Saved by the Rancher

chapter Nine


CALEB MADE HIS way up the stairs without a sound. He’d served with Jack in the Army and saw a lot of things himself. They’d both been in the Rangers and had special training in emergency medicine. Nothing prepared him to see his long-time friend holding a woman’s hand, the same haunted look he’d seen in his eyes when he sat beside their friend’s burned and bloodied body. Dead from a roadside bomb, Jack unable to save him. Caleb hoped to never see that look on his friend’s face again. But here Jack sat, the past haunting him.

Caleb took in the woman’s injuries and how Jack had tended all of them. A bandage covered her entire thigh. Caleb knew whatever happened, it was bad. As steady as they came, confidence under fire, the one person Caleb could count on to get him out of any type of dangerous situation. Here Jack sat, staring at a woman, a single tear sliding down his cheek. Struck speechless, Caleb wouldn’t have been able to say anything, regardless of his wife telling him to remain silent.

Sally gave Caleb’s presence away when she let out a low growl. Stunned, Caleb had never heard the dog growl at anyone. Jack scrubbed both hands down his face. He held his finger up to his lips to make sure Caleb stayed silent. Caleb nodded and went into the bathroom and brought out the trashcan. Jack gathered the bloodied bandages and used medical supplies, dumping them inside. They repacked Jack’s medic bag and headed for the door and downstairs. Before Jack made it to the door, he turned back to the bed and leaned down to the woman.

“I’ll be back. Sleep now. You’re safe.”

“Rabbit’s on the run,” came her soft whimpering voice.

Jack didn’t understand her meaning. He didn’t understand any of this. He kissed her hair softly and joined Caleb at the door.

“What did she mean, Rabbit’s on the run?”

“I don’t know. She hasn’t been really clear the last hour or so.”

They went downstairs in silence. Jack led the way to the bar in the Great Room. While pouring a double shot of whiskey, he rubbed at the back of his neck, then lifted the glass and drained the entire thing. He thumped the glass back onto the bar and with both hands, raked his fingers through his hair. He poured another double for himself and handed a second to Caleb.

“You okay?”

“Do I look okay?” Jack snapped.

“No. Who is that woman upstairs? Pete called the house, said Summer might need me here, and you have some beat-up woman lying in your guest room. What the hell is going on?”

“Jenna Caldwell. That’s all I know. Her name. Well, that and the fact she mentioned driving from God knows where for the last four days. Can you imagine sitting in a car with her back in that condition for four days? She’s the tenant who rented the cabin for the next year.”

“I thought your college friend Ben rented the cabin for a friend of his.”

“She’s the friend. ‘Client’ might be a better term. Apparently, that’s what she pays him to do, find her safe places to hide out. For the last two years, that’s what he’s been doing. I’m about ready to lose it, I want to punch something.”

Tonight the dam had broken and Jack’s emotions were ready to explode, despite his ruthless struggle to contain them. If they slipped the leash, Jack could do some serious damage. Thankfully, he wasn’t Jack’s target.

“Someone’s been beating her up for the last two years?” Caleb asked to keep Jack talking.

“No. She apparently divorced some jackass and hid from him afterwards. Over the last two years, he’s found her multiple times. This, apparently, was the worst one, according to Ben. For God’s sake! She takes pictures of herself and sends them to Ben, so he can keep a record. Why hasn’t anyone stopped this guy?”

Caleb didn’t know the answer. He didn’t understand what drove someone to torture another person, especially a woman. He’d seen a lot in the military, traveling to other countries where women were treated as second- or even third-class citizens with few rights. He just didn’t understand what drove a man to hurt a woman simply because he could.

Jack threw himself into a chair and let out a ragged breath. Defeated, he said, “I fixed all her wounds, but I can’t get to the person who hurt her.” Unclenching his fists, he took his cell phone out of his shirt pocket and dialed Ben’s number.

“Hello.”

“Ben. Who did this to her?”

“Jack, I’ve been waiting for your call back. How is she? Is she better? Did you bandage her up?”

“Who did this to her?” Holding the phone so tight his fingers ached, he mentally counted to ten and reminded himself Ben wasn’t the enemy.

“I told you, her ex.”

“I want his name.”

“I can’t give you his name. She won’t let me. If you want to know, ask her, or figure it out on your own.”

“Tell me his name.”

“I’m Jenna’s attorney. I can’t give you that information. As much as I want to help, Jenna is my client, and she wants her privacy—and especially her name—protected. Ask her. If you’ve gained her trust at all, she just might tell you. I’ll tell you this though, he’s very rich and powerful. That’s how he’s gotten away with this for so long.”

Ben sighed and chose his words carefully. “I sent her to you, and you deserve to know what you’re up against. I’ll break this confidence. You obviously already know she’s being abused, so I don’t think it matters if I give you some of the details.

“The first four times Jenna tried to have him arrested, he paid off people and the evidence disappeared. He had some people visit the hospital staff and convince them, in not-so-nice ways, Jenna had never been there. Any pictures, records, or medical evidence disappeared, destroyed. That’s why she sends the photos to me. She doesn’t involve anyone in this because she doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt.

“She had a bodyguard, once. He turned up dead one morning in the pool at one of her hiding spots. Accidental drowning. Yeah, right, he’d been on his high school’s swim team for four years. Two days after the drowning, her ex grabbed her and did some serious damage to her that time, furious she’d put someone between them.

“He switches between trying to romance her back into his life with notes and flowers and gifts and threatening her, smacking her around when she doesn’t do what he wants. It’s a game. His game. And he makes her play. She managed to hide for five months this time. That’s the longest he’s ever left her alone.”

“I think I’m going to be sick.” The story and the whisky made his stomach roll.

“I can’t do this anymore, Jack. I can’t stand by and do nothing to help her. She won’t even come see me for fear he’ll do something to me. We’ve managed to keep a lot of secrets, but he finds out more than we can hide. I didn’t want to involve you, Jack, but you’re my last hope. If you can’t help her, I don’t think anyone can. She’ll have to keep running for the rest of her life. I’m convinced he’ll kill her. It’s only a matter of time.”

“By the looks of her, he almost killed her this time.”

“Is she going to be okay?” The fear in Ben’s voice disturbed him, made the situation all the more real and terrifying. He might have patched her up, but she wasn’t out of the woods.

“If I can get her fever down and the infection in her leg cleared up, yeah.”

“If you need anything, call me. Oh, you’ll get an overnight package tomorrow for her. Just the usual stuff I send her when she runs.”

Something sparked in Jack. “What does ‘Rabbit’s on the run’ mean?”

“That’s her code when she needs help. She calls my office and the entire staff knows to get me anytime, anywhere. She’s being hunted like a scared rabbit. Her words, not mine. That’s how she refers to this whole mess.”

“Hunted. That’s a vivid description.”

Caleb winced and downed the last of his whiskey.

Jack ended the call. “I’ll expect the package and take care of Jenna.”

“Have her call me,” Ben said, his words desperate. “I need to hear her voice.”

“I’ll tell her. It’ll probably be a few days before she’s feeling better.”

Jack hung up and dropped the phone on the table beside him. He downed the last of his whiskey and sat in silence.

“You going to be all right?”

Jack ignored the question, knowing he’d never be the same. In some ways, he guessed, that was a good thing.

“How does someone go through life feeling like they’re being hunted? Even when we were in combat situations and running special ops, I don’t think I ever felt hunted. More like a strategy, you against them. For her, it’s run and be captured and tortured and run again, find a new hole to hide in before he finds her again. I can’t stand it.” He shot up and paced.

“Jack, come on, man. I’ve never seen you like this. She’s okay, safe in the room upstairs.”

“Safe, for how long? I don’t even know who the hell is after her, or if they know she’s here. How can I protect her when I don’t even know who I’m protecting her from?”

“You hardly know this woman, and yet you’re acting like she’s your wife or something. Take a step back. Get some perspective. She’ll be fine in a few days, and then you can decide how deep you want to jump in this thing with her.”

“I’m drowning, is how deep I am in this thing. I can’t turn my back on her. I just can’t.” He’d always been this way. If someone or something got hurt or fell sick he had to take care of them, and it always took a piece of himself. Maybe that’s why his military career took such a toll. Each horror took a piece, until each of those pieces added up to a huge gaping hole of hurt.

“I was afraid you’d say that. Okay. You know I have your six on this. I always do. Let me know if you need my help with anything.”

“Thanks, man. You always have my back. I know I can count on you. Now go home. Kiss Summer and Lily. Make Summer laugh, she had a hard time tonight.”

“I will. Summer said she’d be by tomorrow.”

“Night, Caleb.”

Caleb slapped Jack on the shoulder and gave him a look, telling him without words he was there for him. Jack appreciated the sentiment and the support.



BETH WALKED IN the front door as Caleb left, holding a glass bottle in her hand. Jack stood in the Great Room and turned to stare out the window toward the mountains. His hands buried in his front pockets, his shoulders sagged, weighed down by the gravity of Jenna’s situation. He gazed up to the stars, his mind a million miles away with them.

“Jack? Here’s the medicine. Sorry it took so long. I thought you’d still be up with her, and the guys asked a lot of questions.” When he glared, she added, “Don’t worry, I told them to mind their business. Besides, I don’t know anything.”

Yeah, well, he didn’t know shit either. “Thanks, Beth. I appreciate your help.”

“No problem. Anything for you, boss. How is she? Any better?”

“No. But maybe once I get these antibiotics into her, she will be.” Jack accepted the bottle and took the stairs up two at a time.

Beth called after him. “Do you need me to stay tonight?”

“No, go on home. She’ll probably sleep through the night.”

Jack climbed the rest of the stairs, knowing he faced a long night watching over Jenna.