Entangled (Free Indeed Book 1)

by Jenesse Bates

  Allie walked to the front office area and looked out into the waiting room. “Oh hi, Sheriff.” She greeted the man she was seeing way too much of recently. “Did something else happen?” She asked at the worried look on his face.

  “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Allie,” he brought his gaze up to make eye contact with her, “but I’m going to need you to come down to the station.”

  “Ok, Sheriff,” Allie didn’t understand why he looked so concerned. If he needed her to sign some more papers or give an additional statement, she was more than willing to do whatever she could to help him catch the man who broke into her apartment. “Is it ok if I stop by after work? We’ll be closed in just a bit.”

  “No, I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to come with me now.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “Allie, we’ve received a report that you’re wanted for robbery from a small community called Free Indeed. The sheriff from that region sent over the documents today for me to bring you in and deliver you to their representative for extradition back to Free Indeed.”

  Allie froze. That couldn’t be true. There’s no reason for her father to try and trace her this far. He didn’t even like her, why would he care less about going through so much effort just to bring her back. She didn’t even take all of the money! She only took a couple of stacks so she’d be able to get away, leaving the vast majority of it behind. To come after her all this way just didn’t make sense.

  “I just need a moment to grab my purse and tell Dory where I’m going.”

  “Go right ahead, Allie. I just need to tag along and keep you in my sight, ok?”

  Allie nodded, as she opened the door for him to be able to enter the office area. After he walked through they both strode back to where Dory was giving the animals a quick check up.

  “Oh hi, Sheriff.” Dory greeted as she looked up from Zoe, the stray black and brown Siamese cat that they had recently taken in. The look on both Allie and the sheriff’s faces alerted her to something being wrong, and she straightened her back to inquire, “What happened?”

  “Dory, I need to go down to the station with the sheriff. I’m really sorry about this.” Allie replied just as Rayne walked in the room.

  Rayne took one look around and picked up on all the tension rolling off everyone, “Do you need help?”

  Allie was terrified, and yes, she needed help. But the thought of involving her new friends in her problems filled her with guilt. “It’ll be ok,” Allie whispered back. She turned and walked over to her locker and pulled out her purse, and then turned back to the sheriff. “I’m ready.”

  The sheriff nodded and held open the door for her to proceed him out of the room. They walked out of the shelter, and Allie noticed his police car wasn’t outside. At her confused look, the sheriff muttered, “Thought we could walk.”

  “Ok,” Allie replied.

  “Allie, is there anything I should know before we go in there?” He asked as they started walking towards the station.

  Allie remained quiet.

  “If there’s something going on here that I can help with, I need you to be upfront with me so I know what I’m dealing with before we go in there.”

  “I can’t go back there,” she spoke so quietly that she was worried he wouldn’t be able to hear her. But he did, and touched her arm to stop her from walking.

  “What happened?”

  “I—I saw my father kill a man in an argument about money. To keep me quiet, he was going to force me to marry a man I’m absolutely terrified of. I took the money and ran because I had to get out of there.” The words fell from Allie’s lips without even thinking. After saying them, she raised her frightened gaze to meet the sheriff’s.

  He just stared at her for a moment as if processing what she had just told him. After what seemed like ages, he finally nodded and grunted back, “Afraid it was something like that. The way you came into town, no family or friends to speak of, keeping a low profile, and that ever-present wary look in your eyes.” He stopped to give her a little encouraging smile. “It’s going to be ok. We’re going to go in there and see what they have to say, but I’m not going to let them take you out of this town, ok?”

  A huge wave of relief passed through Allie, and she finally felt like she could breathe. “Thank you. I—I’m scared to face them again.”

  “You’re not going to face them alone,” he promised. “I’ll be right there with you the whole time. I also called Jason to give him a heads up that something was going down. So he’s on his way in and will meet us at the station soon.”

  At the mention of Jason’s name her heavy heart lifted and she finally let loose a small smile. “You’ve got people in your corner, Allie. This town looks out for its own, and you became one of its own the second you sat down with Jason at BB-Dub’s.”

  Allie felt her eyes fill with tears at his statement, and she tried to hold them back. This town was such a godsend to her when she needed it the most. She loved Serenity and its people so much, and she just wanted the nightmare of her past to be over so she could move forward with her new life.

  They walked the rest of the way to the station in silence. As they made their way to the front entrance, the sheriff reached over and gave her arm a soft, encouraging squeeze. Allie took a deep breath and they walked inside.

  Chapter 13

  The first thing Allie noticed when they stepped through the door was the absolute silence. The reception area was small, just enough room for the receptionist’s desk, Deputy Dumbass’s desk (who must be out doing dumbass things, because he wasn’t there), and a couple of chairs for visitors. She swung her gaze over to look at the receptionist, who just sat frozen in her chair, wide-eyed and looking completely terrified. Paul stood directly behind her with one hand firmly on her shoulder. A man she didn’t recognize, sat propped on the edge of Deputy Dumbass’s desk with his arms crossed across his chest as he surveyed the room. He was in a police uniform, but not from Serenity. This must be the representative from Free Indeed that the sheriff mentioned.

  A hand clenched tightly onto her right arm and jerked Allie away from the doorway and into the room. Her father spun her around to face him where he was waiting for them next to the door. She gasped from the sharp pain his grip caused, as she looked up to meet her father’s evil gaze.

  The sheriff started to reach for his gun, but abruptly stopped as Paul raised his arm from behind the receptionist to show a gun pointed now at her head. Amy let out a whimper at the cold contact. The sheriff instead held his hands out in front of him in a show of submission, “Let’s all stay calm here. No one needs to get hurt.” He calmly said to Paul.

  “Close the door.” Paul commanded. The sheriff reached behind him to swing the door shut and then roamed his eyes around the room taking in the three men there.

  Paul seemed very content with his show of power by holding a gun to an innocent, terrified woman’s head and threatening her. Next to Allie, Gideon tightened his grip on her arm holding her securely in place with one hand while grasping a gun in the other. The other police officer still hadn’t spoken. He just sat there propped on the edge of the desk as if coolly assessing the situation.

  Paul gestured with his hand for the sheriff to come further into the room. The sheriff took a couple of steps forward, and Gideon shifted to move up behind him with Allie in tow.

  “What is it you gentlemen need—” the sheriff’s words were cut off when Gideon raised the hand holding his gun and slammed it heavily into the back of the sheriff’s head. Allie gasped as the sheriff’s unconscious form fell to the floor at her feet. Amy let out another whimper at the sight of the fallen sheriff, as tears started to spill down her cheeks.

  Allie tensed in fear as her father raised his gun and pointed it at the unconscious sheriff’s head.

  “You don’t need to kill him.” The police officer finally moved from his perch and took a step towards her father, “Enough people have already died.”

  “There�
�re too many loose ends,” Gideon countered. “Leaving him alive now, will just mean one more person who’ll be looking for us.”

  “It won’t matter once you have the files,” he argued back. “Then you can just disappear with new identities, and loose ends won’t be a concern anymore.”

  Gideon heaved a huge sigh, like the thought of leaving witnesses alive was the most inconvenient thing that could ever happen to a person. “Fine,” he finally conceded, “Jake, you and Paul go lock both of them up in a cell.”

  Jake nodded and stepped forward to grab hold of the sheriff and dragged him out of the office area to the back where the cells were located. Paul jabbed Amy in the shoulder with his gun and then waved it toward Jake’s retreating body, indicating that he wanted her to follow. All four of them left the room, leaving Allie alone with her father.

  “You’ve been a bad, bad girl Alethea.” Her father sneered at her as he spat out her biblical name that she hated. All that name did was bombard her with memories that she wanted to leave behind her, along with her father and that place. Allie wanted to stand up to her father, but twenty years of being under his thumb and waiting on his every whim as his dutiful daughter, well it was a hard habit to break. But she was determined to try. She straightened up as tall as she could and met her father’s stare dead on, “I—I have no inclination of ever speaking about what happened back there. You don’t have to worry about that. I don’t know why you’re so determined to come all this way to find me.”

  “Well then you shouldn’t have taken what didn’t belong to you, now should you.” He replied in a much calmer tone than the look of rage on his face indicated.

  “But I didn’t even take that much of the money, only what I needed to be able to get away.” Allie pleaded.

  Gideon slammed down his fist on the desk, causing Allie to jump at the unexpected crash, “It’s not about the money, you bitch!” He screamed at her. Her father had always had a short temper and was quick to take out his rage and anger on his children, but she had never seen him this violent before. Even when he had killed the man back at Free Indeed, he had kept his outward persona in a reserved manner.

  The door leading to the back opened interrupting them, as Jake walked back into the room. “Paul will be right out. He’s taking care of locking up and making sure they’re secure,” he told Gideon.

  Her father nodded in acknowledgement as Jake walked up behind him to lift the blinds and take a peek outside. “Still pretty quiet out there,” he stated, “we should be able to get out of here without any problems.”

  Gideon just grunted back at him without turning, unwilling to take his loathing eyes off of Allie, “As soon as I get what we came for.”

  Allie shivered at his menacing tone as he took a step closer to her. Jake left the window and stepped into position behind her father, resting his hands on the back of one of the wooden waiting room chairs.

  “I think we have enough time for me to teach my wayward daughter a lesson on who’s boss,” the look on her father’s face terrified Allie as he took another step closer to her.

  Allie braced herself for the beating she knew was coming, and raised her chin stubbornly in her father’s direction. He would not see her cower. Not now, after everything she had been through, and all the beatings she had endured. He may beat her, but he would not break her.

  Her look of defiance enraged him even more. Gideon raised his fist to slam it into her stubborn face, but never had the chance to make contact. The wooden chair from behind him flew up and slammed brutally into the back of his shoulders and head. Gideon fell to the floor from the impact, and Allie saw Jake standing directly behind him, pieces of broken chair in his hands.

  “Run!” Jake shouted urgently at her. Allie just stood there for a moment confused as to what just happened. “Get out of here! Go!”

  Not needing any further encouragement, Allie dashed past her father’s stunned figure sprawled on the floor and darted towards the front door. She grasped the handle twisting it as quickly as she could while pushing the door open. She barely took one step over the threshold just as a thunderous shot rang out behind her. Allie froze, fully expecting the stabbing pain of a bullet to penetrate her body. Instead, she was surprised to feel the full weight of Jake’s body slam into her from behind after taking the bullet for her. He had jumped between her and her father, blocking her from the bullet’s path and saving her life.

  Allie looked over her shoulder to see Gideon struggling to get back to his feet. She grabbed hold of the front of Jake’s shirt and jerked him the rest of the way out the door and out of the line of fire. They fell to the ground outside in a heap, Jake’s heavy form landing on top her, as the door slammed shut behind them momentarily blocking them from her father’s view.

  “Get up...you have to get up.” Allie tugged on Jake’s arms and tried to lift him the best she could. He was so much bigger than her. She knew she’d never be able to move him unless he could do some of it on his own. With a grunt of pain he managed to slide his feet under him, and with Allie’s help make it to a somewhat standing position. Mostly he was leaning on her for support, but she would take whatever she could get right now. She led him forward, adrenaline urging her on, just far enough to reach the street in front of them where the sheriff’s car was parked.

  They made it around the car so they would be out of view from the windows in case her father decided to start firing, and then Jake let go of her letting himself flop to the ground.

  “Run.” He sputtered as Allie stood over him trying to get him back on his feet. “You have to run. Gideon has no intention of ever bringing you back to Free Indeed. He’s going to kill you once he gets what he wants. Now run!”

  Fear clenched her heart as his words finally sunk in. So it was true, her father never cared about her or loved her. He just came out here to see her punished for taking what belonged to him. Allie tore off her jacket and pressed it tightly to the deputy’s wound. She grabbed his hands and pushed them against the jacket to seal it tight. “Keep pressure on it.” Allie had to at least do something for him. He had just saved her life and took a bullet for her.

  Jake held the jacket firmly against his chest and looked up to meet her distraught gaze, “Go.” He didn’t have much strength left, but he said it as forcefully as he could.

  “I’m sorry,” Allie whispered as she stood to her feet. She gave the wounded deputy one last look before she turned and ran down the alley.

  Chapter 14

  Allie threaded her way around the buildings as quickly as she could. Her car was still parked where she left it behind BB-Dub’s. She had her keys on her, so she could get in her car and drive away, and this time she’d be smart since she knew her father was after her. She’d have to put more effort into hiding and not use her real name or information. But first, she had to get Shuggy. There was no way she was going to go anywhere without her little puppy.

  Allie ran as fast as she could in the direction of the shelter. She knew she couldn’t waste any time. Her heart cried out for Jason as she ran. The thought of leaving him behind made her feel like she was splitting in two. But she couldn’t let her father hurt him. If he was willing to shoot a deputy, then he was crazier and more violent than she had ever imagined. She couldn’t let him hurt anyone she cared about. As much as the thought of leaving Jason hurt, the thought of him being injured, or even killed because of her would absolutely tear her soul apart.

  Allie ran up to the front door of the now closed shelter with her keys clutched in her fist. She jammed the key into the lock and pushed open the door. After pulling the door closed behind her, she reached up to deactivate the alarm and then hurried to the kennel area. The dogs could already hear her coming and started greeting her with barks even before she made it through the door.

  As soon as Shuggy lay her eyes on her mistress, she began barking and wiggling her butt in happiness. The poor, little puppy didn’t know why her mistress had disappeared in the middle of the day. All
ie dropped to her knees in front of the crate where Shuggy was whining for her and flung open the latch to open the door. She scooped up the little pup in her arms, “We’ve got to get out of here, Shuggs.”

  Her clothes and everything else she could leave behind and replace later. All she needed to take with her was Shuggs. Allie held the puppy tightly tucked under her arm and turned to make her way back to the front of the shelter.

  She froze at the door leading to the office area when she heard Reavers growling behind her. Shuggs instantly tensed up in her arms as if she were receiving instruction from the bigger, older dog. Shuggy looked up at her mistress in warning to let her know something was amiss.

  Allie slowly pushed open the door, just a crack to look into the reception room, and then quickly pulled the door back closed. It was Paul. He had followed her and was inside the shelter.

  Allie backed away from the door and from where Paul was looking for her. She’d have to go out the back and forget about locking up and resetting the alarm. As Allie walked toward the back door, she passed by Reavers’ crate. The big dog continued his low, deep growl while his fur stood up on end like a mohawk down his back.

  “Thanks for the warning, Reavers.” Allie whispered as she passed him.

  Allie made her way through the building until she reached the back fire exit. She slipped out into the night and softly let the door shut behind her. She had only taken a few steps when a dark form lunged out of the shadows, grabbing onto her arm and swinging her around to slam her face first into the wall.

  “You bitch!” Her father hissed in her ear as he pressed up against her from behind, “Did you really think you could just slip away from me a second time?”

  Momentarily dazed from the impact against the brick surface, Allie struggled to clear her head. Shuggy barked angrily at the man hurting her mistress and wiggled around in Allie’s arms turning her body until she could bite at the arm that was holding them pressed against the wall.