“She’ll be fine. The old lady’s here. She’ll be waking up pretty soon. She’s tied up so we’ll have some time before she calls the police.”
“You aren’t worried about that?”
“I could kill them, I guess, but what’s the point? Your boyfriend would know who did it, so it really wouldn’t do any good. I cut the phone line and disabled the cell phones. Nobody’s seen the car and I’ll take back roads, so finding us won’t be easy. Let’s go.”
Tory steeled herself. Since getting Damon out of the house would be safest for Ivy and Clara, she walked in front of him away from the double-wide while he pointed the gun at her back.
The barn loomed ahead. Stuffing the gun into the waistband of his jeans, Damon paused outside to slide open the doors and she saw a silver Ford Fusion with a rental plate parked inside.
Damon walked back, grabbed her arm, and jerked her forward, shoving her so hard she stumbled and went sprawling in the dirt. Damon jerked her up and slapped her, then shoved her again, pushing her roughly through the open barn door.
As they walked into the interior, she heard a sound like a hammer slamming into boards. Following the sound, she saw Star, his ears laid back, his teeth bared in fury. The stallion kicked the boards of the stall and screamed as if he were in pain.
“What the hell’s wrong with that horse?”
But Tory knew. Her heart began to pound as an idea formed in her head. It was risky, but it was the best chance she had.
“You really think I’m just going to get in that car and let you drive me away?” She moved closer to the stall and Damon followed, a look of fury on his face.
He backhanded her with his fist and pain exploded in her jaw. “You’re going to do exactly what I tell you.” Damon grabbed a handful of her hair and dragged her closer. “Get in the fucking car!”
Tory twisted, drew back and punched him in the face as hard as she could, and Damon went insane. She turned to run but he grabbed her and she started to struggle.
“You little bitch!” He slapped her so hard her ears rang. Tory stumbled forward, closer to the stall, near enough to slide the latch open on the door.
She swung the stall door open, screamed at the top of her lungs, and Star shot out of the stall like a wounded wild beast.
Damon pulled his pistol as the stallion charged, the horse knocking him backward into the side of the car. The pistol fired as it sailed out of Damon’s hand and he went down hard, his hands coming up to ward off the big black horse bearing down on him.
“Get him off me!” Damon screamed. Rearing up on his hind legs, Star brought his sharp hooves slamming down, landing with twelve hundred pounds of force on the man on the concrete floor.
Star reared again. Tory ran for the pistol, picked it up, whirled, and pointed the gun at Damon, but it was too late. The horse pounded down, a crushing, killing blow that exposed gore, flesh, and bits of skull. The bile rose in Tory’s throat and she glanced away from the grisly scene.
She was trembling, barely able to breathe, her heart thundering. When she looked back, Star stood over Damon’s body, legs braced apart, shaking all over, dark eyes wild. Blood oozed from a bullet hole in the horse’s left shoulder.
The sound of slow, careful footsteps reached her. “It’s okay, honey,” Josh said softly. “Put the pistol down and just take it nice and easy.” His deep voice echoed through the barn, calming her as nothing else could. She hadn’t heard a vehicle drive in.
Her hand shook as she set the pistol down on the floor and the tears she’d been holding back flooded into her eyes.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” Josh said, closer now, soothing her as much as the horse. “Just take it easy.”
“Ivy’s . . . Ivy’s in the house.”
“Noah went inside to find her. She’ll be okay. He’s calling the sheriff.”
“Damon drugged Clara.”
“Noah will take care of her. You need to focus on Star.”
Tory swallowed, turned back to the stallion, who stood over Damon’s limp, blood-soaked body. Star nickered wildly, tossed his head, and stomped his front hoof, sending a rush of blood down his injured leg.
“It’s . . . it’s okay, boy. It’s all right, Star.”
“Star’s just afraid,” Josh said softly. “He needs you to stay calm, show him everything’s okay.”
She took a deep breath. “It’s all right, boy. Everything’s okay.” Moving slowly, she made her way up next to the stallion, ran her hands along his sleek neck, felt him trembling. “Easy, boy. You don’t have to be afraid.”
“See if you can get him to follow you.”
