Saving Emily (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 9

  There was no fucking way in hell he was letting her leave.

  * * * *

  As soon as Chad had told him about Emily, Adam jumped onto his horse and raced back toward the ranch house. He jumped off his mount and threw the reins toward one of the men and rushed over to Chad.

  “Where is she?” Adam asked in a loud, angry voice.

  “She’s taken Bess for her daily exercise. My guess would be the stream. That’s where she usually heads to.”

  “Fuck. Okay, thanks, Chad,” Adam rushed back over to his stallion, snatched the reins back, mounted up, and urged his horse into a gallop.

  Adam reigned in half an hour later. When he spotted Bess tethered to a low tree branch cropping the grass, he gave her a pat before taking the well-worn track to the stream. He knew Emily loved this place. She often climbed up onto the big rock and sat watching the water flow in the stream, but when he saw the rock was empty, he looked around. He couldn’t see her anywhere and he began to get really worried.

  “Emily, where are you, baby?” Adam shouted. “Come on, Em, answer me!”

  He moved down closer to the stream and started searching the ground hoping to find which direction she’d gone. He squatted down when he saw an indent in the small stones and ground beneath and studied the area more closely. There was a larger depression no more than a foot away from the smaller one.

  When he glanced to the side and saw the thick tree branch, he looked up and wondered how that limb had gotten where it was, since the trees weren’t close to where it was. He didn’t think that even good gust of wind could have blown it that far down.

  Adam was about to pick it up when he noticed a small smear of dark red on the side of the limb and a couple of strands of blonde hair stuck to the deadwood.

  When he realized what he was seeing, he felt like he’d been sucker punched in the stomach and he got scared for Emily, but he needed to stay calm so that he and Cole could find her. He took a deep breath and released it before glancing back at the ground, and he saw the disturbed pebbles and dirt. He tracked the path back to Bess and noticed another set of hoof prints three meters from where she was grazing.

  Adam retrieved his cell from his pocket to call Cole.

  Someone had hurt their woman and taken her.

  Chapter Eight

  Emily awoke again with darkness all around her. Her head was pounding so much she couldn’t shake the sick feeling in her stomach and had to swallow a few times to try and keep the nausea at bay.

  She was so thirsty and feeling weak from pain and, she suspected, dehydration. She had no idea how long she’d been here but figured it had been for hours. No matter how hard she tried to stay awake, she couldn’t, and she assumed she had a slight concussion.

  She forced herself to use her numb hands to scoot along the cave wall. She shifted along inch by excruciating inch, feeling around the ground with her finger tips looking for something sharp before moving along again. She scrabbled around in the dirt until she found a rock with sharp edges. Emily bit on her lip to keep her cry of pain contained when she felt it slice through the palm of her hand.

  Determined to get out of the cave before Ray returned, she ignored the pain in her palm, clutched at the sharp rock, and carefully turned it with her numb fingers until it was aimed at the rope that was around her wrists. Carefully bending her wrists, she set about scraping the sharp edge along the rope.

  She worked until her hands and arms ached so much she felt as if they would fall off. She took a rest for a couple of minutes until she had a small amount of feeling back in her fingers, then set about scraping the rope with the rock again. Emily felt like she had been in the cave for days. She had no concept of time. What mattered was getting out of here before Ray came back and killed her.

  Emily was so tired, but she knew if she stopped to rest now it may well be too late to save Adam and Cole, so she kept scraping and scoring the rope until she slipped and cut her wrist instead of the hemp, making her whimper with pain. Warm sticky fluid trickled down her hand and fingers.

  Her head throbbed, her wrists hurt, her fingers were numb, and she felt so sick and tired. She slumped in exhaustion against the cold damp rock wall, feeling herself sliding sideways but unable to stop her fall, and cried out just before she fainted.

  * * * *

  Cole arrived back at the ranch house at the same time Adam came galloping into the yard. They rushed toward each other and Adam explained what he’d found beside the stream and he wondered if he looked as scared at his brother. He certainly felt it, but he pushed his fear aside and started giving orders. They needed to find Emily.

  “Chad,” Cole barked out. “I want you to round up all available hands for a search party. Emily’s missing. I want to know if any of the ranch hands have been missing at any time today and if Chris has been spotted near here recently.”

  “On it, boss,” Chad replied and took off to do as ordered by Cole.

  “Adam, go get the emergency pack from the stables, just in case we need the first-aid kit. Make sure to put some food and fresh water into the pack and add an extra blanket to your bedroll.” Cole knew he wouldn’t get a reply from Adam because he was already headed to the house.

  Chad came out of the stables with all the available ranch hands, noticing they were all equipped for camping overnight if necessary.

  “Anyone missing?” Cole asked.

  “Ray Spinner.”

  “Is he the hand that was good friends with Chris?” Cole asked with trepidation.

  “Afraid so.”

  “Fuck.” Cole let go of his control for an instant. “I presume one of my horses is also missing.”

  “Star.”

  Taking a deep breath for constraint, he turned to address the men. “Okay, listen up. First, I appreciate you all being here at the moment. We’re gonna need all the help we can get. Emily has gone missing and we suspect not by choice. Ray Spinner is also missing. Emily’s been missing for at least three hours, from what we can gather. From what Adam found by the stream, she’s probably hurt.

  “Jack, I want you to call the sheriff’s department and inform them what’s going on. Get them to check out Ray Spinner and see if they have any information on him. Text me as soon as you hear anything.

  “Everyone needs to put their cell phones on vibrate. We don’t want to spook Ray into hurting Emily, but we need to stay in contact.

  “If any of you find Emily, you are to inform Adam and me immediately. We only have about an hour or so of light left. If possible, I want Emily found before the night’s over. Thanks, guys. Let’s mount up.”

  The hands went out in groups in every direction and Adam and Cole left moments later. They had all they needed to care for their woman if they found her.

  No! We are going to find Emily tonight. I’m not giving up until she is back safe and sound in my arms.

  Cole and Adam went back to the stream to see if they could find any more evidence or trails. Adam was okay at spotting some things, but when it came to tracking, Cole was more experienced.

  He examined the ground and then moved a little more toward the stream. “Looks like a horse was taken through the stream.” Cole pointed to the deeper hoof impressions near the water’s edge about ten yards from where the large branch was. “Had quite a load on its back, too. The hoof prints are deeper here than they were near the trees. Looks like someone was riding double.”

  Cole and Adam rushed back to their horses without speaking and Cole took the lead across the stream. They remained quiet, each lost in their thoughts about getting to Emily but also aware of their surroundings.

  They rode for about two miles until they were facing a fairly steep, rocky incline. Cole dismounted again to study the ground indicating the direction to head was along the rock face to the north. He and Adam moved silently in case Ray was close by.

  Cole was starting to feel desperate because the sun was almost down. They needed to find Emily before it was too late. She was the othe
r half of him. She was their heart and soul. He and Adam had both loved her for years. If they found her alive and well, Cole didn’t think he would be able to let her out of his sight again.

  Something on the ground up ahead was out of place. Cole squinted his eyes and then stopped, and after signaling Adam to keep quiet, he dismounted. He picked up the bit of cotton and pain pierced his chest when he saw the blood on it. Without saying a word, he handed it to Adam and watched as fear and fury filled his brother’s gaze.

  Adam opened his mouth but Cole grabbed his forearm in a harsh grip before he could make a sound. When Adam had his anger back under control, Cole pointed ahead of them and, after releasing his brother’s arms, placed a finger of his lips.

  About twenty yards in front of them, just inside the line of trees, Star was tethered to a branch.

  Cole indicated to Adam to dismount, and then they walked their horses into the copse and he prayed like hell the horses wouldn’t give them away by communicating to each other. Once they’d secured their own mounts, Cole sent a quick text message to Chad, giving him their approximate location and telling him that they had found Star.

  * * * *

  Emily was pulled from her faint when rough hands grabbed at her arms in a bruising, painful grip, and she whimpered with agony and fear as she was hauled to her feet. Moaning in pain earned her a shaking, which compounded her aching body and the throbbing in her head and she started to retch. She stumbled when she tried to take a step to the side and then fell to her knees when her tethered ankles brought her to an abrupt halt and she lost her balance. Thank God she had managed to stay on her knees and hadn’t fallen flat on her face. The scent of stale tobacco assaulted her nostrils and she breathed through her mouth and hoped like hell she wouldn’t start heaving again. There was nothing in her stomach to throw up and she only brought up sour-tasting bile.

  She cried out when she was once more pulled to her feet and then again when she was slammed up against the cold hard wall of the cave, her sore head bouncing off the rock behind her. She could barely stay on her feet. Her knees were shaking and even though she tried to lock them, they wouldn’t cooperate. Her head felt like it was swimming and like it was disconnected from the rest of her.

  “Shut up, you fucking whore,” Ray yelled and smashed her against the rock again. “If it hadn’t been for your stupid fucking asshole of a brother, you wouldn’t be in this situation. He owes me money and I’m going to get it one way or another. If those two hotshot bastards who own the land in this godforsaken country don’t pay me to get you back, I’m going to take it out of your hide.”

  Ray was now leaning so close to her she could feel his breath on her neck. She turned her head away, but he licked and then bit into the side of her neck. Emily cried out again and tears ran down over her cheeks. She felt so sick and weak, she didn’t think could get away from him even if she tried.

  “I’d bet you’d like that wouldn’t you, bitch? I’ll show you what a real man is made of. You won’t need two men to satisfy you after you’ve been with me.” Ray licked her neck again.

  He shoved her against the wall again and she realized the only reason she was still on her feet was because he was gripping her neck and her head was swimming because of her head injury and being knocked on the wall as well as lack of oxygen. She was only getting a minimum amount of air into her lungs when she breathed in. She gagged when Ray licked her neck again and then up over her jaw bone and cheek.

  She opened her mouth to try to answer him but nothing came out. He made a growling noise, released her throat, shoved his hand against her stomach, and then slapped her face hard.

  Stars exploded behind her eyelids and even though she wanted to drift into unconsciousness where she would no longer feel any more pain, she didn’t want to pass out. He could do anything he wanted to her and she would never even know it.

  Emily didn’t want him to rape and kill her while she was out of it, so she fought to stay in her pain-filled world. At least she knew she was still alive. She breathed deeply and evenly and eventually the ringing in her ears cleared and her head stopped swimming.

  Ray released her without saying anything and Emily slid down the wall to land on her ass in the dirt and on the rock floor. Maybe she could talk him out of this. Maybe she could get him to see reason. It was worth a try. Anything was worth a try.

  “Why are you doing this, Ray? What have I ever done to you to deserve this?” Emily asked in a calm, even voice.

  “Shut up, you fucking bitch,” Ray screamed so loudly, his voice echoed throughout the cave.

  She could hear him moving around and tried to see what he was doing but she couldn’t He had to know this place like the back of his hand to be moving around without any artificial light. Had he planned this all along? Was this where Chris came when he wanted to buy drugs from Ray?

  It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but getting away from him. She needed to get her hands free and then she could fight him. She clenched her fists and nearly cried out in jubilation when she felt the sharp rock still in her hand. She was so cold and numb she could barely feel it, but now that she had, she set to work again, scraping the edge over the ropes around her wrists. She prayed that Ray wouldn’t hear the slight noise the stone made as she sawed it back and forth. When she didn’t hear him moving toward her, she kept right on going and hoped she could weaken the hemp enough to separate her wrists even if she couldn’t get it off.

  Emily shook with fear when she heard him coming back and decided she couldn’t stop what she was doing so she started talking to cover her actions.

  “They’ll come for me, you know. Cole and Adam. When they find out I’m missing, they won’t give up until they find me, Ray. Why don’t you take me back to the ranch before they find out I’m gone. I won’t tell them what you did, they need never know.”

  “Do you think I’m fucking stupid? I know they’ll come for you. That’s what I want. They’ll give me the money your fucking asshole of a brother owes me. Then I’ll be able to leave this fucking hellhole. If it wasn’t for your stupid fucking brother none of this would have happened. He owes me ten thousand dollars. If I don’t get that money by tomorrow night, I’m a dead man.”

  Come on, Emily. She encouraged herself silently as she felt a little of the rope around her wrist give. Keep going. You can do this. God knows how many times she slipped, cutting her own skin as she used her contorted fingers and wrists to cut into the ropes with the sharp piece of stone. She could hardly feel anything, the ropes were that tight.

  “If you let me go, I’ll ask Cole and Adam for the money and give it to you. Please, Ray, let me go. I haven’t done anything to you.” Emily tried to swallow the sob in her chest but she couldn’t.

  “You must think I have no brains at all if you think I’ll believe that. As soon as I let you go, you’d go running to those two bastards and the cops will be crawling all over the place. I’m getting sick and tired of your whining and crying,” Ray said through what sounded like clenched teeth, and she trembled when he moved closer still.

  Emily felt him right next to her. He was either squatting or kneeling, so she stopped cutting the rope and tried to move away from him. She froze with terror when she felt something hard and cold press against her throat.

  “If you make one more fucking sound I’m going to slit your throat right now. So if I were you I’d shut the fuck up.”

  Even though she tried to stay still, she couldn’t stop shaking. Whatever was against her neck was cold and thin so she thought it must be a knife. He didn’t move away like she expected him to, but sat close to her not moving. She could hear him breathing over her own rapid pants, or maybe it was that she could feel his breath ruffling her hair.

  Emily started to think that she wouldn’t get out of this after all and started praying. Please God? Please guide Cole and Adam to me. Please help them find me before he kills me.

  She nearly fainted with relief when Ray removed the knife and then
moved away. She was shaking so much her teeth were chattering, but she slumped with relief for her momentary reprieve.

  Emily drew in breath after breath and tried to calm her racing heart. It slowed a little but not much, and even though it was hard to get her body to obey her brain, she made her fingers move and started scraping at the rope with the rock again.

  She didn’t want to die.

  Chapter Nine

  Adam followed Cole as he crept along the rock face near the bottom of the incline, both of them scanning for Ray to see where he was hidden.

  Cole turned to face him, grabbed his arm, and pointed out a gap he hadn’t seen behind some scraggly sage bushes halfway up the hill. Then his brother pointed back to the tree where they had hidden their horses and they quietly made their way back down.

  “What are we going to do, Cole?” Adam asked in a whisper once they were hidden in the copse, but they were both watching that entrance into the side of the hill. “We can’t go in there. We’d have to go in blind. We’ll be sitting ducks. We’ll be putting ourselves and Emily in danger.”

  “He’s gotta come out some time. He can’t stay in there forever. He has to pee just like the rest of us and when he does, we’ll be ready,” Cole said in a whisper-soft voice which made even him shiver. “There’s only a few minutes of light left. We’re going stay here. We’ll take turns getting some shut-eye. You sleep and I’ll take first watch.”