Page 32 of River Wild

Treyton had laughed. “You always had so little faith in me.” He’d slammed the door in his father’s face and never looked back.

But this wasn’t his father who’d pulled in. The sun glinted off the windshield of the panel van, not allowing him to see who was driving or who was riding shotgun. But he wasn’t surprised when he heard the side door roll open and saw two men come around the front of the van before the driver and passenger emerged.

Four men. It wasn’t the first time Treyton had been outnumbered, but it could be the last. He scooped up two handfuls of shells and pushed them into his jacket pocket as he walked to the door and threw it open.

“I might not be able to kill you all, but I’m going to try,” he called to them as the men approached, recognizing several of them.

The driver of the van, a stout man with a shaved head who went by the name Ret forretribution, held up his hand, and they all stopped moving toward him. “Just want to talk.”

Treyton laughed. “Not if CJ sent you.”

Ret tilted his head as if considering this. “Any reason CJ would have to send us?”

“None at all. He and I understand each other perfectly, always have. We go way back. Didn’t he tell you that?”

“He did mention that you were a McKenna and he didn’t like McKennas,” Ret said.

“I feel the same way about Staffords. But this is business, right?”

“Right,” Ret agreed and shifted his feet.

The change in the four men was subtle, but Treyton didn’t miss it. He pumped a shell into the shotgun and fired—just short of where the men were standing.

They jumped back, already going for the weapons they’d brought. Treyton knew that the next few shots would have to stop at least three of them if he stood a chance of this not going south. But killing even some of them would bring its own problems.

He pumped into another shell as those critical seconds swept past. Two of the men were moving toward him fast when he heard the roar of a vehicle coming up the road. The men didn’t seem to hear it until the siren and lights turned on and the patrol SUV came to a dust-boiling stop in back of the van.

By then, one of the men had launched himself at Treyton. Rather than pull the trigger, he stepped aside and brought the butt of the shotgun down hard on the man’s shoulder. The blow crumpled him on the porch steps. Treyton gave him a swift kick that rolled him back down the steps and into the dirt.

“There a problem here?” the sheriff asked as he climbed out of the patrol car with his own shotgun.

Treyton McKenna had never been so glad to see the law.

BAILEYFELTSOMETIMESas if she was losing her mind. She’d been focused on the man who’d assaulted her for years now, knowing he was out there. As much as she trusted Stuart with her life, but she wasn’t about to stop looking for the man of her nightmares on her own. She could feel him watching her everywhere she went. He was coming for her. Had he been biding his time for the past twelve years? Or had seeing Willow brought it all back and triggered something in him? Was he even now closer than she knew?

It was as if she could feel his sour breath on her neck, hear his hoarse whisper in her ears.I’m right here, Bailey. Only this time I’m going to kill you—like should have happened the first time. Ready?She could hear his deep, throaty chuckle.Ready or not, here I come.

“Bailey, are you listening?”

She surfaced from her thoughts to realize that she was sitting in her SUV parked in front of the family’s ranch house. She’d been about to climb out when she’d gotten the call. She’d had no choice but to take it and get it over with. At least here in the car, she would have the needed privacy.

“You aren’t going to be able to keep this quiet in a few months,” the woman on the other end of the call was saying.

She was well aware her secret would be out soon. Time was running out.

“I had really hoped we could discuss this in person when you came to Billings. You’ve cancelled two appointments, but I could stay another day if—”

“No. Don’t.” She looked in the rearview mirror at her appearance. The scratches on her face were a daily reminder of what was at stake. She knew that R. Durham was only the first to get wind of what she’d been doing. It would be much worse when more people knew. “I apologize for standing you up in Billings, but family issues have kept coming up.” She couldn’t tell her the truth. Not yet.

“If you’re thinking of backing out—”

“No, it’s too late for that.” She looked away from the mirror to the view of the Powder River Basin stretched to the horizon. She used to love this view, especially this time of year with the cottonwood leaves turning golden along the dark green, quietly flowing river.Coming back here could be the worst mistake I ever made. The last one as well.

“Good, I’m glad you realize that it’s too late for that. I can understand if you’re having second thoughts, but—”

“It’s not that.” Wasn’t it? Not that it mattered. She’d done what she’d done. No turning back now. “It’s fine. Everything’s fine.” She kept saying it as if just voicing the words would make it true, when she knew all along that nothing was going to be fine. In fact, things could get much worse and would if the man coming after her wasn’t found and stopped soon.

As a large, male shadow fell over the driver’s side of her SUV, she froze for an instant before he bent down, and she saw his face. “I have to go,” she said.

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