She laughed. “You are such a con man. I’ll tell you what. I’ll take the truck, go home and change, get you some clean clothes while I’m there. You can hardly leave here covered in dried blood and crusted mud. If the doctor hasn’t released you by the time I get back, I’ll hunt him down like a dog and convince him to let you go home.”
Josh laughed. Then the smile slid off his face. “We need to talk, baby. It’s important.”
Her stomach knotted. “I know . . .” she said softly.
He relaxed back on his pillow. “Don’t be too long.”
She just shook her head. Last night, as soon as the helicopter had landed at the hospital and Josh had been whisked into the emergency room, she had phoned Linc and Carly.
They had immediately helicoptered in to Blackland Ranch, then driven both Linc’s and Josh’s pickups to the hospital so Tory would have a vehicle to use and a way to get Josh home.
They had stayed for several hours, until they were satisfied Josh was going to be okay and he had succumbed to the drugs and exhaustion and fallen deeply asleep. Tory had spent the night in his room. She wanted to be there when he woke up in the morning.
At dawn, he’d awoken, his beautiful blue eyes immediately searching for her. His shoulders eased when he saw her.
“I knew you’d be here,” he said, still groggy from the meds they had given him. “You’re . . . amazing.” He’d drifted back to sleep, slept a few more hours, but now he was awake, restless, and anxious to leave.
“I won’t be long,” she promised as she pushed through the door and stepped out into the hall. Taking the elevator down, she crossed the lobby and headed out to the parking lot.
With all the turmoil, Clara Thompson had stayed in the trailer with Ivy. She was staying till Tory got Josh home and settled.
Driving the pickup down the highway, Tory had just reached the edge of town when the disposable phone in her purse started ringing. Very few people had that number, just Josh, Mrs. Thompson, Lisa and Shelly, now Carly and Linc.
Normally, she didn’t talk on the phone while she was driving, but with all the trouble lately, she pulled over and dug it out of her purse. She didn’t recognize the caller ID.
Hoping it was just a wrong number, she pressed the phone against her ear. “This is Tory.”
“Well, hello, sweetheart. Have you missed me?”
Her stomach convulsed, instantly knotted. Damon. Her hand shook. How had he gotten this number? She started to hang up, but remembering the redheaded waitress, she was afraid of what he might do to someone else if she did.
“What do you want, Damon?”
“What do you think I want? I’ve missed you, Victoria. I want to see you. Since I have your little girl, I bet you want to see me, too.”
A wave of nausea hit her, making the bile rise in her throat. Oh, my God! Damon is here! He has Ivy! She took a deep breath. She couldn’t let him know how terrified she was. “I don’t believe you. Where are you?”
“I’m waiting for you at the ranch. Ivy’s with me. Mrs. Thompson gave me your number. She was very cooperative.”
She held back the sob in her throat. “You haven’t . . . haven’t hurt them? You haven’t hurt Clara or Ivy?”
“What, that nice old lady and your little girl? Why on earth would I want to hurt them? You’re the one I want, Victoria.”
She cranked the engine and pulled the pickup back onto the highway. “How did you know where to find them?”
“You really thought I didn’t know where you were and what you were doing? I’ve had someone watching you since you left Phoenix. People are such scum. Nothing they won’t do for money.”
The inside of her mouth felt bone-dry and her mind had gone numb. She couldn’t think straight. She was terrified she would say the wrong thing.
“I heard about your boyfriend,” Damon continued matter-of-factly. “Too bad he’s in the hospital.”
Oh, God.
She gripped the steering wheel, passed a car a little too fast, took a shaky breath, and prayed her voice would come out even. “If you have Ivy, I want to talk to her.”
“All right.” She heard him moving around. “Ivy, sweetheart, come over here. Your mama’s on the phone. Ivy’s a little upset,” he said to Tory, “but she’s okay.”
Ivy was not okay. She was terrified of Damon. And what had happened to Clara Thompson? Oh, God.
She passed another car, driving one-handed, slowing just enough to be sure she wouldn’t crash. “Ivy?”
“Mama, I’m scared. Damon’s here.” Ivy started crying.
“It’s all right, baby. Mama’s almost home. Just be a good girl till I get there, okay?”
“I’m afraid he’ll hurt you.”
“I’ll be all right. Just do what Damon says, okay?”
“’Kay.”
“Is Mrs. Thompson there?”
But the phone was jerked away. “The old lady’s here, but she’s resting.”
Her throat ached. “Did you hurt her?”
“She’ll be fine. Turns out chloroform is a lot more effective than a stun gun.”
“I’m on my way, Damon. Don’t do anything to hurt them.”
“If you call the police . . . if you tell anyone I’m here, you won’t ever see your daughter again. Do you understand?”
She understood. She had known since she’d awoken in that hospital in Phoenix that Damon would find a way to destroy her. She didn’t care what happened to her, but she couldn’t let him hurt Ivy.
“I’m not far away. I’ll be there in just a few minutes.”
“I’ll see you soon, sweetheart.” Damon hung up the phone and Tory stepped on the gas.
*
Josh was tired of waiting. Where the hell was Tory? She was supposed to be bringing clean clothes. Hell, he didn’t give a rat’s ass if he went home buck naked. He just wanted the hell out of there.
He fiddled with the TV tuner, trying to find something to watch, finally gave up and turned it off. His cell phone rang. He reached over and snatched it off the tray table, recognized Ham’s number.
“Hey, Ham. What’s up?”
“Saw you on TV. Glad you’re okay.”
“Thanks. I’m supposed to be getting out of here today, but—”
“We got a problem, Josh. I just found out a few minutes ago that Bridger’s old man pulled some strings. Damon’s been out of jail since Saturday morning. He’s not at work and he isn’t at home. We got Suzy Solomon covered, but I’m worried about Tory, Josh.”
“Jesus, I gotta call her. Thanks, Ham. I’ll call you later.” Josh hung up and quickly dialed Tory’s cell, but it rang and rang and she didn’t pick up.
His nerves stretched taut. He ended the call and carefully eased out of bed, disconnecting himself from wires and tubes as his feet hit the cold linoleum floor. He carefully moved his arm. He was stiff and hurting like hell, but he’d live.
Dragging off the hospital gown, he tossed it away and walked naked to the small locker where his clothes were stored. As he reached inside, a little blond candy striper walked into the room.
Her eyes rounded and her gaze ran over him from head to foot. “Oh, my.”
“If you don’t mind, I need to get dressed.”
“Yes . . . I can see that. Sorry.” Cheeks red, she hurried out of the room.
Putting on his clothes with a hole in his chest wasn’t easy, but he managed. His denim shirt was stiff with dark blood but at least it covered him up. With only a hiss of pain, he sat down carefully and pulled on his jeans and boots.
He phoned Tory again, but still got no answer. He needed a ride. His brother and Carly had already gone back to Dallas. He’d call Noah or Cole. Both had come down to the hospital last night. He recalled Cole being with Brittany and smiled. If he’d ever seen two people in love, they were it.
Which made him think of Tory, and his smile quickly faded. He reached for the door just as it opened and Noah walked in.
Noah’s dark eyebrows shot up. “Didn’t expect to see you up and about. I guess you’re feeling better.”
“I was just going to call you. Bridger’s out of jail. Tory could be in trouble. I need a ride back to the ranch.”
Noah’s features hardened. “Let’s go.”
They hurried down the hall past a couple of nurses and the doctor who was supposed to release him.