.
“Eli, I forgot to tell you, you had a phone call today from a Captain Longworth.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, said to tell you congratulations.”
A sick look came over Eli’s face and Holly wondered who this captain was.
Buckeye rubbed his chin. “Asked me to tell you that the decision about the position you interviewed for had been made and you got the job. Said he’d call you back with details, but wanted you to know.”
Holly’s heart splintered into a million tiny pieces. Eli would leave again. This time she knew she’d never be able to put her heart back together again.
Eli’s eyes met hers and he opened his mouth to speak, but the shattering pain coursing through her didn’t want to hear it. She shoved her chair back and grabbed her purse.
Without a word, she walked from the restaurant, eyes straight ahead refusing to let the tears fall. She heard him call her name, but knew she could be well on the way down the road and out of sight by the time he paid the bill and got in his truck.
Five minutes later, a car pulled up beside her and at first, fear flooded her, then she saw who it was.
“Holly?” her lawyer asked through the open window. “You need a ride?”
“Hi, Mr. Parker. Yes, that would be great. Thanks.” Now let Eli find her and try to schmooze her with his numerous excuses. No, thanks. The tears threatened to rival the waterfall at the top of the mountain. Sheer willpower kept them at bay.
“Where are you headed?”
“Home.”
“Are you okay?”
“Not really, but I don’t want to talk about it if that’s all right.”
“Sure.”
He fell silent and Holly watched the scenery roll by. How could she have been so stupid? But he’d seemed sincere. Had even talked about God like he knew Him.
Doubt hit her. Had she jumped to conclusions? Had it been fair to just leave without giving him a chance to explain? But memories of his past actions had assailed her in vivid detail. And the pain. Wow, had anything ever hurt that much? Very few things in her life had caused her that much pain. The death of her dad and her mother’s cancer.
Eli’s betrayal.
They passed the turnoff to her house. “Hey, Mr. Parker, you missed the turn.”
“Oh, sorry.”
He kept driving. Finally, she demanded, “What are you doing?”
The man sighed. “I’m taking you to meet someone.”
“What?” she cried. “I don’t want to meet with anyone. I want to go home!”
“Sorry, Holly, but some very important business needs to be taken care of and you have to be there.”
* * *
Eli couldn’t believe she’d just walked out him. He gunned the truck and searched the darkness. She couldn’t have gone far. His cell phone rang and Eli snatched it, hoping it was Holly.
It was Ken, his buddy in New York. “Hey, thanks for getting back to me. What have you got for me?”
“Sorry it took so long. As soon as I sat down to run your plate, Captain came in and sent me off on a case. Anyway, I’ve got a company. The car is registered to Patrick Zimmerman.”
“Right, I knew that. Got anything else?”
“He works for Transcross Realty. Real skinny kind of guy.”
A thought struck him. “Who’s the owner of Transcross Realty, anyway?”
“I thought you might want that information. Transcross is owned by two men. Alexander Harwood, Sr. and Patrick Zimmerman. They’ve gotten into the resort business and are busy buying up property all over the place. They really seem to be focusing on North Carolina.”
“Harwood?”
“Yeah, why? You know the name?”
“I sure do.”
Eli thanked Ken and hung up, his mind churning the information even as his eyes scanned the road for Holly. Worry hit him. Where could she be?
He tried her cell phone. It went straight to voice mail. Had she known he’d call and turned her phone off? Or had something else happened?
He called her house, hoping to get her mother. Voice mail picked up.
Now he really was concerned.
Alexander Harwood, Sr. was Alex’s father. And the man was a co-owner with Transcross Realty. Transcross Realty wanted Holly’s property.
His worry mounting by the minute, he called the sheriff’s office and asked for Alex.
“He’s not here, Eli,” Alice said.
“Do you know how I can reach him? It’s kind of an emergency.”
“I can try him on his cell phone.”
“Great.”
“Hold on a minute. If he answers, I’ll patch you through.”
Within a minute Alice was back on the line. “He’s not answering, which is really strange. He almost always answers his cell.”
“Give me Joel, would you?”
“Sure, hold on again.”
This time the next voice Eli heard was Joel’s. “What can I do for you, Eli?”
“I think Holly may be in trouble.”
“Holly? Again? What is it this time?”
“Can you track the sheriff’s car? He’s not answering his cell phone and I’m thinking he may be in trouble, too.” No sense in explaining he thought Alex might actually be the cause of Holly’s problems.
“What? Well, sure, we’ve got GPS systems in all of the cars. Just because we’re not big-city New York doesn’t mean we’re small-time technology.”
“Good. I’m heading out to Holly’s place just to check, but I need to know where Alex is. It’s very important. Might even be life and death important.”
A pause, then, “All right, if it’s that crucial, give me a minute and I’ll tell you where the car is.”
“Thanks.” Eli hung on and listened to dead air as he drove to Holly’s house.
The cop car was gone.
Not good. He ran to the door and knocked. “Mrs. Maddox? Are you in there?”
No answer.
He peered in the nearest window. Nothing.
A nudge on his leg nearly made him jump out of his skin.
“Duster.”
Absently, Eli gave the canine’s head a pat and looked around. Nothing seemed out of place. Except the police cruiser was gone. Foreboding chilled him.
Then Joel was back on the line. “I’m getting a signal from Alex’s car. It looks like it’s up near that cabin of his. I tried to raise him on the radio and his cell and got nothing. I’m going to call Harley and the two of us will head up that way, too.”
“I’ll meet you there.”
* * *
When the lawyer pulled in front of the cabin owned by Alex Harwood, Holly’s foreboding tripled. “What are you doing, Mr. Parker? Why does Alex want to meet with me?”
Through the leafless trees, she could see down into her sweeping backyard. She thought she could see Duster chasing something.
The man waved a hand. “Just go inside, will you?”
Holly sat back and crossed her arms. “No, I won’t. Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
A frustrated groan escaped him. “Get out,
now.”
Her door opened. “Welcome to the party, Holly.”
She swung her gaze around and up to see Alex leaning on the door. The faint sound of the waterfall rushed in the background. “Alex? Do you have some answers to all this craziness? I’ve practically been kidnapped. Now, what’s going on?” she asked once again.
“Get inside.”
“Look, I’m getting really tired of…” Alex grabbed her arm in a bruising grip. Holly cried out and stumbled in the direction he pushed her.
Holly grabbed the offended area on her arm and stared at Alex. Cold chips of ice stared back at her. Real fear hit her. He was deadly serious.
Behind him, she saw Duster stop and stare up the mountain. The he took off toward her. He’d heard her cry.
Swinging her gaze back to Alex, she stuffed down her fear. So, it had been him all along. “You were the one who was scaring me to death?”
He snorted. “Apparently I wasn’t doing a very good job. You were supposed to come running to me for protection. You didn’t, so I had to come up with a plan B.”
Holly just stared at him. “What do you want from me?”
“Your land. Pure and simple. Developed right, it’s worth millions.” His eyes narrowed and she shivered. “If you had just agreed to keep dating, we could have been married by now and all this would never have had to happen.”
“You’re not my type,” she spat.
His hand shot out and caught her across the jaw. So shocked, she couldn’t even scream as the pain raced up the back of her neck and radiated from her cheek and jaw.
Oh, God, do something!
“Get her in here,” he ordered the lawyer. Mr. Parker looked stunned at Alex’s physical violence.
She decided she’d have to appeal to him for help. “Mr. Parker, come on, you’ve known me all my life. My mother trusts you….”
“Shut up.” Alex grabbed her arm and shoved her once more. This time, she made it through the door. Duster burst in right after her to plant himself against her left leg.
She heard Alex mutter, but he didn’t do anything to the dog. Then the sight of her mother lying on the sofa brought her to a screeching halt. All thought of her own pain left her. “Mom!”
She rushed to the woman’s side and grabbed her hand.
“She’s just resting comfortably.”
Holly whirled, rage and terror battling it out inside her. “What did you do to her?” she demanded.
“She’ll be fine. She was so nice when I stopped by to inquire about all of the strange things going on with you. Seems she didn’t have a clue about them. When she invited me in for a cup of coffee to discuss the danger you were in, I told the officer on duty to take a break and sat down to chat with your mother.”
“What drug did you use?”
“A couple of sleeping pills. I thought I might have to force them down her throat, but like I said, she was very obliging. Dropped them in her coffee when she turned to get the cream.” Holly didn’t think it was possible, but his eyes turned even colder. “She’ll be fine as long as you follow directions.”
Fury bubbled up inside her and she stared at his gun, wondering if she even had a chance to get it.
Then he laughed, obviously reading her thoughts. “Don’t even think about it.”
Turning back to her mother, Holly saw that she did indeed look like she was just in a peaceful deep sleep. Her chest rose and fell with each breath.
So, her mother would sleep through this and hopefully be back in her bed when she awoke, attributing her nap to recovering from chemo.
“What do you want me to do?” she asked in a low voice, even as her mind scrambled for a plan.
Alex snapped his fingers at the lawyer who stood cowering in the corner. “Give her the papers.”
With a trembling hand, Jarrod Parker reached inside his coat and pulled out a handful of papers. He shoved them at Alex, then stepped back, eyes darting between Holly and Alex.
The sheriff slapped the papers and a pen down in front of her. “You did me a real favor running out on ole Eli tonight. I told Jarrod to get over there to that restaurant, get you alone and tell you your mother needed you ASAP. Now, sign them.”
Sign away her land? Her home?
She looked at her mother and took a deep breath. If that’s what it took to get her mom home safe, then…
Holly picked up the pen.
Duster settled at her feet, lifted his head and whined. She shushed him. “Am I at least getting paid for the land?”
“As soon as you sign, the money will be wired to your account.” He grinned, a feral splitting of his lips. “All nice and legal-like.”
Her mind clicked along. Did he really think she was that dumb? “And then you kill me and my mother, make it look like an accident that you’ll investigate and get off scot-free. Not to mention get your money back somehow.”
His chin jerked like she’d punched him and she saw the truth stamped on his face before he wiped it clean.
Alex took a deep breath and pulled his gun. “Sign the papers, Holly, or I’ll blow her away right now.”
Holly jumped up, pointed at Alex, and yelled, “Dust it up, boy!”
Duster bolted to his feet and planted himself on top of Alex, his big body knocking the man backward. She heard the gun land with a thump and Mr. Parker holler.
Holly scrambled for the gun, elbowing the lawyer in his chest. He fell back and she tripped when he grabbed her ankle, her fingers skimming the barrel of the weapon. Kicking out with her other foot, she caught the wrist of the hand that held her and with a cry of pain, he released her. Holly rolled to her feet and flew out the door while Duster still had Alex distracted.
She was hedging her bets that Alex wouldn’t kill her mother until he had Holly back under his control. He needed the woman as leverage. Which meant she had to get away and stay out of his hands. Sheer terror shot through her, adrenaline pumping her legs toward the waterfall.
A gunshot rang out and she flinched, expecting to feel the piercing pain of a bullet entering her flesh.
She felt nothing so kept running, sending up desperate prayers for everyone’s safety.
This was her one chance. She had no doubt that if Alex captured her again, she and her mother were dead.
Tripping and stumbling through the woods, her goal was the waterfall. She could hide there until Alex gave up.
Then she could go for help. She had to make it work. Her mother needed this to work.
Fear made her weak, but she pushed through it.
Another thought hit her. Alex couldn’t let her escape no matter what. She knew too much. But her mother didn’t.
If Holly died, the land would revert back to her mother.
And Alex would convince the woman to sign the papers. He’d use her grief against her and easily persuade her that selling was the best thing.
So that meant Alex would be shooting to kill.
Her death, investigated by him, could possibly be explained away by a stray bullet. Poachers she’d accidentally come across. Anything he came up with would be accepted because he was the sheriff.
But Eli knew.
Eli would investigate her death—until Alex killed him, too.
Eli. Oh how she wished she’d stayed and listened to him.
Duster shot ahead of her.
Oh, no, had the dog led Alex along her path? Surely, he’d run too fast for Alex to keep up.
Another shot rang out and a bullet kicked up the dirt in front of her.
Panting, gasping, she added what little extra burst she could to her feet and shot forward. Duster hit the cold water of the shallow part of the river that led to the waterfall. He yelped and scrambled out. Holly stopped at the edge and bent double at the stitch in her side. She stumbled to the edge of the river, desperate to catch her breath and keep going at the same time. She’d either have to cross the river or go down the side of the falls.
The water was too cold, she’d go into shock and su
ffer hypothermia. Backing away from the river, she knew it would have to be the side of the waterfall.
Just as she headed for the edge to climb down, something knocked against her and she hit the freezing water face-first.
CHAPTER TEN
Eli heard the second gunshot and fear for Holly grabbed his heart.
Joel was already at the cabin, climbing out of his car. Eli’s window was down and Joel approached him, frowning. “I still can’t get the sheriff on the line.”
“I think Alex is the one behind all this. Don’t let the man catch you off guard.” Eli jumped out of the car, his gun in hand, ignoring Joel’s shocked stare. Then he stopped, turned back. “I mean it, Joel, I have proof.”
Joel’s jaw clenched, he hesitated then nodded.
The door to the cabin stood open and Eli approached it with care. The shot had come from his left, but he had to check the interior of the building first.
Stepping in, he saw Jarrod Parker leaning over Holly’s mother, who sat on the edge of the couch, rubbing her eyes.
“Freeze, Parker. Where’s Holly?”
The man spun around and raised his hands when he saw Eli’s gun. “I didn’t know what he was going to do. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
Joel stepped forward. “We’ll figure that out later. Where’s Alex and Holly?”
“I don’t know. Holly sicced her dog on Alex and then ran out the door.” The man’s throat bobbed and sweat poured from his brow. “I didn’t know what he was doing, I swear I didn’t. I…I think he’s going to kill her.”
Eli bolted from the cabin yelling behind him, “I’m going after Holly. Get a doctor out here for Mrs. Maddox.”
Not bothering to wait and see if his orders were followed, Eli took off, his feet pounding the hard earth. Absently, he registered the snow that had started to fall while he’d been in the cabin. Wind whipped around him, digging under his collar and stinging his neck. His eyes searched the ground and saw the scuffed earth heading in the direction of the trees.
Where would she go?
Distant barking reached his ears as did the sound of the rushing waterfall. Duster?
Gun held in front of him, Eli headed for the waterfall. A siren sounded behind him and when he looked back, he could see two other cruisers pulling up to the house.
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