Page 26 of Grayson's Angel

Chapter 11

Kara was excitedto see the ranch this afternoon with Grayson. She wanted to take the horses out and show Grayson where her grandfather would take her to share stories. Something in her gut twisted, hoping he liked her family ranch. It had been five years since she’d stepped foot on the land.

When Kara entered the bathroom, she was shocked to see the foreman’s daughter. The years had not been gentle with her. Her eyes were sunken in, and they no longer sparkled like the ocean. Her shirt had a tear down one side and was covered in dirt and oil. The jeans she was wearing were too large and hung on her hips. The tracks running up her arm were a true indicator that something wasn’t right. Blond hair that used to shine like the sun was matted and unwashed.

“Sarah?”

“Kara, we need to leave.” When Kara just stared in bewilderment, Sarah added, “Now.”

“Why do we need to leave? I’m heading to the ranch once Grayson and I finish breakfast.”

“We can’t go to the ranch. They have my dad, and if you don’t come…” Tears were running down Sarah’s face. “They’ll kill both of our dads. If we don’t leave now, they’ll kill them.”

“Who is going to kill them? You’re not making sense.”

Sarah pulled out her phone and showed Kara a picture of her dad and the foreman of Montana Gold, Josiah, strapped to two chairs. Josiah was hunched over and had blood dripping down his face. It was impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead.

“Let me get Grayson. He can help us.” Kara turned to exit the bathroom and find Grayson as soon as she could.

Before she could make it out of the bathroom, however, cold metal pressed against her back.

She didn’t want to die in the bathroom of Al’s Diner. The previous night, the hours she’d spent in Grayson’s arms, had been the best night of her life. She needed more time with the man she was falling for.

Kara quickly took stock of the bathroom. She didn’t stand a chance of getting away. Her only hope was that Grayson would figure out she was missing and come for her.

“Take a right out of the bathroom. Don’t talk to anyone on the way out. We’re heading out the back door.”

“Why are you doing this, Sarah? I’ll help you save your father. Do you think I wouldn’t try to save my own?”

Sarah jabbed the gun into Kara’s back, trying to get her to move. She stumbled forward, pushing out the bathroom door and knocking into the waitress who had been serving her and Grayson. Kara went to open her mouth to give the waitress some sort of clue she needed help. But she felt the metal touch her skin, and she shut her mouth.

“Sorry,” the waitress mumbled.

When Sarah pointed to the back door, the waitress reached out to stop them. “Only employees are allowed back there.”

Sarah faced the waitress and kept the gun pressed to Kara’s side. “You need to help us.” Sarah was excellent at playing the damsel in distress. Her plea sounded so real. “That man out there has been abusing my friend, and we are trying to get away.”

When the waitress looked like she was about to question her, Sarah pleaded. “That man has been forcing her to stay with him. I’ve been looking for a time to get her away. Please, let us out the back and stall him as long as you can.”

“Is what she is saying true?” The waitress’s voice was filled with concern. “Is that man abusing you?”

When Kara didn’t answer right away, she felt the gun jab painfully into her ribs.

“Yes,” Kara whispered. “Please tell him I can’t be with men like my father. I need to break the cycle, and that starts with going home.”

The waitress nodded and headed toward the dining room. Before she made it around the corner, Kara was shoved out the back door. She didn’t have time to see that there was another person standing outside the door before something hard hit the back of her head, and then everything went dark.

* * *

Grayson and Hank’steam had pulled together a few tables in the diner. Wendy was sitting at the counter with tears running down her face.

Grayson’s phone buzzed in his pocket. When he realized Kara was missing, he had called his brother and asked him to use his computer skills to trace Rovshan or find her father. Noah said he was going to do some digging and call back. Grayson needed to know if Rovshan was behind the incident.

He swiped across the screen to answer. “What do you have?” Grayson put the phone on speaker and laid it in the center of the table.

“Hello to you, too, brother.”

Grayson growled into the phone. He didn’t have time for shit like this. His angel was missing, and he wasn’t sure who took her. From Wendy’s description, he didn’t recognize the woman Kara had left with. Whoever was after her had to be using someone else to help get her away.

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