Page 45 of The Rancher

A black SUV was parked where no one would have seen it unless they were at the back of the barn. Though how they came up the driveway without being seen was something Lyris would ask Ray…if she ever saw him again.

They climbed into the SUV.

Scott drove.

Ted sat in the passenger seat.

Marissa in the back seat with Lyris. She was, turned in the seat to face her while she continued to hold the gun on Lyris. “Get going. We have a small window to get out of here before Ray returns. Go!”

Looking only at the back of Scott’s head, Lyris refused to turn her gaze toward Marissa.

Scott drove out from behind the barn and then punched the gas pedal while driving down the driveway away from the ranch.

Lyris wasn’t sure he was going to stop at the stop sign before getting on the frontage road and heading for the highway, but he did and then sped up again on the frontage road. He didn’t seem worried about being stopped by the police, which given their lack of presence in the area was probably a good bet.

After twenty minutes driving they turned onto the driveway of a huge, two-story home. It was red brick with white trim around the windows and a white double front door. A large porch was on the front of the house. Four white columns held up the roof of the porch. She saw a small table and two chairs, all made from wrought iron on one side of the porch and four chairs in a circle around a small table on the other side.

Scott pulled directly into the attached four-car garage.

Lyris turned to Marissa. “I assume this is your home.”

“It is.”

“Don’t you think this is the first place Ray will look?”

She laughed. “Oh, I fully expect him to come find you. That’s exactly what I want. I’ll make a trade with him for you. I want White Lightning. That horse is amazing and will bring this stable back to life with his winnings. I know good horse flesh when I see it, and that animal has it all. After he’s raced for a few years, he’ll bring in high fees for his services. In just a couple of years I’ll rival Ray as the place to go for premium stud services.”

Lyris wanted to laugh. “You really think he’ll give you White Lightning for me? Are you crazy? That horse belongs to Maddy, not Ray, and she’ll never agree to the trade. I wouldn’t blame her either. That horse means everything to her. He’s the last of the colts from her mother’s favorite mare. She’s trained him, and right now, she’s the only one who can ride him.”

Marissa narrowed her eyes. “You better be wrong. If you’re not, then you’re dead, and I’ll be long gone to a nice country with no extradition.” She waved the gun at Lyris to exit the car.

Scott opened the back door and held it. When she was out, he pulled her beside him, placed a hand on the back of her neck, and squeezed. “Be a good girl and I won’t have to hurt you.”

Lyris wanted to move, but when she tried, Scott squeezed harder. “Okay. Okay. I’ll be good.”

“See that you are,” he whispered into her ear. “I’d really hate to have to mar your lovely face.”

Marissa scooted across the backseat and followed Lyris out the same door. “Get in the house. I expect to get a call from Ray anytime now.”

Scott led them into the house through a mud room and then into the kitchen.

Pushing her with the barrel of the gun, Marissa shoved Lyris toward the round oak table in the breakfast nook. “Sit. You might be here for a while.”

Lyris had barely sat in one of the four thickly padded chairs around the table when the ringtone on Marissa’s phone sounded.

She pulled it from her pocket and smiled. “Ray. How good to hear from you.” She lifted the phone away from her ear and put it on speaker. “Now, my darling, what can I do for you?”

“I’m not your darling, and you can release Lyris. If you do, no charges will be filed against you.”

“And what if I don’t want to give her back?” She’d dropped the smile, and that change was heard in her voice.

“You will. I’ve already called the police. You were seen, along with Scott and Ted, getting into a black SUV parked behind my barn. You can all be identified. Give her back. It’s your only way to not make things worse…and you know it.”

Marissa clenched her jaw and rounded on Ted. “I thought you said no one would be around.”

Ted lifted one shoulder. “They shouldn’t have been. The schedule?—”

Lyris snickered. “You mean the schedule that was changed after the colt was poisoned. The one that is in place now was made by Ray and the new stable master, Will Asher, implemented it. The barns are never left unattended now.”