Page 44 of Ranch's Resolve

“What’s wrong?” Dante asks.

“Athena didn’t make it to the Blanchard ranch. Something’s wrong.” When Smoke answers, I tell him to track the SUV. Putting the phone on speaker, Dante and I wait for Smoke to respond.

“I found it. You’re not going to like it.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: ATHENA

You know how some people sense danger just before they’re caught in it? Yeah, that’s not what happened to me. One minute, I’m driving Santiago to Adele’s, and the next, I’m staring down the barrel of a gun pointed at my face.

“Keep driving,” Carlos orders.

“To where?” I barely manage to choke out—the fear sapping all the moisture from my mouth.

“Crossroads,” he replies.

I shake my head, and take my foot off the pedal, and pull over when I think about all the women and children I’d be putting in danger if I brought this bastard to the shelter. He jabs the gun against my temple, causing me to whimper, but I refuse to do as he says. I don’t want to die, but I will not put others in danger simply to save myself.

He must realize that I’m willing to sacrifice myself because he shifts the gun until it is pointing at his son. “Do it, or I'll shoot him.”

I glance at the terrified face in my rearview mirror. Would this asshole really shoot his son? I glance at Carlos and see the cold promise in his eyes. Yes, he would shoot his son—the bastard. I glance one more time at Santiago and offer him a tightsmile. He’s not looking at me, though; his eyes are glued to the gun pointing at his face.

“I’ll do as you say, but only if you lower the gun. He’s terrified, and you could accidentally shoot him if I hit a bump.”

“Then you better drive carefully,” he sneers, but he lowers the gun. “I’m watching you. Just remember, I have no problem killing you both and leaving your bodies on the side of the road.”

With that threat hanging in the air, I pull away from the curb and drive. Santiago’s whimpers are the only sound for several miles as I consider my options. When Carlos yells at the boy to shut up, the cries increase.

“Why do you want to go to Crossroads?” I ask, hoping that if I can get him talking, he’ll focus on me instead of the child.

“That’s none of your fucking business.”

“You know Adele was waiting for us,” I remind him. “If we don’t show up, she’ll call Ranch. He and his club will come looking for us.”

He sneers. “You think I’m afraid of them?”

“You should be,” I say before I can think better of it.

“They’re all a bunch of pussies. They bought my sob story and gave me another chance. They took me exactly where I wanted to go. What kind of idiot takes the enemy into their home? Weak pussies. That’s who.”

My anger spikes, and I want to let my temper spew all over the ungrateful bastard, but I don’t want to risk Carlos taking it out on his son.

“Being compassionate doesn’t make them weak,” I say calmly. “They gave you another chance because of your son. Is he your son?” I ask, realizing that Carlos could have kidnapped the boy to use as a prop. It would explain why he could so easily threaten the boy’s life.

“He’s mine,” Carlos growls.

“Where is his mother?” I ask, glancing at him in the mirror. He smirks at me.

I shudder at the realization that he probably killed the poor boy’s mother.

“I didn’t kill her. Although I probably should have killed the useless bitch. I gave her everything, and she betrayed me. She took our daughter and bailed.”

“She left her son with you?” I ask before I can stop myself. What kind of mother would leave a child behind? I couldn’t imagine. Unless she knew leaving her son was the only way to protect her daughter, and she knew her son would be okay. I glance at the tear-stained face of the boy and shake my head. If she thought the boy would be safe, she was fooling herself.

“I didn’t give her a choice. He’s my heir, my son. I wasn’t going to leave him with her to coddle and turn into a weak pussy. A boy belongs with his father.”

Well, that made more sense. If she wanted to protect her daughter and couldn’t get to her son, she didn’t have much of a choice. Did she?

I pull into the parking lot outside Crossroads. “You won’t get in,” I tell him. “They have excellent security.”

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