by Lexi Post
The scene from last night barreled through her head and she jerked herself upright. Her sister had stolen from her. Her sister. Crystal.
“She’s down here.”
She jumped at the sound of Hunter’s voice behind her. “Shit, could you not do that?”
The man ignored her and moved to the sink. As he filled the coffee pot, the sound of footsteps grew louder until Vince was there, standing in front of her. He crouched down and brushed the hair out of her face. “Hey.”
She looked into his eyes and saw a shitload of sympathy. It brought her tears back, her mind flooding with the memory of sitting here bawling her eyes out. She shouldn’t have any water left in her to cry.
She sat back away from him. She’d be damned if she would cry any more over being a fool. “Morning.”
His brow knit with puzzlement. “You okay?”
She took a deep breath, dispelling her need to cry as she latched onto her anger. “Yes, I’m all right. I’m no longer the fool I’ve been.”
Vince shook his head. “It took Hunter and me days of work to figure this all out. There was no way you could have known.”
She shook her head. “The signs were there, I just didn’t see them.”
Hunter put a hot cup of coffee in front of her. She gave him a grateful look and picked it up. “I don’t understand why she did it. She loves this place.” She took a sip, both loving and hating the liquid for waking her up more.
“She does love this place. That’s why she always returned enough money to keep the ranch solvent. If you hadn’t received that notice, you wouldn’t have known, though your bull and horse would still have been taken.”
She pushed the other cup of coffee Hunter had placed on the table toward Vince. “Explain please.”
He ignored the coffee but sat in the chair next to her, taking her hand in the process. “Crystal had your two most valuable animals taken so she could sell them in time to replace the money she owed your checking account.”
“But why did she need so much money?”
Hunter sat down across from them. “She lost her job last month. The firm got tired of her coming into work late after her nights out on the town.”
She looked back to Vince. “But why is she spending so much? It’s not like we were poor growing up, and the ranch could handle our needs even after our parents passed. The only time money was tight was after Mom died and the medical bills came in, but we made it through okay.”
Vince squeezed her hand. “It’s not about the stuff. I’m no psychiatrist, but my guess is that Crystal buys things to compensate for the loss of your parents, maybe even her baby.”
A strange relief flooded her at Vince’s suggestion. His explanation of Crystal’s motivation made her actions possible to accept. It didn’t excuse them, but it fit better with the sister she knew and loved.
“Damn, you sound like one of my old therapists.” Hunter quirked a smile.
Vince shrugged. “That’s the theory I like best. The other is that she purposefully wants to bring the ranch to bankruptcy.”
Rachel sucked in her breath at the hurt that rifled through her heart from his statement. She didn’t like that one at all. “I’m going with your first theory, which means we need to find Crystal some help.”
Vince took a sip of coffee and looked at Hunter.
“What?” She didn’t like the sinking feeling in her stomach at that exchange.
Vince squeezed her hand again, a sure sign she wasn’t going to like what he said.
“She’s committed a number of crimes and she needs to be held accountable for those crimes. The state can provide her with the therapy she needs.”
“The state? You mean prison? Oh no, I am not sending my sister to prison. I can get her the help she needs right here. I can bring her back to the ranch. Keep an eye on her.”
Vince shook his head, but the sound of a truck pulling into the yard had all three of them looking out the window. He turned to her with a grin on his face. “I think this is something that will make you feel better.”
She looked out the window again and noticed a trailer attached to what looked like Vince’s truck. The driver stepped out and moved to the back of the trailer. She glanced at Vince who was grinning ear to ear.
Foxglove?
Without asking the question, she rose and headed out of the room. By time she opened the front door, the driver was tying her beloved horse to the corral rail. Joy burst in her heart and she ran to her stubborn stallion with open arms.
He neighed a welcome and she hugged him around the neck. “Thank the Lord you’re safe.” Tears fell to her cheeks as she rubbed her face against him, but she didn’t care. Her boy was back.
Then she smoothed her hands over him, checking for any misuse or damage, even cueing him to lift his feet so she could inspect his shoes. When she was done and satisfied he was none the worse for wear, she kept a hand on his side and watched as Vince paid the driver.
Both her boys were back. Maybe she needed to make her man a more permanent fixture at the ranch.
Vince strode toward her, his look so confident she couldn’t resist. She ran to him and jumped into his arms.
He caught her as she knew he would. “I love you, Vince Gallagher. Will you marry me?”
His wide-eyed look of shock sent her into laughter before she could speak. “Of course, you can think about it if you want.”
Hunter walked over to them. “What do you say, buddy?”
Vince looked into her eyes. “I say yes.”
She whooped before giving him a kiss worth her weight in love. When she was done ravishing his mouth, she gave him her best coy look, which she’d bet was pretty pathetic since she’d never looked coy in her life. “Um, I forgot a ring.”
Vince’s laughter filled her heart. “That’s okay. We can go shop for rings together.”
She gave him another kiss then he set her down, his arm securely around her shoulders, keeping her by his side. She liked that.
“Now we just need to find Crystal.”
At Hunter’s pronouncement, she sobered. “What do you mean find her?”
“She didn’t go back to her condo last night. The man I have watching it said no one has been there since she left yesterday morning.”
She could feel the tension in Vince’s body. “She may be on the run. She knows I have evidence against her and probably hopped the first plane she could get out of Austin. I’ll call Roscoe and see if he can get a man to investigate flight passengers.”
He looked at Hunter. “Do you have any buddies in surveillance? If she’s driving, we might catch her using a credit card. I’ll check her accounts and see if she withdrew any cash. Or she may have her phone on and we can track her GPS location.”
Vince looked at her. “If you know her friends, it’s a long shot, but it couldn’t hurt to call and see if she flopped at their house for the night.”
She frowned. “How about if I call her and ask her to come home?”
Both men looked at her and smiled. Vince shrugged. “It can’t hurt to try.”
“My phone is in the house. Let’s try the easy way first.”
~~~~~
Forty-eight hours later, Vince sat in the diner, waiting for Hunter. He sure as hell hoped he’d heard something. Rachel tried to hide it, but he knew her and she was worried.
They could have met at the ranch, but if it was bad news, he didn’t want Rachel to know immediately. As long as Crystal’s body didn’t show up at the morgue, there was hope. His biggest fear was that Crystal was now in physical danger. Since he’d stolen Foxglove from the barn Crystal housed him in, she couldn’t pay the other half of what she owed the loan shark.
Hunter walked in and the conversation in the diner quieted. There was nothing like a man in black whose boots didn’t make a sound on the tile floor to bring a hush to a crowded breakfast place.
When his friend had slid into the seat opposite him in the booth and the same waitress gave him
his coffee, black, Vince shared his fear. “The reason we can’t find her may be that they have her.”
Hunter shook his head. “I don’t think so. She’s good at hiding. I think she’s still nearby because she wants to make amends with her sister, but not be sent to jail.”
Vince took a sip of his coffee, the sweetened liquid a welcome addition to his stomach. “That’s giving her a lot of credit.”
“True, but I grew up with these women. They’re smart. Despite Crystal’s spending habits, she’s no dummy.” He paused to look at his phone. A happy grin spread across his face.
“I’m guessing that has nothing to do with Crystal?”
Hunter turned his phone over. “Sorry. Adriana is getting impatient with my absence.”
“And that makes you happy?”
A sly smile split his lips. “She makes her impatience known by sending me naked pictures.”
Vince whistled through his teeth. Hunter’s late wife would never have done that, but by his reaction, he was happy Adriana did. Trauma really did change a person.
Hunter shook his head. “The question is, where would Crystal—” His phone rang.
Vince nodded. “Go ahead, take it.”
His friend picked up the phone and read the screen. “Fuck, it’s Crystal.”
Vince felt every muscle in his body tense. If anything happened to her, Rachel wouldn’t be able to handle it. Not after throwing Crystal out.
“Crystal, where are you?” Hunter’s low voice rose with his concern. “Okay, okay, slow down, he’s right here.” He held out the phone. “She says she has to talk to you.”
A chill swept down his spine. Crystal wouldn’t want to talk to him. Not after he revealed what she’d done. He took a deep breath as he grabbed the phone. “I’m here.”
“Vince, they took her. You’ve got to get her back. They want the money. We need to give them the money.”
He looked at Hunter. “Crystal, slow down. Where are you?”
Her panic came through loud and clear. Maybe she would slip up and he’d figure out where she was.
“It doesn’t matter. They took Rachel.”
His blood froze as his heart skipped a beat. “Who took Rachel?” How the hell did someone get to her? She was out with her ranch hands today.
“It’s the guy I owe money to. He says I was late on my payment and I have to pay double if I want her back. Vince, he said if I didn’t pay by midnight he was going to sell her!”
“Calm down. We’re going to get her back. But you have to work with me.” Vince looked at Hunter who scowled.
“I never meant for this to happen. I just couldn’t stop buying things and the banks wouldn’t give me a loan because I already had too much debt.” Crystal’s voice was squeaking with hysteria. “Leo told me not to worry as long as he gets his payment. You have to help me. Rachel’s all I have left.”
Vince stifled his own panic, but his stomach was eating itself from the inside out. “Crystal, listen to me. I will help you. We can do this. I need you to go to Rachel’s bank and withdraw all the money you need.”
“I can do that.” She sounded surprised by his request. “What if there’s not enough?”
Fuck. How much did she owe? “Take the balance out of savings if you need it. Then I want you to arrange to meet him to bring him the money in exchange for Rachel.”
“Okay. So what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to save you both. When you have the money, and the time and place for the exchange, you bring it to the ranch and I will take care of it from there. You got that?”
Crystal’s breathing calmed. “Yes. I withdraw the money and call Leo and set a time and place then bring the money to the ranch so you can handle it. I’m guessing I don’t let him know you will be dropping it off, right?”
“Exactly. It’s time to outsmart this bastard.”
“I like that idea.” Crystal’s voice lightened a bit. “See you at the ranch.” She ended the call.
He handed the phone back to Hunter, letting his insides settle to a dull ache. “You better tell Adriana I’m going to need you a little longer.”
His friend’s look was deadly. “They took Rachel.”
“Yes. And we’re going to get her back.”
Chapter Ten
Rachel couldn’t see a blasted thing. The black shirt wrapped around her eyes fell past her face, making it hard to breathe. She lowered her head, which let air in under the shirt.
Vince, I could really use your help about now. He did say he would help her, always. Her heart ached for him. She didn’t need this added touch of danger to understand how much she needed him. Shit.
Her hands were tied behind her back with rope, not the most comfortable position when sitting against a wall on hard concrete.
It was just her luck that she’d stayed behind to fix a cut wire in the fence while her men moved the cattle to the south pasture. Then again, that wire may have been purposefully cut. She’d been a sitting duck for the goons who’d taken her. She already knew one was Jack, the man Vince had mentioned to Crystal, but she had no idea who the second one was.
They had thrown her in the back of a pick-up truck and put a tarp over her. Her body had a dozen bruises from bumping along in the truck bed all the way to what she was certain was Austin.
The two men had handed her over to two other men who said they would hold her for the boss. This wasn’t a good situation. They were probably going to ransom her or like Vince had told her, sell her or even rape her or both. She shivered involuntarily. This definitely wasn’t Crystal’s doing. Her sister would never put her life in jeopardy.
Maybe Vince or Hunter had come too close to figuring out where Crystal was, so the “boss” kidnapped Rachel as a distraction. She liked that theory the best. Whatever reason she was here, she had to figure a way out.
She continued to work at the rope that held her hands behind her. Her shaking fingers didn’t help, nor did not knowing if she had a guard watching her. She didn’t dare make big movements.
She always carried a utility knife in her back pocket when working the ranch and the guys who trussed her up never even checked. Once they found her phone, they stopped checking her pockets. Were they clueless about what a cowboy did for work?
Her wrists were raw from the rope, but she was making progress.
She listened carefully to every sound. The heat of the day caused the building around her to make cracking noises. It had to be a metal roof of some kind, so maybe a warehouse. She didn’t mind those sounds. It was human footsteps that made her nervous.
The rope snapped and she stilled. No one said anything. With one hand, she folded her knife up and slipped it back in her pocket. Then she rolled to her side, holding the rope around her wrist with one hand while she brought her free hand up against the wall to lift the shirt away from her eyes just a little.
No one was there. She looked all around her, but there was no one. She was just left against the metal wall behind a row of boxes that looked like appliances. Did they smuggle ovens across the border or something?
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her shaking body. Freeing her other hand quickly, she stood, her cowboy boot scraping against the concrete. She froze at the noise, and listened. It sounded like no one was in the warehouse, but her two guards must be here somewhere. Picking up the rope, she tied it around her waist. Maybe they would forget where they’d left her.
Opening her mouth to speak, she promptly shut it. Not a smart move. Talking to herself could get her killed right about now. As quietly as possible, she slipped her feet from her boots and held them in her sweaty hands. She had to find a way out without running into one of her guards.
She felt like she was in one of those video games her sister used to make her play when the character couldn’t tell what was around the next corner but the player could. Ah, now that gave her an idea.
Looking up at the boxes of ovens stacked higher than the roof of her house, she di
dn’t relish the idea of falling off and having them land on her. She moved her gaze higher to the ceiling where the metal braces held the roof up. A walkway for changing the light bulbs ran down the middle of the warehouse. If she could get up there somehow, she could figure out how to get out.
Stepping up to a stack of ovens, she checked to see if she could peek between the stacks. But they were tight. She kept moving down the line. One spot halfway down had a slight crack that let her see there was another row of appliances next to the one she was in front of.
When she reached the end of the row she listened, her fear escalating. She could barely make out voices. She tried to catch words, but couldn’t. Finally, she screwed up her courage to peek around the corner.
The warehouse was huge with at least twenty rows of stacked appliances. At the other end was an office with a window. Two men watched television in there. Shit, who had time to do that in the middle of the day? She backed up so they couldn’t see her and moved closer to the outside wall she’d been leaning against so she could study the one perpendicular to it.
The wall to the office was just metal with a support every ten feet or so, but no door. She really hoped the door to the place wasn’t by the office, though she was well aware that it probably was.
At least knowing where her two guards were, calmed her shaking a bit. She headed back down the aisle she’d come and carefully peeked around the corner at the other end.
Halfway down were two large metal doors where the semi-trucks must bring in the merchandise. There was no small door that she could see, but there was a ladder that went all the way up to the ceiling.
She slowly padded her way toward it, checking each row before crossing in case there were more men scattered throughout the warehouse. She made it to the ladder with no incident, but now she had to figure out how to climb it while holding on to her boots.
Seeing no way to do it, and not wanting to leave her boots there, which would clue in anyone who walked as to her whereabouts, she put them back on and started to climb.
She didn’t mind being up in the second level of her horse barn or even on the top of her hay bales when she threw them down, but the warehouse was taller than that and her hands started to sweat. Just what she needed, to fall to her death because she was afraid she’d fall to her death. “Not smart, Rachel.” Her voice though a whisper, had her stopping.