Sunkissed (11 page)

Air exploded from her lungs when Carlos tackled her, forcing her to fight off spasms as she struggled beneath him.

He jerked her around to face him. “Natalie.” His voice was grim. “You saw me.”

She shook her head in denial, her lungs burning, trying to pull in air.

“Yeah. You did. What am I going to do with you now? I can’t let you go.”

“Please,” she wheezed. “I won’t tell anyone what I saw. I’ll just leave.”

He shook his head, his body holding her secure against the ground. He was too strong for her to throw off. “You’ll tell Grant the minute you get to the house.” He sighed in resignation. “I really don’t want to kill you.”

When his eyes deadened, losing the pity that had shown in them a minute ago, she knew she was out of time. She did the only thing she could.

She screamed.

* * *

From the porch, Grant watched Natalie race into the trees. His heart clenched at the sight, screaming for him to follow her, to comfort her.

But
he  knew that she wouldn’t accept that from him. She’d made that perfectly clear.

He jerked away from the
rail, forcing his eyes from the place she’d entered the orchard.

He’d pushed her too hard, too fast. He hadn’t meant to tell her he loved her. And he certainly hadn’t meant to propose to her that way.

But what did she think he was made of? Stone?

He was a flesh and blood man. He couldn’t bear to see her hurt without trying to help.
Without trying to defend. It was his nature. He needed to protect his woman.

And she’d pushed him away.

She loved him, and he knew it. He saw it in her eyes every time she looked at him.

He’d been biding his time, patiently waiting until she felt comfortable telling him her feelings.

Where had she gone?

He wanted to search the trees again, but he forced himself to go inside instead. Stripping his clothes off on the way to his room, he flopped onto his bed.

A good night’s sleep would clear his head. He’d know what to do to fix his relationship with Natalie in the morning.

When the phone woke him at eight a.m., he swore, blindly searching for the receiver.

“Hello?”

“Grant,
it’s James.”

“What do you want?” He was too exhausted, both mentally and physically, to expend more words on politeness.

“Natalie. She’s late.”

Jerking upright, the sleepy fog cleared instantly. “When was she supposed to be there?”

“An hour ago.”

“Hold on.” Ripping off the comforter, Grant strode down the hall and into her room. The bed was perfectly made, but he couldn’t tell if she’d made it that morning or if it hadn’t been used last night.

“Has she ever done this before?”

“No.”

Grant hesitated. “We had an argument last night. She was really upset and I went to sleep before she came back. She may have slept at her apartment. Is it possible that she might not show up because of what happened?”

“Absolutely not.
Natalie would never blow this off. She’s been working too hard. Plus, we were going over some last-minute details today. There’s no way she’d miss.”

“Hopefully she’s just stuck in traffic. I want you to call me in an hour if she hasn’t shown up by then,” Grant said, his voice grim.

“Will do.”

After making sure she hadn’t fallen asleep in the barn, Grant didn’t step away from the phone again. He even took it into the bathroom with him while he showered.

When the one hour mark hit, to the second, the phone rang.

“Is she there? Did she make it?” Grant’s voice was hoarse.

“No. And I went to her apartment. She isn’t there.”

Grant’s heart raced. Had she made it out of the orchard last night? The threat on the barn came to mind, twisting his stomach into knots. He was going to be sick.

“I should have checked before, but let me see if her car is still here.”

“Do it.”

When he saw Natalie’s car parked where she had left it yesterday, he almost lost it. “It’s still here. I’m calling the police. We’ll find her.” Grant tried to sound confident, but fear made his throat close up.

“Are you sure she isn’t there? Have you checked?”

“I checked every possible place she might be. She isn’t here.”

“I’m on my way.”

Fifteen minutes later, he stood in front of his employees, snapping out orders.

“The police will be here soon, but I don’t want to waste any time. The last time Natalie was seen, she entered the orchard there wearing jeans and a sweatshirt,” he said, pointing to a pathway. “We’re going to spread into groups to cover as much ground as quickly as possible. Carlos,” his eyes searched the crowd until he located his foreman. “I want you to take a group and start on the far side of the orchard. I’ll start from where she was last seen and we’ll meet in the middle. If anyone finds anything, I want you to signal.” He looked them each in their eyes. “Don’t overlook anything. If anything seems suspicious to you, I want to know about it. Let’s go.”

Detective Ryan met up with his group thirty minutes later. Grant updated the detective with every scrap of information he could think of.

“I don’t know where else she could have gone. She isn’t at work and she isn’t at her apartment. No one knows where she is, and she isn’t picking up her phone. Her car is still parked out front, so she couldn’t have gone far unless someone took her.”

“Keep searching the orchard. The dogs will be here soon to track her. In the meantime, I’ll send my men to question your employees. Someone may have seen something without realizing it’s important.”

“Make it fast.”

The detective nodded before striding off.

Grant didn’t care if he had to rip out every last tree in his orchard to find her. He would do whatever it took to bring her back safely.

And he swore that once he got her here, he would never let her go again.

He would do whatever he had to convince her to marry him.

Determined, Grant rejoined the group, calling out her name every few feet in hopes that she would hear him and know that he was going to find her.

Natalie’s vision wavered as she came to, groaning when her head spun in a sick carousel. Hoping to stop the dizziness, she tried to hold her head and failed
, realizing her hands were bound behind her.

Carlos. Her memories of what happened in the orchard flooded back with a flash, panic settling in.

Scooting across the floor, her back firm against a wall, her eyes darted around for any sign of him.

It was dark in the room save for a few small streams of light that filtered in through the slats of a wooden door. She felt dirt beneath her fingers and could smell fertilizer.

She had to be in some type of storage shed. Was she still at the orchard?

She strained against the binds, trying to loosen the thick ropes enough to slide one of her hands free. All she accomplished was rubbing the skin off her wrists.

How long had she been unconscious?

It was light outside.

They would have noticed that she was missing by now.

She was pissed Carlos had laid a hand on her, but at least she was still alive. And he wasn’t anywhere in sight. She had to escape while she had the chance.

She struggled until she felt the slickness of blood under the bindings. It was no use. Her ankles were tied as well, and without her hands free, she’d never be able to walk out of there.

Squinting in the dark, she ignored the surge of pain from her battered face, looking for anything that could be used to cut through the ropes.

No luck. There were no tools in the shed.

She prayed that someone would find her before Carlos came back. But was that possible? Carlos had left her mouth free. Was that because no one could hear her?

“Help! Is anyone out there? I’m in here.”

I’m in here?
Could she sound anymore pathetic?

When she heard someone approaching she called out again. “I’m in here! Please help me!”

Light flooded the room. “I see you’re awake.”

Her stomach twisted. “You better release me. You’ll never get away with this.” Her cheeks mottled with color. She was sitting on the floor in front of Carlos, an obvious disadvantage, but she didn’t care.

“I think I will. Groups are out searching for you now. But, fortunately for me, Grant put me in charge of searching this area.” The color drained out of her face. “I won’t be able to move you until later, but now that you’re awake, I can’t let you continue to yell.” He fished a dirty bandana out of his back pocket.

“Why? Why are you doing all this? Why sabotage the orchard?” she asked, hoping to keep him talking.

He laughed bitterly. “Why wouldn’t I? I’ve worked on this orchard almost my whole life. I run everything, not Walker. This place may have his name, but it’s my work that keeps it running, not his.”

She thought quickly. She needed to placate him. He might let her go if he thought she could help him. “You’re right. You do everything around here.”

“Exactly.”

“Grant doesn’t appreciate you.”

He laughed again. “He thinks he’s so smart. But he hasn’t been able to figure out that I was the one poisoning the trees. I’ll ruin him. This orchard will die before I let him reap any more benefits from my hard work.”

“Why destroy it? Why not just take it for yourself?” She lowered her lashes coyly. “It’s obvious that you’re capable. The employees would follow you. You’re a natural born leader. There has to be some way to make Grant hand over the land.”

He smiled sardonically. “I see what you’re doing. But it won’t work. You think I’m stupid enough to trust you? You think a few compliments are going to get you set free?” He laughed cruelly, coming forward with the bandana. “I’m done talking.”

She lashed out, biting his hand.

He backhanded her, her body crumbling when she hit the wall.

“Don’t try anything like that again or I’ll knock you out. I’d rather not kill you accidentally.”

His words, along with the searing pain in her cheek, kept her silent as he hauled her upright, shoving the acrid fabric into her mouth.

She
gagged, the dirt and sweat and who knew what else from the bandana coating her mouth.

“I’ll be back later. If you stay quiet I’ll give you some water when I return. If not…” he shrugged as if he didn’t care either way.

When he left her shut in the dark again, she glared at the closed door through frustrated tears.

What were her options at this point? She had already tried to loosen the binding without success. Calling out hadn’t helped, and with the bandana secured in her mouth, she wouldn’t be able to do that again anyway.

But she was still on the orchard.

And that one fact gave her hope. Grant would find her. He had to.

This couldn’t be the end of it. She couldn’t die now. Not without telling Grant how much she loved him. That she wanted to marry him.

She wouldn’t make her grandmother’s mistake.

When she got out of this, she would marry Grant.

He would find her. She closed her eyes. He loved her, and she knew that he wouldn’t rest until he did.

* * *

Carlos’s group met up with Grant’s at dusk.

“Anything?” Grant asked, his hair standing on end.

Carlos shook his head regretfully.
“Nothing. There isn’t a trace of her or anything that points to what might have happened to her.”

“There has to be something,” Grant exploded, fear making him edgy. He paced, his body jerking with the movements. “We must have overlooked something.”

“I don’t think so. We’ve been thorough. She must have left the property. Maybe she called a friend to pick her up.”

“Where else could she have gone?” They had double checked her apartment, she still hadn’t shown up at work, and none of her friends had heard from her since she went missing. He’d even called the local hospitals to see if she was there, or even, heaven forbid, if they had a Jane Doe with her description. “We’ll search the orchard again tomorrow. There has to be something.”

“I don’t think that will help,” Carlos said gently, placing a hand on Grant’s shoulder. “She isn’t here.”

Grant shook off Carlos’s hand. “I don’t care. This is our only lead so far. The orchard is large. We could have easily missed something. We’ll switch locations tomorrow. Maybe a fresh set of eyes in each place will help.” Grant looked to the darkening sky, feeling a bite in the air. “I hope she’s somewhere warm. It’s going to get cold tonight.”

Grant missed the way Carlos’s eyes hardened. “I’m sure she’ll be fine. You said so yourself, she’s wearing a red sweatshirt. That should be enough to keep her warm even if she’s outside.”

“Yeah,” Grant said, nodding his agreement before pausing. His eyes slowly returned to Carlos. “I said she was wearing a sweatshirt, but I never said what color it was.”

Carlos flinched. The gesture was enough for Grant to be on him like a shark in bloody waters.

“I’m sure you said it was red.”

“No. I didn’t.”

Carlos snapped his fingers as if remembering. “I must have seen her wearing it around yesterday.”

“She’s been holed up in the barn for weeks. Plus, the sweatshirt has been in the house for days. I brought it to her myself right before she disappeared.”

“I guess I was mistaken.” Carlos shrugged.

“Oh. I don’t think you were. You knew she was wearing that color.”

“How could I have known that, Grant?”

Carlos’s composure began to unravel. He looked on edge, an animal that suddenly found himself caged. “That’s a great question, Carlos. How could you have known?” Grant circled him, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. “Where were you last night?”

“I was home. It was a long day.” Hard eyes met Grant’s.

“Can anyone verify that?”

“No. I was alone. You can’t think that I had something to do with this.”

Grant’s head cocked to the side. “I thought you were happy here, Carlos.”

“I am,” he snapped.

“Really? I’m starting to wonder.” Grant’s eyes narrowed, silencing Carlos before he had a chance to interrupt. “You’ve always been good at what you do. You’ve helped to make Walker Orchards into what it’s become. I’ve always valued our friendship.”

“We’re not friends.” Carlos spat. “I’m a lackey who does your bidding with barely a scrap to show for it.”

Grant took a menacing step forward. “Because I once considered us friends, I’m going to ask you once. Where is she?”

Carlos laughed maniacally. “Oh, what do you care? She’s just some girl that you’ve been forced to deal with for weeks.”

“That’s right. Because she was in danger. From you.” Grant grabbed the front of Carlos’s shirt, hauling him off the ground. “I’m not going to ask again. Tell me where she is.”

“Careful, Grant.”
Detective Ryan approached the two of them slowly. “You don’t want to do something you’ll regret. I’d rather not arrest you.”

At the moment, Grant didn’t care what he had to do to get the information from Carlos. “Tell me where she is!” When Carlos grinned, Grant lost control. Seeing red, his fist flew. The twinges from bone hitting bone centered him.

Blood dripped from Carlos’s nose, fire lit in his eyes. “I don’t care what you do to me. I’ll never tell you where she is. You love her, don’t you?” He laughed. “I hope she dies, then. It would be so much better. I should have killed her when I had the chance.”

Grant wrapped his fingers around the man’s neck, squeezing until Carlos’s eyes flared in triumph. Throwing him to the ground like a rag doll, Grant turned away from the wheezing lump. “I don’t care what you do, Ryan. Just get him out of my sight.”

Detective Ryan motioned to deputies to arrest Carlos before he turned back to Grant. “I can have him brought into the station, but I doubt we’ll get much out of him. I just heard him say he wants a lawyer.”

“It wouldn’t matter anyway. There is no way he’ll tell us.”

“All the same. It’s a lead.”

Lead. For some reason, the word resonated with Grant. Jerking toward Ryan, he stopped the man before he could walk off. “Are the dogs still here?”

“Yeah. But they lost her trail. They won’t be much help.”

Hope surged into his heart. “As far as anyone can tell, she never left the orchard. That means she’s still out there. We should re-search the area Carlos was in charge of. There has to be something there.”

Detective Ryan didn’t give an answer, just snapped out orders to his men.

It was dark now and the canopy blocked most of the moonlight. But he wouldn’t give up.

He knew she was close. Could feel it in ever fiber of his being. He kept calling out her name. Hoping that she would hear him. Hoping that she would know he hadn’t given up.

Flashlights swirled like large fireflies in the night as workers scrambled over the ground, looking for clues.

When they reached a small rise, one of the dogs barked loudly, quickly pulling his partner forward.

An old shed rested just beyond the crest, almost forgotten. It held extra fertilizer, he thought, but they hadn’t transported anything from it in some time. She had to be in there.

Running over the uneven ground, he called out to her, not wanting her to fear their approach.

He got to the building first, flinging the mold-ridden door off of its hinges.

Circling the flashlight, he saw movement in the corner and angled the light there. Caught in the beam, her eyes widened in her dirt-streaked face.

“Natalie. It’s me. I’m here to get you out.”

Recognizing his voice, she slumped, bursting into tears.

After cutting through her binds and pulling out the gag, he gathering her in his arms.

Her body wracked against his, as her fear and pain were purged.

“Is she all right?” Detective Ryan asked from the doorway.

“I don’t know.” He turned his attention to Natalie, trying to pull back to check if she had any injuries. She clung to him. “Love, hold on. I need to see if you’re hurt. I won’t leave you.” She allowed him to angle her away.