by Tonya Brooks
"Does that mean you're coming back home?" Chip asked hopefully.
"Yeah, it does," she agreed since he knew nothing about her accepting the job at the shelter.
"Why did you leave?"
Yeah, this could get tricky. The safest bet was to stick with the truth as much as possible since her helpful neighbor already knew about the stalker situation. "The whole stalker thing was freaking me out," she admitted. "I just needed to get away for a while, ya know?"
Chip lifted his hand and gently trailed his fingers down her cheek. "I would never let anyone hurt you, Cyn. You have to know that," he said solemnly.
Before she could answer him, the door opened behind her and a shrill voice screeched, "You bitch!" Fingernails dug into her arm and whirled Cyn around to face a furious Cathy.
"Don't touch her!" Chip snarled as he shoved the waitress and she slammed backward against the wall.
Stunned by the attack, Cathy stared at him in shock, "Charles, what..."
But Chip wasn't finished with her yet. He stalked forward and wrapped his hand around her throat with deadly intent. "I've listened to you talk shit about her long enough. You're not fit to breath the same air as Cyn."
Cyn was horrified and knew this would only get worse unless she did something. Her mind raced through various scenarios at lightning speed. If she ran for help, Chip could snap Cathy's neck. If she tried to fight him, he could still kill Cathy and then turn his fury on her. That only left one option. She stepped up beside him and laid her trembling hand on his arm.
"Chip, please don't hurt her," Cyn pleaded as calmly as she could. "She wasn't trying to hurt me. She's just jealous of us." Cathy was clawing at his hand desperately as she fought for air, but her terrified eyes were locked onto Cyn begging for help. "Please, Chip. Let her go and take me home."
"Home?" He repeated as his fingers flexed around the other woman's neck. "To Florida?"
"Yes. Will you come with me?" Cyn pressed.
"I'll go anywhere with you," Chip agreed.
He released Cathy and she slid down the wall into a crumpled heap on the ground. Wheezing and gasping for air, she sat there looking up at the two of them as if they were both insane. Cyn knew that Cathy was her only hope and she hoped like hell the woman had enough sense to do what she told her to.
"Tell John I quit," she told the frightened waitress and linked her hand with Chips. "Let him know that my boyfriend is taking me back to Florida with him."
Cathy attempted to speak and wound up coughing, so she nodded her head instead and watched the two crazy people walk away. Cyn had to be nuts to go anywhere with that man. Holy hell, he'd just tried to choke the life out of her and Cyn was just leaving with him like it was no big deal. The hell it wasn't. She was so gonna have his ass locked up for this.
She managed to get to her feet and walked back into the club, making a beeline for the bar as she held her aching throat. Cathy grabbed a bottle of water and took a swallow. It hurt like hell and she coughed and choked trying to get it down. She grabbed hold of the bartenders arm and rasped, "Get John."
"Damn, girl, what happened to you?" Mike asked in concern as he took in her appearance. "Yo, boss!" He yelled to get John's attention and motioned him over.
"What's up?" John asked as he stepped up to the bar. He saw the red imprint of a hand around Cathy's throat and barked, "The hell happened?"
Cathy was still having problems talking, but she was too pissed to give up. "Your girlfriend," she rasped.
His eyes widened in shock. No way in hell Cyn did that. "Say what?"
"Charles... did this," she complained and motioned to her throat with the hand not holding the bottle. "Cyn... made him stop."
John placed his hands on the bar and lifted his body off the floor with his arms as his eyes anxiously scanned the room for Cyn. "Where the hell is she?" He demanded when he didn't see her.
"Gone," Cathy managed and took another swallow of water. The coughing was getting better but it still hurt like hell to swallow. She glared at her boss and accused, "Said she quit. Crazy bitch. Left with Charles."
"The fuck you say?" Roared through the building with bone chilling fury before he raced for the door. John burst outside and ran around the parking lot looking for his woman, but she was nowhere to be found. That could only mean one thing.
"What's up, bro?" Alex asked as he jogged over to him. He'd heard John yell before he hauled ass out of the building like his balls were on fire.
"Goddamn psycho's got Cyn," he ground out and raked both hands through his hair. "Fuck!" John roared at the top of his lungs and then proceeded to use every word in his highly profane vocabulary as he paced in a circle. His woman was in danger and there wasn't a goddamn thing he could do about it.
"Dude, I got this," Alex said as he pulled out his phone and called the police chief. "Brett, shit just went sideways. We need ya man. Call out the national guard."
Brett sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Dealing with Alex was never easy. "Need a little more detail, Alex," he said evenly.
"Psycho grabbed Cyn and John's freakin' the fuck out," he snapped impatiently. "Get your ass here before my boy goes off the deep end."
"I'm on the way," Brett said as he headed for the door. He ended the call and quickly made another one. "Meet me at the club. The stalker has Cyn. I'm gonna need you to sit on John while I get a handle on the situation."
"On it," Matt agreed.
~~~~~
Chip steered Cyn to where her Jeep was parked and held out his hand for the keys. She pulled them out of her pocket and he opened the door for her like the perfect gentleman. Once she was inside, he went around and got in on the passenger side before handing her the keys. "What about your car?" She asked as her trembling fingers tried to get the key in the ignition.
"It's a rental. I'll call and have the agency pick it up," he explained and then asked, "Why did you tell her that I was your boyfriend?"
Analyzing every word they both said was exhausting when combined with the fear coursing through her veins, but it was her only option. "That was presumptuous of me, wasn't it," she admitted and shot him a smile as she pulled out onto the street. "I thought it would piss her off since she's so jealous of you. Although I am totally open to the idea. You'd be a great boyfriend."
"Since when?" Chip asked with a frown. "You've never said anything like that before."
"Well, duh, Chip. I'm a modern woman and all that, but sometimes a girl likes for the guy to let her know that he's interested." Cyn fabricated. "We hang out all the time so you already know how much I enjoy being with you. When you never asked me out, I figured you just wanted to be friends."
"I like being your friend," he said, those intelligent brown eyes taking in every detail of her face. "I'd like being your boyfriend even better."
"Yeah?" Cyn asked and then managed a laugh. She reached over and linked her fingers with his since she knew he would like her initiating personal contact. "This calls for a celebration."
His mood buoyant, Chip asked indulgently, "How would you like to celebrate?"
"Ever been mud boggin'?" She asked as an idea began to formulate.
"No, I can't say I have," he denied.
"Chip, you are gonna love it!" She enthused. "Oh my God, it is sooo much fun."
"Hey, if it makes you happy, I'm in," he agreed.
She squeezed his hand lightly and said, "Best. Boyfriend. Ever." Cyn just hoped she could keep him amused until John found her. It never even occurred to her that he wouldn't. She trusted the bad boy implicitly and knew that he would move heaven and earth to find her and bring her home again.
~~~~~
Brett and Matt arrived at the same time and it looked like Alex had been right. John was completely losing his shit. He stalked over to Brett, grabbed two fists full of his shirt and pulled him into his face to thunder, "Find my woman!"
Brett reached up and grasped the younger mans shoulders as he met his wild eyed look evenly. "I can't do
it without your help, John," he pointed out reasonably. "I need you to get your shit together and tell me what happened. Can you do that so we can get her back?"
John unclenched his fists, let his head drop down and took several deep breaths. Calming his rioting emotions was not easy, but he had to get Cyn back, dammit. He had to. "Yeah," he finally said when he looked back at the chief. "Yeah, I'm good."
"Alright, every minute we waste the window between them and us gets bigger, so I need details fast." Brett explained so they would understand the urgency. "What happened?"
"Chief!" Cathy half croaked, half yelled as she stormed toward them. "I was assaulted and I want his ass locked up."
"Cathy was there. She can tell you," John informed the chief and raked a hand through his hair again.
"What happened?" He asked the waitress as he pulled out his notepad and pen.
"Walked outside and saw Charles holding Cyn," she rasped angrily.
"Charles who?"
"Murdock," she said in annoyance at being interrupted. "He shoved me against the wall and started choking me. Bastard would've killed me if Cyn hadn't made him stop."
"What did she do?" Brett pressed.
"What the hell difference does it make?" She demanded angrily. "He assaulted me and I want him locked up."
"What did she do?" Brett asked again and this time his tone demanded an answer.
"Asked him not to hurt me," she spat like an angry kitten. "He let go when she asked him to take her home."
"Wait, she left with him willingly?" Brett wanted to clarify.
"Yeah," Cathy snorted in disgust. "Chick's crazy. Don't know why she'd go anywhere with a psycho like that."
"You bitch," John seethed as he advanced on her. "Cyn left with a fuckin' psycho to save you!" Yeah, he was yelling again, but dammit that freak had his woman. He felt a hand come down firmly on his shoulder and looked up into Matt's piercing black eyes.
"Dial it down, little brother," Matt urged. "This ain't helping."
"John, we don't know that it was the stalker," Brett pointed out in the hopes of calming him down.
"Stalker?" Cathy asked in surprise.
"Someone has been stalking Cyn for months, "Brett hastily explained. "He tracked her here from Florida, and..."
"Wait, he said Florida," Cathy recalled. "When she asked him to take her home, he asked, to Florida and she said yes."
John cursed a blue streak again as the chief demanded, "What else did she say? Anything you can think of."
"She said, tell John I quit. Let him know my boyfriend is taking me back to Florida," she finished in a rush. "Then she took his hand and led him to her Jeep."
"She was driving the Jeep?" Brett asked in surprise.
"Yeah. Charles's car is still parked over there," Cathy explained and pointed to the dark, nondescript sedan parked at the end of the lot.
"Is the tracker still attached?" Matt asked hopefully.
"Unless the perp removed it," Brett confirmed.
"Can we find her with it?" John demanded, torn between hope and terror at this point.
"I can," Alex admitted and whipped out his phone to pull up an app.
"Do I even want to know how you got the frequency?" Brett asked warily. Alex was as badass with IT as he was on the drums. The man could hack anything , and had done so. Repeatedly. They just couldn't prove it because he was that good.
"Uh, uh," the drummer denied since he had hacked the police department files to get the info after John told him about the stalker. Alex tapped the app and within seconds, a blinking red dot appeared on the screen. "Got her."
"Where the hell is she?" John demanded.
"Dude, you sure this is the right frequency?" Alex asked the chief with a frown as he studied the map. "Cause if it is, she's at the mud bog."
That was all he needed to know. John raced across the parking lot and jumped into his truck, Alex right beside him. He tore out of the driveway and hit Third Avenue sideways, burning rubber every inch of the way. Matt and Brett piled into the chief's Grand Cherokee and hauled ass after them.
"Get Alex on the phone," Brett commanded as he called the station to give his deputy orders where to meet them. "Tell him to make John back off."
"Not gonna happen," Matt denied and knew his brother wouldn't stop for anything until he got his hands on Cyn. Hell, he wouldn't either.
"If the perp hears that thing coming, he might hurt her before we can stop him," he pointed out.
Matt snatched his phone out and called the drummer. He relayed the message and heard Alex repeat it to John. He could hear his brother cussing like a sailor just before he saw the Ram's brake lights flash and the big truck began to slow down.
When John stopped at the turnoff to the road that led to the bog course, Brett pulled up beside him. He'd called in the cavalry and every one of his men should be there within minutes. "What's she doing?" He asked Alex as they got out of the vehicles.
"She got stuck, bro. The dot ain't moving," he admitted as he rounded the front of the truck.
"What part of the course is it on?" Matt queried.
Since he owned the land and had designed the course himself, John knew it better than his own backyard. He looked at the topographical map shown on the screen and replied, "She's in a ditch between the hills."
"Lots of open land around there," Brett pointed out. "We need to go in on foot to keep the element of surprise on our side. There's no telling what he'll do to her if he's cornered."
"Dude, that's a lot of ground to cover," Alex reminded them. "Lot of water, too."
And a whole lot of places to hide a body, the chief knew, but didn't bother mentioning. Three more cars pulled up behind them and the deputies got out of their vehicles to begin putting on Kevlar vests and radio headsets. He had trained his men well and they were prepared for anything. But none of them could track as well as Matt and he knew it.
"Matt you're coming in case we need to track them," Brett ordered and received a nod of confirmation as he began to suit up. "John, I need you and Alex to block the entrance in case they try to leave. The rest of us will fan out and..."
"Fuck that," John flatly refused. "I'm going."
"Listen, I know you want to be there for her, but you're not trained for this," the chief said sternly. "Don't make me cuff you till it's over."
"John, we got this," Matt insisted. "Cyn's family. Harley will kill me if I let anything happen to her."
"I can't lose her, Matt," John choked out rawly.
"You won't," he swore and pulled his brother in for a quick hug. Not if he could help it. If Cyn was out there, he'd find her. And God help the stalker if he got his hands on him.
Brett handed a headset to John. "Listen, but be quiet," he instructed. "No cussing fits or we won't be able to hear each other."
"Got it," he agreed and grabbed the other mans arm, "Brett, man, I..." Words failed him.
Brett gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Simple locate and extract, John. Piece of cake."
John nodded his agreement and watched the men file into the woods. He'd never felt so damn helpless in his entire life.
~~~~~
"Are you sure about this?" Chip asked dubiously as he eyed the muddy terrain that the headlights displayed.
"I'm sure it's the most fun I've ever had," Cyn assured him with a fake smile that made her face hurt. "I'm sure I want to share it with you, too."
Chip liked the idea of her wanting to share something that she enjoyed with him and it seemed innocuous enough. Though for the life of him he could not understand why she was so excited about driving through mud. "Then let's do it," he agreed indulgently.
Cyn knew he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, which is how she had come up with this insane idea to begin with. Going through the course without one could get you knocked out and that was exactly what she was hoping for. "Here we go," she grinned and brought her foot down hard on the gas pedal.
The forward momentum threw them both backward an
d she screamed as they charged up the first hill. The realization that she'd been going too fast came just a little too late, but by then they were airborne. The Jeep landed hard, the back wheels sinking into the mud filled ditch while the front tires gripped and dug at the bottom of the next hill as she pressed down even harder on the gas pedal.
"Cyn, this is insane," Chip protested as he held onto the bar mounted on the dash and was not enjoying this at all. "Stop the car."
She eased off the gas just a bit to straighten the vehicle out as they climbed to the top of the next hill and then stomped down on the accelerator to give them an extra boost. The Jeep flew straight across the ditch below and slammed grill first into the side of the hill, slinging both of them forward into the air bags. The impact sent the vehicle backward as gravity took over and pulled it down into the ditch with a splash.
The Jeep shuddered as the engine sputtered to a stop. Chip groaned in pain from where he lay sprawled over the airbag, the broken passenger window having connected with his head. Cyn didn't waste a second. She flung her door open, unsnapped the seat belt and squeezed out from under the airbag. She dropped into the muddy ditch and moved as fast as she could away from her ruined vehicle.
The Jeep and Chip were between her and the road leading out, but there were thick woods surrounding the course that she could hide in until John found her. And he would find her. She knew it with an unshakable confidence that would have shocked her a month ago. Because she trusted him with her safety more than she did with her heart.
She only wished that she had listened to her heart and told him that she loved him. If Chip found her first it would be too late. She'd die and John would never know how much he meant to her. The thought of him standing over her grave grieving tore at her heart and spurred her on. She could do this. She would do this. She had a bad boy to claim.
Cyn made it out of the ditch, but the clouds had covered the moon and she couldn't see a thing in the pitch black. The ground disappeared from beneath her and she shrieked as she fell headlong into the pond. She came up spluttering and clapped a hand over her mouth. Sweet baby Jesus, she had to get a grip before Chip came to and heard her.