Entangled (Free Indeed Book 1) (14 page)

Gideon’s gaze swung around the room widely, trying to find where she had gone. His eyes locked on them trying to make their way to the door. He struggled quickly to his feet as he raised the gun pointing it in their direction, “Stop!” He commanded.

The brunette holding her up froze at the sharp demand. The stranger turned her gaze to meet Allie’s, staring intently into her eyes as if she were trying to silently communicate with her. Ever so slightly, she moved her left hand toward where Allie’s was grasping onto her for balance. Allie felt a flat, cold object press against the skin of her palm as the woman forced a narrow item into her hand. Allie looked down slightly to see that it was a folding knife. Her fist clenched the blade tightly as they both turned around to face her father.

Allie watched as her father’s gaze darted back and forth between the newcomer and herself. A look of recognition passed across his eyes, and Allie got the impression he knew the other woman. The gun faltered back and forth between them as if Gideon couldn’t decide which of them he hated more, and which he wanted to shoot first. Finally, he turned his gaze to the stranger next to her, “Cara,” his voice sounded strangled with disbelief, “you’re supposed to be dead.”

“Next time you send Paul to do your dirty work, you had better follow up on him. Your little apprentice can’t even kill someone without doing it half-assed.”

A loud crash sounded from the front office, momentarily distracting Gideon from the task at hand. They could hear a struggle ensuing from the waiting room, and Allie’s heart leapt in her chest. If Paul was out there fighting, then that meant Jason was still alive!

“And it looks like he failed at killing someone again,” the woman smirked at Gideon. “Good help is so hard to find these days.”

Rage completely consumed Gideon’s face to the point where he looked like he was about to explode, “Then I’ll just have to take care of it myself, won’t I?”

“Go to hell!” Cara spat. She gave Allie a quick squeeze as if in warning and then released her grip causing Allie to stumble against the cabinet next to her. The stranger grabbed one of the metal dog bowls sitting on the countertop, and flung it directly at Gideon’s face before launching herself in his direction. He used his free arm to swat the bowl away in the air, but it was enough of a distraction to keep him from firing his gun at her before she was able to throw her body against him, knocking him off balance. They both fell to floor, Gideon using his superior strength to remain on top. He straddled her, as his anger erupted and he slammed the gun repeatedly across her face.

Blow and brutal blow rained down across the woman’s face. There wasn’t a doubt in Allie’s mind that her father was going to beat her rescuer to death. She gripped the knife tightly in her palm, using one hand to swing the blade out as she ran toward her father’s back. She thrust the five inch blade into what she hoped was his kidney. If she didn’t stop him now, Allie knew she wouldn’t get another chance. He would turn the gun on them both and kill them.

It must have hit what she was aiming for because he froze in shock and pain. Without thought or pause, Allie jerked the knife from his back, and slammed it into him again. The woman beneath him used Gideon’s surprise to grab hold of the gun and wrench it from his grip. Cara managed to bring her knees up to her chest and used them to forcibly push Gideon off of her. Both women watched as he fell to the side and lay there, his body twitching uncontrollably.

Allie swung her gaze back to her rescuer to make sure she was ok. The poor woman’s face was already horribly red and bleeding from the repeatedly brutal blows to her face. Allie reached her hand down to the other woman who grabbed hold of it gratefully, and pulled her to her feet.

Footsteps pounded down the hallway, and a dark figure burst through the door. Cara quickly snapped the gun around, pointing it at the intruder.

Jason jerked to a stop at the sight of a gun pointed at his chest. He slowly raised his hands to show he wasn’t a threat, and Cara let the gun fall back down to her side.

“Jason!” Allie shouted in relief as she ran towards him. He met her halfway, and swept her up in the biggest hug of her life. It was as if he wanted to meld their two bodies into one. Allie latched onto him, hugging him back as tightly as she could.

“Is Paul taken care of?” Cara’s voice came from behind her.

“Yes,” Jason replied without taking his eyes off of the woman he loved, “he won’t be a problem. And the police are arriving now. I could hear their sirens approaching as I was running back.”

Cara let out a huge sigh of relief at the thought that the danger may just be over. Suddenly Allie jerked her head away from Jason’s chest as her eyes widened, “Reavers!” Allie pushed away from Jason’s arms and turned back to where the dog lay off to the side of the room. “Oh no, Reavers!” She dropped to her knees by the bleeding animal and used her hands to apply pressure to the wound. His head moved slightly at the contact, and he opened his eyes to look at Allie. “I’m so sorry, boy,” she whispered brokenly. “I’m so sorry this happened to you! You saved my life, and now we’re going to save yours, ok? You just hang in there.”

Jason came up behind her and dropped to a crouch next to them. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, quickly skimming through his contacts to find the one he wanted to call. He pressed the phone to his ear just as it connected, “Dory,” he paused, “yeah, we need you at the shelter. There’s been an emergency...we need you here as fast as you can.” Jason disconnected the call and dropped the phone to the side as he helped Allie stop the flow of blood. They heard a cabinet door slam shut, and then Cara slumped to the floor next to them with towels she had grabbed. Allie took them from her with a thankful smile as they used them to try and stop the bleeding.

They could hear the sound of tires screeching to a halt, followed by the slam of car doors as the police cars finally arrived. Jason pressed a kiss to Allie’s temple and whispered, “It’s going to be ok, baby.”

A
llie sank back
into the vinyl booth at BB-Dub’s. The last few days since the attack at the shelter had been a whirlwind, and it felt good just to sit next to the man she loved and do nothing.

After the police had arrived, they searched for Paul, but he was nowhere to be found. They assumed he was on the run and most likely wouldn’t come back to bother anyone else. And now the surrounding areas were all on the lookout for him, as well as the cities around Free Indeed in case he showed his face there again. So hopefully he’d be apprehended soon.

Dory had broken every speed limit to make it to the shelter within minutes of Jason’s phone call. But make it she did, and it was in time to save Reavers’ life. It was touch and go for the first forty-eight hours, but thankfully, the bullet had passed right through, and Allie and Jason were able to stop enough of the bleeding until Dory arrived to operate. Now Reavers was in recovery at the shelter under Dory and Rayne’s watchful eyes.

Since waking up, it was like Reavers was an entirely new dog. No longer barking and snapping at anyone walking by, now it seemed like he just settled into and accepted his new life and the people in it. Dory said it was because he finally recognized and acknowledged them as his pack, and when he attacked Gideon to save Allie, Reavers made the decision to protect and defend what he considered to be his family. And now, once Dory gave the ok for him to be released, he would officially be joining a new family complete with two fur-siblings, Malcolm and Shuggs. All the long hours spent watching over Reavers and making sure he was going to be ok bonded him and Allie in a way they decided to make permanent.

And speaking of growing families, Allie and Jason were leaving first thing in the morning to fly back to Free Indeed to get her younger brothers and sisters. She and Jason were going to take custody of her siblings since both parents were now dead and they had no remaining family members. It was a huge relief for Allie to finally be able to free her family from the bondage of that place. Her one wish was that they would be able to find and experience the same freedom and happiness that she had found in Serenity, and she was going to do everything in her power to help them find it.

Jason was totally on board with the idea of bringing her family to town so they could live with her. When he found out what she intended, he immediately asked Allie to move in with him and live at the ranch. Of course, she instantly responded with a squeal of happiness as she jumped into his arms chanting yes over and over while kissing him for all she was worth. His place was meant to be full of family chatter and happiness, and if that meant filling it with her siblings for now...before hopefully someday adding their own kids to the mix...then that was what they were going to do.

Cara had recovered Allie’s locket from where her father had dropped it, and to Allie’s surprise, removed a micro SD card that was hidden behind the photo. It finally made sense why her father had followed her across the country just to get back a family keepsake. Cara explained the card contained files and records of accounts that Gideon had been using to launder money for years. After turning the card over to the proper authorities, Cara was able to return the locket to Allie, so she was able to keep the last memento from her mother.

Jason and Allie were so happy and very much in love. Who knows, maybe there would be more in Allie’s future than a new house and a new family...maybe it would include a ring. But whatever was going to come along, they knew they’d be ok and that they’d handle it together. The fact that they loved each other and knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together was enough for now. There were already enough changes going on in their lives, so there was no need to rush another one. Married or unmarried, Allie knew Jason was the only man for her, and she was going to spend the rest of her life loving him. Take
that
, fundamentalist religious churchies everywhere. She was going to “live in sin” (as they so loved to call it) and love every second of it!

E
ventually
, Allie got to spend more time with Cara. After everything finally settled down, they were able to sit down and exchange stories. What they learned shocked both of them. Some questions were answered, but a whole lot more were brought to light. It took a while, and a whole lot of talking, anger, and tears, but eventually Cara was able to tell her side of the story…..

T
o be continued
……

T
his book is dedicated
to my amazing husband, without his constant support and encouragement, this book never would have happened. I love you, babe. You'll always be my hero.

Also to my puppies: Blizz, Jackson, and Cisco. Thanks so much for all the antics, laughs and fun times. I love you little monsters. Treats all around!