Hidden Threat

by Connie Mann

  Buzz cleared his throat. “You’ve made some good changes here, Cole. Brought the place into the future, instead of leaving it in the past the way Hank wanted it. I resented that at first—loyalty to him, I guess—but you’re doing the right thing. I wanted you to know that.”

  If the man had suddenly sprouted a ballerina tutu and done a pirouette, Cole would have been less shocked. “I appreciate that.”

  “I also wanted to say that I’ve got a little put by I’d be happy to lend while you get this place back on its feet.”

  Cole couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Buzz wanted to help him? “I, ah, don’t know what to say.”

  “Just accept it. Don’t let pride ruin your life, too.”

  Well, that was putting it bluntly, wasn’t it? His pride did have him wanting to turn it down, but instead, he smiled. “Then I’ll say thank you. I hope it won’t come to that, but if it does, I will take you up on it.”

  “Fair enough.” Buzz leaned back on the railing, but his hands were fidgeting, and Cole figured he still had something else on his mind, though he couldn’t imagine what.

  “I heard your mother is moving to town.”

  “That’s what she said.”

  “She’s a strong, lovely woman, your mother. I’m glad to see her doing something for herself for a change.”

  Cole raised an eyebrow. Interesting. Buzz fidgeted some more, and suddenly, Cole knew. “You interested in my mother, Buzz?”

  The man’s head whipped around, wariness in his eyes. “She’s a fine woman any man would be proud to know.”

  “And are you one of those men?”

  Buzz straightened and met his gaze head-on. “I realize I don’t need your permission, and I haven’t mentioned it to her yet, but I’d like to court your mother. I’d rather you were on board with it, but it won’t make a difference either way.”

  Cole grinned. This was the Buzz he knew. He thought about it and realized they’d be good for each other. He clapped the other man on the shoulder. “If she’ll have an ornery old cuss like you, then more power to you. I just want her to be happy.”

  Buzz nodded and turned back toward the bunkhouse. Cole stayed out there for another hour, letting the sounds of his harmonica drift over the paddock, bringing a few minutes of peace.

  But it disappeared when he called Eve’s cell phone again, and still got her voice mail.

  He finally went into the house and paced, too worried to sleep. He debated calling Sasha, but didn’t want to worry all the Martinellis.

  Eve was probably just ticked off at him and wasn’t answering.

  But he couldn’t shake the feeling it was more than that. He climbed in his truck and drove into town, then out to the Martinellis’ marina and back to the ranch, just in case she’d had car trouble somewhere along the way, but there was no sign of her. Unsure what else to do, he sat on the porch the rest of the night and prayed she was all right.

  Blaze was in the kitchen at the marina attempting to scramble eggs for Pop and Mama when the house phone rang. Surprised at a call at seven forty-five in the morning, she grabbed the phone and tucked it between her ear and shoulder while she kept stirring the eggs.

  Thinking it had to be a telemarketer, she barked, “Martinellis’, who is this?”

  “Good morning. May I speak to Rosa Martinelli, please?” The voice was deep and male and vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place it.

  “Who’s calling?”

  “A friend. Mrs. Martinelli, please. It’s about her daughter.”

  All the blood in Blaze’s veins turned to ice. “Which daughter?”

  A long-suffering sigh came from the other end. “Please get Mrs. Martinelli.”

  Mama shuffled into the room, using the cane Sasha had bought her. Just until she was steadier on her feet, they said, but the sight of it worried Blaze. Made her wonder if things were worse than they were saying, if they were trying to keep stuff from her again, like she were some little kid.

  Mama kissed her cheek, then motioned for her to hand over the phone. “This is Rosa Martinelli. Who is calling, please?”

  Blaze moved closer, trying to listen, but she couldn’t hear what was being said. However, watching what little color Mama had in her cheeks drain away had Blaze reaching out to support her. She guided Mama to a chair at the table and eased her into it.

  Mama listened for several more minutes, then said, “Thank you for letting me know. We will be right there.”

  She just sat there holding the receiver, so Blaze eased it from her limp fingers and put it back in its cradle on the wall. “What’s wrong?”

  Mama shoved to her feet, her shock giving way to a determination Blaze knew well. “We need to get to Sutton Ranch, right away. He said Eve is in trouble.”

  Blaze stiffened. “What kind of trouble?”

  “He didn’t say. He just said I should come right away.”

  “Who said? Cole?”

  “No. I don’t think so. I’m not sure.” She grabbed Blaze’s hands, her grip tighter than Blaze would have thought her capable of. “We have to go. Now.”

  “Let me get Pop. He’s down at the bait shop.”

  “No. Leave him be. I don’t want to worry him. Get Sasha.”

  Blaze shook her head. “Can’t. She and Jesse had to go to Tampa today, remember?”

  Mama nodded. “Then you will drive me. Let’s go.”

  Blaze started to remind her that she didn’t have a license yet, but decided now was not the time. Something about this whole thing didn’t feel right. “Give me just a minute, OK?”

  She turned off the burner, then ducked into her room and called Eve’s cell phone. It went right to voice mail. She didn’t have Cole’s cell number, so she dialed the ranch, but the phone just rang and rang.

  Heart pounding, trying to figure out the right thing to do, she dialed Nick Stanton. Surely their cop brother could offer some help. Instead of reaching him, though, the robotic voice said, “We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable.”

  Which Blaze had learned meant that the caller was out of cell range. She would have to try again in a while.

  She pulled on her tennis shoes and, at the last second, reached into the back of her underwear drawer and pulled out the knife she hadn’t needed since she arrived at the marina. But she wasn’t taking any chances with her family.

  She hurried back into the kitchen and tried to curb her impatience as she helped Mama slowly shuffle down the steps and finally get settled in the front seat of her big barge of a Buick. Blaze climbed into the driver’s seat, inserted the key, and prayed like she hadn’t prayed in a very long time.

  Please let Eve be OK. Please.

  Chapter 33

  Eve came awake slowly, unsure where she was. Her head pounded like someone was beating it with a big stick, and the sunlight piercing her eyes made her slam her lids closed again.

  It must be morning. But where was she? How did she get here?

  The throbbing in her head brought it all back in terrifying color. She’d been at Blackwell Farms and had gotten hit from behind—hence the pounding head. Then she’d been tied up and tossed into a pond, along with a gator, of all things.

  Eve felt a moment’s pride at the way she’d escaped the huge creature—Thank you, God—but it was short-lived. What happened after that? How had she gotten here?

  Everything in her head felt fuzzy, and she couldn’t sort it out, couldn’t make sense of the simplest things.

  But two things were abundantly clear: she had to get out of here, and she had to do it quick.

  Cole walked out of the barn and into the morning sunlight as he checked his phone again. Still nothing from Eve. His anxiety crept higher with every minute. He tried to call again, and it went right to voice mail.

  “Look, Eve. Just let me know you’re OK.” That came out harsher than he meant it to, so he added, “Please.”

  Something wasn’t right. He dialed Sasha’s number, but it, too, wen
t right to voice mail. He decided to drive out to the marina. Maybe she just wanted some space to think and he was acting like a crazy man, but every instinct screamed there was more to it. So he’d go, confirm with his own eyes that she was in fact fine, and then he could get on with his day.

  And his life.

  He turned and almost ran smack into Leon. “Morning, Leon. When did you get here? I thought you had that tractor running like a clock when you left yesterday.”

  Leon nodded. “I did. She runs good as new, but I had a bit of unfinished business to attend to.”

  Puzzled, Cole studied the other man, the rigid way he held himself, the set of his jaw. “You know I’ll make good on the money, Leon. I won’t leave you hanging.”

  “You always make good on what you owe, Cole?” he asked.

  Cole narrowed his eyes at the question. “Of course. You know that.”

  “I don’t think I do. I think you’ve always done exactly what suited you and left others to clean up the mess.”

  Completely floored, Cole regarded Leon carefully. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “I’m sure you don’t. But you will. And you’ll finally get what’s coming to you.”

  “What? Look, Leon—”

  “No more talking. Get in the truck.”

  And with that, he pulled out a gun and aimed it right at Cole’s heart.

  Blaze couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so scared. Not only was she not that great at the whole driving thing yet, but Mama Rosa’s fear hovered in the air like a fog, making it hard to breathe and even harder to focus on where she was going.

  She almost missed the turn to Sutton Ranch and swung the wheel too fast, making the car skid on the gravel road. She straightened the wheel and overcorrected again, narrowly missing a fence post. “Sorry, sorry,” she muttered, clenching the wheel even tighter than she had been. Her hands were cramping, but she was afraid to take even one from the wheel for a second, for fear she would crash Mama’s huge car.

  “You are doing fine, Bethany. Just keep your eyes on what you are doing.”

  “Did they say what’s wrong with Eve?”

  “No. Only that we should come right away.”

  “Who called you?” she asked again.

  “I’m not sure. He only said he was from the ranch.”

  “It wasn’t Cole.” Why hadn’t he called them?

  Mama shook her head, her face even paler than usual under the colorful scarf she wore. “No, I don’t think it was Cole. But I’m sure he asked one of the men on the ranch to call us.”

  “Why didn’t Eve call us herself?”

  There was a long pause, during which all sorts of terrifying possibilities raced around in Blaze’s head.

  “I am not sure. But we will soon find out. He said to park over near the barn and meet him there.”

  Blaze turned the big boat of a Buick and tried to line it up next to two other pickup trucks, but it went in at an angle, so she backed up and tried again. Better. At least now there was enough room for Mama to get out of the passenger seat. But once she turned off the ignition, she looked around, and the instincts that had kept her alive while she lived on the road jumped back to life. Something was seriously wrong with this picture. She couldn’t say what, but she’d learned to trust her gut.

  She glanced over at Mama and saw her scanning the area around the buildings, a worried look on her face, so Blaze figured she felt it, too.

  “This doesn’t feel right.”

  Mama nodded, her hand on the door handle. “We will be careful. But Eve needs us.”

  Blaze grabbed her cell phone. “Let me try Nick again.”

  “Yes, Tony—I mean Nick—can help. He is a good policeman.”

  Blaze was already dialing, but he didn’t pick up. The good news, though, was that she didn’t get the out-of-area recording this time. When his voice instructed her to leave a message, she said, “This is Blaze Martinelli. We’re at Cole’s. We think Eve is in trouble.”

  Then Blaze hurried around the car and helped Mama climb out, one hand at her elbow.

  After she managed to rub her cheek against the dirt floor with enough force to loosen the gag, Eve frantically scanned the shed for something, anything, to cut the tape around her wrists and ankles, but she couldn’t spot anything, anywhere. She rolled over and managed to get up onto her knees. Wait. There. Would that work? But before she could inch her way across the shed to investigate the rusty tool, the door to the shed burst open and Leon barged in, a body draped over his shoulder.

  “Move, or I’ll drop him on top of you.”

  She rolled out of the way, and he dropped Cole down beside her with a thump that made her cry out. “What is the matter with you?”

  Leon’s dark eyes narrowed, and he reached over and retied the gag, tighter than before. Then he cocked his head to listen. “Stay put. I think the rest of our guests have arrived.”

  The minute the door closed behind him, Eve worked her way over to Cole, panic galloping through her at his stillness. She bumped him, but he didn’t respond. She tried again, but still nothing. Blood welled from a gash on his head, but he didn’t appear to be hurt anywhere else. Eve squirmed around far enough to put her ear to his chest and almost cried with relief. He was alive. Thank you, Jesus.

  While she tried to figure out a plan, Eve kept her head on his chest, listening to the beat of his heart and praying for whoever these other “guests” were.

  Although the terror sliding around in her belly told her she already knew.

  Leon was going after Mama Rosa and the rest of Eve’s family.

  Blaze and Mama made their way slowly toward the barn, and once they reached the big open door, Blaze stopped them and waited for their eyes to adjust. “Hello? Eve? Cole?”

  They waited, but all they heard was the shuffling of hooves and creak of harnesses. Blaze thought she heard a whisper of movement behind them, but when she spun around, there was no one there. Another shiver of apprehension slid down Blaze’s spine. Something was really, really wrong. “We should head back to the car and wait for Nick. Or Cole.”

  Mama shook her head, though her eyes reflected the same unease as Blaze’s. “Evie! Where are you?”

  There was no answer, but as Blaze tried to turn them back toward the car, a shadow suddenly loomed in front of them. Startled, she gasped and stepped back, almost knocking Mama down. “Sorry, Mama,” she said, trying to help them both regain their balance.

  Mama squinted against the sunlight streaming into the building. “Who are you? Where is my Evie?”

  “Now, now. Don’t go getting all worked up,” a male voice soothed.

  Blaze tried to place the voice, but before she could, Mama held a hand up above her eyes. “Leon Daughtry? Is that you?”

  “Yes, ma’am, Mrs. Martinelli.”

  “Where is my daughter? Are you the one who called me? What’s happening?”

  “Easy now. We’ll get to all that. Come on down to the office where we can talk.”

  He tried to take Mama’s arm, but she pulled it out of his grip. “Not until you tell me where my daughter is.”

  “All in due time. Now let’s go.” He gripped her arm so hard she yelped.

  “Hey! You’re hurting her,” Blaze shouted, but he ignored her as he marched Mama down the big aisle in the center of the barn. Blaze went around to Mama’s other side and gripped her hand. Blaze was scared. By the look on Mama’s face, she was, too.

  Leon forced them down the aisle until they reached a small door to what must be the office. He shoved it open with one hand and propelled Mama through with the other. The minute she crossed the threshold, he grabbed Blaze’s arm and shoved her in, too.

  “Hey!” she cried as she stumbled into Mama. She righted them both and turned around to see Leon standing in front of the closed door wearing a huge grin, but his eyes were hard. And mean. She’d met men like him before. All warm and friendly on the outside, but scary crazy on the inside
.

  She eyed the door and tried to think of a way to get them out of here.

  He just grinned wider and shook his head as he aimed a gun right at Mama’s head. “You do anything dumb, and Mrs. Martinelli’s brains are going to make one heck of a mess.”

  Blaze froze, heart pounding, her eyes on the crazy man. She’d heard Mama’s yelp, but wouldn’t risk a glance in that direction. It took major effort to keep her voice calm. “What are you doing, scaring an old lady like that? What’s going on? Where’s Eve? If you’ll just tell us where she is, we’ll get out of your hair.”

  He laughed, long and loud, and Blaze’s foreboding grew.

  “Oh, you’ll get out of my hair, all right.” He paused. “But not just yet.” He reached into a drawer, pulled out a roll of duct tape and some rope, and motioned with the gun. “This way.”

  Blaze edged up beside Mama and gripped her hand. It trembled, just like her own, but Blaze would not let her down. She’d stay strong and try to think of a way out of this. If only Nick would get here.

  As they walked down the barn’s center aisle, Blaze’s horror grew when she saw a pair of booted feet sticking out from one of the stalls. Had he killed one of the ranch hands? Why? What was going on? Blaze released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding when the man moaned, but quietly, like he was trying not to make any noise. Good, that meant he was still alive. Maybe he would be able to help them. To cover any other sounds, Blaze used her most childlike voice. “I don’t understand what’s happening. Why are you doing this?”

  Leon prodded her in the back with his gun. “Stop talking and keep moving.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Blaze caught a glimpse of another man lying in one of the other stalls. He wasn’t moving at all, or making any noise. Please don’t let him be dead.

  This whole thing felt like they’d landed in some crazy alternate universe, but she had to stay sharp, keep her mind focused on trying to escape. No, not escape. She had to get his gun. Because if they didn’t do that, as soon as they tried to leave, he’d shoot them in the back. The man was seriously unhinged, but he seemed to have an agenda. If Blaze could figure out what he wanted, maybe they could talk him off the ledge.