Muffled in the background, she heard the sound of footsteps racing inside the house from outside, but refused to focus on anything but the phone plastered against her ear. The dead silence on the other end terrified her.
“Jamie, sweetheart, can you hear me?”
“She’s fine. I haven’t hurt a single hair on her head, and I won’t if you do what I tell you.”
“Evan, so help me, I’m going to rip your eyes out with my bare hands. Give me back my daughter.”
“I want my money.”
“I don’t have it. Every dime went back to the county. You know Tessa and I donated the bond back to Crowley County. And you, you left me in debt up to my eyeballs. Mortgages on the house. Credit cards in my name I didn’t open. Bank accounts empty. Even Jamie’s college fund’s gone. What more do you want from me?”
Brody knelt in front of her, his eyes searching her face. With his finger pressed to his lips, he mouthed the word, “speaker.” When she stared at him blankly, he eased the phone away from her ear and tapped a button, putting the phone on speaker.
“You better figure out a way to get your hands on some cash fast, Beth, if you want me out of your life for good. I don’t intend to spend another day in prison.”
“How much do you want, Evan?”
“A million dollars.” Though his answer didn’t surprise her, the amount still had her heart rate kicking into high gear, and her breath caught.
“I don’t have a million dollars. Where do you think I can come up with that kind of money, Evan?”
“I’ll pay it.”
The strong, deep voice from behind Beth had her head whipping around, and she stared into the eyes of Douglas Boudreau, her mouth open in surprise. “Douglas?”
“Who’s there?”
“Douglas Boudreau. I can get your money. No cash though, not on a Sunday. No banks are open.”
Evan’s surprised curse was clear through the receiver.
“Daddy, you said bad words. Mommy doesn’t like bad words. She says they’re in-a-something.” Beth bit back a strangled laugh at her daughter’s admonition. Jamie had picked up a couple of not-so-nice cuss words around some of the hands since being at the ranch, when they hadn’t known she was around. More than once Beth had to talk to her about their inappropriateness. Guess she was rubbing off on her daughter.
“Douglas Boudreau? The one who owns the construction company, right?” Evan’s chuckle was pure evil. A shiver ran down Beth’s spine at the sound. “Don’t worry, Mr. Boudreau, I wouldn’t expect you to have a million dollars in cash laying around. Then again, I don’t know anything about most of you Boudreaus, though I’ve met two of your sons.”
“Get to the point, Mr. Stewart. The sooner we do this, the sooner Jamie can be back with her mother.” Beth had never heard Douglas’ voice sound so—commanding. Without conscious thought, she found herself standing straighter, almost at attention, before she caught herself. Brody mentioned his father had been in the Army, something to do with Special Forces, but with everything going on, she’d forgotten that fact. Now his superior training was evident within every syllable the older man spoke. He’d taken control of the situation, letting Evan know he no longer had the upper hand.
“The point, Mr. Boudreau, is simple. Money. This transaction can be accomplished simply and efficiently, with nobody getting hurt.”
“Before I give you one single penny, Jamie will be returned to her mother. No exception.”
“I can’t do that. How do I know you’ll fulfill your end of the bargain if I give you my only bargaining chip?”
“Because you’ll have me in Jamie’s place. Trust me, I’ve worth far more than your daughter, Stewart. You said you know who I am. Then you’ll also know I’m a man of my word. Trade Jamie for me, and you’ll get exactly what’s coming to you.”
There was silence, Beth’s nerves tight, her body on edge, waiting for Evan’s answer. She didn’t want Douglas putting himself in Jamie’s place, but her daughter was so little. She didn’t understand what a monster her father had become, and she was terrified of what Evan might do if his demands were thwarted.
“I agree to your terms, Mr. Boudreau.”
Beth’s body collapsed into Brody’s arms, relief swamping her. Her baby was coming home. Things weren’t settled yet, not by a long shot, but they were one step closer to ending Evan’s reign of terror. Because she knew Brody wouldn’t allow Evan to walk away from this unscathed. He’d make sure Evan ended back behind bars. And he’d have backup, because he had his family to watch his back.
“Where do you want to make the exchange?” Douglas glanced toward Beth, his gaze steady and reassuring. Her gave a brief nod in her direction before turning his attention back to Evan.
“I’ll call you back in an hour. There are arrangements that need to be in place before I’ll meet you. Be ready.”
“Evan, let me talk to Jamie. Please.” Beth pulled herself out of Brody’s arms and raced over to stand by Douglas, her eyes glued to the cell phone. “Please,” she choked out again.
For another long stretch, there was silence, and she wondered if he’d let her speak to their daughter. Putting herself in Jamie’s place, she knew her baby had to be terrified. Evan was her father, but she hadn’t been around him in months. And now she knew her ex’s true colors, leaving Jamie with him for even a minute seemed an eternity.
“Mommy! Where are you? Daddy said you were gonna have ice cream with us, but then you never came. Now I want to come home, and Daddy said no.”
“Hey, baby girl! We’ll have ice cream soon, I promise. We going to come and get you, and you’ll be home soon. Then you can eat anything you want, okay?”
“Anything?”
“I promise. Just be a good girl until we get there. You can do that, right?”
Beth fervently wished this
