by Dana R. Lynn
She decided just to tell it straight. Maybe it was like when you tore off a bandage fast. If she just told it quickly maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much.
“Elise?” It bothered her that she was responsible for the doubt, for the uncertain tone in his deep voice.
“I’m okay.” She twisted in her seat, facing the man that she was growing to care for too much for the well-being of her heart. She drew in a deep breath, letting the oxygen filling her lungs steady her nerves. There. She dove in. “I was engaged to be married once. Four years ago. Before Karalynne died. I thought I had met the perfect guy. I was in college. He was older. Working his way toward partnership in a law firm. I thought we were the perfect couple. Everyone said so.” She bit her lip, remembering how she’d been so blind.
“But when we were alone, he was always...he called it ‘correcting’ me...because in his eyes, I was always doing something wrong. He had an image to maintain, you know? And I needed to make sure that I enhanced that image. I kept telling myself that it would get better. I’d learn what he expected and then I’d know better than to always mess things up.”
A humorless laugh escaped.
“I was so dumb. In my defense, I was young, and my sister and I had been bounced around so much, I just wanted some security. Someone to love me.”
His hand gripped hers. “Elise, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
How could she have imagined that Brady was compassionate? Listening to the velvet warmth of Ryan’s voice, gazing into his face, open with sympathy, she knew that Brady had never been anything but selfish.
“No, I want to. I’ve never told anyone, but I think I want you to know. To understand.” Using her free hand, she pushed back her hair from her face. “We were three weeks out from the wedding, and I wasn’t feeling well. Nothing I could define. Just a general feeling of blah.” She made a face. “I wanted to go to the doctor. He insisted I was fine, that it was just wedding nerves.” She shook her head. “I can hardly believe that I allowed someone to control me to that extent. But I did. He didn’t want me to go to the doctor, so I didn’t. Two days later, my appendix ruptured. It was bad. Then infection set in, and it took me a long time to recover. When he told me the wedding was off, at first I thought he was being considerate. Postponing it until I was better.”
She paused. Her stomach turned. She’d come to the worst part.
“Let me guess. Prince Charming wasn’t postponing. What, did he blame you for messing up his schedule by getting sick?”
She smiled slightly at his sarcastic words. “Something like that. I hadn’t lived up to his idea of what a wife should be. He said that he realized I would be a hindrance in his efforts to make partner. I was, he claimed, unfit to be a wife.”
“That’s baloney!” Ryan burst out. “What an idiot. Elise, he’s the one who was unfit, not you. You’re beautiful, smart, caring. He was a clod. You’re better off without him.”
Warmth coursed through her at his defense, but she wasn’t done.
She needed to tell him the last part. How the burst appendix and the infection had damaged her.
A sudden yell jerked both their heads up. Isaac yanked the buggy to a halt.
And that’s when Elise saw that her nightmares were coming true. Hudson Langor had found them. He had forced the buggy to a stop and was walking toward them with a gun. Ryan started to reach back for his own gun. He stopped when Hudson yanked Faith down from the buggy seat.
They all froze as he held the gun to her side.
THIRTEEN
He couldn’t believe this was happening. He’d been so involved in Elise’s story he hadn’t noticed the car Hudson was driving pulling in front of them, blocking them to force them into stopping.
Well, he was in a pickle now. That was for sure. If he drew his gun, or made any sudden moves, Faith would be shot, possibly killed. He slid his eyes to the side, attempting to gauge Isaac’s reaction. Although the youth was pale, he didn’t display any other signs of fear.
Okay, Lord, how am I supposed to get out of this? Please help me save these people.
Ryan knew there was a high probability that he would not survive this encounter. Given Hudson Langor’s history, it was doubtful he’d have any compunction about shooting anyone who got in his way, which Ryan intended to do. Did the man know that he was a cop? It was still unclear whether he and Dellon were acting together or not.
“Elise!” Hudson Langor shouted. “I know you’re in there, girl! I followed you from that little store. Get out here, or this girl will die. You know I’ll do it!”
“Let me out, Ryan.” Elise slid closer to him. “I can’t let him shoot her.”
Man, he wanted to tell her no. But he couldn’t think of another option.
“I’ll let you out. But I am going to be looking for an opportunity to take him down. Do your best not to get directly in front of him.”
She nodded.
“Elise!” Hudson’s voice was growing wild. No telling what he’d do.
“I’m coming, Hudson. Don’t shoot her.”
“Wait, you don’t have a gun on you, do you?” Suspicion was thick in Hudson’s dark, angry voice.
“You know I don’t like guns.”
She was stalling for time. Ryan knew it. He could only pray that Hudson wouldn’t decide to take offense and shoot.
Ryan angled himself to get a better view of the situation. This was his first chance to get a truly thorough look at Hudson Langor. The man didn’t resemble his driver’s license picture in the least. And it wasn’t just the facial scarring, although that was significant. No, the man from the photos had appeared charming, confident.
The man holding the gun on Faith was sweating profusely. He seemed almost maniacal. His hair, what hadn’t been destroyed, was standing on end. The hand holding the gun didn’t look steady. If Ryan had the opportunity to catch Hudson unawares, he would act. But he’d have to be careful. The last thing he wanted to do was put Isaac or Faith in any more harm.
Or Elise.
His heart thudded hard, filling his ears with its pounding, at the thought of Elise being harmed.
Elise stepped out of the buggy and onto the pavement. Ryan’s breath stuttered to a halt. He thought his chest would explode with the force of his emotions. Put them aside, Parker. She needs you to be calm and clearheaded. Unfortunately, memories of Ricky surfaced, setting his teeth on edge.
He couldn’t fail Elise. Not now.
Sucking in a calming breath, he forced himself to relax.
“You there!” Hudson yelled, spittle shooting from his mouth with the force of his shout. He waved the gun in Ryan’s direction. Great. Madman swinging a gun. Ryan cringed, praying the gun wouldn’t go off in the man’s agitated state. “Out here where I can keep an eye on you! And leave your hands where I can see them.”
Taking care not to make any movements that would startle the man, Ryan climbed from the buggy, his eyes never leaving Hudson’s face. It was difficult. The itch to check on Elise, to make sure she was okay, was strong, but Ryan controlled it.
Right now, his reactions were the only things he could control, a fact that he didn’t like one little bit.
Once his feet were firmly on the ground, Hudson glared at him. “You have the look of a cop. I don’t like cops. I bet you have a gun on you, don’t you?”
Hudson yanked Faith closer. “Take it out, drop it on the ground and kick it away.”
Ryan didn’t even make the token protest. His gun was partially visible, anyway. Hating to give up his weapon, Ryan still did as the man said. He had to if he had any hope of keeping Hudson from shooting anyone.
“Okay, here it is.” Giving the service revolver a nudge with his foot, Ryan sent it a few feet to the side. Hopefully, he’d have a chance to make a dive for it. He promised himself he wouldn’t hesitate if an opport
unity to disarm the man appeared.
Faith made a tiny gasp as Hudson dug the gun back into her side. Other than that, the Amish girl stayed still.
“Hudson, let her go. You know she doesn’t have anything to do with this.” Elise’s soft voice trembled as she pleaded with her brother-in-law. Although he applauded her effort, Ryan felt the likelihood of Hudson releasing the girl was slim. Not when she could be used to force the others to comply.
He was right. Hudson just sneered at his late wife’s sister. The hate on his face was enough to make one shudder.
“You must be stupid, Elise.” Hudson’s tone was scathing. “But then, you never were too bright. It’s no wonder that lawyer fellow dropped you. Why would I release her? She’s my insurance that you’ll give me what I want.”
From the corner of his eye, Ryan could see Elise clench her fists. “I don’t have what you want.”
“I know you have that SD card. I need it! And I want my son!” he nearly howled. “Thanks to you, I have no wife, and my former boss is hunting me down. But I still have my son. Where is he?”
The final words came out in a roar.
This was it. The man had finally lost all control.
“What do you mean, your boss is hunting you?” Elise demanded. “Is that the man who is watching me?”
For a moment, Hudson looked startled. “I have no clue who’s watching you. All I know is that you took the evidence that could prevent me from starting over—and you took my boy. I want them back. That SD card has what I need to bargain with my boss. Now, where are they? Tell me right now, or this pretty girl here dies!”
“Langor, don’t make this worse for yourself than it already is!” Ryan called out.
Hudson ignored him.
“I don’t have Mikey right now, Hudson. Surely you can see that,” Elise replied. “And I never had the SD card. Karalynne never gave it me. If she had I would have turned it in to the police long ago.”
Hudson lifted the gun until it was level with Faith’s head. The group gasped collectively. At the last moment, Hudson backed up, moving his hand higher on her arm to grasp it better.
Everything happened at once. As his grasp loosened, Faith shrieked and jerked her arm away. Hudson shot the gun. The bullet went wild, slamming into the side of the buggy. The horse startled, rearing, jarring the buggy and throwing Isaac to the ground. Ryan saw Elise grab a handful of gravel from the road and toss it straight in Langor’s face. As the man screamed and scratched at his face and eyes, Ryan took a long running leap, knocking the man off his feet. His gun skittered several feet away.
It took some wrestling, but Ryan managed to subdue Hudson Langor. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any handcuffs on him. They’d gotten lost in the mess back at the schoolhouse.
“Isaac, do you carry any rope, or anything we could use to bind his hands?” Ryan was a bit out of breath from his skirmish with the heavier man.
“Jah.” The Amish youth seemed remarkably unfazed by all that had happened. He had been soothing the horse—which, thankfully, hadn’t bolted—but at Ryan’s words, he reached into a box under the seat of the buggy. He brought out a long rope. A clothesline, Ryan thought.
Within minutes, Langor was tied up.
“Now what?” Elise questioned.
Ryan was humbled by the trust he saw reflected in her gaze. After all that had happened, this amazing woman still trusted him. It was an honor he wouldn’t take for granted.
“Now we have to find a way to let the police know to come and get him.”
“Maybe put him in the buggy?” Isaac tilted his head. “We can drive him to town.”
Ryan shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, Isaac. But I don’t want to have any of you closed in the buggy with him.” He thought for a moment. “If you could go into town with your sister, and have the police called, that would be a huge help. Then you and your sister can head for home. Elise and I will wait with him.”
The young siblings agreed. They’d dealt with more danger than they’d expected this day. Ryan was grateful. More than grateful. He admired their courage and their common sense, but they were still teenagers. And their father was waiting for them at home.
They found an out-of-the-way area where Elise and Ryan could sit in the shade and wait for the police.
Settling Hudson down against a tree, Ryan wrapped more rope around the tree, further ensuring that Hudson was trapped. He and Elise then stepped back up to the road to say their goodbyes to Faith and Isaac. Isaac took the time to revise the map they had, showing a smoother path, as it was possible they’d be trekking to Leah’s brother’s house on foot.
Returning to the trees, they stopped, mouths open. Elise spun in a slow circle, her face stunned.
The ropes that had tied Langor to the tree had been cut and were lying on the ground.
Hudson Langor had escaped.
* * *
“How did he escape?”
Elise was incredulous. Had Hudson had a knife with him?
“I doubt he was carrying a knife. I searched him pretty carefully.”
Oh. She hadn’t realized she’d been thinking out loud.
“So what does that mean? Someone assisted him?” She pursed her lips. It was the only thing that made sense to her.
“Looks like.” Ryan removed his baseball cap and rubbed his head. That frown would carve out some permanent wrinkles soon, the way these past few days had gone. Whirling around, he stalked a few feet away, staring at the ground like it would give him some clues. “My question is, who would help him? And if he had more manpower, why didn’t they attack us before we tied him up?”
“Um...maybe it was only one person? And you do have a gun.”
A sudden smile broke through his somber expression. Wow. She blinked. She could stare at that face for the rest of her life.
Wait—what? No way was she following that thought.
Ryan strode to where she stood and put his hands on her shoulders. “Whatever his reason, I can’t deny that I am happy we avoided another attack. Although I’m not happy that Hudson is on the loose again, I thought my heart would stop when he started waving that gun around earlier.”
She reached out and touched his face. This was so not keeping her distance. She tried to remove her hand and found it trapped by his. For the briefest moment, her gaze was ensnared by his as he held her hand to his cheek.
Was he going to kiss her again? She thought he was. Move, Elise. But she didn’t. Instead, she remained where she was, caught in the thrall of breathless fascination as he drew closer.
Who knows what might have happened. Before anything could, they were startled apart by the sound of an approaching motor. By the time the police cruiser rounded the bend, they were standing a discreet distance apart, facing the road. Did they both look as guilty as she felt? She gave Ryan an unobtrusive peek. His face showed nothing. His stance was casual. His ears, however, were a tad red.
A second cruiser pulled up behind the first. This time it was a LaMar Pond cruiser.
“Jackson!” Ryan grinned at his friend.
“Hey, Parker. Elise.” Jackson tossed his own jaunty grin their way. “What do ya know?”
The New Wilmington officer joined them. “Sergeant Parker. Miss St. Clair. Are we missing something? I was sure I had heard you had a prisoner.”
“Yeah, well, that’s a story.”
Elise bit the inside of her cheeks to keep from laughing at the way Ryan scrunched his face into a chagrined expression. He gave the two other officers a quick rundown of the events since they’d arrived in New Wilmington. When he reached the part about Langor holding the gun on Faith, the smiles on their faces vanished in an instant.
“Is she all right?” Jackson burst out.
“Where is she now?” the local officer demanded.
Holding up his hands, Ry
an gave a slight shake of his head. “I’m getting there. She and her brother are the ones who called you from town. Then they headed back home. Neither of them wanted to press charges. I let them go.” He turned to the New Wilmington cop. “I figured if you had a procedure you wanted to follow for interacting with the Amish, that was up to your department.”
Ryan continued his story. The temptation to laugh struck again at Jackson’s comical expression when Ryan explained how they’d come back to find Hudson gone. Maybe she was hysterical. There was nothing remotely humorous about the situation. A dangerous man, one who wanted to kill her and take her child, was on the loose. He would come back for her. She was sure of it.
All desire to laugh fled.
He would come back.
“What do you think, Elise?”
“Huh?” She’d been so deep in her thoughts, she’d completely missed Ryan’s question.
“Jackson and Steele here,” he said, indicating the local officer, “have offered to help us in our search for Leah, and for Langor. Jackson will go with us to the Byler residence. Steele is going to start combing the area for your brother-in-law.”
“That sounds like a good plan.”
“I’m going to radio in for backup.” Officer Steele tipped his hat at her. She was reminded of a cowboy. He sauntered off in the direction of his cruiser, already talking into the radio hooked on his shoulder.
“Okey-doke.” Jackson smacked his hands together, then rubbed them like a Boy Scout trying to start a fire with a stick. “Let’s get this show on the road, what say you?”
“Sounds good.”
Ryan moved ahead of his friend and opened the back door for Elise.
“I feel like a criminal,” she muttered, folding herself into the back `seat.
“Sorry, sweetheart,” Ryan sympathized, although his lips quirked in his signature crooked half smile. “There isn’t room for all three of us up front.”
As he shut the door and began to move away, she caught Jackson’s raised eyebrows. Sweetheart? He mouthed the word to Ryan. She watched as he put his hand on Ryan’s shoulder and said something else, no doubt teasing his friend as a tide of red swept past Ryan’s collar. She chuckled as her cop swatted Jackson away to get into the car.