Page 74 of Beat around the Bush
“This is Officer Archer. You can open the door now. There’s no one here.”
“You can hang up with me now,” the woman on the phone said.
“Thank you for your help.” I set the phone down, ending the call, then moved to the door, slowly unlocking it and twisting the handle.
A tall, dark-haired man stood on the other side in full uniform. “Are you feeling okay? Hurt anywhere?” he asked.
I shook my head, opening the door further. “No. I’m okay. Was it a break-in?”
He nodded, his eyes searching mine, which I knew were wide with fear. “Looks like it. If you want to head outside with me, I can get you checked out while you answer a few questions?”
I nodded, my hands still shaking as I held onto the doorknob.
He led me out of the office toward the front of the store, and as we approached the ambulance that was now sitting outside, I realized I’d forgotten my phone in the break room.
“Can you call Lennon? Tell him what happened?” I asked Officer Archer.
“Another officer already did. Left him a voicemail,” he replied.
He was still out on the ranch, oblivious to what was happening here.
Instead of feeling relieved that the police were here, all I wanted was to be in Lennon’s arms, to have his safety net thrown around me like a blanket.
29
Lennon
Latching the gate on Winston’s stall, I headed out of the barn, eager to get to my phone to call Oakley and let her know I was done here.
“You wanna stay for a beer?” Cal asked, coming up beside me as I approached my truck.
“Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow’s good with me. Hey, thanks for coming out here tonight. I know it’s hard with the store and all to make time to come out, but we really appreciated the extra hand with those cows.”
“‘Course, Cal. I’ll always come if you need the help.” I opened the driver's door, reaching in for my phoneon the seat.
Lighting up the screen, I saw a missed call and one voicemail from an unknown number. Cal stayed by me as I held the phone up to my ear, playing the voicemail.
“Hey, Lennon. This is Officer Brandon. There was a break-in at Tumbleweed Feed. The girl’s okay, Officer Archer is inside with her now. Gonna get her checked out, but when you get the chance, give me a call back.”
Then it ended.
And my blood froze in my veins.
“What is it?” Callan asked, seeing the fear on my face.
Was she hurt?
Where was Leo?
“The store. Someone broke in.” It was all I could manage to get out. I hopped in the truck and Callan came around the passenger side, jumping in with a muttered curse.
“Was Oakley there?”
I turned the key with so much force I thought it might snap in half, then threw it into drive, gripping the steering wheel like it could make the old truck go faster. I gunned it down the drive, barely slowing as I turned onto the main road.
“Yes. But Leo was supposed to fucking be there, too.” If something happened to her because Leo fucking left…
