by Rita Herron
Brett held his breath. “What did he do when he got mad?”
“He yelled and throwed the food, and then he shut the door and locked me back up.”
Brett hated the bastard more than he’d hated anyone in his life, but he softened his tone. “It’s over now, little man. You’ll never have to see those men again.”
Sam collapsed into his arms again, and Brett rocked him back and forth, soothing him until the little boy’s breathing steadied. He eased him back down on the bed and tucked him in again.
Sam’s sleepy eyes drifted to the shelf, and Brett saw the stuffed pony he’d slept with as a boy. He took it down and handed it to Sam.
“This was my best friend when I was your age. His name is Lucky. He gets lonely up here. Can he sleep with you?”
Sam nodded, then took the pony, rolled to his side and tucked it under his arm. Brett planted a kiss on his head, his heart filled with overwhelming love.
“Night, little man.”
Tomorrow he had to bring Willow home to his son.
But Willow hadn’t told him about Sam, because she obviously thought he wouldn’t make a good father.
How would she feel about letting him be part of Sam’s life now?
* * *
WILLOW STRUGGLED AND FOUGHT to untie her hands and feet. Her fingers and wrists were raw, her nails jagged from trying to tear the rope in two. Finally, she fell into an exhausted sleep just before dawn.
But she dreamed Leo was standing over her with blood spewing from his chest while he held a gun against Sam’s head. She motioned for Sam to stay still and begged Leo to let him go, but he waved the gun at her and ordered her to get on her knees and crawl outside.
Terrified for Sam, she did as he said. He shoved and kicked her until she reached the grave he’d dug for her. A sliver of moonlight illuminated the deep hole where snakes hissed and crawled along the edges, their tongues flicking out as if waiting to take a bite out of her.
Then Leo kicked her hard and she fell, tumbling down, fighting and clawing as she tasted dirt and the snakes slithered over her body and bit her, poison shooting through her blood as she screamed.
A man’s loud voice boomeranged through the room as he burst through the door. Willow jerked upright, disoriented.
Reality quickly interceded as he rammed his face into hers. “Shut up or I’ll shut you up.”
Willow bit her tongue. She’d obviously been screaming in her sleep.
She sucked in a breath and stared at him, determined not to show fear.
Tense seconds passed as he glared at her, daring her to make a sound.
More footsteps, then the thinner man appeared. “We need to set up the meet.”
“I’ll handle it.”
Willow shivered as they slammed the door and left her tied up and alone again. Terrified they’d kill her even if Brett found the money, she started to work on the knots again.
If she could just free herself, when one of them came in again, maybe she could get past him and run.
* * *
BRETT DOZED FOR a couple of hours, but couldn’t sleep for worrying about Willow. Every hour that passed intensified his fear that he wouldn’t be able to save her.
He called first thing about the money, and his manager said all he had to do was pick it up at the bank in Pistol Whip. Brett took a quick shower and checked on Sam, but he was still sleeping, so he grabbed a cup of coffee and breakfast.
Maddox came in, looking tired and stressed to the hilt.
“My manager called. I’m meeting him at the bank to pick up the cash he liquidated for me,” Brett told him.
Maddox accepted a cup of coffee from Mama Mary, then joined Brett at the table. “We found prints at Willow’s. Jasper Day’s and Wally Norman’s. Norman escaped prison last week. He shanked a guard and killed him, then took his uniform to escape. We believe he contacted Day and they came hunting Howard.”
“And when Leo refused to give them their share of the profit from the stolen cattle, they killed him.”
“Exactly.”
“And Willow and Sam got caught up in it because she married the jerk.” Brett grimaced. She wouldn’t have if he’d stayed around.
But you didn’t. You left her alone and pregnant.
That realization made him feel like a heel. While Willow had been raising their little boy, he’d been sleeping around and smiling at cameras.
It was a wonder she didn’t hate him.
“Hoberman will let me know if they turn up anything else useful. But finding those prints is enough to obtain a warrant for the men. I need Howard’s body, though.”
Brett stood and pushed his chair back. “All right, I’ll show you where he is.” He poked his head in the kitchen and called Mama Mary’s name. “I have to go with Maddox. Will you take care of Sam this morning?”
“Of course. Rose is here, too. She loves kids and Sam knows her from when Willow stopped in at her store.”
“Tell her I said thanks. We’ll be back in a bit.”
He grabbed his jacket and followed Maddox to his SUV.
“I wish you’d come to me before,” Maddox said.
Brett winced as his stitches pulled. “I’m sorry, Maddox. I didn’t want to put you on the spot.”
“Didn’t want to put me on the spot?” Maddox said gruffly. “You don’t think burying a body and covering up a crime put me on the spot?”
“I know it did,” Brett said. “But I couldn’t let anything happen to Sam.”
Maddox cut his look toward him. “Did you know he was yours?”
Pain rocked through Brett. “Not until we rescued him, and I saw him for myself.”
Maddox mumbled something low beneath his breath. “He is definitely yours,” he finally said with a small smile.
Pride ballooned in Brett’s chest. “He is, isn’t he?”
A silent understanding passed between them. Sam would be raised a McCullen from now on.
“Where is the grave?” Maddox asked.
Brett pointed to the east and gave him exact directions. Maddox had the ME and Hoberman waiting to meet them, and a few minutes later, Brett walked the ground and showed him the grave.
The CSI team began to dig, turning the damp earth, and Brett checked his watch.
He had less than twenty-four hours now to save Willow.
* * *
WILLOW’S SHOULDERS AND FINGERS ached from twisting and turning, and fresh tears of frustration threatened. She couldn’t work the damn knot free.
The door opened again, and the thinner of the men appeared with a plate of scrambled eggs on it. He set a bottle of water beside it.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” Willow said. Maybe there would be something in the bathroom she could use as a weapon.
He cursed, but gave a little nod, then jerked her up from the bed. “I can’t walk,” Willow said. “Please untie me so I can use the bathroom and eat.”
His beady eyes met hers. “If you try to run, we’ll kill you.”
Fear nearly choked her, but she whispered that she understood. “I won’t run. Brett will get you the money. I know he will.”
“He’d better. We’re out of patience.”
He removed a knife from his pocket and cut the ropes. She shook her hands free, then wiggled her toes as he untied her feet. He gestured toward the hall, and she ducked in and used the facility, then did a quick desperate search for a razor or pair of scissors. Anything to defend herself.
But the cabinet was empty, the bathroom dingy and old, as if the house had been vacant for a long time.
That would make it harder for Brett to find her. She’d already looked out the window and realized they were off the grid and surrounded by woods.
The man pounded on the door and she opened it, trying to play meek as she glanced to the living area and kitchen. She didn’t see the bigger man, so decided that he might be gone.
Getting away from one man would be easier than two.
He grabbed her ar
m, but she lifted her knee and kicked him in the groin. He doubled over and yelped in pain, and she ran toward the kitchen. She spotted a kitchen knife and grabbed it, then flung open the front door.
Cold wind assaulted her, then a man’s fist came toward her face. She tried to scream as the man behind her yanked her hair, but her jaw screamed with pain from the blow the bigger guy had landed.
Another blow to her shoulder blade and she dropped the knife and crumpled, writhing in pain. The bigger guy hauled her up over his shoulder, and the world tilted and spun as he carried her outside.
A second later, he opened the trunk and threw her in. Her head hit something hard, a tire iron maybe, and she saw stars.
“I warned you what would happen if you tried to run,” the thinner man snarled.
The trunk door slammed shut, pitching her into darkness. She tried to stay conscious, but nausea flooded her.
The last thing she thought before the car engine started and the car jerked away was that they were going to kill her and bury her just as she’d done Leo.
Except they’d do it out here in the middle of nowhere where no one would ever find her.
Chapter Nineteen
Brett’s life flashed behind his eyes as he watched the men digging up Leo Howard’s body.
A month ago, hell, two weeks ago, he’d been grinning for the cameras, at the height of his career, with his future bright in front of him. His agent had even suggested him for a part in a Western movie.
Now he’d not only discovered he had a son but he’d become an accessory to a murder and might be facing charges of tampering with evidence and covering up a crime.
Instead of riding for a living or starring in a movie, he might soon be sitting in a cell.
The plastic he’d wrapped around Leo came into view as the diggers dumped wet soil beside the grave. One of them paused when his shovel hit something. “He’s here.”
Brett breathed out in relief. For a fraction of a second, he’d actually been afraid that someone might have discovered Howard’s body and moved him.
Maddox angled his head toward him. “You wrapped him in plastic?”
“And a rug.” Brett grimaced. “I tried to preserve him as best I could.”
Maddox motioned for the men to continue while he stepped aside. “Tell me exactly how you found him.”
Brett inhaled sharply. “I can do better. I took a picture,” Brett said. “I was planning to tell you everything once Sam was safe.”
Maddox muttered a low sound. “All right. Let’s see.”
Brett pulled his phone from his pocket and accessed the picture. “Willow said Howard picked Sam up from a neighbor’s then brought him home. We think the men must have been following him or watching the house, and confronted him about the money. When he refused to give it up, they shot him in the chest and took Sam.”
Maddox studied the picture. “I’ll have forensics process his body and compare evidence from the house to corroborate her story.” His brows furrowed. “Did Howard have visitation with Sam?”
“I don’t think so. Willow said he didn’t want to be a father.” Maybe because he’d known Sam wasn’t his. Had Howard resented that fact? Had he taken his temper out on Sam?
“Then why did Leo pick Sam up and take him back to the house?”
Brett stewed over that. “Maybe he knew his partners were after him, and he intended to use Sam as leverage.”
The breeze picked up dead leaves and dirt, scattering them at his feet. Brett rubbed his hands together against the chilly wind.
“What did Sam tell you about that night?” Maddox asked.
Brett swallowed hard. “Nothing. I...didn’t ask him about it. I figured he’d been through enough.”
The diggers had uncovered the length of Howard’s body along with the bag of bedding. Two of the men climbed in the grave to hoist him from the hole where they’d laid him in the ground.
“I understand why you don’t want to upset Sam, but he might have seen where Howard stashed that cash.”
Brett’s pulse pounded. He hated to make Sam relive that horrible day.
But if he’d seen where Leo hid the cash, he had to talk to him.
Willow’s life depended on it.
* * *
CLAUSTROPHOBIA THREATENED TO completely panic Willow. She was suffocating in the trunk of this car.
The constant rumbling and bumping over rocky roads intensified her headache and made her nauseous.
She reminded herself to breathe in and out and remain calm. Brett would bring the money and rescue her. And if he didn’t...he’d take care of Sam.
The car finally jerked to a stop, brakes squealing. The sudden change in movement propelled her across the car trunk, and she rolled into the side. Doors slammed.
The men were getting out.
Terrified they’d carried her someplace in the wilderness to kill her and leave her body, she frantically ran her bound hands across the interior of the trunk. It was so dark, she couldn’t see, but there had to be a release lever inside.
Although with her hands and feet tied, how in the world would she escape?
A noise sounded, then voices. “What are we going to do with her?”
“Get rid of her.”
The female again. And she sounded so coldhearted.
“We need the money first.”
“All right. Then do it. And kill that cowboy, too.”
Willow’s stomach knotted. Who was that woman?
Doris, Leo’s former girlfriend? Or Eleanor, his grandmother’s nurse? Maybe she’d lied and she had been involved with Leo.
“What should we do with the bodies?” one of the men asked.
“There’s an old mine near here,” the woman said. “Dump their bodies in there, then close up the opening so no one will ever find them.”
Tears blurred Willow’s eyes. If they killed her and Brett, what would happen to Sam?
* * *
BRETT WATCHED AS the medical examiner, a young woman named Dr. Lail, knelt beside Howard’s body. One of the crime workers photographed the way he was wrapped in plastic and the rug, then folded those back so she could examine the body.
Brett ignored the pinch of guilt he felt over burying the man in the cold ground. Howard hadn’t deserved any better.
“I’ll do an autopsy,” Dr. Lail said. “But judging from the gunshots, he probably bled out.”
Maddox thanked her and supervised while they carried Howard’s body to the ME’s van to be transported to the morgue.
“We have to notify next of kin. Did he have relatives?” Maddox asked Brett.
“Father and grandmother.” Brett gave him their names and addresses.
“I’ll ask Deputy Whitefeather to make the notification.”
“I need to go to the bank,” Brett said. “Then I’ll have a talk with Sam.” A talk he dreaded, but one that needed to happen.
Maddox gave a clipped nod. “Call me when you hear from the kidnappers. You aren’t meeting them alone.”
Worry nagged at Brett. “Maddox, if you come with me, they’ll kill her.”
Maddox stepped closer to him. “You can’t afford not to have my help.” Maddox lowered his voice. “Trust me for once, little brother. They won’t know I’m there. But you could be walking into a trap. What would happen to Sam if you and Willow both got killed?”
A sick knot thickened Brett’s throat. But his answer was immediate. “I’d want you and Rose to raise Sam.”
Maddox’s gaze met his, a sea of emotions in his eyes. “Of course I would raise him, he’s a McCullen, but we aren’t going to let anything happen, Brett. Not if we work together.”
It had been a long time since they’d worked together on anything. But Sam and Willow were more important than any petty problem they’d had between them.
So he followed Maddox to the SUV, and they drove into town. Brett went in the bank while Maddox walked across the street to the jail to talk to his deputy about making the death not
ification.
Brett spotted his business manager, Frank Cotton, waiting in a chair outside the bank president’s office. Cotton stood and greeted him with a worried expression, one hand clutching a leather bag.
“Are you going to tell me what this is about now?” Cotton asked worriedly.
Brett motioned for him to keep quiet and they moved against the wall. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
Cotton tugged at his tie. “Listen, if you’re in trouble with one of those rodeo groupies, just tell me and I’ll make it go away.”
Brett jerked his head back. “What are you suggesting?”
“I’m here to do whatever you need, Brett. If you want a girl run off, I’m your man. If you need a lawyer to, say...draw up a confidentiality agreement or adoption papers for a kid, or pay for an abortion, I’ll handle it. We won’t let anything stand in the way of your career.”
Brett stared at him, disturbed by the offer. At one time, his career had been all that mattered. But now he didn’t give a damn about it.
All that mattered was Willow and Sam.
And he’d just reconnected with Maddox. Granted they still had things to work out—whether or not Maddox would arrest him—but he wanted to be part of Maddox’s life.
And part of Horseshoe Creek.
“Thanks,” he told Cotton. “But I’m not paying off a girl. If I need a lawyer, I’ll let you know.”
He took the leather bag, then glimpsed inside. Cash, just as he’d requested. “Just keep this between us, Cotton.”
“Of course.”
Brett turned to leave. “Your agent’s been calling,” Cotton said. “She wants to talk about your schedule this spring.”
“I’ll get in touch with her,” Brett said.
He stepped outside the bank and started to cross the street, but a truck whizzed by and he jumped back as a bullet flew toward him.
Chapter Twenty
Brett ducked behind a pole, just as another bullet whizzed by his head. Who was shooting at him?
He tried to get a look at the driver, but the truck roared down the road in a cloud of exhaust. Then someone slammed something hard against the back of his head, and he stumbled and went down. He tried to hold on to the bag of cash, but someone snatched it from his hands and raced away.