swallowed hard.
“It’s about your father.”
Anna sat frozen in place as Wyatt explained everything the
detective had told him. She only widened her eyes once when he
explained that she initially was a suspect in his murder, but then he
was quick to explain how he made the detectives understand the true
story. When he was finished overloading her with the information,
she still showed no emotion or response.
182
Dixie Lynn Dwyer
Stacy caressed her hands, and Anna flinched at the contact.
“Anna, honey, talk to us,” Stacy asked, but Anna didn’t respond.
“Baby?” Charlie stated then Anna looked at each of them.
“If you’ll excuse me. I need a few minutes alone,” she said then
stood up.
“I’ll come with you,” Ben stated, rising from his seat.
Anna put up her hand to stop him.
“No. I need a few minutes…please?” Then she walked toward the
porch door and headed across the yard into the night.
The sound of the door slamming seemed to echo in the quiet
night.
* * * *
“Fuck! I don’t think she should be alone.” Charlie expressed his
concern as he stood and began pacing.
“She needs a few minutes, Charlie. It’s understandable,” Wyatt
replied.
“She showed no real reaction. I don’t know what thoughts were
going through her head, but she looked so numb,” Ben added.
“I think she’s confused. It was only recently she learned that her
father didn’t really love her. She had spent years taking care of him
and providing for them. Now, he’s been killed, and she probably
doesn’t know whether she should be happy or sad,” Stacy added as
she stood up.
Everyone was silent.
“Let’s give her a few minutes then I’ll go talk to her,” Stacy
replied, and the men agreed.
* * * *
Anna walked a good distance before she realized just how far she
had walked. The river where she had told Stacy her story had already
For the Love of Anna
183
held special meaning for her. The moonlight glowed above, casting
some light across the fresh, sparkling water.
She hugged herself, waiting for the tears to flow, but they never
came.
She couldn’t shed a tear for the man who broke her heart and
nearly ruined her faith in ever being able to trust. Hank Parker was a
mean old son of a bitch. He had been abusive, dishonest, and didn’t
give a damn whether she lived or died just as long as she provided
money. He gave her away the first chance he had.
Yet, one small part of her felt empty. Perhaps it was because her
father was the last living relative she had. That thought brought tears
to her eyes.
But then she thought about Stacy and the men. If it weren’t for her
relationship with Stacy, she would have been all alone out there and
never would have met Wyatt, Charlie, and Ben.
A smile formed on her lips as she wiped the stray tears and took a
deep breath.
Her senses kicked in after a moment, and she could have sworn
she smelled men’s aftershave.
Another quick inhale and her chest tightened. It was the same
cologne as the man from New York. She looked around, didn’t hear a
sound, and the smell seemed to disappear.
A few seconds passed of her listening to her own heartbeat and
the sounds of nature around her when she finally relaxed. It was just
her imagination playing tricks on her. Her father was dead, and her
past life in New York was over officially.
She was going to be just fine. She had the men, a new job, a place
to live, and she was in love. She had been in love the moment she
allowed herself to get to know each of her men. She had known it and
pushed it off as inexperience and the fact that her men were cowboys.
They were gorgeous, sexy, and rugged. Never mind demanding,
especially in the bedroom.
“Anna!”
184
Dixie Lynn Dwyer
She heard Stacy calling for her in the distance. Taking a deep
breath to answer, she turned just as a large, solid hand covered her
mouth while another wrapped around her waist.
Instantly, she knew it wasn’t one of her men.
* * * *
“Hey, gorgeous. We’ve been waiting for you,” he whispered
against her ear as he rubbed his erection against her back. She
instantly smelled the cologne. It was real, and he was here to take her
back.
Anna was so frightened. She remembered that voice. How did
they find her?
She struggled in his arms, and he tightened his hold. She heard
Stacy getting closer. Oh, God, no! The baby. She couldn’t let them
hurt her.
“Your cute little girlfriend is coming this way. Maybe my partner
should grab her for himself. She had a nice set on her, too,” he
whispered.
Anna shook her head.
“No? You don’t want us to take her, too? Then cooperate and stay
quiet, or she’s dead.”
Anna froze in place, trying to let him know that she agreed to his
terms.
“Man, I’d love to fuck you right here against this tree. If the bitch
wasn’t so close, I’d do it. I guess I can hold off a little longer,” he
stated as he began walking her farther away from where Stacy was.
His partner stayed close. They didn’t use flashlights, which made
Anna think that they knew where they were going and had been
watching her.
She was so scared. But she needed to focus on Stacy’s safety. As
long as she kept these men away from Stacy then she could deal with
getting away from them herself as soon as she had the chance.
For the Love of Anna
185
Way in the distance, she heard Wyatt’s voice, then Ben and the
others. They were searching for her. Were they close enough to Stacy
to protect her? She couldn’t take the chance that they weren’t. Her
heart continued to pound against her chest. She was so scared, but she
worried about Stacy and the baby, so she didn’t fight them.
They walked through a heavily dense area of bushes and trees
before a clearing. Anna hadn’t been this far out on the property, so
she had no idea where they were or how far away from the house or
main road.
“We better move fast, Vinny. Marcus warned us about leaving too
many dead bodies around.”
“We’re almost in the clear. You drive, so my woman and me can
get to know one another better,” he stated then ran his hands over her
thigh and between her legs. Anna shoved his hand away then sprang
free, but before she could get away, his partner grabbed her by the
hair, pulling her back. She screamed at the pain.
Vinny smacked her across the mouth, sending her flying to the
dirt.
* * * *
“Stacy, did you find her?” Eric asked as he caught up to her by the
river, along with Max.
“No. Damn it, where could she have gone?” Stacy asked, now
very concerned.
“Hey, any sign of her?” Charlie approached, along with Wyatt and
Ben.
They shook their heads.
Wyatt started looking around the area and by the river.
“She wouldn’t just run off. I don’t like the feeling I have,” Stacy
stated as Eric pulled her to him.
“Wait, listen…do you hear that?” Charlie asked.
Everyone quieted down.
186
Dixie Lynn Dwyer
“That sounded like a scream,” Ben replied, and they all began
running toward the fields.
“We’ll grab the truck!” Eric stated, still holding Stacy’s hand.
Max ran ahead to get the keys to the truck.
“Motherfucker! We should have never let her leave!” Ben yelled.
“Let’s just get to her. Damn it, I wish I had a flashlight,” Charlie
stated as they ran as quickly as they could through the trees.
* * * *
Vinny pulled Anna up off the ground and shoved her against the
car. She cringed in pain as the metal made contact with her back.
“You little bitch! Stop trying to run. You’re mine, and there’s no
getting out of it!” Vinny struck her again, but across the cheek instead
of the mouth. She felt the pain, but something else came over her. She
was angry and so scared, but she didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want
them to win and take her away from Charlie, Ben, and Wyatt.
“I’m not yours! I won’t leave here with you,” she screamed.
Vinny smirked as Jake yelled for him to get into the car.
Vinny grabbed her by the hair, and she kicked and screamed,
fighting him with all she had. She used her fingernails and felt them
rip as they scratched deeply into his skin. She screamed at the top of
her lungs as he threw her into the backseat of the car.
Reaching above her, she grabbed for the door handle to try and
escape, but he slammed her in the stomach. She cried out, still trying
to fight him and grab for the handle.
Somehow, she got it open as he ripped the shirt from her body,
and she fell to the ground headfirst.
Her cheek and temple hit the ground hard, stunning her a second,
before someone grabbed her from the ground and pulled her up.
As it registered in her head that Jake had grabbed her, he slammed
her head forward and into the metal frame of the door.
For the Love of Anna
187
* * * *
“I hear her, there, over there. Fuck, what are they doing to her?”
Charlie stated, but they were running so fast, listening to her screams,
and the adrenaline was flowing.
Wyatt reached the clearing first and growled as he saw a man
bang Anna’s head against the car. She looked like a rag doll as she
fell to the ground.
“Get away from her!” Wyatt roared as he attacked the guy and
started hitting him.
Charlie ran to Anna as Ben ran around the other side pulling the
other guy out of the car and giving him a beating of his own.
In the distance, they heard a truck approaching and sirens as well.
Eric and Max jumped out of the truck with guns drawn and had to
stop Ben and Wyatt from killing the two men.
* * * *
Stacy screamed then cried as she saw all the blood and Anna
looking like she was dead on the ground.
Wyatt and Ben immediately went to Anna’s side.
“Is she alive?” Wyatt demanded.
“I got a real weak pulse. Shit! Did you see how fucking hard he
slammed her to the door. God, I think it’s bad,” Charlie stated.
“The ambulance is on its way,” Eric added from a few feet away.
Just then, three other patrol cars and the paramedics made their way
across the field.
The paramedics were immediately by her side evaluating her
injuries.
They listened as the paramedics spoke into their radios.
“We need a medevac ASAP. Patient in critical condition, large
laceration plus swelling, unconsciousness, and dangerously low blood
188
Dixie Lynn Dwyer
pressure. Surgeons on standby, ETA twenty minutes,” the paramedic
stated as they prepared to take Anna by helicopter.
“What’s going on? What do they mean ‘medevac’?” Stacy asked.
“What hospital are you taking her to?” Charlie asked.
“Memorial Hermann, sir,” the paramedic responded, and Charlie
felt his stomach clench. It was a great hospital known for treating
everything from amputations, head and spinal injuries, to Lupus. But
it was also an hour away.
A few minutes later, they could hear the helicopter approaching
and beginning to land.
Ben, Wyatt, and Charlie kissed Anna before they rolled the
gurney to the helicopter.
They weren’t going to let anyone get on the helicopter.
Wyatt pulled out his badge.
“I’m the sheriff, and this is my woman. Please let me go with her
so she’s not alone?”
The pilot nodded, and Wyatt got on with Anna and the medic on
board.
He locked gazes with his brothers and fought to keep the tears
from flowing.
* * * *
“Let’s get moving. It will take an hour to get to the hospital by
car,” Max stated.
“With a state police escort, it will take half the time,” Eric
countered as he hit the speed dial on his cell phone.
“Let’s get back to the house, lock things up, and get to Anna as
fast as we can,” Charlie replied, and they all headed toward the
vehicles.
For the Love of Anna
189
Chapter 17
Wyatt sat in the emergency room waiting area for over an hour
before his brothers and cousins arrived.
“How is she? What are they saying?” Charlie asked as he
embraced his brother. Then Ben, Eric, Max, and Stacy followed suit.
He shook each of the deputies’ hands one at a time then answered.
“I don’t know anything yet. They rushed her inside and told me to
wait here and that the doctor would be out to see me as soon as he
could.”
“Was she still unconscious?” Charlie asked.
Wyatt shook his head.
“Shit!” he exclaimed as he ran his hand through his hair.
“What, Charlie? Why did you ask that?” Stacy asked, placing her
hand on his arm.
He looked at her, the sadness and concern apparent in his eyes.
“In a brain injury, the longer she remains unconscious, the worse
her prognosis could be.”
“That fucking asshole banged her head against the door frame so