Wilde Love (The Brothers of Wilde, Nevada 6)

“Turn yourself in. Tell the sheriff who put you up to this.”

Rich snorted. “Right. Not happening.” He looked over at her, leaving his left hand on the steering wheel and his other on the gun in his lap. The teenager’s lips curled up into a lurid grin as he scanned her naked body.

“Stop looking at me.”

His head snapped to the road, though he didn’t stop grinning.

He’s only a kid. But he’s also got a gun.

“Are you taking me to someone?”

“Shut up, please.”

There’d been so many close calls on her life since coming to Wilde, she should’ve been used to it by now. She wasn’t. Jessie didn’t doubt that Rich was driving her to her death. An idea formed with a sharp clarity. If successful, she would be free of Rich and find out if Austin was alive. If a failure, she would die, but by God, it would be under her terms and not Rich’s.

She uncrossed her legs. Rich didn’t seem concerned. She looked ahead through the windshield. The road twisted and curved. She waited for the perfect sharp turn ahead. Wait for it…

Jessie swung her leg over the top of Rich’s and jammed her foot on the brake pedal. She grabbed the steering wheel and pulled it to turn the car right.

“Fucking bi—”

The car didn’t just turn but flipped over on the highway. Her body spun inside the car like clothes in a dryer. Even though she expected to die, Jessie felt proud that she’d actually made the attempt to escape the young killer. Before meeting the five men she loved with all her heart, she would’ve never even tried such a thing. They’d changed her life, even if it was about to end.

* * * *

Denver turned left onto one of the county’s less traveled roads. As the seconds continued to tick away with no sign of Jessie or the bastard who had taken her, Denver’s dread grew.

After he and his two youngest brothers had found the car tracks near the ancient oak tree, they’d followed them to the highway next to their eldest brother’s place. Of course, there were no tracks on the pavement.

Denver, Jackson, and Phoenix had made the decision to split up in order to cover more ground. They’d sped back to his place to get their trucks. Without hesitation, they’d headed off in three different directions to search for Jessie.

Another text popped in from Jackson. “Still no sign of her.” Phoenix had called moments ago with the same news.

His cell rang. He looked at the screen and saw it was Dallas. “Yes?”

“Mom and dads are here at the hospital now. I’m heading out to look.”

“How’s Austin?”

“Doctor says he’ll be okay but isn’t sure how he survived such a massive dose.”

Denver let out a big sigh. “Because he’s too mean to die, thank God. I’m up north on 226. Jackson’s working the east part of the county, and Phoenix is going south toward Elko.”

“Okay. I’ll head west. If I find the motherfucker who took her, I’ll kill him.”

Denver wanted to tell his brother that everything was going to be okay, but he couldn’t. He didn’t know that, and Dallas hated lies. “We’re checking in every ten minutes.”

“Got it.”

The call ended, and Denver slowed his truck, scanning in every direction. When his headlights illuminated an overturned car ahead, he came to a stop.

Fuck! I don’t have time for this.

About three or four times a year, outsiders would get lost in the back roads of the county. Most would show up at someone’s hunting cabin or ranch house, begging for directions. A few would make it to Wilde. Fewer still would take one of the hairpin turns and either flip their car on the road or end up down the mountain.

Denver grabbed Smoke Pole and opened his car door. As he got closer, he saw a woman giving CPR to a man on the ground. The woman was naked, and he immediately recognized—

“Jessie!”