Rescued by the Ranger (12 page)

Luke raised one brow. “You think she’ll run?”

“Hell yeah.” Garrett and Jonathan answered at the same time.

Garrett released the dog from the right side and slid out behind him. After closing the door silently, he tapped his leg and Cowboy fell in beside him. They moved as one away from the rear of the car until Garrett judged that they’d no longer be seen by anyone who happened to glance from Sally’s windows. He ducked between two homes and came out near an alley one house-length away from Sally’s back door. Crouching low, more from habit than any illusion that he could remain unseen, he raced across the open grass. Cowboy kept stride with him as they ran, circling and sitting when Garrett reached his goal and pressed his back up against the side of the house. Cautiously, he peered around the corner at the back steps leading to a small covered porch and a door.

It was quiet inside the house. Was anyone even home? They’d know in a minute, because Luke and Jonathan were walking across the street, heading for the front door. A few seconds later, the knock echoed through the entire house, and abruptly Garrett heard muffled voices followed by running footsteps.

Seconds later, the back door flew open, and Cowboy came to his feet, growling low in his throat. Garrett signaled him to stand down and the dog sat on his haunches, his ears and hackles saying he was still ready to go. Garrett looked around the side again. Clearly ready to bolt, Rachel stood on the porch carrying a small satchel, her pretty red hair an attractive mess, obviously listening to voices that he couldn’t hear. He pulled back as she looked both ways, vaulted the handrail closest to him, and hit the ground running directly for the corner of the house where he hid.

Cowboy whined at the sound of her hurried approach. Pressed tight to the wall, Garrett waited. As she burst from cover, looking over her right shoulder and away from him, he stepped toward her. Catching her around the middle, he swung her off her feet and up against his body, holding her tightly with both arms. “It’s me, Rach. Take it easy. I just want to talk.”

She stopped struggling, so he loosened his hold as he set her back on her feet. Mistake number one. She dug her fingernails into his forearm, scratching until she drew blood. As soon as he leaned over her shoulder to grab her hand, she whacked his jaw with the back of her head, hard enough to send him stumbling back a step. He shook his head to clear the stars in time to see her swing that black bag.

“Wait a minute, Rachel!” Garrett tried to duck, but her shorter height gave her the advantage. She caught him across the side of the head, and there was apparently something heavy and damn hard in her bag. He staggered, lost his balance, and went down.

She looked surprised for a second before determination steeled her expression. “I told you not to look for me. What didn’t you understand about that?” Shifting her bag onto her shoulder, she turned, and started running down the alley.

“Well, shit.” Garrett glanced at Cowboy and damned it if didn’t look as if he was laughing. “Okay, already. You were right. Saddle up, Cowboy.”

The dog took off, his long strides closing the distance to Rachel’s retreating back easily. Garrett stood, brushing the dirt off and taking a moment to stretch the ache from the wound in his back. Then he jogged after the girl and the dog. He’d seriously underestimated Rachel today. Cowboy had his instructions to stop her, but keeping her there would require a whole different set of commands—ones that Garrett would never utter where Rachel was concerned.

Ahead of him, the dog ran circles around her, making the circle smaller each time. When she finally stopped, keeping a wary eye on the animal, Cowboy dropped to a walk, his tail wagging as he angled toward her. Though she didn’t move, her body, tense and ready, said she was on high alert. Garrett picked up his pace to reach them.

Rachel looked over her shoulder, obviously noted the diminishing distance between them, and grabbed for her satchel. The next thing he knew, the damn hard object she’d hit him with—a small revolver—was in her hand and she was pointing it at Cowboy.

“You need to stay where you are, Garrett, and call your dog or . . . I’ll shoot him.”

“Cowboy, chill.” The dog dropped to the ground, watching Garrett carefully. “This is what it’s come to then? You want to get away from me so bad you’re willing to shoot my dog?”

She shook her head dejectedly. “That’s not what I want, but I will if I have to.”

“I don’t believe you, Rach. That dog’s just following orders. My orders. Shoot me if you want to hurt somebody.” Garrett moved a few steps closer.

Rachel laughed scornfully. “Did you miss the part where I tried to leave without anybody getting hurt?”

“No. I get that you’re worried about Peg, Jonathan, and the rest of the people at the lodge, but damn it, Rachel, they love you. They want to understand. They want to help if they can, because that’s what people do when they love someone. They don’t sneak off in the night, leaving their
family
to wonder what happened.”

“I can’t—” She lowered the weapon until her hand hung at her side. Her eyes closed for a second, then she sat abruptly amid the grass that bordered the alley.

Garrett walked up to her and knelt down. Prying the gun from her fingers, he placed it back in her bag and zipped it up. “Yes, you can. I’ll help you.” He tilted her chin up so he could see the sheen of her expressive green eyes. “Give me a chance, Rachel. What have you got to lose?”

She jerked her chin from his fingers and averted her eyes. “It’s never been about me.”

“You promised me an explanation, remember? If you can convince me and your friends in there that the best course of action is for you to leave, I’ll help you disappear. Deal?”

She threw her hands in the air and scowled. “Do I have a choice?”

He stood and caught sight of Cowboy, waiting patiently. Rachel would never have hurt him. She was simply at the end of her rope. She did, however, deserve a lesson.

Stepping aside, he motioned for the dog. “Cowboy, kill.”

Cowboy leaped toward Rachel, wiggling and wagging like a pup, while he covered her face with doggy saliva.

She squeaked in protest and tried to protect her face with her hands, to no avail. Finally, she gave up and laughed, throwing her arms around Cowboy, and hugged him close. Grudging humor mixed with uncertainty in her eyes, as she tilted her head and looked up at him. “I owe you big-time for this.”

He scooped up her bag and reached out a hand to help her. “Good. Stick around and there’ll be plenty of time to get even.”

She accepted his hand and rose gracefully to her feet. “Kill, huh? Does he really have a command for that?”

“I’m afraid so.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

Garrett moved his hand to the small of her back and turned toward the house. The warmth of her body so close to his sent a surge of desire through him. Barely resisting the urge to pull her against his side and wrap his arm around her trim waist, he had to think hard for a moment to remember her question. When he did, a grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. “That’s classified, sweetheart.”

Chapter Ten

J
ONATHAN HAD GREETED
her with distrust. Sally looked as though she’d like to crawl in a hole somewhere and pretend this wasn’t happening in her safe little home in Huntington. Who could blame her? Thank God Jen had spent the night with one of her friends.

Luke Harding was charming to a fault, and Rachel liked him right away, but it was obvious that he’d vote with his big brother if it came to that. True to his promise, Garrett stayed protectively by her side, encouraging her with a look, a touch, or one of his silly winks. Rachel, Luke, and Jonathan took seats around the kitchen table while Sally made fresh coffee, poured five cups, and handed them out. Garrett pulled up a chair next to Rachel’s, and everyone else became quiet, apparently waiting for him to start the show.

He smiled reassuringly. “Who is this Jeremy?”

Great! The worst possible question first.
“I don’t know. It could be anyone.” Shaking her head, she looked around the room at the skeptical stares leveled at her. “I swear. To my knowledge, I never met the man. Anyway, it’s not like he’d have walked up to me and introduced himself as my stalker.” She dropped her gaze to her hands resting in her lap. Let them think she was crazy if they wanted. It was nothing she hadn’t already wondered about herself.

Garrett touched her leg, drawing her attention back to him. “But you’re sure he’s after you?”

“Yes . . . I mean no, not exactly. I mean . . . ”

He grasped her hand and squeezed. “Why don’t you tell us how this started?”

It’d been so long ago, yet the images were as crisp and clear as if it had happened yesterday. A shudder rolled along her spine, and Garrett stroked her hand with his thumb. She sucked in a deep breath. “It was ten years ago this August. I was living in Plainview, a small town in northern Texas, and working in a nightclub, trying to save enough money to put myself through school. One of the regulars asked me out. His name was Chance.”

Chance was everything she’d been looking for in a guy. Nice, from a good family, easy on the eyes. The clincher was that he planned to leave that Podunk town someday. Rachel fell for the
idea
of him before they even had their first date.

“A day or two later, I received flowers, except they weren’t from Chance. The card was signed
Jeremy
, and his message was clear. Don’t go out with Chance again or something bad would happen.”

Luke leaned toward her from the other side of the table. “You didn’t know anyone by that name?”

“No. I thought it was somebody’s idea of a stupid joke. I ignored it. The next week, I got more flowers and another card with the exact same warning. I told Chance, and he laughed. Said one of his friends was probably trying to be funny.” Rachel knew she was talking too fast but couldn’t seem to slow herself down.

“Then Chance’s cat was stabbed through with a butcher knife . . . inside his apartment. We went to the police and told them everything. They investigated the flower deliveries but it was a dead end. Unless we could find out who Jeremy was, they couldn’t help us.” She stopped to catch her breath, and Sally set a glass of water in front of her. Rachel took a sip, then placed it back on the table.

“What happened next?” Garrett’s calm voice nudged her.

“I wanted to call it off.”

“Stop seeing Chance?”

She met Garrett’s eyes. “You sound just like him. He scoffed at the idea, too. Said no one was going to break us up by harassing us.” A choking sob escaped, and Rachel dropped her gaze to the table. “I let him convince me. The next night when I got home from work, there was a new flower arrangement . . . inside my house . . . and the card said
I warned you
.” Rachel hated how vulnerable the recounting of this story made her feel. Hated not knowing what the others in the room were thinking.

Consciously stiffening her spine, she continued in a monotone voice, distancing herself from the actual events. “I called Chance, but there was no answer. So I drove to his house and let myself in.” She paused to draw a shaky breath. “He was there . . . in the bedroom. He was tied to the bed and bludgeoned to death. The killer had carved the words NO NO RACHEL on his chest.” She tapped her fingers on the table as though to put a period after the climax to her story.

“Is that why you left?” Garrett’s words were angry.

A scornful laugh worked free. “Isn’t that enough reason?”

“That’s not what I meant, Rachel. Did this guy continue to harass you in Texas? Did you leave right after Chance died? I need the whole story, sweetheart.”

She studied his face for a second. That was the second time he’d called her
sweetheart
. Was it simply a reaction to the stress they were both under, or did it mean more? She couldn’t decide if she wanted it to, but there were all the reasons in Texas why it was a really bad idea.

“I stayed until after Chance’s funeral. I got two more bouquets. The note with the first one said:
Sorry I had to hurt you.
The second one was longer. It said:
I suppose you had to attend the funeral, so I’ll forgive you this time. Now we can get back to normal.
I packed a bag and left that night.

“I went to Las Vegas and tried to lose myself in the crowds, but I hated the glitz, so I kept moving around until one day I ended up here. Got this great job with nice folks. For years it was everything I could have wanted. Then, about five years ago, Jeremy started calling. Every time he called, I got rid of my old phone and bought a new, disposable one. That seemed to work for a few months . . . and then he’d call again.”

Jonathan grumbled under his breath and all eyes turned toward him. “That’s why you’ve been switching phone numbers faster than a fisherman cuts bait? I should have known.”

“Over the last three or four years, the calls have become more frequent. Changing numbers hasn’t helped. Maybe I should have gone to the cops, but they couldn’t help me in Texas, and I figured the fewer people who knew the better. I kept thinking if he really knew where I was, he wouldn’t call—he’d just show up. So I stayed, thinking I was safe here. But now I’m not so sure. If he could get my phone numbers so easily, how hard could it be for him to learn my address? Don’t you see? He knows where I am, and not only am I not safe here anymore, but I’ve endangered all of you.”

She turned toward Garrett. “Especially you. If I don’t answer the phone, he always leaves a message. He asks if I’m seeing someone and then laughs before he hangs up. Do you understand what you’ve done by answering my phone yesterday?” If she could only make him grasp how much danger he was in, surely he’d let her go.

“I think I do. I woke the sleeping bear. With any luck, we’ll draw him out into the open and put a stop to this for good. He won’t be able to sneak up on us easily at the lodge, especially now that we know he exists.” His gaze swept first to Luke, then to Jonathan, who both nodded in determined agreement.

Rachel slapped the table. “
No!
You don’t get to make this decision.” She wrenched her hand from his. “I stuck my head in the sand ten years ago, and it cost the life of a good man. I’m not taking this problem back to the lodge and putting all of you and Peg in danger. I’m sorry you’ve come all this way for nothing, but it’s time for you to go home now.” She rose, pushing her chair out with her calves.

A faint groan came from Sally, and Rachel looked up to meet her friend’s gaze. The apprehension on her face immediately made Rachel sorry she’d picked Sally’s house as her dropping-off point. Sally had known enough fear and pain in her own life. She didn’t need to share Rachel’s. She mouthed the words
I’m sorry
, but Sally only shook her head, got to her feet, and took her coffee cup to the sink.

Jonathan scowled, and his voice was harsh with obvious frustration. “We told Peg we’d bring you back, and that’s what we’re going to do. She doesn’t deserve this, Rachel. She and Amanda took you in off the street and treated you like a daughter. And this is how you repay her? By leaving a fucking see-you-never note?” He shrugged his broad shoulders and stepped toward the kitchen windows, staring out at the alley while waves of anger rolled off him.

When he turned back a few seconds later, he was more composed. “Use your head, girl. You’re safer back at the lodge where we can keep an eye on you. No one will get close that we don’t see coming first. Besides, if what you say is true, it’s Garrett who should be watching his back.” He glanced at Cowboy lying a few feet away. “But between him, that dog, and Uncle Sam, he seems like a man who can take care of himself.”

Rachel sensed Luke’s eyes on her and she raised hers to meet his. He obviously had something on his mind. Maybe he could talk some sense into his brother.

A smile raised one corner of his lips. “You don’t know me so you probably don’t give a damn what I think, but for what it’s worth, here’s my two cents. Jonathan’s right. Seems to me this Jeremy wants you scared enough to run. He’d like for you to leave your friends behind and set out alone. Do you know why that is?” He didn’t give her a chance to hazard a guess. “Stalkers get off on their victim’s fear, and he doesn’t want you to think about anything but him. These last few years, you’ve surrounded yourself with friends who’ve been watching your back. I’m guessing he doesn’t like that. I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to flush you out before now so he could have you all to himself. You’d be foolish to believe that just because he killed your friend he doesn’t also have some unpleasant plans for you.”

Sally inhaled sharply, and Rachel glanced at her again, leaning against the kitchen counter, in time to see her hand fly to her mouth and tears well in her eyes. She was shaking uncontrollably, and her unsteady legs appeared as though they’d give out any second. Rachel started for her friend, but Luke jumped to his feet and reached Sally first, helping her to the closest chair.

Rachel circled the table and dropped her arm around Sally’s shoulders. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have come here.”

“Yes, you
should
have!” Sally’s assertion was immediate and forceful. “Haven’t you been listening? You can’t go off alone and let that crazy psychopath have what he wants. Go back home, Rachel, please. You’ll be safe.” Her tear-filled gaze held a plea that was hard to resist.

But Rachel had to stand firm, because it wasn’t only about her. “Please try to understand. I can’t go back to the lodge.” She raised her eyes to Luke. “If what you say is true, maybe he’ll follow me and leave all of you alone. I
have
to believe he will because losing another friend . . . like that . . . I couldn’t take that again.”

She straightened her spine and looked first at Jonathan, then Sally and Luke, purposely avoiding Garrett’s eyes, afraid to see the disappointment in them. “I’m going. You can either wish me well . . . or be pissed off. Your choice.” She stepped around the table and grabbed the strap of her bag that was sitting by the back door.

A sob escaped Sally, nearly breaking Rachel’s resolve. Luke kicked back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other, and shook his head. Let them think what they’d like. She wasn’t wrong about this. Hadn’t she kept herself and everybody she’d left behind safe for the past ten years?

Jonathan gripped her arm and turned her roughly. “Enough, Rachel. You’re coming back with me, and I’m not above locking you in your room to make sure you stay there.”

She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. Jonathan was gruff and liked to bluster on occasion, but he was one of the kindest souls she’d ever met. It was why she loved him so much. He’d been her big brother and best friend for a long time now. His fear for her shone clearly in his dark chocolate-colored eyes. She raised a hand to touch his stubble-covered jaw.

“Wait a minute.”

The words were uttered quietly, but everyone turned to look at Garrett.

“She’s right.”

“You can’t be serious.” Jonathan fisted his hands and stared incredulously.

“If this asshole is as obsessed as we believe he is and he didn’t see Rachel leave in the middle of the night, he’ll walk through hell to find her again. If we tell everyone who’ll listen that she’s gone and isn’t coming back, he’ll have no choice but to look elsewhere. Aunt Peg will be in the clear, which is what we all want. And we’ll buy ourselves some time to find out who he is.” Garrett looked back and forth between Luke and Jonathan as though they were the only ones he was worried about convincing.

Rachel stared at Garrett, unable to believe what she was hearing. He’d driven all the way to Huntington to stop her from leaving and now it appeared he was throwing her to the wolves. Unexpectedly, she was getting what she’d wanted, but her relief was mixed with confusion as conflicting emotions collided. She swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the gigantic lump in her throat. If she didn’t leave now, she might never find the courage to walk out that door. With no strength left for good-byes, she strode to the door and turned the knob.

Suddenly, Garrett was behind her, closing the door and turning her to face him. An odd light shone from his eyes. “I didn’t tell you the best part.”

Rachel stared, curious what he could say that would possibly make any difference. She wasn’t going to like his announcement. His apologetic expression gave him away. Still, his strong hands on her shoulders and his barely there smile held her motionless, waiting.

“I’m going with you.” One of his shoulders lifted in the hint of a shrug.

Rachel blinked and then blinked again.
Did he say . . .?
She took a step back and slammed his chest with the palms of her hands. “Are you crazy? Did you listen to a single thing I said?”

Garrett hardly flinched from her blow, but at least that cockeyed grin was erased from his face. “I didn’t hear anything that convinced me to let you go alone. If
you
go . . . I go. That’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”

A furious breath whooshed from Rachel. “You miserable . . . arrogant . . . controlling simpleton! There’s just one thing wrong with your little plan. I’m an adult. I don’t need your permission to walk out that door, and I don’t
want
you to come with me!” Tension sparked in the air. A second later, it took a gargantuan effort to ignore the glint of amusement flickering in his eyes. Anger settled over her with its red haze obscuring her good judgment. She curled her right hand into a fist, drew back, and let it fly toward his chiseled jaw.