Page 2 of Beau
I fought, then hissed, “Me? Why me?”
Slowly, he stood, then tugged me between two dually pickups. His steps were labored and his back was hunched. I fought him, but he now had anger on his side. “Because.”
That was a dumb answer.
“Listen, mister. You don’t want to do this. You’re moving into felony territory here. You want to go to jail? I mean, I can see how–”
Even though the guy still gripped my bicep, I skidded to a stop in the dirt at a circle of cowboys we’d approached. You’d think they were on the range around a campfire, but they were on low stools or flipped over milk crates around a makeshift table behind a battered RV at the very back of the lot. A lantern was on it to illuminate the pile of cash in the center.
Five men holding cards looked up at my surprise arrival.
“Jesus, woman. Shut up,” my kidnapper said, sounding frustrated.
When a man told a woman to be quiet, it was a given that she didn’t listen. So I screamed. A handclamped over my mouth to silence me, so I bit down.
“Fuck!”
Then he shook me so hard my teeth rattled.
“Just shut the fuck up for a minute, will ‘ya?”
I recognized two of the card players by sight, but didn’t know the other three. They all wore various combinations of jeans, snap shirts, Stetsons and worn leather boots. They ranged in age from early twenties to late thirties. Mustaches, tattoos, and other distinguishing features varied. One attitude was the same. None of them came to my rescue.
Which meant, I was in trouble. So I did the only thing a sane woman would do. I screamed again.
2
BEAU
I was windingup my bull rope to stow away in the back of my pickup when Cammie came running up like she was being chased by a stampede.
“Beau!”
I turned abruptly and took in her fear-filled face.
She skidded to a stop before me, breathing hard, tears streaming down her cheeks.
I set my hand on her shoulder. “What’s the matter? Where’s Momma? Are youhurt?”
My gaze raked down her body and back up in a quick check.
She shook her head, her hair flying, breathing ragged. “No, I’m not hurt. Momma’s watching the quilt judging and will meet me inside to watch the events. She saved me. You have to go help.”
“Momma saved you? From what?”
“Not Momma. Another woman. This man… he, he was nice and we were talking. Asked if I wanted to go somewhere and talk some more, but I thought he meant inside the arena. Like get a funnel cake or something. Then he’s leading me away into the back lot and–I said no. I told him I didn’t want to go with him but his hold was so tight. There wasn’t anyone around until her and… oh my God.”
She was a little frantic, but coherent. Her words made me see red. Some man had fucked with my kid sister. Had been taking her off somewhere. Against her will.
Someone was gonna die tonight.
She was twenty, a dozen years younger than me and a product of our momma’s second–and much more successful–marriage. The two of them came from Bozeman to see me compete and enjoy the fair. While I didn’t have an event tonight–the bullriding was scheduled for tomorrow–I helped my friends who’d been in the steer wrestling event, the girls did the rides and took in the fair’s exhibits.
“What man?” I snapped, looking over her shoulder.
She put her arm behind her. “Back there. Almost to the back of the field beyond the other trucks and trailers. She stopped us when we were beside a trailer that had a picture of an alpaca on the side. I don’t know if she got away.”
A junior in college, Cammie was studying nursing. Smart. Pretty. Kind. I protected her as best I could, but I’d graduated high school and gone off on my own when she was still a toddler. She had a good head on her shoulders, but I’d ask her later why she’d gone off with the guy in the first place. “Good job. You saidshesaved you. Who is she?”
