Chapter 22

"Okay, let me get this straight: This guy was already freaked out and seeing things in the woods before you got there," Sheriff Parker said. "All you did was secure his weapon, which was already lying on the ground, then you left him there and went home."

Sawyer nodded, "I called you as soon as we got back," he said. "I don't know what happened to that guy up there, but it scared him pretty good."

The sheriff studied him for a second, then shook his head, "Okay, well, then I'll have someone type that up so we can make it all official," he said. "Not that it's going to make that much of a difference. The attempted murder charges he's facing here are just the tip of the iceberg. Since I've had him in custody, I've had requests from three states who have him up on murder charges. I'm going to wash my hands of the whole thing and let the state boys handle this."

"As long as he's locked up somewhere, it doesn't matter to me where it is," he said. "What about Helen? She's in this too. Has she said anything?"

"I sent a deputy out to the motel to pick her up," Sheriff Parker said, then looked up at the clock. "They should have been back with her by now. She's facing a few charges of her own, including solicitation of murder, which carries a mandatory jail sentence. Let me see if I can get the deputies that I sent over there on the radio."

An uncomfortable feeling slowly spread through him, and he was instantly on guard, but annoyed that it might still not be over with Helen. He wanted her sitting in a jail cell; the alternative was him hunting her down and killing her himself. Hiring someone to kill Piper had stripped him of even the slightest bit of human compassion he had for her. The wolf wanted revenge, wanted to protect his mate in the only way it knew how, and he was tired of fighting the war between the two sides of himself.

The radio crackled to life, "I'm sorry, sir, but she's not here," the deputy reported. "We knocked on the door for a long time, then finally went to the office to get them to open it. The clerk refused to do it without the owner here, so we had to wait for her to come, then they couldn't find the master key. I finally broke the door down, and the room was empty, well……not completely empty, there were piles of rotting food, broken bottles everywhere, but no sign of Ms. Weston or her luggage."

"Is her car in the parking lot?" the sheriff asked.

"No sir, we've walked the entire property, and the car isn't here," the deputy said. "I was about to call you for further instructions."

"Put out an APB on the car. Take it all the way to the state level," the sheriff barked. "Then I want you to find out when she was seen last."

"Yes, sir," the deputy said. "Anything else?"

Sheriff Parker took a deep breath, "The next time something like this happens, you're to let me know immediately," he said, keeping his voice level. "We've lost precious time while you were screwing around over there."

"Yes, sir," the deputy stammered. "I'm sorry sir."

Sawyer was already getting to his feet when the sheriff clicked off the radio, "I've got to get back to the ranch, something feels off again," he said, then looked the man right in the eyes. "I'm warning you right now, if Helen even threatens Piper, I'm putting an end to this. I hope she's miles away from here, but if she's not, I'm going to handle this myself."

The sheriff jumped to his feet, "I think I'll just ride along with you," he said. "I'd rather it didn't come to that, but I understand how you feel, Sawyer."

"You being there won't change anything," he said, then shrugged his shoulders. "But you're welcome to come along."

The two men walked out of the sheriff's office and got into his truck without a word, nor did the man comment when he raced through town, ignoring the speed limit. As they approached the ranch, the sheriff turned to him, but when he saw Sawyer's face, he just sighed and turned back around. He turned onto the gravel driveway, going much faster than he should, but managed to keep the tires on the road, then floored again until he saw the house. At first everything looked fine, but then he saw the deep tracks in the grass where a car had driven right up to the front door, and he felt the world tip sideways.

Battling back the fear, telling himself there was another explanation, he followed the tracks, threw the truck into park and jumped out without even turning it off. He barreled through the front door calling Piper's name, but the house was silent, and he stood, fear and panic beginning to overwhelm him, listening to the quiet. He never should have left her alone, he was an idiot to think it was safe, and now he had no idea where the people he loved most in the world were.

The sound of the sheriff's radio coming to life out on the porch caught his attention just as he heard a thumping sound from somewhere in the house. Not sure if he'd heard anything, the radio making it hard to hear, he walked down the hallway, and this time the thump was clear enough he knew that it had come from the kitchen. When he stepped through the door, the thumping turned to a thudding and he realized that someone was banging on a door. Scanning the room, he saw the hallway that led to Mary's bedroom.

He rushed down the hallway, his eyes on the padlock on the door, "Get out of the way," he called. "I'm going to break the door down."

The thudding stopped, and he rushed the door, tearing it off its hinges with a loud screeching sound as the wood splintered. Throwing the door aside, he ran into the room, disappointed when he saw only Mary, tears running down her cheeks, a look of panic on her face.

"Oh, Sawyer, thank God," Mary said, rushing over to him. "Helen was here, she had a gun, she made Piper and Reese go with her, she's going to kill them both, she going to make it look like a car accident. She's gone crazy, you should have seen her eyes, she was ranting about getting you back. I think she's really going to do it."

He grabbed Mary, "Do you know where they went?" he asked. "Did she say where she was taking them?"

Mary shook her head, "Oh, Sawyer, I don't know," she said, sagging against him, then she straightened up again. "She kept saying they were going to go flying. I didn't know what she meant, but do you think……."

"She's going to send them over a cliff. Helen always said she wanted to throw Piper off a cliff, she said it was a fitting end for her. I never understood why she was so obsessed with the idea," he said, trying to remember exactly what Helen had said, then it hit him. "Caliver's Peak, that's where she'd take them, I have to go, Mary. The sheriff is around here somewhere, tell him where I went."

***Piper***

Piper snapped the padlock closed with one hand, Reese still clutched to her chest in the other, then slowly turned to face Helen. "All right, you two, we're going for a little walk," she said, waving the gun at her. "And don't even think about trying to escape. I'll shoot first and ask questions later, I mean it."

Piper decided her only hope was to stall. Sawyer had to be done in town, had to be on his way home. "Helen, I'm sorry that you're hurt, I'm sorry things didn't turn out the way you wanted them to," she said. "But you have to believe me when I tell you that nothing happened between Sawyer and I until you were separated. He married you and I respected that."

"Don't try to sweet talk me, you little backstabbing bitch," Helen said, giving her a little shove. "Everything was perfect between us until you got involved. If you would have just left us alone, I know that Sawyer would have done what I wanted. If you hadn't been here, the ranch would have failed and he'd have had no choice, we could have moved back home and he could have worked for Daddy. It would have been so perfect. Instead, I was stuck here in this backwards hell hole, rotting away like some pregnant piece of white trash. Do you know what that was like? Me, the woman who every man wanted, blew up like a big old cow, then that thing came out of me, screaming and demanding attention all the time."

Piper stopped in the middle of the kitchen, glancing out the window, disappointed when the yard was empty except for the big black car. "I'm sorry things didn't work out the way you wanted them to," she said. "That must have been really hard. Motherhood isn't for everyone; you shouldn't feel bad."

"Oh, I don't feel bad, I never wanted to be a mother," Helen said, waving the gun in the air again. "The only reason I got pregnant was to get Sawyer to marry me so you couldn't get your hands on him. I was planning to get a nanny to take care of her, but he wouldn't let me, he said we couldn't afford it and that the ranch wasn't profitable yet. I suggested he get rid of you, and do you know what he said? He said you were too important, too much a part of the ranch. Do you have any idea what that felt like?"

Piper shook her head, "I'm sorry Helen, I had no idea," she said. "That must have hurt."

"Oh, now you're all full of empathy," Helen spat at her. "Well, it's too late, you should have left on the day we got married. Now get moving. I'm done talking. You know what you did, and I'll never forgive you. You have to die, that's the only way Sawyer and I can get a fresh start."

She wanted to argue with Helen, wanted to tell her that her plan was never going to work, but thought about Mary locked up in her room, and knew that she had to let it go. Mary was the only one who knew what really happened to them. She couldn't risk Helen figuring that out, so she started for the back door, trying to think of another way to stall the woman.

"I should really change the baby," she said. "She's feeling a little soggy."

"It won't matter," Helen said, giving her a shove. "She'll be dead soon."

She took her time walking around the house to the car still parked on the lawn, "Oh, we don't have a car seat," she said. "We can't go without one, we might get stopped or something."

Helen let out a long sigh, "Fine, get the little brat her car seat," she said. "Give her to me. I'll hold her while you go get it, that way I'm sure you'll come back."

Reese started to scream the second she was in her mother's arms, and she cursed herself for not thinking it through, but they needed a car seat. Racing for the front door, she grabbed the extra they kept there for emergencies, raced back to the car, dropped it at Helen's feet, and grabbed the baby out of her arms.

"I'm not putting that thing in," she said. "You do it."

She put Reese down on the back seat, grabbed the car seat, fastened it in, then turned to Helen, "Now put her in, and then get in the driver's seat. If we pass anyone, I want them to see you driving," she said. "God, do I have to tell you everything?"

She did as she was told, then started up the car when Helen waved the gun at her, "It would help if you told me where we're going," she said, putting the car in gear. "Which way do you want me to go?"

"I'll tell you when I'm ready to," Helen said. "Just drive, you stupid bitch. I've been dreaming about this for a long time, I don't want your chattering to ruin it."