“Watch yer mouth,” Ben hissed, and the sound of a hand slamming the table made me jump. I gave my presence away by knocking a photo off the wall. It crashed at my feet. The ancient thing didn’t break, but it brought Ben flying around the corner.
He’d shaved—and it took years off his face. I noticed that his eyes were the color of butterscotch with flecks of light green. His mouth fell open slightly as he took in my tidier appearance, and he gave me a once-over from head to toes.
“You look better,” he stammered.
“So do you.”
“Sleep well?” he asked.
“I think so.” I resisted the urge to run back to the floral room when the other men started chatting again.
Ben reached for my hand and enveloped it in his firm, slightly too-tight grip. There was no use resisting. He led me into the kitchen. The people he’d been talking to sat at a large polished wood table covered in food. He stood and waited for them to stop talking.
“This is Kate,” Ben said loudly.
All eyes turned to me, and three strange faces morphed from smirks to shock.
“Hi.” I smiled weakly.
Ben pointed to a large, baby-faced boy with a stack of food a mile high in front of him. Sandy brown hair and thick eyebrows framed his childlike, wide-set eyes, and full fat lips covered slightly crooked teeth. He had a bit of a pot belly and reminded me of an overgrown toddler. “That is Hank. He’s my sister’s kid. She caught him drinking beer in the garage and figured she’d send him to me for rehabilitation. Unfortunately, he’s more hassle than he’s worth. Thankfully, he’s leaving in a few days.”
Hank nearly sent the table toppling over to extend his hand. “Madame,” he said politely.
“Oh, sit down for God’s sake,” Ben said irritably.
I smiled at Hank as he shrank back.
“Over there is Thomas. Mick is next to him. They’re brothers. Been with me over a year now. Strong workers, good people, and they won’t cause you any trouble. Right, boys?”
Thomas and Mick, probably in their early twenties, nodded in unison.
“Now, have a seat. Foods getting cold.”
Hank pulled out a chair for me, so I sat next to him, forcing a polite smile at the brothers sitting across from me. They were built much like Ben… thin and wiry with ropy muscle and not a hint of physical weakness about them. They both had jet black hair. Mick’s was shaved on the sides and the top of it pulled into a ponytail. The style made no sense to me, but it strangely flattered his high cheekbones and lightly bearded face. Thomas was clean shaven with a tidy haircut and smooth tanned skin. He poked at his food while eyeing me with laser focused deep brown eyes. He was striking; face shaped the same as his brother’s but his features sharper, eyes darker, making him slightly more attractive. There was something very off-putting about him, though.
“So, who is Evelyn?” I asked.
Next to me, Hank spoke eagerly. “The best pie and carrot cake baker this side of Radville. She’s got a free cruise somewhere in the Pacific, floating on a huge boat with a pool and restaurants. Imagine that! She’s gonna see icebergs and get me some fudge. It’s a long cruise, though… Ben says she could be gone months, years even. Think of it—floatin’ on the ocean. Evvy will see sharks and whales. Dolphins, too.”
“Years?” I said. By the look Ben gave me over his buttered toast, it was clear Evelyn was never coming back and he was protecting his simple nephew from some sort of heartbreaking news. “That sounds amazing,” I said to Hank’s beaming face.
Silence fell over the room. Coffee was poured. Mick got up to get a fresh bottle of syrup from a cupboard. The whole time, Thomas blatantly stared at me without blinking. I pretended to not feel uncomfortable under his scrutiny.
“So, what do you do here?” I asked, unable to avoid meeting his piercing gaze.
He put his fork down. “I work.”
I gulped back the desire to run from the room. “What kind of work?”
“Before you interrogate me, how about you tell us about you, Kate…as if that’s even your real name.”
“Thomas,” Ben said, coming to my defense.
I put my hand up. “No, it’s okay. I know it all seems pretty strange. Just know I’m not running from cops or anything like that.”
Thomas put his hands on either side of his plate and leaned in. “Boyfriend then? Husband?” I noticed he didn’t say pimp. “No. I mean, well, sort of, but—”
“Are you after money? Because Ben doesn’t have any, just so you know.”
The meal came to a crashing halt. I fully expected Ben to speak up, but he remained silent, waiting for my answer.
“Money?” I said incredulously. I was worth a damn fortune… The thought hadn’t even occurred to me that these people might think that I was the bad guy. I couldn’t contain the look of shock that came over my face.
“Huh, I guess not,” Thomas said, apparently satisfied with my reaction. “So, what then? Whatcha running from?”
I couldn’t lie. I was terrible at it, but I couldn’t tell the truth either. So, bits and pieces of information would have to do for now. I cleared my throat. “I had to get away because, well, you see, there are certain people that want me…” I pulled in air, not sure how to say my father wanted to kill me for my inheritance and my mother wanted me dead. “I just have to get away from people that—”
I couldn’t finish.
“People, eh? As in, someone that makes money off you?”
I stared in shock. What was this arrogant cowboy accusing me of?
Mick spoke up. “You’re being rude, Thomas.”
Everyone at the table grew quiet. Hank was the only one smiling, oblivious to what we were talking about and only concerned with filling my plate with pancakes and steak. His elbow hit my arm on purpose. The coffee he’d poured into my cup sloshed about, and the pancake syrup toppled over.
Thomas just kept staring, trying to figure me out. Abruptly, he put down his fork. “Gimme names.” His anger quickly transferred away from me to whoever he thought was responsible for my injuries. With his upper lip curled into a snarl and a muscle flickering in his jaw, he thought he had it all figured out. “My brother and I will solve your problem for ya.”
Mick nodded in agreement, and the tension at the table became as thick as mud.
I shook my head. “It’s not like that. You don’t understand—”
“Uh, it’s pretty easy to figure out,” Thomas said, voice rising. “Look at ya! Covered in bruises.” He was staring at my arm. “Heck, I know burns when I see ‘em. Bite marks, too.”
I covered up my scarred hand.
Thomas was fuming. According to the nodding heads, he spoke for everyone at the table now. “Some sadistic asshole took advantage of a pretty girl. By the looks of it, you got away before you ended up six feet under.”
I had no reply. Why did this stranger give a crap?
“Just gimme names,” Thomas repeated. “We will take care of whatever it is you are running from, and Ben can get you back to your family.”
Mick’s ponytail swayed in enthusiastic agreement. Ben muttered something indiscernible.
“It’s not that easy.” I was digging myself a hole for only imparting half the truth. “My family is not on my side. They are part of the uh…problem.”
“They did this to you?” Ben said, pushing his chair back and rising from the table.
“No. Well, sort of, I mean I—”
“Boyfriend then. Has to be. There’s no ring on her finger, Ben. She ain’t married,” Thomas said.
“Sick goddamn bastard,” Ben replied.
My chest tightened, but I had to remain calm so the awkward conversation wouldn’t escalate. “I just have to hide for a while until I can go back and make things right.”
“Go back?” Ben said incredulously.
“Yes,” I said, realizing how insane that sounded. “I just need time to sort things out.”
“Time doesn’t change th
e character of a man who beats a woman,” Thomas hissed with a quick glance in Ben’s direction.
Concerned faces regarded me over pancakes and bacon. “It’s not like that. I just can’t tell you all anything more. I’m sorry. I can’t involve more people in my messed-up life.” My chest grew heavy, as if the weight of the world was standing on it. “I won’t let anyone else get hurt because of me.”
Silence fell over the room, and the huge country kitchen suddenly became small as a shoebox. Ben was wringing his hands like he was ready to beat the world senseless. Thomas had turned to stare out the window. Mick hadn’t said a word, but his cheeks were fire red, and Hank now sat still with his hands in his lap. I lowered my eyes to my cup of coffee; I thought all my tears had been cried out yesterday, but that familiar sting of them pushed against my lids.
Ben spoke, his voice cold and authoritative. “The weeds in the garden need pulling, and there’s a ton of laundry that’s backed up. Can you handle that?” He glanced at my injured arm.
I nodded anxiously.
“Meals need to be on the table at six, morning and evening,” he added.
I nodded again, feeling overwhelmingly grateful for the tasks and an end to the line of questioning.
“Your pay will be room and board for now. We can discuss your wage after a two-week trial period.”
There was an expectant pause from everyone at the table; I wouldn’t stick around that long. I just needed some time to come up with a plan. “Thank you,” I said.
“All right then.” Ben thrust his hand across the table. His eyes met mine for a moment, then he blinked nervously and let go. “Okay. Well, dinner is over. Till tomorrow then.”
Everyone stood, and though I was anxious to flee the room, I stopped in confusion. “Dinner?”
Ben forced a smile. “Yeah. It’s seven thirty, Kate. I didn’t wake you because you needed the rest. Make sure breakfast is on the table by six tomorrow morning. No later.”
The hardest thing I’d ever done in my life was walk away from Kaya. At the time, Seth had a gun pointed to my head for encouragement, but it was the feeling of my heart being ripped from my chest that got my feet moving before I either blew up in anger or fell to her feet and begged her to take me back. At that point, I still had some pride. But now? If the opportunity arose, I’d beg. I’d plead. I’d make a damn fool of myself. Even though she said she didn’t want me, didn’t love me, and her green eyes flashed in anger when she shot out words like bullets, I loved her. She was still mine. And somehow, I would make her see that.
If only I’d found her sooner and hadn’t held a knife to golden boy’s throat. If only I hadn’t shoved her down those porch steps. Since when had this rage inside of me taken control of my common sense? I was so wretchedly angry all the time…so…out of control. I’d even swung at Davis when he tried to rein me in. Swung at my best friend. I didn’t blame him for leaving me and letting me wallow in my misery and anger. He tried to help, but I wasn’t having any of it. When next we met, I was going to have a lot of explaining to do. And when I got Kaya back, I would apologize for what I did and then spend every second making it up to her. I would never let her out of my sight again.
That meant I would have to get rid of Luke somehow. Kaya would never fully return her heart to me with him around. The only reason I was dragging him along was to use him as an ice breaker. With golden boy at my side, I had a better chance of getting back into her good books. She’d only left to protect him; the note she’d written was complete bullshit. Even though I wanted to grab a handful of his hair to drag him out of this wretched bar and stuff him in a trunk, I had to play nice. Besides, as much as it pained me to admit it, he could beat the crap out of me if he felt like it.
“There are one hundred and twenty-seven Ben Smiths in southern Saskatchewan,” Luke said, glancing up wearily from a laptop.
He guzzled back the remainder of a beer and wrestled to keep a brave face. He was so worried sick about Kaya I almost liked him for it—almost.
“Well, process of elimination it is then,” I said, waving off a scantily clad waitress that was making her way back to Luke for the tenth time—the way chicks flirted with him was sickening. “We need to come up with a game plan before we hit the road.”
“What do we do? Call every Ben Smith in the Saskatchewan phone directory and ask if he’s picked up a young brunette recently? If we happen to call the right guy, he’d never say so. We need more info, Oliver.”
“Relax, Luke.”
“Relax? How can you say that? She’s been missing for… how long now? Who knows if she’s hurt or who she’s with! You have no idea what it feels like to—”
His voice caught midsentence when he realized what he was about to say. I knew exactly what it felt like, and what he was going through. I watched him struggle with the things that torment a person’s mind when the person they loved most in the entire world goes missing.
Basking in his pain was awesome payback.
“Get your head together, Luke. We’ve got a girl to find.”
He nodded.
The waitress was back, a grin the size of Texas on her face. She had a notepad and pen in hand just in case she had the opportunity to hand over her phone number. When she asked golden boy yet again if he needed anything, Luke, oblivious to anything not Kaya related, rudely waved her off.
“Maybe you should order a sandwich or something,” I said.
“Not hungry.”
“You might not be hungry but remember, we are seeking info. Maybe someone in this bar saw her. Maybe Kaya came in here.”
Luke straightened, his eyes widened, and he scanned the dimly lit room. “Damn it, you’re right. I just can’t think straight.”
“Flirt with that waitress. I’m going to make a few calls,” I said, standing and realizing I’d become numb to the cell phone constantly vibrating alerts in my pocket.
Luke stood from the table, then his hand lunged for my wrist—he was so damn fast I never even saw it coming. “We’re on the same side. Right, Oliver?” he asked, staring hard at me for the truth.
We were, but I wanted nothing more than to grab his fingers and twist them into knots. I felt that sick feeling of rage seeping in. He was only asking a logical question, making sure I wasn’t about to put Kaya’s safety in jeopardy by calling the wrong person. But the desire to pound my fists into his face was at a constant, rolling boil. “I need to go outside,” I said, trying to pull my arm free.
Luke’s grip tightened, not letting go without an answer. “Oliver, she doesn’t want anything to do with her father. You are his most loyal subject. You cannot call him. I’ll ask you again—are we on the same side?”
“Yes,” I hissed.
He let go and sat. How was he so trusting? I could have told him gators were falling from the sky, and he would have believed me. With a fake smile, he motioned for the waitress and I headed for the door.
Gritting my teeth so hard they hurt, I fished out my handy little pills. With shaking hands, I fumbled with the cap, popped two in my mouth, and swallowed, hoping they would douse the fire in my head—even the garbage can on the dirty street seemed to be asking for a fight.
Night had fallen over the town. I tried to take in a breath of the cool prairie air, but I was seeing red. I had such an intense desire to hit something. Anything. Two dudes smoking next to the exit gave me the once-over. My face morphed into a glare, needlessly baiting them. What the hell was wrong with me?
I reached for another pill, hoping to calm my Bruce Banner rage before I turned into a green monster. I ground the chalky paste between my teeth, counted to ten—fifteen times—and paced until my head cleared. Thankfully, the pills took effect quickly. My rage lessened, and I was brought back to the realization of my phone vibrating in my pocket.
I knew who it was. Last I checked, there were over a hundred texts and phone messages from Henry. All demanding, threatening, and yelling instructions to bring his daughter back. Now, for some r
eason, he wanted to make sure I destroyed that necklace she always wore. I hadn’t replied yet because I knew there was no chance of having a civilized conversation with him. He was just going to have to trust I would do my job. But I was going to need more than golden boy’s help to do that.
I dialed a number that was ingrained in my head. One I was only to use in case of an emergency. The only person I could trust that, like me, would one hundred percent have Kaya’s best interest at heart.
“Hello?” a sultry voice said.
I took a deep breath. “Hello, Sindra.” My jaw ached from clenching my teeth. “Is it safe to talk?”
Her high heels clicked loudly over a marble floor. “It is now.”
I pictured her black hair, shiny like Kaya’s, pulled tight into a braid and hanging down her back. She would be in her black business suit adorned with delicate gold jewelry. Henry would be yelling orders, and she would be following them, keeping him on schedule and planning his itinerary for the next day.
I took in a deep breath. “I need your help.”
“For what, Oliver? We’ve had no contact with you for over two weeks now. Henry is losing his mind, and I’ve had to deal with it.”
“I know. I’m sorry. It’s just that, well… I’ve misplaced Kaya. She’s, uh, run off.”
A pause. “That’s not good.”
“I know. It’s become complicated.”
“Because she doesn’t want to go back with you. Correct?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re playing Mr. Nice Ex-Fiancé and letting her exercise her free will?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that just might get her killed.”
The hair rose on the back of my neck. It started to rain. The veins at my temples throbbed. “I’m not going to let that happen.”
Sindra sighed. “Well then, how can I help you?”
I started to pace, growling at the smokers. “Kaya got in a truck owned by someone named Ben Smith, a cowboy with a ranch in southern Saskatchewan. I’m hoping I’ll find her with him. There are over a hundred people listed under that name and—”
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