Confer, Lorelei - Deadly Revenge (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (8 page)

As she left the bank, she ran into her biggest, greatest fear of all. Matt Wilson. Both surprise and anxiety hit her as if he had suddenly slapped her face. Her heart jumped into her throat. Her mouth went dry, unable to form words. Her hands trembled. Her knees shook. She was trapped.

“Tory, I didn’t know you were in town. Long time no see! How’re you doing?”

“Hi, Matt, it’s been quite a while, hasn’t it? I’m doing quite well actually. How are you and your family?” Tory wiped her sweaty hands on her pants then stuck her trembling hands in her jacket pockets. Her heart pounded in her chest.

She looked around and behind her, the feeling of someone watching her ever present.

“I’m good. I guess you heard I finally got married and have a baby girl. Paige and I are separated, so you can see how well that worked out or didn’t work out. How about you? Are you married, any kids?” He said rocking back and forth on his feet, hands in his pants’ pockets playing with his loose change.

“No, not married, no kids, great career though.” She smiled at him.

“Why don’t we get together some time? We can go to dinner and then out to lookout point. It’ll be just like old times, okay?” Matt asked with a smirk on his face. He hadn’t changed one bit.

Tory thought for a moment about the torture of sitting across the table from someone who she once thought would be “the love of her life,” knowing it would never amount to anything. Also knowing it was something she had to do. She had to give him his ring back and make sure he understood. There was nothing between them anymore. She had to set the record straight once and for all.

“Dinner sounds fine, one last time for old times’ sake, but we leave out lookout point, okay?”

“Sure, how about tomorrow night? I’ll pick you up around seven if that’s okay with you?”

“No, that doesn’t work for me, I’ve got other plans. How about the next night?” Tory asked.

“Suits me fine. See you at seven the night after tomorrow night then.”

Sweat appeared on her upper lip and trickled down the back of her shirt. She had to wipe it off her upper lip. Her hands shook and her legs were weak as she walked toward her car parked down the street. She opened the car door and got inside. A shiver passed through her body again as if someone was watching her. She looked over her shoulder but saw no one.

* * * *

Dave walked out of the hardware store and recognized Tory’s parked car. He stopped and looked inside and was surprised to see Tory looking extremely upset and scared. He opened the passenger door and got in the car.

“Is everything all right?” Dave asked with concern.

She was unable to talk. She merely nodded, her lips trembling, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked out the window.

* * * *

No one
noticed the black car with tinted windows sitting three parked cars behind her, watching and waiting.
Waiting for the perfect opportunity to get the ring.

Chapter 12

Early the next morning, Tory unpacked a couple more small boxes left over from the move. She answered the phone and was excited to hear Dave’s voice on the other end.

“Good morning, Tory. How about going for a horseback ride this afternoon?”

“Sounds like a great idea,” Tory answered. “It’s a gorgeous day, and I’d love to get some fresh air. It’s a perfect day for a ride up the mountain. Let me call Sue and make sure it’s okay. Maybe she and Brandon can come along.” She took a swallow of her near-cold coffee.

“That’s not exactly what I had in mind.” He chuckled.

“What did you have in mind?” She giggled.

“Being alone with you sounds ideal to me.”

Tory laughed and rolled her eyes. She liked Dave well enough but didn’t know him as well as she’d like to. He made her innermost feelings come to the foreground, and it scared her.

“I’ll give Sue a call and make sure it’s okay and call you back.”

As soon as she hung up the phone with Dave, she called Sue. After a short conversation with Sue, the ride was on. They would meet at Sue’s around two o’clock that afternoon and the four of them, Sue and Brandon, Dave and Tory would all go together.

* * * *

Tory chose a clean pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt and changed into them. Even though it was a beautiful spring day, there was still a cool breeze, and she would need the long sleeves.
I wonder where I put those old boots I used to wear riding all the time?
Dave would be here any minute. She hurriedly dug around in the bottom of her closet, opening and closing all her shoe boxes looking for her boots. Finally the last box she opened she found them. She slid them on, and the worn leather molded around her feet. They were scuffed and dirty, and she grabbed a clean cloth and wiped them off. She had just finished when the doorbell rang.

She answered the door and warmness spread through her body from the sight of Dave. Her stomach quivered, and she had a tingling feeling down deep. He had on a button-front shirt with the top three buttons undone. His chest hair showed, and she wanted to touch it, to feel its softness against her skin again. His shirt was tucked into his just-right hung jeans. Her eyes traveled down his long, muscular legs to his leather riding boots.

“Hello, Dave,” she said breathlessly.

“Hi there. Are you ready to hit the trail?”

“I sure am, just let me get my purse and sunglasses. I can leave my things in your truck while we’re riding, okay?”

“Sure, no problem.”

She grabbed her things and after locking the front door joined him on the front porch.

Dave had already started toward his truck when he turned around and asked, “You comin’?”

“I’ll be right behind you.” And what a behind it was. Her heart quickened and she felt the heat rise in her cheeks as she saw how his jeans fit his backside. His butt was gorgeous, begging to be squeezed.
Oh, my God! Did I just think that? What’s the matter with me?

He held the door of the truck open for her and helped her into the higher seat. He got in the truck on the other side, and they were soon on their way to Sue’s.

“I’m sure you’re going to like Sue and Brandon. They were high school sweethearts, and she helped put him through law school. Now he has his own practice and does pretty well for himself,” Tory told Dave.

“How’d they get in the horse ranching business?”

“They both love horses and bought the ranch a few years ago. They intend to make trail rides available to tourists and have trails all over this side of the mountain.”

Tory remembered Sue always telling her she would be happier here in the mountains where she grew up, where she could face her demon and be herself, enjoy life with family instead of work, work, work. Sue had said many times she couldn’t get a clear picture in her head of Tory living at the hot, sandy beach with the ongoing threat of hurricanes every summer.

* * * *

Tory and Dave arrived at Sue’s a few minutes later, and once again Dave assisted Tory out of the truck. Sue and Brandon came out of the barn to greet them. The guys shook hands, and the girls hugged each other.

“It sure is a beautiful day for a ride, Dave. I’m so glad you thought of it. It’s always more fun to ride with a group than alone. Although, Brandon prefers to ride alone early in the morning before dawn, and I’m afraid the horse will stumble into a hole or something,” Sue said as she smiled at her husband with adoration in her eyes.

Miguel, their ranch foreman, had already saddled up the four chosen horses, and they were ready to ride within fifteen minutes. Sue led the way with Brandon following her in single file, then Tory and Dave bringing up the rear.

The cool, fresh wind blew gently through Tory’s hair. The tails and manes of the horses flew freely in the breeze. It had been some time since Tory had ridden, but it came back to her as easily as riding a bike.

Soon the trail began to wind around uphill, and the horses stumbled and scattered small rocks. But none lost their footing. Sue and Brandon had trained them well. Soon they broke out into an open meadow just right for a fast ride.

Tory looked at Dave, eyebrows raised. Dave nodded and the race was on. They took off across the meadow to see who could reach the other side first. Tory looked over her shoulder and found Dave only a few paces behind and sped up.

Sue and Brandon had stopped at the wood line to take a break and remained at the edge of the meadow watching the race unfold before them.

* * * *

Suddenly, Dave heard a shot and saw Tory flying through the air. She landed on the ground and didn’t move.

Dave quickly pulled his horse up and jumped off. He grabbed his snub nose forty-five from his ankle holster and ran crouched to the ground to Tory’s side. He searched the area where he thought the gunshot had come from.
Damn! I wish I had my binoculars.
He returned his gun to its holster and directed his attention to Tory. When he felt for a pulse in her neck and found a strong one, he was relieved. He exhaled a deep breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

With squinted eyes, he searched again for a sign of movement or a reflection of any kind in the direction from which the shot had come. When he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, he waved to Sue and Brandon across the meadow as he reached for his cell phone and dialed 911.

Tory coughed. Dave turned to her while waiting on the line. When the call dropped for the second time, he threw his phone on the ground and muttered to himself, “damn thing.” Then he gave Tory all his attention. He patted her cheeks and talked to her.

“Tory, can you hear me? It’s Dave. Remember me? Tory, can you hear me?”

Tory turned her head from one side to the other while Dave ran his hands along her arms and legs feeling for anything broken.

“Dave, I’m okay, I think.”

Dave moved within view and looked at her face, and she was smiling, her eyes wide open.

“Can you tell me how many fingers I’m holding up?” He held up two fingers in front of her.

“Two. Listen, I just fell off my horse. I’ve done it lots of times before. Just gotta get back on, that’s all.” She sighed.

Dave laughed. “I think it was a little more than that, sweetheart. Someone shot at you, spooked your horse and you went sailing off. Do you remember anything?”

Tory rubbed the back of her head. “Ouch, no wonder my head hurts. I have a big bump on it.”

Dave reached behind her head to feel the lump and brought his hand away with blood on it. “I think you’ll need to see the doctor and maybe get a few stitches, Tory. Do you hurt anywhere else? Can you move your arms and legs?”

She raised her hand, rubbed his cheek and gazed into his concerned eyes. “I’m fine, really. I just have a little bump on my head. Stop worrying, okay?”

“Do you remember anything that happened before you fell?”

“Uh, I don’t know. I heard something near my ear like a big whistle, but that’s all,” she said as she sat up.

“That ‘big whistle,’ as you call it, was a bullet meant for you, me, or one of the horses. Who do you think would try anything like this?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t been in town long enough to make any enemies or cause any trouble,” she said with a grin. “Give me time though, and I’ll probably have a few.”

* * * *

Sue and Brandon both heard the gunshot coming from the left, and Sue started to cross the meadow when Brandon stopped her.

“Whoever’s shooting may still be out there and able to shoot at us. We’ll head back to the barn and change out the horses for the truck and come back. Tory may need our help and a ride to the hospital. We need to call the police, too.” He flipped open his phone, punched in 911, and explained the situation. Chief Carr was on his way.

Without wasting time and at a much faster pace, they turned the horses around and headed to the barn. The return trip was always shorter since the horses were anxious to get back to their stalls.

“Miguel, would you brush down the horses and put them away? Also, be on the lookout for anyone suspicious that may have been on our property. Someone shot at Tory. If you find anyone, you’ll need to detain them until Chief Carr can get back to the ranch. I’ll have the radio with me at all times if anything comes up. Also, better keep your pistol nearby.”