Chapter Twenty-Nine
Bethany
My pulse was pounding in my ears and my lungs were gasping, but I couldn't stop running. I could hear Frank coming through the woods behind me, crashing through shrubs and breaking branches as he came. When he found me, he would surely kill me.
I couldn't understand why my own father would turn a gun on me, but he had. The look in his eyes had been cold and dead, like a shark's, and I knew he had no love for me. He wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger, so I had to do whatever was necessary to escape.
I was going to try to reason with Frank not to kill me, or even beg him for my life if I had to, when Colton had appeared out of nowhere at the top of the hill. My heart leapt with joy at the sight of him, looking handsome as hell on Whiskey's back in his suit with his black Stetson on. Best of all, he distracted Frank and gave me the chance I needed to fight for my life.
I didn't even think about it; I just acted on instinct as all the training classes I'd taken on women's self-defense took over my mind and body.
His throat felt surprisingly hard and yet squishy when I punched him, and the impact hurt my hand, but I didn't hold back. I followed through with all my strength. I saw him drop the gun into the river and clasp his throat, and then I just took off running.
The branches and leaves from the shrubs were scratching my tender flesh, but I just kept pushing onward. The sun was setting on the horizon, and if I could just evade him until dark, I could use the night to shield me until I could find my way back to the ranch.
"Bethany! You can't run from me!" It was Frank. He was calling out to me through the woods, taunting me to surrender myself to him. No doubt he knew he had a limited amount of time to find me, too.
I circled wide through the trees back towards the place where it had all begun by the river. I looked up the hill to see if Colton was still there, but he was gone, and I felt my heart sink with despair.
My lungs hurt so badly from running, I thought they were going to explode. I had to stop for a moment to catch my breath. Crouched behind a thick shrub, I bent forward with my hands on my knees and focused on taking slow even breaths.
Suddenly, I saw Frank in the distance through the leaves. He was in much worse shape than I was and struggling to breathe, too. He bent forward, and I thought it was to rest, but then I saw him pull a knife out his boot. The stainless steel blade glimmered in the sunlight, sending chills down my spine.
"Come out, Bethany!" he called into the trees. "Come out and I'll make it painless. If I have to hunt you down, I promise I'll make you pay for it."
No way was I going to make it easy for him to kill me. If he wanted to stab me, he was going to have to work for it, and I was going to fight him with every ounce of strength I had left.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw footprints in the ground. Crap! They were my footprints – and it was only a matter of time before Frank saw them and realized I had circled around him.
Moving as silently as possible, I stepped into the river. Walking in the water was the way to avoid leaving any prints. It was cold and moving swiftly, but it wasn't deep. The water only went up to my knees, and if I moved quickly, it might just my road of escape.
As I waded up the river, I could hear Frank behind the trees. "Footprints. I've got you now, you little bitch," he shouted.
Crap! I had to hurry. There was a bend in the river up ahead. If I could make it to the bend, I could effectively disappear. He wouldn't know where I had gone, and by the time he figured it out, I would be halfway back to the ranch.
Running against the current was tough, and the uneven river bottom made it even more difficult. I was almost to the bend when my leg wrenched as my foot got stuck. I looked down to see it had gotten trapped in a tangle of debris and rocks.
Just then, Frank appeared out of the woods further down the river. Submerged in the river up to my knees, with my foot caught in the debris, there was no place for me to hide and no way for me to run. He caught sight of me instantly and started advancing with the large knife in his hand.
"Aren't you going to run?" he taunted me, as I pulled on my foot, desperate to get free. Laughing cruelly, Frank said, "This is almost going to be too easy. The only problem is I'll have to be creative to frame someone else for your murder."
Realizing it was futile to try to pull my foot free, I crouched down in the river and yanked at the rocks and weeds that held me captive, trying to release my foot that way.
Frank was taking his time as he approached me, knowing I couldn't escape. He took pride in his victory and bragged about his past crimes. "Don't worry, I'll find a way to get off free. Just like I framed Jackson and Floyd for stealing the Hutchinsons’ cattle.
“Those two morons were easy to manipulate. I got them to do all the work, slipping the cattle through the gate I'd made in the fence. Then I'd drive away with the truck to meet my buyer. I told them we'd get paid when the summer was over, but I got paid with every load and kept all the money. I told Jackson and Floyd that if they talked, I'd kill their families. They must have believed me, because they haven't said a word to the sheriff."
"You stole the Hutchinsons’ cattle?" I gasped. "I can't believe it."
"Yeah, you think I'm this wonderful dad you want to move in with so we can play happy family," Frank snarled sarcastically.
"Well, I can't have that. You'd find the cash I kept stashed and ruin everything. I had to get rid of you. I thought burning up your paintings would be enough to drive you away, but you’re too stubborn, just like your damn mother."
"You started the barn fire?" He within striking distance now, and my time was about up.
"Don't play dumb with me. I dropped my lighter during the fire and the damn Marshal found it. Luckily, most people are still thinking your boyfriend did it and aren't looking for me. Maybe I can find a way to frame him for killing you, too. That would be perfect. Only now you have a sketch proving that the lighter is mine."
"I didn't know," I pleaded. "You don't have to kill me."
"I don't have to, but it's going to be fun." He gleamed and lunged towards me with the knife in his hand.
Suddenly, I spotted a glint of metal in the water. I looked down in the shimmering water to see the gun Frank had dropped laying just a few feet away downstream on the bottom of the river. Could I reach it in time to shoot him before he reached me? As he tightened his grip on the knife, I prayed to God that I could.