Page 25 of Second Chance for the Grump

Gun?

Knife?

We could only wait and find out together.

I couldn’t stand around to see what it was while putting Maisey in danger. Shoving Maisey behind me, I stepped in front of her again.

The movement spooked Jonathan, and he froze.

With a cellphone in his hand.

Not a gun.

What did he plan to do with a cell phone? Call the cops on himself? Doubtful.

Jonathan smiled at us, and I sucked in a breath, ready for whatever came next. With a dangerous and unstable man like him, I had to stay prepared. He’d kidnapped a damn dog for fuck’s sake. Who knew what he was capable of doing?

“You really do love her. Don’t you?” he asked as if Maisey wasn’t standing behind me.

I didn’t answer.

“That’s cute.” His smile grew, turning into a disgusting smirk. “Stupid, but cute.”

Maisey stepped around me, even as I shoved my arm out to stop her. Why did she keep trying to put herself in harm’s way? “Jonathan, let Charlie go. He’s just a dog. None of this is his fault.”

For the first time since he stepped out to scare us, genuine sadness splashed across his face. It didn’t last long, though, not long enough to make me feel sorry for him.

He shook his head, the evil smile returning in full force. “No. You don’t get to tell me what to do anymore. I’m in control now.”

My stomach dropped. I finally understood. This wasn’t about Charlie. Or even Maisey. Maybe not even me.

This was about control. And his inability to lose his. Since he would never get Maisey back, he’d never stop.

A tremendous gust of October wind rattled the barn walls. Charlie barked again, still pulling at his rope leash. The poor guy did not understand why his mother hadn’t come to him.

Jonathan glared at him and then at us. Something shifted in his expression. He’d made a decision. We just had to wait and see what it was. Whatever path forward he’d settled on, I didn’t think it involved walking away calmly. Madmen rarely did.

Trouble was coming.

“Rowan,” Maisey said, grabbing my arm as her nails dug into my skin. She noticed the shit too.

I kept my eyes on Jonathan. “Stay behind me.”

Jonathan laughed as he took a step backward, away from us but closer to the rear barn doors and toward Charlie.

Alarm bells in my head flashed red alert.

My gaze dropped to find the thing that had Jonathan’s attention. A thin wire stretched across the floor near a support beam, just before the exit. It was almost invisible except for the few seconds when light from outside the barn hit it.

He’d put that there. But why?

Jonathan twisted toward us again, his evil smile etched across his face as if he’d cut it into stone.

Right then, I knew.

He planned to take us all down. He’d truly lost his mind and refused to lose. I’d walked Maisey right into a trap.

Without thinking, I twisted Maisey away from me, releasing her back toward her vehicle. “Run!”