Bare Necessities (13 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Seth’s office door flung open, and Cody and Randy stood there, ghost-white. Seth dropped his pen and went to his feet. Something had happened.

“Is it Ava?” Seth asked.

Randy nodded. “Kimberly just called.”

“What has the son of a bitch done now?” Seth demanded.

“He kidnapped her.”

Seth’s mouth dropped open. Had he heard them right? “What?”

“Kimberly said a man took Ava.”

“What the fuck are we doing here? Get your asses in a car, and get her!” Seth grabbed his keys and started to leave the office.

Cody placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ve got several officers out. You’re not on this case. You can’t go.”

Biting his lip, Seth couldn’t believe they didn’t want his help, but he didn’t care. “Cody, I don’t give a fuck. That is the woman I love, and
I
am going to save her.” He stomped past the men and didn’t care one bit about his job at the moment. The only thing he cared about was Ava.

Seth was out the door and in his car before anyone had a chance to argue. Part of him was pissed that anyone would tell him not to. He revved his car then froze. Which way to go? There were multiple ways he could find her. Shit! As his heart raced, he feared he was going to lose control. He punched the steering wheel, sounding the horn.

Cody appeared by the passenger’s side. Seth rolled the window down.

“I’m coming with you. According to your sister, he was headed toward Jackson Hole. If we can catch him before he hits the interstate, we’ll be good. You already know what happens if he gets there before we catch him. He’s in a blue Mustang, so he’s going fast. I’ve got an officer trying to track Ava’s phone right now. As long as it stays on, we will know where they’re headed.”

“Get in, and let’s go.”

Once Cody was in the car, Seth backed out, put his lights on, and got the hell out of Brookfield.

* * *

Ava stared out the window as the car sped down winding roads. In another ten miles, they would be getting close to the interstate. She had no idea if the police even knew she was missing, and if they did, she didn’t know how much of a distance John had on them. Her eyes watched the passenger side mirror, hoping to see blue and red flashing lights. Instead, she just kept seeing the green trees as they passed them.

They’d already made it through Jackson Hole. She knew the road’s thirty-five miles per hour speed limit would slow the police down. Glancing over to the speedometer, she saw John was easily pushing eighty.

She had to figure out something. She had to slow this vehicle down.

“I’ve got to use the restroom,” she said.

“Need a cup?” he replied.

“Not unless you want me shitting in it.”

“Fuck! It’s just like you to have to need something to put us off schedule. You always do this.”

“It wasn’t like I was expecting to get dragged out of my store today and forced to marry someone.”

John’s grip left the steering wheel, and before she had time to move, he slapped her across the face. She yelped.

“You will not talk to me in that sarcastic tone. You will respect me. Do you understand me?”

“I understand you, all right. You’re a chauvinist pig.”

John’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel. She could see anger boiling in him.

“I will never be that woman. I will always defy you.”

“Just shut up! Can you do that? Shut up!”

The car sped up, and Ava knew this was getting even more dangerous. One of two things was going to happen. He was going to get so angry he would crash, or the need to hit her would take over, and he’d pull over just to put her in her place—as he called it.

“Maybe if you had been nice to me, I would have willingly married you. But how can you want to marry me, knowing I am doing it just so you don’t hurt the people I care about? Can you live your life knowing that when you have sex with me, it’s just rape? Because I’m never going to want it.”

“Shut up!” The car jerked toward the side, and it started to slow.

He was going to beat her, but at least it would give the police time to catch up. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been through this before. Once the car was parked, John climbed out and came around to her door. Panic set in as Ava remembered the pain she was about to experience.

She went to hit the lock button, but he opened the door before she had a chance. He reached in and yanked her out by her hair. She screamed as he tossed her to the ground, and she landed hard on her butt.

“You are going to shut that mouth of yours.” John slapped her across the face again.

This time she tasted blood. She started to push herself up. Maybe she could run. He only shoved her back down before she made it to her feet.

“What, you don’t have anything to say now? Like always, I have to show you who is boss. If you would learn, this wouldn’t happen so much.”

“I’ll never learn,” she snapped.

John reached out, wrapped one of his big hands around her neck, and squeezed. He’d never choked her before. Maybe he was going to kill her. This was it. She’s pushed him over the limit. If that was the case, she was going to stare at him the entire time. He was going to watch the life leave her.

“You’ve brought me to this point. You’re the bitch who just won’t shut up. Women are supposed to be obedient, but for some reason, you just don’t get it.” His grip loosened a little, letting her get a breath in. “I really hate to do this, Ava. I’m afraid I have no choice.”

This was it. This was how she was going out. She took in one more breath before he tightened his grip again.

Just as she thought she was going to lose consciousness, something flashed. She then heard it.

A siren.

Three police cars skidded to a stop, and before she knew what was going on, several officers were out with their guns pointed at John. There was yelling, but she was having a hard time holding on. John hadn’t loosened his grip, and things were starting to fade. A gunshot sounded, and the next thing she knew, her neck was free, and John was on the ground, holding his shoulder.

Several officers rushed over then cuffed him. Seth appeared, picking her up. Strong arms wrapped around her, holding her close. She took deep breaths, filling her lungs as much as she could. If they hadn’t shown up right when they had, there was no telling what could’ve happened. This whole scene could be completely different right now.

“I’m so sorry, Ava. It’s my fault. I never should have left you alone,” Seth said.

“Seth, shut up. You didn’t know this was going to happen.”

“But…”

“This was out of your control. You’re here now. That’s all that matters. You saved me. My hero.”

Seth grinned. “Actually, Cody shot him. He’s your hero.”

“Well, then, you better put me down so I can go give him the kiss I was planning on giving you.”

“Hell, no! You’re my woman.” He paused, looking like he regretted the last part.

“I’m your woman?” Ava asked.

“Uh … well,” he stuttered.

“It’s okay. I think I’d like to be only yours.” She leaned forward and kissed the man who had changed everything in her life—the man she never wanted to be away from again.

Chapter Sixteen

Ava sat on the edge of the hospital bed, waiting on her release papers. She was fine, but the whole damn police department had insisted that she go and get checked out. If there was one thing she hated, it was the hospital. The doctors had poked and prodded her, and then she’d had to answer a million questions for the police.

The look on Seth’s face when he’d discovered John’s plan to marry her had been classic. She was certain that if he could, he’d ask for fifteen minutes alone with John in his jail cell just to let him know Ava was his.

The police had let her know John admitted to everything. He was the one behind it all, and he would be going to prison, they assured her. There would be a trial, and she would have to testify. The doctors had recommended that she speak to someone to work it all out before the trial. It was going to bring up a lot of unwanted feelings if she had to speak at the bench, but she was ready. She wanted John behind bars for what she hoped would be the rest of her life. Hell, he’d attempted to kill her.

The hospital room door opened, and Ava expected to see Seth but instead saw Claire and Julie.

“Where’s Seth?” Ava immediately asked.

“At the station,” Claire answered.

“He’s in trouble, isn’t he?”

“Not that I know of.” Claire started to collect Ava’s things.

“We told him that we were picking you up and having a girl’s lunch. Now that you’re finally putting some roots down, it’s about time you had more than yourself,” Julie said.

Ava smiled. “Roots. Sounds good. Are we sure Brookfield wants me after what happened?”

“Oh, they want you and so do we. You’re famous. Nothing like this has happened in this town. On top of your new shop, you actually gave the papers something to write about,” said Julie.

Ava laughed. “I’m making headlines.”

“You sure are. Now we are three women away from the men we love, and we’re going to get wild.” Julie pulled on Ava.

“Jules, we are going to The Red Wheel. Exactly how wild do you think things are going to get?” Claire asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Just saying bad words is wild for me. Let’s not forget I spend my days with a one-year-old.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “Let’s go get our cuss words on. I’m ready to get out of this joint.”

“Wait,” Claire called behind Ava. “You didn’t object to the love part when Julie said it. Does that mean what I think it does?”

Ava nodded.

Claire lunged herself into Ava’s arms. “I’m thrilled! I can’t wait. Your wedding must be at Honeycreek.”

“Claire, don’t get ahead of yourself. He hasn’t asked yet.”

“He will.” Claire grinned as wide as she could.

Ava hoped her friend was right. She could not wait to start that life with Seth. The one with a small starter home, a puppy to see if they could handle a baby, all the way to those fights that left them wondering,
Is this right
? Then all it would take would be one look at each other to know they didn’t want to live life with anyone else. They’d spend the rest of the night making love. Yes, that was what Ava was looking forward to.

Epilogue

Ava was a nervous wreck. It was opening day—finally. Bare Necessities would be open to everyone. The night before, she’d had a private party where a few of the town women were invited to check out what was to come. She’d served margaritas.

Ava had fully expected the evening to be a bit stuffier and the women to walk around awkwardly. In reality, they’d spent half the night in the small adult room that held all the different sex toys, joking about what could be done with what.

Now the day had come to cut the ribbon and officially turn on the open sign. Her friends stood outside to support her, but there was no sign yet of Seth. He’d been busier lately, making sure nothing bad ever happened in this town. He was sheriff, after all, and keeping people safe was what he did best.

She’d hope he’d make it but knew if he didn’t, he had a reason. In fifteen minutes, ten o’clock would hit, and Bare Necessities would be opening. She giggled with giddiness.

* * *

This morning was not going as planned. Didn’t these people know he had things to do? Seth was actually speeding. He had to get back to Brookfield by ten, or he wouldn’t pull this off the way he had it envisioned in his head.

Finally, the damn Brookfield sign appeared, but the speed limit dropped. The traffic was backed up. What the heck? There was never traffic here. He cursed aloud, and then finally it started to move. He picked parking near Maple Street. He was going to have to walk a ways.