Rocky Mountain Revenge

by Rhonda Starnes

  The loud knocking came again. Jumping out of the bed, she quickly put her phone down and pulled on a long-sleeved Denver Broncos T-shirt and a pair of denim shorts.

  Easing open the bedroom door, she started to tiptoe down the short hall. Then Barkley plowed into her, slamming her into the wall on his quest to get to the front door first.

  “Ouch,” she whispered as she rubbed the shoulder that had taken the brunt of the hit. She hoped whoever was at the door hadn’t heard the bang.

  Leaving all the lights off, she crept into the main living area and peeked out the curtain covering the window over the dining table. There was a white sedan parked in the drive. Who could it be? Her position didn’t offer a clear view of the porch, but she could make out a man’s silhouette.

  “Open up, Grace,” James’s voice demanded through the door as he continued to pound on the solid wood surface.

  Evan had only allowed her to return to the cabin alone because she had promised to stay inside and not open the door for anyone.

  Barkley ran around and around in a circle, barking. He definitely wasn’t good at being stealthy. The Great Dane’s presence at the cabin didn’t necessarily imply anyone else was there. Maybe James would leave.

  She needed to call Evan. Quietly making her way back to the bedroom, Grace picked up her cell phone. No service.

  The banging stopped, and James yelled, “Barkley! Down.”

  Barkley quieted. Grace inched back down the hall, pausing in the opening to the living area. The Great Dane lay down in front of the door, listening, his head tilted to the side.

  “Grace, I know you’re in there,” James said into the silence. “If you can hear me, the hospital called. They couldn’t reach you. Chloe—”

  Grace flew across the room and fumbled with the lock, cutting off his words. Finally, she jerked the door open. James stood on the porch wearing a pair of black jeans, a white-and-gray-striped T-shirt and a lightweight gray jacket. He looked disheveled, his hair uncombed and his clothes wrinkled.

  “What? What did the hospital say?”

  James smiled. “Chloe is awake. She’s asking for you.”

  “Why’d they call you? Why didn’t they call me? Or Evan?” She eyed him suspiciously.

  “They couldn’t reach you.” He arched an eyebrow. “I imagine you don’t have the best cell service out here.”

  “Doesn’t explain why they didn’t call Evan.” She looked at her phone. One bar. Not enough service to get a call out.

  “Look. I don’t know why they didn’t call Evan. Maybe they tried, but he was busy. I don’t know.” James sounded aggravated, and he shoved a hand through his hair. “All I know is a nurse called and said Chloe was awake and asking for you.”

  “But why did they call you?”

  He shrugged. “I guess Chloe never got around to changing her medical records, and I’m still listed as someone who’s allowed to have access to her health information.” Turning and heading off the porch, he added, “Look, I don’t need the third degree. I came to take you to your sister. I thought it was one last act of kindness I could do before the divorce is finalized and I’m no longer a member of the family.”

  He reached the new, white sedan and opened the door.

  “Wait!” There was no way of knowing how long Evan would be tied up at the station, and she didn’t have a vehicle at the cabin. If Chloe was awake, Grace needed to get to her as soon as possible.

  “Let me put my shoes on and take care of Barkley. I’ll be right back.”

  Closing the door and locking it, she hurried to the bedroom, put on her sneakers and grabbed her bag. Then she rushed back into the living room and quickly filled Barkley’s water and food bowls. “Be good, boy. I’ll make sure Evan or someone comes by soon to let you out. Okay?” She rubbed him between the ears.

  Time to leave Evan a note. Opening kitchen drawers, she hunted down a notepad and a pen. Bingo. The third drawer had a yellow legal pad and an assortment of pens and pencils. Grace removed what she needed and started to close the drawer when her eyes fell on a small cylinder. Mace. She bit her lower lip. It couldn’t hurt to have some form of protection. What if they ran into Torres or his goon?

  The door handle rattled. “Why did you lock the door? Let me in.” James roared, rattling it even harder.

  “Sorry. I’ll be right there,” she yelled.

  Slipping the Mace into the front pocket of her shorts, she pulled the loose T-shirt down over it, concealing the weapon. Then, she quickly jotted a note for Evan.

  James came to get me. Chloe woke up. We’re headed to the hospital. Please take care of Barkley until I return.

  She paused. She’d almost written Love, Grace. Out of habit? Or because she had fallen for him again?

  Her hand hovered in the air, her heart racing.

  No need to sign the note, he’d know it was from her. But it seemed incomplete without a closing, so she wrote the date and time and her initials, like she would on a medical record.

  Grace dropped the pen onto the table. Looping the bag over her shoulder, she headed out of the cabin, bumping into James, who stood glaring at her. “Why did you lock the door?”

  “Habit, I guess.” She shrugged and headed down the porch steps to the sedan.

  “Where’s your sports car? Did you trade it?” she asked as he held the passenger door open for her. She settled onto the leather seat, taking in the new car smell.

  “Oh, um. No.” He closed the door and jogged around the front of the vehicle to the driver’s side.

  Grace knew how much James loved his sports car. Chloe had said it was his most prized possession. “If you didn’t trade your car, why are you driving this one?”

  “The dealership loaned it to me. Uh, my car is in the shop.” He shifted into gear and pulled around the cabin, taking an old, rutted logging trail, tree limbs scraping against the new vehicle.

  “Why are you going this way? It’s smoother to go out past the main house and down the drive.” Was he trying to keep her departure a secret?

  “This way is shorter.” He glared at her. “Aren’t you in a hurry to get to your sister?”

  “Of course.” She fought to keep alarm out of her voice. “I’d hate for you to get the loaner scratched on my account.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll cover any damages,” he snickered. “Getting to the hospital fast is the most important thing right now.”

  He barely slowed down when he reached the road, the tires spinning as he pulled onto the asphalt and sped away from Blackberry Falls, far exceeding the speed limit.

  His behavior seemed reckless. The need to call or text Evan engulfed her. Slipping her phone out of her purse, she punched in his number. Nothing. Don’t panic.

  “Is your phone not working?” James nodded at the cup holder where his phone rested. “Use mine if you’d like.”

  Whew. He wasn’t trying to isolate her or to keep her from telling anyone she was with him.

  “Thank you.” She picked up his phone and tried again. Nothing. What was going on?

  “The cell towers could be experiencing an outage,” James said as if he could read her mind.

  “Maybe.” She furrowed her brow. What were the odds of the cell service going out today of all days?

  * * *

  Evan wadded up the note. How had James found Grace? She should have been safe at the cabin. Had someone at the scene last night overheard him asking Deputy Rice to drop her off here? It would have only taken one person telling another where Grace was staying for news to spread quickly around town and into the ears of the one person they were fighting to protect her from. Once again, he’d failed a woman he loved. He slammed his fist on the table, causing the pen to bounce and roll onto the floor. Barkley yelped and took off to the bedroom to hide.

  “Sorry, boy,” he apologized to the Great
Dane’s retreating back.

  Picking up the paper, he smoothed out the wrinkled note and reread Grace’s message. According to the time she’d written, James had about a thirty-minute head start.

  Evan barged out the door and hurried down the steps.

  Wait a minute. How had James accessed the ranch unnoticed? The Vincents would have noticed an unauthorized vehicle entering and exiting through the main drive. A broken tree limb caught his attention.

  Walking over to the area where the tree stood, he spotted tire tracks on an old, overgrown logging road. So that was how he’d done it.

  Evan sprinted to his vehicle and followed the trail, his SUV bouncing over the uneven terrain. James must have been desperate to drive a rented sedan over a rutted-out logging trail. There was no way the vehicle wouldn’t suffer some amount of body damage.

  In his rush to leave the cabin, Evan had failed to check the guard duty roster to see which officer was at the hospital. He didn’t want to stop long enough to pull up the email on his cell. Exiting the ranch onto the paved road, he hit the voice command button on the steering wheel and instructed the automated assistant to call Ryan.

  His friend answered on the third ring. “Hi, Evan. What’s up?”

  “I’m driving and can’t access my email. I need to know who’s on guard duty at the hospital.”

  “The email wouldn’t have helped you,” Ryan replied. “Officer Nolan was supposed to be on duty, but he had car trouble, so Officer Wilkes came in his place.”

  “Okay, thanks—”

  “Wait!” Ryan yelled before Evan disconnected. “What’s going on? Did something happen?”

  Evan quickly filled him in on the situation, including the information Marcia had shared with him. “If Chloe were awake, the hospital would have called me. They have strict orders to contact me if they can’t reach Grace.”

  “I agree. It sounds like James used the only thing he could to lure Grace away from the cabin.”

  A new wave of guilt washed over him. “We must stop James before he reaches Chloe, but we’ve also got to keep him from hurting Grace.”

  “Uh...” Ryan paused for a second, as if struggling to find the right words. “Are you sure James is headed to the hospital? I mean Chloe’s in a coma, and it’s still unclear if she’ll completely recover. Why risk going to the hospital at this point?”

  Evan had been asking himself that same question since he’d first read the note, but it wasn’t until this very moment that he figured out the answer. “Because he’s meticulous and doesn’t like losing. The person he relied on to take care of the situation failed. Then died. Now it’s up to James to fix everything. Kind of like the adage, ‘if you want something done right, do it yourself.’ James’s personality won’t allow loose ends.”

  Muffled sounds echoed across the line, followed by the slam of a car door. “I’m headed to the hospital. I’ll make sure a plan is in place. You just concentrate on getting here as quickly as possible.”

  “Are you sure? You can’t have been home long after guarding Chloe last night.”

  “I’m sure. I’m only fifteen minutes away. Besides, there’s no way I’d sleep knowing what was happening.”

  The weight on Evan’s chest lifted ever so slightly, even though a panicked feeling of doom still lingered.

  “Don’t worry about things on this end,” Ryan added when Evan remained silent. “If your timeline is correct, we have close to ninety minutes to head James off.”

  “Thanks, Ryan. Keep me posted.”

  “Will do.” The line went dead.

  Evan merged onto the interstate and accelerated well above the speed limit, racing to chisel away at the lead James had on him.

  An hour later, there were only twenty miles between him and the hospital, and hopefully less between him and Grace. He couldn’t imagine James would risk being stopped for speeding.

  Evan itched to call Ryan but knew his friend was busy working out the security details and would call when he had a chance.

  Traffic slowed ahead and then came to a halt. There was no sign of an accident, so he had no idea what had caused the standstill. Most likely it was a typical Denver traffic jam. He took a few deep breaths. Getting angry wouldn’t help anything at the moment.

  His cell phone rang, Ryan’s number flashing on the display screen. He pressed the answer button on the steering column.

  “What’s happening?” Evan demanded, unable to conceal the fear in his voice.

  “As soon as we hung up, I called in a favor with Denver Memorial’s CEO. He met me at the hospital, and we’ve spent the past hour putting a plan into place.”

  “Please tell me the hospital isn’t surrounded with police cars and flashing lights. James will bolt if he suspects his plan has been jeopardized, and then we could lose Grace forever.”

  “Come on, give me more credit than that. I know we’ve not stayed in close contact in recent years, but I am good at my job,” Ryan reprimanded him.

  He dragged a hand over his face. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s so hard not being there, and now traffic is at a standstill.”

  “Where are you?”

  Evan supplied the number for the exit less than half a mile away.

  “Are you in the right-hand lane? Can you take the exit?”

  “Yes.” Turning on his lights and siren, Evan merged onto the shoulder and exited the interstate.

  Following Ryan’s directions, Evan was soon on a new route to the hospital. “Okay, fill me in on the plan.”

  “Well, like you pointed out, we don’t want to alarm James or force a showdown in a crowded area, especially since we don’t know if he’s armed or not. Instead, security will alert us to his presence. Then when they arrive at the Neuro ICU, an undercover officer posing as a nurse will tell them Chloe was moved to a new room after she woke up. They’ll be directed to a room on another floor where we’ll be waiting.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got everything covered.”

  “We can’t plan for every contingency, but we’ll do our best to control the situation.”

  “Okay, well tell Wilkes to keep me posted.” At least he had one officer on scene.

  He needed to get to Denver Memorial to ensure Ryan’s plan was carried out flawlessly. If it failed, Evan didn’t know if his heart would ever fully recover. He pressed down harder on the accelerator, praying James and Grace were stalled in the gridlock on the interstate.

  * * *

  Grace checked her cell for what seemed like the hundredth time. Still no service. She sighed and dropped the mobile back into her bag. Stuck in a traffic jam on I-25, they had moved less than a hundred yards in the last twenty minutes.

  Even though James was becoming more agitated by the minute, muttering under his breath and striking his hand against the steering wheel, for the first time in her life, Grace understood the term “deafening silence.” There had been very few words passed between her and James since they’d left Blackberry Falls. She had tried to start a conversation a few times, but only received curt replies in response. James had never been one for small talk. Before long, the silence in the vehicle had zoomed right past uncomfortable to complete awkwardness.

  What did one say to their sister’s estranged husband?

  Now that she thought about it, Grace couldn’t recall a single time in the three years of her sister’s marriage where she’d had a conversation of any substance with her brother-in-law.

  Since he didn’t seem to want to talk, Grace used the time to have a lengthy conversation with God. First, she thanked Him for allowing Chloe to wake up, and asked for her sister’s continued healing. Next she prayed for Evan and his emotional healing, from the trauma of his wife’s murder and from his guilt for feeling like he’d let her down as a husband.

  Dear Lord, Evan’s a good man. Please, let him find love again. I k
now he’d be a good, caring husband, and he needs to realize it, too. And Camden needs siblings. He’d be such a good big brother.

  A longing to be Camden’s mom filled her. How had that little boy stolen her heart in such a short time? Because he was his father’s child. A sharp pain stabbed her heart, and she caught her breath.

  She loved Evan. Always had, always would.

  If she had the slightest inkling he would give her a second chance, she’d move back to Blackberry Falls and take over the clinic. She could bear anything—even small-town living where everyone knew everyone else’s business—to be with him. Only, small-town living hadn’t seemed as much of a burden the past few days as she had believed it to be as a teenager. After hers and Chloe’s attacks, the people had rallied behind her. The Vincents offering protection. The Greens providing a way into the match race, putting themselves at risk of retaliation. All the officers on the police force volunteering their time to keep Chloe safe so Grace wouldn’t worry. She loved her hometown as much as she loved Evan. Reality hit her full-force, and she desperately wanted to hear his voice.

  Digging in her bag, she pulled her phone out. Still nothing.

  Maybe the guard outside Chloe’s room could contact Evan for her. Who was on duty today? It didn’t matter. Whoever it was, she was sure they’d help her out.

  Traffic started moving, and soon James was speeding, maneuvering the rental car through the morning rush hour traffic, Grace’s heart soaring with each passing mile. Turning to face James, she said, “Thank you for taking me to Chloe.”

  “My pleasure.” The smile that tugged the corners of his lips didn’t match the storm in his eyes. “It’s only fitting I get to tell her goodbye.”

  The way he said the word “goodbye” sent a shiver of apprehension up her spine that wrapped around her chest and squeezed her heart. In that instant, she knew without a doubt she’d messed up by going with him. A sickening thought settled in her stomach like a dose of bitter reality. James wasn’t taking her to Chloe out of kindness or a sense of family loyalty.