Page 46 of Captive at Rescue Ridge

They could try, right?

Or was that just wishful thinking on her part? Because if he couldn’t trust her, there would always be a piece of him that was unavailable to her. They would never regain what they’d had when they were barely more than kids. How wild was it that she’d found the love of her life at seventeen?

She’d made the mistake of a seventeen-year-old, too. Walking out of his life was the one do-over she wished for in life. Youth had caused her to make the biggest mistake of her life and damage her future.

And what had it all been for?

She’d been scared out of her wits by the way she’d felt for Archer, the depth of those feelings, like she wouldn’t be able to breathe again if he walked away. Those feelings scared her now, too. Maturity and life lessons—those were the things that would allow her to overcome those fears. Realizing how special their relationship had been would carry her through the rough patches when old habits caused her to want to bolt.

She had enough life experiences to realize what they had didn’t come around but once, maybe twice, in a lifetime if you were lucky.

Russ kicked her again, this time on the outside of her right thigh. She barely flinched, refusing to give him the satisfaction of knowing he’d hurt her. There’d be a bruise the size of a baseball once this was over. She’d deal with that later.

If there was a later.

17

The blood droplets stopped. The rain didn’t materialize. Though, it still threatened. The droplets had halted almost as quickly as they’d started. They hadn’t been enough to soften the hard dirt so he could trace footsteps. The scrub brush made that next to impossible anyway.

Archer couldn’t decide which way to go from where he stood. He’d lost his bearings. Checking his phone did no good. He was out of cell range now. It was spotty in this area, so he wouldn’t give up hope altogether. He’d hold onto his phone and check every few steps so he could navigate toward the farm road. It had to be around here somewhere.

Since Henry had lived out here with his wife, Archer had done his best to avoid the area. When he’d dipped into the woods to escape Beaumont for a few hours, he’d wanted to be completely alone. Besides escaping his father, the main house had been lively with his siblings and rarely quiet. Archer liked quiet, except when he was with Annalee. Then, he became a regular chatterbox. There was something about her that made him want to open up and talk about everything, including his deepest, darkest secrets.

How had he gotten himself so turned around?

Dammit.

He listened to see if he could pick up any road noise. A deputy might be out here or possibly the sheriff with Owen. He hoped Beau would be all right.

As he paused, more questions assaulted him. Again, he wondered how Becca could be involved in trying to squeeze his family for half a million dollars. It might be one thing to figure out a way to blackmail Beaumont. He would’ve deserved to reap what he’d sewn. The rest of the family was innocent. They’d grown up doing their level best to turn out to be good people. They’d worked hard and took care of their own.

People shocked the hell out of him once they saw green. Was this a case of greed? Or had Becca gotten herself into a situation that she couldn’t see another way out of? Either way, involving her daughter was unforgivable in his book. Annalee deserved so much better from the people she loved. Was it any wonder that she’d run scared at seventeen?

Twigs snapped to his left, just out of sight.

Archer crouched down, ready to pounce. Based on the sounds, there was more than one person. Could he launch a proper attack with a bad ankle? It hurt like the dickens. He’d torn off his sleeve to wrap it.

He tried to listen over the sound of rushing blood in his ears. Pain had a way of making him able to hear his own heartbeat, too.

Other than insects, there wasn’t much going on. He glanced up in time to see birds scattering from the trees. Someone or something was headed his way. He pulled out Travis’s handgun and aimed. In these parts, feral hogs could do a lot of damage.

He scanned the ground for any signs of them and spotted fresh waste. It meant those menaces were in the area and had been near this spot recently.

It dawned on him that hogs would make more noise. By this point, he should hear them grunting or squealing, or both.

A different noise caught his attention.

This had to be footsteps.

Archer crouched a little lower, ready to spring into action.

“Think we lost him?” Travis asked, his voice a port in a storm.

“I’m right here,” Archer whispered, lowering the handgun before standing up and hopping over on one foot.

Owen immediately came over to help. “What happened to you?”

“Got caught in a trap.”

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