Chapter Twenty-Three—Swayze

Swayze pulled on the long T-shirt she’d planned to wear to sleep and raced toward Ryker’s room. He stood up in the center of his bed, only some PJ bottoms on. The tablet sat on his pillow, but he stared at the door.

“What’s that sound?” he asked.

“The alarm. It’s just a noise,” she explained.

But she didn’t know that for sure. It could have been an animal or something. How often did Mont’s alarm sound? Was it a normal thing? She wanted to ask him, but he’d disappeared around the corner. Swayze sat by Ryker and stroked his hair as he continued to watch his episode.

Sirens rang from down the road shortly later. Swayze felt relief knowing the police were signaled as well, but she’d feel better when Montgomery came back inside.

Her brother was crafty. He’d been good with his hands all his life and could beat the hell out of any boy he’d ever faced. It’d been something about the brute inside of him that had always taken on a fight, no matter the consequences.

The police knocked on the door. Swayze waited and heard the distant voices of Montgomery talking to Sheriff Brown. Air passed from her tightened mouth, and she let her shoulders relax.

Mont walked into the room several minutes later. “What was it?” she asked.

He shook his head. “We didn’t find anything, but I saw someone—yeah, someone outside of the window. I think someone watched us.”

Swayze’s skin began to crawl.

“Oh no,” she whispered. “They didn’t see anyone when they checked?”

Mont shook his head. “No. Let’s get ready for bed. Ryker, why don’t you sleep with us? You can finish your show in there.”

“I want to sleep in my Avengers bed,” he pouted.

“Just for tonight,” Swayze said.

Ryker nodded slowly and crawled out of the bed. Swayze walked him toward the bedroom and tucked him underneath the covers. Mont pulled the blinds and rubbed the back of his neck. “I reset the alarm. It looks like someone tried to mess with the spare bathroom window. If anything is disturbed from the outside, the alarms will sound. We’re safe in here.”

“But knowing he’s out there…” she said.

Montgomery pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it into the laundry basket. “Let’s go to sleep,” he said. “I’ve got to be up at the ranch early, where I’m sure I’ll be interrogated—”

“I have to stay here by myself?”

“Hell, no. Sheriff Miller is going to have one of his boys come watch the place tomorrow while I’m at work. You’ll be safe.”

Swayze wasn’t sure about it but snuggled into the bed with Ryker. She felt Montgomery come to bed shortly after, his feet finding hers underneath the covers and his fingers rubbing against her scalp. She felt the relief of knowing he was there with her and prayed that her brother would just…give up.

***

The next morning Montgomery left for work as soon as the police car pulled up. Swayze laid wide-eyed in the bed, looking at the empty space where he had been. Ryker still snored beside her, and she envied him. If only…

Swayze tiptoed down the hallway to the front window where she pulled back the blinds. The police car Montgomery promised sat right in their driveway.

A sigh of relief left her mouth.

Safe for now.

The minutes in the day ticked by slowly for her after that. She’d fed her son and played, but she felt distant. Was this part of her brother’s plan? Make her feel horrible even though she did already?

Dinner was ready when Montgomery walked toward the house. His walk was quick, and his gaze jerked from one side to the other. The fear on his face shamed her. By the time he’d made it inside, tears coated her cheeks.

He dropped his cowboy hat on Ryker’s head and stalked over toward her. “What’s wrong? Did you see him?”

She shook her head. “No, I hadn’t—I just saw you checking the perimeter, and it’s all because of me. This is why I said I couldn’t be with you—”

“Awe, sugar, it’s too late now,” he laughed. “I’m in love with you. I’ll go down swinging for you, darlin’. It’s going to be okay. We’re going to catch him.”

She wasn’t so sure.

“Dinner is ready,” she said after a few moments.

Montgomery cupped her jaw and looked at her intently. “Baby, we’re gonna figure—” Montgomery’s phone chimed, and he ignored it. “—this out, I swear.”

His phone chimed again. He dug it from the depths of his jeans and read the name. “Hold on one second,” he said. “Hello? Now? I just got—okay. It’s that important? Bring Swayze?” He eyed her, and nerves skyrocketed up her spine. “Okay. We’ll see if someone can watch Ryker, and we’ll come in.”

Montgomery hung up the phone and ran his fingers through his hair. “That’s my friend, Henry; he said he has some news for us. Do you want to see if Abigail can watch Ryker?”

Swayze shook her head slowly. “I don’t want to go down there when Kaden is there. Maybe Lena?”

Swayze found her phone on the kitchen counter and called Lena quickly. She picked up on the last ring before voicemail. “Hey. Could you watch Ryker for a bit for me? I have something I need to do, and he can’t go.”

“Sure. I have plans a little later, but I can for a short while.”

“Great. We’ll drop him off soon.”

Swayze hung up the phone and started toward Ryker’s room. Fear had started to wiggle its way into her throat, and tears threatened her eyes. What had Henry found?

“Swayze.”

She looked up from Ryker’s bed where she packed his Batman backpack, to Montgomery who stood in the doorway.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said reassuringly.

Trusting a man after what her own flesh and blood had done to her was difficult, but Mont had a way of making her trust him.

They loaded Ryker up and started toward Lena’s house. The window blinds moved as Mont parked his truck. Swayze felt relief knowing Ryker wouldn’t be around when she found out the news.

“Be right back.”

Swayze carried Ryker to her front door, which opened immediately, and she gestured them inside. “Hey, buddy,” she said, bending down to pick him up.

“Thank you so much for watching him on short notice.”

“No problem,” she said, wiping her hair from her face. Her pretty smile was wide, but she averted her eyes toward the door behind Swayze. “That Mont King you’re with?”

Swayze felt her chest tighten. She didn’t have time to play twenty questions. “Do you know him?”

Lena put Ryker down and let him run toward the living room where she had toys ready. “I’ve heard of him, ya know, we all have. It’s a small town, and he is a big deal. Just being nosey,” she said with a chuckle.

Swayze gestured toward the sound of Mont’s engine, wanting to bolt but not be rude. “I guess we better get. I’ll see you in about an hour or so.”

Lena waved her off and turned her attention toward Ryker when she shut the door. Montgomery patted her leg as she slid onto the leather seat of his truck. “All right, here with go.”

They drove toward Henry’s house in silence. The only sound besides Mont’s truck and the air conditioner was the tapping of Swayze’s heel against the floorboard. Montgomery pulled into a small suburban area and down toward a nice house with a short driveway.

Henry stood on the porch waiting for them. He wore a stern face, but she assumed it was because of the situation.

Montgomery pulled her door open and offered her his hand. “You comin’?”

Unfortunately…

Swayze stepped out and followed Montgomery toward the porch where they were briefly reintroduced. She took Henry’s hand, and he smiled, but there was something on his face that she didn’t like this time. Had he found her brother? Was he close?

“My momma is inside, so we better do this out here.”

“Do what?” Swayze finally asked.

Henry cleared his throat, walked over toward the wicker chair on their porch, and gestured for her to sit down in the swing. Montgomery’s face didn’t portray anything, and it made her nervous.

“I’ve been looking for your brother.”

Swayze’s heart plummeted.

“And…” Mont asked after a few moments of silence.

“I found him,” he said, locking eyes with Swayze.

“Spit it out,” Mont snapped.

Henry tossed him a look and turned back to her.

“He is dead.”

A strong ringing sound started in her ear, and tears gathered around the edges of her eyes. Dead? Lucas was dead? So many emotions bubbled up her throat, and she couldn’t think straight.

Mont placed his palm on her shoulder, shaking her lightly until she focused on him. “Sweet girl, I’m sorry,” he said.

“How?”

“Car accident in Texas.”

Texas was the last place he had found them. He’d died, most likely, chasing her out of the state.

“They said he had a fake ID and couldn’t find anything on him, they didn’t know who to contact about it—”

“Wait a minute,” she whispered. “If he’s dead, who has been following me since then? Who tried to get in your house? Who put the flowers underneath my windshield wiper? Who killed my neighbor?”

Montgomery’s face turned white, and a realization hit him like a brick. “Oh my God,” he rasped, rubbing his palm against his jaw. “Get in the truck…get in the truck now!”

Henry and Swayze looked at one another but got up and followed a frantic Montgomery. Swayze hopped into the front seat, barely shutting the door before Mont spun tires out of the driveway.

“What in the hell?” Henry yelled, grabbing a hold of the back of Swayze’s seat. “What is it? What am I missing?”

Montgomery cursed underneath his breath over and over, shaking his head. “I know who is stalking us, and it’s not because of you…it’s because of me.”

Swayze held on to the “oh shit” handle and watched as he missed the road that would have taken them closer to the ranch or his home. “Where are we going? I’m scared. What the hell—”

“I knew there was something about that purple flower,” he mumbled.

“What about it?” she asked.

Montgomery hit the steering wheel twice, breaking the skin and smearing blood. “It’s Kathy Jo.”

“Then why are you driving like a lunatic?” Henry barked from the backseat.

“Because I think I know where Kathy Jo is—or who she is.”

“What do you…” Swayze trailed off, knowing where Montgomery was taking them.

To Lena’s house.

To Kathy Jo’s house.