by Alison Bliss
Wailing sirens sounded in the distance and, out of my peripheral vision, I saw a speeding truck with flashing red lights barreling up the secluded road leading to the abandoned barn. Someone was coming to help me. That’s when I realized Dan was missing. Was he okay? Had my father killed him to…get to me? A sense of dread washed over me. Oh God, no! Please let him be okay.
Anger, bright and hot, flashed through me.
As my father leaned over me, brushing my hair from my eyes, I shoved my foot into his chest and kicked out, catching him off guard and knocking him backward. I flipped over to scramble to my feet, but he quickly regained his balance and grabbed me by my ankle before I had the chance. “Anna, wait!” he growled.
Panting, I spun around and tried to hit him with my good arm, but he caught my wrist mid-swing. Those small efforts left me winded, but I had to do everything in my power to get away from him.
“Stop fighting me and let me help you.”
I battled weakly against his grip as the roaring truck skidded to a halt only yards away from where my father held me captive in his tight grasp. The driver’s door flew open and Cowboy leaped out, pistol in hand. “Let her go,” he said firmly, lifting his arm and aiming the gun at my father’s head to punctuate his demand.
Stuart glared at him. “You’re making a big mistake.”
Cowboy’s eyes narrowed and his jaw twitched as he cocked the hammer back. “No, you made the fucking mistake by coming after her. Now step away from her, or it won’t be your last.” His even tone had a convincing edge to it.
My father released my arm and stepped back.
I scrambled to my shaky feet and stumbled toward Cowboy, who met me halfway. Out of breath, I fell just as he reached me. Wrapping his free arm around me, he tried to hoist me back up, but in my breathless state, I collapsed onto the ground and coughed violently.
He knelt beside me, keeping his gun trained on my father. “You okay, darlin’?” His voice was thick with fear and strained with worry. Tears of relief overwhelmed me, but I managed to nod. He pulled me tight against his chest and I moaned at the pain radiating up my arm. Loosening his grip, he looked me over, frowning. “Whose blood is that?” he asked, eyeing the dried red streaks running down my arm.
“Mine,” I wheezed out.
Cowboy’s eyes took on a wild, untamed glaze and shifted back to Stuart. “You sonofabitch!” His index finger curled around the trigger.
“No, d-don’t,” I whispered, my scratchy voice sounding strange even to me.
“Damn it, Anna! He tried to kill you.”
“I didn’t hurt her,” Stuart said calmly.
The death grip Cowboy held on his pistol tightened even more. “I’ve seen dozens of scars on her body that beg to differ.”
Stuart’s face twisted with something strangely resembling pain or possibly agony as his eyes darted to me. “Baby girl, we need to talk about your mother. You need to know I—”
“You’re talking to me now,” Cowboy growled, cutting off Stuart’s words. “Not her. Don’t address her. Don’t even fucking look at her.” He stood and, taking a few steps forward, fine-tuned his aim directly at my father’s head. “If you have something to say, you say it to me…and only me. Got it?”
The corner of Stuart’s mouth twitched and amusement lit his eyes.
“Keep smiling, you sick sonofabitch. I dare you.”
The overriding fury in Cowboy’s caustic voice frightened me, and a shiver ran the length of my spine. His posture stiffened and his body quivered with undeniable rage. Intense green eyes held Stuart’s as if Cowboy were waiting for the man to give him a reason to shoot him. But would Cowboy actually pull the trigger?
Several vehicles with flashing red and blue lights slowed out on the main road and turned onto the long dark driveway leading to the barn. But their howling sirens had nothing on the warning bells going off in my head.
From what I could tell, Stuart was keeping his distance and no longer posed a threat to anyone, including me. If Cowboy’s wrath unraveled any more, it was possible he would snap and do the unthinkable. Not that Stuart Nelson didn’t deserve it. He did. But I wasn’t about to let Cowboy commit murder for me. Which is exactly what he would be doing if he shot an unarmed man.
“Don’t,” I said, though it came out as barely a whisper. “Please, Cowboy.”
He didn’t even look at me. “Why not? He deserves it after what he put you through. At most, it’s justifiable homicide. He tried to kill you tonight.”
I shook my head and cleared my raw throat. “H-he didn’t. I don’t know why, but…he pulled me away from the fire.”
Cowboy paused. “Even so, if he wouldn’t have started the fire to begin with—”
“I started the fire,” I admitted.
Finally, he glanced over, his gaze meeting mine. “You set the barn on fire?” he asked, confusion slanting his lips.
Still trying to catch my breath, I nodded. “It was an accident.” I coughed so hard, I ended up gasping for my next breath.
Two Liberty County Sheriff cruisers, three fire engines, and an ambulance pulled onto the scene. An older sheriff with a mustache slid out of the car closest to me and pulled out the gun in his hip holster. He kept it lowered, but held it ready in his hand for any sign of trouble. “Cowboy, lower your weapon.”
Slowly, Cowboy brought his arm down to his side, pointing his pistol at the ground, but kept his piercing eyes on Stuart.
“Now, would someone tell me what the hell is going on here?” the sheriff asked, as if he were puzzled as to why we were all standing around watching an old barn burn to the ground.
“This man is Stuart Nelson, a convicted murderer who was recently released from prison. He’s been stalking Anna Weber, the only surviving victim of a fire this man started twenty-two years ago.”
The sheriff’s face hardened and his eyes zeroed in on me. “Is this true?”
Still coughing and feeling short of breath, I answered again with a quick nod.
The sheriff and the two deputies flanking him turned all their attention on my father. “Lie face down and put your hands behind your back.”
“Maybe I can clear up some of the confusion,” Stuart said, addressing the sheriff directly.
“On the ground. Now,” the sheriff ordered, approaching him cautiously.
“Okay, fine,” Stuart responded, dropping to his knees. “But my daughter and her friend are in need of medical attention. They were both locked in the barn when the fire broke out. The old man is still lying in the field on the east side of the barn. I left him there in order to get Anna to safety. I think he has a broken leg.”
Dan? He’s alive? Thank God!
The sheriff motioned for his deputies to check on Dan and then his eyes cut to me and his brows pinched together. “Daughter?” he repeated.
With just that one word, my breath backed up into my chest and my body went numb. I gasped for air, but it was like my lungs didn’t know what to do with it. Now that the perceived danger was gone, emotions overwhelmed me and tears of relief swept over me.
Without a word, Cowboy stalked past me to his truck and shoved his gun under the driver’s seat. Then he returned, lifted me into his strong arms, and carried me toward the ambulance parked nearby.
I opened my eyes, blinking at the bright lights above me, as the oxygen mask made a hissing sound. Inside the ambulance, the paramedic hovered over me, strapping a blood pressure cuff on my right arm.
“Is she going to be okay?” Cowboy asked, his voice thick with fear and strained with worry.
“Let me finish checking her over,” the paramedic replied. “She has some minor cuts and burns, but I think she’ll be all right. The dislocated shoulder probably won’t need surgery since that guy popped it back into place so soon after her fall. She’ll most likely have to wear a sling for a short time, though.”
I tried to speak Cowboy’s name, but my throat was hoarse and too raspy to make out the word. Even though I had an I
V hooked into my left arm, the paramedic handed me a bottle of water. “Sip this carefully. Only a little at a time.”
I removed the breathing apparatus from my mouth and took a small drink. I might as well have been trying to ingest dust. The water trickled down my dry throat, and an explosion of deep coughs erupted from my chest. When the eruption went dormant, I tried to speak with my scratchy voice. “Cow…boy…”
“Don’t try to talk, Anna. Lie still and let him help you. You’re safe now. I got to you in time.”
Barely.
“H-how’d you…find me?” I whispered, my voice straining to eke out the last two words.
Cowboy kissed my hand and then rested his forehead on it. “Someone called it in.”
The inflection of his tone led me to believe things were not as simple as he stated. “Someone?” I croaked out.
He smiled warmly at me. “Shhh. Don’t worry about that right now. Just concentrate on getting better.”
I was so tired and felt safe, knowing Cowboy stood sentry at my bedside, so I allowed my eyes to flutter closed while the paramedic continued his medical assessment.
“Darlin’, open your eyes,” Cowboy said, pulling my hand into his. “We need you to stay awake.”
I did as he asked, then gave him a weak smile as I squeezed his fingers to comfort him. Cowboy’s expression was grim as his head dropped between his knees. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to you in time and couldn’t rescue you from the fire.” He shook his head with disgust and sighed. “I shouldn’t have left you alone when I went on that fire call. This is all my fault.”
“Y-you saved me…from my father,” I said softly.
“That I did,” he said, grinning. “Your own real-life Prince Charming, huh? And I didn’t even need a white horse to do it.” Cowboy winked at me, but I detected a touch of sarcasm in his tone.
Something was off with him.
“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to step out of the ambulance for a moment,” the paramedic said, addressing Cowboy. “I need to assess her without her trying to talk any more.”
I tried to sit up, but Cowboy stopped me. “Whoa, tiger. You’re staying firmly planted in this ambulance until you get checked out at the hospital.” I shook my head back and forth and started coughing violently. “It’s okay, darlin’. Let him do his job. I’ll be outside and won’t leave your sight. You’re safe.” Cowboy brushed my cheek with his hand, then kissed me on my forehead.
As he stepped out of the ambulance, there were two sheriff deputies standing just outside the ambulance doors, as if they were guarding us. Several other deputies combed the surrounding area searching for clues, as two paramedics wheeled Dan toward a second ambulance parked next to us. He was grumbling under his breath about kicking the shit out of the “stinkin’ idiot” who tried to burn him alive.
Stinkin’? Since when did Dan refrain from using stronger words than that?
Firefighters hosed down the blaze, even though the entire barn had already caved in. I caught a glimpse of Mandy running past the ambulance in full bunker gear. I wouldn’t have known it was her if she hadn’t been shoving her helmet on her head at the time I’d spotted her.
My gaze shifted as someone stepped into my line of sight. It was the mustache-wielding sheriff who’d pulled his gun out when he arrived. “Ma’am,” the man said, tipping his hat to me. “I’m Sheriff Hunter Wells with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office. Would it be okay if I asked you a few questions?”
I nodded, but Cowboy shook his head. “Anna’s been through enough tonight. Why don’t you go question Stuart Nelson instead?”
“Mr. Nelson answered all of our questions already,” Sheriff Wells said, his eyes zeroing in on me. “We released him ten minutes ago.”
I gasped and shot straight up on the gurney, as if someone had erected a metal spike in my back. “What? You can’t! H-he’s going to—” I coughed so hard, sputtering to get the words out, that my head hurt.
Cowboy climbed into the ambulance, took my hand and squeezed it. “Damn it. Anna, you need to settle down.”
“No, I—” I started coughing again.
His jaw tightened and he glared at the sheriff. “Want to explain why the hell you let the ex-convict go?”
“Sorry, Cowboy, but it looks like Stuart Nelson’s not our guy. We don’t have any evidence to hold him. Not only did he pull Miss Weber to safety by her own admittance, but he also was the one who made the 911 call. I had dispatch compare his cell phone number to the person who called in and it was the same…as he claimed it would be.”
“Doesn’t mean he didn’t kidnap Anna.”
Sheriff Wells shrugged. “Not sure what he’d gain by calling the cops on himself. Doesn’t seem like something anyone with half a brain would do. Stuart Nelson doesn’t seem to be the likely culprit here. He did, however, give us a lead to follow.”
“What lead?” Cowboy asked.
“Miss Weber, do you own a blue Chevy Cavalier?”
I nodded slowly, unsure as to where Sheriff Wells was going with his question.
“Your fath—I mean, Mr. Nelson—said he arrived at your house just as a blue Cavalier pulled away and followed it out here. Since it was a dead end, he pulled over up the road a little ways and waited to see what you were doing.”
“But I didn’t—”
The sheriff raised his hand to stop me from continuing. “It’s okay, we know that much already.”
Cowboy glared at him. “Stuart Nelson is lying. Anna’s car was still in her driveway when I got back from the fire call. Her vehicle wasn’t stolen.”
“He’s not saying it was stolen. More like ‘temporarily borrowed.’”
I shook my head. “None of this makes any sense. Why would the kidnapper take my car and then return it?”
“We have reason to believe the perpetrator wasn’t aware the old man was in the barn,” Sheriff Wells explained. “Nelson said your vehicle barreled out of here at a high rate of speed. He tried to follow it, but lost it a few miles down the road. Once he made it back to your home and saw your Cavalier sitting in the driveway, he drove back to the barn to find out what you’d been doing out here.”
“And that’s when he found the barn on fire?”
The sheriff nodded. “He called in the fire, then found your friend and moved him to safety. Said he hadn’t even realized there was anyone else inside until the old man told him otherwise. He ran back to the barn and saw you climbing down the ladder.”
“Well, that’s just great,” Cowboy sneered, pulling off his hat and scrubbing a hand through his hair. “So on his word alone, you let the ex-convict go.”
“Didn’t have a choice,” the sheriff said. “We had nothing to tie him to the kidnapping. The only other suspects at this time are—”
“The B-Barlow b-brothers…” I wheezed, then stopped long enough to catch my breath. “It was them? They…did this?”
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out, ma’am.”
Cowboy sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’re going to catch whoever’s responsible for this. No one’s going to hurt you ever again.” His cell phone must’ve buzzed because he stood and pulled it from his hip and looked at it. “I have to take this,” he said, leaning down to kiss my forehead before hopping out the ambulance doors.
The paramedic glanced over at Cowboy. “We’re ready to roll. If you want, Captain, you can follow behind the ambulance. Just be sure to turn on your flashers and emergency lights.”
“Follow? Are you kidding? I’m leading this parade,” he said, giving me a wink.
Chapter Nineteen
After arriving at the understaffed emergency room, I changed into a hospital gown, had a scan of my shoulder, and was eventually admitted to a room upstairs with Cowboy at my side. The nurses monitored me for any worsening signs of respiratory distress until the doctor on duty made his rounds and wheeled in a small surgical tray.
He examined me first, payi
ng close attention to the sounds of my respirations, before moving on to my shoulder. The doctor explained how the results from my scan had showed no permanent damage, though I’d still have to wear a sling for a short period of time to promote healing. After adding a few stitches to the gash in my arm, he pushed the tray aside and told me he was keeping me overnight for precautionary observation due to the large amount of smoke I’d inhaled.
I wasn’t the least bit surprised. Been there, done that.
When the doctor finally left the room, Cowboy kissed my cheek and rubbed his calloused thumb along my jaw as he gazed down at my bandaged wrist. “I’m sorry, Anna. I wish I’d been there to protect you. I should’ve been. This is all my fau—”
I pressed my finger to his lips to silence him. “Don’t say that. You can’t stand guard over me every minute. The Barlows would have gotten to me sooner or later.”
“It won’t happen again,” Cowboy said, deadly promise looming in his threat.
The door opened and we both looked up.
Sheriff Wells stepped into the room, followed by Mandy Barlow, who was no longer in her bunker gear. Neither of them looked happy. Not that I expected her to be after hearing her brothers were going to be arrested.
“Did you pick up Joe and Clay Barlow, yet?” Cowboy asked, apparently ignoring the shine of Mandy’s teary eyes.
“No,” the sheriff said. “That’s actually what I came to talk to you about.”
They didn’t catch them?
The sheriff hesitated. “They said they weren’t responsible for Miss Weber’s kidnapping, and I have no choice but to believe them.”
“It had to be them,” Cowboy snarled, shaking his head in disgust. “If it wasn’t Stuart Nelson, then they’d be the only ones left who had any connection to Anna and would want to do her harm. What about all the threats they sent her?”
Sheriff Wells wrinkled his brow in confusion. “Threats?”
Everyone shifted their eyes onto me and I sighed. “After I had a run-in with the Barlow boys, I started receiving hostile notes in my mailbox. I thought they were just trying to intimidate me, though.”