“Talk.”
“Fine. Rovshan is not behind her kidnapping.”
“So it’s her father?” Was he going to try to make her marry someone else?
He could hear Noah’s fingers flying across the keyboard. “I don’t think so. Kara’s father vanished off the face of the earth a little over two weeks ago. That’s not the only strange thing. The family lawyer has gone missing.”
“Why would the lawyer go missing?”
“When I hacked the lawyer's computer to pull the trust, I noticed he had a meeting with Kara’s dad on his calendar. Yesterday, I checked to see if her father had contacted the lawyer at all since the meeting. But he’s been gone since then. I checked with the local police station, and they have a missing person report out on him.”
“Fuck.” Who the hell could have taken his angel? Grayson pounded his fists on the table with such force that all the men sitting around him jumped.
Hank gave him a stern look, telling Grayson to keep his cool.
Bear leaned back in his chair. “Her dad is MIA, and so is the lawyer. We know that Rovshan is no longer after her. Does someone else know how rich she is? Are they trying to get money out of her?”
Grayson joined the men at the table. “How many people work at the ranch?”
Noah’s voice came across the phone. “It seems that over the past two years, they have gotten rid of all the staff and horses. The only person left at the ranch is a longtime foreman, Josiah, and we already knew he was helping her father take her money.”
“Does he have a wife?” Hank asked.
Looking down at his watch, Grayson’s felt his gut churn. Kara had been gone for over an hour. He wanted to jump in the car, head straight to the ranch, and take on the world. Luckily, Hank was thinking with his brain, or they could’ve been wrong and headed to the wrong place.
But the words the waitress had said kept going through his head. “I’m heading home,” Kara had told the waitress. That had to be a clue. Whoever had her was taking her back to the ranch.
Noah confirmed his theory. “No wife but a daughter that looks a lot like your description.”
“Thanks. I’m heading to the ranch.”
“Be safe, brother, and call when you get your woman back.”
Grayson sprung to his feet and faced Hank. “I need a Glock.”
“Hold on. Let's come up with a plan before heading in.”
But Grayson couldn’t stand around any longer, talking about what they were going to do. He needed to save his angel. When Hank looked like he was going to argue, Grayson said, “If that was Sadie that was taken, would you wait around, coming up with a plan? We can ride together and talk on the way.”
Bear and Taz followed in their truck behind Hank and him. The silence in the truck was filled with tension. They had decided to park half a mile away from the entrance of the ranch and work their way up on foot. That way, nobody could hear them coming.
Hank dialed the sheriff to let him know what had happened. He said he was on his way.
* * *
Kara’s headwas pounding as though a kid were playing drums on it. It took a second for the rush of memories to come back—the perfect morning sex followed by the perfect breakfast and then the evil crack whore showing up and destroying her perfect day.
She tried to take stock of her body before she opened her eyes. When Kara tried to move her hands, they were stuck behind her back. A rough rope was twined around her wrists. When she tried to move her legs, they were tied to the chair she was sitting in.
“Open your eyes. I know you're awake.” Josiah's voice was hoarse from years of smoking cigarettes. He didn’t have to say a word for her to know he was close. She could smell the cigarette he was smoking.
Knowing she had no other option, Kara opened her eyes. In the back of her mind, she hoped Grayson was on his way. She knew deep down that her knight in shining armor was going to show up and save the day.
When her eyes adjusted to the dim light in the barn, she looked around for clues. Her eyes landed on a body lying on the floor six feet away from her.
Kara’s mouth went dry, and it was hard to get the words out. “W-Why… did you k-kill… my father?” Kara had known her father wasn’t the best person in the world, but he was all she had left.
“If he had kept his nose out my business, none of this would’ve happened.” Josiah waved his hand toward her father’s still body.