Page 21 of Stalked at Rescue Ridge

A few more minutes had passed as Kade tried to find the right words. He’d never told a soul about what he’d suffered.

“He started to go after Chloe again.” His sister had screwed up royally in the man’s twisted mind. “She got behind on her chores. He walked in hot from the barn.” Kade shrugged. “Figure I’m a better punching bag than a little girl. That’s all.”

One look from Zeke and Kade knew he didn’t need to explain further. Zeke nodded, stood up, and walked toward his locker. He finished getting dressed before half-turning his head to say, “You want to grab a bite after class today?”

“Sure.” Kade had played the whole beating off like it had been no big deal, but it had been.

The two had been inseparable ever since that day. Zeke had signed up for the military on the same day Kade had. They’d gone through basic and special operations training together. Zeke said it had been his plan all along, but somehow Kade doubted it. The two had made some ridiculous teenage pact to always have each other’s backs.

Kade veered left at the fork in the road. The wrong direction for the sheriff’s, he knew. There was something he needed to do first, a place he needed to go. It was close enough to the abduction site to make him wonder if it would make a good place to park and hide until any heat blew over.

After cutting off the engine and locking his truck he walked the short path brought back a whole mess of memories. The first time Zeke had shown Kade this place. The first time Kade had drank a beer. The first time Kade lost his…hell, he didn’t need to continuethatwalk down Memory Lane. Thinking about sex always brought him back to his weekend fling with Bree. She’d pretty much ruined him for casual sex ever since. Moving on after mind-blowing sex had never been an issue before her. He’d chalked it up to nostalgia or history.

She belonged to Zeke. And he was gone.

If Kade had told his buddy about the weekend he and Bree had shared, would Zeke have dated her when it had been his turn to come home on leave?

Probably not. Zeke never would’ve made a move on someone Kade was interested in. And vice versa.

Bree must’ve realized what a huge mistake she’d made in sleeping with no-commitment Kade and had decided to move on to the stable friend. Zeke had said he loved her and wanted to make things permanent, while Kade had made it clear to her that he didn’t do repeat performances.

The news about Zeke and Bree had come as a shock, though. Zeke would’ve worked his butt off to make Bree happy. Kade had nothing to give except disappointment and pain.

Case in point, look how much he was hurting his baby sister by moving away. Was it stopping him? Nope. He was a bastard who was only capable of hurting those closest to him, those who cared about him the most.

He shoved those thoughts down deep as he stood on the water’s edge, looking across the pond. There were no other vehicles here, so he started to turn back and head to the sheriff’s.

A noise jerked him from his reverie. An animal? Was it hurt? The sound echoed through the barren cornfield. Kade glanced toward his truck before taking off in the direction of the cries. It would be fine parked there since he’d cut the engine and pocketed the key. There was no one else around for miles. It was night. If he could help the poor animal, he felt a responsibility to try.

He fished his cell phone from his back pocket and flicked on the flashlight app to steer the way toward the sound.

After a couple of minutes of jogging through an empty field, he stopped and listened. He listened carefully but didn’t hear the noise again. He stood still for a minute.

Nothing.

His flashlight app gave him a field of vision of roughly seven feet, give or take. Not much to go on. Kade increased his pace, a wave of frustration crashing into him that he couldn’t find the hurting animal.

A jolt of anger blasted his chest. The accompanying feeling of helplessness brought him back to that transport, to watching his best friend as he’d been shot.

Kade dropped to his knees. Unbridled anger fired holes through him like rounds shot from an AR-15—rapid, random, and relentless.

A scream tore from his throat as he pounded the unforgiving soil with both fists.

And then he heard the sound again. It could be an echo of his own cries or his mind playing tricks on him. In the next second, he was on his feet, with his boots moving in the direction of the wounded animal.

Determination and focus had him stalking through the darkness. An old barn came into view. Was the animal trapped inside? Hurt? Kade doubled his pace.

As he neared, he saw that a word had been scribbled backwards in the dirty window. He mentally rearranged the letters to read…H E L P.

Kade mumbled a slew of swear words. Going inside without thoroughly casing the place first or collecting intel could be a costly mistake. He had no idea what waited in the barn. All he knew was the strangled cry would haunt him if he didn’t act fast.

He crouched low. His pulse pounded as an all-too-familiar surge of adrenaline thumped through him. He felt alive again. Coming out of his old life—the only life he’d known for well over a decade—and into the real world after sixteen years of service was a bigger shock than he’d expected.

With the swipe of his thumb, he cut off his cell’s flashlight. One more swipe and the volume control was muted. He crawled toward the building, keenly aware of every noise. The cool wind gusted and blasted against the windows.

He hadn’t expected to need to rely on skills gained in the military here in Saddle Junction. This entire situation had caught him off guard.

Instinct took over, and he prepared to face an unknown enemy.Thishe understood.Thishad been his life for the past sixteen years.Thismade him feel like blood pumped in his veins again. A lot of good any of this would do. Soon enough, he was getting the hell out of Saddle Junction and moving on to a new life.

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