A cold chill went through her as she looked into a small pair of reflective eyes. They blinked and the small animal shook its head. Whether it was better to be inside the hollowed tree or not was suddenly up for debate as she saw the sleek black coat and white stripes by the dim light of the phone as she slowly raised it to get a better look.
Papa skunk. I swear by everything holy that if you won’t spray me, I will never, ever, ever, ever invade your home again. I promise, I promise, I promise. Nice skunk. Please don’t be rabid.
Just as slowly she lowered the phone, making no sudden movements at all. She slowly crouched into a ball, hiding her face and suppressing a whimper as a sharp pain throbbed in her side. She put the phone back to her ear and whispered, “Boone?”
“No, it’s Kendall. You doing okay?”
“Yeah, but there’s a—”
“Maya? Sit tight. Hank and his deputies are almost here, and Ace Webster is also with us. I can see them coming. We’re keeping Reeves in our sights. He’s moving back toward you. Boone has gone down to the bend in the creek and plans to cross over, see if he can’t overpower Reeves. He couldn’t wait anymore.”
“Skunk,” she whispered.
“What, babydoll?”
“Sku—”
Just then, Maya’s phone made a very audible beeping sound. The noise startled the skunk judging by the sound it made, and the animal sprang through the opening. Maya realized it was possible for relief and terror to coexist.
“Oh no. My phone just beeped.” Panic began taking hold as she glanced at it. Low battery indicator.
“Stay put, Maya. He’s moving toward the tree. He must’ve heard it. Don’t move a muscle. We’re coming.”
Frank’s infuriated voice sounded above her on the creek bank. “Maya, I hear you, dammit! When I get my hands on you, after I get that key, I’m gonna—What the—”
Maya was confused by the sounds she heard until the noxious vapors reached her inside the tree. She realized what she heard was the sound of Frank Reeves gagging and vomiting. The skunk had sprayed him, evidently at point-blank range.
“Oh, fuck!” he yelled before vomiting some more.
Her own stomach roiled, and she put her hands over her nose and mouth. Stars shimmered in her vision, but she heaved a sigh of relief as that lily-livered city boy lost his lunch all over the creek bank, incapacitated by a little skunk spray. It might buy her men some time to save her.
There was a tussle, and Maya felt the vibrations as Frank rolled into the indentation outside her hiding place. Her breath caught in her throat as the gun fired again.
The stars that had been wavering in her vision increased, and her head felt like it was filled with static as everything went black.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Boone gritted his teeth against nausea and the stench as he pinned Frank Reeves to the ground, tightening his headlock and pressing down until Reeves quit fighting. He was disgusted by Reeves as he continued gagging and retching.
“Why? Tell me why, motherfucker. One day you’re professing your devotion and acting like a jealous lover and the next you’re trying to kill her.”
“Fuck you, Warner.”
“No thanks. But you let me know how that feels when you’re some seven-foot-tall inmate’s girlfriend, all right?”
Chance and Clayton Carlisle galloped up on horseback as Richard, Kendall, and Ace Webster descended into the bowl-like indentation and scrambled for the opening in the hollow tree.
“Maya? Oh God, Maya.” Richard reached into the tree and pulled out one little sneaker-clad foot. She didn’t move or make a sound.
Kendall sounded like he was barely holding it together. “Careful. She must be unconscious.”
Please, God, let her just be unconscious.
Frank struggled for a moment, and Boone landed a solid punch to his jaw and turned Frank’s face so he couldn’t watch as they extricated her from the hollow tree. Kendall felt for her pulse and nodded at them, relief evident in his eyes.
Chance and Clayton jumped from their horses, and Chance rifled through his saddlebag and pulled out a first-aid kit.
He caught Boone’s eye and grinned. Holding up the kit he said, “Eagle Scout. Always prepared. Holy shit, but it stinks over here.”
Boone grinned and replied, “Yeah, thank God for that skunk, too. Otherwise Reeves might’ve found Maya before I got to him.”
Clayton pulled a length of rope from his saddlebag and threw it to Boone, saying, “Why don’t we hog-tie the son of a bitch for Hank.” Clayton pointed at the flurry of activity on the other side of the creek where several Divine Creek Ranch ATVs loaded with law enforcement and EMTs were pulling to a stop. Jack had also arrived in his SUV.