Page 28 of Captive at Rescue Ridge

Kade was already shaking his head. “Grab your stuff. We’ll go out together.”

“Still not sure where I’m headed.” And Archer was out of ideas.

“You’ll be safest at the main house,” Kade said.

The thought of a hot shower and a fresh cup of coffee was too tempting to pass up. Annalee was already busy gathering up their supplies. One look at her said she wouldn’t put up a fight.

“Okay, then,” he said. “To the main house but first we need the backpack since it’ll be safer at the ranch house with so many people around.”

The four of them left Sky’s The Limit after grabbing it from the ceiling and locking the door behind them. Archer made a mental note to make sure the family made payment arrangements for any damage caused while they’d used the place as a temporary sanctuary.

In the truck, Archer started the engine and followed Chloe down the lane. It was better this way. The bastard would think twice before a second attack while they had safety in numbers.

A chopper buzzed by overhead, using a high-intensity searchlight to scan the area. The early morning sun would make an appearance soon, making the search easier on law enforcement.

Annalee’s cell buzzed. She sucked in a breath.

“What does it say?”

“To call off the law right now or they die.”

The callto Chloe took Archer two seconds. Annalee listened as he explained the situation and then ended the call. Not a minute later, the chopper headed back from where it had come.

“Change of plans,” he said, white-knuckling the steering wheel. “We are to meet up at the sheriff’s office instead.”

“Okay.” Trying to process the turn of events while sleep-deprived short-circuited Annalee’s brain. At least it made sense now why her mother hadn’t shown up at the coffee shop. And, more importantly, her mother was alive.

“I’m sorry about your mother, Annalee.”

Those words provided comfort she knew better than to allow because where would they be during the next crisis? And there would be another crisis, knowing Becca.

“You and your mother must be very close.”

“It will probably make me an awful person to admit this under the circumstances, but I’m exhausted by her.”

“That makes you an honest person, not a bad one.”

If only she believed him.

Annalee exhaled. “She gets herself into these terrible relationships with the worst kind of men.”

“That must be hard to watch.”

“It is,” she said. “I’ve tried telling her to leave them, and then she accuses me of not giving them a chance. Says that I don’t see all the good things they do, and that she’s just venting when she complains about them to me.” Annalee bit back what she really wanted to say about the jerks and abusers. “My mother is a magnet for lowlifes and doesn’t seem ready to change.” She exhaled a little slower. She’d never been able to talk to anyone about her mother. Being able to be honest was not just refreshing but allowed her to release some of the pent-up anger she’d been holding in for far too long.

“Trying to help someone who isn’t ready to be helped can backfire,” he said.

“Exactly.” She couldn’t agree more. No matter how delicately she’d tried to approach the subject, her mother had always jumped to the defense of her current beau. “I just wish she could see that she’s better than that. You know? That she deserves to be with someone who will treat her right instead of these asshats who use her for a place to stay and make promises, all the while treating her like dirt.”

“People can be real jerks,” he said, disgusted. Archer had never treated her with anything other than kindness. When the other kids had tried to bully her, he’d defended her. When her mother hadn’t supplied food, he’d sneaked groceries to her door.

This was normal for Archer, like everyone should behave in the same manner, treating others with respect and standing up for those who could use a friend. Annalee had been good at sticking up for herself. At a cost. In order to show a brave face, she’d had to put up defensive walls. Had she built them up so high and so thick no one could ever get past them?

Did she really want to answer that?

Archer.

He’d been the one person who’d chipped away at her defenses. The only one who’d proved that she could trust him.

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