Cade prayed his friend was right. He had a sinking feeling that Addie needed him worse than he’d first thought. That driving need urged him to slam the accelerator to the floor once more, and the consequences be damned. But if he lost control and slid into one of the tall, sturdy trees that lined this narrow, rutted road, they may be too late to help her.
“Pull over up there,” Jorje said, pointing at a wider area ahead of them where they could park the truck and not block the road.
Cade glanced at his friend. “Are you sure?”
Jorje nodded. “Si. JR’s place is just on the other side of those trees,” he said, pointing again, “maybe half a mile. If we drive any closer, he’ll know we’re coming. I think it would be better if our arrival was a surprise.”
Cade agreed. He pulled off the road, making sure to leave enough room for the sheriff’s cars to make it through. Jorje had called the sheriff’s office with a rundown on the situation as they left Addie’s driveway, and told them how to find JR’s place. They should be arriving soon, but Cade couldn’t wait to find out. He needed to find Addie and ensure her safety.
He slammed on the brakes, then shifted into park, and reached for his door handle.
“Shouldn’t we wait for the sheriff?” Jorje asked.
“The sheriff won’t be here for another twenty minutes, if we’re lucky. You can wait and direct them,” Cade said as his door swung open. “I’m going in.”
Jorje’s forehead furrowed. “You can’t go in alone. JR has weapons in there. He’ll shoot you as soon as look at you.” He opened his door and hopped out of the cab.
“What do you suggest?” Cade asked as he quietly shut his door and rounded the front of the truck.
“We stay on the road as long as we can and watch for traps in the brush.”
Cade lifted an eyebrow at that and Jorje sighed.
“JR’s very paranoid. He’s got booby-traps and warning signals all over the place.”
“Cameras?” Cade asked, worried that the man would see them coming and hurt Addie.
“No, nothing like that. He’s got nylon strings stretched over open areas with cans attached that’ll make a huge racket if you trip them.”
Cade frowned. What kind of guy was this JR?
“Anything else?”
“Holes to catch prowlers,” Jorje replied as he started down the rutted path with Cade right beside him. “JR once said that he’d dug several around here. He may have put stakes in the bottom, but I’m not sure about that.”
Cade stared. Stakes?
“I know,” Jorje said, seeing Cade’s questioning look. “Like I said, he’s paranoid. Always worried someone will break in and steal his drugs or guns or whatever else he’s got hidden away up here. He’s also afraid of getting raided by the sheriff. I think he sees himself as some kind of gangster.”
Cade nodded, remembering how twitchy JR had seemed at the café. His thoughts turned to Addie. What would a man like that do to her? Especially if Jorje was right about JR’s interest in her. And what about his interest in her farm? From everything he’d heard, the man seemed determined to get it back, no matter the cost.
“Do you know if JR had caused any problems for Addie before now?”
Jorje shook his head. “No, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he did. Like I said, he was interested in her, but she never paid him any mind. She barely acknowledged his existence. Ted was the one who always held her attention.”
Ted. He was another problem Cade couldn’t afford to ignore. “Do you think they may have done this together?”
“I doubt it. Ted wouldn’t have come out here. He hates JR’s place.”
“It’d be the perfect place for him to lie low,” Cade replied. “No one would think to look for him out here, if he hated it that much.”
Jorje’s brow furrowed and he nodded. “Maybe…but I still doubt it.”
“We should expect it anyway.”
“Si,” Jorje agreed and grabbed Cade’s arm to stop him. “We should also be quieter. The house is on the other side of these trees.”
Cade nodded and followed as Jorje led the way into the forest and to the edge of the brush, careful where they placed their feet. They crouched behind the low-hanging boughs of an evergreen and scoped out the ramshackled mobile home in the small, junk-littered clearing beyond.
They were looking at the front of the house at a slight angle and could just see part of the front room through the awkwardly hanging shades. A single light seemed to illuminate the front room, but little else was visible.
“That’s JR’s truck,” Jorje whispered and pointed at the rundown-looking red pickup in front of the house. “It’s the only vehicle he has, so he’s definitely here.”
Cade nodded. Movement through the partially uncovered window caught his eye. JR was moving around inside. He had something in his hand, waving it back and forth in front of his face as if taunting someone.
Addie…
JR dropped to his knees and appeared to be struggling with something…or someone.
She must be fighting him. Good. At least, that meant she was still alive.
They could hear scuffling going on inside and then a ringing slap that thrust Cade to his feet and toward the front door. He had no idea if Jorje followed and no thought about Ted entered his mind, nor did he hear the distant rush of tires speeding over the muddy road behind them. The only thing that burned in his mind was that JR had hurt Addie, probably planned to do far more, and he would not allow that to happen.
A terrified, slightly muffled scream halted his breath. A long heartbeat later, Cade was running toward the house and up the rickety stairs. He yanked open the front door and rushed inside.
The front room was mostly empty, a card table littered with used, unwashed dishes and one
