Barb Han - Ransom At Christmas

He wasn’t on the hike five minutes when his cell vibrated in his pocket. He balanced the woman in his arms, using a tree as a foundation, then slipped a hand in his jeans pocket and fished out his phone. He hit the green button with his thumb before cradling the phone against his shoulder.

“Got a strange visitor today.” Will instantly recognized the voice of his older brother, Mitch.

That didn’t sound good.

“Oh, yeah? Who?” he asked.

“A woman stopped by and said her friend was missing. She wanted to know if any of us had seen her and then in a blast-from-the-past move she held up a picture of Kelly Morgan.” Shock didn’t begin to describe Will’s reaction.

“Do you remember her from school?” Mitch asked.

“I have her right here in my arms,” Will admitted. “She’s wearing a wedding dress and a man with a gun was chasing her when I ran into her near the base of Rushing Creek.”

“Are you okay?” Mitch’s concern came through clearly.

“So far, so good, but the shooter could still be out here.” Rushing Creek had seen a little too much action considering his brother had found the dead heifer near the exact same spot where Will found Kelly.

“What’s going on? Did she say?” Mitch asked before it seemed to dawn on him that Will had said she was in his arms. “Did you say you’re carrying her?”

“That’s right. She conked out after asking me not to call Zach,” Will informed him.

“What about the man with the gun? Did she run out on him before their wedding?” Mitch was trying to piece together the story. Heck if Will could fill in his brother.

“He didn’t ask questions before he started shooting,” Will said.

His brother bit out a few expletives. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. She has blood on her dress and the guy’s loose on the property,” he said. “I’m on my way back to Domino where I tied him off.”

“I’ll call Zach.”

“Before Kelly passed out she warned me about bringing in the law,” Will revealed.

“Zach? What could she possibly be talking about? He’s honest and there’s no better investigator in the state.”

“We both know that but I guess she hasn’t figured it out. I’m scratching my head but I imagine she has her reasons,” Will said. “I didn’t pick up any signs of alcohol on her breath, but I have to admit she was acting odd when I found her. Then a guy shows up with a gun and starts shooting. No one’s stopping to ask questions. I grabbed her and took off.”

“Is she hurt?” Mitch issued a sharp breath. His brother wouldn’t like anything about this situation.

“There’s not enough blood for her to still be bleeding,” Will said after taking stock.

“Sounds like she needs a doctor, anyway,” Mitch said and Will agreed.

“I’d like to keep all this under the radar until we know exactly who and what we’re dealing with,” Will said.

“You already know I’ll help any way I can.” Will’s older brother had never let him down.

“I know.” He heard a branch-snapping noise to the east so he lowered his voice when he said, “I’m not out of the woods yet.”

“Where are you now?”

Will provided his general location and where he’d left his horse.

“Hold on. I’m sending men your way right now to secure the area,” Mitch said. “I’ll get Dr. Carter to the house and Zach on the line. We’ll figure this out.”

“I don’t want to endanger anyone unnecessarily,” Will warned.

“How’s Kelly’s breathing?” Mitch asked.

Will dropped his gaze to her chest, doing his level best to ignore her curves. Relief flooded him when he saw her chest rise and fall, steady and strong. “Seems good.” He forced his gaze away from her full breasts, which were pressing against the sheer white of her dress.

“We’ll seal off the area. Make sure this guy can’t get to the house or the casita,” Mitch said.

“Make sure everyone’s careful. This guy isn’t a good aim but he’s not afraid to pull the trigger and spray shells from here to Louisiana. Wish I’d gotten a better look at him so I could give a description,” Will admitted.

“We can work with what we’ve got.” Mitch paused. “He should be the only one out there aside from you since you were working alone today. Right?”

Will had thought about the possibility of others. “Can’t be one-hundred-percent sure what we’re dealing with. It’s safer to assume there are more.” His family was his rock and always had been. The Kent people were a close bunch and especially after losing both parents in the last four years. “I appreciate you.”

“Goes without saying,” Mitch acknowledged.

This land and this family were Will’s life and had become the only two things he cared about since his ex had walked out. Even so, he’d been restless since returning from his tour. He figured it came with the territory. Leaving the military, where his life was literally on the line daily, and returning to a quiet civilian life had seemed like a good plan. Get back to nature. Get his bearings again. Be normal. But things had changed. He’d changed . He hadn’t quite gotten his footing yet.

“The minute she wakes I’ll find out what I can,” Will stated, still on a whisper so as not to draw unwanted attention.

“Zach will need anything we can give him to work with,” Mitch agreed. “Be careful out there until we can get you some backup.”

“Will do.”

“Love you, man,” Mitch said before he ended the call on a similar sentiment.

Fifteen minutes after the conversation with his brother, Will came upon the spot where he’d left Domino.

The horse was gone.

KELLY BLINKED HER eyes open. She felt woozy and disoriented as she pushed up on her elbows.

Fear seized her as she realized it was pitch black and she had no idea where she was or what she was doing there.

“You awake?” A familiar male voice sent a shiver of awareness through her.

She didn’t respond because warning bells also sounded.

He must’ve realized she was scared beyond belief because he added, “It’s Will Kent. I found you on my ranch about an hour ago.”

She searched her memory… Will Kent? The wealthy kid she remembered from grade school? What on earth would she be doing with him? An image of a large man wearing a tuxedo rippled panic through her.

“What are you wearing?” she said in a whisper. Her voice was raspy.

“What?” He sounded bewildered but she needed to know.

“Clothes. What do you have on?” she choked out.

There was a moment of silence before a sharp breath issued. “Well, let’s see. I have on jeans and a T-shirt.”

Tux was definitely not Will Kent. Relief was a flood to dry plains.

“Where am I?” she whispered.

“In a casita on my family’s land. I’d open a curtain or turn on a light but we can’t risk being discovered until help arrives.” His voice brought a sense of calm over her she knew better than to trust.

She strained to remember but it felt like someone had poured concrete inside her skull and it had hardened.

“Why am I here?” she finally asked, hating that she sounded scared.

“You tell me,” the strong masculine voice said. The deep timbre reverberated down her spine, sending sensual tingles behind it. Her reactions were totally inappropriate to the situation and she mentally chided herself for them.

“Mind if I come closer?” Will asked.

She felt around her body to see if she was wearing clothes and was relieved to find that she was. But then she couldn’t imagine a man like Will Kent taking advantage of her.