Authors: Jennifer Ryan
“Since then, nothing out of the ordinary has happened?”
“Nothing, except Bell getting run off the road. I’ve been living back on my ranch, seeing Dr. Bell and sitting on my ass while my leg heals.”
“The last report I received, they found Rowdy’s truck abandoned at a truck stop in Wyoming. Seems to me he’s either headed this way—”
“Or already here,” Dane finished for him. “The thing is, Rowdy would be stupid to go up against me, and he knows it.”
“Maybe that’s why he’s going after her.”
Dane couldn’t dismiss the possibility. “Rowdy had a tendency to get something into his head and not let it go. Like a dog with a bone, he’d chew on it for a good long time. If he thinks I had a thing going with Brandy, then he’s lost his mind. I’m here. She was there. He should have been satisfied with that.
“If he is coming after me, you better find him before he does anything else crazy, because if I get my hands on him and find out he did something to Brandy and hurt Bell, I’ll teach him a lesson he never forgets.”
“Dane.” Bell squeezed his hand.
“What? If this is all about him being jealous that Brandy and I talk on the phone and exchange text messages once in a while, then he’s stupider than I ever gave him credit for being.”
“Watch your back, Doc,” the officer warned. “Be careful going to and leaving the hospital and clinic. Ask security at the hospital, or another doctor, to walk you to your car. Don’t go anywhere alone. If this guy has fixated on you and Dane, he’s dangerous.”
Dane stood and pulled her up with him. “Keep me posted. You’ve got my number and hers. You catch this fucker, I want to know about it immediately.” Dane gave her hand a tug. “Come on, Doc. Let’s get out of here.”
He settled her in the front seat of his truck and got behind the wheel, but he didn’t start the engine. He stared out at the building in front of him. “I’m sorry, Bell. I never meant for this to happen.”
“Of course you didn’t. We still don’t know if it’s him. Even if it is, it’s not your fault.”
“Someone tried to kill you this morning.”
“You couldn’t have stopped or prevented that. Now we know to be careful. They’ll find whoever did this. You never know, maybe Rowdy and Brandy went off for a lovers’ tryst.”
“The flaws in your optimism are showing. Brandy would never leave Kaley. She’d never leave her parents without telling them. Her father is sick, and her mother is struggling to hold on while the bills pile up. Brandy isn’t someone who’d shirk all her responsibilities to run off with an asshole like Rowdy.”
Bell scooted across the truck seat and leaned against his shoulder, wrapping her hands around his upper arm. “I know you’re worried about me and your friend. It’ll be okay, Dane. Whatever happens, don’t blame yourself. Like you said, if he’s stupid enough to go up against you, you’ll teach him a lesson he’ll never forget.”
Yeah, Dane would kill the fucker if he hurt Bell again.
B
ell walked into the kitchen, grabbed the cigarette smoldering in the ashtray on top of three well-worn Bibles at her grandmother’s arm, and smashed it out. She took the cinnamon roll her grandmother shouldn’t be eating with her diabetes and dropped it into the trash.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Trying my best to take care of you.” Bell took the eggs from the fridge and cracked them into a pan on the stove. She broke the yolks and used the spatula to scramble them a bit, but not too much. Just like her grandmother liked.
“He’ll leave you the first chance he gets.”
Dane dropped her off at the house early this morning, reluctantly leaving her alone with her grandmother. Bell and Dane spent the last four nights together, wrapped in each other’s arms and completely lost in the deep feelings they shared. She’d insisted on coming home today to clean the house of whatever crap her grandmother collected in that time and wash her clothes. She should take the keys to her grandfather’s old truck and make sure her grandmother didn’t go anywhere, but she didn’t have the heart to limit her trips to town. Selfishly, Bell didn’t want the chore of having to take her every week. She spent enough time with her grandmother, listening to her spew vile words and accusations. Still, with her eyesight getting worse, the time had come to do something drastic.
“He’s free to do as he pleases, and he’s still here. He likes me, Grandmother. He makes me happy. Don’t you want that for me? After all that’s happened, aren’t I at least entitled to that?”
“No. You ruined everything. Since you arrived, my husband died and my own son refuses to come here. I have to go to Katherine’s to see him. He won’t even look at you.”
“That’s his choice.” She hated that her father put his mother between them. All this time, she still felt like living here had been some form of punishment for her being born. “If you want to ask him here, I’m happy to leave so you can have the house to yourself. But let’s get one thing clear—the reason he probably doesn’t come here is because of all the stuff you cram into this tiny place.”
“It’s my stuff. You think I don’t know you move things around and throw things away.”
“I’m keeping the piles from toppling over and burying you alive. You should thank me.”
Bell slid the eggs from the pan onto a plate. She poured a mug of hot water from the coffee carafe and plunked in a chamomile tea bag. Nothing would mellow out her grandmother, but the tea might dissipate her caffeine buzz from the three cups of coffee she’d already drunk.
Bell set the plate and mug in front of her grandmother. She grabbed the old papers and discarded food wrappers and napkins from the table and dumped them in the trash bin. Next to her grandmother she set down a book she’d picked up from the hospital gift shop. “I found a new one for you.”
Her grandmother rested her hand on the book. She loved the hidden word searches. They kept her busy in between watching game shows on TV. Bell picked them up once in a while to make her grandmother happy. Not that anything ever really did.
“I miss him. He used to keep this place all fixed up.”
“My father?”
She shook her head. “My husband. So handsome and smart. He left me far too soon.”
“Yes, he did. I miss him, too. I don’t have many memories, but I remember he was kind.”
She frowned and glared at Bell. “He wanted you here. He never forgave our boy for what he did.”
“I like him even more now.”
“You’ll leave here to be with him.”
“If you mean Dane, yes, I will. For a chance to be happy and loved, I will leave here and hold on to him and everything he offers and the way he makes me feel. But I will make sure you are taken care of and your needs are met. It’s better than you ever did for me.”
“I put a roof over your head and food in your belly when no one else wanted you. I did my duty, the charitable thing.”
“Would it have been so hard to say a kind word? Send me to school? Treat me like I was a human being and not Satan’s spawn? I didn’t sin. My parents did.”
“You’re just like him.”
“Who?” She didn’t think her grandmother was talking about her beloved, sinning son.
“Your grandfather. He wanted to punish your father.”
“He was married with a child and had an affair. Isn’t that one of the
you shall not
s in your Bible? Isn’t it a sin to turn your back on your child?”
“And here you plan to turn your back on me.”
“That’s not true. I’m taking the one and only chance I’ve ever had to be happy. I will continue to care for your needs, but not at the expense of my relationship with Dane.”
Bell walked out of the kitchen to her room and slammed the door. She stood with her arms banded around her middle and hugged herself close. Standing in that kitchen, feeling every day of her life with her grandmother weigh on her, she’d made her decision. She didn’t want to feel this way anymore. Dane said the request for her to move in with him stood. The last days they’d spent together after her shift at the hospital had been some of the best days of her life. She didn’t want to give that up. She didn’t want to be here anymore. She wanted to be with the man she loved.
Thanksgiving was only a few days away. She’d tell him then. He’d be so happy. With Rowdy still out there somewhere, possibly out to hurt her and Dane, he’d want her at his place all the time. No, not his place. Their place.
Her mind sprouted dreams of how it would be. They’d eat their meals together. Watch more of those cartoons he loved and that made her laugh. She’d learn to ride his beloved horses and plant a garden in the spring on the small plot he’d pointed out as he’d teased her about planting peppers and tomatoes to rival the small garden she had here. She’d help him finish redecorating the house. They’d make it their place. Maybe one day, they’d get married and have a family. She’d be happy. With him. Their home. The life they’d make together.
She pulled her sweater off over her head, then found a T-shirt and her zip-up hoodie. She laced on her running shoes and grabbed her cell and headphones. She’d listen to some music and go for a walk. Her knee was better, but not enough for a run. She’d go to the river, find some inner peace, and figure out a way to tell Dane she was moving in with him on Friday.
R
owdy’s gut ached. He’d run out of cash and couldn’t use his credit or debit card without getting caught. He’d broken into a house this morning when the old couple left to go to town. He’d stolen a couple bottles of booze, a six-pack of beer, a gas can, and a truck. He should have taken some food to go with the whiskey he downed.
Nothing but nerves. He’d never done anything like this. Not until Brandy. This would be the end. Dane would finally get his.
He knelt and set the six-pack by the chicken coop, checking out the tiny hellhole that bitch doctor lived in. What the hell was with all the crosses in the windows? No fucking way God saved that bitch from Rowdy’s wrath.
Why the fuck she lived here boggled his mind. A big-time doctor should live in a ritzier house. She’d stayed with Dane the last few days, but not anymore.
He stood and swayed on his unsteady legs. He pulled the lighter from his pocket, flicked the roller, and stared at the flame. “Let it burn.”
He grabbed three of the bottles from the carton and walked to the back of the house. He set two down, lit one, and tossed it through the back window. The bottle broke, making it less effective, but the flames rose up and caught quickly. Smoke billowed out the window and licked at the roof. He grabbed the other two bottles and a rag and ran to the other side of the house. This time, he found a rock and threw it through the window first. A woman yelled, “What the hell?” He lit the rag and tossed the gasoline-filled beer bottle through the broken window. The place went up in flames, and a scream broke the quiet outside, exciting him even more.
“Burn, bitch, burn.”
He tossed the third through the old truck’s open window and ran back for the coop. The rush of excitement pushed him on. He grabbed another bottle, lit it, and tossed it into the bitch’s Jeep. It went up in seconds, black smoke rising into the air.
The chickens squawked and rushed to the back of the enclosure. He grabbed another bottle and lit it. He’d spilled some gasoline on his hand and jacket the last time he’d thrown the bottle. His arm caught fire as he tossed the bottle against the coop’s wood wall. The straw went up, along with his arm. He shook it and patted it with his hand, but the damn thing didn’t go out. He screamed, tore off his jacket, and wrapped it around his hand and arm to smother the fire. It worked, but his arm burned and hurt like hell.
“Fuck!”
He turned and stared at the destruction around him, mesmerized by the flames. He smelled the smoke and felt the heat. He closed his eyes, swayed, and let the rush run through him, dulling the pain in his arm and settling the vengeance in his heart.
He opened his eyes again and smiled. “Go fuck yourself, Dane.”
D
ane tossed the last bale of hay on the stack inside the stables and pulled his gloves off. The wind whipped up and caught his hair, blowing it back. He needed to grab his cap out of the truck cab. He held his head up to catch the wind and took it in. God, it was good to be outside working for a change.
He thought of Bell for the five thousandth time in ten minutes. He hated that she’d gone back to her place, insisting he didn’t have to stay with her every second. He worried about her while she was at work. He worried about her every moment she was out of his sight. But nothing happened in the last four days. He tried to convince himself Rowdy gave up with that last stunt, but Dane knew it was only a matter of time before Rowdy struck again.
Something caught his attention, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what alerted him to danger. He walked out past his truck toward the front yard, searching everywhere for a sign. One of his guys walked out of the barn. The horses in the nearby pasture whinnied and shook their heads up and down.
Dane smelled fire. He raised his head to the sky and scanned the surrounding area, spotting black smoke rising from down the road.
“Rodrigo, get in the truck. That’s got to be Bell’s place.”
Two more of his guys jumped in the back as Dane took his place behind the wheel and gunned the engine. He peeled out on the gravel and raced down the road to Bell’s house. Rodrigo called in the fire. Dane could barely think past the fear rushing through his veins, tightening his chest, and choking off his breath.
She’s safe
. Those words became his mantra. He couldn’t lose her now.
“I texted your brothers,” Rodrigo said from beside him.
Dane saw the flames shoot into the air from the cabin’s roofline. He thought of all that stuff piled high inside, of Bell stuck in that house, trying to wind her way through the narrow passages she’d made, trying to get out through the flames and the smoke. He thought of her sitting in her room, reading a book, smelling the smoke, maybe not knowing what it was until it was too late. She’d try to get to her grandmother. She’d open her bedroom door and face a wall of flames.
Every scenario that played in his mind ended only one way. Bell dead. The thought stopped his heart. He tried to tell himself it couldn’t be. He’d get to her in time.
He pulled into her driveway and slammed on the brakes. The truck skidded to a stop. He leaped out and ran for the house, his heart in his throat, but several hands grabbed him from behind and held him back. He fought to break free and get to her. He needed to get to her.
“It’s too late,” a voice said from behind him.
“The house is a total loss.”
“No one came out.”
“I checked the back. There’s no one there. Even the chickens burned.”
Those ominous words echoed in his head.
“Noooo!” someone screamed. He screamed. This couldn’t be. He never should have let her come back here this morning. He should have made her stay with him, where she was safe and protected. He should have stayed here with her and not gone home to work. How many times did she tell him to let his leg heal? How many times did he disobey doctor’s orders? One too many times, and it cost him dearly.
He put both hands over his tear-filled eyes and raised his face to the sky, wishing, hoping, and praying this was all a bad dream.
Someone grabbed his shoulders and shook him. He let his hands fall and stared into Rory Kendrick’s eyes. He hadn’t realized the family drove over from their place when they saw the smoke, too.
Desolate. Unable to breathe without her. Empty in heart, mind, and soul. He didn’t want to talk to anyone. He wanted to jump into the flames and join her in heaven, where they’d always be together. Forever.
“She’s right there.” Rory smacked Dane’s jaw and made him turn his head to the right.
Dane couldn’t believe his eyes.
Bell ran across the field in her jogging clothes, screaming for her grandmother as she headed straight for the house. Dane ran to her with no regard for his healing leg. He grabbed her before she got too close to the house, picking her up right off her feet and hugging her close, so damn thankful to see her alive and well. His shattered heart re-formed and started beating again. He took a deep breath, drank in her sweet scent, and thanked God, the universe, whoever, whatever kept her safe and alive.
“No! No. I have to get her,” Bell screamed with such anguish that her grief became his.
“Bell, sweetheart, she’s gone. The place is a total loss.”
“No, no, no. I have to try.”
He held her tighter as she fought to get loose and run into the burning building. He’d keep her safe. He’d hold on to her.
The roof collapsed and sent up a fireball of flames and sparks. Too close to the building, Dane felt the heat burn against his back. He walked with Bell in his arms, her feet dangling at his shins, back to his truck. Her whole body shook down the length of his. He set her on the driver’s seat, facing him, and held her close, so damn thankful to feel her body pressed to his.
Red and white lights flashed as the fire trucks arrived ahead of his brothers. Blake and Gabe opened the passenger door and looked in at him. Dane shook his head to let them know Bell’s grandmother didn’t make it out.
Time passed without his being aware of it. His sole focus remained on the woman in his arms and her quiet tears that tore at his heart.
“Mr. Bowden, one of the other men said I should speak to you,” one of the firefighters said from behind him.
Dane tried to let go of Bell, but she held on tighter. He peeled her off of him and cupped her tear-streaked face in his hands, kissing her softly. “You’re okay, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere.” He pressed his forehead to hers and held her close. He looked into her anguish-filled eyes and let his heart speak. “I love you so damn much. If I lost you . . .” He crushed his lips to hers in a long, deep kiss, his hands pressed to both sides of her head. He tore his lips from hers and crushed her to his chest again. Her fingers and nails dug into his back, but he didn’t feel the bite, just her sweet body pressed to him.
Dane released her with a reluctance that swamped his insides. Bell held on to him, even when he turned to face the firefighter and saw him holding a huge plastic bag with a cardboard six-pack holder and a single beer bottle with a half-burned rag hanging out of it.
The rage exploded from somewhere deep inside of him and engulfed his whole system. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Is that what started the fire?” He’d seriously thought it an accident. Bell’s chain-smoking grandmother had finally set the place ablaze. But no, that asshole Rowdy came here intent on killing Bell and burning her alive. Fuck.
“We found this next to what was the chicken coop. It’s filled with gasoline. Our preliminary investigation indicates one was used on the old truck, the Jeep, the chicken coop, and tossed through the front and back windows of the house.”
Bell pressed her forehead to his back, between his shoulder blades. Her hands gripped his sides. Dane didn’t know what to say or do. He’d brought this threat and destruction into her life.
The fire smoldered as the firefighters used the tanker truck to hose down the area around the house to keep the fire from spreading across the dry fields. The truck and Bell’s Jeep were already out. What a waste.
“We’ve called in a fire investigator and the sheriff’s department.”
“Your suspect is Rowdy Toll. The sheriff’s department has a file open on him. He ran my girlfriend off the road with a stolen car when she was out jogging. Now he tried to kill her by burning down her house.”
“Dane. Stop. I wasn’t even here.”
“Your car is in the drive. I thought you were inside.” The fear he’d felt when he’d driven up and hadn’t seen her outside zapped through him again and made his stomach and heart drop. “It’s a good bet he thought you were in there. He came here to kill you, Bell. When I get my hands on that fucking asshole, I’m going to kill him.”
“May I have your name, ma’am?” the firefighter asked.
“Dr. Bell. I lived here with my grandmother. Edna Warwick. She was inside when I left the house about an hour ago. I walked down the path through the field that leads to the river. I spent some time there, watching the water. The wind shifted, and I smelled the smoke. I thought she’d set the house on fire because of her smoking.
“I should have stayed here.” She looked up at Dane. “You told me to stay put. Don’t go out alone. If I’d been here, I could have saved her.”
“Bell, no. He tossed a Molotov cocktail into your house. With everything she kept in there, the place went up like a tinderbox. You would have been killed.”
Bell fell back on the truck seat, covered her face, and bawled her eyes out. Dane turned, grabbed her hips, and pulled her to him, picking her up by her shoulders and wrapping her in his arms.
“I got you, sweetheart. It’s going to be okay. I’ll take care of you. I’ll keep you safe.”
Gabe and Blake still hung out on the passenger side of the truck. Gabe frowned and said, “We’ll start working on the details.” He cocked his head to Bell. “We’ll get things squared away. I’ll call in backup.” Which meant he and Blake would call in their wives to figure out what Bell needed immediately. In the long run, Dane would take care of her.
Dane couldn’t think of the details right now. All he knew was that Bell had lost everything. Her grandmother. Her few but treasured belongings. Her collection of beloved books.
“Hey,” he called to Gabe as he stepped away to call Ella. Dane mouthed the word “books.” Gabe nodded and started filling in Ella about what happened. Blake stood beside the Kendrick brothers and their grandfather, talking to them. Sammy Kendrick knew Bell well. He’d know what to do for her. Right now, the only thing Dane knew how to do was hold on to her and reassure her she wasn’t alone.
“I’ll take you home, Bell. We’ll sort this out. I promise.”
It took a couple of hours for the fire department to put out the fire and clean up their equipment. The Kendricks, Gabe, and Blake all went home. Dane’s guys caught a ride back up to his ranch. Nothing more for them to do here. Dane and Bell spoke to the deputy from the sheriff’s department about how the fire started, their whereabouts this morning, and the fact no one had seen anything.
No one knew where Rowdy hid out, or how he kept getting this close to Bell without getting caught. Dane’s anger simmered, but he tried to remain calm for Bell’s sake.
Just when he thought he could take Bell home, another car pulled into the driveway behind his truck. A guy in black jeans and a white dress shirt got out. Dane pegged him for another cop.
“Mr. Bowden, I’m Detective Viera.”
“We gave our statements about the fire to the deputy.” Dane cocked his head toward the man speaking to, and taking notes from, one of the firefighters.
“I’m not here about the fire. Well, not directly. I’m here about Brandy Hubbard. The sheriff’s office told me you’d be here. I have some news.”
“Did the Arizona police find her?”
“I’m afraid so. A woman hiking with her dog found the body.”
Dane swore under his breath. “How did she die?” Dane choked out the words. He’d expected this news, but it didn’t make it any easier. Bell’s grasp on his arm tightened.
“Cause of death has not been determined. The body was burned in a remote area off the Soldiers Pass Trail outside of Sedona.”
“Are you sure it’s her?”
“Dental records confirm it. Her mother also identified a piece of jewelry she was wearing.”
“An oval silver locket.”
“Yes.”
Dane glanced down at Bell. “She kept a picture of Kaley in it.”
“Oh, that poor little girl.”
“Mrs. Hubbard asked me to fill you in on what happened and let you know she’ll contact you soon.”
“Ah, why?”
“She didn’t say. Because of what’s been happening here, I agreed to deliver the message. We’ve tracked Rowdy’s path here. He stole a Honda at a gas station in Wyoming after he dumped his truck. He’s used the vehicle owner’s credit card twice in that state, showing his path heading north.”
“I know he’s fucking here. Look what he did. He killed the woman who lives in this house. He tried to kill my girlfriend twice. Why can’t you guys find this asshole?”
“The sheriff’s department will protect Dr. Bell. They’ll station a vehicle at your home if that is where she intends to stay.”
“Damn right she’s staying with me. That asshole won’t get near her again.”
“We’re searching for Rowdy. We’ll find him. The Mercedes isn’t the only car we’ve tied to him in Bozeman and Crystal Creek. He’s a desperate man. Desperate people make mistakes.”
Dane closed his eyes and shook his head. “Two people are dead. Find him before he kills someone else. If you don’t, I will.”
“We’re working on it. In the meantime, stay vigilant. Don’t go anywhere alone.”
Not much help, but sound advice. Dane knew what he had to do. Protect Bell at all costs.
The detective handed him his card. “Call me if Rowdy contacts you. Any information you provide is helpful.”
Dane stuffed the card into his pocket. The detective climbed back into his vehicle and backed out of the driveway. Dane turned to Bell. “Let’s go home. There is nothing else you can do here.”
“They haven’t found her body.”
“They’ll look tomorrow. That place is too hot to sort through, and they’re losing daylight.”
“What time is it?”
“Nearly five.”
“How did it get so late?”
“You need something to eat, a shower, and some rest. We’ll come back tomorrow. I promise.” If she needed to be here when they pulled the body from the wreckage, he’d stand beside her and see her through the ordeal. “Scooch over, sweetheart.”
He climbed behind the wheel. She stayed right beside him. He started the truck, put it in gear, and backed out of the driveway. Once he had them pointed home, he wrapped his arm around her and held her close. She sighed so hard that he felt it reverberate through his body.
He drove into his yard and turned off the truck. They stared through the windshield up at the house. “Welcome home, sweetheart.”