“That sounds like a sad existence.”
“But it sure do pay well.” He shuts the door.
I spend the next hour whispering into the ring. Who knew whispering could cause as bad a sore throat as yelling?
When I’m sure my efforts are fruitless, I try to figure out how to escape. My legs are tied, but I can stand. I saw tools in the shed that might help if I can drag the heavy chair over there. I lean over and examine the legs of the chair. They are bolted to the cement floor. Who bolts a chair into the floor? Chills run down my spine as I ponder not being the first one to sit here.
I hear sirens and hope surges. Tears flood my eyes, knowing this could be over in a matter of minutes. They heard me after all.
But the sirens fade. I sit down, tears falling from sadness instead of elation.
The door opens. It’s not Tracksuit Guy. It’s Jon. He sneers. “Thought someone was coming for you, didn’t you?”
I wipe my face on my sleeve. “If you think they’re going to sell to your dad now, think again. Kidnapping is a federal crime. You’re going to be in a lot of trouble.”
“You think this is about the ranch?” He laughs and paces around my chair. “We didn’t take you across state lines, so it’s not a federal offense. Everyone in Texas knows my father. He contributes millions to political campaigns. Do you think they’ll give a rat’s ass about one pathetic horse vet who went missing for a few hours?”
“So you’re planning to let me go? And what do you mean, this isn’t about the ranch?”
“I have to hand it to the old man for not telling you, but that didn’t keep him from going to the sheriff. Too bad Wheatly’s first call was to my daddy.”
“What old man? Hugh Jenkins? I thought he was in the hospital recovering from his injuries.”
“You do lead a sheltered life, don’t you?” He touches my cheek, and I cringe. “What’s the matter? Never been touched by a real cowboy?”
My whole body shakes. I feel sick as he runs a finger down my neck and between my breasts. His eyebrows go up. “No bra. Damn. Now I’m hard. What are we gonna do about that? I could untie your hands. If I untie your hands, are you going to try anything?”
Bile rises in my throat, and I can’t speak.
“You’re feisty. You probably would. Maybe I’ll just lower my pants. You can use your mouth. I won’t even have to untie you.”
He goes for his buckle. “Anything you put in my mouth will get bitten off.”
My face sears with pain from the slap he delivers. “You’ll do what I tell you to do.”
“Like your wife?”
Another slap and my face feels like it’s on fire. “I’m going to bend you over the table over there, and you’re going to take what I give you unless you want to find that pathetic excuse for a cowboy boyfriend of yours at the bottom of Eagle Mountain Lake.”
He starts to undo one of my legs from the chair. “Jon, don’t!” I scream, hoping someone hears me through the microphone.
Sick laughter erupts from him. “Keep it up. I like it better when they squirm.”
He’s armed. He’s always armed. Will he kill me if I fight? When my second leg is untied, I kick him in the shin. He buckles but doesn’t fall down. This time his fist connects with my cheekbone, and agony rockets through me. Blood runs down my face, and he chuckles.
I stand and try to knee him in the balls, but the hit is off-center. It’s enough to make him double over, though, offering me the opportunity to kick him in the ribs. He grabs my leg when I run, and I fall to the ground. I slip my tied hands over his head and try to strangle him, but he’s twice my size. He pushes me off him and stands up, then yanks me to my feet.
He pulls out a gun and shoves it against my head. “I’ll give you points for trying, not that it’s going to do you any good. I’m really fuckin’ turned on now. Here, feel. You and my wife can compare notes later.”
With the gun still in his hand he forces my palm to his crotch and grips my hair with the other. When I realize what’s about to happen I throw up all over him.
“What the fuck?” He jumps back in surprise. I hear commotion outside the door, followed by a loud pop, and feel a searing pain at the back of my head.
Everything goes black.
Chapter Thirty-five
Maddox
I pace the waiting room, staring at the clock on the wall. What is taking so long? Why hasn’t anyone come to get me?
“You’re going to wear a path in the carpet,” Owen says. “Sit down.”
“She could be really hurt. I should have been there sooner.”
“You’re the reason she’s getting help right now. This could have turned out a lot differently.”
Gerald comes through the double doors. He seems to have aged five years today. “He cocked her head pretty hard with the barrel of his gun. She’s got a concussion, and they are monitoring her intracranial pressure. The CT scan didn’t show a brain bleed—that’s good news. But she’s still not awake.”
I sag against the wall. “I have to see her.”
“They only let family back there,” he says.
I slide down until my butt hits the floor, then lower my head into my hands.
He touches my shoulder. “You know what? In my book you are family. Get up off the floor, and I’ll get you to her room.”
He goes to the nurses’ station, talks with someone, and then waves me over. He walks me down the hallway and points to a room. I stare at the door before going in, terrified of what I might see.
“They didn’t touch her, if that’s what you’re thinkin’,” he says. “I mean beyond the damage to her face and wrists and a few bruised ribs. They didn’t… violate her in any way. I was assured of it.”
I breathe out a deep sigh and nod. Gerald hangs back. “You’re not coming?”
“Figured you might need a minute.”
I stop in the doorway. My chest hurts when I see her face. I stride over, my vision clouded when I see a cut under one eye and a clear handprint on her left cheek. She has wires coming out from under her gown and one attached to her head. Monitors of various kinds are next to her bed.
“You can touch her,” someone says, coming up behind me. “I’m Janice, Ms. Shaw’s nurse.” She puts a clear bag of fluid on a hanger. “This is saline to keep her hydrated.”
“Is she going to wake up?”
“I hope so. I’ve seen people recover from a lot worse. Pull that chair over and sit with her. You’re her brother, right?”
“Brother. Yeah, that’s me.”
She winks like she knows the truth. “Take her hand. Talk to her. It might be nice to hear a familiar voice.”
“She can hear me?”
“Maybe. Nobody knows for sure.” She leaves.
I pull over the chair and sit. Hate sears through me as I stare at her battered face. I can’t imagine what she must have gone through. What she was feeling for hours on end. It kills me to think she was trying to talk to me all morning, but we were out of range. It wasn’t until I talked to Christina that we figured out where she was being held. When I told her Andie was missing, and Gerald had gone to the police about Joel’s involvement in Nana’s death, she said there’d been a lot of activity out by the shed that morning.
Katherine and I sped over. It gutted me to hear what Jon was saying to her when we got in range. She fought him with everything she had. I take her hand. “I’d never been so scared in my life.”
My throat becomes thick when I think of how close I came to losing her. How I could still lose her if she doesn’t wake up.
Her hand twitches in mine, and I stiffen. “Andie?”
“Uuuuuuuuh.”
“Oh my god, Andie.” I press the call button.
“Yes?” someone says.
“She’s awake!”
Her eyes flutter open. She tries to focus. “Maddox?”
Ten seconds later, Janice walks in and goes right to the machines. Then two other people, one in a white
coat, enter. Andie moans again, her eyes close, and her hand falls away.
“You have to leave now,” Janice says.
I don’t budge. “Is she going to be okay? She said my name, but then her hand went limp.”
She urges me toward the door, practically pushing me into the hall. “Waking up is a good sign,” she says. “She’ll be in and out for a while, but we have to run more tests. This could take a while. Maybe you should go get something to eat.”
She closes the door in my face. I don’t want to leave, but there’s nothing I can do here.
But there is something I can do.
I return to the waiting room and tell Gerald what happened, then I notice Bobby sitting in the corner. But it’s not seeing Bobby that has my blood pressure rising. It’s seeing Victor’s face that does it. “What’s he doing here,” I say, sprinting across the room.
Owen holds me back. “Maddox, easy.”
“He should be in jail.”
“For what?” Owen says. “Running from an abusive father? Will you just let him talk?”
I let go of his shirt. He sits, rests his forearms on his knees, and blows out a breath. “Agent Watkins summoned the local police. They questioned me but said they couldn’t arrest me because Victor James isn’t a real person—at least not the one I was pretending to be. Because I didn’t steal anyone’s identity or use my fake identity to defraud anyone, they couldn’t hold me. That’s not to say I won’t face charges. I have been earning money without paying taxes, and I did falsify a driver’s license, but it wasn’t a Texas one. I could face charges in Missouri for using Tim Dorsey’s identity, but again, since I didn’t do it to make money, I may not get charged with a felony.”
Part of me feels sorry for him. He lost his sister. His best friend. And he’s been on the run for a long time. But it’s hard for me to think of him as anyone other than the criminal we’ve been fearing all these months. “Why are you here?”
“Just because my name is Matt and not Victor doesn’t mean my feelings for Andie aren’t genuine. I need to know if she’s going to be okay.”
“You think if she finds out you’re not who we thought you were, she might have a change of heart?”
“No. I don’t know. But she deserves to know the truth, don’t you think?”
“And she will. I’ll tell her. You’re free to go. If she wants to call you, she will. But I imagine you’ll want to skip town now that your real name has come out. Aren’t you afraid your father will find you?”
“Not anymore. Agent Watkins looked him up. He died three months ago, so I don’t have to run anymore. I can be Matt Cryer again… as soon as I figure out how to bring myself back from the dead.”
I turn to Bobby. “No need for all of us hanging around. The nurse said Andie needs a lot of tests. We won’t know anything for several hours.”
“I’ll wait.”
Matt leans back in his chair. “I’ll wait, too.”
“Great.” I pull Gerald aside. “I need to duck out of here for a while. I have some errands to run.”
“Now? Can’t they wait?”
“I’ve already waited long enough.” I glance at Bobby and Matt who have started a conversation. “Besides, it’s getting a little crowded in here. I have to take care of a few things. You’ll call me if there’s any news?”
“Sure.”
I crook my fingers at Owen. “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“I’ll tell you on the way.” I get out my phone. My father answers on the second ring. “Dad, we have to talk.”
Chapter Thirty-six
Andie
I’m still unable to believe what happened. Victor is innocent—and his real name is Matt, not Tim. Joel is responsible for Vivian’s death. Tears pool when I think of Vivian and how needlessly she was taken from us, all because Joel Thompson wanted to own her land. I gingerly touch the back of my throbbing head. “I’m confused. Jon didn’t shoot me? But I heard a gunshot.”
“That was my gun,” Katherine says.
“Did you shoot Jon?”
“Not Jon. Joel.”
“I… but it was Jon in the shed with me.”
Katherine explains how Gerald never got the anonymous note Joel’s cronies left at the front desk of the retirement home. Granddad didn’t even know I’d been taken and that they were demanding he retract the statement he’d given the sheriff. Then she tells me about the call between Maddox and Christina. My head hurts, and I’m on information overload. “When we showed up at Jon’s, Joel was there. Things escalated. All hell broke loose, and he threatened Maddox with a gun.”
My heartbeat shoots up so quickly, a machine beeps. “He’s okay, though, isn’t he? He was here. Or did I imagine it? Please tell me he didn’t get shot.”
“He’s fine,” Granddad says. “Torn up about what happened to you, but fine. He sat with you yesterday when you were sleeping.”
A nurse runs in to check on me. After I calm down, Katherine tells me the rest. “When I drew my gun on Joel, he turned his on me and cocked it. I shot him in the leg. Then he had a heart attack.”
“He’s here in this hospital?”
“He’s at the morgue,” Granddad says. “Serves him right after everything he’s inflicted on others.”
“And Jon? Will the police let him out? His family has lots of connections.”
“Without Joel, the Thompson name isn’t worth much more than the paper his death certificate is printed on. The sheriff assured me that despite their millions, with Joel out of the picture, he’s more than happy to take down his son.”
“So it’s true. Joel really did have everyone over a barrel.”
“He was threatening the sheriff’s family, just like he threatened Gerald with hurting you.”
I turn to Granddad. “I’m sorry you had to carry this around for so long.”
He takes my hand. “I’d do anything for you, kiddo. I should be apologizing to you for not giving you fair warning. It’s my fault you’re here. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for this.”
“My injuries are temporary, Granddad. Joel being out of our lives is permanent. It might not have happened if you hadn’t done what you did. I think it was very brave.”
He lifts my hand to his mouth and kisses it. “You’re everything to me.”
Katherine says goodbye, and I wait for someone else to arrive.
Granddad smiles. “He knows you’re awake and talking. I promised I’d keep him updated.”
I pick at my blanket. “He’s not here?”
“He left the hospital last night. I haven’t seen him since. Said he had some important things to take care of.”
More important than this? I want to say but don’t.
“There are others who’ve been askin’ to see you, but only if you’re up to it.”
“Who?”
“Seems my granddaughter is one popular lass,” he says. “That Bobby fella is in the waiting room—has been all night. The other one—I don’t reckon I know his real name—he left and came back this morning.”
My jaw drops. “Victor is here? I mean, Matt?”
“They’ve both been here all day. You feel up to seeing them?”
I try not to show my disappointment that Bobby and Matt have been here but not Maddox. “Bobby can come in. Seeing Matt would be weird.”
“Don’t forget, he’s innocent in all this.”
“You’re right. It can’t hurt to talk to him. Send him in first, then Bobby after.”
He gives me a look. “You like the Bobby fella?”
“I loved him once, Granddad, but he never felt the same way about me. Then he showed up here a few days ago and asked me to go to Wyoming.”
“After everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t blame you if you considered it.”
I put my hand on his. “You know I’d never go anywhere without you.”
He chuckles sadly. “I’m not sure I’m the one who would feel left behind.
”
“Maddox is leaving soon. If anyone is getting left behind, it’s me.”
He kisses my cheek and crosses the room. “I’ll send in the first lad.”
I pick up the hand mirror on the tray table next to my bed and check my appearance. I look hideous. At least they took the wire out of my head yesterday after my scans. I’ve been told I will need to take it easy for a week or so. No riding; it could jar my brain and cause further damage. They said I can go home later today though.
There’s a knock on the door and Victor, uh, Matt, is standing there with flowers. I smooth my blanket. “Come in.”
He scans the room. “Where should I…?”
I point to the side table. “There is fine. Thank you.”
“I take it you’ve been told everything?”
I nod.
He pulls a picture out of his wallet. It’s the tattered picture Katherine found of the young girl. “This is my sister, Megan. She’s the only other person I’ve loved.”
Guilt consumes me. “I’m so sorry you lost her.”
He reaches for me, and I flinch. “You don’t have to be afraid of me, Andie.”
“I know. It’s just that so much has happened today, it’s hard to take everything in. But I’m glad you aren’t who we thought you were, and I feel terrible for having led you on.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“But I knew you liked me.”
“I loved you.” He inches closer. “Still do.”
I shake my head and then wince, because it hurts.
“Should I get the doctor?”
“I’m fine. Can you sit a minute?”
He pulls up a chair and sighs. “This is when you tell me it doesn’t matter that I’m in love with you, because you could never see me as anything but the monster you thought I was.”
“I can’t be with you, Matt, but it’s not because of who you are. Before the FBI showed up, I thought you were a nice man, but then—”
“It’s Maddox, isn’t it? It’s always been him.”
I don’t bother saying anything. I’m sure he can see the answer in my eyes.
Texas Orchids (The Devil's Horn Ranch Series) Page 29