Page 43 of Captive at Rescue Ridge

Still, wouldn’t his hand get tired at some point?

Since he forced her to walk first, followed by her mother, and then followed by him, Annalee would have to turn around to get a peek. Russ knew that would give him a heads-up if she tried anything. He also had to know that Annalee loved her mother and wouldn’t do anything to put her in harm’s way. Not intentionally.

“This has gone too far, Russ,” Becca finally spoke up, shocking the hell out of Annalee. “It’s not too late to stop.”

“Shut up, or I’ll squeeze this trigger so fast your daughter will be scraping your brains off tree trunks for days.” The anger in his voice sent an icy chill down Annalee’s spine. The hate in those words was palpable.

“I’m serious,” Becca started before saying, “Ouch. That hurt.”

Annalee turned in time to see the second blow to the back of her mother’s head. This time, with the butt of the handgun.

“Don’t hurt her,” Annalee said, hating to have to plead with this scumbag of a person. “Please.”

“He’s not going to hurt me,” Becca defended. “Not bad.”

“Tempt me again and you’ll see what happens, bitch.”

“I’m serious, Russ. This has got to stop. It wasn’t supposed to go this far. You promised nothing bad would happen.”

Blinding anger tore through Annalee.

What had her mother done?

16

Archer picked up another piece of red cloth, convinced Annalee was leading him right toward her.

Up ahead, the crack of a bullet split the air.

Panic formed a knot in his chest as he bolted toward the sound. Thighs burning, arms pumping, he saw red on the ground ahead.

Taking a knee, he reached down and touched the red liquid. Blood.Shit.

Archer stood up and looked around.

With no more pieces of red material to guide him, he had to pick a direction and hope for the best.

The blood. Could he follow droplets?

Like a hound tracking a scent, he scanned the ground for any sign of telltale red droplets. The thought of Annalee being shot was enough to short-circuit his brain, causing the knot in his chest to tighten until he could scarcely breathe.

“Which way?” he mumbled as he took a few more steps, searching for any sign that he was moving in the right direction.

The scrub brush was thicker in this area. Gray clouds had rolled in overhead, once again threatening a storm. A couple of droplets fell. They could wash away the trail.

One shot had been fired. Had it been a warning shot gone wrong? Or had Annalee run? What about Becca? Owen said without a doubt the woman was involved. At the very least, she was an accomplice. At the worst…

He didn’t want to think Becca was capable of a felony, not to mention the fact it had been committed against his family. He’d been nothing but nice to her. Had shown her the utmost respect when he’d been dating her daughter.

Could Becca turn on him?

Owen could have been killed. Beau was now lying unconscious in the woods. He had no idea the names of all the crimes being committed here, but abduction was a serious offense. Two people were involved, a man and a woman.

Damned if he could understand people. The Becca he’d known wouldn’t have willingly put her daughter in harm’s way. She wouldn’t have turned on him and his family. She wouldn’t have targeted him, and for what? Money?

Was she that desperate?

Archer changed directions when he couldn’t find another drop of blood. Droplets of rain began pelting his forehead, threatening to wipe out any trail.

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