“What are we going to do?” J.D. asked, a worried look on her face. “That asshole fiancé of hers probably kidnapped her.”
“And then sent his bodyguard back to get the money,” Gabriel added. “What was Anna Victoria doing with this much cash in the trunk of her car? Did she have it all this time?”
“Doesn’t matter.” A fire blazed in Damon’s chest. Anna Victoria was his mate, and anyone who dared take her away would regret it. “The only thing that does matter is getting her back.” And for once, he and The Demon were in agreement. “Call P.D.,” he said to Gabriel. “Ask their patrols to keep a lookout for three black SUVs heading out of town.”
“Will do, Chief.” He fished out his phone. “I’ll have them pull all security footage around the area too. If they give me grief about it, I’ll remind Police Chief Meacham about that large check I wrote for the policeman’s fund.”
“Damon?” J.D. put a hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”
His brain was focused on a task. And when he was determined to accomplish something, he never gave up. Anna Victoria was his. He would get her back, even if he had tear down every town and rip up every road from here to Albuquerque. Turning to J.D., he said, “I’ve never been better.”
Chapter Thirteen
Hope drained out of Anna Victoria as the minutes ticked by and they drove farther and farther away from J.D.’s house. The look on Damon’s face when she told him to leave shattered her heart into pieces, but what could she do? She had to save him. Edward Jameson’s ruthlessness knew no bounds. He had a police chief killed, what would he do to Damon?
Marrying Jameson would be a small sacrifice to keep Damon safe.
Still, the idea that Damon hated her made her chest contract with pain. I love you so much, Damon.
But he would never hear those words from her. Maybe it would have been better if she never came here in the first place. If she’d never met him and just drove on. Or stayed at home and gone through with the wedding. And by the looks of it, she would have ended up in the same place anyway. Married to a vile man she didn’t love.
Not wanting to further wallow in her grief, she instead focused outside. The snow was falling fast. Oh, she would miss the loveliness of the snow in the mountains. Miss the view from Damon’s porch. Miss the—
Her thoughts made a complete one-eighty as they passed a familiar road sign. Welcome to the Blackstone Mountains.
Her head snapped toward Jameson, who sat beside her in the back seat of the second SUV. “Where are we going?” When he didn’t answer, she called the driver’s attention. “Are you lost? You’re going the wrong way. This isn’t the way back to New Mexico.”
“No, it’s not,” Jameson said, his voice completely emotionless.
Dread sank in her stomach, and her limbs felt paralyzed. Despite her chest squeezing the air from her lungs, she managed to say, “You were never planning to take me back to Albuquerque, were you?”
Slowly, Jameson turned to her. “No, darling.” The dark, emptiness in his eyes made her skin crawl. “I can’t risk it. You’re a loose end.”
Oh God. Fear sank into her chest. “But you can have the money back,” she said, panicked. “I didn’t spend it. Never even took it out of my car. It’s all there.”
“But you were there that night,” he began. “You saw us, didn’t you? Police Chief Ryan and me at the penthouse. You’re the only one who can link us before he died.”
You mean, before you killed him, she wanted to scream, but bit her lip. “I won’t say anything. Please. You can have it in writing. If … if we get married, they can’t make me testify against you.”
He scoffed. “Too late, Anna Victoria. You shouldn’t have left me at the altar and jilted me.”
“My father will—”
“No one knows I’ve tracked you here or that I’m even here now,” he interrupted. “According to my private plane’s manifest, I’m currently up in Vermont. Your friends back home will simply think you ran away to start a new life, while everyone here will assume you’ve gone home and reconciled with me. As for your father … well, he’ll be distraught, but it won’t matter, because he will never find you.” He glanced out the window. “I have to admit, you couldn’t have picked a better place to hide from me. A town full of shifters who don’t care for anyone but their own,” he sneered. “It’s the perfect place to get rid of you. Maybe I won’t even have to hide your body, and one of these animals will devour what’s left of you.”
It seemed Jameson had already planned her gruesome fate from the beginning. God, this was all so hopeless. Her entire body went numb, her brain still attempting to process the thought that she would die tonight.
They kept on going, driving up unfamiliar roads that took them higher up the mountains. The vehicle had passed the turnoff that led to the station and Damon’s house miles ago, which meant they were going farther than she’d ever been before.
“We’ve driven long enough,” Edward told the driver. “I don’t see anything but trees and snow up here. You can stop now.”
“Yes, sir,” the driver replied as the vehicle slowed down. While the SUV behind them halted, the one in the lead continued.
“Call them to come back,” Jameson snapped. “Then we can proceed.”
Anna Victoria’s heart hammered in her chest, her pulse going wild. This was it. But she couldn’t accept her fate. Not anymore. And she knew this was her only chance. Jameson would expect her to meekly just follow them like a sheep to slaughter.
Her body tensed up like a coiled spring, and the moment she heard the car lock click, she grabbed the handle and leapt out of the car. She heard Jameson’s scream of
