"Just go get the damned scissors. You need your phone anyhow." The thought that her mother may have called after she walked out and left it before breakfast tugged at her to retrieve it.
Thinking of her mother sent a chill down her arms. With the rodeo getting so screwed up, and with the next month of fees coming up at Pine Oaks, she had no idea what she was going to do. They needed to get to Denver in one piece so she could win another purse. Leaving Drake was going to be hard, but unless she was going to grovel and beg money from him, she needed to hold her shit together so she could pay her own way.
Just as she convinced herself to give up the fight and go get her knife, heavy footsteps caught her attention. She crouched down lower and listened to the steps get closer. She jumped when a loud bang on the door of her camper rang out. She inched her way around the back to peek and see who was knocking. It was two of Percy's goons, and neither looked very happy.
"What do you think is going on?"
"I have no idea. I've never seen Percy so pissed off. He wants this girl in the worst way."
"Just remember that Percy said he wants her alive. Even if she struggles, we're not supposed to hurt her."
"What the hell are you telling me for?" the second man argued. "You're the one that's more likely to hurt her."
Despite the fact that they were talking about her, Joey couldn't help but think of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.
"Bullshit. Just don't get all handsy if she starts fighting. Whack her across the head, and she'll go out like a light and be easier to carry."
"What if she gets a concussion? How does that fall into not hurting her?"
"Oh, shut up," the first man insisted. "Come on. Let's see if she's inside."
Joey sat back against the camper. Why would Percy want her, alive for that matter? She knew it probably had something to do with her catching them in their slimy form while they practically jacked off watching the fire. She had heard that arsonists sometimes did that. She just didn't need the dragon-y forms they had taken burned into her mind.
When they came out, neither was any happier. "Where the hell is she?"
"Not hiding in there."
"You're such a genius, you idiot."
Joey sent up a silent thank you that Scarlet was off helping dismantle the main arena area. With these two ignorant men, they probably would have grabbed the wrong woman.
"How am I supposed to know? We'll just wait here. Percy has everyone looking for her, so she can't go far. Probably out screwing around with a horse or something."
Joey crawled around back to the stack of feed. She raised herself up enough to see the paddock, and sure enough, two more of the goons stood near the gate. Two others were up by the barn.
Great. I can't go anywhere.
Fear froze her to the spot. She was usually able to keep a level head, but panic was setting in. She was being hunted, and she had no idea what to do. It didn't matter which one of them caught, one of them was going to catch her. She was lucky they hadn't found her already considering she hadn't done anything to prevent it when she left Drake's house.
And they had their hands full. She had caused enough trouble for the Hales already, so going back to his cabin was not an option. Fight or flight was kicking in, and fighting was not the option she was going with. She needed to lead the danger away from the man she loved, not right back to him.
There was no way to get Journey out of the fence without using the gate. She looked around. The only option she had that took her away from the occupied area was toward the trail that she and Drake had used. She kicked herself for not having her phone as she made her way toward the trees, keeping as low to the ground as she could. She had the advantage that she was making a wide berth behind the goons, so unless they specifically turned around and checked, she wouldn't be seen.
She silently apologized to Journey that he wasn't going to get the feed he wanted, but when she peeked back, he was happily grazing on the grass. He'd be fine. She needed to worry about her own ass at the moment.
Panic followed her as she ran across the short field. She imagined hearing voices calling out to her and footsteps chasing her. The further she ran, the farther the tree line seemed to stretch out in front of her.
Once she made it to the trees, she ran faster. She needed as much distance behind her as possible. She kept to the trail as far as she dared, and with her heart in her throat, she dove into the thicker part of the trees.
She stopped and put her hands on her knees as she struggled to suck air into her lungs. Her horse usually did the running, not her. When she could finally make her lungs work normally, she forged on and kept heading up and away from everything, and everyone.
Chapter Twenty: Chasing Love
Drake Hale
Drake raced to the barn and found it empty. He kept going until he found Warren carrying part of the bleachers to the trailer for breakdown. "Hey, have you seen Joey?"
"You're looking good for a man that almost got blown to bits."
