by K. C. Crowne
I shook my head. “No. It’s the least I can do.”
“Then let’s get to it. We can figure out the rest from there.”
We made our way to the kitchen, calling to the rest of the members of the family on the way. Wyatt sent out a mass text to the rest to let them know to meet up there. Once we were in the kitchen, nearly the entire clan was gathered, all wanting to know what was going on.
“Y’all,” Wyatt started. “We got a situation – and it’s a big one. Sam’s gonna tell you what happened.”
All of the eyes of the family were on me, all worried. I took a breath and spoke. As clearly as I could, I told them about El, about Kyle, about my history. I told them that I’d left an abusive man in Portland and hoped to cut ties with him forever.
“He didn’t see it that way and followed me here,” I told them, trying not to cry. “He’s taken Ellie as a way to get at me, and I’m so sorry.” A sob escaped, and I looked down.
“That little shit,” Mama G snarled. “How dare he mess with my family?” There was fire in her eyes, but not for me.
“Damn fool is what he is,” Silas growled, slamming his fist down on the counter. “Chance better hope he finds him before I do, because if I get my hands on him…”
“He doesn’t know what he’s walked into,” Emily spat. “He’s gonna wish he’d never tangled with the Walkers.”
Despite the fear, something else radiated through me. I’d never known a family like this, never been a part of such a tight group that would do anything for each other. And on top of that, they felt like I was one of them.
“Thank…thank you all so much. I just feel like hell right now, like I’m going to be the worst mother ever.” I clapped my hand over my mouth. Ohhh…fuck. I realized what I’d said the moment the words left my mouth. Talk about making an already complicated situation even more complicated.
“Wait,” Mama G said, lifting her hand. “What was that?”
“Did you just…” Emily trailed off, her eyes as wide as saucers.
The entire family was looking at me; no getting out of it. I’d just accidentally told them I was pregnant.
Wyatt, still standing next to me, smiled. “Go ahead – say what’s on your mind. Remember – we’re all family here.”
Another deep breath. “I’m…I’m pregnant. And Chance the father.”
Everyone stared for a moment, no one speaking. Self-consciously, I said, “I really didn’t mean to tell you now. It’s horrible timing.”
“You won’t be a bad mom,” Mama G assured me, giving me a quick hug. “When Ellie gets home, she’s gonna lose her mind.” She laughed a watery laugh.
“Congrats,” Emily said, also hugging me quickly. “You’ll be a great mom.”
“But I let this happen to Ellie,” I mumbled, my tears starting again.
“You did no such thing!” Mama G defended. “That rat bastard did this, and we’re gonna get her back.”
“We’re all happy for you,” Travis said, taking control of the conversation. “And there’s gonna be plenty of time for celebrating later. For now, let’s make sure the clan gets back together.”
“Right,” Mama G said, always the strong matriarch. “We’ll help the cops and keep an eye on the ranch while Chance and Gerald bring our girl back safe and sound.”
My head was a total whirl of emotion. Then, my phone vibrated in my pocket. A call. I quickly took it out, hoping to see Chance’s name on the screen. But it was the unlisted number from before.
“That’s him, ain’t it?” Wyatt asked. “You want one of us to answer?”
The idea had its appeal, but I shook my head. “No. I need to handle it. He’s here because of me.”
Wyatt nodded before gesturing for the family to give me some space.
My nerves jangling, I answered with one word. “Kyle.”
“Well, if it isn’t my sunshine?” he asked. Just like before, I could almost see the smirk on his face as he spoke. “How you doing, gorgeous?”
“Where is she? What have you done with her?”
He chuckled. “Just taking the kiddo out for a spin. We’re having a great time, aren’t we, El?”
“Yeah!” Her voice was excited on the other end. I gasped and tried to ask to talk to her, but he interrupted.
“You want to talk to her?” Kyle asked, a hideous teasing tone in his voice. “Here. But don’t get any big ideas about telling her things she doesn’t need to know. Don’t want to scare the kid, do you?”
I said nothing, tears forming in my eyes.
“Hi, Sam!” El said, chipper as ever. She clearly had no idea what was going on, what kind of danger she was in.
I swallowed my fear, not wanting to add to hers. “El! Are you okay? What’s going on?”
“Um, I’m fine.” She responded as though it was a totally bizarre question to ask. “Me and Kyle and his friend Josh are going for a drive. They said Daddy’s in town, and they’re taking me to him.”
I wanted to come out with it, to tell her that she was in danger and the two men she was with weren’t to be trusted. I wanted to tell her to run away from them as fast as possible the first chance she got. But Kyle’s words echoed in my mind. The man was evil, pure evil, and I didn’t even want to guess at what he’d be capable of.
I had to say something. “El, I want you to know that your dad and I love you very, very much. We’re going to see you soon, okay?”
“Okay.” She was quiet for a second, then asked, “Why do you sound funny?”
I blinked back tears. I didn’t want to scare her. “I didn’t know you were leaving.”
“Oh! Well, it’s okay, Sam. Kyle and Josh are a lot of fun – they have tons of candy in the car and said I can eat it before dinner. Isn’t that awesome?”
“That’s…awesome.” I heard the engine in the background cut off, followed by a pair of doors opening.
“Okay, we’re here! You and Dad are coming soon, right?”
“Right. We’re going to see you really soon. Just wait for us to get there.”
“I will! Kyle wants to talk again now. Bye!”
I said my goodbyes, quickly wiping away the tears in my eyes as I heard Kyle take the phone.
“Hey, Josh!” he said. “Take her inside. Got a few more words for Sam.”
“Sure,” said a gruff voice in the background. “Come on, kid.”
Another door opened and shut, then Kyle spoke. “I bet you thought you were really slick leaving me behind like that,” he said, his voice evil. “Leaving without saying a fucking word. Tell me – how do you think that made me feel?”
“I don’t give a shit about how you feel,” I snarled. “And you’d better not hurt a single hair on her head.”
He chuckled. “You’d better start giving a damn about how I feel. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m holding all the cards here.”
“What do you want?” I asked.
“It’s easy,” he said. “I want you to realize you made a mistake – a fucking big one. I know you and I had our differences, but you can’t throw away what we had and just run off and start another family. This isn’t how love works, Sam!”
He was delusional. Kyle seemed to think that kidnapping El would make me realize that he and I belonged together.
“I had to get your attention,” he commented as if he’d waved at me rather than committed a felony. “And I’m thinking I got it. Now, we’re gonna talk, and I’m gonna get some sense into your head. This Texas shit, you thinking you could just start fresh – it’s bullshit. You can’t just cut someone out when they love you, and I’m gonna make sure you realize it.”
I took a deep breath. “Maybe I did make a mistake,” I said, playing along. “Maybe I did screw up leaving you like that. But Kyle, this isn’t the way to fix things.”
He laughed. “I’m not going to be the one to fix things. That’s on you, darling. I just wanted to get your attention to let you know you can’t ignore me.”
“Then you have it. I’m here.
Tell me what I need to do.”
“I’m thinking about it. But for now, just know that I have her, and you’re not going to get little Ellie back until I decide. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“So sit tight, and I’ll be in touch. Until then, think about what you’re feeling right now, think about how all this suffering is happening because of you. Bye, sunshine.”
“Don’t do anything to her!” I yelled. The line went dead.
“What happened?” Mama G asked. “What’d he say?”
“He’s totally insane.”
Wyatt nodded. “I think the time for waitin’ around is over. How about we split up, scour the town and see what we can find?”
“Right,” Travis said. “With us all out, we’ll be able to track him down.”
“I want to come,” I stated.
“Got it,” Wyatt nodded. “But you’re not to leave my sight, understand? Chase’ll tan my hide if anything happens to you.”
I nodded in understanding.
“Good. Now, let’s go get our girl.”
Chapter 23
CHANCE
“You got any idea where he might be?” Gerald spoke as I kept my eyes on the road.
We’d driven into Patterson but hadn’t yet spotted any sign of the beat-up truck with the tinted windows.
“Not yet. But he can’t have gotten far.”
I was mad as hell and frustrated on top of that. We had some of the most advanced security gear on the planet installed at the ranch, and it’d been put in too late. We were chasing ghosts, and I knew it.
“Why don’t you pull over?” Gerald asked. “We can figure out our next step.”
As much as I wanted to keep going, to search every fucking square inch of this town until I found my baby girl and the asshole who’d taken her, I knew he was right. I pulled the truck into the parking lot of one of the restaurants in town and killed the engine.
Just as I did, the blare of sirens sounded in the distance. The noise grew louder and louder until flashing lights approached from around the corner. Three cop cars, all Patterson PD, raced down the road in the direction we’d just come from.
“Goin’ to the ranch, I imagine,” Gerald commented.
I watched the cops disappear into the distance. As soon as they were gone, another familiar sight approached – Silas’s massive red truck. The engine growled even from far off, and he pulled up behind me. He got out and approached, his eyes hidden behind aviator sunglasses.
“Anything?” he asked when he reached my side of the truck.
“Nothin’,” I said. “What’s the news back at the ranch?”
“We’re done waitin’ around,” he said. “Figure we can cover more ground together.”
“Good call,” I agreed. “And what about Sam?”
He appeared worried for a moment, which didn’t give me much peace of mind. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothin’s wrong,” he said. “Just that we found out she’s…”
I knew exactly what he was talking about. “We can talk about all that later.”
“Right. Just wanted to let you know we know.”
“Sure.” Day was getting messier and messier. “But how’s she doin’?”
“She’s worried as hell, of course. And that prick Kyle called her.”
“What’d he say?”
“Just that he had El, and then some crazy shit about how he wanted her to know he was the only family she’d ever have. Sick shit.”
“Sick shit is right. Is she still there?”
“Yeah – she was about to leave with Wyatt.”
“She needs to stay there,” I said, shaking my head. “This asshole’s lookin’ for her, and he’d love to get his hands on her. And the cops are gonna want to talk to someone.”
Silas nodded. “I’ll send a text to Wyatt to keep her there for the time being.”
My phone buzzed, and Sam’s name flashed on the screen. “Scratch that,” I said. “This is her now.” I hopped out of the car.
“You talk to her,” Silas said. “Gerald and I will figure out the next step.”
I gave him a quick nod before putting the phone to my ear. “Sam – are you okay?”
“Scared and angry. I talked to Kyle.”
“So I heard. Any clues where he might be?”
“No, other than that he’s stopped and gotten out of the car. You won’t find him driving around.”
“Listen, Sam – I want you to stay there and talk to the cops.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. I’m already worried about one of my girls – don’t need to add a second on top of that.”
“Chance, this is all because of me. I can’t just sit around while you do all of the dangerous work.”
“Sam, I get where you’re comin’ from. But my duty’s to protect you and that baby you’re carryin’. And if you’re runnin’ around town, that’s just gonna make it harder. I need you to be safe.”
Just the idea of something happening to Sam was enough to make me see red, make me wish that prick Kyle was right in front of me at that very second so I could pound his ass into the dirt.
She sighed; she knew I was speaking sense. “Alright,” she said. “I’ll talk to them. But Chance, this is my fight too.”
She was stubborn as hell and didn’t mind telling me how she really felt. Damned if I didn’t love that about her.
“Stay put for now. And I want you to give me Kyle’s number.”
“Are you serious?”
“Serious as a heart attack. He’s been callin’ you, tryin’ to intimidate you, I’m sure. I’ll give him a little ring, see if he likes bein’ on the other side of it.”
“You think that’s a good idea?”
“Maybe I can get him to slip up and tell me somethin’ about where he’s at that he didn’t plan on sharing. I know little twerps like him – you stand up to ‘em a little, and they can’t take it.”
“But Kyle’s not like that. There were times when I’d look him in the eyes and see nothing there, like there was something different about him, something inhuman.”
“Gotta be inhuman to kidnap a helpless little girl. But either way, it’s time he and I had a talk, man-to-man.”
There was a beat of silence while she debated whether or not to give me the number. “Alright. I’ll text it to you. But I want to know about anything that happens. Please.”
“You’ll be in the loop, babe. Don’t worry about that.”
“Okay. Be safe, please.”
“I will.”
We said our goodbyes and hung up. Seconds later, a text arrived with Kyle’s number. Without hesitating for a second, I dialed it. It rang, then again, then again. For a moment, I worried he’d be too cowardly to answer the phone.
Finally, he picked up. “And which of the Walker boys do I have the pleasure of speaking to?”
“You know who the fuck this is.”
He laughed, but it had a hard steel edge to it. “Figured it would be the one she’s fuckin’.”
“You shut your fuckin’ mouth about her.”
“I know what she is. Believe me. When you’re with someone for that long you get to know them really, really well.”
“You don’t know shit.”
“Oh, no? How long have you known her for? A month? You think that means anything? I know her. And she knows me.”
“Enough with the bullshit,” I snarled. “Where’s my little girl?”
“She’s right here with me. In fact, I’m looking at her right now.”
“Let me talk to her, right fucking now!”
“Is that my daddy?” El’s voice was soft in the background, and just the sound of it was enough to send a pulse of hot rage through me.
“It sure is kiddo. We’re talking right now.”
“I wanna see him.” Her voice sounded small and afraid, and it was all I could do not to crush the phone in my bare hand.
“And you will. He’s busy, but we’r
e planning on when he’s going to be able to see you. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“If you’ve touched her, I swear to fuck –” I snarled.
“Don’t worry about that – right now she’s just the same as the last time you saw her. You want to make sure that stays the case, you’d better listen to me.”
“What the hell do you want?”
“You’re just gonna have to be patient.”
“Fuck that. Not a chance. I’ll tear this state apart trying to find you. And when I do, the last thought that goes through your head before I bring my boot down on it is how badly you’ve fucked up.”
There was silence, and for a moment, I wondered if I’d gone too far. But he only laughed.
“It’s true what they say about you Texas cowboys – all hot-blooded and shit.”
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down and see if I could talk some sense into him. “Whatever you want doesn’t involve my daughter. So leave her out of this. We’re men, and men don’t make threats hiding behind little girls. You got some beef with me? Let’s hash it out face-to-face.”
“Hmm. That might be doable.”
“Let my little girl go, and we can finish this shit.”
He seemed to be mulling it over for a minute before speaking again. When he did, all traces of laughter were gone from his voice. “You come alone. No cops, no truck-full of Walker boys behind you. Just you and me.”
“I can arrange that. Give me the address.”
“I’m at the Green Hills trailer park outside of town, the abandoned one. I’m in the only trailer with electricity. I’m sure you’ll recognize my truck out front.”
“I’m on my way.”
The line went dead. I wanted to leave right then, but I remembered my promise to Sam, that I’d keep her in the loop. I dialed her number, and she quickly answered.
“What’s going on? Did you talk to him?”
“I did. We’re meeting.”
“What? Where?”
“I’m keepin’ the address to myself. Knowin’ you, I tell you, and you’ll be there before I am.”
“Yes, I will. I’m not letting you do this on your own.”
“It’s the only way, Sam. The only way Ellie will be safe. The only way you’ll be safe.”