Chapter Twenty-Four—Swayze

“No,” she whispered. “That can’t be Kathy Jo—”

“It is,” Montgomery hissed. “I saw her from the side the first time, and I thought she looked familiar but then the second time she turned the lights off—”

“We don’t need to frighten her, or she could hurt him.”

Montgomery pressed on his brake, causing her to lean forward. “I have an ugly feeling in the pit of my stomach, Swayze. We need to get there.”

What did that mean? Swayze couldn’t breathe, and she couldn’t even think about saying another word. Would she hurt Ryker because of what happened that long ago? Was she obsessed?

Henry patted Swayze’s shoulder and gave her a careful nod.

Montgomery swerved into her driveway, jumping out of the driver’s side before Swayze could grasp the door handle. Her adrenaline spiked when Montgomery began banging on the door.

“Stay here,” Henry said before her door fully opened.

“No—”

Henry’s door slammed, and Swayze jumped out anyway. No one would keep her away from her son.

Montgomery started to wiggle the door handle, his fist hitting the door harder. “Open the door.”

No answer.

Swayze swallowed the fear in her throat.

She wasn’t answering.

She always answered.

Tears threatened her vision, but she could tell Henry had his phone out, calling the police, and Montgomery had taken a step back. He turned his baseball cap around backward and kicked the thin door three times and broke it from the hinge.

Mont hadn’t taken a moment to stop before pulling out the broken wood and tossing it to the side. He disappeared into the house, and Swayze followed closely behind him. The small home was old but clean. Nice decorations hung on the wall, and she had an aquarium that Ryker had talked about.

There was only one bedroom that Mont had pummeled through. When he finally stopped and stared at Swayze, she saw the fear in his eyes. There was a lot of worry on that man’s face, and the heavy scowl looked foreign. The man was gorgeous as ever, but it wasn’t like Montgomery to look so angry.

I knew how he felt.

Henry ran into the house looking back and forth between the two of them staring at one another.

“My dad is on the way. They have officers at both exits of the town.”

Montgomery laughed humorlessly. “Yeah, I’m sure if she’s left, they’re long gone by now. I don’t think she left,” he huffed. “The point of this is to affect me, not Swayze. She wouldn’t leave here, no, she’s close.”

He knew her better than anyone, right?

“I think it’s somewhere I know,” he whispered. “You two stay here.”

“No,” Swayze barked. “I’m not staying here.”

The police sirens grew closer from town.

“Then get your lil’ ass to the truck. Henry, tell your dad what’s going on. I’ll call you—”

“Montgomery, Dad is gonna be mad that you’re taking things into your own hands.”

Montgomery was onto the front porch before he could finish, with Swayze on his heels. They peeled out of the driveway, and Montgomery started back toward his house.

“You think she took them to the house?”

“I think she took him to those trees.”

“What about the trees?” she hissed. “God, this is a nightmare,” Swayze cried.

Montgomery reached over her from the driver’s seat, his palm rested on her thigh. “We’re gonna get him back. She’s crazy about me. I just thought she’d forgotten about it.”

“The trees?” she asked.

“Yeah, I used to go four-wheeler riding behind what is now the house. I’d known forever that I wanted to build there. Kaden and I would take our girlfriends riding through the woods, and one time she was there…waiting on me. I couldn’t prove to Kaden that she was there because she’d always deny it, and he’d try to fight me over it.”

Montgomery turned down the road toward the ranch. “And the time she was there, she would pick those stupid purple flowers and put them in her hair. That’s one of the times she tried to kiss me.”

Swayze felt sick in her stomach. This stupid, old high-school crush had kidnapped her child over something that had nothing to do with her. She felt betrayed and hurt. Scared.

“Will she hurt him?”

Montgomery stared over at her with heavy green eyes that shone bright underneath his worried brow. “I don’t think so. She knows I wouldn’t go for that, and that’s what she’ll bargain with. Me.”

Swayze felt her skin crawl. What had happened to this girl as a child?

“Why is she so crazy?”

Montgomery shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s got to have some kind of mental problem, but I don’t know if her parents ever took her for a diagnosis. She—she was manipulative. Kaden fell for her lies every time.”

They pulled into his driveway and immediately began a race toward the trees. It was a heavy, wooded area that surrounded them, but Montgomery seemed to know the small trails.

Swayze felt twigs slapping her face, but the adrenaline inside of her felt like body armor. There was nothing that would keep her from finding her son.

Montgomery reached back after a few minutes, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward where the brush began to clear and the purple flowered tree stood.

And there was her son.

And not Lena.

She’d worn a wig; her dark hair was sandy brown and down her back. She was petite but light and looked like a doll in the face.

Not what she had expected at all. She was beautiful, not someone that couldn’t have found anyone else. She was sure Kathy received male attention. If she had to say anything about Kathy, she was one hell of an actress.

“Montgomery,” she said.

Where were her loud talking Italian roots? Her parents could have made a fortune putting her in acting classes.

“Kathy Jo, this is ridiculous, and you need to give me Ryker.”

Kathy Jo’s dark eyes shifted toward Swayze. “Why did you bring her here?”

“Mommy!” Ryker yelled, but she gripped his shoulder, keeping him in place.

“Because you have my son, you—”

Montgomery reached his arm outward and pushed Swayze behind him. “You have her son; what did you expect?”

Kathy Jo looked down at Ryker, who stood silently in front of her. “If I let him go, will you come with me?”

Montgomery straightened his stance. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Her look didn’t falter. “Then I’ll kill him.”

“You won’t do shit,” Montgomery spat. “This is so dumb, whatever you wanted to happen never did, and it was years ago—”

“I would travel the rodeo looking for a way to get to you,” Kathy said. “You’d always have so many girls surrounding you, that I couldn’t—” she chuckled. “But I watched every time you got on a bull. I’m your number one fan.”

Montgomery clutched his hands into fists. “It’s never going to happen. I’m sorry, but it’s not—”

“I’ll kill him!” Kathy shouted, her eyes wild and unpredictable. Her hair fell into her face, and she almost looked feral to the point Swayze couldn’t risk it.

Panic took over, and she shoved against Mont, her feet moving more quickly than she thought they could. Montgomery grabbed the back of her shirt, but she slipped from his grasp. Kathy Jo bent down to grab Ryker, but Swayze had already slugged her.

She hadn’t realized what fear had been until Kathy threatened him. Kathy stumbled toward the ground, but caught herself, and shoved Swayze to her butt.

Swayze saw Montgomery’s shadow come over her body. Kathy Jo pulled Ryker in front of him and shoved what looked like a gun to the back of his head.

Tears raced down her face. Her heart thumped so loud she couldn’t hear the words that Montgomery had yelled, or what she’d said back.

All she could focus on was her three-year-old staring at her with a frightened gape. It looked like he screamed for her help, but all sound had been replaced with heavy heartbeats in her ear.

Montgomery had both palms out toward her, begging her, but she wasn’t listening.

Swayze’s hearing grew louder, and she could make out the pleas from Montgomery. “If you shoot my son, I’ll kill you,” she whispered out harshly.

Kathy Jo looked down at Swayze with a grin she could only decipher as evil. She opened her mouth to speak when a bullet came through her head from the other side.

Kathy Jo dropped to the ground, and Ryker broke free, crying and running toward Swayze.

Swayze stood on shaky legs to see Kaden standing yards away, a handgun hanging from his fist.

His dark cowboy hat covered his face, but she knew what that scowl looked like. Montgomery’s hands on her face brought Swayze back to life. Ryker had climbed into her arms, his shivering body clinging to her. “Baby,” Montgomery whispered, kissing her mouth softly. “Are you okay?”

She didn’t know how to answer that. Not really.

She shrugged, her attention coming to Kaden, who had walked to them. The grim line of his face said more than he had to. He wasn’t a murderer, and this hadn’t been easy for him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you,” Kaden said softly. His dark eyes met Montgomery’s, and they exchanged a small nod. “And I’m sorry I hated you so much. This wasn’t even your fault.”

It could have been, but she wouldn’t go there.

“Thank you.”

“I think we need to call the sheriff’s department,” Mont said. “Luckily, I have him on speed dial.”

Swayze closed her eyes and held Ryker’s body closer to her. “Are you okay?” she asked.

He nodded his head. “What happened to Lena?”

Swayze combed his hair with her fingers. “She wasn’t Lena. It’s okay though. I’ve got you. We’re safe now.”