“Look, I don’t know where she went, okay? Can you just leave?” Roxy says, and I watch him take a step back from me. I don’t believe him. He has to know something.
I start laughing at him, he thinks I’m the scary one here. Has he ever looked in the mirror? I can’t control the hysterical laughter bubbling up and feel my face turning red.
“Dude, seriously, I think it’s time for you to go,” he says, holding up his hands in defense.
I sober up and stare him down with all the rage I have inside me. “Either you tell me where the fuck she went, or I’m going to get it out of you.” My chest is pounding so loud I can hear it thumping in my ears. Blood rushes to every part of my body as my adrenaline spikes.
“Look, man, calm down, okay? I don’t know where she went. But there was this guy a few days back. Showed up here, practically kicked in the door.”
I don’t move as my focus sharpens and I wait for him to give me some useful information.
“He came in here pissed off like you are, but he wasn’t looking for her. He told me to watch myself and stay out of her room. I don’t even know how he knew I went in there. And it’s my place, I can go in any room I want.” I don’t think he believes that to be true. He’s scared of whoever this person was.
He’s acting like a petulant child, and I’m losing patience. Who the hell would come to her rescue? I know there isn’t anyone else in her life. Especially someone who would defend her. “Who was he?”
Roxy shrugs and then looks away from me. “He knocked me around a little, and I got the message.” He looks back and raises his chin. “Said to not trust you. But I figured you didn’t come around, so I didn’t have to worry about that.”
The pounding in my ears grows louder and my fists clench. “Give me a name.”
“Big fucker. I didn’t mess with her after that, I swear. He told me to keep an eye out for her. That nothing better happen to her. I told her she should go look for her own place because I didn’t want to be mixed up in all this shit. Next thing I know, her room is empty and my cat is gone. Didn’t really like that asshole anyways, but kind of a dick move on her part. Whatever, though, good riddance to the both of them. He left a roll of cash. I can’t remember the guy’s name, though. It was weird. Sounded like Rake…or Ryder—”
“Ryker,” I say, and a cold chill runs down my back.
“Yeah,” he says, nodding. “That was it. He gave me his number. I think it’s around here somewhere.”
Everything is fucked. If Ryker knows who Blair is, then he might know why she was with me. And if Roxy knows who Ryker is and can connect us, then I’m done for.
Hate builds and builds until I have nothing left to do with it but unleash it.
I lunge forward, catching Roxy off guard, and tackle him to the ground. He’s a big guy, but I’m so full of rage that he’s no match for me. I pin him down to the ground and wrap my hands around his neck. The image of Ryker appears below me where Roxy is, and I can feel myself smiling as I squeeze tighter and tighter.
“I’m going to make all of this go away,” I say through clenched teeth.
Everyone telling me what to do, ordering me to fix this mess. One stupid little cunt running away with a bag full of evidence has caused all of this. And now, I’m going to find her and get my revenge. She’ll pay for fucking all of this up.
Roxy’s hands jerk and weaken, the fight leaving his body. He’s becoming weaker and weaker as I overpower him. I’m dizzy with madness as I watch him gasp for air and then give up.
When it’s over, I stand up and feel a calm wash over me that I haven’t felt in days. I know what happened to Blair and I know how I’m going to fix this. Once I get my hands on her, there won’t be any more loose ends.
Chapter 14
Ryker
When I roll over and feel the cool sheets, I blink a few times, trying to clear the sleep out of my eyes. I reach out farther, thinking she’s just rolled away, but when the spot where she slept is cold, I jolt up.
“Blair?” I say into the dark before turning on the bedside lamp. The room is illuminated, but she’s not in it.
I jump up, and rush to the bathroom to make sure she didn’t get sick or something. She’s not in there, and I stop thinking about where she might be. A thought hits me, and I go to the closet. When I see the empty space where I put her boots earlier, my suspicion is confirmed.
“Damn it, Cricket,” I mutter, pulling on my jeans and boots as fast as I can. I don’t bother with a shirt as I run out of the bedroom and down the stairs. When I get to the bottom, I hear the sound of thunder and I stop. “Shit, not now,” I growl, knowing how much she hates storms. How scared is she if she’s out there all alone in the dark?
Grabbing a coat, I run outside just as the rain starts to come down. I look around for the Gator and see it’s gone. I left the keys in it, so she must have taken it to the barn. My smart girl. I’ll have to be more careful. I should have known better than to leave it there. I’m not worried—it doesn’t have much gas in it to get very far—but it gives her a nice head start.
Another summer storm has rolled in quick, and it’s gone from a cool, quiet night to a torrential downpour in a matter of seconds. That’s one thing about the south you can always bet on. Summer showers pop up out of nowhere. They’re strong and can do a lot of damage in only a little bit of time.
I race around to the garage and climb in my Jeep. I crank it up and hit the gas as I take off to the barn. I can barely see a foot in front of me as the storm pours water on me by the gallon. I don’t have a top on the Jeep, so it’s really no use in weather like this. My heart pounds as I keep looking around, trying to spot her. My fear for her safety grows by the second. My girl hates storms and I’d scared her right out into one.
By the time I get to the barn, the worst of the storm is coming down. I put the Jeep in park and run past the Gator to the stall to see if Diamond is in her bed. When I see her gate open, I curse and run back out to the Jeep. I don’t know how I’m going to locate her in this mess, but I’ll do it. I have to find her.
My heart starts to pound and the thought of something happening to Blair floods my mind. I can’t think like that right now. There’s only one thing I can focus on, and that’s finding my Cricket.
I drive towards the orchard, thinking that’s the only way she would have known to go. It’s not in the direction of anything other than more land for about a hundred miles.
“What were you thinking?” I say to myself and hit the steering wheel. I should have talked to her more. Should have explained why I was trying to keep her safe. I should have explained how I’ve fallen for her and that I don’t want to let her go because I need her.
Just then I see movement up ahead. My chest tightens as I see Diamond crouching under a tree, but Blair isn’t with her. I throw the Jeep in park and then run over to Diamond to see if there’s any sign of Blair. I shout her name into the night, but the rain is so deafening, there’s no way she could hear me even if she was close.
“Where is she, girl?” I ask Diamond, hoping for some sort of sign. I curse myself that I didn’t bring my phone so I could track her necklace. I’d been in too much of a panic to think straight.
She lowers her head and stomps her foot like she’s trying to tell me something. She shakes her mane and stomps again, and I look to see where she’s pointing her head.
“The creek?” I say, and then I feel overwhelming terror when I realize what she’s trying to tell me. I take off running, hoping I’m not too late.
This farm was built on small hills for natural irrigation. The runoff flows down to the creek and out to the bigger river on the outskirts of the county. That way, when big storms like this roll up, the crops don’t get washed out. But the creek can turn dangerous in seconds because of the force of the water. When a thousand acres flood and it all runs down at the same time to the same place, it might as well be a tidal wave for what it can do.
My lungs are burning and my legs ache as I run as fast as I can down the muddy slope to where I took Blair earlier today. It’s still almost impossible to see, but there’s a break in the storm as lightning sparks in the sky and I can see all the way down to the creek bed.
“Blair!” I shout as I spot her holding on to the fence post we tied the horses to this morning.
The creek has already flooded to the point where just the top of the fence post sticks up, and it’s getting higher and higher.
“Hold on, I’m coming for you!” I look around to find something to tie off to when I see Diamond behind me. “Good girl, good girl,” I say, as she stands still in the storm and lets me take her bridle off her head. My hands are shaking as I unbuckle it and tie it around my waist.
“Hold on, Blair!” I shout as I wade through the mud and water rushing past me.
It feels like it takes hours as each step brings me closer to her. But I won’t give up. I would lay down my life for her, but today is not that day.