“Let’s break into search parties. There’s a good chance he’ll take her somewhere on the property,” Courtney said to the Kent family who’d assembled in the main house. “Women with young children might want to stay in the main house together with locked doors. Jordan and I will be Team One.”
Courtney divided the rest of the Kents into two-person teams.
She turned to Leah and Amber, who were standing at the granite island. “Set the alarm while we’re gone. Okay?”
“I’m going,” Leah stated. As a former Fort Worth detective, no one could argue she had the skillset to track a criminal.
“You can team up with Rylan,” Jordan said. “He might be hiding her close to the house. Do you want to start there?”
Leah nodded as Amber texted Rylan to meet Leah.
“Do you mind keeping things stabilized here?” Jordan asked his sister.
“Not if you think this is where I’ll do the most good.” Amber could keep the situation stabilized at the main house.
Courtney looked at Amber. “Every set? You’re okay with this?”
“I’ll hold down the fort here and keep watch around the house,” she said.
“Thank you.” Walking outside, Courtney was blasted with a hit of cold air. The temperature had dropped a good fifteen degrees in the last hour, and it was becoming bitterly cold.
Zach was already out with Isaac, who’d been searching the property ever since he found out his girlfriend was missing.
When she and Jordan had been walking a solid half hour, they ran into Zach.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” Zach’s question was laser-focused on Courtney. “I told you to stay out of the search.”
“I’m not alone,” she defended. “We need all hands on deck, Zach. I want to help find your sister.” Her voice was pleading now. “I care about what happens to her.”
Zach blew out a sharp breath and conceded with a warning look.
“What did you find out about Barstock?” Jordan asked his cousin as Isaac and Courtney paired up on the perimeter of the area. She stayed close enough to listen.
“We know he’s not involved in Amy’s disappearance, but we did find incriminating evidence in his vehicle. We threatened him with murder charges, and it didn’t take long for him to start naming names and asking for immunity. He’s been slipping in and out of town because he’s involved with a human-trafficking ring,” Zach informed. “We have enough to lock him away for a very long time. He won’t get out until he’s too old to hurt anyone else.”
At least one scumbag was going to jail. Hughey couldn’t be responsible for Amy’s disappearance because he’d been with Rhonda last night. Well, it didn’t completely rule him out if Amy had gone missing more than twenty-four hours ago, but it made him less likely to be a suspect.
It really was down to Jason.
Unfortunately, nothing they knew about him could tip them off to where he might’ve taken Amy.
Her thoughts shifted to Jordan. In every instance, he’d been there for her. He never made excuses or disappeared when life got tough. Instead, he was figuring out how to move back to Jacobstown in order to be the best father to their child.
Even when she’d tried to push him away early on, he’d stood his ground and been there when she needed him. He was her true north, and she’d been too scared to let herself acknowledge it before now.
She’d been a fool. He’d been trying to tell her that he cared about her, and she’d done nothing but run the opposite way. Granted, she had some work to do when it came to trusting others. But Jordan Kent was the most trustworthy, true-to-his-word person she’d ever met.
As soon as Amy was home safe, Courtney planned to have a conversation with Jordan about her growing feelings for him.
A shiver raced down her spine being out here and searching for someone she’d been so close to. There was no way in hell she planned to let Amy down.
A gunshot caused everyone to scatter in order to find cover behind trees. Courtney drew her weapon, and she heard Zach and Isaac do the same.
“Everyone okay?” came Zach’s hushed voice.
“I’m good,” Isaac responded first.
“Same,” came from Jordan.
Before Courtney could speak, she took a blow to the back of the head.
JORDAN LISTENED FOR the sound of Courtney’s voice. There was no way this jerk got to her while they were all together. Right? The shotgun blast had sounded from farther away. Jordan’s pulse jacked up as he moved stealthily along the tree line toward Zach.
“We’ll cover more ground if we split up,” he said to his cousin, his gaze searching for Courtney.
“There might be more than one person involved,” Zach warned, and he seemed to catch on to the panic growing inside Jordan.
“I’ll keep my eyes peeled.” His pulse jackhammered his ribs when he couldn’t locate Courtney. “Where is she?”
Isaac was beside them in the next beat. He was easy to hear coming. Jordan had no plans to give the Hacker warning or let him know what hit him. Jordan figured the four of them had been making too much noise and that had tipped the guy off.
Both Zach and Isaac surveyed the area.
“Courtney,” Jordan called her name even though a lead ball sank to the pit of his stomach.
A moment of panic struck that the shotgun blast was the result of Amy being shot. But he talked himself out of that unproductive thinking. If this guy stayed true to form, she was tucked somewhere passed out on ketamine. The idea wasn’t exactly comforting, but it was better than the alternative...
Zach cursed and Isaac tried to put his fist through a tree trunk.
“I have to find her. We’ll cover more ground if we split up,” Jordan said.
A reluctant nod came from Zach. “Stay in constant contact.”
“Will do.” As Jordan broke off from the now-trio, he realized the only thing that mattered was bringing Courtney and Amy home. Amy was family, and he would do anything for her. And so was Courtney. She was going to be his family now, too. Somewhere in his heart, he’d realized it a long time ago. Letting his brain catch up was another issue. But it had. And he loved her.
What more could he offer than that? What else mattered?
Jordan knew this part of the property like the back of his hand, and he knew exactly where Rushing Creek wound through the trees. The creek was at its widest half a mile up, so he headed there figuring that would give Jason enough space to work with now that he had two victims. Had that been his plan all along?
Courtney wouldn’t have gone down without a fight or making a sound, which meant she’d been surprised. Frustration was a punch in the solar plexus. Taking in air hurt.
He couldn’t allow himself to doubt that she was alive. This jerk was rubbing their noses in his ability to come and go as he pleased, taking whatever he wanted. Well, this was Kent property, and Jason Millipede didn’t belong there.
It was time for Jordan to take his rightful place alongside his brothers and sister. It was time to put the past behind him and move on with his life. It was time to look to his future—a future with Courtney, if she’d have him.
For several minutes, Jordan moved through the trees toward the small clearing. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, thrumming at a frantic clip.
PAIN SHOT THROUGH Courtney’s head as she tried to open her eyes. It felt like her head might explode. What the hell had happened?
And then it all came rushing back to her. Jason Millipede had whacked her in the back of the head with a blunt object. She was on Kent property in the woods. She tried to scream but couldn’t. There was something covering her mouth. Courtney forced her eyes open and was startled to find a pair of blue eyes staring back at her.
It took a second to register those frightened eyes belonged to Amy.
Relief that she was alive washed over Courtney. Her next thought was about Jordan. If something happened to Amy, he would be devastated. Courtney strained to get a better look and could see that Amy’s mouth was covered with clear tape.
She tried to move, but her hands were tied behind her back. Pain registered with movement. Courtney assessed that she was lying on her side in some type of shallow grave. Creepy-crawlies ran up her back at the thought of being buried alive.
But that wasn’t the death Jason Millipede wanted for them.
On closer appraisal, Amy seemed...off. Courtney remembered the ketamine that had been used on the other victims. Maybe he hadn’t planned for Amy to be alive this long.
There was something on top of them, and from what Courtney could gather it was a branch. Someone would have to fall into the grave with them in order to realize it was there.
Was this what he did? Stored his victims in a freshly dug grave. Drugged them so they were compliant. And then once he was ready and had them in position...
Another icy chill gripped her spine.
The ground was hard and cold. Courtney thought about the little nugget growing inside her. She became more resolved to stay alive.
Trying to talk was pretty much impossible. She tried to move her legs and feet. They were bound together at her ankles.
Movement made her brain hurt.
She heard footsteps and froze. She listened. Jordan would be looking for her, as would Zach and Isaac. The four of them had been on the hunt for Amy, and the others wouldn’t give up. If anything, the search would intensify.
Courtney knew for certain if Jason took them to another spot, it would be even more difficult to escape. So, when the branch moved and she saw his face, she waited until he got close enough, and then she unleashed hell.
Amy seemed to catch on and she rolled onto her back and thrust her feet toward Jason, connecting with his chest.
He made an animal-like growl before he seemed to realize he’d made a mistake. Courtney figured it was now or never, so she kicked with everything she had and knocked him back a couple of steps. Blood squirted from his nose. She rolled onto her side and scrambled to get to her feet while Amy did the same.
Jason disappeared from view, and she realized he’d come back with something to knock out her and Amy or kill them this time.
She scooted toward Amy and motioned for her to go back to back. Tape wasn’t hard to tear once a small tear was made. Courtney struggled with it for a few precious seconds before she was able to dig her nail hard enough to rip the tape on Amy’s wrists. Amy immediately ripped off their mouth tape and started to work on Courtney.
“No, go. Get out of there. Undo your ankles and go get help. Jordan, Zach and Isaac are out here somewhere. Find them and bring them back.” Courtney used her stern law enforcement voice. It was authoritative, and people instinctively knew she meant business.
Amy hesitated.
“Go. The second you’re safely away from here, I’ll start screaming to draw attention,” she urged.
“I can’t leave you like this. We can fight him together. We’re stronger together.” Amy went to work on Courtney’s wrists. “I’m not as fast as you are, but I’ll get it.”
True to her word, she worked the tape until Courtney’s hands were free. She immediately removed the tape from her ankles with Amy’s help.
The two locked arms and set out to run on wobbly legs.
“Not so fast.” Jason’s voice was shrill. They heard the snick of a bullet being engaged in a chamber.
“On three, we need to shout as loud as we can and dive for the tree,” Courtney whispered. She’d only been in there a short time, and still her legs and arms hurt. She could only imagine how painful it must be for Amy right then.
“Let’s do this,” came the hushed response.
“One. Two. Three.” Courtney held on to Amy as they ran behind a tree, screaming as loud as their voices would carry.
“I said stop,” Jason’s agitated voice demanded.
When they didn’t, he fired a shot.
Courtney pulled Amy to the ground. The pair huddled together as they continued to shout for help.
“How could you do this to me, Amy?” Jason shouted. “I thought you were special. You’re just a tramp like the others. My aunt warned me about girls like you, and she was right. You pretend to be nice, but really all you want to do is hurt me like the others did. I did everything to show you how strong I am now. Everything I accomplished was to impress you. Instead, you look at me like I’m the one who’s evil. You fight me and try to run. This is how you repay me?”
“Breanna deserved to live,” Amy said quietly. “Hurting someone else to prove you’re somebody doesn’t make you look stronger. It makes you pathetic.”
There was something almost pitiful about Jason.
But he was a coldblooded killer, and her sympathy stopped right there.
JORDAN HEARD THE SCREAMS. He also heard the shot. And then there was nothing but quiet.
Pain shot through his calves and his thighs as he pushed his legs harder. All he could think about was seeing Courtney and Amy alive again. He let that thought motivate him to run when his lungs might explode from needing air.
He was too close to lose her. So he pushed harder. And then he slowed his pace to a catlike crawl. He stalked closer toward where the noise had been.
Another shot fired, and someone screamed.
It was near pitch-black outside, but his eyes had adjusted to the dark long ago. His hands were frozen, so he rubbed them together as he neared the direction of the gunfire. He could only hope it was Courtney’s gun and she was in control of it.
When he happened upon the scene, he realized Jason had the gun.
Neither Courtney nor Amy was anywhere to be seen.
He neared the lone gunman with stealthy precision. And then Jordan saw Jason put the gun to his own head.
“Oh no you don’t, bastard,” Jordan said as he tackled Jason from behind in time to knock his hand away from his head in time. Blood squirted, but Jordan knocked Jason onto his stomach on the hard ground. He went to work stemming the flow of blood. “You don’t get to take the easy way out and die. You’re going to spend the rest of your long life behind bars, where you belong.”
Zach and Isaac showed up at almost exactly the same time.
“We need an EMT and zip cuffs,” Jordan said to Zach.
“I have a pair right here. EMT is on the way.” Zach dug his knee into the perp’s back as Amy and Courtney rushed over.
“Is everyone okay?” Jordan was on his feet in half a second and by Courtney’s side.
Isaac and Amy embraced a second later.
“We made it,” Courtney said. “We survived.”
Jordan pulled her into an embrace, where she stayed. It didn’t take long for the scene to bustle with activity.
Amy gave her statement—she’d stopped to help a stranded motorist and had been attacked from behind before something was shoved into her mouth.
Jordan couldn’t leave Courtney’s side if he’d wanted to. He’d almost lost her once, and when all this settled down, he had something to say to her.
It took a solid hour for her to be cleared from the scene. A deputy had brought over a warm blanket. Another was given to Amy as the Jacobstown Hacker was being hauled off in handcuffs.
Jordan turned to Courtney and was pretty sure he saw nothing but love in her eyes when she looked at him. “There’s no rush for our relationship to magically work out. But I know what’s in your heart, and I happen to love you with all of mine. I want you to know that I’m willing to wait as long as you need to be able to say the words back. I love you, Courtney.”
“I don’t want to wait to tell you how I feel, Jordan. Life is uncertain and can be taken away in a second. I know that I have work to do and I’m far from perfect, but I love you in a perfect way. I want to have a family with you.” She touched her stomach. “And this child will be the luckiest kid on earth to be surrounded by so much love.”
He kissed her. “I have a real shock for you. I want you to be my wife.”
“Then all that’s left for me to say is yes. I’ll marry you, Jordan. I’m ready to spend the rest of my life with you. You are the only person I’ve ever truly trusted with my heart. The only person I can ever see myself loving. It’s always been you—even before the tragedy that left me broken. With you, I feel like I’ve found home, a real home, and not just a place to lay my head at night, because up until you that’s all I’ve ever done.”
“Good. Because I’m done running away. I want to run to you and to our family. Because I can’t imagine loving anyone more than I love you. I don’t care where you want to settle down, because you’re my home.” Jordan wrapped his arms around the woman who would be his bride and pressed his lips to hers. “I almost lost you tonight. I never want to have that feeling again.”
And he kissed her. His love. His Courtney. His home.