Forever Driven: Forever Bluegrass #4 (13 page)

“What are you doing?” Matt asked, watching her as he drove out of the plant and headed for stop number two, LeeRoy Hager.

“I’m sending out a town text. I want all the information, gossip or otherwise, people have on Harvey and LeeRoy. I have a feeling they are in this together with Peel and Stanley.”

Matt listened as Riley told him exactly what Harvey had said to her and tried to connect the dots with what the workers had said about the surrounding property. “Hey, could this have to do with land?”

“Well, yeah. The land the government will take to build the highway,” Riley answered as she started reading the texts the townspeople were sending back. So far there was nothing earth-shattering.

“No, I’m talking about the land around Luttrell Food Industries.”

Riley shook her head. “Not that I know of. That wasn’t brought up at all.” Riley stopped talking when her phone rang. “It’s Neely Grace,” she said before answering it.

Matt watched from the corner of his eye as Riley nodded to herself and listened to Neely Grace. Suddenly she sat upright and yelled, “I did what?”

Five minutes later, Riley hung up, looking stricken. “What is it?” Matt asked impatiently. Riley wore a look of defeat, and she never gave up.

“A photo was just released to the media, showing me accepting a check from LeeRoy Hager at a private event Will and Kenna hosted. The check, the press learned, was for $50,000 and was the reason I was able to make that big push the week of the election. Furthermore, there are pictures of me with all of his higher-ups at the road construction company. The piece is all about how Hager’s campaign money got me elected and is filled with quotes from so-called constituents who are so glad I saw the error of my ways and will be voting in favor of the highway to bring jobs to the district. It’s being picked up all over the state.”

“Do you still want me to take you to see Hager?” Matt asked quietly.

Riley shook her head. “No. I want to go home, change clothes, and get on the phone to see what I can find out.”

“Don’t give up. You’re my firecracker, after all.”

Riley shot him a daggered look. “Give up? I’m not going to give up. I’m going to destroy those bastards!”

R
iley paced back
and forth through her house as she made call after call. She talked to the media, gave interviews, and swore that she was not part of a vote-buying operation. It didn’t seem to matter. Public opinion had turned against her. She was being branded as untrustworthy and bought by big money.

Riley slammed down the phone and took a deep breath. “I need to shoot something.”

Matt just nodded and pulled out his gun.

“Let me go change, and we can either go for a horseback ride or an ATV ride to the shooting range on the other side of the farm.”

“Sounds good to me. Do I need to run home and get my rifle?” Matt asked.

“You’re free to borrow one of mine, but you will have to recalibrate my scope,” Riley told him as she reached under her skirt and yanked off the horrid invention called panty hose. She hopped on one foot as she tried to pull it over her heel.

“If you can give me fifteen minutes, I’ll run home and get mine. I haven’t shot it in six months and would like to. And stop undressing or I won’t leave.” Matt sent her a suggestive wink and Riley deliberately started to slowly unbutton her shirt.

“I may still be naked by the time you get back.”

“Just promise not to get into any trouble while I’m away. Well, any more than you already are in,” Matt groaned, tugging her shirt from her skirt and slipping his hand underneath to cup her breast as he took her mouth in his. Matt had her grinding her hips against his in seconds. Her body was flush, her breasts felt heavy, aching for his touch, when he pulled away and shot her a grin. “I can be evil, too.”

Riley tossed a throw pillow at Matt as he laughed his way out the door. She headed to her bedroom to finish undressing and found herself humming. It was going to be a hard week until the end of session, but she had someone she could talk to about it. Shooting and riding had always been her go-to for relaxation and brainstorming. When Riley would let out her breath and slowly squeeze the trigger, she found it wasn’t only the target she hit. The moment she lowered her gun or jumped a fence on her horse she would hit upon some of her best ideas.

Riley shrugged out of her blouse and tossed it on the end of her bed. She unzipped her skirt and shimmied out of it, and tossed that on the bed, too. In the back of her closet were her boots and a small gun safe. This safe held her favorite guns. Riley opened the closet and pulled out a light flannel shirt. It was warm out that day, but the sun would be going down, taking the temperatures with it. She slid the red and navy shirt up her arms, but didn’t bother to button it as she shoved her clothes away from the back of the closet to reach her boots and gun.

“What?” Riley squinted her eyes into the dark corner at the far end of her closet. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw the shadows moving. Riley blinked and stared. She saw the outline of her boots sitting slightly past her safe and decided she was seeing things.

“I’ve gotten so worked up that I’m imagining my boots moving,” Riley said to herself as she shook her head and put her thumb to the lock on the safe. Her fingerprint unlocked it and she reached farther into the darkened closet and grabbed her gun and ammo.

Placing the gun and box of ammo on the bed, Riley threw a pair of jeans onto the bed along with some socks. All she needed were her boots. The question was did she really want to get dressed or not? She had teased Matt, but was it really a tease if she followed through?

Grinning, Riley picked up her jeans and socks and placed them on the nearby chair. She grabbed her suit and hung it on the hangers at the front of her closet before reaching into the shadows for her boots. Riley had one hand on a lower clothes rail as she patted the floor for her boots. She turned her head to look into the back when she saw that one of her boots had tipped over.

“There you are.”

Riley reached for the boots, but when she grabbed them it wasn’t the feel of her boots that greeted her. It was undulating scales. She heard the shake of a rattle, and as if the fog were lifting from her eyes, Riley adjusted to the darkness and what she saw caused a scream to lodge in her throat as she tried to leap back. It was too late. All she saw were fangs sinking into her hand. The bite made her feel as though her heart was stopping. She fell backward as the varying shades of brown and rust-colored snake fell from her hand. She had woken a den of sleeping pit vipers.

Riley tried to keep calm as she scrambled backward, but seeing the poisonous copperheads, timber rattlers, and the nonpoisonous black rat snakes slithering out of her closet sent adrenaline surging through her body as she reached back for her gun. It felt as if someone was stabbing her hand over and over again with a knife as she fumbled with the box and ammunition and loaded the clip. Riley didn’t hesitate to start shooting. Her back was to her bed as she took out the copperhead that had bit her. Thank goodness it hadn’t been the rattlesnake. But, she killed that one next as it slithered toward her. She didn’t care that the bullets lodged in her floor or that near-dead snakes were twitching at her feet. She fired until she was out of bullets, slammed the bedroom door, and ran outside.

Her hand throbbed, her head pounded, and it felt as if her blood pressure was dropping fast. Riley collapsed onto the porch swing and dangled her bitten hand over the side of the swing as she lay down and went completely still.

“Shit,” Riley whispered to the universe as she realized her cell phone was inside her bedroom. There was no way in hell she was going back into her room to get it. Her stomach rolled with slight nausea as she tried to move as little as possible while taking off her shirt. She wrapped it around her arm, right above her wrist, and used her teeth to pull it tight. It was the best tourniquet she had at the moment.

Two red marks with blood trickling from them were clearly evident on her hand that was already swelling and starting to bruise, which indicated this was no dry bite. Everyone in Kentucky was familiar with copperheads. Riley tried to calm herself as she waited for Matt to arrive. Keeping still would help prevent the fast spread of the venom. Her hand hurt so badly, but she knew that most copperhead bites weren’t fatal. Now, if she’d been bitten multiple times or by the timber rattlesnake, then she’d have a lot to worry about. Now, her main concern was how much venom was injected and whether or not she was allergic to it. If she was, she’d die of cardiac arrest or anaphylactic shock. Luckily, so far she wasn’t feeling any of those symptoms.

How did a den of snakes end up in her closet? And how long had they been there? Had she been reaching in to get clothes and shoes for the past week or month with them curled up, their bodies intertwined this whole time? Riley was so freaked out by the slithering, undulating, hissing, and rattling she had heard, seen, and felt that even as she knew she killed them, or at least most of them, she was fighting panic. Every whisper of the wind. Every rustle of the leaves. Every shadow of a cloud past the sun—she worried it was a snake. She feared if she opened her eyes they would be above her, below her, or coiled around the chain of the swing as they reached out with their forked tongues at her.

A tear leaked out of her eyes as she squeezed them close. She had to remain calm. Her father had taken her and her sister to the woods when they were little and explained about copperheads. If you get bitten, get away, lie down, and keep the part of you bitten below your heart. Use a tourniquet to slow the spread of poison and stay calm. Help will be here soon, she told herself over and over again as she felt the pressure of her hand swelling to the point that it felt as if someone were repeatedly slamming her hand in a car door.

M
att beat
his hand against his steering wheel in rhythm with the music as he drove up to Riley’s house. He had his gun, and he had an idea to put a tail on both Luttrell and Hager. If Hager was playing the media card, there was nothing stopping Riley from doing the same. He knew he was only playing a reporter, but there was enough circumstantial evidence to anonymously pass along to a certain bulldog reporter in Lexington to change the tide of the media coverage, all while making Riley look as if she were above such things. Which, he knew, she wasn’t. She would happily get her hands dirty if it meant doing what was right.

When Matt pulled to a stop, he blinked and then smiled. Riley was waiting for him on the porch swing in nothing but her underwear. Matt responded instantly by ripping off his shirt and trying to get out of the car quietly. He kicked off his boots and shucked his pants. After the previous night, he knew Riley was up for anything. But sex in the middle of the day outside where anyone could see them? Seems he was up for it in more ways than one.

Matt tiptoed up the few stairs and paused. His mischievous grin fell along with his erection. “What the hell happened to your hand?” She had a shirt tied tightly around her forearm, but that didn’t hide the swelling and discolored hand.

Riley jerked as she opened her eyes as if she were afraid of something. “Viper den in my closet. A copperhead bit me. Why are you naked?”

Matt was by her side in an instant as he examined her hand. It looked as if it were starting to swell but not as badly as he had heard it could be if someone was sensitive to the venom. “How’s the pain?”

“It might feel better if you shoot my hand off,” Riley tried to joke, though he could see she was serious.

“When is the ambulance getting here?” Matt felt as if his whole world was coming to a shuddering stop. The sight of the woman he loved battling off the pain of a poisonous snakebite was even worse than when she was attacked. At least then she could fight back. Now they were helpless.

“I haven’t called one yet. My cell phone is in my room and there’s not a chance in hell I’m going back in that house,” Riley told him as she put her other arm over her eyes and took a deep breath.

Matt cursed and leapt down the stairs right as he heard the sound of another vehicle coming to a stop. It was an old town car, and it had three white heads with their faces plastered to the windshield in it. The car rolled to a stop as Matt picked up his pants and pulled his phone from the back pocket.

He heard the sound of a photo being taken but he was already dialing 9-1-1 and didn’t care that the Rose sisters were getting a kick out of seeing his “winkie” (their word, not his).

“This is Trooper Matt Walz. I have a copperhead bite victim.” He noticed the Roses instantly grew quiet as he rattled off the address along with the pertinent medical information the emergency responders and the hospital would need to know for proper treatment.

The Rose sisters pushed past him as he finished with the call. By the time he pulled up his pants, he heard more cars coming and figured he’d better get dressed or it wouldn’t only be Riley’s life in danger. He had just shoved his feet into his boots when Miss Lily shuffled by him and pulled a quilt from the car at the same time Cy and Gemma’s slid to a stop, kicking up dust.

“Where’s my baby?” Gemma asked with fear etched in her face.

“On the porch,” Matt responded as Gemma raced by. “Emergency services are on their way. The bite was ten minutes ago. Her reaction is mild to moderate, thank goodness. There appears to be no allergic reaction,” Matt rattled off as he jogged up the stairs next to Cy.

“Let Daddy see,” Cy cooed as the Rose sisters let him through. Riley was fighting tears, and Gemma was as pale as a ghost as she stroked Riley’s cheek and whispered soothing words to her. Miss Lily’s brightly colored quilt covered Riley from the neck down, but it didn’t take Cy long to notice that was all she was wearing. Matt could hear Cy’s teeth grinding from where he stood slightly behind him.

“It’s not bad, baby. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but as soon as they give you the pain medication, you’ll feel a lot better.” Cy leaned forward and kissed Riley on the cheek as her mother tried to hide the tears threatening to escape down her cheeks.

Matt fought the urge to push Cy out of the way so he could be at Riley’s side, but it wasn’t his place. Not yet. One thing that had been made shockingly clear was he was in love with Riley. Not the kind where you think you
might
be, but the full-blown die-for-her type of love. And right now seeing her in pain was ripping his heart out.

Cy stood up and quietly walked toward Matt. Before Matt knew what was happening, he had a fist to the face. “You want to tell me why my daughter is naked, and you were putting on your boots when we arrived?”

Matt rubbed his jaw. At least he hadn’t seen him naked. He shot a glance at the Rose sisters who stared with open mouths and wide eyes and figured it was a 50/50 shot that the picture of him naked was already being circulated.

“Dad,” Riley cried. “Stop! It wasn’t Matt’s fault. He wasn’t even here.”

Matt’s gut twisted. She needed to stay calm. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Just let me have a talk with your father. You just rest.” Matt pulled Cy off the porch and to his car. “We were going to go shooting. I went back to get my rifle. While I was gone, Riley was going to change out of her suit and also get ready. She said she went for the boots in her closet and reached right into a den of vipers. She said there were copperheads and timber rattlesnakes, along with some nonvenomous snakes. She was bitten by a copperhead and then shot as many as she could and ran out here to get away from them.”

“I won’t bother to ask why you arrived without boots because I think I know. And if I’m right, I’ll castrate you.”

“I think Mrs. Davies might have a problem with that. She wants grandkids, and I’m the only man not afraid of you. I actually like you. Anyway, what I’m more curious about is the timber snakes. They’re not generally found in Central Kentucky. And while they do nest with copperheads and the other snakes Riley described, that’s typically in a forest, not a closet.”

Cy’s eyes narrowed and Matt could see his mind churning. “You think they were planted?”

“I don’t know. I’ve heard of plenty of copperheads in houses, but hardly ever a timber rattler. And while they are generally more docile than copperheads, their bite is more deadly. If Riley hadn’t reacted as quickly as she did, she would have been bitten multiple times by multiple venomous snakes less than an hour after Harvey Luttrell threatened her. Coincidence? Maybe. But I don’t like coincidences.”