Page 124 of Silent Heart

A grizzled brow lifted. “And what? How do you intend to introduce her to your fancy friends?”

“As my wife.”

My stomach flipped under his assessor stare. A cold sweat broke over my spine, and I could feel the protein bar churning with the threat of a reappearance.

“My Marta was right about you,” the grandfather mused. “Rodger, she said, that girl is going to marry him. We didn’t think kindly of you this summer. Especially when you disappeared—without a damn trace, I might add.”

I winced. “Circumstances were such that—”

“Enough.” He lifted his hand. “I don’t want your excuses. I need your word of honor that you won’t put our Hariet through that again.”

“On my life,” I said without hesitation.

“What branch did you serve in?” The question took me off guard.

“I started as a marine, sir.”

Kellnhofer nodded. “So was I.”

“Harley told me you served in Nam.”

“I did. Saw a lot of shit that they’ll never write about in the history books.” The old man shuddered from ghosts of his past. “Vicious and brutal tours of duty. However, what you need to know is that I’m not above putting a bullet in your head and hiding your body in the woods. Do I make myself clear?”

I smiled. “I expect nothing less, Mr. Kellnhofer.”

“Call me Rodger.” The grandfather stuck out his hand. The knuckles were gnarled with age, and the skin split from the cold. “Welcome to the family, boy.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to give him some grand response that I would strive every day to live up to his estimation. But a pitiful whicker broke through the moment.

Turning, I watched with horror as my girl’s beloved horse limped out of the woods. My chest tightened so hard I thought I might choke. The realization hit me like a hammer to the gut, and for a split second, the world tilted—blurred. No.No!My breath caught in my throat, stuck there like a jagged piece of glass. No air would come in. My heart thundered in my chest, erratic and wild, like a caged animal trying to claw its way out.

I ran.

Rodger was right behind me. “What the hell? Someone’s been shooting on our land?!”

My mouth tasted sour, bile rising, sharp and acrid. I blinked, trying to focus, trying to push past the whirlwind of thoughtscrashing through my mind, but every image was worse than the last. They found her. It could be a freak accident, any number of terrible scenarios. But I knew—I knew in my gut with absolute certainty that this was more than a random bit of misfortune. I clenched my jaw tight, running a hand over the horse’s flank. The wound didn’t seem too bad, but the fact that it was a large caliber round confirmed the dread coursing through me.

“Sir, when I left, it was to protect Harley from this. But the ghosts from my life found her.” Desperation poured from my voice. “She’s in trouble. I have to find her—now!”

“Whoever it is, they’ll pay for hurting one of us.” Rodger slapped my shoulder. Cupping his hands, the farmer bellowed.

The front door banged open and cousins poured out of the house.

“Load up, boys. We’ve got trouble,” Rodger yelled, walking the horse to the barn.

Whoops and shouts rattled from the cousins. I was already at my truck, pulling weapons from my concealed arsenal. When the cousins joined, pulling a dozen four-wheelers from the metal pole barn, they were armed with hunting rifles. A few even had semi-automatic rifles that looked like tactical home defense weapons. If the worst fear I’d ever known didn’t have my body in a vise grip, I would have found the strength to be impressed.

“Give me one of those,” was all I could manage to say, and luckily the cousin didn’t argue when I took the four-wheeler.

Chapter 52 – Harley

The musty smell assaulted my senses as I came to with a rush of pain. I blinked into the dim surroundings. Wood paneled walls loomed darkly across from me. My vision wavered, like I was underwater, the edges of the room swimming. Every instinct I had screamed for me to move, to do something, but my legs felt like lead.

Someone hauled me to my feet. The world spun, and bile shot up my throat.

“Call your boytoy and tell him to be here in an hour.”

A device was placed in my hand.

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