Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Piper?” I asked.
“Yeah. What’s making you run home so much?”
Bubba had warned me the guys were starting to talk, and that I needed to come up with a reason why my schedule was changing so drastically.
“Piper’s fine, and nothing’s wrong, Billy. I’ve just got a situation going on that I have to handle on my own.”
His brows drew down. “A situation you can’t share with your best friends?”
I hated lying to him. He knew I was keeping a secret. “Billy, do you trust me?”
“With my life,” he instantly replied.
“Then I need you to trust me on this. I’ve got something going on, and I can’t tell you about it. It has nothing to do with the ranch, so don’t worry about that.”
“I’m not worried about the ranch. You forget MaryAnne is the bookkeeper. I know the ranch is profitable. I am, however, worried about you.”
I studied the worry on his face. I wanted to tell him something so that he didn’t feel like I was keeping him totally in the dark. “I…I might have found out what happened to Emily.”
His face drained of color. “What?”
I said quickly, “This has to stay between us. Promise me, Billy.”
“Dude, I’ll promise it in blood, if that’s what you want.”
I forced a wobbly smile. “The night I left your place, during the storm?”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Well, I found something, and I can’t tell you what it was. At least not right now.”
“Okay.”
“It’s led me to believe that Emily was kidnapped and held by someone right here in our area.”
Billy sat back in his chair and stared at me, looking like he’d been punched. After a few minutes, he nodded. “Okay. Well, we always kind of thought she was kidnapped. What makes you think she was held by someone in the area?”
I shook my head. “That’s the thing I can’t tell you. I’m working with Randy, and for now, we’re keeping the rest of the police out of it. Let’s just say the only people I trust are my cousin, you, and the guys.”
“Holy crap, Liam. Does Bubba know?”
I nodded. “Just know that has nothing to do with me not trusting you. There’s someone else involved, and I need to respect them and their wishes.”
“Of course.”
“I need to also ask that no one comes to the house for the foreseeable future.”
Billy started to laugh—then instantly stopped when he realized I was serious. “Wait, you don’t want any of us to come to your place? Not even for poker night tonight?”
It suddenly felt like someone had dropped a brick into my stomach. “Shit. I forgot about poker night. No, we need to cancel it or have it at your place.”
The thought of leaving Mallory tonight made me feel slightly sad. We were finally going to have our previously canceled movie night.
Leaning forward, Billy asked, “Is there someone staying at your place?”
When I didn’t answer, he simply nodded.
“We can do poker night at my place. I’ll have MaryAnne…” His voice trailed off before he quickly stood. “MaryAnne!”
“What about her?” I asked, standing as well.
“Liam, she’s on her way to your place to drop off the sandwiches for tonight, like she does every poker night.”
My heart started to pound in my chest. I pulled out my cell to call Mallory—and realized we still hadn’t gotten her a phone yet. Instead, I tried MaryAnne. “She’s not answering her phone.”
Billy pulled out his phone and started tapping. Then he looked up at me. “According to GPS, she’s at your house.”
Without another word, I darted out of the office and to my truck. Billy was on my heels. I wasn’t about to argue with him when he got into the passenger side, given we were trying to intercept his wife.
I floored it and drove as fast as I could.
“I know you know these roads like the back of your hand, Liam, but could you possibly slow down?”
“She’s going to panic!”
From the corner of my eye, I saw his head jerk to the left as he stared at me. “She? You mean MaryAnne?”
“No! I mean Mallory. I found her the night of the storm. She’d been kidnapped by someone and escaped. I found her basically passed out from exhaustion in the west pasture.”
Billy remained silent. When I took a chance and glanced at him, he was staring straight ahead, looking stunned.
We got to the driveway of my house in record time. Gravel kicked up as I took the turn sharply.
“There’s MaryAnne’s car,” Billy said, pointing out the obvious.
I parked next to it, turned off the truck, and jumped out. I raced up the porch steps—and came to an abrupt stop when the front door opened and MaryAnne appeared.
“It’s okay! She’s okay! Calm down!”
Billy leaned over and tried to catch his breath. “We tried…to call you.”
MaryAnne wore a smile that I imagined a mother would wear when trying to calm her kids. “I left it in the car and was about to go get it. I figured I’d better call Liam to let him know I’d met his guest.”