Authors: Wild Horses
Chapter Nineteen
Tash hung up her cell phone. “Gus just talked to Dani’s friend Therese—she has no idea what’s going on. Randy was supposedly on a business trip. And her cell phone’s missing.”
Adam tightened his grip on the steering wheel, fear rising. “Police?”
“He’s going to call again now—I think there’s enough information to suggest kidnapping
now
.”
Not that they’re equipped to handle it
. Regular break-ins, vandalism—the local police dealt with that. Anything bigger, he honestly had his doubts.
Everyone
knew Devin killed Chelsea but despite months of investigations, they supposedly didn’t find enough evidence. He had no faith in them when it came to finding Dani now.
Adam expelled a shuddering breath, flexed his fingers again, and stared past the rain as it began to strike the windshield. The country road ahead of him was mostly empty, their vehicle passing only a handful of cars along the way and none of them Randy’s. Far ahead, the highway was in sight, cars sloshing through growing puddles of rain and trucks speeding by.
“We should’ve caught up to them by now,” he said.
Tash drummed her fingers on the dashboard. “Okay, you guys said he was stalking her—like, sending notes and stuff, right? How he’ll find her? He’s that ‘I think we’re in a relationship’ type?”
“I think so, yeah.”
“So he’s unraveling.” Tash stared straight ahead, frowning deeply as she thought. She’d discarded the baseball cap and humidity left turned dark curls that had slipped from her ponytail into tight springs. “He’s not going to keep this up and take her back to the city—grab the next left before hitting the highway. Surf country roads—I’m gonna put out some feelers and see if anyone has seen the vehicle.”
****
The moment Dani’s knees hit the grass, she remembered something about supposedly rolling when leaping from a moving car, but then she didn’t have much experience with it, so those lessons never materialized. Instead, she landed hard, immediately tumbling forward into the ditch. Her hands came out to stop her fall, left striking something sharp. Could be a stone, could be glass—she didn’t know, didn’t care, the pain distant.
Dani glanced up through tangled damp hair as tires screeched, Randy’s car careening too far to correct. It wheeled off the road, hitting the ditch several yards ahead of her.
Barely a breath passed her lips before she was scrambling up, onto her feet, gripping wet grass to give her leverage as she climbed up the ditch. An empty field and woods beyond awaited her, broken wire fence sectioning it off. She bolted forward, feet slipping on grass and mud.
The car door opened behind her.
She ducked and slipped between the fence, wire catching her hair and tugging on her scalp. The field beyond was neglected, weeds and grass tall, no signs of animals. Several of the farms were up for sale and of course it was her luck that she ended up in an abandoned one.
“Dani!”
Shit.
The bellow set her skin crawling. She trudged through the field, rain slicking down her face and soaking her clothes. A brisk wind sliced through her, chilling her to the bone. Her gaze scanned the area as she ran, searching for any sign of shelter—like, preferably shelter
with a phone
.
Or a shotgun
.
She darted for the line of trees and wished like hell she knew the area better. In town was one thing, but out in the country was another—she didn’t even know what direction she ran in, especially without the sun to navigate.
Her heart beat like it was about to burst from her chest and breaths came in panting gasps. Just as she reached the trees, she glanced over her shoulder. Randy had made it through the fence and was still gunning for her.
She bit back a curse and slipped among the trees. Far less rain hit her, just the occasional fat drop falling from the leaves. Between the trucks, she spotted another field and a house this time.
Thank God
.
Dani ran.
****
“There!” Tash pointed ahead.
Adam leaned forward, squinting. The windshield wipers slapped violently at the rain, which poured heavily and steadily now, ruining visibility. He slowed the truck to a crawl and then saw it—a vehicle in the ditch, front doors gaping open. The car was silver, four doors, and dread sank like a lead ball in his gut when he recognized it.
He pulled to the shoulder and braked, facing the other car. It was definitely empty—he scanned the fields but saw no one.
Tash grabbed her hoodie from behind the seat and angled her arms into it. “Stay here and—”
“Like hell I am.” He reached for the door handle.
She sighed and started dialing. “At least wait while I call—”
But he’d already thrown open the door and was slipping outside.
Rain hammered him hard right away, soaking his hair and T-shirt, and making it uncomfortable to move in wet jeans. He approached the other car but saw nothing—no sign of anyone. Did they struggle? Did Dani get away?
He’d seen her get in the passenger side—that faced the fenced off field to his left. Adam jogged in that direction, the wind cutting over Tash’s voice as she shouted behind him.
****
The house was empty.
Almost literally empty. Boarded up, at one point, though the boards had been removed over some of the windows—probably by kids. Dani had climbed through to survey the place and found nothing of use. A torn up couch. Trash. Random mattress. More beer bottles than she could count.
No phone.
A stale, musty smell hung in the air, probably from water damage and however long the place had been closed up. Little light from the gray day outside slipped through the boarded windows and she didn’t bother with any of the switches. Worry had her stomach twisted up and heart thumping erratically.
Dying here would be like something out of a horror movie and she refused. Steel wove through her spine, strengthening her, and she bolted for the stairs in search of something that might help.
Steps creaked under her feet, the carpet muffling the slaps of her shoes but doing nothing about the old floorboards beneath. Upstairs was as dark as below, if not more so in the narrow hall of partially closed bedroom doors. Dani glanced around for the room that would face the field so she could see if he—
A
thump
sounded downstairs and her heart leapt to her throat.
“Dani!” Randy called, softer this time. “Come on...it’s gonna be okay. I love you—I’m not going to hurt you.”
Pretty sure that’s exactly what crazy people say before they stab you
. She bit her lip and winced as it stung from him hitting her in the car. She glanced.
Let’s try door number one
.
Her steps ghosted down the hall. She made a right and slipped through the half-open door, into the bathroom. Once again, she scanned for a weapon and came up short. Nothing in the medicine cabinet, no old scissors or...
The long metal towel rack drew her attention, old bolts sticking out of the wall.
She gave it an experimental shake—it was loose. A crack over the skull might put him down for a bit, then she could grab his keys and return to the car.
Good plan. Well, only plan
.
“Dani!” he shouted again downstairs.
“Please don’t be loud, please don’t be loud,” she chanted in a whisper as she wrapped her hands around bar and fought to wiggle it loose. When it wouldn’t go any farther, she took a breath, braced, and yanked.
The towel rack popped free but loudly, metal against metal screeching.
Shit!
Footsteps thumped up the stairs. Dani glanced around, then darted for the open doorway to the side, which led to a bedroom. If he went in the bathroom, she could slip back downstairs and outside, right?
Although I’d feel safer if I hit him over the head first.
She stepped softly toward the other end of the bedroom and pressed herself against the wall, scarcely drawing a breath as she peered through where the door was slightly ajar to reveal the hall beyond. The steps stopped for a moment, then started again, slow and measured. Randy walked by, his focus on the entrance to the bathroom next door.
Rain hammered against the windows and the light streaking through the slats in the boards was dappled, water casting moving shadows across the floor. Dani tightened her grip on the bar and breathed deeply, fighting her thrumming pulse. Water slithered down her spine, T-shirt clinging and irritating her flesh. She waited—she just needed him about to reach the bathroom doorway and she could whack him once from behind.
Randy moved closer to the bathroom.
Count of three...open the door and run....one...two...
“Dani!”
The shout downstairs startled them both. Her heart seized, fingers trembling so much she thought she might drop the towel rack.
Adam?
Randy spun and headed back for the stairs. The sudden warm relief enveloping her went cold at the sight; he headed down the steps, abandoning his quest for her. She hadn’t seen a weapon on him, but the element of surprise could be a great equalizer.
Randy was mid-way down the stairs, top of his head disappearing from sight as he descended. His steps matched Adam’s pace on the first level, noise disguised.
“Dani?” Adam called again, voice echoing.
She couldn’t see Randy anymore.
With a breath she threw open the door and burst into the hallway—no sign of Randy.
He must already be down there—fuck, Adam!
“Adam!” she shouted, hoping it would distract Randy and send him back upstairs. She ran for the steps, weapon ready.
Adam was at the bottom of the staircase, soaked through, eyes alighting and expression softening as he saw her. “Dani!”
A fist collided against the back of his head before he could move to greet her, Randy stepping around the corner. Adam stumbled, slumped, blinked. He braced his hand on the steps for a moment before turning and swinging, cracking Randy across the chin.
Dani clambered down the steps as the men grappled, heart fluttering, pulse seeming to throb painfully with fear. Adam punched hard but Randy wasn’t the one who got knocked on the back of the head to start with; his strikes were slightly slower, went slightly wider, and it took seconds for Randy to gain the upper hand. He got Adam on his back and sputtered as he delivered a knee to the ribs.
“Randy!” she screamed and as he paused, turned, looked up at her and blinked, she swung the metal bar like a baseball bat.
The towel rack hit, cracking him across the nose and knocking his head to the side. Blood arched from his nose, spraying the wall, and he fell forward, heaving out a painful breath.
She flexed her fingers on the bar and brought it down on his back, right between the shoulder blades.
Just for good measure.
That knocked him flat and he thumped on the floor, barely moving. She stared at him a moment longer before going to Adam. He struggled his way up onto his elbows, face a bloody, bruised mess, and blinking against the swelling in his left eye.
She dropped to her knees and scooped up his head, feeling the back where a bump was swelling. “Just be careful—you could have a concussion. Try to stay awake—”
Movement caught her attention, Randy about to rise, a dark shape in her peripheral vision. She reached blindly for the bar again—
But once again he went down, barking out a curse when he hit the floor; Tash Whitaker had her knee in his back and the barrel of her gun pressed to the top of his spine.
She grinned at Dani. “This is going to be
great
for business.”
Epilogue
NEW POST: Published
Hey there Dani-girls and Dani-boys!
Well, you’ve all been waiting, I know. The two week countdown to Dani Dancing in Her Underwear: The Return.
Usually I hate sequels. Never good as the original. But sometimes a story calls for it.
I also hope you’ve enjoyed the past few weeks of posts chronicling my time as a farm hand. Yes, it’s all true. Yes, I’m just as bad at it as I claimed to be. And yes, the bruise on my foot after being stepped on has at last faded and I really don’t recommend traipsing about a farm in heels.
I keep getting emails about the stalker-thing. That’s true too and while there’s legal shit going on, I’m not supposed to talk about it. So here’s me, NOT talking about it. But I will be blogging about the karate self defense classes I’m about to start taking because when being chased through a house by a guy much bigger than you who thinks you have some secret love affair, a towel rack should NOT be your only option.
If you skipped the above to get to the video, hey there! tl;dr, stuff happened and I came home and I hope you like the new vid
Love ya (in a platonic, non-stalker-encouraging kind of way)!
~Dani Girl
Adam smiled wistfully for a moment at her flowery blog signature, a scrolling font with a daisy dotting the “i”.
He missed her, there was no denying it He’d taken time every day to steal moments on Gus’s laptop to read what was going on with her and how she was coping. And, he admitted a little bit, to see what she said about the farm in her posts. True to form, she never mentioned him—except for occasional references to Hot Cowboy—and certainly didn’t breathe a word about his sister or those issues. The occasional photo she’d snapped of herself at the farm included with the posts and vlogs filmed in her room at night squeezed at his heart, for a moment stealing his breath and letting him remember what it was like to briefly have her there.
Adam was in love with her. He admitted that to himself now. Not falling and not even in passing: the head over heels love song type.
Country music was becoming a regular staple in his days now.
Even though she’d stayed two extra days, splitting her time before visiting him in the hospital for a concussion and talking with police, he knew she couldn’t stay. This wasn’t her home.
But he missed her still.
He hit play on the video and waited for it to load, having been there waiting at 1:14 in the afternoon specifically for the post to go live—she’d had a countdown up for weeks and like the rest of her loyal followers, he’d been eagerly anticipating it. Even yesterday he’d run into Mark Goodwin, the large animal vet, who made a joke about how he should’ve asked for her autograph but hadn’t made the connection until later—he’d followed her blog for a year.
The video buffering finished and film began to play, starting with a white screen. Then her smiling face appeared, apartment full of yellow sunlight. Her long black curls brushing around her shoulders from under a Stetson. This time her underwear was turquoise, more shorts than panties, with a matching tank top. A hairbrush was clutched in her hands as the music started.
Immediately she started belting out—badly, of course—“Need You Now” like the first video, her charity one, twirling around and shaking her hips. He smiled absently, part of him liking to think she had him in mind when she did it.
Especially when she got to the chorus and hit the mention of it being quarter after one; a glance at the desktop clock revealed it being 1:15.
Gooseflesh ran down his arms, heart leaping for a moment. Did this mean...she wanted him to call her, maybe? Gus had her home number. And address. Surely he could find her...
She continued crooning to the camera, staring straight at him. When the male vocalist began, she ceased singing and moved to the camera, reaching down to lift a stack of cue cards.
HEY HOT COWBOY.
His body froze over, not daring to even breathe.
Her blue painted nails flashed as she flipped to the next card.
GO TO THE FRONT DOOR.
She cycled to the next while the song continued on.
AND IF YOU DON’T, I’M GOING TO FEEL LIKE A DORK & THEN BE MAD ’CAUSE YOU DON’T READ MY BLOG.
Adam bolted from the desk, the room, racing down the hall to the front door. He didn’t hesitate, just threw open the door.
Dani stood in the gravel driveway, two feet from the front porch.
He froze, staring. Blinking. Certain he was dreaming, but...
Her hands were knotted behind her back and the Stetson kept the sun from her face. She was dressed casual, jeans and the turquoise tank top from the video. “So.”
Adam continued to gape.
“I was going to feel really stupid if you didn’t open the door—”
He managed to shake himself from the shock of seeing her and stepped forward, down the porch steps. Relief touched her features, eyes softening. He didn’t pause, didn’t think, just scooped her up the moment he reached her, enjoying the familiar feel of her body against his. The Stetson slipped as she tilted her head up, hat falling back and hanging from the strap around her neck. Her mouth opened to his immediately, meeting his fierce kiss, her tongue darting out to sweep past his. His body heated, hardened, endorphins making him lightheaded just holding her again.
She sighed contentedly as their lips parted. “Seriously,
so
relieved. You don’t even know. Gus said if you weren’t watching, he was going to casually say something later—”
Hoof beats thundered in the distance and they both froze, glancing around.
“He’s going for the grain!” Dewey shouted an instant before Bud came galloping around the side of the house.
Dani squealed and tightened her arms around him, shutting her eyes.
“I got it!” Carlee darted out, arms extended, and Bud slowed his approach. When he started to the left, she grasped his trailing lead, braced her feet against the dirt, and held on until Dewey joined her.
Dani released her tight grip on Adam. “Okay, that never stops being scary.”
He chuckled and shook his head. God help him, it was actually
endearing
now.
“Hey!” Carlee said brightly as Dewey took Bud’s lead and swung onto the horse’s back.
“You’re still here?” Dani blurted out.
Carlee laughed and waved her left hand where a small diamond sparkled. “He finally put a ring on it. Takes trauma to make a man move sometimes.”
Very slowly, Dani turned her gaze to Adam cautiously.
“Not me,” he muttered, and nodded at Dewey.
“Wow, I totally didn’t pick up on that.”
Dewey turned Bud back for the field and Carlee followed.
“Well.” Dani glanced back up at Adam. “Good surprise?”
“I still can’t believe you’re here.” He tightened his embrace, as if that would make it seem more real and push away any lingering doubt.
“You know...wild horses, can’t drag me away, yadda yadda. That whole deal. I was thinking you could give me some riding lessons.”
He brushed the hair back from her face, fingertips trailing over her skin. “Western?”
“I was kinda hoping for naked.”
“I think that’s doable.”