Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Carter

C arter squinted his eyes as he woke up with the sun shining in his face. He groaned as he rolled over and attempted to stand.

A sharp curse left his mouth when his wounded shoulder hit the ground, the rest of his body rolling over it. His head pounded worse now and it took him several tries to remember what was going on.

He’d been shot by that asshole, and then he’d hit him with the butt of the gun. There must have been a reason why he didn’t just kill him, probably to get Ashley to move.

“Fuck this.” He pushed himself to a stand, his left arm dangling uselessly by his side.

He scanned the area, looking for Ashley or any sign of Julian. He saw nothing.

Sirens were wailing, and he remembered the fire. Ripping off the flannel he’d been wearing, he sank onto the bench and attempted to wrap his shoulder. It hurt like hell, but he managed a sling.

He didn’t think it was still bleeding but it didn’t matter. He had to go after Ashley. Carefully, he pulled out his phone and dialed Christian.

“Where the hell are you?” Christian shouted. “Could you not hear the sirens?”

“Ashley’s been taken. I’ve been shot.” Damn, his head hurt with every word he spoke.

“What?” Christian snapped. “Where are you?”

“The pond?” He took a breath through his nose as he tried not to throw up from the pain in his shoulder.

“On my way.” The call ended.

Carter leaned forward and wished for the pain to ease. He wasn’t stopping to take care of this while Ashley was with that psycho.

His phone went off, and he looked down to see a thread of messages that he’d missed.

Matt: It wasn’t him.

Ryker: How is that possible?

Matt: Don’t know. This guy isn’t connected to Julian at all.

Ryker: We’re on our way to Carter’s. Find the fucker.

Matt: Trying.

Ryker: Carter, we already landed and should be there within a half hour.

Matt: There’s a fire at the ranch.

Ryker: Can you get in touch with anyone?

Luke was added to the chat.

Luke: Call someone on the ranch and figure out what’s going on.

Ryker: Matt.

Matt: Nate is helping put out the fire. He said Christian is with him.

Luke: Ashley?

Matt: Went to do yoga. Carter is with her.

Ryker: Carter?

Matt: His phone is at the pond.

That was the last message, the one he’d heard go off.

Carter pressed the call button and started a group video chat with everyone in the thread.

“Where the hell have you been?” Ryker bit out.

“What happened?” Luke ignored his friend, the sound echoing because they were next to each other. Luke dropped the call and appeared on Ryker’s video feed.

“Dude, you okay?” Matt questioned.

Carter shook his head and winced at the motion. “I’ve been shot. Ashley isn’t here. Asshole knocked me out and I don’t know where they went. Waiting on Christian and Nate and going after her.”

“As much as I hate to say it, you should probably let them go.”

“I’m not sitting here while she’s out there with him.” His resolve caused a new rush of adrenaline to go through him. “I will get her back. Catch up when you get here.”

“You fucking wait for us. Matt, get drones in the air,” Ryker demanded.

“I need Nate to launch them. They aren’t just open and waiting.” He dropped off the call.

Christian and Nate appeared in the clearing as Nate’s phone rang. Nate answered it and stepped away.

“Shit.” Christian walked over to Carter. “Let me see it.”

Carter took a deep breath and tried to prepare himself for the pain that was coming.

Christian unwrapped the work Carter had done with the flannel and tore Carter’s T-shirt sleeve to see the injury.

“Good news, we’ve got an exit wound.” Christian prodded the injury. “Doesn’t look like it’s still actively bleeding, just oozing.

“Fucking wait for us,” Ryker shouted, reminding them he was on the phone.

“I’m going to launch the drones.” Nate hung up and ran back down the path.

“What’s on the other side of the pond?” Christian asked.

“Field and then woods. Then it goes on to my neighbor’s property.”

Christian wrapped the wound with part of the flannel and then fashioned a sling with the rest. “This is a bad fucking idea.”

“Damn right it is,” Luke yelled this time.

“I am not sitting back while she’s out there.” Carter would fight whoever tried to make him. “Catch up when you get here.” He ended the call and put the phone in his pocket as he stood.

“How’s your head?” Christian asked.

“Fucking hurts. If I fall behind, leave me. Don’t stop until you find her.” Carter was going, but he wasn’t going to stop anyone from finding her. He knew this was a risk.

Christian studied him for a minute before nodding. “Which way?”

“Around the pond. Look for anything that will help us pick a direction.” Carter started walking, trying not to let out a stream of curses with each step he took.

It took less than five minutes to find the way they’d headed. Footsteps were clear in the muddy bank that led into the trees. Settled on a direction, Carter let Christian lead as they trudged forward.

At the edge of the copse of trees, they hit a field. Christian stopped, looking around.

The hay was clearly bent in some places. Without a word to each other, both men pushed forward, following the same path Ashley and Julian had taken.

“He’s taking her off my property,” Carter commented.

“What’s up there?”

“Leads to a small mountain eventually. It’s not great land for farming, but there’s water that runs down it and feeds the other pond that the animals use.”

“Where would he be going?”

“I don’t fucking know. Call Matt and have him contact my neighbor and ask.”

Christian stopped before they hit more trees. “Can you make it any farther?”

“Leave me if you have to.” He was sweating and knew he had to be pale.

“You look like shit,” Christian said.

“Feel like shit,” Carter answered.

He called Matt once they were in the trees and not out in the open. Carter didn’t listen to the call as he rested his body against a tree. He just needed a few minutes and he’d be able to move again. A few deep breaths and he’d be good to go.

“Matt’s on it. He’ll call us back when he knows more.”

Carter pushed himself away from the tree. “Then let’s keep going. We know he went deeper, and we can change directions later if we need to.”

The sound of an ATV motor had both men freezing. “Get down,” Christian hissed.

“Not trying to get shot again.” Carter groaned as he ducked behind some trees.

The engine got louder, and Carter stayed hidden, letting Christian keep a lookout.

Christian’s posture suddenly relaxed. “Fuck. It’s help.”

“Well, go tell them to shut up before they spook Julian if he’s nearby.”

“Come on.” Christian motioned for him to follow.

They walked out of the tree line, and Christian flagged them down. Another ATV headed their way too. It was Ryker and Luke.

“Don’t you ever hang up on me like that again or you can go find yourself a new job.” Ryker killed the engine and got off.

Luke pulled up and did the same. “Drones are in the air.”

“We need to know when this happened,” Ryker demanded. “Need to see how far they could have gotten.”

“I don’t fucking know. I wasn’t watching the clock as the dude was shooting me and then knocking me out.”

“Aren’t you stronger than that guy?” Luke snarked.

“You’re right. I should have tackled him for the fucking gun with Ashley hiding nearby in the woods. What was I thinking trying to de-escalate things or give Ashley a chance to get away.”

Christian put a hand on Carter’s back to stop him from saying more. “You’re both worried because she’s important to you. All that matters is getting her back, not this.”

“She’s my sister,” Luke bit out. “And you let this guy get her.”

“And I’m gonna fucking marry her one day. You think I’m not mad at myself for this? I promise you there’s nothing you can say to me that I haven’t said to myself already ten times worse.”

“Okay.” Ryker stepped between them. “This isn’t helping. Carter, how long do you think you were out there?”

“Not long. Maybe twenty minutes since we left the house. She had barely started her yoga when it happened.”

“Good.” Ryker turned to Christian with a questioning look.

“Same time as the fire started, clearly a distraction. It’s now been an hour.” Christian looked down at his phone. “I’ve got the live feed to the drones for as long as the reception holds out here.”

Ryker looked at his phone, too. “I can see it.”

“Good. Let’s go.” Carter was done wasting time going back and forth.

“Stop,” Ryker shouted. “No. You wait here. We will go find her.”

Carter looked Luke and Ryker up and down in their tailored suits and loafers, meant for anywhere but where they were standing right now. “No.”

“Not worth fighting him on it. He’s probably got a concussion and needs treatment for sure on that and his arm, but he isn’t going to stay behind.” Christian started walking back into the woods.

Everyone followed in silence. Carter didn’t need to look at the feed. His plan was to keep going until they got a lead.

“Matt said there are caves up ahead.” Christian stopped everyone. “Stay low and quiet. Matt already has the drones headed this way.”

“Caves?” Luke asked. “Like, how many?”

“He didn’t say. We are to hold in place while he gets the drones over us.” Christian shrugged. “It’s better to wait here and get eyes in front of us than keep going.”

Carter reluctantly nodded. “It looks like there’s a marshy patch ahead. Get up there and look for prints, Christian.”

“On it.” He kept low as he crept forward.

“You really going to marry her?” Ryker asked.

Carter nodded and leaned his head back against the tree he was sitting in front of. “If I make it out of this, I plan to ask her. You better have a remote job for her.”

Luke sneered. “You don’t know that that’s what she’ll want. Maybe she wants to get away from you. Lord knows she spent a lot of time already proving that to be true.”

“She likes it here. Likes the peace and quiet. You should know she hates the city. You’re her brother.”

It was Luke’s turn to sigh. “She’s always been easily overwhelmed in crowded places. The absolute worst person to be around when she’s coming down from it.”

Carter snorted. “It doesn’t happen here.”

Luke just nodded.

The three of them turned to Christian as he returned. “There are two sets of prints ahead in the mud. I didn’t go through it, but Nate is taking one of the drones low to look around.”

“He already is.” Ryker held his phone out so they could all take a look.

The drone navigated to the prints that Christian had seen and kept going. There were no more, but Carter saw the evidence of recent movement. Branches were bent and small saplings had been stepped on.

“Let’s go.” Carter stood and then took a second to steady himself. It was definitely a concussion, but it needed to wait.

“What do you see?” Luke asked.

Carter stopped long enough to explain it to him before pushing on again. “They’re headed to the caves up there.”

“He’s been here long enough to know the area. This was a direct path,” Christian commented.

“Or did research,” Carter said. “He’s good at that and got lucky with the man that was arrested. Dropped the stolen car off to be picked apart and someone stole it.”

“What else did he say?” Ryker wanted to know.

Carter talked as they walked. He relayed the whole conversation with Julian that he could remember.