Saving Us Page 9

  Randa sighed and spooned another mouthful into both of her son’s mouths. “We need to get that fucker locked up. That’s the only way any of us are goin’ to be able to sleep at night.”

  “And how am I supposed to do somethin’ like that without puttin’ us all in danger? Randa, I can’t just make somethin’ up to have him put away. I’d need something real on him.” It would have been a fast solution, except we had nothing solid that would convince the police he was a criminal. Aside from him and Amy being separated, he was a model citizen, who sometimes had too much to drink. Nobody knew the secret side to Rick.

  “Oh, I know. You could look into his past. You could hire a private investigator.”

  I cocked my eyebrow. “You been watchin’ too many soap operas, sis. It ain’t that easy.”

  “It is if you are legally married to the guy. Amy has access to everything.”

  My sister was right. With Amy’s help, we may be able to find something on Rick that we could use against him. If the police weren’t willing to help me, I needed to find someone that could. “No matter what we decide, I want you to know that I won’t put your kids in danger. You know I would lay down and die before I let that happen. If you need us to leave, we will.”

  “No! I want you to be here with us. We are going to stick together. He won’t come onto this farm and threaten us. He does that, he knows his ass is grass. The safest place for Amy to be, besides Kentucky, is here.”

  I leaned down and kissed my sister. “Love you.”

  “Yeah, I love your ass, too.”

  I headed in the direction of my room and found Amy on the bed. She was face down and crying. I slid in beside her. “Hey darlin’, it’s goin’ to be alright. I ain’t goin’ to let anything happen to you. I promise.”

  She turned around and leaned into my chest. I kissed the top of her head before she lifted up her face to look at me. “I’m scared, Conner. I don’t know what to do. God only knows what he’s capable of. What if he tries to hurt you or your family? I would never forgive myself. I need to just go away for a while. It would be better for everyone.”

  I brushed the hair away from her face. “Is that what you want to do? Do you really want to leave me?” It hurt to even ask. A knot formed in my throat and I could feel my heart aching.

  She looked me right in the eyes. “No, I don’t want to be without you, Conner. I don’t ever want to be without you, but I can’t put you in danger. I can’t ask your family to do it either. There are children involved.”

  “Our child is involved, Amy. You think that wasn’t the first thing I thought about? I will do whatever you want. My sister wants you to stay, but you just say the word and I will take you back to Kentucky.”

  “What do you think we should do?”

  I laid back and pulled her down with me. After letting out a long sigh, I looked down at her. “I don’t know. I’ve never been one to back down from a fight, but seein’ as you and my baby are in danger, I know I need to be responsible. Miranda thinks that we should hire an investigator.”

  “I need to get in touch with his daughter. She knows something, Conner. She told me to look in his truck. First I found those checkbooks and now Heather has uncovered some secret past. There has to be more he’s hiding. He changed his name and everything. God, who the hell did I marry?”

  It wasn’t time to joke, but I just couldn’t help myself. “It beats me. I just hope your second husband doesn’t turn out to be a serial killer.”

  She slapped me in the chest. “Stop it! There is only one man that I would ever marry and he is too sweet to kill people.”

  “I’d like to skin your ex. You let me find him alone in some alley one night and you won’t be callin’ me sweet anymore. I’m serious, Amy. I think I could kill the man. I sure as hell can play it out in my head. His ass needs to be thrown in jail so he can be gang raped repeatedly.”

  She finally laughed. “I’d pay to see that. After everything he’s done to me, I wouldn’t mind seeing him suffer.”

  “I know it’s the middle of the day, but how about you get a nice hot shower and put on some of my clothes then get your ass back in this bed.” I kissed her slowly on the lips.

  She opened her eyes and looked right at me. “Will you be here when I get done?”

  I stood up and helped her off the bed. “I need to go finish up with something out in the pasture. Promise me you will get into bed and try to relax. I can’t have you gettin’ all stressed out. My baby needs a happy mamma.”

  She giggled and held out her hand while I handed her a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it. I plan on spoiling you for a long ass time.” I kissed her one more time before sending her into the bathroom to get that shower. She needed to calm down. I could tell from her body language that she was anything but alright.

  I found Ty out where we had been working before.

  “Dude, what the fuck? I’ve been waiting for you to come back with that tool for a damn hour. Did you have to take a shit or something?”

  “Suck my dick, we got bigger problems than fixin’ this here fence. Amy and Heather are in some deep shit, man. I’m goin’ to need your help.”

  When I said the name Heather, I thought Ty was going to crap himself. His eyes got huge. “I am not doing shit for that whore.”

  “We don’t have a choice. I can’t have a clear conscience if I let soemthin’ happen to another person. She’s in trouble, bro. I need your help and you’re goin’ to help me.”

  He tossed the tool down on the ground and held up his hands. “Fine! Tell me everything.”

  I sat down and explained everything to my hardheaded brother-in-law. He seemed shocked at first, but after the past year, nothing surprised any of us. “We need to nail this fucker to the wall, dude. Whatever you need, you just tell me.”

  With everyone on board, there was only one thing left to do.

  Protect Amy.

  Chapter 15

  Amy

  Everything was happening too fast. One minute I am in Kentucky having a great time and the next I am being thrown into a huge mess of drama. I did as Conner asked and took a long, hot shower. I had to admit that it felt good to relax under the beads of water. Once I got out and put on Conner's extra-large clothes, I climbed into his warm bed and got comfortable. I'm not really sure how long I had been asleep, but I woke up to my phone ringing. Thinking it was just a client returning my call, I answered it without checking the caller ID.

  Hello?

  How's my pretty little red haired wife doing these days? Is that young cowboy still making your heart patter?

  Rick?

  How many other husbands do you got?

  I want a divorce. I don't even know you. How many wives have you had?

  Why are you asking me that? You been taking to someone?

  No!

  You have, haven't you? I knew that little bitch was going to run right to you. Tell me where she is, Amy.

  I don't know and I don't care. I haven't talked to anyone. I found out everything on my own. I hired someone to look into your past. I know all about your ex-wife and how you changed your name, Rick Martin.

  You don't know shit. Meet me somewhere and we can talk about it.

  I wouldn't meet you if you were the last person on earth.

  Where are you, bitch?

  None of your damn business. You lost the right to ask me for anything the moment you started lying to me, which was obviously our whole marriage.

  If you know what's good for you, you'll watch what you say to me. You ruined everything, you little bitch. Now you will pay.

  I have spent our entire marriage being afraid of you. I'm done with your bullshit. If you ever cared anything about me, you will leave me alone, Rick. I will not spend my life looking behind my back. I called the police today. They are watching the farm and the salon. If you try to do anything to anyone in my life, they will drag your ass to jail.

  You thin
k you can threaten me?

  Conner walked into the bedroom and heard my last sentence. He grabbed the phone from me before I could even argue.

  You call this number again and I .......hello? "Shit!" He kneeled down beside the bed. "What the hell did he say to you?"

  After I gave him a replay of what we discussed, he seemed pretty impressed that I had taken up for myself. He pulled me into his arms and I started to cry again. I knew he could feel my body trembling. I was petrified.

  "I won't let nothin’ happen to you, Amy. I hope you know that."

  "I do. It's what scares me the most. I'm afraid of what you might be willing to do to protect me. Conner, I can't have you out there trying to be a hero. I want you here with me."

  When the phone rang again, Conner reached over to answer it.

  Hello? Yeah hang on.

  He handed me the phone.

  Hello?

  Ma'am this is Ron from the alarm company. We just wanted you to be aware that a break in was detected at your business location. The police are in route. Can we let them know that you or one of your representatives will be out there to meet them?

  I was in shock. Had Rick been sitting outside of the shop the whole time we were on the phone?

  Yes, I'll be right there.

  I hung up the phone and turned to Conner. "We need to get to the salon. I have to call my father." I started to walk out of the room, but Conner grabbed the back of my shirt.

  "You need to get dressed first."

  I looked down and noticed that I was wearing his boxers and t-shirt. "Oh, sorry."

  "Get dressed and I will warm up my truck. I'll meet you out there. Take your time, Amy. There ain't nothin' that a few minutes are goin' to change."

  "That's easy for you to say. It isn't your salon." I don't know what made me snap at him. Instead of saying something back, he just shook his head and walked away.

  It only took me a matter of seconds to throw on some warm clothes. I grabbed my shoes and a jacket and ran out the door. Conner was in his truck playing with the thermostat. He said nothing as I climbed in and shut the door. Even as he pulled away, he kept quiet.

  I closed my eyes and tried not to get upset. "I'm sorry for what I said."

  "Nah, it's cool. I get it."

  I reached over and tried to grab his hand, but he put it up on the steering wheel. I looked over and saw his jaw clenching. He was trying to keep his cool, except I could see that it had really gotten to him. I stayed quiet for the whole ride and it was awful. I'd never been so close to him but felt so far away from him. I hated it.

  Two police cars were pulled in front of the salon. Conner pulled into a spot and we headed in together. Right before I got to the door, he ran ahead and opened it for me. Once inside I couldn't believe my eyes. My salon stations had been ripped out of the wall. The seats were ripped out of the floor and laid on their sides. One had been tossed clear across the room. The mirrors were all shattered.

  An officer approached me. "Excuse me, Ma'am, is your name Amy?"

  I didn't want to hear my last name so I cut in. "Yes, yes that's me. I'm the owner. Please tell me you caught the person who did this."

  "I'm afraid we were hoping you could give us a lead. This kind of thing doesn't exactly happen in our small town. Can you think of anyone that would want to do this? Is anyone holding a grudge against you? Did you make someone's hair fall out?" He started laughing until Conner jumped in his shit.

  "Do we have a problem here? This woman's business has been vandalized and you're makin' hair jokes? What kind of pussy ass cop are you?"

  The cop cocked his eyebrow. I got in between them and turned to Conner. "Walk away. Please."

  He seemed pissed that I could ask him to do that, but turned and walked away anyway. I turned around to face the cop again. He put his head down. "I'm sorry, ma'am. It was inappropriate."

  "Look, all I care about is finding out what I have to do next. You were asking if I knew anyone that would be capable of doing this. The answer is yes, I do. My ex-husband has threatened my life and everything I love. Is that the kind of person you are looking for?"

  I think he was shocked that I was so dead serious. "Yeah, can you give us his information, or maybe his whereabouts?"

  "I have no idea where you can find him. Once I left, I never wanted to see him again. Is it common to keep tabs on ex-spouses?"

  Another officer came walking out from the back room. He looked from his partner then to me. "I think you need to take a look back here."

  All of us, including Conner, rushed to the back room. I couldn't believe that it could get any worse, but as I stood there looking at the mess, I realized that I was wrong. All of the chemicals that I used for dying hair had been busted open and poured out. The smell alone was enough to knock someone out. I pulled my shirt up over my face, while I took in the rest of the room. It was a mess, but the worst part was the words written on the far wall.

  This is just the beginning.

  I fell into Conner's arms. Rick had destroyed the one thing that was mine. As I stood there crying, Conner guided me out of the back room. He sat a chair upright and got me sitting. "Breathe, Amy."

  I took deep breaths and looked around again. The place was destroyed beyond repair. It was going to need to be gutted out before it could be salvaged. I broke into a crying fit and I just couldn't stop. I was never going to get away from Rick. He wasn't going to stop.

  When I heard my father’s voice, I looked up. He caught my gaze and headed in my direction, ignoring the officer. "Amy, sweetheart, are you okay?"

  "I wasn't here when it happened, Dad. I went home early today. It's destroyed. Everything is ruined!"

  He kneeled down and put his hands on my knees. "We have insurance. All I care about is you being safe." He looked around the room again. "My God, was this Rick's doing?"

  I nodded. "Yes."

  "That son of a bitch is going to pay, sweetie. Lord, I was so afraid when I got that call." He pulled me into his arms. "I just got you back. I can't imagine losing you."

  I cried even more. "I know, Dad. I feel the same way."

  Once he pulled away he stood up and shook hands with Conner. "Son, do you have any place that you can take her where she'll be safe? I can handle this place, but I need to know that she'll be somewhere that he can’t get to her. Her and that baby are my main concern."

  "I can take her back to Kentucky. My family has a ranch."

  He nodded. "Good. Leave as soon as you can and call me when you get there. These cops need to catch this son of a bitch. If he is this hell bent, then there is no telling what he is capable of."

  I sat there quietly listening to the two of them making decisions regarding me. I was in no position to do it myself. Rick was out for blood and I was the first one on his list.

  "I need to stay and deal with the officers."

  "I have this, sweetie. You let Conner take you home and get you safe. Everything can be replaced except for you." Hearing my father say such gentle words was the best kind of medicine to cure my broken heart. I looked around at my dilapidated salon. Everything that I had worked so hard for was destroyed. That bastard ruined everything.

  I got up and walked toward the officer who was working on the report. "Excuse me, my father is here now. Do you need anything else from me? I'm not feeling very well."

  "Just make sure we have the right number for you and you can leave. If we need anything else we will call you."

  I walked over to my dad and hugged him one more time. "Thanks for coming."

  "You don't have to thank me. It's what parents do. This bastard has cost me precious time with you, Amy. You go somewhere and be safe. That young man you're with loves you. I can see it every time he looks at you. That's the kind of man that I wanted you to end up with. I think he'll be a good father. He's hell-bent on protecting you."

  I turned to look back at Conner. He was talking to the other officer about something. For all I knew he was telling him how much
of a douche his partner was. "He is a good man. I don't know what I would have done had he not been in my life."

  "Don't you worry about any of this. I will handle it all. Once you are in Kentucky we can talk about what we need to do."

  He hugged me tighter and kissed the top of my head. "I'm so glad that we have each other again. I missed you so much, Daddy."

  Maybe it was just me being overemotional. Maybe it was my hormones, but at that very moment he was my daddy and I was his little girl.

  A few minutes after, we were heading back to the farm. Conner hadn't said much to me since I had snapped at him, but instead of bringing it up, he pulled me close into his arms. "It's goin' to be alright, Amy. I promise you, it will."

  Chapter 16

  Conner

  I never wanted to hurt someone like I wanted to hurt that mother fucker for destroying Amy's salon. What kind of monster preys on women like this guy? The police said they would do their best to find him, but I wasn't that convinced considering how they treated Amy during their questioning. I could have punched that little prick out for what he said to her. Didn't people have any compassion? She was devastated.

  My sister about pitched a fit when I told her that we were packing up and heading to Kentucky. I don't think she realized just how bad the salon was, even after I showed her some pictures that I took from my phone. "Why can't you just stay here?"

  "Randa, I don't have time to argue with you. She's pregnant and I promised her father that I would get her out of here until things cool down. That bastard threatened her life. You think I'm just goin' to stand around and wait for him to hurt her? She's carrying my child, for Christ sakes."

  Ty came in and leaned on my sister's shoulders. "Baby, if I were Conner, I would do the same thing to keep you safe. He's doing the right thing."