“Lewistown. I thought maybe we could grab some lunch while we were there.”
“I’d love that.” Turning to Larson, I said, “Thank you so much for letting me tag along with you this morning. I appreciate it.”
He tipped his cowboy hat and replied, “Anytime, Mallory. Enjoy your lunch.”
“Thanks, Larson,” Liam said as he took my hand and we walked toward his truck.
“I think we need to get you a pair of cowboy boots if you’re going to be exploring the ranch like this.”
“Really?” I asked with a small leap of joy, then frowned. “I need to see about getting my ID now that I have my birth certificate. Thank goodness it was in all those boxes you had sent here.”
“I can ask Randy what we need to do to get that taken care of.”
As Liam held open the truck door and helped me in, his phone rang. He pulled it out and looked at me. “Speak of the devil.”
I tried to keep my breathing even as I waited in the truck while Liam walked around the front and got in.
Liam raised his brows. “Wow, you found that out. Do you have a name of the guy?”
I sat nervously in the truck, wondering what they had found out and who the guy they were talking about was.
Leaning up against the truck, Liam listened to whatever it was Randy said. “Okay, I’ll be sure and let you know if it rings a bell for her. Okay, thanks, Randy.”
He ended the call and looked at me. “They found a rental car that was returned to Billings about the time you disappeared. It left Chicago, and three days later was returned to Billings. The guy’s name on the rental contract was Donald Henly.”
Frowning, I repeated the name. “Donald Henly?”
“Yeah, does it sound familiar at all?”
I thought for a moment, then shook my head. “No, I’m sorry. It doesn’t ring a bell at all. I would have to have known him since he was in the picture of my going-away party at the restaurant.”
“Maybe he used a fake name.”
Chewing on my thumbnail, all I could do was nod. “Maybe. I don’t know if he feels so familiar because of seeing him at the deli and then in my hotel, or if I truly saw him before.”
He leaned over, put his hand behind my neck, drew me close, and kissed me. “Please don’t stress about it, Mallory. We’re going to figure this all out.”
I smiled the best I could to reassure him I wasn’t worried, but I was. Nothing seemed to make sense. We knew how I got to Montana, but who was this Donald guy, and why did he bring me here?
We decided to skip going into town and drove to Billy and MaryAnne’s house in silence. I stared out the window of his truck and took in the vast rolling pastures that were dotted with cows. I had fallen in love with both the ranch and withLiam…and after our conversation about Donald, I felt a strange sensation inside of me, almost like a warning.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I refused to believe that this Donald guy and the man in the basement could harm me any more than he already had. But the warning in my gut came with the sinking feeling that I was still in danger, and now I had dragged Liam and the rest of the guys into this mess, and it scared me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Liam
After explaining everything to Billy about what Randy had found, we headed to the barn while Mallory and MaryAnne talked about some quilt that they both wanted to start making. I had tried to reassure Mallory not to worry, but I could see it written all over her face, she was terrified.
“Okay, so have they tried to find this Donald guy?” Billy asked.
“If that’s even his name,” I stated. “I don’t know what to think anymore. Was Mallory brought here because of some sex traffic thing? Maybe she was closer to Billings, and that’s the way she came from. I don’t know!” I pushed both my hands through my hair.
“I’m sure Randy and Jonathon are doing the best they can, Liam. They don’t have much to go on except this guy now. I’m sure they are looking into all the land around here.”
I nodded. “I know they’re doing their best; it’s just I have all these thoughts swirling around in my head. I sent Chad a text and asked him to call me once he got back to Montana.”
“You don’t think your brother has anything to do with this, do you?”
