52. Montana

Ipaced the kitchen floor restlessly. What the hell was happening in our little town? Something bad. And it was connected to Cole. I could feel it with every fiber of my soul.

“What’s going on, Montana? How did you end up in a fight at the festival? It”s all everyone’s going to be talking about for the next month or two. Or maybe even forever.”

“Dad, that”s not it.” I groaned and continued to pace.

The phone rang and my dad ambled off to answer it. He returned a few minutes later. The adrenaline was rushing through my veins and I was still pacing the floor like a caged tiger.

“Your aunt called,” he said. “She wanted to know if you’re all right. Apparently, Jeb’s son had to be sent to the hospital in Stormy City. Damn kid says you kicked him in the nuts. He’s demanding compensation. This could have gone very, very badly for you, Montana. How the hell did things get to this? Can you please tell me what’s going on?”

I stopped then and stared at him, too much in a bad mood and confused state of mind to feel apologetic.

“What happened? He attacked me. That’s what happened! He made a sexual threat, and then he grabbed my hand till it hurt and wouldn’t let me go. What did you want me to do? Give in to him?”

Dad looked shocked then red-faced with fury. “What about all those other men?”

“I have no idea where they came from, but they were with him. If those other men had not arrived and beat the living shit out of the first lot, who knows what would have happened.”

“We have to report this to Sheriff Johnson,” my father said angrily. “How dare Jeb’s son attack my daughter. Who the hell does he think he is?”

“You go ahead and report him, I need to go see if Cole and Anya are all right.”

“Don’t you dare leave this house. There’s something dangerous going on and you’re not going to get involved.”

I spotted my car keys on the table and grabbed them. “I won’t be long.”

“Montana Moore, I forbid you to leave this house!”

“I’ll phone you as soon as I get to his house,” I called and made for the back door.

“No, stay here, please, Montana,” he insisted desperately. “Please, for my peace of mind.”

“Dad, I have to go and make sure they are fine. I’ll be fine and I promise to call you as soon as I get there.”

I ran out of the door to my car. I would just check on them as best as I could, even if it”s from a distance. I just needed to be sure that all was well, and I didn’t think I would truly be able to rest otherwise. It took me a bit of time because of the traffic from the festival which caused me to cuss and swear, but eventually, I arrived at Duck’s Pond. I parked on the side of the road, not exactly willing to announce my presence yet. However, after a few more minutes of being there, my frustration and worry got the better of me. I needed an explanation for several things, and I knew he held the answers so I refused to cower like a coward.

Getting out of the car, I locked it behind me and marched over to the house.

His car wasn’t parked in its usual place, which implied that they weren’t home. I wondered where they could have possibly gone. I headed up their porch toward the front door and wondered what to do. Should I go back and return at another time or call him and wait here until he got back?

The latter option was obviously a bit over the top, but I didn’t know if I would ever find the guts to return, or to ask him anything if I left now. Plus, I was so hyped up I would be driving my father up the wall if I returned to the ranch without knowing what was happening. I decided to wait on the porch.

It was at that point that I realized that the lock to the door was broken. The wood had been splintered, broken open by force, and the door was slightly parted. I was instantly on guard. Fear filled my heart as I wondered if they had been robbed, or maybe those men who had come for me had come after them too.

Slowly, I pushed open the door. The whole house was silent, and not in a good way. I went through the kitchen and grabbed a knife before creeping up the stairs. I went into the hallway and came upon an unbelievable sight.

Two dead men were lying in a pool of their own dark red blood. And one of the men had an axe in his face! I couldn’t help the scream of terror that rushed out of my mouth. Unable to process the grisly scene in front of me, I immediately turned around and ran down the stairs. The house seemed even more eerily quiet. I prayed with all of my heart and soul that Cole and Anya were safe. As I ran I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I had to call Cole to know he was safe. Then I would call 911.

My hands were trembling so much I could barely find his contact, but eventually, the call went through and began to ring, but before he could answer, a huge, heavy fist socked the side of my head.

The pain was excruciating.

It felt as though I had been struck by a hammer. It was so painful I collapsed to the ground with a cry of agony. There were men around me. Everything was blur and my ears were ringing with the blow, but I could see their shoes. What had happened? Who were these people? They didn’t even give me a minute to recover. I was roughly pulled up and forced to face the blazing, reddened eyes of a dark, bearded, bald man. He seemed so furious and terrifying. He yelled into my face, but I could barely hear what he was saying. He grabbed me by my arms and pushed me along. We were heading down the stairs into the basement. Immediately, I guessed there was nothing here except Anya”s safe room, and I understood what was happening.

Were Anya and Cole hiding in their secret room? My heart started to pound and I felt sick to my stomach when I realized what was about to happen. These men were going to use my life to bargain for theirs. What a prize fool I’d been! I didn’t listen to those men who came to save me and told me in no uncertain terms to go to the ranch and stay there. I had no business coming here. I should never have come. Why didn’t I just call Sherriff Johnson as my father had suggested? I was full of bitter regret.

I glanced around at the men. There were three of them. They were tight-lipped and stern. The bargain was obvious. Open the door, or else I would be killed. I had no clue if they would really do it, but one look at them and they looked like they meant business. I had barged in where I was told not to go, so I wasn’t going to force Cole and Anya to suffer because I was an impatient little shit.

I began to fight and struggle, but the man’s grip on me was like iron.

With a vicious shove, I was thrown against a metal door. It was so thick my body made a dull thud when I collided with it. My entire body hurt like crazy. The man then banged against the door. He grabbed me by my shirt and pushed my face against what looked like a camera.

”See who I have here,” he growled. ”You don”t want to see her dead, do you? If you don”t, then open the door right now, and we’ll talk. We just want to talk. The longer this takes the more hurt she gets.”

One of the other men banged the door with the edge of his gun, and I swallowed, and started to shake my head to tell whoever was on the other side of the camera, since Cole’s car was not in the front my guess was it was Anya, not to open the door. I didn’t speak lest I pushed them too far over the edge, and they killed me immediately, but I was almost certain they were not going to kill me while I was useful to them. Once the door was open and they got what they wanted though …

There was no movement.

The man who was holding me up sighed. “Go on,” he said to the guy who was tapping his gun against the door.

The man lifted his gun and pointed it straight at my head. My heart stopped beating. I was so terrified I couldn’t even scream. He cocked his gun, and I knew it was the end. There was no point in fighting, they were going to do what they were going to do, but at least, I could save sweet little Anya. I closed my eyes and called out to God.

”I know you can see this,” he said to the camera. ”I”m going to count to three, and if you don”t open up by then, she”s dead.”

”One ...” he began, and despite how brave I wanted to be, I couldn’t stop the tears that ran down my face.

”Two-”

”Don”t open the door!” I yelled and squeezed my eyes shut. This was because I was sure they were going to hit me again or perhaps they were going to put the bullet in my head. I didn’t care.

”Don”t open it,” I screamed again, trembling, and the blow came behind. I fell to the floor in a daze. I couldn’t even see properly. Suddenly, I felt a blast of cool air.

The door was open. She had opened the door.

A commotion followed and I heard a scream. My mind registered it as Anya”s voice. With that, I was shocked back to my senses. When I managed to pull myself up, I felt her small, warm hands on mine, trying to see if I was alright.

”I”m sorry,” she apologized, her face soaked with tears. ”I couldn’t allow them to hurt you.”

”Oh, sweetheart,” I cried and hugged her. I whispered in her ear. ”Where”s your dad?”

Before she could respond, she screamed and flew into the air. I watched in horror as she landed on her back on the ground. One of the men had kicked her so hard she was almost six feet away from me. She was screaming in pain.

I was so furious, but I couldn’t lash out. Her father was not around, and so from now on, she was in my care. I needed to protect her, if necessary, with my life. It was my fault. I came here when I shouldn’t have.

I heard one of the men speak on his phone. “We got the girl and the teacher.”

I wiped my tears away, pushed away my pain, and sharpened my focus. I was going to find a way for both of us to get out of this frightening trap, no matter what. And if both of us couldn’t survive it, then I would make sure at the very least that she did.