Just as Texas Ranger Sam Hacherd confirmed that it was Pace Jones who raped and killed those women and raped Carry Ann Westle, word came over the radio about the accident in Benter. Alex arrived first on the scene from the family. Local authorities and paramedics were taking his mother out of the car. She had a head injury, and Maya was missing. By the time his brothers and fathers arrived, his mom had told him, Detective Baker, and Ranger Sam Hacherd that a man took Maya.

  “He had a gun. Was going to kill me right there, but May begged him to let me live. She said she would go with him. She was protecting me. She saved my life,” his mom told him.

  “Jesus. Okay, Mom, don’t worry, we’ll find her. We know it’s Pace Jones now. We got a license plate on the van. We’ll find them,” Alex told her.

  “You get to Maya quickly, sons. You need to stop that monster from hurting her,” Scott said, and then he, Edward, and Lucas followed the ambulance to the hospital.

  Alex ran his fingers through his hair.

  “What the fuck? That was the guy who ran from her cottage the day his brother attacked Maya in the bedroom,” Nash said to them.

  “He came back for her?” Rhett asked.

  “He must have become obsessed with Maya. It makes sense since the other victims were petite women, brown hair and light green eyes. Two of them were waitresses,” Detective Baker said, and then his cell phone rang.

  Sam placed his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “We have APBs out on the van. He couldn’t have gotten far. He might even have a safe house or something. A place he’s taking her.”

  “Well, you better find it fucking fast. We know what he did to those other women. If he’s been obsessed with her this whole time, then he’ll act out his fantasy. He’ll rape her, beat her. Fuck!” Alex yelled, and the chaos continued around them. He looked at his brothers.

  “What do we do? Where do we start?” Kase asked, straight-faced and about to rage.

  “Every lead we get, we attack full force, and hopefully a tip comes in we can use to find them,” Nash said.

  Calls came in, sightings past Benter, and an hour later the van was found abandoned by a rest stop.

  Maya made a move as he transferred her from the minivan to another vehicle. She suffered the consequences for that as he punched her in her ribs several times and beat her to the ground. She was nearly unconscious from the strikes, and because of that, he threw her into the back seat and didn’t cuff her. She didn’t know how long she had, or where they were going, but she felt the bumpy road, like dirt and gravel. As she looked up the darkness moving in, she saw trees like they were driving into a wooded area. There was only one forest-type location past Benter, and it went on and on for miles. People went there to hunt, and there were cabins scattered about. As she thought that, she realized he was taking her into hiding. No one would think to look in the woods or in cabins. She could scream bloody murder as he raped her and beat her, and no one would know. She was going to her grave. There was no sugar coating it. She took several painful, unsteady breaths. If he got her into that cabin, she would suffer a long, painful death and never see her men again. With thoughts of Nash, Alex, Rhett, and Kase came the will to live and to fight. If she was going to die, she was going to cause it by fighting until the end, not by being a victim and being remembered as that only. No, she was a different person. A different woman, and stronger, braver than the little girl in the broken home who had to avoid strange men touching her. The rape victim who lost her virginity getting it ripped from her body against her will. She was past the woman attacked in her own home for helping another woman and her baby from abuse and neglect. She was a fighter. She gained the love of four Marines. Marines were tough. Their training was tough, and they taught her things and made her feel strong, confident, and capable. She went for that interview, and she wanted that damn job. This scumbag wasn’t taking it all away from her. When the car finally stopped, she couldn’t see a thing. It was dark out. She was in pain and scared, but she knew she couldn’t let him take her into that house.

  As soon as the door opened, she played possum. He reached for her, caressed her thigh, and she could hear his heavy breathing.

  “We’re home, Maya.” He slid his palm up her skirt to her ass.

  She didn’t tighten up. She waited for the right moment, and when he leaned closer, she kicked him hard in the gut, sat up, and struck him in the nose and then shoved him to the ground. She kicked him in the ribs over and over again as the pain burned her insides, but she didn’t stop. As she went to jump over him, he snagged her ankle, twisted it, and she fell to her chest on the ground. He crawled over her back, cursing, moaning in pain, and she swung her elbow back like Kase had taught her and hit his side hard. She forced him off of her, and he ripped her skirt and her top, but she didn’t stop fighting. She kicked at his hands, his head, and fell down again and again as she ran a few feet, but her equilibrium was off, her body in so much pain as she ran into the darkness. The gunshots made her scream loudly. She put her arms out in front of her because she couldn’t see a damn thing, and she cried and ran and tripped and fell several times on branches in the woods. She couldn’t find her way but just kept running. She heard him hollering and yelling in the distance but couldn’t decipher which direction he was coming in. He was chasing her though, and her will to live made her pause a moment and think. She couldn’t see the moon through the trees. It was just too dark. She had no sense of direction right now. She was too scared to process her thoughts. Her gut yelled to run, to keep running because the adrenaline rush would stop, and then she would be helpless. So she put her hands out in front of her and ran faster, hit some trees, twisted her wrist, cut her arms, legs, and chest but just kept going and going until she fell to the leaves and branches and couldn’t get up. She cried and thought about Pace finding her. He wouldn’t be able to see either. She hurt him pretty badly, too, so she used what little strength she had left to pull leaves and branches over her body. She wedged herself between the two close trees she hit and hoped he didn’t find her.

  “Where the fuck is she? Where?” Nash yelled at Pace as he held him up and punched him in the stomach. It was obvious that Maya fought back and did a number on him. The woods and roadway leading up to this cabin were swarming with police. Everyone was on the lookout for Pace and Maya. Now that they found him and she was nowhere to be found, he thought he killed her and dumped the body.

  “Nash, let us handle this. We have K-9 units coming and dogs that can scent a trail. We’ll find her,” Sam said to him. Alex and his brothers were there, their fathers, too, and Titus, Kane, other deputies and friends all arriving to help.

  “That fucking bitch. She’s dead. I fucked her several fucking times and then slit her fucking throat,” Pace yelled at them, and Kase punched him in the face and knocked him out.

  “We got plenty of sunlight. We know how to hunt and follow tracks. If she’s in these woods, then we can find her,” Kase said to them.

  “Let’s get started. See if we can pick up on anything. If she’s been out there all night and injured, then she’ll be in bad shape by now. Time isn’t on her side. Let’s do this in an organized fashion. Groups of ten, a straight line from one end to the other, and we move slowly, call out her name, wait fifteen seconds and then call out again,” Kane said to them.

  They got things together quickly, and as they began to move, Kase and Rhett caught sight of the blood. “Got tracks right here, blood, too. She was shuffling her feet, or unable to pick them up fully as she ran,” Rhett said.

  “It was dark out. She couldn’t see in front of her, maybe ran with her arms out and her feet closer together?” Kase said.

  “We got it,” Alex said next.

  As they started moving farther and farther into the woods and then down toward the roadway, Alex could hear the dogs barking.

  “The dogs are here. They’ll help find her faster. Jesus, she ran fucking far. God, please let her be alive,” Nash said out of breath.

  There were so many people here helping, and then the men were coming down, state police with K-9s. The barking got louder the closer they got, and then the dogs ran past them sniffing, zigzagging, and then between trees and heavy brush. Alex, Nash, Rhett, and Kase started to run as the barking got louder and then continued with the dogs toward one spot. As they got there, the sight shocked Alex. There was Maya, covered with branches and leaves. The dogs were whimpering, and she was reaching out, sobbing.

  “Maya!” Kase yelled out.

  “Oh God, baby, you’re alive. We found you,” Nash said to her.

  Everyone got over there to see as they carefully took the leaves off of her. Kase pulled off his jacket and covered her ripped clothing. Alex could see all the cuts, bruises, and even over her ribs. She was shaking so hard.

  “Blankets,” Titus yelled and passed a bunch to them.

  “Is he dead? Pace, did you find him?” she asked, her voice hoarse and sounding like she was sick.

  “We got him, Maya. You fought hard, baby girl,” Kane said to her.

  Tears rolled down her cheeks as Kase lifted her up into his arms and his brothers helped to wrap her up.

  “LizAnn? Oh God, is she alive?” she asked and cried.

  “Yes, Maya, you saved her. She’s alive and worried about you,” Scott told her.

  Kase went to help her up.

  “My ankle is bad, swollen. My ribs the worst,” she said to him.

  “We got you, honey. We’ll get you to the hospital,” Nash told her, and she closed her eyes.

  “I stayed awake as long as I could. I tried to remain conscious so he wouldn’t rape me and I could fight. I didn’t want to be a victim again, Kase. I wanted to make you proud or die because I wasn’t going to let him rape and kill me,” she said, and everyone heard her.

  “You’re not a victim, Maya. You’re a fighter, a soldier, and you won. He lost. Pace can’t hurt any more women again. You’re safe, sweetheart. Close your eyes and let your men take care of you,” Kase told her, and she did.

  She closed her eyes and slept, and Kase held her close, his brothers surrounding her and promising to never stop loving her and always protect her forever.

  Epilogue

  “How’s our patient?” LizAnn asked, walking into the living room of her sons’ home.

  Maya was sitting on the couch between Kase and Rhett. Nash and Alex greeted her and their fathers. Maya went to stand up.

  “Maya.”

  She exhaled and patted Kase’s thigh. “I’m okay.” She cringed as she stood up. Her broken ribs were healing, and the bruises she had along her cheeks were looking much better. “Tea?” she said to LizAnn.

  “Sure, but why don’t I make it? You can rest.”

  “I don’t mind making it,” she said. She walked into the kitchen and started to get the tea kettle, fill it with water, as Nash and Alex shook their heads as if annoyed that she was doing that.

  “So what did Doc Shelton say?” LizAnn asked as she pulled out the mugs and Maya got the tea bags. She set them down on the island. Her husbands sat in the living room with Kase and Rhett and talked about things. The room was an open floor plan, so basically they could all hear one another.

  “He said I’m healing well and quickly,” she said.

  “Doesn’t mean you’re to be doing laundry, bending over, and picking up boxes and things,” Nash said to her.

  “He said if it hurts too much to stop, but they are healing well,” Maya added.

  “She’s overdoing it,” Alex said and then took a seat by the island.

  Maya placed her hands on his shoulders and kissed his neck. “I’m doing a lot better. Maybe back to work in a couple of more weeks.”

  “Not happening,” Kase said from the living room.

  “Kase, I need my own job and my own money. Waitressing is all I have since that other potential job prospect was destroyed thanks to that—”

  “Maya, don’t,” Rhett interrupted, not even wanting Maya to say Pace’s name.

  “Well, actually, that’s another reason why I stopped by,” LizAnn said to Maya.

  “Why?” Maya asked.

  “Well, I went to that shop in Benter, and I spoke to Ava.”

  “What?” Maya asked.

  “I wanted her to know why you didn’t respond to the job offer she gave you. She was shocked to learn that it was you who had been abducted and also who helped to capture a rapist and killer. The one victim worked in a restaurant in Benter. She said that as soon as you are up to it and ready to work that you’re to call her and set up a meeting. She would love to offer you the position. She is actually only hiring a part-time manager for now, and she isn’t happy with the woman at all.”

  “Oh, LizAnn, thank you so much for this.” Maya came over and hugged LizAnn.

  LizAnn smiled at her sons. “Maybe my sons will cut you a little slack with this new job you might be starting, where you dress the way you like to, and get respect the way you deserve?” she asked, and the tea kettle whistled.

  “I would think so, but knowing these guys, one can never tell,” Maya said.

  LizAnn chuckled, but Alex smiled at his mom and LizAnn winked. “It will work out just fine, men. Our Maya is one tough young woman.”

  Maya was so thrilled as she started working at Ava’s fashion boutique in Benter five days a week. She loved all the fashions and new clothing lines for the seasons, and was thrilled to know about them before they hit the racks. She was all set to leave for the day, and glanced at herself in one of the full-length mirrors in the store. Today she wore a light green sleeveless dress that hugged her body, and accentuated her bust and her ass. The matching heeled sandals were designer and even the costume jewelry she wore, as well. She felt beautiful, capable, professional, and mature. She was making her own money, working hard, feeling proud of her accomplishments, and she was in love. In fact, the men were supposed to be here by now to pick her up. They had plans for dinner, and then tomorrow, Sunday, they were going to start teaching her how to shoot a gun.

  She smiled to herself. She had asked for more time in the workout room, working on moves on the mats that turned into making love there. Her cheeks warmed, and her heart felt full and happy. She said good night to Ava and the other woman there closing up the shop, and she walked outside. The night was warm, and the sky absolutely perfect.

  “Evening.” She heard a male voice and turned to see three young men her age smiling wide, checking her out, and tipping their hats at her.

  “Evening,” she replied and then spotted her men walking across the parking lot from their truck, as fine as could be and all dressed up for dinner with her. She practically licked her lips as they got closer.

  “Move along, she’s ours,” Kase said in a deep tone then eyed her over, slid his arm around her waist, and hoisted her up against his chest. “Flirting?” he asked.

  “Only with you, Marine,” she said and kissed him. He squeezed her ass and then let her go only for Rhett to kiss her next, then Nash, and finally Alex, who started walking her with them to the truck.

  “Those were some kisses. I feel spent,” she said as he lifted her up into the back seat to sit between him and Rhett.

  “Well, if you aren’t up for dinner and socializing, we’ll just head home,” Kase said.

  She knew he didn’t want to go to the restaurant in town, but she did. Her friends and other people were asking when they would all hang out, and tonight was the perfect night. “We promised we would go, but tomorrow we have all to ourselves,” she said to him.

  “That we do, darling, and maybe we can discuss some of these outfits you’ve been wearing,” Nash said.

  “What’s wrong with this? Don’t you like it?” she asked.

  “Your body is for our eyes only. Those young cowboys were drooling over you,” Alex said to her.