Chapter One
“Damn it! I forgot my keys.” Skye Howard cursed as she kicked the tire of her Jeep Grand Cherokee. Turning around, she ran back into the White Stone Gallery to retrieve her keys from her desk. As Skye entered the gallery, she could hear Parker and Camden arguing in a back room. Curious, she made her way back toward the offices to investigate the commotion. Once Skye had reached Parker’s office, she peered around the door frame just in time to see Parker shoot Camden. Skye screamed in horror as she watched Camden’s body fall and blood pour onto the carpeted floor. “What did you do, Parker? We need to call 911,” Skye screamed as Parker turned and pointed the gun toward Skye.
“Parker, what are you doing?” She screamed as Parker pulled the trigger again, this time toward Skye. Terrified, Skye grabbed her keys from the top of her desk and ran out the door with Parker close behind. Running as fast as she could, she clicked the unlock button on her Jeep, jumped into the driver’s seat, and raced toward home. Dialing 911, Skye called the police to report what she had seen.
“911, may have your name and the nature of your call?” the dispatcher said.
“My name is Skye Howard, and I would like to report a shooting. I think my fiancé just killed his partner.” Her voice was anxious and scared, and she began to beg the dispatcher. “Please, ma’am, you gotta send someone to White Stone Gallery on Thirteenth Street. Parker Johnson—he’s my fiancé—he shot at me, but I got away. He and I live together in his house with my ten-year-old son. I have my Jeep. I’m getting my son and getting away.”
“Ma’am, can you tell me who Mr. Johnson shot?” “Yes, his partner, Camden Nelson. Oh my God, I’m scared. Please send someone. Please, I don’t know what Parker will do if he finds me.”
“Ma’am, go home, get your son, and stay on the line. All right?” the dispatcher asked.
“Yes. Yes, I can do that,” Skye replied.
“Ma’am, how far are you from your house? Can you tell me your address? I’ll have a cruiser there ASAP.” The dispatcher was kind and tried to calm Skye down as she was starting to have a complete panic attack. “Ma’am, ma’am, I know you’re scared, but right now the most important thing is to get to your house, retrieve your son, and get to safety. Now, Skye, can you tell me your address so I can have a police officer meet you at your house?”
Skye rattled off her address. “There’s a security gate, so the officer will have to buzz the gate.”
“Okay, ma’am, hold on. I’m going to call out a cruiser to your house. Stay on the line. All right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Skye responded as she turned the corner toward her house. So far, so good. Parker isn’t around yet, she thought as she pulled up to the gate and entered the code into the keypad. As the gates opened, Skye went over a list in her head of what she needed to grab and tried to compose herself so she didn’t scare Tyler, her son. How am I going to break this to him? Sure, he’s just a kid, but his friends are here, and he would have to leave them behind. Skye felt bad, but Parker had given her no choice but to run. She didn’t know what he would do; he had already tried to kill her. If she hadn’t have run when she did, she would be dead and Tyler would be without his mother and would have no idea who his dad was. Then it hit her—Crawford, Montana. I will go home to Crawford. Parker had no idea how to find her there; she had never told him where she was from, that she could remember anyway. Parking in front of the house and popping open the trunk, Skye ran into the house and up to Tyler’s room. He was playing with the Lego set he had gotten just a few days before.
“Tyler, baby. We’re going to go on a trip. We’re gonna go see your grandpa up in Crawford. Would you like to go to the ranch?” “But Momma, we got school tomorrow,” the boy replied.
“I know, baby, but this is just something we gotta do. So grab a few toys, and Momma will grab you some clothes, and we’ll get on the road,” she said as she grabbed his small bag from underneath his bed and began to fill it with clothing.
“But Momma, I’m hungry,” he said, grabbing as many Legos as possible and his superhero action figure.
“Baby, Mommy will pick you up something on the road. Okay? Let’s take your toys and go get into the car, okay?” she said as she zipped up the boy’s bag and helped him with his toys. Tyler stood up, and Skye took his hand as they made their way down the stairs and outside to the Jeep. Still no Parker. Good. I guess it was a good thing they drove together in to work today. I got the Jeep, and we have to be at least twenty minutes ahead of him. It’s only a matter of time, she thought as she loaded Tyler into the back and jumped into the driver’s seat and drove out the gate.
When she got down the road some, the dispatcher spoke, and Skye jumped. She had forgotten that the dispatcher had stayed on the line. “Ma’am, are you there?” the dispatcher’s voice came over the speakers in the Jeep.
“Yes, ma’am. I’m here. I have my son, and we’re getting onto the interstate now,” Skye told the dispatcher.
“Ma’am, I want you to find the nearest police station and go there. I will have an officer meet you outside,” the dispatcher told Skye.
“Ma’am, I can’t do that. Parker has friends in the department, and I don’t know who to trust. I am going to go to my family home. I will be in contact, I promise,” Skye said as she hung up the phone.
The taxi carrying Parker stopped at the gate of his house, and Parker paid the driver a one hundred-dollar bill and told the driver to forget he saw him. The driver was more than happy to oblige him and sped off. Parker entered the code to the gate and made his way up the driveway to his house. When he walked in, he yelled for Skye, but there was no answer. Just as he was getting ready to call out for Skye again, the maid, Jasmine, appeared, and without a word, she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him. They kissed.
“Jasmine, baby, did you see Skye come back here?” “Yeah, but I don’t wanna talk about her. We got the house to ourselves for a while. I overheard her tell the brat that they were going on a trip,” Jasmine said as she continued to kiss Parker and grab at his clothes. “Come on, Parker, we can fuck right here in the middle of the house and that bitch you’re gonna marry won’t have a clue.”
“Did she say where?” Parker screamed.
“I don’t know…I heard her say Crawford. That was it. Geesh, Parker. She’s gone. Let’s have some fun.”
“Jasmine, you don’t understand. She saw me shoot Camden. We gotta get to her before she goes to the police, if she hasn’t already. Grab some of your shit. I’ll get the Jag. It’s gotta be Crawford, Montana. She told me she was from Montana. We gotta get outta town now. Can’t be that fucking hard to find the Howard Ranch. Seems like she said it was called the Triple H Ranch.” Jasmine was still standing next to Parker. She listened as he rambled. Then Parker, realizing that she had yet to move her ass, yelled, “Get your fucking clothes, Jasmine, and let’s get the fuck outta here.”
Parker grabbed his phone from his pocket and dialed his pilot. “Yeah, this is Mr. Johnson. Can you fuel up the jet and have it ready for me and my companion in forty-five minutes? I don’t care if you have to file a flight plan. Get it filed now,” he screamed. “Crawford, Montana.” He listened for a moment. “I don’t know when we’re coming back. I’ll get you a hotel.” He turned back to his phone. “Okay, see you in a few minutes.” Parker hung up his phone and backed out of the garage as he pulled in front of the double doors of his house. He then blasted the horn of the Jag to signal Jasmine to get moving. Jasmine came running out the front door with two bags and her dog.