Chapter Three

Merrie blinked her eyes open, although the lid on her left side barely fluttered. It seemed swollen but as she reached up to touch it, pain flared through her shoulder. She moaned and let her arm drop onto the bed.

“It’s going to be okay,” a man’s soothing voice said.

She flinched in surprise, looking in the direction of the voice. A cowboy leaned on the doorframe. Big and muscular, he sported a pale blue button-up shirt tucked into tight-fitting jeans and boots. He took off his hat as he stepped inside the bedroom, revealing a head full of dark hair threaded with silver and in need of a cut.

Bedroom? Merrie darted her gaze around, taking in the sunny room. A vanity stood in the corner and a mirror showed her a horrifying sight. A bruise marred her usually creamy complexion and there was a cut on her cheek that appeared raw. Now she knew why heat and tightness riddled her face.

But the bigger question was—where the hell was she? The last thing she remembered was being in the woods, terrified out of her mind that she would stumble across Axe or the tattooed man who had driven her car.

“W-where am I?”

“You’re on my ranch.”

She winced as her chapped lips cracked. She didn’t even have enough saliva to wet them with her tongue. Water would be heavenly.

“There’s a glass of water on your nightstand,” he said, with a nod to her left. “If you don’t mind, I’ll help you to sit up.”

Merrie tried to move herself, which was a stupid thing to do since the small shift sent off an explosion of pain through her whole body. There wasn’t one place that didn’t hurt, including her hair. She felt as if a truck had run her over then someone had strung her out to dry.

“Okay,” she said, biting back a moan.

The cowboy set his hat on the bedpost as he moved to her left side. He slid his big hands slowly under her arms and she rested her one good hand on his shoulders as he gently lifted her into an upright position. She realized she wore a very large T-shirt and nothing else. When he let go, he snatched the pillow and fluffed it before sliding it between her back and the headboard. The whole effort took only a couple of minutes, but sweat broke out on her forehead and Merrie felt as though she’d run a marathon.

“My name is Braden McClintock.” He picked up the glass of water and handed it over.

She accepted it gratefully. In a few big gulps, she’d drained the glass.

“More?” he asked.

“I’m okay for now.” She closed her eyes for a moment and took in how she felt. Now that she’d rested, the pain had subsided into one big, aching mess. “I’m Merrie. Merrie Christmas Walden.”

“Really? That’s your name? Were you born on December twenty-fifth or something?”

“No,” she said with a sigh. She’d been answering that question all her life. “My mother just liked the holiday.”

He offered her a ghost of a smile. “Do you remember what happened to you?”

She glanced at the cast on her right arm. “Yes. Did you take me to the hospital?”

“No, you begged me not to.”

Merrie let out a sigh of relief she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Thank you.”

“Are you in trouble? Because you’re a mess and I had to fight with my brother about not taking you to the hospital. He’s a vet.”

“As in the military?”

Braden shook his head. “As in veterinarian. He treated you.”

“Oh. Tell him thanks.”

Braden gestured to the bed. “May I?”

“Sure.”

He sat and stared hard at her, his blue eyes seemingly searching for answers. She didn’t know what to tell him or if she should tell him anything at all. Would he be in danger if she explained what had happened to her? Somehow she didn’t think he’d let her simply gloss over the details.

“I’m on your ranch?”

“Yes,” he said. “Well, mine and my brother’s. His name is Leo. He’s out on a call right now but he’s going to be back soon, wanting answers, so why don’t you start with what sort of trouble you’re in.”

Her gaze fell to the cast on her arm. “I was moving—heading to Cheyenne—and got lost. I’ve never been very good with navigation. Finally, I decided to stop at this bar I saw and call for directions.”

“Route 18?”

“I don’t know. I guess it’s a biker bar since the parking lot was full of motorcycles.”

Braden nodded. “It’s the local hangout for the Demon Devils.”

Fear shot through her. “Y-you’re not part of them, are you?”

“No,” he replied.

She relaxed.

“Did they do this to you? Did they…hurt you in other ways?”

She shook her head. “I wasn’t raped. I wanted to use the payphone I saw, because my cell was dead. I thought if I called the police, I could get some help or directions.”

“Christ,” he muttered. “The Demon Devils are an outlaw gang.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“It means they operate outside of the law and the last thing they’d want is the police showing up on their doorstep. Tell me, Merrie. Tell me everything.”

So she did. She probably should’ve kept quiet since she didn’t know if she could fully trust him, but she’d never been the type of person who could keep everything bottled inside. Braden had taken her in, had patched her up, and she was so damn grateful just to be alive that her emotions practically bubbled over.

When she was done with her tale, Braden rubbed the back of his neck as he contemplated her. She didn’t know what she’d do if he asked her to leave. She had nothing. She’d left her purse in her car, along with her money, clothes and the rest of her possessions.

“You should talk to the police,” he finally said. “I know Givon Halloran, the sheriff. Believe me, he’s not part of that club.”

She widened her eyes in fear and shook her head adamantly. “No, he said the police were their friends. I can’t. No, I just can’t!”

“Okay, Merrie—”

“I just want to move on and forget this happened!” she continued, as if she hadn’t heard him. “I need to get away from here, away from Wyoming. I was moving to the city but I could easily just leave the state.”

“Merrie—”

“I’m close, aren’t I? I’m close to that bar, right? I walked a long time last night but not far enough. He’ll find me!”

Braden placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and she instantly calmed down. He was a big man, tough, with a resolute look about him that made it seem like he would be a mountain to move. Even if it was an illusion, she sensed she was safe with him.

“No one is going to hurt you, Merrie. You begged me to help you and I plan on doing just that. You’re pretty messed up and from what I can see, you don’t have any ID or… Look, why don’t we take one day at time and you work on healing? Let the bruises fade, let the bones in your wrist set then we’ll decide what to do next.”

She took a deep breath and nodded. He was right. Logically, she knew he was right, but she couldn’t seem to completely ignore the fear lurking inside her. Those vicious men were still out there and they were close.

He gave her a small, tentative smile.

Outside, a vehicle pulled up. An engine turned off and the sound of a door snapping shut reached her. A door opened somewhere far away and the sound of boots moving across a floor, the echo coming from below, immediately reached her. She realized she must be in a two-story home. Merrie tensed.

“It’s okay,” Braden told her. “That will be Leo. He’ll want to come and talk to you about your injuries. Okay?”

She nodded again. He rose and picked up his cowboy hat as he walked out of the bedroom. Self-pity washed through her, brought on by helplessness. What was she going to do? Maybe, once she was better, Braden would drive her to Casper or Laramie, somewhere big where the Demon Devils couldn’t touch her.

Maybe she should just get out of Wyoming altogether—head to some place like Salt Lake City or Denver. She could disappear in a big city, so as long as she never saw the biker, Axe, again.

* * * *

“How’s the Johnston’s cow doing?” Braden asked as he descended the stairs.

“Good. The poor thing got tangled up in some barbwire. I hate barbwire.” Leo set his bag by the door then strode into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of iced tea. “How’s the patient?”

While Leo poured himself a glass of tea, Braden flopped his hat onto the table. “Awake. Her name is Merrie Walden. I told her you’d be up to see her.”

“What the hell happened to her?”

“The Demon Devils.”

Leo paused with the glass halfway to his mouth. “Shit.”

Braden nodded grimly. “She was lost, stopped to use the phone then some man named Axe attacked her. She jumped from the back seat of her car when they were taking her away, fell down an embankment, which is how she broke her wrist, and got banged up. Then she spent the night fleeing through the woods. She said they were going to kill her.”

“She needs to go to the cops,” Leo insisted.

“Axe made it sound like they were in his pocket.”

“Do you think that could be true? Givon and North are pretty tight.”

“Do we want to take that chance?”

Leo frowned, stared at his drink then drank half of the tea before he set the glass on the counter. “Let me go talk to her.”

As Leo brushed by him, Braden grabbed his brother’s arm. “Be nice to her.”

“Of course,” Leo grumbled, extracting himself. “I have an excellent bedside manner.”

“Yeah, but you can’t scratch this patient behind the ear or pat her belly.”

Leo grinned and walked to his bag by the front door. He bent and retrieved his stethoscope before heading upstairs.

Merrie glanced up when a small knock sounded. The door was already open and a Native American man stood grinning at her. Even in her battered condition, she realized how handsome he was with short black hair and dark brown eyes.

“Hi. I’m Leo Cloud Dancer.”

“You’re Braden’s brother?”

Leo walked farther into the room and looked at her plastered wrist. “Honorary. His parents took me in and raised me with Braden. Helped get me through school then they co-signed my student loans. They’re good people, but they got tired of Wyoming winters so they moved to Florida.”

After examining her wrist, he began a check-up that included pupil dilation, counting her pulse and listening to her lungs. When he was done, he draped the stethoscope around his neck and rocked back on his heels to study her.

“I have to be honest, Merrie,” he said. “I wanted to take you to the hospital.”

“Thank you for not doing that,” she replied. “I don’t know if that man—Axe—would be scouting the hospitals or if the staff would be obligated to call the police. I just can’t trust them after what he said.”

He sighed. “All right. As long as nothing goes sour, I won’t beat a dead horse.”

“Oh, bad pun.”

“Sorry.” A bit of amusement resided in his tone. “Do you feel up to talking about what you saw?”

“That’s just it,” she said. “I don’t know what I saw. I think that man Axe thought I was someone else and when he realized I wasn’t, it was too late. He’d already assaulted me.”

“We’ll keep you safe here until you get on your feet,” he assured her. “I’m at the ranch most days. My practice is only half a mile down the road. Braden is usually in and out, dealing with the horses.”

She bit the part of her lip that wasn’t sore. “I’m sorry about this, about imposing on you.”

“Are you kidding? It was quite interesting treating a two-legged person instead of something with fur.”

She chuckled then winced. “Don’t make me laugh.”

“Then don’t talk to Braden,” Leo said, immediately losing all levity. “He’s the jokester in the family.”

Merrie eyed him dubiously. Braden McClintock had seemed more taciturn than funny. Then Leo’s lips twitched and she realized he was joking with her, which caused her to chuckle and hold her sides.

“Oh, you’re a very bad man for making me laugh,” she chastised with a smile.

He patted her hand. “I suspect you’re going to be bored, lying in bed. Am I right?”

She nodded. “I’m a doer not a lay-about, although I’m not sure how to help out with this cast. Plus, I’m right-handed, so don’t hand me a paring knife or I’m likely to need a whole different kind of bandage.”

“I’ve got an e-reader full of books. You can borrow it. If there’s anything you want, just download it.”

“What if I download some steamy romance?”

“Who’s to say it’s not already on there?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Well, Mr. Cloud Dancer, you are definitely not like your brother.”

“Thank God,” Leo praised, glancing skyward.

She gave another muffled laugh then groaned.

“Sorry. You’re very easy to tease.”

“Are you flirting with me?”

“Being a vet, I never thought I’d say this to a patient, but I have an ethical responsibility not to flirt with you.”

“Yeah, that does sound slightly weird. I was only teasing, you know.”

He smiled. “I know. Hey, we can be a couple of teases together, which is good to keep Braden from being too serious. He’s only two years older than I am but sometimes he acts like my grandfather. Speaking of family, is there anyone we can call for you?”

She shook her head as her smile immediately slid away. “I don’t have anyone anymore. I was actually moving to Cheyenne in hopes of finding a better job.”

“What about friends who will worry about you?”

“None. I guess I’m the perfect person to murder—no one to come looking for me.” She bit her bottom lip but that didn’t do much to quiet her quivering chin. She looked away from his warm brown eyes. “Pretty pathetic, huh?”

He took her left hand in his and rubbed the soft skin on her wrist with his thumb. The contrast between their colorings transfixed her.

“It’s okay,” he told her. “Merrie, why did these men do this to you?”

“I wish I knew,” she whispered. “They were talking about making sure to h-hide my body. And I believed them, Leo. I was so scared.”

She struggled to hold back the tears from the terror still lingering inside her. She’d come so close to dying, to vanishing without anyone being the wiser. And the thought of that man, Axe, finding her to finish what he’d started, settled in her soul like a festering wound.

Merrie shifted and winced.

“Would you like some pain medication?” Leo asked. “It’ll help you rest and right now you need lots of sleep. That’s when your body heals.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

He let go of her hand, rose and walked out of the bedroom. A few minutes later, he returned with a glass bottle and a new syringe. He opened the syringe package, drew up the medicine then injected it into her arm.

“Rest now.” Leo pushed a curl off her forehead.

Soon, lethargy flowed into her veins and she closed her eyes. She let the oblivion of the drug work its magic and succumbed to the peaceful arms of sleep.

Leo couldn’t stop staring at her. Merrie Walden wasn’t what he had expected, although now that he thought about it, he wasn’t quite sure what he had been expecting. In the back of his mind, he’d really thought this whole thing had been a scam, sucking Braden into whatever con she was concocting. But there was no denying the anxiety and shock still swimming in her toffee-colored eyes.

She was a strong woman, although he doubted she realized it. Not many people could keep their wits about them long enough to plan an escape or even face the pain she’d known she was going to inflict by jumping out of a speeding car.

Even under her fear, he could see her spunk.

He rose and retraced his steps back downstairs where he slid the used capped needle into his case to dispose of it properly once he got back to his office.

Braden stood at the table bent over a map.

“You were reading my mind,” he said, coming to stand next to his brother.

“I’d like a look at the road she was traveling on, see if we can find anything,” Braden stated. He circled an area with his index finger. “If we factor in her starting point was the bar and I found her here, not to mention the fact that she walked through the river, I’m thinking she had to jump from the car somewhere around here. Do you think it’s okay to leave her alone?”

“I gave her a shot of pain medicine. She’s going to be out for a few hours. But just in case, we’ll leave her a brief message that we’ll be back soon.”

Leo could see Braden mulling things over in his mind. He knew his brother didn’t want to leave her alone, because Leo didn’t want to either. Something about Merrie tugged on his heartstrings. More than just the abuse she’d suffered, Leo felt drawn to her and it made him want to help her, in any capacity.

After a few minutes, Braden gave a nod and Leo picked up the map, folding it so they could see the area Braden had pointed out. He scribbled a quick note and left it on the table. He made sure they’d locked the front door before heading to Braden’s truck. He tried to push his worries aside, because no one could trace Merrie Walden to them, even if one of those men had been tracking her through the forest. She hadn’t emerged on their property. Braden had been on his way to talk to a neighbor about a few horses and had used the southern road.

This time Braden took the paved main road, which twisted a little out of the way but had an on ramp for Route 18. The bar lay toward the southwest, so Braden turned north and drove slowly. Leo kept his eyes focused on the side of the road, hoping to see anything that might be a clue.

A few minutes later, he pointed. “Look. The shoulder disappears around that curve and gives way to a sheer embankment.”

“Merrie said she fell straight down instead of hitting the asphalt.”

Braden pulled over, while the road still had a shoulder, and jabbed the hazard lights on before turning off the engine.

“How far do you think we are from the Demon Devil’s bar?” Braden asked.

“Uh, fifteen miles? Not quite sure,” Leo answered.

They jumped out of the truck and began walking. Route 18 was a two-lane road that occasionally opened up into three so cars could pass slow-moving vehicles. It had once been the only road that linked the small town of Destiny to the bigger city of Cody, but that had changed once the nearby highway had been built. Now Route 18 was used mostly for locals, ranchers, and of course, for the Demon Devil Motorcycle Club that had moved in almost twenty years ago.

“Leo,” Braden said, pointing. “Look at the grass. It’s been trampled.”

Leo bent over to study the tall stalks of weeds and a flattened path down the side.

“That’s at least fifty yards down,” he muttered.

“Christ,” Braden muttered. “She jumped out of a car and rolled down that? How the hell did she survive?”

Leo shook his head in amazement. “And the only bone she broke was her wrist. She’s fucking lucky.”

“Come on,” Braden said. “Let’s cruise past the bar, see if we see anything.”

Leo wasn’t so sure that was a wise decision but he was curious too. They probably wouldn’t be so bold as to have her car out where anyone could see it, but stupider things had happened.

Braden stepped on the gas and sometime later, they drove by the Demon Devil’s hang out. A mile down the road, Braden made a U-turn in the middle of the road and drove by again, this time a little slower than before. Bikes surrounded the bar and a large sign held a white circle with two black D’s in the center with a devil in the background boldly proclaiming ownership to the Demon Devils.

They didn’t see a car, so Braden sped up and hurried back to the ranch. Leo was glad. He suddenly didn’t want Merrie left alone.

“What do we do now?” he asked.

Braden shook his head. “I don’t know.”