The Return of Brody McBride (37 page)

“Thank you. Thank you very much.” He walked back to his office, studying the tickets in his hands.

“Want to bet he’s calling to make a date with Sherry?” Brody wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side.

“He’ll surprise her over dinner,” Rain guessed, watching her father pick up the phone and talk to Sherry. He smiled and used his hands. His whole face lit up when Sherry said something to him, probably agreeing to go to dinner that night.

“Thanks, Brody, we made him happy today.”

“Yes,
we
did.”

Brody didn’t say it, he didn’t have to. She finally saw them as a couple. They may not be married—yet—but they’d gotten to that place where it was no longer “me” and “you” separately, but “we and us” together.

She slid back into the Tahoe and turned the key. The engine hummed and she rubbed her hands over the steering wheel and took a moment to savor the new car and the excitement tickling her belly. She drove the short distance and parked it in the garage bay. She grabbed the duffle bag off the seat and got out, handing it off to Brody. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips, the smile never leaving his face.

“Is that Roxy’s money?”

“That’s Autumn’s safety and freedom.”

Chapter Thirty

T
ODAY WAS THE
day. He’d pay off Roxy and finally be able to tell himself he’d taken care of his family, kept them safe when they needed him. The tension inside him grew more and more difficult to keep at bay.

Brody picked the girls up from school and brought them out to the ranch so they could see the progress on the house. He needed to sign for the steel beams being delivered today at the site of the new stables and barn. The foundation and beams would go in next week. Once the skeleton was erected, the contractor could begin finishing off the shell and interior rooms. As much as they loved seeing the construction on the house, the main reason he brought them with him was he needed to keep them close.

He wished this day would end, the girls tucked in bed, Rain lying in his arms, and everything right in their world. Still three hours until he was due to meet Roxy. Rain was on her way to the cabin. They’d all drive back to town, have dinner out, and he’d drop them off at the house before heading over to the bar.

Sleep escaped him last night. Rain slept in spurts beside him. Grateful the construction crew had left a half hour ago, he wrapped the quiet around his frayed nerves. If he didn’t have the meeting later, he’d go off by himself and settle down. As it was, he needed to keep an eye on the girls and get through this day without letting the past swamp his mind and drag him under, so he fought it hard. Rain would understand if he needed his space tonight and tomorrow.

The girls ran around the corner of the unfinished house and came barreling toward him, screeching and yelling as Dawn chased after Autumn. Autumn grabbed his waist and swung around behind him as Dawn feinted left then right to tag her sister.

“Girls. Enough. What have you two been doing?”

“We were skipping rocks into the lake like you showed us. I got three,” Dawn announced.

“I got the most. Four skips.” Autumn smiled up at him, triumphant in her victory over Dawn.

“You two are fast learners. We’ll have to show your mom when she gets here.”

“Can we go inside and get a soda?”

“Sure, but you have to split a can. We’re going out to eat and Mom will kill me if I let you two ruin your appetite on sugar.”

“Okay, we’ll share,” Dawn answered, and they took off for the cabin.

He finished checking out the framing and the rough-in for the plumbing. Things were moving along smoothly on the house. Walking through the open room, his footfalls echoing on the subfloor, he wasn’t sure what set him off. His whole body went tense. He scanned the area around him for . . . snipers he knew weren’t there. Screams pierced the air, sending him to a crowded market in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Insurgents set off a bomb, gunfire erupted in the crowd, and he dove for cover, crawling along a low wall for a better vantage point. A door slammed nearby. A child screamed. Someone gunned an engine and the tires kicked up gravel. His lungs billowed in and out, deep gasps of air. He needed to move. Something was very wrong.

A car crash, metal against metal crunching in the distance.

R
AIN DROVE HER
old car out to the ranch. Brody called this morning to let her know one of the guys on Jim’s crew wanted to buy it. The outside wasn’t much to look at, the paint was chipped and faded, but the inside was clean, the seats worn, but not overly so. Of course, the engine ran perfectly and she put new tires on last year. A good deal for the money.

The radio boomed out classic rock, but Rain shut it off, preferring the quiet and her own anxious thoughts to the annoying music. Her stomach clenched, tied in knots since yesterday and getting worse with every passing hour. She hated this waiting game. Why did Roxy hold off on her big payday?

Still, it gave Brody and Owen time to investigate Roxy’s financial situation, so they could buy the bar out from under her and send her away for good this time.

Roxy agreed to the amount, but she had to know it would take a hell of a lot more money to set her up for any length of time. She’d jump at an offer for the bar. She had to. Roxy wasn’t one to put her business before her own fun and needs.

A plus for Rain, Roxy didn’t have the money to hire a lawyer and fight them in court either. Brody swore if she managed to take them to court, he’d hire the best lawyers in the country to ensure Autumn never stayed a minute alone with Roxy. A great relief, but Rain had a creepy feeling dancing up her spine every time she thought about Roxy’s desperate situation and putting off getting her payment so long. Why?

The last two times she’d needed money or a way out, she’d come to Rain. The last time she’d been desperate enough to kidnap Autumn. What would she do this time if the money paid her wasn’t enough? That question haunted Rain all day yesterday, long into the night, and followed her everywhere she went today. Brody would pay her more. Roxy didn’t know that, and wasn’t smart enough to just ask.

Rain slammed the flat of her hand on the steering wheel. “Why do we have to pay her at all? She doesn’t even want Autumn.”

Easy answer. Roxy only understood money and doing as she pleased. She never thought of anyone else. She certainly didn’t have Autumn’s best interests at heart. Hell, Roxy didn’t have a heart.

That was her last thought as she rounded the corner into Brody’s driveway. Roxy’s red Camero tore down the gravel road toward her. Autumn’s terrified wide eyes stared at her from the center of the backseat.

Rain sped forward in a deadly game of chicken. A game Rain intended to win. She angled the car across their path at the last second. Roxy’s car slammed into the side of hers with a jarring crunch of metal and shattering glass.

A
LITTLE GIRL
pulled Brody’s arm. Her face changed, shifted, Dawn, someone he didn’t recognize, Dawn again. He squeezed his eyes closed tight and opened them again. He looked up at Dawn from the floor of the unfinished room, his back against the two-by-fours of the framed wall. Tears streaked down her bright red cheek.

“Please, Daddy. Get up. You have to get her back. Please, Daddy.” She pulled on him again and again, trying to make him stand up.

“Daddy. Come back. Daddy!” she screamed at him.

Shaking his head like a wet dog, the hollowness in his ears vanished. Her voice came through loud and clear.

“Daddy, they took her. Daddy,” Dawn wailed.

He grabbed her arms and pulled her close, her face inches from his. “Who took her? Who hit you?”

“Roxy and some man. They took her. Go get her.”

He picked her up, ran for the front of the house, jumping off the raised foundation floor and nearly falling when his bad leg couldn’t support his weight and Dawn’s. Adrenaline kicking in, he gained his balance and ran.

R
AIN’S HEAD SLAMMED
into the side window, splitting open a gash that poured blood down the side of her head. She moaned and pressed her hand over the wound. Her heart raced, pounding against her ribs. Everything inside her told her to get out, save Autumn. Her movements felt stilted. She shook her head to clear the fog and encroaching darkness, grabbed the handle, pushed open the door, and nearly fell out. Adrenaline and her mother’s instincts kicked in. She ran to Roxy’s side of the car and pulled open the door. Stupid woman didn’t have her seat belt on. Luckily, they hadn’t been going fast enough to kill anyone. Or maybe too bad.

She grabbed Roxy by the hair and dragged her out of the car.

“Autumn run. Run back to Daddy.” Autumn scurried over the center console into the front seat. Her wide eyes looked up at Rain, tears streaked down her pale face. Roxy’s boyfriend made a grab for her, but Autumn batted at his hands and managed to pull away at the last second and get past him and out of the car.

“Run, Autumn. Now.”

Autumn stomped on Roxy’s foot, like her sister had done to David Murphy when he called her ugly.

“Ouch, you bitch.”

Autumn ran and Rain held tight to Roxy when she tried to go after Autumn.

“Let me go,” Roxy shrieked. Rain dragged her around to face her.

“You came here to steal my daughter, you’re lucky I don’t kill you, you stupid cow.”

“She’s my daughter,” Roxy spat out.

Rain had put up with a lot of shit over the years. Having Roxy claim Autumn as her daughter sent her over the edge. She cocked her arm back and slammed it forward, her fist connecting with Roxy’s nose. A satisfying crack sounded a second before blood burst out of her nostrils, spraying through the air. Her head whipped to the side.

“You broke my nose,” she wailed, but the words were muffled behind her cupped hands. She dropped her bloodstained hands and mumbled, “You’ll pay for that.”

Roxy staggered, but Rain wasn’t finished. She hauled her arm back again and this time smashed her fist right into Roxy’s jaw, snapping her head back and sending her to the dirt with a thud. At the point of impact, the bones in Rain’s hand popped and gave way with a snap. Rain fell off balance and went down, too, landing on her hands and knees. Pain zipped up her arm from her broken hand, and she screamed in agony.

Roxy’s boyfriend’s boot-clad feet appeared in front of her. She scrambled back, but he made a grab for her and hooked his hand around her upper arm, hauling her to her feet. His fingers dug into her skin, punishing and bruising, his eyes dark with rage.

“Stupid bitch. That girl was my meal ticket.” He shook her and pulled her against his chest. She thumped against him, even as she tried to pull away.

“If he was willing to pay a hundred grand for the brat, imagine what he’ll pay for a fine piece of ass like you.”

His breath stank of whiskey, coffee, and cigarettes. She wanted to gag from the smell and the nausea created by the wound to her head. Dizzy, she tried to stay on her feet, think straight, and figure a way out of this mess.

She planted her hands on his chest and shoved him away. The only thing she accomplished was hurting herself more. His hold on her arm tightened painfully. Shifting her weight, she sent her knee to his groin. He sensed her movement and moved his leg to block her. She grazed her target, making him groan. All the air whooshed out of him. He shoved her over his leg, taking her off her feet. She flipped around in the air to her back and landed hard on the gravel. Sharp tips and jagged edges gouged at her shoulders and back.

“I’ll kill you, bitch.”

She believed him. He landed hard on top of her. Her hands shot up and grabbed his wrist as he plunged the hunting knife down toward her chest.

B
RODY JUMPED INTO
the cab of his truck and tossed Dawn into the seat beside him. He gunned the engine, threw the car into gear, and stomped on the gas, sending rocks flying as the tires bit into the road. Not far from the crash, he needed to get there as quick as possible. He rounded the soft bend. The scene in front of him sent his heart pounding and his stomach into his throat. The blood drained from his face. His heart nearly stopped when Rain, blood running down her face and hair, grabbed Roxy by the head and dragged her out of the car. Autumn scrambled out a moment later, stomped on Roxy’s foot, and ran toward the truck.

He felt the pride, seeing his quiet little one stand up for herself against the woman who had terrified her for years.

The pride faded behind his fear for her and Rain.

He jumped out on the run and scooped her up, holding her close, just as Rain punched Roxy in the nose. Momentarily stunned, he got another shock when she cocked her hand back and punched her in the jaw, knocking Roxy out cold.

Autumn cried hysterically in his arms. He ran her back to the truck and sat her in the seat beside Dawn. The girls clung to each other. Two tearstained, pale faces with huge round eyes stared up at him. Brody grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and dialed 911. He handed it to Dawn.

“Tell 911 we need police help at Clear Water Ranch.”

“O-k-kay,” Dawn sputtered out and nodded. He waited to make sure she put the phone to her ear and spoke to the dispatcher.

Pure rage swamped him when he turned back to help Rain and the guy he’d seen in the bar shook her, making Rain’s head snap back and forth like a bobble head. She tried to fight off his hold, but he was bigger and stronger. Rain got in a good shot as Brody ran to her, but she ended up on the ground. A glint of sunlight glared off the knife as it plunged toward Rain. She grabbed the guy’s hand just before the tip of the blade sliced into her chest. She fought, but he knew she’d lose. He couldn’t let that happen.

The tip of the knife pressed into her chest, pierced her skin, and sank in. Rain used the last of her strength to push against the inevitable. Brody’s big body flew over her in that moment, taking Roxy’s boyfriend with him, the knife slicing through her as he pulled it out. The two men scrambled over her legs and toppled away in a tumble of arms and legs.

Rain struggled to sit up, legs spread wide, her hands lying limp, shoulders slack. Brody gained the top of the other man and landed a body blow just under his ribs. The man drew the knife down toward Brody’s back, but he shifted just in time. The knife sliced through Brody’s dark blue T-shirt and the chunky part of his shoulder. Blood oozed out and left a snaking trail down over his bicep to his elbow.