Chapter 22
—The moment I met her, I knew I was looking at my future.—
Hadley stepped out of the stall an hour later covered in grime, hay and a little blood. Still, she was so happy because she was fairly certain that Nelly was going to make it. The plank hadn’t gone nearly as deep as they’d feared. It had penetrated her pec muscle but hadn’t broken any ribs. She’d pulled the plank out and sewed her up, first the layer of muscle, then the skin. She’d seen the same injury before on different horses and was confident she’d done everything right. The vet would be here in an hour once her own emergency was over to check on the horse regardless. The foreman had already left so he could meet her at the front gate. Because of the security restrictions in place right now the vet was going to be escorted onto this part of the property.
“You did a great job,” her dad said, pulling her into a hug. “I’m going to go grab you some water,” he said, stepping back and heading for the exit. She knew there was a cooler in the ATV and even though the water wouldn’t be cold she didn’t care. As long as it was wet.
“You can go with him,” she said to Axel. “I just need a minute alone to decompress.”
He frowned, but nodded and she was glad he didn’t push. The emotional toll of seeing an animal in pain was always draining. There was no way around it for her. Her former boss and mentor had warned her that getting into this profession wasn’t for the faint of heart and she’d been right.
It was usually the worst when an animal had been injured intentionally by a human, whether it was their owner or not. But days like this still sucked too. There was no bad guy in this scenario, just an injured horse in a lot of pain and afraid. The fear from the animals was awful because she wanted to take all of it away.
Running a hand over her face, she leaned back against a neighboring stall and simply took a deep breath. In and out. It helped to calm the riot of emotions inside her. Once she felt ready, she headed outside into the bright sunlight—and froze when she saw a man holding a gun on her father and Axel.
“Get in the ATV or I kill your father.” The man’s voice was neutral, but ice cold. He had on a mask which made him even creepier. But it also meant that he might let her father and Axel live.
Both men looked beyond pissed, like caged tigers ready to pounce. Their phones were on the ground next to them, smashed to bits.
She was numb as she stared at the man with the gun. Getting into that ATV with this masked man would certainly mean death for her, but…she had to do it. She couldn’t risk him shooting her father or Axel. She simply couldn’t allow it.
“Now. Or I’ll start with his knees.” He gestured the gun at her father. “It’s a painful way to die.”
Axel’s face tightened. “Don’t—”
The man cut Axel off and fired a shot into the ground. She nearly jumped a foot, her heart rate kicking up a thousand beats a minute. Because of the suppressor on the weapon, the sound didn’t carry. But it was all the motivation she needed. Still clutching her bag as if it was a lifeline she started for the ATV, her movements stiff. She didn’t look at her father or Axel because if she did, she’d break down.
She was supposed to have been safe. Everything was supposed to have been over. But it wasn’t. This man was somehow here on her father’s secure property. Holding a gun on two people she loved.
Heart racing out of control, she forced her legs to obey her as she slid into the passenger seat. As she sat, she slipped a small scalpel out of her bag before dropping the bag to the floor at her feet.
“No. You’re gonna drive.” Ice coated the masked man’s words as he moved toward the vehicle. “And if you try anything, I’ll shoot you. Contract only says you have to be alive.”
Instead of getting out again, she just slid over into the driver’s seat. Her palms were sweaty despite the chill in the air. And her chest hurt with each breath she dragged in as she fought the panic swelling inside her.
“The guy who hired you, Fuller, he’s dead.” Her dad’s voice was dark, angry, a tone she’d never heard from him before.
The man with the mask paused once as he moved toward the ATV, though his gun hand never wavered. “If that ends up being true, I’ll ransom her back to you.”
“I’ll pay you double what Fuller offered you. Just let her go.”
“You’ll pay quadruple.” The man grinned once, his white teeth and lips visible even with the mask. His smile was like a shark. “Even if Fuller’s not dead, I’ll be in touch. Get your money ready, old man.”
As he slid into the passenger seat, she glared at him. “You’ll never get away with this. Even if you kill me, they’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth.” Something she intrinsically knew to be true.
She saw the hand coming, knew he planned to backhand her either for her words or to send a message to her father and Axel. This was her only chance. She lashed out with the scalpel, stabbing at his leg and aiming for the femoral artery.
The man screamed in pain as his hand went wild, grazing her forehead instead of her face. From there, everything was a blur of motion.
Axel moved faster than should be humanly possible, attacking the man like an animal. His fist connected with the man’s jaw before he dragged him out of the passenger seat. The gun fell to the floorboard so she scooped it up even if she had no idea how to use it.
Her dad was suddenly there, taking it from her hands as Axel pounded his fists into the man’s face. Over and over, the guy’s head slammed into the hard earth beneath them.
“Axel.” She didn’t scream or raise her voice but somehow he must have heard her. He stopped, his hand around the throat of the now unconscious man. “Please don’t kill him,” she whispered. She didn’t want him to have any more scars on his soul or for him to go to jail. Even if this guy probably deserved it, she simply couldn’t stand the thought of Axel being the one to end his life.
“Take her back to the main house, now,” her dad ordered Axel, tucking the gun in the back of his pants. “Do it.” A not so subtle order.
“Dad—”
“No. Go with Axel.” He gave Axel a hard look without even glancing at her.
“But—”
Without a word Axel took her by the elbow and scooped her up even though she could walk just fine. Gently, he set her in the passenger seat. When he cautiously took the bloody scalpel from her tight grip she belatedly realized she was still holding on to the thing. Then he brushed his lips over her forehead once.
She wanted to ask what her dad was going to do or if they were going to call the cops but she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer. Her new reality… She wasn’t certain if it was something she could live with. She’d always viewed the world, if not in black and white, as at least governed by certain rules and laws.
Now everything she knew had been turned upside down. And it scared her how easily she’d accepted everything.
Neither of them spoke on the way back to the ranch. After he parked, he strode around to her side and carried her, ignoring her feeble protest. When they reached the back door leading to the kitchen she finally said, “I’m okay to walk.” At least she hoped she would be. She felt a little shocky.
His jaw tightened once, but then he nodded and set her on her feet as if she was made of porcelain. When they strode into the kitchen and found not just Darcy and Brooks there, but all the others, including sweet six-year-old Valencia, she just about collapsed. God, what if that maniac had made it to the house? What if— Nope. She couldn’t deal with those thoughts now. Not when she was barely keeping it together.
She realized that Axel had said something to push the others into action as Brooks and Savage bolted out the door but she couldn’t actually remember what he’d said. Could barely focus on anything as her trembling got worse. She could have died a few minutes ago. Her father could have died. Axel could have died.
He was now saying something to her. Looking up into his blue eyes, she forced herself to focus on him, on his mouth. It was pointless because she didn’t comprehend anything. Jaw tight, he shook his head and scooped her up into his arms again.
Minutes later they were in her bathroom as he stripped off her grimy clothes. Blood was on her fingers and she wondered if it was from the horse or from the man. When Axel guided her into the hot shower, for a moment she thought he was going to leave her and almost panicked.
Then he stripped and dumped his own clothes into the pile with hers. Standing under the hot jets, he pulled her into his arms.
“I’m sorry,” Axel murmured, his voice slightly muffled against the top of her head.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I was going to kill him right there in front of you. I…I’m sorry.”
She tightened her grip around his naked body. “If you had, it would have been okay.” Even as she said the words she knew they were true. She didn’t ever want him to think she judged him. If they went into this relationship with him worried that she held something over his head or had moral superiority or whatever…just no. He’d made choices and he was living with them. Not ones she could ever make, but…she loved him.
“Hadley—”
She pulled back to look up at him. “I feel like a mess right now. A hot, flaming mess of emotions. I’m living in a new reality where my family doesn’t call the cops when there’s a kidnapping contract on me. One where the man I love used to kill people for a living. One—”
His eyes went intense. “You love me?”
“Yes?”
“Is that a question?”
“Yes. I mean no. I…do love you.” And now she felt a billion times more vulnerable, standing naked in front of him as she admitted it.
“Thank God. I love you too.”
Her heart turned upside down, relief rushing through her. “Really?”
“I think I fell a little in love with you when you spilled coffee on me.”
She smiled even as tension coiled tight in her belly. “I don’t know if I’m cut out for all this. For these shades of gray. For what…I’m pretty sure is happening to that guy right now.”
His gaze was steady on hers. “Do you want to involve the cops?”
“Would you be okay with that?”
“Whatever you need to happen, I’ll make happen.” The truth was in his gaze.
She shook her head. “No. It…can’t happen. I understand that on every level. I just… I don’t know. I think it’s going to take time for me to process all the changes in my life.”
He stroked a big hand up and down her back. “I’ll give you as much time as you need.”
“Wait…I don’t mean without you.” She tightened her grip around his waist, afraid he’d bolt.
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. I’m just giving you warning that it’s going to take time for me to process everything, that’s all.”
“You can take all the time you need. I’m not planning on going anywhere.” He kissed her then, his lips soft at first before morphing into a hard, possessive kiss that sent spirals of awareness throughout her entire body.
Yeah, whatever it was she had to do to deal with her new reality, as long as Axel was by her side, things would work out. She knew that without a doubt.
* * *
Axel’s gaze strayed over to where Hadley sat with Mary Grace and Olivia as the three of them listened to whatever the animated Valencia was telling them. The little girl was completely unaware of what had happened earlier in the day.
Thank God for that.
When he realized Brooks had said something to him, he jerked his attention back to the man and Douglas. “What?”
Brooks just shook his head. “I said you’re welcome to stay here for the next week with Hadley—because she’s not going anywhere.” He said the last part like a challenge, as if Axel might argue.
“Thank you.” It wasn’t like the other man could keep Axel from Hadley but he figured that responding civilly was the best way to go. “Did you ever figure out how he got on the property?” Axel asked quietly.
Douglas nodded, his expression dark. “Stowed away on the bottom of the feed delivery truck. I’ve shored up that security hole. We’ll be doing more thorough inspections on all vehicles that enter the property.”
“Good.” The hitter who’d made it onto Douglas’s property wouldn’t be a problem to anyone anymore. Axel didn’t know where they’d taken the body and he didn’t care. He only cared that Hadley was safe. She hadn’t asked any more questions about what had happened to the guy and he figured she might not ever ask. She might not want to know the truth.
“How’s my daughter doing with everything?” Douglas asked.
“She’s handling it. I think it’ll be difficult for her at first. She’s always lived by a set of rules, and this past week…” He lifted a shoulder as his gaze strayed back to her. “She’s resilient.”
“At least we know the threat is finally over,” Brooks said.
“You’re sure?” Because he’d thought only three men had been hired. Not four.
“Yeah. Gage followed Fuller’s communication and money trails and it looks as if he was only in contact with this last guy once he lost communication with the first three men he hired. And now that Fuller’s dead…” Brooks shrugged.
Axel frowned. “You’re sure?”
Brooks pulled his phone out of his pocket, typed in his code and handed it over. Axel read the headline for the Miami Herald article. Deceased Magnate’s Son Dies of Apparent Overdose. He scanned the article before handing it back to the cowboy.
“I’m surprised he wasn’t found shot or tortured to death.” The loan shark he’d owed money to was purportedly vicious.
“Apparently Dixon is being watched by the police, and with Fuller’s loose relationship to him, maybe he didn’t want the extra heat so he faked the overdose. Or maybe Fuller really did overdose.”
Doubtful, considering the guy had been dropped off to Dixon. But Axel didn’t care how the guy had died. Just that he was no longer an issue to the woman he loved. “I’ve started looking at places in Redemption Harbor,” he said abruptly. “I’ll make sure the place I buy has proper security and that Hadley is taken care of. So you better deal with it.” He looked at Brooks as he said the last part because Douglas actually seemed all right with him.
Brooks simply returned the hard stare before holding out his hand. “Welcome to the family.”
Blinking once, he took the other man’s hand and pumped once.
Surprising him even more, Brooks continued. “Since you’re going to need a new job, how do you feel about working with our team?”
He blinked again. “I like the sound of that.”
“Good. We’ll talk more later. Go see Hadley.”
Brooks didn’t need to tell him twice. It had taken all Axel’s willpower to be separated from Hadley for the last ten minutes, and only because she was within his line of sight. After seeing her with a weapon to her head like that… Hell, he wasn’t sure he’d get over that anytime soon. Or ever.
She looked over at him as he approached and the smile she gave him was blinding. He really wasn’t certain what he’d done to deserve her, but he was never, ever letting her go.