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Her arm is trickling blood and littered with splinters from when the door came down. The rest of her is covered in bruises, and dried blood is crusted on her shirt.
I should’ve made him suffer. A shot to the head was too merciful.
I slow the vehicle, pulling my phone from my back pocket. I hit Cash’s name.
“What happened?” He knows something’s wrong as soon as he answers.
“Don’t let anyone on our land. I need you to get to the dirt road near the old hunting cabin. We have a body to get rid of.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. Rosie is with me. Who’s at the house?”
“Sheriff just pulled in. He’s talking to June.”
I close my eyes, trying to think through the adrenaline rush and general outrage flooding my nervous system.
“Someone kidnapped her, and from the looks of it, they’re pinning it on us. Jed was holding her in the cabin.”
“Motherfucker. We should’ve killed him.”
“Well, it’s done now.”
Jed was one of the ranch hands from years ago. He worked for us for about six months before we caught him needlessly torturing the animals. We reported it to the authorities and fired him. Occasional instances of vandalism on the ranch always seemed suspicious, but other than upping our security, we had no recourse.
I guess he was still pissed about losing his job five years ago.
“Who was he working with?” Cash asks. “Sheriff is walking toward the house. Warner isn’t here yet.”
“That’s what we need to find out. They’ll ask to search the ranch. You have to refuse until we can get rid of the body.”
“It was self-defense, right?” Cash asks.
I close my eyes, pulling Rosie closer to my chest as she whimpers in pain. “Killing Cain was self-defense too. They won’t let me out this time.”
Cash exhales. I look out around us at the cedar trees and overgrown brush. It’s midday, but the air is chilly. Rosie is wearing the same outfit she had on when she left on Tuesday. She looks thin and sickly, like she hasn’t eaten in days.
When I find out who did this to her, they’re going to experience everything she did and more.
The hunting cabin hasn’t been used in years because we sleep at the main house when we hunt. We stopped leasing the ranch to outside hunters years ago. It was basically abandoned. Jed would’ve known about it, but he wouldn’t have been behind this entire scheme. He wasn’t smart enough.
“She needs medical attention and a place to sleep, and that place obviously can’t be anywhere around here. I need someone to meet me with my truck.”
“Duke just got back. I’ll send him to the northeast corner near the old windmill with a first aid kit. How long will it take you to get over there?”
I grit my teeth. “At least an hour. She needs food and water too. Tell Dolly to pack her some clothes for a few days in an overnight bag. I need some cash from the safe.”
“We’ll pack the shit you need, brother. Get her out of here. Sterling and I will get rid of the body, and Warner will deal with the sheriff.”
“No texts, no calls. I’ll get a burner and call you when I can.” I hang up the line, readjusting Rosie’s head on my chest. “We got a long ride, angel. Are you gonna hold on tight to me?”
My arm goes up under hers and pulls her body tighter to me. She winces, sucking in a breath.
“My ribs … I think they’re cracked.” Her fingers grip my biceps. She squeezes her eyes shut.
Are you fucking kidding me? What the fuck did he do to her?
“I’m going to get you somewhere safe, okay? You’re with me now. No one is going to hurt you again.”
