His heart pounded, and red hazed his vision. The bastard had driven away with Sam. He couldn’t imagine she’d gone without a fight, which meant… He forced down rising panic and turned toward Juliette. “Somehow he talked her into leaving with him.”
“Why would she do that?” Her voice shook.
Ethan took a deep breath. “You’re right, but people would have noticed if she struggled. Did you ask around?”
Juliette nodded. “Everyone was busy taking down the stalls and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. No one noticed Sam leave.”
“That’s because they went out the back.” He lifted the canvas flap again, ducked inside, then scanned the ground for scuff marks. Some evidence Sam had fought. His search revealed nothing. Hands fisted, he turned in a slow circle. A ray of dying sunlight glanced off something shiny beneath one of the scarecrows. He kicked it aside. A short syringe lay half buried in the hay.
His breath came in short, hard pants. “That’s why she didn’t yell. Harris drugged her.”
Grabbing the counter for support, Juliette held on so tight her knuckles turned white. “We have to call the police.”
“Yeah, we do.”
“They’ll have a lot of questions.”
“I’m not going to stick around to answer them, not when every minute Sam’s gone—” He ran his hand through his hair. “Here comes Darby.”
With a cry, Juliette slipped under the counter and ran to her friend. The two women clutched each other while she spoke, the music from the country-western band drowning out her words.
Darby’s string of oaths was clearly audible. “I’ll kill him!”
Ethan shook his head as he approached them. “You two call 911 and then find Ken. He’ll get faster action from the authorities than anyone else. I’m going after Sam.”
Juliette’s eyes were dark pools of fear. “Where do you think she is?”
“If they aren’t at Harris’s house, I’ll try the ski center. The two aren’t far apart.”
Darby gave a curt nod. “Find her, Ethan.”
“I will.” With a sharp whistle for Sadie, he sprinted toward his pickup.
****
Sam slowly opened her eyes and blinked. Dark shadows shifted and moved in the vacillating light. Disoriented, she struggled to get her bearings. Her head pounded, and her stomach rolled as she bumped against something both hard and soft. Flesh over bone—a shoulder. Kicking out, her knees sunk into a flabby belly. Her captor grunted and dropped her. She hit the ground with a thud that left her gasping for breath.
A scowling Bob Harris loomed above her. “Why’d you do that?”
“You drugged me! Are you crazy?” Of course he was crazy. Only someone certifiable would—
“I wouldn’t have done it if you’d kept your word. Do you think I want to hurt you?”
She scrambled to her feet, wondering if she could outrun him. Probably not. Temples pounding even harder than her heart, she swayed as the effects of the drug made her lightheaded. “Let me go, then,” she said in what she hoped was a reasonable tone. Screaming at him wouldn’t help her cause.
“Too late for that. If you and Ethan had minded your own business, I wouldn’t have to resort to violence.” He hunched one shoulder, a genuine look of regret sliding across his face. “You brought this on yourself.”
“It isn’t too late, honestly. I won’t tell anyone you abducted me. Ethan doesn’t know you’re the one who…who…” She bit her lip. Her heart pounded. “I’ll convince him to quit looking.”
He sighed and shook his head. “Nope, can’t do it. I don’t trust you anymore. I’m really hoping your friends keep their mouths shut when you don’t come back. Self-preservation can be a strong motivator.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m something of an expert on the subject.”
Overhead, trees swayed in the strengthening breeze. What daylight remained was fading fast. The thought of being alone in the woods after dark… “Turn yourself in, Bob. I’ll testify that you didn’t mean to hurt that woman. So will Juliette and Darby.”
“Her name was Iris.” His voice was eerily soft.
“Iris. You didn’t want to hurt her. It was clearly an accident. But if they find my body, no one will believe you were innocent of that murder.”
Too late, she realized it was the wrong thing to say.
“Oh, they won’t find you. I’ll do a better disposal job this time.”
Chill crawling across her skin, she tried one more attempt at reason. “Your plan isn’t going to work.”
His face hardened. “Yes, it will work.”
“Ethan won’t stop looking until he finds me.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
Arguing was getting her nowhere, plus it was growing darker by the minute. Please, God, let me run faster than him.
She kicked out, connected with his groin, and nearly unbalanced herself. Without waiting to see if she’d done any damage, she took off. Lungs straining with exertion, she sprinted full out. Branches slapped against her face. Her foot caught on a root, and pain shot up her leg. Ignoring it, she ran on. Ahead the trees thinned. Please let there be a road, a house… She raced out of the forest, and the weight of disappointment slammed her in the chest. The ski trail above the lodge descended in a gentle slope, the bulk of the building a darker shadow in the evening gloom.
Footsteps pounded the earth behind her. For a big man, Harris was surprisingly quick. Whimpering as pain shot through her ankle, she forced herself to run faster. Beyond the parking area was a road. If she could reach it… She tripped and sprawled flat on the ground then scrambled to her knees. A hand clamped around her upper arm. With a shriek of rage, she lashed out, scratching his face.
“Damn you, little hellcat!” He smacked her on the side of the head.
Ears ringing, she kicked at his legs.
“Bitch.” Crushing her chest with his arms, he lifted her off her feet.
Headlight beams flashed through the darkness as a pickup roared into the parking area below. Sam screamed, and kept screaming until a hand clamped hard over her mouth.
A car door slammed. “Sam, Sam!”
She bit down on Harris’s fleshy palm, but his grip didn’t ease. Heart pounding wildly, she squirmed and twisted in his arms. A blur of snapping, canine fury hit him at the knees. With a shout of pain, he dropped her. White fangs gleamed as the dog growled low in its throat.
Sam rose on shaky legs. “Sadie?” Her throat clogged with tears. “Good girl.”
Breathing hard, Ethan ran up and pulled her into his arms. “Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head but couldn’t tear her eyes away from the shiny knife blade in Bob Harris’s hand.
“Drop it, Bob.” Ethan’s voice was calm and cold. “With or without a weapon, this dog will take you out on my command.”
Harris’s hand shook, and the knife fell to the ground. He covered his face. “I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”
In the distance, sirens wailed, breaking the stillness of the night.
****
Sam leaned against the seatback of Ethan’s pickup as they rolled through the dark streets of Ravenswood. Exhaustion weighed on her like a suit of armor, and her ankle, encased in a blowup splint, throbbed. She’d given her statement to the police and been checked out by paramedics, refusing a trip to the emergency room.
“You okay?”
“Just tired. And thankful. So very thankful.” She stroked Sadie’s silky fur. Muscles quivered beneath her hand as the dog leaned against her. “Your girl was the heroine tonight.”
“She was pretty spectacular, but then so were you. You fought like a champion, Sam.”
“I wasn’t going to let him win.” She turned in the seat and smiled. “I have way too much to live for.”
“Damn right.” He wheeled onto his driveway and drove to the end to park by the house. Outdoor lights shone on either side of the front door. A few half-hearted woofs of greeting came from the ke
nnel in back.
Sam opened the door and slid off the seat. Ethan was there to steady her as shaking feet touched the ground. Wrapping his arms around her, he leaned his forehead against hers.
“I was scared to death I wouldn’t find you in time.”
“I knew you’d come. I just kept praying you’d arrive before Bob completely lost it.” She sighed. “I kind of feel sorry for him.”
Incredulity lit his eyes as he looked down at her. “Why?”
“I really don’t think he’s violent by nature. He might lash out in anger, but premeditated murder is beyond his capabilities. His plan to get rid of me wasn’t very well thought out. Threats were more his thing.”
“I think I’ll save my sympathy for someone more deserving.” He scooped her into his arms and carried her up to the porch.
“I can walk, Ethan.”
“Humor me.” Turning the knob, he shouldered open the door. Sadie padded along behind them as he headed toward the back bedroom. With care for her injured ankle, he lowered her to one side of the unmade bed. Dropping down beside her, he held her in his arms.
Leaning against him, all the stress of the past few hours drained away. She couldn’t imagine anyplace she’d rather be. Or that a time would come when being held by Ethan wouldn’t feel perfect and right.
“I don’t know if our plan for the future is going to work.” His breath stirred the hair over her ear. “We may have to rethink it.”
Her stomach dropped, and she stiffened. Just when she’d thought she could trust a man with her life and her heart…
His arms around her tightened. “I don’t think slow steps will be enough for me. In those endless minutes when I thought I would lose you, I knew without a doubt I wanted you in my life forever.” He held her face in his palms and looked into her eyes. “Will you marry me, Sam?”
A burst of joy, like firecrackers on the Fourth of July, exploded in her heart. She stared back at him and blinked away a rush of tears. Speechless, she nodded.
“I love you.”
Bringing a hand up, she stroked his cheek, the rough scratch of his beard abrading her fingertips. “I love you, too. I don’t want to live without you, and I’ll forever regret not figuring out we were meant for each other five years ago. All that wasted time,” she moaned.
“It wasn’t wasted. Those years brought us to here and now. Do you have any doubts we were meant to be together?”
“None. It’s funny how you can see your priorities so clearly when you realize you might not have time to act on them.”
“But that didn’t happen, and we have all the time in the world.”
His lips settled on hers in a kiss that stole her breath. Together they tumbled backward onto the bed, falling into their future.
Other Books in this Series
She’ll Never Rest
Secrets of Ravenswood Book Two
Darby Kincade is a genealogist—not a ghost hunter. But when she’s hired to research the Nash family tree, her job description blurs. Discovering the identity of the spirit who lingers in the ancestral home promises to be both challenging and fun—despite her client’s skeptical grandson.
Logan Nash doesn’t believe in ghosts, but Darby’s wit and tenacity intrigue him. Though his practical side objects, he’s drawn to both her and the old mystery. As their feelings for each other deepen, and they grow closer to uncovering the truth, someone is determined to keep long dead secrets buried.
Will Darby and Logan find love—or will the past come back to haunt them?
Purchase now from Amazon
A Word About the Author…
Write about what you know. Jannine Gallant has taken this advice to heart, creating characters from small towns and plots that unfold in the great outdoors. She grew up in a tiny Northern California town and currently lives in beautiful Lake Tahoe with her husband and two daughters. When she isn’t busy writing or being a full time mom, Jannine hikes and snowshoes in the woods around her home.
Whether she’s writing contemporary, historical, or romantic suspense, Jannine brings the beauty of nature to her stories. To find out more about this author and her books, visit her website at www.JannineGallant.com.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Blurb
Other Books by Jannine Gallant
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Other Books in this Series
About the Author
We'll Never Tell (Secrets of Ravenswood) Page 11