Texas Hunt (7 page)

Chapter Seven

“She's injured and something's happened. Either she got spooked and ran or she's been taken.” Ryan was already at the front door by the time he finished his sentence. “I need to search the grounds.”

“Hold on a second. Talk to me about what we're dealing with before you trample all over my crime scene.” The deputy set the coffee mug down and trailed behind Ryan, who'd stopped.

“I'm sorry. Someone broke in and attacked my guest,” he said. “She's already hurt and I'm afraid she's in worse trouble.”

“So this is a kidnapping?” The deputy's brow arched.

“I think she could be hiding, afraid the guy will return,” Ryan hedged. He wasn't being completely honest. There was a thread of truth in his statement. She couldn't have gotten far, and hopefully she hadn't gone into the woods. That was where the attacker had gone.

“If that were true, wouldn't she come out now that I'm here?” Barnes asked.

“That's why I'm afraid she can't move. If we don't find her soon, it could be life or death.”

Barnes nodded.

Within the first five minutes, he and the deputy had cleared the shed and the yard. The deputy had insisted on going first and Ryan didn't have time to argue.

Being injured, she couldn't be moving fast. He thought for sure they'd find her somewhere on the grounds.

“There's no sign of her,” Barnes said after fifteen minutes of searching. The deputy took his notepad from his front pocket and moved closer to the lights on his SUV. “Tell me what happened.”

Ryan did.

“Show me where the struggle occurred,” Barnes said.

Ryan followed the deputy as he examined the bedroom.

“Looks like the point of entry was the window. The latch is broken.” He checked the other window and all the doors anyway, taking pictures as he worked the room. “We might be able to lift a print.”

After collecting evidence there, he moved outside and examined the ground beneath the window, flashing a light around the hard dirt.

The deputy's cell phone buzzed. He took the call while Ryan turned toward the shed. He needed to think. Where would Lisa go at this hour?

“Do you have somewhere else to stay tonight?” The deputy stood and pocketed his flashlight when he was finished.

“No, sir. I'd rather stick around and protect my belongings.” Ryan had every intention of finding Lisa.

“Let me know if your friend turns up,” the deputy said, producing a card from his pocket. “In the meantime, call my cell if you remember anything else.”

“Will do,” Ryan agreed, anxious to continue his search. He had every intention of locating her. More scenarios ran through his mind. None of them he liked.

Ryan pulled supplies from his shed to board up the window as he thought about where Lisa might go as the deputy's SUV backed out of the drive.

Thirty minutes later, he'd secured his house and put away extra nails and his hammer.

Walking back toward his small porch, he realized that they'd checked everywhere but his SUV. It was a long shot but one worth investigating.

The doors were locked. Another sign something was off. His personal belongings had always been safe on his land until tonight.

Ryan jogged into the house and retrieved keys from his jeans pocket. He heard the distinct sound of a vehicle door closing. He broke into a run.

Lisa was halfway across the yard when he returned.

“Stop,” he shouted.

She froze but didn't turn to face him.

“What in hell's name is going on, Lisa?” Ryan caught up to her, put his hand on her arm to support her and blew out a frustrated breath when she recoiled.

“I'm sorry. I need to go.”

“Not so fast. The only place you're going is inside. There's a fresh pot of coffee on and you're going to tell me what has you acting like a scared child.” He urged her to turn around and he was surprised she did.

The look on her face, the resignation, should make him feel bad. He didn't want to go down this road with her. The one where he was basically forcing her to talk. But she was in danger and he couldn't put up with this any longer.

“He'll come back.” There came the fear in her eyes again.

“Not tonight, he won't. The deputy said he'll be watching just in case. Plus, I have no plans to sleep. I won't be caught off guard again. And we're going to talk about what's scaring the hell out of you.”

* * *

T
HERE
WAS
NO
avoiding the discussion that Lisa didn't want to have with Ryan. Her stomach ached, not from physical pain, but the emotional kind. Everything had spiraled out of control faster than she could wrap her mind around it. In trying to keep her sister and nephew safe, she'd inadvertently put Ryan in danger.

Damn. Damn. Damn.

Once inside, Ryan helped her settle on the couch and brought her a cup of coffee. His steel eyes pierced right through her and she knew she could never lie to him. She had to tell him the truth, but she wasn't ready to share everything.

Seeing him retrieve and load his shotgun tied her stomach in knots.

He put two filled coffee mugs down on the coffee table in front of them and then took a seat next to her on the couch. He clasped his hands and rested his elbows on his knees. He was so close his left knee touched her right and she ignored what the contact was doing to her body.

“You already know about what has happened to me, the attack,” she said.

He nodded, kept his gaze focused on a patch of hardwood floor to her left.

“This runs so much deeper than that.” She took in a fortifying breath and then released it. “I don't believe my father's death was an accident.”

“Murder?” He sounded too stunned to say much else.

“Yes. I know it probably sounds crazy and I haven't given you any reason to believe me so far.”

“Has someone been stalking you or your family?” He must've put a few things together, because his head rocked. “They have. That's why you won't talk about it.”

“This person has been threatening to hurt my family if I tell anyone.”

“And you think they staged your father's death to look like an accident?” he asked.

“That's part of why I was so apprehensive at the funeral home. Is it too late for an autopsy?” She took a sip of coffee, thankful for the burn in her throat.

“It never hurts to ask. I'll call first thing in the morning.”

“I want to know what happened, but I'm afraid if I ask too many questions, he'll come after...”

“You?” Ryan paused. “They already have, so that can't be it.” He paused again. “It's your sister, isn't it? You're trying to protect her and Grayson.”

She nodded.

“No one else in your family is going to be hurt. Your sister and Grayson will be safe in Arkansas. No one knows about the cabin but me,” he reassured her.

“What if she decides to come back to town and doesn't tell me?” Lisa asked.

“Lori needs to know the truth. It's the only way to keep her safe. But first, you have to tell me who's after you.”

Fear made her freeze. She couldn't form the words. She shook her head instead.

“Lisa, I'm on your side, remember?” he asked with a calmness belied by his features.

She did know that on some level. And on another she knew Ryan wouldn't let up until she told him everything. Plus, he was a good guy. Why was it so hard to tell him?

Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't told anyone about the past...not her sister...not her father...not another soul.

She'd held it all inside for so many years now she'd lost count. Telling Ryan who was after her would force her to tell him why. And her unwillingness to talk about the past had so little to do with Ryan and so much to do with her.

As much as she loved her father, he hadn't exactly been someone she could trust. She'd known at twelve that she couldn't tell him what had happened. And then there was that time in high school when she'd started to talk about it with her friend Angela. Lisa figured she'd explode if someone didn't know what had happened to her.

When Lisa had brought up Beckett's name to test the waters, Angela had spent the next twenty minutes gushing about how wonderful he was. How fantastic his family was to donate so much to the town. Lisa couldn't deny it. Every year, they gave large sums of money to aid disadvantaged kids. Mr. Alcorn always graced the cover of the
Mason Ridge Courier
around the holidays for his generosity. Whether it be feeding the homeless or rounding up toys for kids, Mr. Alcorn could be counted on to give big. All carefully choreographed PR schemes, Lisa figured.

There was also no denying that Beckett was attractive. At least, before she knew what a monster he was on the inside. After that summer night when he'd abused her, she'd never looked at him in the same way again. Him or any of the Alcorns for that matter. She'd thrown out the newspapers featuring one of the family members, refusing to keep them inside the house.

Turning to look at Ryan, she noticed a cut high on his left cheekbone.

“You're hurt,” she said.

“I'll live. And you just changed the subject.”

“I'm sorry. You deserve to know everything. It's really hard for me to talk about it.”

His hand came up to her face and he tilted her chin so she was looking directly at him.

“I'm not going anywhere. There's nothing you can tell me that will make me run away. I have every intention of seeing this, whatever
this
is, through until you're safe again.”

Letting Ryan touch her was a bad idea. Her heart already pounded no longer from fear but with awareness. Being this close to him, allowing him to be her comfort, stirred up confusing emotions. And she found that she wanted more from him than loyalty, which made it that much more difficult to say what she needed to.

His expression was unreadable. All she could see in his eyes was determination and anger. His set jaw told her everything she needed to know about where his mind was at the moment.

“Now, we've been friends a long time. You can trust me. So I want you to tell me what's been going on. When did this start? And who has you this scared?” His hand touched hers and she pulled back immediately. She'd seen it plain as the nose on his face. The only thing Ryan felt for her was compassion.

Hope of anything but friendship between them shriveled as she squared her shoulders and took another sip of coffee before trying to figure out where to begin. No brilliant words came to her, so she decided to spit it out.

“Beckett Alcorn has it in for me. Has for quite a while now.” There. She'd said it out loud. It was both terrifying and freeing all at once and her heart thundered in her chest.

She waited for Ryan to laugh. He didn't. His gaze intensified. He seemed to take a minute to contemplate this information. After taking a sip of his coffee, he asked, “Why you? Why now? Why your father?”

“All great questions. I'm still trying to figure out answers to those,” she said.

“There must be some reason you can think of.” His tone had a sharp edge to it.

What was up with that?

She shrugged.

“Have you two dated?” he asked pointedly.

“Me and Beckett?” She had to choke back vomit. The thought repulsed her, especially after what he'd forced on her. Beckett had called what he'd done to her a date. Just thinking about it again made her stomach churn. She set down her cup of coffee. “No.”

“I can see that you're terrified of him. Heck, I used to think you were terrified of me with the way you flinch every time I touch you... Hold on...” Ryan stood and then began to pace. It was clear that he'd put two and two together. “That son of a bitch. I'll kill him myself.”

He produced a set of keys from his pocket and started toward the door.

“Ryan, no!” Lisa stood, pushing through the pain, and blocked his path.

“Let me through that door, Lisa.”

“Hear me out first. Please, listen to reason.” She couldn't contain the panic in her voice.

“He hurt you, Lisa. That's all I need to know.” Anger pulsed from him as he spoke through gritted teeth.

“Thank you, Ryan. You have no idea how much that means to me.” She broke down in tears. Someone actually believed her about Beckett. For so many years she'd been convinced that if she'd told anyone, they'd laugh at her or say she was just trying to get at the Alcorns' money.

“What?” His right eyebrow hiked up.

“For believing me.” How long had she feared that no one would? How many times had she wanted to say something to someone but stopped herself? How many times had she been on the edge of sharing but couldn't force herself to say the words?

Tears that had been stuffed deep down far too many years spilled from her eyes, down her cheeks. She couldn't stop them as she released another sob. They were sweet tears of release and her chest felt as if the boulder that had been parked on it was lifting. There was something magical about another person knowing, believing, that made Lisa's heart push out the darkness and begin to fill with light.

“Hold on there. Of course I believe you. We've known each other a long time, right?” He stood in front of her, his arm around her, comforting her.

“I didn't think anyone would.” She buried her face in her hands and cried.

“It's okay. We're going to make this right.” His hand came up to cradle her neck as he kissed the top of her head.

Her body tensed involuntarily. She had to force it to relax. He whispered other reassurances that her heart needed to hear.

Thankfully, he didn't ask for details and she figured none were needed. Him knowing everything that had happened wouldn't make him hate Beckett any less than he seemed to just knowing that the man had hurt her. There was something so very comforting about that. She would tell Ryan everything in good time. Eventually, he'd want to know and she desperately needed to speak the words out loud.