Troy hoofed it to the far side of the pasture where he’d hidden his car, the blare of the big house’s alarm system still ringing in his ears. How the hell would he get to that bitch now that she and those brats were in a big, fancy house with a security system? How the hell had she rated that, not to mention her own damn bodyguard?
What had only taken a minute to reach his car, felt more like several by the time he tore out of there. With the lights off, he headed down the shortcut to the river, where the boat waited for him. The same boat that was supposed to carry his wife with him. Hell, he’d have even left the brats for the Ritchie Riches. Who the hell pops out two kids at a time, anyway? Just his shitty luck to hook up with a broad who carried that twisted gene. She never had time for him anymore. Besides, they cost a fortune in diapers and formula. Who needed it?
He figured he’d done enough damage to give that stars and stripes jarhead fucking brother of hers something to gnaw on for years. The day that high and mighty son of a bitch had bloodied his nose over a comment about his sister’s fine ass, it’d stirred a fire in him. He’d backed off then, because no chick was worth getting his ass thrown in jail for statutory rape. But he knew if he ever had the opportunity to tap that ass, he would take it.
Years later, on his first night back in town, he’d seen her. Had to have her. Unfortunately, the bitch wouldn’t give it up without a ring on her finger. At the time, he’d figured it was a small price to pay. Even then, her dick of a brother had been too busy saving the world to make it home. So, he’d married her.
Looking back on it, he should have just slipped the bitch some Special K or a Roofie and left her ass with something to remember him by. He smiled to himself, thinking about an all-nighter he’d had with Miss Too Prim and Proper to do it any way other than boring as hell. He’d had the best night of sex in his life, courtesy of a particularly high grade of Liquid Ecstasy he slipped in her glass of water. After that bitch woke up the next morning, she couldn’t sit comfortably for a week. She never did confront him about it, but he figured she suspected something. Her refusal to drink from anything other than bottles or cans she’d opened herself after that was a pretty good indicator.
From then on his goal was to control her, own her, break her.
Ah, well, it looked like he’d have to make his great Mexican escape without her. He’d made some enemies here, skipped out with all the profits of a huge drug deal to front this little venture, so staying wasn’t an option. He suddenly pictured her—smug, smiling, and laughing in his face. He allowed himself a low chuckle, knowing she was smart enough to figure out sooner or later that she’d never be able to let her guard down—not as long as he was alive and free. He would be back for her.
Sarah and Leah sat together in the center of Leah and Daniel’s huge bed, each holding a baby in their arms. Daniel paced back and forth, still seeming irritated at Liam’s shouted order to “Stay here and lock the door behind me.”
“That son of a bitch has got some balls snooping around my place in the middle of the night like this. That’s good. I’ll use ‘em to hang him from, when I get my hands on him.”
“Daniel,” Leah hissed.
He turned to his wife, who cocked her head toward a clearly worried Sarah.
“Don’t be afraid, Sarah. He’ll never get through any of us to get to you or the twins. If I’ve gotta beef up this whole damn system to keep his ass off our property, I damn sure will.”
The corners of Sarah’s mouth turned down in a worried frown. “If they don’t catch him tonight, he’ll go underground. Troy’s always been so good at slithering out of trouble. If he gets away there’s no telling where he’ll go or how long it’ll take for him to surface again. But I know…he’ll be back.”
Leah rocked Sammi in her arms. “And that will mean more waiting, wondering, and worrying for all of us”
“He loves keeping me off balance, looking over my shoulder. God forbid I ever get the chance to enjoy life again,” Sarah added, in a tortured whisper.
Daniel swore under his breath as his cell phone rang suddenly. “Liam! Please tell me you got him.” He closed his eyes as he listened, nodding slowly. “All right, then. Keep us informed.” He lowered his phone and turned to Sarah. “They found an abandoned car by the river and think he got away by boat. Mel just called the Coast Guard in case he makes it out to the Gulf.”
Sarah buried her nose in Danni’s soft curls to hold back frustrated tears. “Oh God.”
“Now, don’t jump to conclusions, sweetie. It’ll be fine,” Daniel said. “I bet they get him by morning.”
“I’m sure you’re right.” Sarah gave Daniel a pert nod, trying not to let him see how wrong she thought he was.
Sarah spent the next day at the office, thankful for the work that kept her mind off Troy for a while. She could afford to relax some, knowing her girls were safe and secure with Leah and Daniel at the ranch, while Liam set up camp in her office. Weekends spent all day at the ranch with her twins were heaven.
Things ran smoothly enough, but Sarah couldn’t fully relax, knowing her brutal ex could show up any minute.
One week after his disappearance, she got a house call from a couple of State Troopers asking to see her. Once she’d introduced herself to the two men, she stood waiting, arms crossed tightly across her chest.
“Mrs. Richa—”
“Hebert. Please, I’ve gone back to using my maiden name. Call me Sarah Hebert.”
The officer nodded as though he understood her dilemma. “Ms. Hebert, we’re working a joint investigation with the U.S. Coast Guard on a vessel they found capsized about fifteen miles south of the opening of Sabine Pass. No registration number or name on the boat. They dropped a rescue swimmer to check it out and recovered a waterproof box secured inside it with some items we’re thinking you can identify.” He pulled out a container, marked ‘Evidence’ and opened it up in front of her. Inside were several items, all tagged with bright yellow labels. Among the items was an IPhone covered in a Grateful Dead case.
Sarah covered her mouth and nodded. “That’s his phone. I remember when he bought the case.” She picked through the other items and pulled her hand back. “I don’t recognize anything else.”
The officer nodded. “The card had been removed and all other info has been wiped out, so we don’t have much to go on. We’ll be sending it to our tech specialist to see if we can get anything back.”
“I’m sorry I can’t help you with the other items,” she said.
“You did fine. To your knowledge, does he have any friends or relatives in that area? Someone who may have met him out there? He could have abandoned the boat and a few of his belongings, to keep the authorities off his trail.”
“The only relatives I know of are his aunt and uncle in Nederland, Texas, but they’re in their seventies or eighties and in a nursing home now.”
“Did they have children?”
“Yes, but last I heard, his cousins are in northern California and Oregon. That’s why the old folks are in the nursing home.”
The trooper nodded while taking down some notes then handed her a card. “Please, if you can think of anything else that may help us with the investigation…”
“I’ll be sure to call you. No one wants that maniac caught as badly as I do, officer,” she assured him.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Daniel spoke from behind her, “what kind of a boat did the Coast Guard find?”
“It was a nice boat. A cabin cruiser type, thirty-five footer. The kind with a galley, sleep space for four, head with sink and vanity. Just what I want for my retirement. What a damn waste.”
He tapped his pen on his pad before tucking it into his shirt pocket. “The diver was able to get into the cabin, and said that thing was pretty well stocked. It looked like he was planning to lay low on it for a while, and not by himself, either. He even saw a couple of packs of disposable diapers inside. One more thing. He had padlocks on the outside of the cabin. Whoever he planned on bringing along with him wouldn’t have been a willing passenger. Since he’s got three felony counts of kidnapping on him they’ve decided to haul the boat in for further investigation.”
“Good Lord,” Leah whispered. “Thank God for security systems.”
Sarah clutched at the table, suddenly feeling dizzy at the trooper’s last bit of information. The thought of her and the twins being his prisoners again, this time completely isolated out in the Gulf of Mexico, made her nauseous. One hand on her belly and one covering her mouth, she made a heaving run for the powder room.