Jake (Men of Clifton Montana Book 1) (21 page)

Becca slapped his
hand. “Good, then let me go,” she screamed at him.

He snorted a
sinister laugh.

“Oh no, my Becky,
you are going to be mine.” He slammed on the brakes, pulled her by her hair
again putting his face close to hers. “I’m going to fuck you over and over
again, then kill you. It’s what a whore like you deserves.” He spat the words
into her face and she wondered how she could’ve ever thought this man was nice.

Becca screamed and
tried punching him. She heard him grunt a few times when she landed a hit, but
she wasn’t expecting him to strike back. When his fist hit her, she fell
against the door. Her vision blurred but she refused to lose consciousness.

“God damn it, bitch,
don’t make me do that again,” Steve hollered at her as if it was her fault he
hit her.

Becca felt the
vehicle lurch forward as she slumped against the door.

“You’re not making
sense, Steve. First you tell me you won’t let me leave you again, and then you
talk about killing me,” Becca said with a sniffle blinking back tears, hoping
he’d think they were for him.

Steve ran his hand
through his hair.

“You’re confusing
me,” he muttered under his breath. “I want you to go with me but you slept with
that…cowboy.” The word was a hiss on his tongue.

Becca reached over
and touched his arm. “He didn’t mean anything to me. I was weak. I missed you
so much.” Lord, she thought she was going to puke, but she had to convince him
it was the truth so she could get away. She sat up when she saw a small cabin
in a clearing ahead.

“How did you find
this?”

“I looked up your
property on the Internet and this cabin sits on the edge of it,” he told her
laughing. She hated that laugh. “It’s on your property and you didn’t even know
about it. We’re staying here for the night.” He looked at her and grinned. She
shivered.

He laughed and then
glared at her. “Get out. Don’t even think about running because I will shoot you.”

Becca nodded,
stepped down from the truck, and followed him inside.

The cabin was
sparsely furnished. A worn sofa sat facing a large stone fireplace. There was a
small kitchenette at the back of the room. She noticed two doors opposite of
each other. Becca hoped both were bedrooms.

She eyed Steve. He
was leaning back against the door staring at her. Biting her lip, she turned
from him. Earlier she’d wanted out of the truck, now she’d give anything to be
back in it. She cleared her throat. “Are there two bedrooms?” Her voice rasped
like sandpaper against her throat.

Steve grinned and
pushed himself away from the door. “Afraid not, Becky, one is a bathroom.”

* * * *

“Should we split
up?” Jake asked his brothers.

Gabe shook his
head. “I think we should stay together. He can’t take on all three of us.”

Wyatt agreed and
dismounted. Jake and Gabe pulled their horses to a halt.

“What is it, Wyatt?”
Jake asked anxious for something, anything.

“Tire tracks.
Someone had a vehicle parked here, waiting.” Wyatt got back on his horse. “It
should be easy to follow.”

“Do you have your
rifle, Wyatt?” Jake asked.

“Yes, and I won’t
hesitate to take him out,” Wyatt said with a confident grin nodding toward his Winchester
30-30.

Jake felt better
knowing his brother was ready. Wyatt had been a sniper in the Marine Corps. He’d
been the best in his unit. Rumor had it that he could shoot a hair off a frog
at two thousand yards. Jake didn’t care about any damn frog. Jake wanted Wyatt
to hit Steve Harris if he needed to. They were each armed with walkie-talkies
so when his beeped, Jake answered it. “Go ahead, Sam.”

“Have you seen
anything?”

“We’re following
some tire tracks. Could be from one of Stan’s men but we’re going to check it
out nonetheless.” Jake hoped they were on the right track.

“Okay. Let me know
if you find anything,” Sam answered. “It’ll be dark soon. Did you guys happen
to bring sleeping bags?”

“Yeah, Stan fixed
us up. We’ll go as long as we can,” Jake told him. “I’m not stopping until I
have to.”

* * * *

The thought of the sun
setting on the horizon had Becca’s nerves on edge. She had to get away from
Steve but she had no idea how. He sat at the small kitchen table playing
solitaire, not paying any attention to her. She glanced at the door, trying to
decide if she could make a run for it.

“Don’t even think
about it,” he said, smiling.

“I need to use the
bathroom,” she told him and slipped into the room. She glanced around the small
room.
Shit! No window.
Becca gazed at
herself in the mirror and swore at the tears flowing down her cheeks.
Come on Becca, think!

When she returned to
the living room, Steve was nowhere around. She ran to the door but just as she reached
out to open it, he stepped inside. Becca jumped back and almost fell onto the
sofa.

“Were you going
somewhere, Becky?”

“I…was wondering
where you were.”

Steve nodded. “Why
don’t you go lie down for a little while? I’ve changed my mind. Once night
falls, we’re leaving.”

Becca nodded. She
moved to the other door and entered the room. Closing the door behind her, she
leaned back against it and took a deep breath. Looking around the room, she saw
a twin size bed with a bare mattress, a small chest of drawers, and a window.
She blinked her eyes. This room had a window. This was her chance. She hurried
toward it and noticed there was no lock on it.
More good luck!
She tried to push it up, but it didn’t budge. Not
giving up, she pushed at it again. Finally, it moved.
Thank you, God.

Becca glanced over
her shoulder at the door then back to the window, and pushed again. Each time
the window slid a little further, her heart hit her stomach and she looked
toward the door. Slowly, she pushed it open until she had enough space to
squeeze through. With her stomach in knots, she put one leg through and worked
her body out the window. Once she hit the ground, she ran as fast as she could
toward the woods. She heard Steve yell her name.

Run!
Becca told herself.
Keep going.
A shot rang out and she
skidded to a halt.

“Next one goes in
you, Becky. Trust me, I can hit you from here,” Steve told her in a
cold-blooded voice.

* * * *

“We need to stop
for the night, Jake,” Wyatt said. “The tire tracks are getting harder to follow
and the sun’s setting.”

Jake didn’t want to
stop but he knew Wyatt was right. They couldn’t risk losing the tracks in the
waning light. This looked like as good a place as any to make camp. Jake heaved
a sigh, and dismounted. Gabe and Wyatt followed. He and his brothers put their
sleeping bags out on the ground and went about setting up camp including gathering
wood for a fire.

“I wish I could
shoot a rabbit for us but if we’re close to Harris, he’d hear the shot,” Wyatt
told them.

Jake froze in
place, his arms filled with kindling.

“What is it?” Gabe
asked.

“There’s a hunting
cabin not too far from here,” Jake said.

“Where?”
Gabe and Wyatt asked in one voice.

“It’s about another
mile west of here. Hattie had it built for the ranch hands to use.” Jake swore
as he dropped the pieces of wood onto the ground. “I can’t believe I forgot
about it.”

“Hey, you’ve had
other things on your mind,” Gabe reminded him.

Jake shook his
head. “Could it be that simple?”

“Only one way to
find out,” Wyatt answered as he began gathering the sleeping bags.

Minutes later, all
three mounted up. Jake spurred his horse into a run with his brothers behind
him. When the cabin came into view, Jake slowed his horse to a stop. Together,
the three of them dismounted and tied up the horses. Just as they finished a
gunshot rang out. Jake’s heart stopped. He wanted to run toward it, but Wyatt
grabbed his arm. Jake turned and glared at him.

“You can’t go
running in there, Jake. If he hasn’t shot her, he will if he sees you.”

“Wyatt’s right. You’ll
put her in more danger if you go running in there half-cocked,” Gabe added. “Let’s
move in closer and get an idea of what we’re up against.”

Jake hung his head.
He knew his brothers were right. He looked at them. “I know you’re both right
but if he hurts her, I’ll kill him. No questions asked.” His brothers nodded
their understanding.

Gabe led them
through the woods and held his hand up silently, indicating they should stop.
Together they watched Becca walking back toward Steve, her head held high.

Jake never loved
anyone the way he loved her, and never more than he did in that moment. He
wanted to tell her more than anything. He wanted to spend the rest of his life
with her and have babies with her. He’d die if he didn’t get the chance. When
he saw Steve hit her, Jake lunged forward in rage but Wyatt pulled him back
down. Jake jerked away from him and glared at him. Wyatt stared back at him.
Jake sighed, knowing he had to trust his brother and nodded. He watched as
Steve grabbed Becca by her hair, dragging her up the wooden steps. His heart
stopped a moment but when she tripped and the bastard pushed her, he saw red.
Becca fell on the porch and Jake flinched forward.

“Son of a bitch,”
Jake swore with murder on his mind. “I’m going out there. Wyatt, get somewhere
where you can take him out if you need to.”

When Jake felt Gabe
latch onto his arm, he looked his brother in the eye. “Don’t try to stop me,
Gabe. If I can get his attention off her, even for a moment, Wyatt will have a
clean shot.”

“Jesus Christ,
Jake. He’ll probably kill you,” Gabe hissed out from between clenched teeth.

“Better me than her,”
Jake told him and stood up. “I can’t stay here and watch that prick hit her. If
he wants to hit someone, he can try me.” He looked at Wyatt. “Do not hesitate
to take the bastard out.”

Jake took a deep
breath and stepped out from the brush. He was pointing his pistol in Steve’s
direction as he walked toward them.

“Hey,” Jake yelled.

Steve spun around.
Jake saw the coward pull Becca in front of him. “Who the
fuck
are
you?”

“I’m the man who’s
going to take great pleasure in kicking your ass,” Jake sneered with a
satisfied smile.

Steve’s eyes
widened and then he laughed. “Oh right, her cowboy to the rescue, huh? Only you’re
not going to rescue her. I believe I have the upper hand here. I have a gun to
her head. Drop your weapon, asshole.”

Jake hesitated. He
saw Steve press the gun harder against Becca’s temple.

“Do it now. I won’t
hesitate to kill her,” Steve yelled in anger.

Jake’s gaze shifted
to Becca’s face. She was as pale as a ghost, but she shook her head at him.

“No Jake. Please,
don’t do it. He’ll kill you.” Even from this distance, he saw her eyes glisten
with tears.

“Don’t do it and
see what happens…Jake,” Steve growled, and then laughed.

* * * *

“No,” Becca
screamed when she saw Jake lower his gun to the ground then was forced to watch
as Steve aimed his gun at Jake, and pulled the trigger, hitting him. Becca felt
as if the bullet tore through her own flesh. “Jake!” She watched as Jake fell
to the ground. She screamed as she punched and kicked at Steve, but he just
laughed at her.

“Your cowboy is
gone, Becky.” He spun her around and tried to kiss her.

This time, Becca
was ready and kicked him hard in the groin. He grunted in response and let her
go. Becca ran but when she heard a single shot, she froze and waited for the
pain. When she didn’t feel any, she looked over her shoulder to find Steve
lying on the ground with blood flowing from a bullet hole in the center of his
forehead. Not understanding how and not caring, she ran toward Jake. Gabe and
Wyatt came running from the woods, Wyatt carrying a high-powered rifle. She
fell to her knees on the ground beside Jake.

“Jake…Jake…oh
God…Jake, please don’t die,” she begged as tears ran down her face. Jake had
blood seeping from a wound in his shoulder. Wyatt and Gabe joined her alongside
him.

“Jake, I told you
not to be stupid.” Gabe moved Jake’s shirt aside to check the wound. “Through
and through,” he said as he moved away to call Sam on the walkie-talkie.

“Sorry, I couldn’t
get a shot off before he hit Jake. He had Becca in front of him,” Wyatt said,
his voice filled with sorrow and apology.

“Jake, please open
your eyes. Please don’t leave me.” Becca cried cradling his head against her
thigh.

“Didn’t you tell me
to stay away from you, Red?” Jake said his voice barely above a whisper.

“I didn’t mean it,”
she said, smiling even as tears streamed down her face. “I was hoping you’d
come for me. Please stay with me, Jake. I want to stay here with you. I know I
was a fool about things, but I want to be with you. I want you to help me with
the B and B. I need your help. Please. I can’t imagine my life without you.
Please, Jake…” Becca knew she was rambling but didn’t know how to stop.

“Anyone ever tell
you that you talk too much, Red?” Jake smiled, but closed his eyes.

Her laugh came out
as a sob. “Why, you think you can shut me up, Stone?”

“You know I
can,
darlin’. I’ll gladly show you every day for the rest of
my life, if you’ll let me…” His voice faded away to a barely there whisper.

“Jake?” Becca worried
she was losing him.

He opened his eyes.
“I love you, Becca. I have since the moment I first saw you. I want to spend
the rest of my life with you, which could be sooner than expected if you don’t
get me to a hospital.”