Rayne paused the search for her phone but shook her head. “He can do that if he wants but I want to talk to Dare as well. He might have questions for Sophie.”
“Don’t.” Tim’s command was abrupt and in a completely different tone than his normally easygoing manner. Her heart stuttered and a nervous chill ran through her body. She looked up from her handbag just as Tim pulled a gun from his pocket, pointing it directly at Sophie. “Step away from your purse and put your hands up. Don’t make me hurt her.”
Rayne raised her hands and took a few steps back. A sob erupted from Sophie and she pressed her fingers over her mouth. “Tim, what are you doing? Where did you get that gun?”
Tim reached into his back pocket and pulled out a set of handcuffs, which he tossed to Rayne. Pointing the gun at Sophie’s head, he didn’t bother answering any questions.
“Put the cuffs on Rayne, sweetheart. Behind her back, if you please.”
Rayne’s pulse roared in her ears but she took a few breaths to try and stay calm. She needed to keep her wits about her and not do anything stupid. Stupid was how people ended up dead.
“How did you get the gun?” she asked as Sophie snapped the cuffs on her, the metal cold against her flesh. “Did you have it when you came here? I don’t remember seeing it.”
Tim gestured for Sophie to go back and sit at the table. “It’s Billy’s gun and handcuffs. By the time he wakes up with a headache we’ll be out of here.”
At least Billy wasn’t dead, but that was small comfort when there was a gun pointed at her heart.
“And where are we going?” Rayne asked, although she had a pretty decent idea.
Tim smiled as he held the gun on the two women, looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He probably didn’t since she and Sophie had just solved his problem about the drawing.
“To the cave, of course, but you knew that didn’t you, Rayne? You’re a pretty smart lady and quite talented. Too bad I don’t have time for some ink.”
“What is wrong with you?” Sophie whined, tears still coursing down her cheeks. “Why are you doing this? Tim, it’s not too late. We can call my brother and work all this out.”
“Honey, that’s the last thing we’re going to do. And I’m doing this for the money, of course. Lots of it. Duke and I will be rich and we can leave this piece of shit town behind.”
“You’re one of the bank robbers,” Rayne said, her fingers gripping the kitchen counter behind her as if holding it would keep her sanity in check. How many times did a human being get to cheat death? Someone had already tried to burn her to death; now Tim Wallace had a gun and she was probably just collateral damage. “But I don’t understand why you needed the drawing. You are the one that broke into my shop and home, correct? And mugged me?”
Trying to fit the puzzle pieces together kept her mind preoccupied and not thinking about how much fucking trouble she was in at the moment. Things didn’t look good for her or Sophie and a wave of responsibility ran over Rayne as she gazed at the sad and terrified young woman. She had to get them both out of this alive and as unscathed as possible.
She needed a plan but subterfuge wasn’t one of her strengths. She’d spent most of her life dealing with people as straightforwardly as possible.
Tim nodded in agreement. “I am, although I had help from Duke. I mugged you while Duke broke into your place. It was easy to trail the sheriff since I was dating his little sister.”
“You jerk,” Sophie spat, her eyes red-rimmed and her face pale. “Why would you do this? What’s in it for you?”
“Money, my sweet, although dating you wasn’t the hardship I thought it might be. You were perfect for keeping tabs on the sheriff and you were a decent fuck as well. I’m tired of living paycheck to paycheck and being a joke in this town. I want what other people have. You were just a means to an end.” Tim grinned and brandished the handgun. Hatred and anger burned in Rayne’s gut as Tim smirked in victory. If her hands had been free she would have happily slapped the crap out of him for hurting Sophie. “Now it’s time for you to be a good little girl and get in the utility room.”
“What?” Sophie was shaking her head and another sob tore from her throat. “I’m not going in there.”
“Actually, you are. I noticed that the room locks from the outside. They probably put the door on backwards but it will come in handy today. With no windows and a solid wood frame it should keep you out of the way until I retrieve the money and get out of town.”
“You think the money is in the cave?” Rayne asked, hoping to distract and delay as she pulled at the metal cuffs. If she could keep him talking Dare might show up before Tim left. “How did you not know where the money was? That doesn’t seem like good planning.”
Scowling, Tim stepped closer, the muzzle of the gun only a few feet from Rayne’s heart.
“The money started out at the mine house but then Patrick got paranoid and moved it. Ernie and Milo confronted him about it but Patrick just said he was making sure nothing happened to the money.”
A thought hit Rayne and she shook her head in disgust. She should have known before now. “You asked me about dating Dare before anyone knew. But you knew because you were following me.”
“True,” Tim conceded. “Although Duke helped too. I knew Dare was going to be an issue after last night but I didn’t think I’d get a lucky break this quick. He’ll be gone for hours for the autopsies.”
Tim grabbed Sophie’s arm so hard she yelped and tried to twist away, but he was so much larger and stronger he was easily able to overcome her struggles and toss her into the utility room. Rayne assumed she was next but instead he slammed the door shut and locked it, a satisfied grin on his face. He slid one of the chairs under the knob with a grunt before banging on the door. “You be a good girl in there. I hope you’re not afraid of the dark.”
The sounds of heartbroken sobs could clearly be heard through the door and Rayne had to restrain herself from kicking Tim in the groin. Sophie was learning a hard and terrible lesson about men today and she wouldn’t forget it very soon.
“You just used her and now you’re tossing her away.”
Tim leaned forward as if to tell her a secret. “Just between you and me I kind of liked her. But I knew she could never deal with this. She’s too much like her tight ass brother, all law abiding and shit. Now you, my dear Rayne, you’re something completely different. You’re a woman that understands nuance. I’m not sure what you see in that Gomer of a sheriff.”
Rayne could spend the next twenty-four hours extolling Dare’s virtues but that wasn’t what Tim wanted to hear at the moment, so she tried to ask him more questions.
“There were only four bank robbers, but you’ve talked about five people. Were you there at the bank?”
Tim just laughed and reached for her, his fingers digging into her arm. She had to bite her lip to keep from crying out in pain, but she didn’t want to scare Sophie on the other side of the door who couldn’t see what was happening.
“I think we’re done with the question and answer period of the evening. It’s time to go.”
He practically dragged her to the front door, pausing there to hold the gun to her temple.
“Don’t make a fucking sound. No screams for help, nothing. If you want you and Sophie to come out of this alive you’ll do exactly what I tell you. I’m not a murderer but I can be.”
She nodded, pressing her lips together as sweat began to pool at the base of her neck. Keeping her gaze away from Tim’s face, she was able to control her breathing enough that she didn’t shake with fright. Wanting to believe what he said was true, she didn’t try and pull away or scream. For now, she’d play along and wait for an opportunity to escape.
Swallowing hard, she let him escort her to his truck, shoving her into the passenger seat. He swung into the driver’s side and fired up the vehicle, kicking up some dust as he pulled away. She craned her neck to peer into Billy’s car and saw him slumped over the whee
l unconscious. She prayed Tim was correct and the young deputy would have nothing more to remember this than a nasty headache.
Her arms and shoulders ached and her heart pounded against her ribcage. It made her sick to think she’d defended this man to Dare.
It was all about survival now.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Dare turned the SUV into his neighborhood, fatigue lying heavy on his shoulders and mind. It had been a damn long day and he was anxious to have a hot shower and a cold beer. He wouldn’t mind some tender loving care from the woman in his life either, if she was offering. A neck rub sounded like heaven after the crap he’d been through at the coroner’s office.
He’d shown up thinking that they were going to perform the autopsies but there’d been a paperwork snafu, so instead he’d stopped at the station to have them start running the prints before heading back home.
To Rayne.
It felt right having her in his house, his bed. She made even the everyday things like making coffee or watching television better, and he had a sneaking suspicion he was going to want her to do those things with him for the foreseeable future. And beyond.
He passed Billy’s cruiser and was pulling up into the driveway when Billy and Sophie came barreling out of the house right in front of Dare’s truck. He slammed on the brakes and threw the vehicle into park before jumping out to see what was going on. Sophie’s face was red and tearstained while Billy’s forehead had a trickle of blood between his eyebrows.
Dare’s chest felt heavy and he had trouble exhaling as he desperately looked for Rayne as well. He ran up to Sophie and wrapped his arm around her waist, supporting her slight weight. She was still crying and he had a hard time making out her words between sobs. He turned to his deputy who was holding a dishtowel from the kitchen to his head.
“What the hell happened here? Where’s Rayne?”
Billy’s breathing was labored and he seemed to have trouble getting the words out with a couple false starts. “Tim knocked me out and stole my gun. Then he locked Sophie in the utility room.” Billy paused, his eyes wide with fear. “He’s got Rayne and he’s on the move.”
Dare half coughed and half gasped, feeling like he’d been punched in the gut. Tim had Rayne? Did that mean Tim was part of…
Son of a bitch. He’d known that pissy little bastard was trouble.
Dare placed his hand on Billy’s shoulder to get his attention. “Radio for backup and an EMT. You need someone to look at that bump on your head. Then radio Tanner Marks in Springwood and tell him to get his ass over here. He’s going to want to be in on this. Go.”
Stumbling down the driveway, Billy made it to his vehicle and Dare turned his attention to his weeping sister. He lifted her quivering chin so she had to look up at him and brushed at her wet cheeks. “Baby girl, I need you to tell me what’s happening here. Are you hurt?”
Sophie shook her head, hiccuping as she scrubbed at her swollen eyes.
“Do you know where Rayne is?”
She nodded but her breathing instantly sped up. Not a good sign. “Can you tell me where Tim took Rayne? Can you do that for me?”
“He–he took her to the caves outside of town. The symbol on the design is spray painted on the side of one of the caves. That’s where the money is.” More sobs shook her slight frame. “He robbed that bank and he dated me to keep an eye on you.”
Holy fucking hell, when Dare got his hands on that prick, Wallace was going to wish he’d never been born. No one touched his sister and his woman.
He didn’t have all the details he’d like to have but there was no time for a long interrogation. He needed to get to Rayne as soon as possible. He guided Sophie back into the house and set her down on the couch. “I need you to stay here with Billy, okay? I’m going to get Rayne and then we’ll be back and you can tell me all about this.”
Sophie nodded, tears still flowing, but she wiped her face with the hem of her shirt and put on a brave face. “Go get her, big brother. She has to be so scared. He made me handcuff her so she can’t defend herself.”
Dropping a kiss on the top of her head, Dare strode out of the house to his SUV. Protecting his woman was uppermost in his mind and he wouldn’t falter from his task.
Because he fucking loved her.
He hadn’t said it yet but he did. It was what the entire relationship had been leading up to and he desperately wanted a chance to tell her. Prove to her how he felt even if her feelings weren’t the same.
Tim Wallace had made a grave error and was about to pay the price.
* * * *
“You’ll never get away with this.”
Rayne wasn’t sure why she was even bothering to speak, especially a cliché such as this one, but she couldn’t seem to control her mouth. Something deep inside was forcing the words out as if talking affirmed her continued state of…aliveness.
Tim’s old truck pulled to a halt at the end of the dirt road. “I think I will. Your hero Dare is going to be caught up with those autopsies for hours so there’s no one to come to your rescue.”
That’s exactly what she was afraid of. Until Deputy Billy woke up or Sophie managed to get out of the utility room, Rayne was up a creek without the proverbial paddle. There was only herself to depend on and the last time she’d been in a life or death situation she hadn’t saved her own life. It had taken Jason and his father to drag her butt out of that burning building, and they were in a completely different state at the moment. She had to blink away the tears that were welling up in her eyes and swallow the lump that had taken residence in her throat.
The outlook was bleak.
If Tim meant what he said about leaving Rayne alive he would probably abandon her here once he found the money. She could die of exposure while waiting for rescue and she had a feeling that was a particularly nasty way to go.
If Tim was being honest…
He exited the truck and came around to her side, pulling her out and to her feet. His fingers gripped her arm as he dragged her toward the cave, a flashlight in one hand. She stumbled over the uneven ground trying to keep up with his longer legs but he didn’t slow his gait, clearly anxious to recover his money. As they moved closer, Rayne could make out the spray painted image on the rocks that matched the drawing.
“Slow the hell down. If the money’s here it’s not going anywhere.”
“What do you mean if it’s here? It has to be here.”
Tim’s brows pulled down and his eyes narrowed, not liking her statement at all but then she hadn’t said it to make him more comfortable.
“It doesn’t have to be,” she countered, sweat sliding down her back, making her shirt stick to her skin. Rising fear kept her heart galloping, but she tried to ignore it by keeping up a steady dialogue. “Moulson could have been using the tattoo as a red herring. Maybe the money is in some offshore account in the Cayman Islands.”
His head whipped around and he jerked her up close so she was looking into his blazing eyes. “It’s fucking here. It has to be here.”
“I’m sure it is. I was just conjecturing.”
Rayne used her most soothing tone but he didn’t appear mollified. He yanked her over to a large rock at the mouth of the cave and pushed her down onto it, adding a few more bruises to her already sore body.
“Sit the fuck down and shut up. Don’t try and run or scream, either. Not that there’s anyone here to help you. We’re all alone, baby.” Tim ran his finger down her cheek and she shuddered in revulsion. “Maybe after I get the money you and me can celebrate. I bet you’d like that. I always thought you’d be hot in the sack. I can count your tattoos and piercings.”
I’ll see you in hell first.
“Fuck you.”
Tim laughed as he reached for Rayne’s foot, tugging off first one tennis shoe and sock and then the other.
“Fuck you too, sweetheart. I’ll just take these shoes to make sure you won’t go anywhere. It would be suicide to run even with them. You’d die of e
xposure before sunup but this will make sure you stay put.”
Stuffing the socks into the shoes, he reared back his arm and tossed a shoe into the darkness. She heard a thud in the distance before he threw the other one.
“Those were my favorite Chuck Taylors.”
Cold was already beginning to seep through into her toes. Tim Wallace was a true bastard extraordinaire. He was going to leave her to freeze to death in all likelihood.
“Women love to shop. Now stay here and be a good girl.”
“Fuck you.”
“I think we’ve been through this once already but luckily for you I don’t hold a grudge.”
The moon was high in the black sky and Rayne shivered as the cold breeze dried her damp skin. Tim went deeper into the cave until she couldn’t see him anymore but could hear his heavy boots stomping on the packed ground.
As soon as he was out of sight, Rayne struggled to her feet. Her heart pounded wildly and her mind raced with possibilities, each one more dire than the last. Her odds weren’t good either way but staying with him was surely a death sentence. Best case scenario she’d be raped and left for dead. Running was a lousy option but it felt like the only one she had. That little voice in her head that had saved her ass too many times to count was chattering away in her ear, urging her to get away. Run. Move. Anything but stay here like a fly caught in a spider’s web.
Her gaze darted in every direction, calculating the most advantageous place to run or hide. She wanted to run toward the main road but that direction was too exposed and Tim would easily spot her even from a distance. Running away from the road didn’t make much sense either, as she would be moving farther from civilization and a human being that might help her. To her right was rocky terrain that would be hell on her now freezing bare feet.
To the left then.
Not wasting any more time, she took off running into the dense trees and bushes, hoping against hope that Tim couldn’t see her in the dark. It wasn’t a full moon but there was enough to light her way until she was in the dark shadows of the large pine trees. It was then that the reduced visibility played havoc and she found herself stumbling and falling to her knees a few times.
Justice Inked (Cowboy Justice Association 7) Page 23