His face reddened. “It was always only you.”
The embarrassed hue of his skin gave me my answer. He had. The why of it, I didn’t know. Would he have been content with one of them? My fingers twisted in the quilt. At least, it hadn’t been Hadley. That would’ve broken the Eastons. If there was one thing I could be grateful for in this moment, it was that.
Ben strode towards the door of the cabin. “I need to water the horses. I’ll be back.”
The horses. God, he really was stocked for a future life here. But how long would that last? Because I would fight tooth and nail if he tried to touch me. And then what? The illusion of his happily ever after would be shattered.
As the door closed, I scooted up to the edge of the bed. My fingers quickly searched under the mattress for my nail. I prodded until I felt the little piece of metal. So tiny, yet I was counting on it for…I wasn’t sure what. To save my life?
“Everything is a potential tool. A possible weapon.” I whispered my father’s words to myself. When I made a run for it, I would need every single one of his lessons.
I slid the nail into my front jeans’ pocket and waited. Listened. I heard the sound of a horse whinnying. And then soft footfalls. I braced as the door swung open, and Ben appeared.
“I need to use a bathroom.”
He studied me. “Is that the truth?”
I nodded. And that nod wasn’t a lie. I could feel my bladder pressing down.
“I’m going to unlock you. But I have this”—Ben slid a gun from a holster at the small of his back—“so don’t think of running. I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.”
I swallowed as the gun glinted in the late-afternoon light. “I won’t run. I promise.”
I would fly. That was what it would take. My feet would barely touch the ground.
Ben bent, pulling keys from his pocket and unlocking the padlock. He used the gun to motion me along. “I’ve got an outhouse made up.”
I pushed to my feet but wavered a bit, my head swimming. Ben reached out to grasp my elbow. “Are you okay?”
I fought not to recoil from his touch. This was an opportunity. A chance for Ben to see me as weak. “My head. It hurts.”
“I’ll give you some tea my mom makes for headaches when we get back.”
I gave him a wobbly smile. “Thank you.”
I blinked against the light as we stepped outside. The sun was low in the sky. If I had to guess, there were only a few hours of daylight left. I did my best to take in our surroundings without being obvious about it.
There was a small corral with a shelter for the horses. There was even a wagon parked alongside the fence. A shed. And an outhouse. Other than that, I only saw trees. They were so tall and thick, I didn’t have a chance to catch sight of my mountain. The one that might guide me home. To Hayes.
I quickly went inside the outhouse to do my business. Ben had even placed a bucket with water and soap inside. A hysterical laugh bubbled out of me. He really had thought of everything. That laugh turned into a most-pressing need to cry, but I swallowed it down.
I took a long breath, praying to anyone who would listen for my legs to be strong, for luck to be on my side. And I listened. I could hear running water. I would move in that direction when the time came. That would be my map.
I opened the door. “Thank you for the water and soap.”
“Of course. See, it won’t be bad here.”
I didn’t say anything. Instead, as we walked, I waited for my moment—the break in the trees I’d seen that would make for a clear path to run. Ben’s hand stayed on my elbow, but his grip wasn’t tight. He seemed to think I might have given in.
Twenty breaths. I just needed sixty seconds of bravery, one more time. I counted off my steps. And two before the break in the trees, I swung. My arm ripped out of Ben’s grasp and came back with vicious force. The blow knocked the air out of him, but I didn’t stop there. I whirled and brought his face down to my knee.
I missed his nose as he turned away from the blow. But the way Ben howled, I thought I might’ve broken his cheekbone. I didn’t wait to find out. I simply ran.
45
Hayes
“So, are you going to tell me what the deal was with that woman?” Calder asked as we steered the horses in the direction of the creek.
I was sure he was curious, but I knew more than anything that he was trying to distract me. I appreciated it, but nothing would take my mind off Everly in this moment. The woman I loved, possibly being held by someone mentally unstable—and whatever situation we might be riding up on.
I adjusted my grip on the reins. Soren didn’t deserve me pulling on his mouth because I was about to lose it. “She’s Everly’s cousin. And I don’t think she’s had an easy life.”
“She lived with the crazy uncle?”
“And Ian. I’m not sure who else. That ranch is a revolving door of people.”
A muscle in Calder’s cheek ticked. “I have a bad feeling about that place.”
“It’s justified.”
My gaze traveled around us. Through the trees. Towards the sound of running water. There was nothing, but I was on high alert anyway.
Something about the energy of the air out here was strange. As soon as we’d gotten the horses out of the trailer, my skin had begun to prickle. Ev was out here. We just hadn’t seen any sign of her or anyone else yet.
A team was assembling to start a grid search, but that kind of thing took time. They’d be at least an hour behind us. I looked up at the sky, sending up a silent prayer that we’d find Ev in time. There was no other option. As I dropped my gaze back to the makeshift trail in front of us, my gaze caught on something.
I squinted back at the sky. At first, I’d thought it was a cloud, but the shape was wrong. The color, too. I halted Soren’s steps. “Calder. Smoke.”
He stopped his horse and looked in the direction I pointed. “Hell.”
I pulled my sat phone out of my saddlebag and dialed Ruiz. He answered on the third ring. “You find anything?”
“Smoke where there shouldn’t be any.”
“Where are you?”
I read off our coordinates.
Ruiz relayed them to someone in the background. “Stay where you are. We’re sending backup.”
“You know I can’t do that.” Nothing on this Earth could keep me from heading towards that smoke.
“Hayes—”
I hung up. I didn’t want to hear his arguments. I glanced at Calder. “You okay with finding that fire?”
He checked the rifle attached to his saddle. “That’s what we’re here for. Let’s go find your girl.”
The tight weave of trees meant that we couldn’t pick up to a gallop or even a damned trot. We had to plod a path through the obstacle course because we needed the cover. I noticed that we were following the curve of the creek. Maybe Addie had been right all along. Flowing water. Forest cover. It made for an excellent hiding spot. But the idiot hadn’t thought about the smoke giving him away.