Page 48 of Ranch's Resolve

“Do you need me to call Tally?” Dante asks Scar.

He shakes his head. “No, her wounds aren’t too bad. The blood is from a head wound. Those bleed a lot. I don’t think she has any broken bones, just bruising. The bruises around her neck aren’t severe. I think he choked her into unconsciousness.”

“That’s what he did to me,” I choke out. My voice sounds like I’ve gargled with rocks. My throat feels the same.

“What happened?” Dante asks as Carver hands me a glass of water. I smile at him appreciatively.

After taking a sip, I tell him about Carlos hiding in the SUV and forcing me here at gunpoint. “If he were only threatening me, I would have let him shoot me,” I tell Dante. Ranch growls and tightens his arms. I absently pat his arm as I continue my story. “I didn’t know for certain that he’d shoot Santiago, but I couldn’t take the chance. I thought for certain the security at Crossroads would keep Carlos out. I was wrong. Everything worked against it. He hid on the floor of the SUV when I drove through the first gate. Then he avoided the cameras and killed the guard before she knew there was a problem. Then, when we got outside, no one was around to raise the alarm. He had us trapped in here within minutes. He caught me when I went for the silent alarm. That’s when he choked me out.”

Ranch growls again. Dante sends him a look but returns his focus to me. “Why did he want to come here?”

“Selena is the mother of his children. Santina and Santiago are both his. At least that’s what he said. I don’t know how the two children got separated. I have a feeling he took the boy and left the girl. He told me he wasn’t going to kill anyone, that he wanted to deliver a message.” I look at Selena’s broken body and know that he achieved his goal.

Selena stirs and groans in pain as Scar calmly speaks to her. Selena’s eyes fly open at the sound of Scar’s voice. She jolts away from him but then stills when she sees the room full of men wearing denim and leather kuttes.

“You’re okay,” Caitlin assures her. “These men are your friends. They won’t hurt you. I’m so sorry this happened to you. You were supposed to be safe here.” Caitlin sends me a look that tells me she’s partially blaming me for this situation. I can’t say I don’t blame her. I’m blaming myself, too. Ranch must have seen the look, or maybe he felt me flinch because he squeezes me again and whispers encouraging words into my hair.

“Where are my children?” Selena asks in a panic.

“They’re safe,” Caitlin assures her. “Kingsley is with them in the bedroom. We can bring them out here, but we weren’t sure if you wanted them to see you like this.”

“It isn’t the first time they’ve seen me after one of Carlos’s lessons,” Selena says bitterly. “I need them, please?”

“Of course.” Caitlin rises and leaves the room, returning quickly with Santiago’s hand in hers and Kingsley right behind them with Santina. Both children rush to their mother. Scar moves to intercept them. He likely wants to save Selena some pain, but the children don’t throw themselves at her. Instead, they treat her with such care and caution that tears prick my eyes.

Selena hugs both her children and cries. We all stay silent as she works through her emotions. She wipes the tears away before sitting up against the couch. The kids bookend her asshe faces us. Reaching forward, she grabs Caitlin’s hand and squeezes it. “Don’t blame yourself or Athena for what happened today. Carlos is why I didn’t want to stay here. I knew he’d find a way to get to me. I’m certain he threatened Santiago, and that's the only reason Athena brought them here. Am I right?”

I nod. “I’m so sorry, but I didn’t know what to do. If it had just been me…”

Ranch growls again. “Shut your mouth. I don’t want you ever to sacrifice yourself. You need to do everything you can to stay alive and know that we will find you and rescue you.”

“He’s right,” Dante says. “As harrowing as today has been, it has shown the holes in our security. We’ll fix them and make this place safer. Right?” Dante asks Caitlin.

Caitlin glances at me and smiles before giving me a sharp nod. “Yes. We can’t change the past; we can only move forward.”

“Speaking of moving forward, what did Carlos want?” Dante asks Selena.

“To remind me that I can never escape him and to leave Santiago with me.” Selena kisses the top of Santiago’s head before continuing. “Carlos took Santiago away from me after I tried to escape. He knew I wouldn’t leave without my son. He was right. However, when he hurt Santina…” Selena chokes up.

“You had to make the hard choice,” I say.

Selena nods. “I had to trust that he would never hurt his son. Carlos has many faults, but he loves Santiago, in his way.”

“Why did he choose to leave Santiago with you now? Hell, why did he leave the three of you here?” Ranch asks.

“Because he and his brother are ready to make their move. They have a score to settle.”

“What score?” Dante asks.

“I don’t know. I’ve only heard snippets of his conversation with Cruz. Cruz wanted to go back to Mexico, but Carlos told him they can’t return to Mexico until they’re ready to attack.”

“Attack who?” Dante asks.

“I don’t know. Does it matter?”

“Maybe. Carlos returned to Mexico a few hours ago.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: RANCH

---