Beyond Control

by Kat Martin

  He had tried to keep his distance, but he was a man, not a saint, and he wanted Tory more than he had wanted any woman he could recall. Apparently, she wanted him, too, and that was all the justification he needed, even if his conscience nagged him.

  Since thinking about having her again was making him hard, he bent and dug his shovel into a load of heavy black ash, hoisted it up, and dumped it into the wheelbarrow. Noah was busy knocking apart half-burned boards that had once been part of a stall, while Cole walked over to fire up the skip loader.

  The sun beat down, shining directly overhead. Josh took off his hat and mopped his forehead with his arm, settled his hat back on.

  When he looked up, Tory was walking out of the house carrying a tray piled with sandwiches, a pitcher of lemonade, and a stack of red plastic cups. She smiled and the kick he felt went straight to his groin.

  She was so damned pretty. His mind began to imagine ways he would take her the next time they were together, but he shut the thought down. Maybe by now Tory had come to her senses and changed her mind.

  “I figured you guys would be hungry by now,” she said. “Where should I put the tray?”

  He walked over to the back of his pickup and lowered the tailgate, took the tray from her hands, and set it down.

  “Sandwiches look great. Thanks.” The roar of the powerful diesel engines stopped. The guys clustered around the tailgate and the sandwiches began to disappear.

  “So how was your morning?” he asked, just to hear the sound of her voice.

  “Not as good as I’d hoped. I used the phone you bought me to call my friend in Phoenix. It’s been a while since we talked. I was really looking forward to catching up but the call went straight to voicemail. I called her office but they said she wasn’t there. She didn’t call in this morning and she didn’t show up yesterday, either.”

  “Is that unusual for her?”

  “Yes,” Tory said. “Lisa’s extremely responsible. I’m worried about her. I phoned a friend of hers and asked her to go by Lisa’s house and check on her. Shelly said she’d stop by on her way home from work. I figured it was okay to give her the number of the disposable since I can always get rid of it.”

  He didn’t like that she had to be so careful. No one should have to hide themselves the way Tory did.

  “Something probably came up,” he said. “No use worrying till you know what’s going on.”

  “You’re right, but still . . .” She glanced toward the house. “I need to get back.”

  “I’ll walk you.” They left the men to finish their lunch, and he walked Tory up on the porch. “I’ve been thinking about last night,” he said.

  Her head came up and her gaze found his. “I’m not sorry. I hope you aren’t, either.”

  Relief slipped through him. “I’m not sorry.”

  “So . . . umm . . . maybe you’d like to come over later. After I put Ivy to bed.”

  His blood heated, began to hammer through his veins. “Yeah. Okay. Great.”

  “I’d better go. I’m fixing spaghetti for supper.”

  “Spaghetti sounds good.” His mouth edged up. “I’ll have my dessert later.”

  Tory blushed crimson. Turning, she opened the door and disappeared inside the house.

  Josh took a couple of deep breaths, imagined himself in an ice-cold shower, and went back to work.

  * * *

  Tory’s day continued downhill. First, she couldn’t find Lisa, then the five o’clock news on KTEF 6 was bad. A terror attack at Houston’s Hobby Airport had killed six people. The entire city was in lockdown, though the police had shot and killed the two men responsible for setting off a bomb in front of the ticket counter.

  Commentators were speculating the attack might be linked to the terror cell that had plotted to blow up the state capitol a few months back. They thought the recent lone wolf knife attack in Austin might have been another member of the cell.

  News like that was always upsetting, but at least it kept her mind off Josh and what was going to happen when he came over later that night. A prospect that both thrilled and terrified her.

  Then things got worse. Shelly called. Lisa wasn’t at home and it didn’t look like she’d been there for the past few days. Her plants were dying and the curtains throughout the house were closed. The weird part was her car was in the garage, her purse sat on the kitchen table but her phone was nowhere to be found.

  Shelly had tried calling Lisa over and over, just as Tory had been doing, but the calls just kept going to voicemail.

  “I’m calling the police,” Shelly said.

  “Yes, I think you should. I’m really worried about her.”

  “Me too. I’ll keep you posted. I know how close you two are.” Shelly ended the call. As worried as Tory was, she had no choice but to go ahead and finish making supper.

  Since Josh would be working late, she made a plate for him and put it in the oven, then took Ivy and their portion back to the trailer. After supper, Tory put Ivy to bed and read The Little Red Hen for what seemed the hundredth time, until her little girl finally fell asleep.

  As she returned to the living room, Tory thought of Josh and the evening they had planned, but her mind kept straying to Lisa and what might have happened to her. Nothing she came up with made any sense. She was pacing the floor of the living room when Josh rapped softly on the door.

  “Hi,” he said as he walked inside, leaned down, and kissed her. He must have read the worry in her face because he gently caught her shoulders. “Something’s wrong. What is it?”

  Her eyes burned. “My friend Lisa. She’s missing. I’m really scared for her, Josh.”

  He started to say something but the phone rang just then. Tory hurried to answer it. “Yes?”

  “It’s Shelly. I’ve got bad news, Tory.”

  Her stomach clenched. “Wh-what is it?”

  “Lisa’s in the hospital in Flagstaff. She’s in critical condition.”

  Tory felt the blood draining out of her face and she started to tremble. Josh guided her over to the sofa and gently eased her down.

  “She’s in a coma,” Shelly was saying. “As soon as she’s stable, they’re airlifting her to Scottsdale Memorial.”

  “What . . . what happened?”

  “The police aren’t sure, but . . . Tory, Lisa was shot.”

  She made a little sound in her throat and Josh took the phone from her hand.

  “My name is Josh Cain. I’m a friend of Tory’s. Tell me what’s going on.”

  His jaw hardened as Shelly retold the story. Then he handed back the phone and stood in front of her with his hands on his hips and his legs braced apart.

  “I’m . . . I’m on my way back to Phoenix,” Tory said. “When you see Lisa, tell her I’m on my way.” She could pay for the trip on her credit cards. She hadn’t used them because she didn’t want Damon to find her. Now she had no choice.

  “I’ll tell her.” Shelly started crying. “The police think she was abducted from her house, Tory. She’s in really bad shape. The doctors don’t know if she’s going to make it.”

  Tory bit back a sob and blinked against tears. “Tell her I’m coming. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “When she wakes up I’ll tell her. I promise.”

  The call ended and Tory started crying. Josh sat down beside her and drew her into his arms. “Easy, honey. I’m right here, okay?”

  She looked up at him and the tears in her eyes rolled down her cheeks. “The police think Lisa was abducted, Josh. Whoever did it, shot her. Who would . . . who would do something like—”

  Her heart jerked and her head shot up. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God, Josh, what if it was Damon?”

  “Hey, wait a minute. You don’t know he had anything to do with this. You can’t jump to conclusions.”

  “Damon knows she’s my closest friend. Maybe he thought she knew where I was. Maybe he took her so he could force her to tell him.” Fresh tears welled. “If it was him, what ha
ppened to Lisa is my fault.”

  Josh gripped her shoulders. “Whatever happened, it wasn’t your fault. None of this is your fault. If you’re right—and we have no reason to think that yet—the only person to blame is Damon Bridger.”

  “We have to tell the police. We have to call them.”

  “You can’t do that, Tory. You don’t have any proof.”

  He was right. Damon was cunning and he was extremely smart. If he had abducted Lisa, he would have taken every precaution, done everything in his power to hide his identity.

  “I have to get to Phoenix. I’ve got room on my credit cards. I was afraid to use them, but now—”

  “I’ll take you to Phoenix. I’ve got money. There’s no need to use your cards.”

  “I can’t do that, Josh. This isn’t your problem. It never has been.”

  His features turned hard. “I’m making it my problem—as of right now.”

  Tory made no reply. She needed his help. Desperately. Aside from that, you didn’t argue with a man like Joshua Cain once his mind was made up.

  Chapter Fifteen

  They decided to leave Ivy with Mrs. Thompson. It was a difficult decision, but the thought of dragging her little girl through long hospital corridors, or keeping her for hours in waiting rooms that smelled like antiseptic, seemed a far worse option.

  “She’ll be fine,” Mrs. Thompson said when Tory explained what had happened. “We’ll play games and bake cookies. We’ll have a pajama party. You just take care of your friend.”

  Tory managed to smile. She was grateful that Ivy was so caught up in playing with Mrs. Thompson’s antique dollhouse, she barely noticed when Tory and Josh left the house.

  “I know it’s stupid,” she said, fighting the urge to cry as the pickup headed for town. “But we haven’t been apart since I got out of the hospital.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Josh said.

  “I know.” She turned in the seat to look at him. “What about the ranch? Do you think Cole and Noah can handle it? The cows seem pretty self-sufficient. What about the horses?”

  “They’ll be fine. Cole’s staying in the house at night. He knows a kid who’ll take the job as a stable hand, boy about nineteen who loves to ride. He’ll get paid but he’ll also be able to ride on the weekends whenever he wants. Cole thinks he’ll be a great fit.”

  “That’s one problem solved, but—”

  “Noah and Cole will both be there in the daytime to look after the livestock. If there’s a problem, one of them will call and we’ll figure a way to handle it.”

  Tory leaned back in her seat. She thought of the man sitting next to her, a slightly different Josh than she had seen before. This man was completely in charge, more assertive, totally in command of the situation. Odds were this was Josh the marine.

  Her thoughts returned to Lisa as the pickup rolled toward town. Shelly had called early that morning. Lisa had been medevaced to the hospital in Scottsdale. Mr. and Mrs. Shane were flying in from New York but they couldn’t get there until tomorrow.

  Lisa had never been close to her family, who had wanted her to marry one of her dad’s wealthy friends instead of having a career. But Lisa was still their daughter, and they had to be sick with worry.

  Tory really needed to get there.

  “Airport security’s going to be a nightmare after the terror attack in Houston,” she said.

  Josh flicked her a sideways glance. “Won’t be as bad as you think.”

  “Why not?”

  He smiled. “Because we aren’t flying out of Dallas-Fort Worth. I called my brother. I don’t like asking him for favors, but I figured this was important. According to Linc, the Iron Springs Municipal Airport has a five-thousand-foot runway. He’s sending a jet to pick us up and take us to Arizona.”

  “You’re kidding, right? Your brother has a private jet?”

  “Company jet. Citation SII. Linc owns half of Texas American Enterprises.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. She had seen Tex/Am trucks on the highway. Everyone knew the Dallas corporation was mega-successful, but she hadn’t connected the business in any way to Josh or his family.

  As an advertising exec, she had flown on a chartered jet a couple of times, but those days seemed an eternity ago.

  “I can’t believe your brother is loaning us his plane.”

  “Yup. We can be in Scottsdale in about two hours.”

  She said a silent prayer of thanks. She needed to get to Lisa as quickly as possible and now she would be there in very short order. “It costs a fortune to fly one of those things.”

  Josh just smiled. “Linc’s always asking me if there’s anything I need. This time I said yes.”

  It wasn’t long before the pickup was parked at the airport and they were settled aboard Lincoln Cain’s fancy Citation jet.

  “From sleeping in the backseat of my car in the Walmart parking lot to this—” She gestured toward the plush cream leather interior and polished mahogany tables. “I feel like I’ve stepped into an alternative universe.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s not the life for me, but it suits my brother. Linc’s as comfortable on a jet as he is on the seat of his Harley.”

  “Your brother rides a Harley?”

  “He says it relaxes him.”

  “Sounds like an interesting man.”

  He flicked her a hooded glance. “He’s happily married.”

  Tory just smiled. “Believe me, one Cain brother is more than I can handle.”

  Which was pretty much true, though at the moment, with her friend’s life hanging by a thread, sex wasn’t a high priority.

  She glanced over at Josh, who had relaxed back in his seat, and guilt slipped through her. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

  Those blue eyes swung in her direction. “Yeah? What is it?”

  “My name isn’t Ford. My real name is Victoria Bradford.”

  His features tightened. “You’re kidding me. You lied about your name?”

  “I had to. I went by Terry Rutherford for a while, but I hated being someone else. When I got to the ranch I felt a little safer so I used Tory Ford, which was closer to my actual name.”

  “I don’t like being lied to, Tory.”

  “I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner. I wanted to, I just . . . I don’t know . . . it’s hard for me to trust people anymore.”

  “What else haven’t you told me?”

  “Nothing. I swear. You’re the only one who’s ever helped me. You deserve the truth. I meant to tell you the other night, but we . . . umm . . . got distracted.”

  His expression changed. His eyes heated as he remembered their encounter; then the corners crinkled with amusement. Finally, he relaxed. “Okay. But from now on, no secrets, all right?”

  “No secrets. I promise.” Except how attracted she was to him. But every woman deserved to keep a few thoughts to herself.

  Josh settled back in the deep leather seat. Tory took a deep breath as the wheels started rolling down the runway. A few minutes later they were airborne. The flight smoothed out. While Josh fetched a couple of sodas from the galley, Tory pulled out a deck of cards.

  “Any chance you like to play poker? Or I can just play solitaire.”

  His interest sharpened. “You play poker?”

  “My dad taught me when I was a kid. Three Card Stud or Texas Hold ’Em?”

  Josh eyed her with suspicion. “Texas Hold ’Em. What are the stakes?”

  Clothes sounded good, but getting naked on Lincoln Cain’s fancy jet was probably not a good idea. “How about toothpicks? I saw a box of them in the galley.”

  Josh unfastened his seat belt and got up from his chair. “Good a way as any to pass the time.”

  They played till the plane started its descent. Unfortunately, the game ended with the two of them nearly even, which impressed Josh and insulted her. She didn’t tell him she was way out of practice and he was in for trouble the next time they played.

&
nbsp; The landing at the Scottsdale Airport was smooth, just the brush of wheels before the plane settled and taxied down the runway. At the executive terminal, they picked up the vehicle Josh had rented from Avis, a black Jeep Cherokee, and headed for the hospital.

  Scottsdale Memorial, a beige, four-story stucco building constructed in a flat-roofed, high desert style, loomed ahead. Josh parked the Jeep in the lot and they went inside. Tory felt his hand at her waist as they walked up to a woman with short-bobbed, faded gray hair sitting behind a computer screen at the front desk.

  “We’re here to see Lisa Shane,” Josh said. “Where can we find her?”

  The woman typed in the name. “Ms. Shane is in intensive care. Take the elevator up to the second floor, turn right, and head down the hall. You’ll see a nurses’ station. They can give you more information there.”

  “Thank you.” They started in that direction, Josh walking beside her, his features unusually stiff.

  “How long were you in the hospital after you were wounded?” Tory asked, sensing the problem.

  “Two months. I was lucky.”

  “You consider spending two months in the hospital lucky?”

  His eyes found hers. “I was lucky to be alive. Some of my friends didn’t make it.”

  “I’m so sorry, Josh.”

  “When I got back to Texas, I got involved with a program that helps wounded vets. That’s how I met Noah and Cole and a lot of other good men.”

  She fell silent. No wonder he looked so grim. She remembered the story she had read about him. He’d lost good friends, spent months in the hospital. This place had to be bringing back bad memories. She wished she could have spared him, but she was glad to have him along, though clearly he would rather be home.

  Home. When had she started to think of Texas as home? It was dangerous. She couldn’t afford to get attached when she might have to leave.

  She thought of Ivy, how much it would hurt to tear her away from the first place she felt safe. She missed her daughter already, wondered what she and Mrs. Thompson were doing. She would call as soon as she could.

  The elevator dinged and the door slid open. Josh walked her up to the nurses’ station and she spoke to a nurse in green scrubs.