Hold Me Cose: Ryker Falls Series

by Vella, Wendy

  She fought then, kicking out she connected with his thigh and he staggered back a step. But they overpowered her, and she was shoved hard down the stairs.

  Stumbling, Maggie fell into the railing. She was then wrenched upright and nudged down the stairs slowly.

  “Get in there and enjoy your last night alive,” Linda said. She was pushed into a room and the door locked behind her.

  She hammered on it with her fists. “They know what you did! Know you wrote the note and that Noel is A.J.! They’ll come for me, and then you’ll be sorry!”

  No one answered her.

  “You can’t go back to Ryker now, they’ll know! Soon everyone will know you killed your brother!” Maggie banged on the door until her fists hurt. When exhaustion overtook her, she stumbled to the bed. She’d sleep, just for a while, then she’d think about how she’d escape.

  “I’m not a victim anymore,” she whispered into the dark. “Fin loves me, and I love him. We have a life to live.”

  Closing her eyes, she curled into a ball to try and find some warmth and thought about him. The man who’d told her he loved her. He would come for her, she had to believe that. She didn’t want to die tomorrow.

  Chapter 38

  Noel Linbar’s land and bunker were two hours from Ryker, according to his parents. The silence in the Range Rover had gone from exhausted despair to determination.

  “It would be the place to hide someone, where no one would come looking,” Dylan said.

  “She’s alive,” Fin growled.

  “Yes, and she’s staying that way,” Luke added.

  They nearly drove past the track. It was rutted and narrow and had no signs indicating it was a driveway unless you were looking. Dylan turned into it, with Chief Blake behind him. They followed the trail, then pulled onto the grass to follow fresh tracks.

  “That’s Linbar’s Jeep,” Joe said, and Fin felt his tension notch up another level. The desperation was replaced with a steely need to find Maggie. He had hope now, and a direction, and he’d take it. She would be back in his arms today.

  Dylan parked, and they all got out. It was freezing, snow starting to fall, but he felt nothing.

  “No shooting,” Chief Blake said, joining them.

  “Who the fuck are we shooting?” Joe snapped. “I don’t see anything yet.”

  “No shooting when we find Linbar,” Chief Blake added.

  “If they’ve taken Maggie, they deserve to be shot,” Fin’s father said.

  “Agreed,” everyone but Chief Blake added.

  “Where the hell is this bunker?” Fin looked at the ground, searching for footprints, anything to indicate which direction to take.

  “Here,” Luke said. “This way.

  They took off at a run, covering the distance as if they’d had a full night’s sleep instead of none. The barn appeared before them, listing slightly to the right. Fin entered first.

  “Someone’s been here,” Joe said. “Two sets of prints. No, three. They end there.”

  Fin dropped to his haunches to inspect the door in the floor. Raising a finger to his lips, he pulled out his gun and gripping the handle, he began to open it.

  Taking the first step down the stairs he’d uncovered, he knew the others followed silently. At the bottom he found a small lounge, a kitchen, and two doors off that. Fin pointed to the one on the right, then turned the handle and stepped inside.

  “Well now, this is romantic,” Fin said, raising his gun. He fired a round into the wall above the sleeping, Linda and Noel.

  “I said no shooting!” Chief Blake snapped, stepping to Fin’s side.

  “No killing, son.”

  They woke screaming. Linda clutched the sheet; Noel reached for his gun.

  “Do that, and I won’t miss next time,” Fin said with a steely calm.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Noel demanded. “This is private property.”

  “Hands where I can see them,” Chief Blake said.

  “Where is Maggie?” Fin aimed for Noel’s groin.

  “We heard something. It’s muffled, but we heard it, and it’s coming from that room,” Joe said from behind him. “It’s locked, and my guess, soundproofed.”

  Fin fired off another bullet. This one dug into the mattress, inches from Noel’s thigh.

  “Well, hell,” Chief Blake muttered. “Don’t kill him; the paperwork will take me days to fill out.”

  “I want the keys to that room, and I want them now,” Fin said slowly. “And if she’s hurt in any way, I’m coming back and putting that bullet into your heart.”

  “No!” Linda screamed as Noel pointed to his trousers at the end of the bed.

  Fin grabbed them and found a key ring. He was at the door in seconds. His hands shook as he tried the keys until he got the right one. Swinging the door slowly open, he saw her.

  “Maggie,” her name was a rasp. “God, Maggie.” She ran at him, throwing herself into his arms, sobbing loudly.

  “Sssh now, I have you, baby. You’re safe.”

  “Th-they killed Simon.”

  “I figured that much.”

  “They were going to kill me.”

  “But now they’re not. What they are going to do is spend a long time in jail.”

  He held her while they removed Noel and Linda, held her until the tears dried up and she’d stopped shaking.

  “We need to go now, Fin. Take her back to Ryker. She’s cold, and the doctor should probably cheek her over,” Joe said.

  “I-I’m okay.” She lifted her head from his chest. “I’m okay now you’re here.” Her eyes were bloodshot, face smeared with dirt, red curls in a tangled mess, and she’d never looked more beautiful to Fin.

  “That’s my girl.” Joe ran a hand over her head. Jack came next, then Luke. Dylan had gone with Chief Blake.

  “I’m pleased you’re unharmed, Maggie.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Hudson.”

  “I think that will be dad-in-law one day, but for now, Jonathan will do.”

  Wrapping a blanket around her, Fin led her out of the bunker. She pressed to his side, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her close. Fin wasn’t sure he’d ever let her go. They’d talk, and there would be questions asked, but for now she was in his arms, and that was enough.

  …

  Joe drove them through Ryker and straight to Maggie’s house because she said that was where she wanted to be. The streets looked the same, but to Fin everything seemed different now. Love, fear—he’d run through so many emotions in the last twenty-four hours, he couldn’t name them all.

  She sat resting against him as they drove, and slept. Fin didn’t have sleep in him yet. He was still wired.

  Her family were there when they pulled up outside her little place, and Nash opened the door. Grabbing his sister, he crushed her into his chest.

  Fin stood watching, telling himself again she was now safe.

  “Everything will be all right now, Fin.”

  He let his father hug him again and even held on.

  “I never knew what love really was until Maggie, Dad. If this is how you felt about Mom, then I’m sorry all over again for how I acted.”

  “That’s the past now. Let’s leave that there and move forward.”

  “I’d like that.”

  His father left with a promise they would see the family tomorrow, and then after some persuasion, Maggie’s family left too, after she’d told them that Fin would stay the night with her.

  He let her shower while he made her toast and tea. She then sat curled on the sofa beside him with a thick blanket over her legs. Her eyes were on the twinkling lights of her Christmas tree while she silently ate what he gave her.

  He showered after food and dressed in Nash’s jeans and sweater he’d left behind. Fin then sat and pulled her onto his lap. She rested her head on his chest with a sigh.

  “I panicked when they first put me in that trunk, Fin.”

  “They put you in a trunk!” Hi
s anger flared to life. “I should have shot the bastard.”

  “I couldn’t breathe and felt the terror start to take control of me, but it didn’t, Fin.”

  “Because you’re brave,” he said, brushing his lips over her hair. She smelled of something floral.

  “No, because you made me brave. You made me think about what we could have, what I had to live for. Family, yes, I had that, but I wanted to see where our love took us, and they were taking that from me.”

  “It’s taking us to a life together,” he said. “I love you, Maggie Winter, and if tonight proved one thing to me, it was that I can’t live without you and don’t plan on it. You’re stuck with me.”

  “I want to be stuck with you. You understand me. The crazy, the art, and the passionate loathing of exercise.”

  He snorted. “We can work on that.”

  “We were friends first, Fin. And that’s what makes this stronger.”

  “I’ve always felt different about you, Maggie. I just never acted on it.”

  “Take me to bed, Fin. I want to sleep in your arms where I’m safe.”

  “I’ll always keep you safe, baby.”

  “And I’ll always keep you safe.”

  Getting to his feet, he lifted her into his arms and wondered if the fear of what they’d just endured would ever really leave him or her. Maybe over time, say fifty years, he may be able to think about it and not feel the desperation and panic. But right now he wanted sleep with the woman he loved, like he would every night from this day forward.

  Chapter 39

  Love, Fin soon realized, was a pretty special thing. Like waking under a Maggie blanket every morning, he thought, dodging a fallen Santa. He’d tire of that in say… sixty years.

  “Oh, for pity’s sake, Fin, go faster!”

  “Trying, sweetheart, but as I’m doing all the work, I’m the one getting tired.”

  “You’re not tired, and I’m not having Ted and Mandy beating us! Oooh”—she jiggled, making him stagger to stay upright—“that horrible Marsha Watson and Carl Harding are just in front of us. We need to catch them.”

  “Doing my best,” he grunted.

  He put in a surge, passed Carl Harding, and managed to send him sprawling with a discreet leg trip.

  “Damn!” Maggie said as they were beaten on the line by Jack and Rory.

  Collapsing on the snow, Fin moaned.

  “That’s a very undignified position for the boss dog ranger of Ryker Falls.” Maggie nudged him with her toe. He grabbed her ankle, and she fell on top of him, giggling.

  “Shut up,” he rasped, locking his arm around her lovely body. He then kissed her.

  “Will you guys get a room! Seriously, it’s getting old,” Luke said, passing them.

  Five days after the kidnapping and Maggie was doing great. She still had her moments and wasn’t keen on being alone in the dark, but for all she’d been through, Fin found her resilience amazing.

  Every day she showed him a side to her he’d never seen before. He’d thought he knew her, had done so for years, but you never really knew someone until you loved them.

  “You did great.” She patted his chest. “My hero,” she said when he let her up for air.

  “Why are you lying there getting cold, kissing?”

  His little sister was looking down at them with a confused expression on her face.

  “I’m exhausted. I’ve just carried Maggie down the street dressed as a Santa. Cut me some slack here, Mal. And I like kissing her.”

  “Are you saying I’m heavy, Findlay Hudson?” Maggie climbed off him, then held out her hand to help him to his feet.

  “We’ll reverse the roles next year, and you can see how it feels.”

  His family had stayed in Ryker and moved into Maggie’s house. They would be here until after Christmas, and Fin was enjoying getting to know them and reacquainting himself with his father.

  Two days after Noel Linbar was arrested, he’d admitted everything. He and his brother, Simon, had gone tramping on the trails. Simon had told him he’d found the letter Linda had written and was threatening to expose him if he didn’t give him money. The Linbars it seemed had withheld funds until Simon proved he was worthy by getting a good job, so he was blackmailing money out of his brother.

  Noel had punched Simon; he’d fallen and hit his head. The blow had killed him. He’d panicked. After hiding the body he’d gone to get a shovel and buried his brother on the mountain.

  The loss of a second son had devastated Letitia and Richard Linbar, and no one had seen them since Noel’s arrest. But when and if they left their house, the town would be there to comfort them Fin knew.

  “Come on, I need food,” Maggie said, taking his hand to follow the others to A.S. where the rest of their friends and family were meeting.

  “Yes, because let’s face it, you expended a lot of energy,” Fin said.

  “Fin.”

  “Maggie.” She looked cute in the red Santa hat. He wondered if that little zing of excitement would ever ease when he saw her.

  “I love you; you know that, right?”

  “I do, as I love you.”

  “And you know that we have slept together every night since… then.” She waved her hand about.

  “Yes again.”

  “Well, I wondered if maybe….” Her words fell away as she tried to find the right ones. “I mean it’s only been two weeks, but I don’t want to sleep without you anymore.”

  “I don’t want to sleep without you either, even if you are a blanket hog. So how about I clear out a drawer for you?”

  “I mean, it’s only been a few days, but we know each other, and I love you, and you love me, and—”

  “Yes, Maggie.”

  She stopped and looked at him.

  “Yes, I want you to sleep with me every night, so I know if you wake scared I’ll be there. Yes, I want to clear a drawer out for you.”

  “Really?” She leapt at him, and he caught her. “But I may need more than one.”

  As they walked into A.S. to meet with friends and family, he felt lighter inside than he had in a long time. His past was no longer a darkness inside him, and the future looked bright. Yes, love, Fin thought, was indeed a wonderful thing.

  * * *

  Read on for more about Fin and Maggie!

  Bonus epilogue Hold Me Close

  Would you like to read more about Fin and Maggie? Here is a bonus epilogue for you! Find out what they are doing years from now by clicking here: I want this bonus epilogue please

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  I hope you enjoyed Hold Me Close, book #5 in the Ryker Falls Series.

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  Have you read the first book in my Lake Howling Series, A PROMISE OF HOME

  “I absolutely loved the romance, the raw emotional moments, and mystery and suspense in this book!!!”

  -Amazon reviewer

  Reclusive. Grumpy. Irresistible.

  Dr Jake McBride loves two things in life. His people, and chicken cheesy-crust pies. Returning from Iraq, he’s done with medicine and strangers… in fact life. He knows all about trauma, and plans on dealing with his, his own way. His needs are simple, solitude and working on his new career as the town recluse. The only problem with that… well two actually, are the interfering towns folk of Lake Howling, and Branna O’Donnell. He’s damn sure that her return means nothing to him… until it does!

  His first mistake was kissing her. His second was doing it again.

  Branna O’Donnell is burnt out and needs a place to stop running. Strange how that place is back where she’d once been happy. Settling in to small town life again comes with complications and the biggest has a serious attitude. Once the town golden boy, Jake McBride now wears a permane
nt snarl, not that anyone but her seems to notice the sexy doctor has changed.

  Sharing a bed complicates things but no way is Jake leaving Branna alone until they find who is threatening her, and even then he’s not sure he’ll be able to walk away. He can feel himself changing, and it’s all on her, but when her past comes calling with it comes the realization that more than lust is involved. He’s not sure he can be her hero but he knows he wants to try.

  If you enjoy your small town romance sizzling with a side of crazy, then Lake Howling is for you. Meet the real authority in town - the local book club - and Jake’s interfering hot friends. Swim (or skinny dip!) in the ice cold lake, then warm up with coffee and a mystery muffin at The Hoot Café. Plenty of feels and LOLS, all wrapped up in a town that will have you packing your bags to head there, from the very first page.

  ONE CLICK FOR PROMISE OF HOME!

  “In the end love wins, but it's the getting there that makes this such a fantastic read.”

  -Goodreads reviewer

  Turn the page for an excerpt of Promise Of Home!

  A Promise Of Home

  Excerpt

  “I’m sorry if I was rude or hurt you, Branna. Things have changed with me, and it’s those things that make me mean.”

  “I-I overreacted. My head was sore and my wrist hurt—”

  “I did want to be your friend in school, Rosebud, no matter what you believed.”

  She didn’t know what to say to that, so she tried to pull away instead.

  “Let me go, McBride.”

  “You scared of me, Rosebud?”

  She tried to scoff, but it was a weak effort. Lifting one had, he cupped her cheek, using his thumb to tilt her chin upward.

  “No!”