Ryland Family Ranch

Sierra Madre, California

 

Wren woke slowly, her head pounding more than it had been before. There was something behind her ear, an ache that was pounding. She reached back and hissed as her fingers created more pain. And there was blood on them.

She vaguely remembered the woman. But more than that…she had no idea where she was or what had happened to her. She closed her eyes, the pain in her head almost too much to bear.

It was when she closed her eyes that the smells of turpentine and oil-based paints seeped past the pain. She knew those smells, knew the underlying scents of old animals and hay. She was in her father’s studio.

That was good. That meant she was home.

But then she heard a moan beside her. She opened her eyes and twisted around a little. It was then that she realized her wrists were cuffed in plastic, her ankles pulled out in front of her and tied together, too. Another moan, and she realized she wasn’t the only one tied up.

Her father was lying on his side, blood coming from a wound at his temple. His wrists and ankles were bound, too.

“Daddy?”

He moaned a third time, his eyes slowly fluttering open. “Wren!”

She nodded, making a motion for him to be quiet. She sat up a little straighter, pressing her back to the wood wall as she tried to see what else might be there for them to discover. They were in a back corner of the building, across from the workbench where her father kept his supplies. There was an open space where he usually kept his easels, but those were gone today for some reason. And across from there was her brother’s workspace, where he used marble and rock and other hard substances to create sculptures.

“Where’s Phoenix?”

“In New York meeting with his agent there.”

That wasn’t good. No one else ever came out here to the farm. No one else would notice they were missing.

Where the hell was her cell phone!

“Do you have a phone, Daddy?”

He made a face. “You know how I feel about those devices.”

Yeah, she did. But it didn’t hurt to ask.

She pushed against the wall, trying to inch her way up to her feet. She was halfway there when a woman suddenly appeared in the open doorway. Wren quickly slid back down to her ass, groaning softly as the impact vibrated through her sore body.

Aria. It had to be Aria.

“You’re awake,” she said, strolling over to where they were sitting. “Too bad. I thought hitting you with the gun would put you out longer than the Taser.”

“What are you doing here?”

She shrugged. “Cormac said he let you go, that he brought you back here. I had to make sure he wasn’t lying to me.”

“Why would he lie to you?”

She smiled sweetly. “Obviously he didn’t.”

“What did you think he’d done? Flown me off to Florida to be with him? Or taken me to Texas to meet my long-lost grandfather?”

Aria tensed, her eyes narrowing. “How do you know those are the places he went?”

“How do you know those are the places he went?”

“Because…” She stiffened. “I don’t have to answer to you!”

“You ruined his life, you know. Going to his superiors at the FBI. You destroyed his career.”

“I’m making it up to him by helping him find all his father’s victims.”

“His father’s?”

Aria laughed. “You didn’t know? He never told you how he saw his father kill his mother? You didn’t know that his father is one of the most successful serial killers of our time because he was never convicted of a murder despite having committed more than fifteen?”

“No, I didn’t know.”

“Shows who he trusts and who he doesn’t.”

“Did you know that he thinks you’re nuttier than a fruitcake?”

Aria kicked out, slamming the toe of her boot into the side of Wren’s head. She fell sideways onto her father, the pain exploding in a white light in her head.

“You’re a fucking bitch! I should have killed you in that hotel room instead of taking you back to my basement. But I wanted Cormac there when I killed you. Now I’ll get my wish.”

Wren was confused for a minute. She didn’t understand what Aria was saying. Her father was pushing at her, moving his shoulders forward to try and get her to sit up. But the white light was so much friendlier than what was happening outside of it.

“How?” she finally mumbled, aware that she needed to keep Aria talking in order to protect her father. “How did you…me back…California?”

“In the trunk of my car. I just kept tasing you until we got there. You must have had a dozen shots. Surprised your heart was still ticking by the time we got to Apple Valley.”

Her father grunted, his eyes wide as they filled with questions. Wren rolled to her side, falling from her father’s chest onto her back. White stars burst before her eyes again, her head pounding. She took several deep breaths, telling herself to ignore the pain, but it was so hard!

“Cormac’s coming.”

“He’ll be here soon.”

“What do you think will happen then?”

Aria didn’t answer right away. Wren couldn’t see her face, but when she spoke again, she could imagine the big smile that was there.

“He’s going to help me kill you, and then we’re going off into the sunset together.”

“Bullshit!”

It was crude, but Wren’s head hurt too much to find a nicer phrase.

“Shut up!”

“He’s going to come here and save me because I’m the one he wants. Not you.”

Aria lashed out again, but Wren was more prepared this time. She knew vaguely where Aria was standing, and she rolled in the same instant she felt the slight bit of breeze that indicated Aria’s movement. Her boot connected with Wren’s side, but not nearly as hard as it would have had she not rolled.

“He’s mine! He’s been mine for years now. You and that other girl, that Christine, are just temporary distractions. He loves me!”

“Believe what you want to believe. Isn’t that what crazy people do?”

Wren prepared for another blow, but it didn’t come. Instead, a gun discharged. The noise was intense despite the cavernous space. Loud enough that it helped clear Wren’s head a little. And then her father’s cry definitely brought her back to reality.

Wren twisted, the sight of blood flowing from her father’s body tearing a scream from her throat. She threw her body onto his, needing to protect him from more shots. She waited, expecting to be hit in the back, to receive a fatal bullet. And when shots rang out, she thought for sure her life was over. But there was no pain.

“Wren!”

Cormac’s voice filled the barn. She looked up and saw him running for her, Durango not far behind. He grabbed her shoulders when he got to her, forcing her up onto her ass. The feel of his arms coming around her was…damn, it was good!

“My dad. He’s hit.”

“I’ve got him,” Durango announced.

“Where is she? Where—”

“It’s over, babe,” Cormac said, smoothing his hands over the sides of her face, her head. “It’s all over.”

She nodded. At least, she thought she did. But then the darkness descended again.