Unbridled (31 page)

“That doesn’t sound like a smart idea.”

Connor stalked toward his truck, determined to find Alex come hell or high water. He wouldn’t let anyone or anything stop him, even a deputy the size of a Volkswagen. She was too important to him for that. Most of his life had been spent doing whatever he felt like, chasing a thrill, screwing around. It left no room for being afraid because he had to be fearless. Connor hadn’t even been sure he could feel fear, but he knew the answer to that question now.

He was flat-out terrified something had happened to Alex.

“Connor, wait.” Yancy was right on his heels. “I can’t open an investigation yet, but I can help you look for her.”

“Fine. You take your car and search in town and I’ll start at Howard’s place.” Truthfully he wanted to tear over there and kick the shit out of the man, but he needed to find Alex first. Revenge could wait until after she was safe.

“Oh, no, you know I can’t let you go on private property. He’s had you arrested twice already for doing that. I’ll go to Howard’s ranch and you stay on the main roads and in town.” Yancy leaned toward him, his bulk repeating the message a bit more forcefully.

Connor gritted his teeth. “Fine. I’ll have the CB on channel three. You let me know the second you find anything.”

“I can do that. Connor, listen, we’ll find her. You know, maybe she just decided to skip town or go to a bar to relax.”

Connor shook off Yancy’s suggestion. “She didn’t fucking leave and she didn’t go to a bar. Alex is in trouble; do you understand that? Howard is a sneaky son of a bitch and he’s up to something. Whatever it is it’s bad, as bad as Grant.”

Yancy frowned. “What do you mean as bad as Grant?”

He’d never told anyone of his suspicions about his friend’s untimely death, but now he realized he should have. “I know you’re the sheriff and you rely on evidence, but my gut and everything in my soul tells me Howard had something to do with Grant’s accident.”

Yancy’s dark eyes widened. “What the hell would make you think that?”

“With Grant out of the way, James tried his best to hang around and convince Claire to sell the ranch. It was too convenient; he even had legal documents already drawn up at the fucking funeral. She told me he cornered her once, scared the hell out of her.” Connor ground his teeth together. “The bastard was the first one at the scene when Grant was killed! He’s the one that called you, remember? I could never prove anything, but he was acting odd and my gut told me James had something to do with Grant’s death. He wanted the land, he wanted the water, he wanted everything that Finley’s is, and now that includes Alex.”

“Big accusations, Connor. Can you back them up?”

“Not yet, but I’ll do my damnedest to find proof tomorrow. For now I’d like to haul ass out of here and look for Alex. Is that okay with you?” Connor was beyond having even a shred of patience. He was practically humming with a need to find her, keep her safe, tell her he loved her.

Before Yancy could answer, Connor jumped in his truck and shouted, “Channel three!” behind him as he slammed the door.

He didn’t expect the passenger door to open. Claire climbed in without hesitation.

“She’s my family too, even if she doesn’t believe it yet. I should have kept watch, should have looked out for her. I’m her stepmother, for God’s sake.” Her chin trembled. “Grant would have wanted me to take care of her even if she’s as stubborn as he was. I want to help find her.”

Connor nodded, his already healthy respect for Claire going up a notch or two. They set off together into the inky darkness with only the headlights and the swirling snow for company.

The streets were nearly deserted, as they always got after six o’clock in a small town like Lobos. Having Claire in the passenger seat allowed him to look for Alex twice as fast. They both peered out the windows as they drove slowly down each street. No shadows revealed a Lexus, no parking lot a stray car, and no Alex.

By six forty-five, they had been through Lobos twice and Connor was done taking the safe route. Yancy be damned, he had to look for them on the Howard property. It was huge, about forty thousand acres’ worth.

Connor had been following the rules for so long, being a good ranch manager, a good friend, hell, even a good quasi-son to Bernice, brother to Claire and uncle to Daniel. It was time to shrug off the mantle of being what everyone expected him to be. This time Connor had to follow his heart.

He should get on the CB and tell the sheriff about where he was going, but he didn’t. Claire didn’t protest either as he drove out of town, heading straight for the Howard ranch. He was going to find Alex or die trying.

Life had kicked them both so many times, they couldn’t lose each other now.

 

 

James held fast to the gun even as she scratched and yanked at his hand to try to take it from him. Alex’s mouth was dry as dirt as they struggled for possession of the weapon. The car was still moving although the ride felt more like a bronc busting than a road.

They must have driven off-road, something a Lexus was not intended for. He pushed against her hold, the gun barrel turning with the sheer force of his strength. Alex should have jumped out of the car while they were still moving. Even if she was in the dark and snow, she would have found her way somehow.

Now, if she let go of his arm, he’d shoot her. If she even blinked, he would gain the upper hand. Alex was still trapped in the car, and this time she was fighting for her life.

He twisted her left wrist and she felt something pop, but Alex ignored the agony and held fast. She leaned forward and bit his hand. Warm blood coated her mouth as her teeth sunk into his skin.

“Fucking whore!” He let go of the wheel and grabbed a handful of her hair. As he yanked out clumps of her hair, Alex had never felt such pain before, but she didn’t let go of his hand.

She was going to make him either let go of the gun or allow her to bite off his thumb. It was primal, brutal and bloody. Alex had wondered if she was ever put in a situation to fight or flee what she would do. Now she knew she would fight.

James leaned toward her and the car surged forward. His foot must’ve been too close to the gas pedal, but that didn’t appear to faze him.

Tears burned her eyes as he tried to strangle her with his left hand. Suddenly there was a feeling of weightlessness; then a thunder slammed into them, as if the heavens opened up and smote both of them. Glass exploded around her and the roof of the car met her face. She heard a scream, which she vaguely realized was her own.

The last thing Alex heard was the gun going off.

 

 

Connor saw the headlights going around in crazy circles up ahead. He couldn’t tell exactly what field the car was in because of the snow, but his gut told him it was Alex and James.

“There, do you see?” He pointed as they made their way down the hill toward the grazing fields.

Claire peered through the windshield. “I see something but I don’t know what it is.”

“It’s that bastard; I know it is. If he’s hurt her, I’m going to kill him.” Connor didn’t recognize his own voice, so deep was the hate and rage in his tone.

“I hope that’s not true. You are too good of a person to commit murder.” Claire could always be counted on to be the voice of reason.

In this case, Connor wasn’t listening a bit. He fully intended on seeking revenge on James Howard for the death of Grant Finley and everything else he’d done to Alex. If she was hurt or—he swallowed hard at the thought—dead, there was no question in his mind he’d pull out the rifle from the rack behind him and blow James’s head clean off his body.

As they neared the field, the CB radio crackled with Yancy’s voice.

“Connor, where the hell are you?”

The headlights disappeared and Connor’s stomach dropped to his knees. If he turned off the lights, or left the field completely, they would never find the car. He stomped on the gas and careened across the field toward where he’d last seen the headlights.

“Connor, come on back now. You hear me?”

Claire was wisely quiet as they bounced in the cab like a couple of pinballs. When they got close enough, he could see the tire tracks in the snow and followed them forward until he reached the edge of the ravine.

This time his stomach flipped sideways and his heart lodged in his throat. They’d driven off a cliff.

“No, no, no, no, hell no,” he chanted as he slammed the truck into park and grabbed the flashlight from the seat beside him and jumped out. With more fear than he thought possible running through his veins, he ran across the slippery field toward the edge, where the tire tracks vanished into the blackness.

Connor heard Claire’s voice as she picked up the radio. “Yancy, it’s Claire. We’re out in the north pasture area on James’s ranch. There’s been some kind of accident. You’d better send the fire department and the ambulance. Hurry.”

Connor leaned over the edge and shined the flashlight in a slow sweep. He couldn’t see much but the light hit something metal. It was the rim of a tire still spinning as the car lay belly-up at the bottom of the ravine.

“Alex!” he shouted as he scrambled down the snowy bank. Branches and rocks cut up his hands but he barely noticed. All that mattered was getting to her. “Alex!”

“Can you see them?” Claire asked from the top of the cliff.

He didn’t answer, couldn’t have even if he wanted to. His throat had closed up so tight he could hardly get a breath in. Alex had to be okay,
had
to be.

The smell of oil and gas hit him as he made it to the car. He dropped to his knees and shined the flashlight through the ruined windshield. The sharp tang of blood filled his nose. It was everywhere.

Connor focused on what he had to do rather than on the fact the woman he loved might be dead. If she was injured, then getting her out was the top priority. Then he’d kill James if the man wasn’t dead already.

“Alex, can you hear me?”

He heard a small moan and hoped it hadn’t been the wind. Snow blew into his ears and eyes as he reached into the car and felt for something, anything. As the glass sliced up his hand, he felt an arm. He stuck his other arm in and felt around until he found another appendage.

Connor braced his feet on either side of the windshield and pulled. The moan grew louder and this time it sounded feminine.

“Alex, baby, is that you? Oh God, please let that be you.”

He tugged again but she didn’t move. Connor let loose a sob as he tried for a third time. Alex was stuck and he couldn’t get her free.

“We need leverage to raise it up a bit and get her out.”

Connor looked up to see both Yancy and Claire in the ravine with him. He sucked in a breath and managed to grunt an acknowledgment.

“Claire, you get down with Connor while I use this branch to lift up the front. Then both of you pull her out.” Yancy managed to find an enormous branch of a tree and shoved it down as far as he could beneath the car. “Ready? Lift!”

Together they worked as one. The car rose up just about six inches and Connor pulled for all he was worth. The moan turned into a scream as Claire and Connor pulled Alex free of the car.

As soon as her legs were clear, Yancy let the car back down. Alex was bloody and unconscious, but alive. Connor hugged her to his chest, heedless of the tears rolling down his face. She was
alive
.

“Howard’s dead.” Yancy came back around from the driver’s side of the car.

“Good, then I don’t have to kill him.” Connor’s voice was raw with emotion.

As the sound of sirens filled the night air, Connor got to his feet and ascended the embankment with the precious cargo in his arms. He left a trail of blood in the white snow during the excruciating climb.

When he reached the top, he fell to his knees and held her against him again, this time sobbing openly. He’d never let her go again.

E
verything was white, snowy white. Was she still out in the storm? Or was she dead and heaven was apparently as white as the scribes predicted?

Alex tried to move her arm and pain shot straight up into her shoulder. Nope, definitely not dead and not outside either. It was too warm to be outside. Beneath her hands she felt starchy sheets.

It was a hospital.

The entire nightmare ride came back at her in a rush. James with the gun, threatening to kill her, the accident, and blood. There had been so much blood. At least she’d survived and someone had found the car.

She managed to get her eyes at least half open and peered around her. There were her feet poking up beneath the white blanket. She wiggled them, which meant whatever injuries she’d suffered, it hadn’t paralyzed her.

Turning her head proved difficult because she realized she was wearing a neck brace. That either meant they were concerned about spinal injuries, or worse and her neck was already damaged. She tried to swallow but her throat was beyond parched.

Holding up her right arm revealed a brace; no wonder it hurt. The left arm held an IV drip and a plethora of cuts and bruises. She reached up and felt her face and found some stitches near her hairline, more cuts and another array of stitches on her chin.

Various parts of her body woke up and loudly protested their treatment. There had definitely been a car accident; she remembered that now. What exactly happened after that was a mystery. She wondered if James survived, then hoped he did so she could send the bastard to jail for kidnapping and attempted murder.

“Alex?”

Connor’s voice was like angels singing, and to her dismay, it also made her start crying. He appeared above her smiling like a lunatic and looking like he’d been in a brawl with a bear. His dark curls were sticking up every which way; he had huge dark circles under his eyes, at least two days’ worth of whiskers on his face, and clothes wrinkled beyond repair.