Lara (Reynolds Ranch)

Chapter Sixteen

Lara

My head throbs, and the cut on my head stings. I look through hazy eyes and see that bitch and know that I’m going to end up dead if I don’t find a way out of here. How in the world did they get a hold of me? I press my hand to my head and feel the bareness there. My rings are gone. “Son of a bitch.”

“He has no way of knowing where you are,” my old bodyguard tells me, laughing hysterically.

“Why are you doing this?”

“He deserves someone better than you.” His secretary glares at me with venom practically dripping from her lips as she spits out her words with her fist clenched at her sides in rage.

“Better than me? What makes me so terrible for him? I’m wealthy, smart, young, pretty, and I love him.”

“Love him? He’s been miserable for weeks now.” Has he really been upset? I know I’ve been moody, but my mom told me it would pass in time. I hoped to talk to Landon about it, but then he had his impromptu trip. “It’s no wonder he didn’t tell you about the trip that’s been on his calendar for months.”

“Months?”

“Yes. You stupid girl. He probably went to relieve some tension with the Hollywood actress that he went to work for. They can look really sexy at those events, and with you being all pregnant and frumpy, he can’t pass up a hot opportunity.” That’s why he didn’t want me to go? He went to guard an actress personally.

She might as well kill me now because I think I’ve died inside.

“Aww. Look at her. She’s so heartbroken.” I can’t believe they’re working together, but it makes sense because they both wanted Landon. I knew his assistant wanted him, and I should have been smarter and had Landon fire her like he offered.

“Let’s get this over with. We need to get rid of her.”

“We have to wait until he comes back, and then we’ll make it look like she was with her lover.” Shit. What do they have planned for me? They close and lock the door behind them, leaving me trapped in a small room with a basement window. It’s raining outside, but I can see that it’s still daylight out.

I look around the room and try to figure out where I am. It’s not anywhere familiar, which really sucks, but from the sounds around me, we’re near a train station. I can hear the sound of the PA system. I don’t know all the routes, but it’s a start to realize that I’m close to one. Now to find a way out before they kill me. They’ve used duct tape on me, so maybe I can work these pieces off.

I try to remember the things I learned and find a way to shimmy out of the tape on my hands. Quickly, I free my feet and then go to the window. I don’t see a sensor, so I tug it open and slide out. Thankfully my baby belly hasn’t shown yet and I’m still skinny. I make it out and end up in a small, enclosed backyard. Shit. I duck down and look to see gangways and the train tracks just down the street. I hop the fence, giving no shit that I don’t have shoes. I’m glad I’m a country girl, no-shoe-wearing ass. Call me a hillbilly, you bitch. I’ll show her for sure.

I make it to the train station and spot a Chicago Police officer. Immediately he spots my need and grabs hold of me, calling out on his shoulder walkie. “I was kidnapped. I ran from a house down the street. Please help me.”

“Of course, miss. Your name?”

“Lara Reynolds. I mean Lara Black. I’m newly married, but they did something with my rings.”

“Where’s your husband?”

“He’s away on business in California.”

“Help is on the way.” He sits me in the squad car until an ambulance arrives and additional backup appears on the scene. I try to explain, but my feet are bloody and I’m starting to feel faint.

****

“Please wake up, love. Please, for the love of God, wake up. I need you to wake up.” I hear Landon’s sobs in my dreams. It’s like he’s really here, but that can’t be. “I love you, Lara. You need to please open your beautiful eyes for me.”

“Just leave me alone already.”

“Never. I’m never leaving you alone again,” he snarls between sobs. I open my eyes and see my husband with eyes red-rimmed. “You’re awake.” His lips land on my cheeks and lips, but I turn my head.

“Don’t.”

“Lara. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you. I failed you. It was my only fucking job in the world, and I failed.”

“Your only job was to protect my heart, and you failed that miserably, Landon. You broke your vows to me.”

“Broke my vows? Baby, how hard did they hit you?” His voice is deadly.