She listened as he started his lecture, smiling because she could hear the telltale signs of him pulling on his boots while he was talking to her.
“I’m close,” she told him calmly. “If I didn’t know you’d probably be upset, I would have just walked to the ranch. I do have a flashlight.” She gave him the mile marker she’d just passed on the highway.
“You’re not that close,” Gabe growled. “Don’t move from where you are. I’ll be right there.”
She wanted to tell him that she’d grown up in Rocky Springs, walked the wooded areas alone many times in her youth, but he was too busy cursing at himself for not making sure she was safe.
“Gabe, you aren’t responsible for me doing something stupid,” she reminded him. “And my safety isn’t your obligation.”
“Bullshit!” His words exploded from the phone. “I’m making it my business because I damn well want to. I don’t want to think about you being stranded somewhere ever again.”
She heard the sound of a closing door and it was evident that he was hurrying to his vehicle, her assumption verified as she identified the roar of a truck engine.
“Don’t hurry. I’m fine,” Chloe begged, worried that he’d drive like a bat out of hell.
“Don’t hang up. Talk to me until I get there,” Gabe demanded.
“There’s a dead zone near the middle of your driveway. It will drop our call.”
“Shit, then—”
Gabe’s voice cut out and the call dropped.
“Obviously he found the dead zone,” Chloe muttered to herself, clicking the Off button on her phone.
It was funny that Gabe had never noticed that calls dropped when he reached the middle of the road to his house. There were plenty of dead areas outside of town. It happened when you lived in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. She’d first noticed it when she’d been talking to her mom on her way to her first day on the job. It had happened again when she’d called Lara on her way to see her mom not long ago.
She saw a set of headlights pull up behind her. Fairly certain it was probably the area police or somebody passing by from Rocky Springs to offer help, she wasn’t alarmed. In a rural area like theirs, almost everyone stopped to help each other around here.
She stepped out of the truck, ready to tell the Good Samaritan that help was already on the way.
Unfortunately, she realized a little too late that her would-be rescuer wasn’t a humanitarian.
It was James, and he wasted no time pinning her to her truck, taking her off-guard and slamming her against the metal. He had a death grip on her hair, and he used his body to keep her pinned.
“Hello, Chloe. I told you this wasn’t over. You didn’t believe me?” His voice sounded slightly manic, and she could see his dimly lit features morph into an expression of evil.
“What are you doing here? What do you want?” she asked in a hostile voice. She was frightened, but she’d be damned if she’d show him her fear. After spending years in his unyielding grasp, she was tired of worrying about what he wanted.
“I want you to marry me. You know you want to. This game is getting old.” He yanked hard on her hair.
Chloe yelped, unable to stifle the sound as he grasped her throat with his other hand.
Right at that moment, she caught a glimpse of his eyes as he turned his head slightly, the light from the truck’s interior landing on his face.
A cold chill ran down her spine as she got a look at his expression, a face that she was absolutely certain could cause her more than just pain.
He wants to kill me.
She shivered in his grasp, looking at eyes as frigid as Antarctica. James had no humanity. He was completely sociopathic.
“I won’t marry you. Not now. Not ever,” she gasped, struggling to breathe as his grip around her throat tightened.
She moved quickly, just like Lara had taught her, letting her body go limp for a moment to throw James off-guard. He hesitated and stepped back just enough…
Chloe used every bit of strength she had and raised her knee to his groin, scratching at his eyes, wishing she could claw his hideous eyeballs from his face. She used her anger to fight, having no mercy as he backed off with a loud howl.
“Gabe Walker is on his way. I suggest you go and don’t ever fuck with me again.” She panted as she used her foot to kick him in the ass when he turned, cradling his genitals.
“You fucking bitch!” James wailed maniacally. “This isn’t over. Wait until tomorrow. You’ll be getting a package from me. I have a copy of what I’m sending, and I’ll ruin your whole damn family. You either marry me or I’ll destroy the life of every damn member of your family.”
Chloe was still breathing hard as James spotted the distant headlights. He was still covering his balls as he limped back to his car.
“You’ll pay for this, Chloe.” His harsh voice was menacing, dripping with the desire for revenge.
“I already have,” Chloe muttered to herself as James screeched out of his spot behind her truck, nearly nailing her in the process.
Doing a U-turn, she watched the expensive vehicle head back toward Rocky Springs as the distant headlights from the opposite direction got closer.
Sucking in heavy breaths of air, Chloe tried to calm her nerves.
What was James saying about ruining her family? How could he? Everyone had said that breaking an engagement was no big deal, and it really hadn’t been. Some society papers had sniffed around for some kind of scandal, but they’d gotten nothing, and the few who were interested quickly went on to a bigger story.