Page 80 of Every Single Vow
I pull my phone out again, scrolling to her location. The blue dot shows her to be here. Still at the carnival. I exit out, then dial her number again. The faint sound of a phone ringing echoes in the dark. I swivel around, trying to locate the source.
Another ring.
Moving to the side of the trailer, I glance around the back, and that’s when I see it. Lighting up in the dirt.
Her phone.
“Fuck,” I hiss as I stride toward it.
Swiping it off the ground, I go to her calls. Nothing out of the ordinary. No unknown numbers. Then I open her text messages.
And that’s when I realize.
He’s been watching. He was here. And my worst fucking fear may have just become a reality.
He took her. He took my wife.
Chapter fifty-three
Dakota
My head pounds as I attempt to peel open my eyes. The room before me is a blur, but the smell is unmistakable. Crazy, I haven’t stepped foot in this place in years, and I can tell by one inhale where I’m at.
I’m in hell.
The stench of stale cigarettes brings back a flash of memories. Ones I’d buried beneath my broken heart. Ones I’d promised I wouldn’t let erase the woman I’d become. But sitting here, the memories whip around me like an unexpected hurricane. Fast and relentless.
When my eyes adjust to the dim room, the first thing I spot is the broken down couch. The same one my father used to pass out on after he drank too much whiskey. I thought it was odd no one ever moved into this trailer after he went to prison. But according to the red spray paint that's displayed across the front door readingtainted,it's no surprise.
“There she is.” The voice to my left has me shifting my eyes.
I lift my legs to move, but my hands are tied behind my back.
Perfect.
“Dean.” I lean back against the warped paneling. “Didn’t peg you for the bondage type.”
“Then I guess you misjudged me,” he says smugly, standing from the chair at the metal kitchen table.
“Care to share what this is all about?” I ask calmly.
Dean was a few years older than me, so I didn't know him well outside of the horse business or a random social setting. His family’s ranch was well known. Aside from the rumors that his father had made some financial decisions that were questionable, they appeared to be getting along just fine. I mean, they hired me. I never went there with Dean.And I'm beginning to see why. Honestly, I didn’t go there with many men contrary to what my friends think. Just because there’s some flirting and a little two stepping, it often stopped there. Or in front of my trailer when I was dropped off. I was ok with them thinking I was living a single cowgirl’s dream. I didn’t want them to know how much it hurt to know I’d never be the woman that Cooper Mayson took home.Or so I thought.
“Cooper Mayson? Really?” He scoffs.
So that’s what this is about? A grown man throwing a hissy because he didn't get picked for the team?
“How mature.” I roll my eyes. “Ego take a hit, Dean?”
He stalks forward, his hands clenching at his sides. “I’ve never had a woman reject me. Never.” He paces across the room.“Married. Single. Widowed.” He glares at me. “They always want me.”
Wow. Arrogant much?
“But not you,” he sneers. “You think you’re better than me? That because you can ride a fucking horse and have a Mayson eating out of the palm of your hand my bed is not good enough?”
He’s practically yelling, his eyes wide with anger. I’ve never seen him act this way. He’s always the cool cowboy. Throwing winks and tossing lines.
“Is this really about me?” I tilt my head. “Sounds to me like it's not that I don’t want you. It’s that I chose aMaysonover you.”
