Secrets of the Falls (Twelve Oaks Farm Book 3) Read online

  The cold look in his eyes caused her to tremble. She shifted on the bench causing her skirt to slip higher on her thighs. Again she tugged the hem. She looked away and took a sip of her Pepsi. Her hands shook so bad she sat her cup back on the table and placed them in her lap.

  Dylan asked, “Is Lacy your girlfriend?”

  “One can only hope.” Bret draped his arm over her shoulder as if saying she belonged to him. “Actually, we have a class together, but have never been formally introduced until tonight. Would you believe this is the first frat party she has ever attended?”

  With a long look over her face, he replied, “No, I don’t. Looks like a partier to me.”

  Bret ran his finger up her arm. She fought the urge to jerk away. This had to be the most uncomfortable night of her life. Her eyes darted to Dylan who just stood there glaring at her. “Go away, Bauer. I saw her first.”

  Despair settled around her heart as she watched him saunter away. He probably thought she was a deceitful person. But then why should she care what he thought. “Would you like something to eat?”

  Even though she was hungry, she was much too nervous to eat. Her stomach was in knots. “No, I’m fine thank you.”

  “How about another Pepsi?”

  “No, caffeine keeps me from sleeping. One is my limit.”

  He took a sip of his beer and placed the bottle on the table. “Tell me about your family.”

  Lacy talked about Nina and Beth. Explained how hard it had been after her parents’ death. She began to relax and enjoy his company. He seemed interested in what she had to say. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.

  With a quick glance at the gold watch with a large face on his right wrist, he stood. Of course she was sure it was expensive. It was probably a Rolex or some other high end watch. “I’m going to get me another beer. Are you sure you wouldn’t like another Pepsi?”

  “Maybe some water.” She stood intending to go with him.

  He took her hand and squeezed. “It’s so crowded in the kitchen. Wait for me here, and I’ll be right back.”

  Now alone, Lacy felt awkward. She swept her eyes over the guests still in the backyard, but didn’t see Dylan. He must have gone inside. She peered up at the dark sky but could only see the sliver of moon. The lights from the city made it impossible to see the stars. At that moment she felt melancholy for Twelve Oaks. It was so far from the city that she could see millions of stars at night. She wondered if her family was sitting outside on the porch listening to the crickets and night sounds as they were known to do on many occasions. Spring was a busy time on the farm and Nina, Grant, Juan, and Grace would work until dinner time and then relax after they had eaten a perfect meal cooked by Maria. Beth and Josh usually arrived home by six. She could picture them in her mind discussing politics, religion, or their work.

  Five minutes later Bret returned. She found him very attractive. All this time she had believed him conceited and shallow. Maybe she was too hard on people. It wasn’t often she put down her guard and really got to know a person. In reality he was nothing like she imagined.

  “Here you go. Ice cold water.”

  Lacy took the cup, tipped it to her lips and froze. Grant’s warning entered her mind. Never overindulge because it puts a young woman at risk. Never leave your drink unattended when you are in public. Even though it was only water, she still felt uneasy.

  “Is something wrong?”

  Her cheeks flushed with color. “No, nothing.” Lacy took a small sip.

  “I took the liberty of adding some lemon for flavor.”

  Lemon was all she tasted so she felt it was safe to drink. “Thank you, it’s perfect.”

  Their conversation continued while they sat under the twinkling lights of the oak. Bret related funny stories about his two brothers and sister. He was the eldest and the first to leave home to attend college.

  It was obvious he had led a privileged life, but then so had she until her parents died. Money was tight since there had been no life insurance policy for her mother and father. After their deaths, life had been hard until Nina married Grant and things changed for the better.

  “You’re unusual, Lacy. The world is full of talkers, but it’s rare to find a woman who listens. Most of the women I go out with only talk about themselves.”

  “Thank you. I have to admit I’m enjoying myself. I didn’t even want to come tonight. Michelle and Malory talked me into attending your party.” She smiled. “I’m glad I came.”

  Everything became a blur. She blinked trying to bring Bret’s face into focus. A slight headache just behind her eyes began, and her tongue felt thick. He kept talking but his voice sounded muffled. Seconds passed as her symptoms only got worse. She closed one eye and looked at him because she was seeing doubles.

  “Are you okay?”

  All she could do was whisper, “I feel nauseas and hot.”

  “Let’s go inside and I’ll get you a cold compress.”

  The last thing Lacy remembered was falling into Bret’s arms.

  Chapter Two

  Arm on the back of the large sofa in the living room, Dylan was talking to a couple of gorgeous co-eds. Some girl by the name of Malory was coming onto him pretty strong. It was obvious all he had to do was say the word and they’d be going at it in a room upstairs in a matter of seconds. Her hand rested on his thigh and kept inching up closer to his dick.

  A petite young woman with curly brown hair approached and asked Malory, “Have you seen Lacy?”

  Malory removed her hand from his thigh and reached for her drink on the floor at her feet. “No, Michelle, she probably went home.” She took a sip and then rolled her eyes. “She probably went out the back door and left right after our arrival. She’s such a timid little mouse.”

  Lips pursed, Michelle snapped, “She wouldn’t leave us stranded without a ride. She knew she was the designated driver.”

  Dylan shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t really care. “She was out back beneath the oak talking to Bret Robertson the last time I saw her.”

  Michelle’s attention switched to him. “She’s not in the backyard. I can’t find her anywhere.”

  “Maybe they are upstairs in one of the bedrooms. Bret and Lacy looked pretty friendly if you know what I mean.”

  For some reason the statement had the young woman chewing her bottom lip. She hissed, “Lacy is not that kind of person. She’s very careful. She wouldn’t sleep with someone she just met.”

  She spun around and raced up the stairs leading to the bedrooms taking them two at a time. Dylan placed his hand on Malory’s long, shapely leg letting his fingers stroke the inside. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

  Assuming he was going for a refill, she batted her long fake eyelashes at him as she handed him her empty cup. “Bring me another Margarita.”

  Curious, Dylan placed the empty cups on a side table and went to look for Michelle upstairs. She was on the second floor landing opening doors and entering rooms shouting Lacy’s name. The third time she disappeared into a room she backed out with her hands in the air. “Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to intrude.” She slammed the door so hard the sound vibrated off the ceiling, then shouted, “Maybe you should lock the door if you’re going to have sex.”

  The next door was locked. She pushed and shoved trying to gain entrance. A tiny angry fist pounded on the door. When the door wouldn’t budge, she yelled, “Lacy, are you in there?” She began to kick the door as her panic grew.

  Dylan pushed her out of the way. “Stay back.” It took three hard kicks before the casing gave way and the door flew open.

  Inside four people were having sex. One of the men shouted. “What the hell?” None of the men and women were Lacy and Bret.

  Michelle peeked around Dylan before continuing her crusade to find Lacy. She might be small, but she was a fireball and he doubted anyone could deter her efforts of finding her friend. She had it in her mind that Lacy was in some kind of trouble. If L
acy had gotten drunk, it would be easy to take advantage of her. A man like Robertson wouldn’t have qualms about having sex with her. It’d just be another notch in his bedpost.

  Michelle tried to turn the knob on the next door. It was also locked. She banged on the door with both her small fists. “Lacy, are you in there.” When he just stood there staring at her, she stepped back and ordered, “Kick this one in too.”

  “Lady you’re going to get me killed. I can’t keep kicking in doors for you.”

  “My friend is in trouble.” Big beautiful emerald eyes pleaded with him. “Please!”

  Dylan moved back and kicked. The door was solid wood and it didn’t even budge. Again and again he kicked until the door finally flew open when the facing splintered. His heart sank to his stomach when he saw Lacy lying in bed only wearing her panties. Michelle ran right by him and plopped on the side of the bed. She cupped Lacy’s extremely pale cheeks and began to cry. Tears ran down her face.

  “Lacy are you okay?”

  Anger swept through Dylan. He searched the room but found no one inside. The window was open so he assumed whoever had been with Lacy escaped out the window. Peering out the window, he came to the conclusion they climbed out onto the roof and shimmed down the tall tree growing next to the mansion. Robertson seemed like a safe bet.

  He pushed Michelle out of the way. He slapped Lacy’s cheek a couple of times before she moaned and her eyes flickered. “She’s okay, Michelle.” He pushed her eyelid open so he could look at her pupils. Ecstasy. He had seen the results of the drug many times and knew Robertson had slipped ecstasy into her drink. He wondered if Robertson had raped her. Hopefully, they arrived before he had gone too far. The fact Lacy still had on her panties was a good sign.

  Michelle took out her I-phone. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m calling 911.”

  “There’s no time.” Dylan wrapped Lacy in the sheet and scooped her up in his arms. “Where’s her car?”

  “Parked down the street.”

  “Gather her clothes. Don’t leave anything behind.” Dylan knew they would need to look for trace evidence on her clothes.

  Michelle opened Lacy’s purse that was on the floor by her clothes and retrieved her keys. She gathered her scattered clothes and tucked them under her arm. “I’ve got her keys. Follow me.”

  People stopped and stared at them as Michelle led the way, Dylan following behind carrying Lacy. He had a difficult time keeping up with the petite woman as she pushed through the crowd and down the front steps. She stopped when she realized he wasn’t directly behind her. With a quick wave of her hand she shouted, “Come on. It’s this way.”

  Both darted over the sidewalk in their hurry to get Lacy to the hospital. Michelle hit the clicker, threw open the back door, and tossed clothes, purse, and shoes into the back floorboard of Lacy’s silver Grand Cherokee Jeep. She crawled into the back seat and held out her arms. Dylan gently placed Lacy’s head in her lap before he shut the door and jumped into the driver’s seat and sped away from the curb. It was after twelve so there wasn’t much traffic. He adjusted the rearview mirror to accommodate his taller frame when he caught a glimpse of Michelle wiping Lacy’s face with the edge of the sheet.

  “Don’t do that. You’re tampering with evidence.”

  “Nina and Beth can’t see her like this. Lacy doesn’t wear make-up.” She began to babble. “She doesn’t wear short skirts and flirt with men. She doesn’t have sex with strangers. In fact she’s never had sex with anyone.” Her voice cracked. “What did he do to her?”

  The tears began and her babbling continued. He couldn’t understand what she said because she was crying so hard. The last thing he needed was a hysterical woman. “Calm down. Everything will be okay.”

  Michelle wiped at her tears and sniffed. Seconds passed before he heard her talking on her phone. “Malory, get someone who hasn’t been drinking to take you to our dorm room and get Lacy and me some clothes. Meet us at the hospital.”

  There was a pause. “She’s unconscious but her pulse is strong. I think she’s been drugged.” Michelle snapped as the tears began again, “I don’t know what happened to her.” Her voice trembled as she continued, “I can’t answer questions now, Malory. Just do what I asked. The co-eds in the room next to ours will have a key.” She spoke with slow deliberate syllables as if talking to a small child. “Wake them up and bring Lacy and me some decent clothes and shoes.”

  He heard her end the call. “You need to call her family.” The illumination from the streetlights allowed him to see the tears streaming over her cheeks.

  “All this is my fault. Lacy didn’t want to go to the frat party. I begged her to go. I made her feel guilty so she would go with me.”

  “You didn’t know someone was going to drug her.” He didn’t say what he was thinking. Lacy was responsible for leaving her drink unattended. It happened more often than people knew. Men slipped something into an unsuspecting woman’s drink and then raped her. Most women didn’t even report the crime because they felt ashamed for not being more careful. They didn’t want their family to know what happened. Knots twisted in his stomach when he thought of her family and how they would take the news. “Everything will be okay.”

  From what he knew about women, Lacy would have Kleenex in the vehicle. He opened the center console and grabbed a small pack. He tossed them over the seat right into her lap. “Thank you.” She sniffed loudly and wiped at her tears.

  In a firmer voice, he replied. “I know you don’t want to, but you must call her family.” Better she call them than him. He didn’t want to be the one to tell Nina and Beth that Lacy had been drugged and almost raped. It would be better coming from someone they knew as a friend.

  He barely heard her whispers as she explained to someone on the other end to come to the hospital because Lacy was unconscious. She must have been bombarded with questions because she snapped, “I don’t know what happened. We’ll be at the hospital in Durham.” She slapped the phone closed before she had to answer other questions.

  Her brow furrowed at the image of Lacy’s family arriving at the hospital. There would be lots of questions to answer. “I should just kill myself.”

  “Nonsense. Her family will understand.” Lights from the street filtered into the car, and he could see the worry and concern etched into her pretty face.

  “Fat chance. Lacy is their baby sister. The grief of losing her dad and mom almost killed Lacy. Her sisters, Nina and Beth are very protective.” There was a desperate edge to her voice. “This will devastate them.”

  Dylan blew right through a red light since there were no cars in sight. He had seen the results of ecstasy before and knew it could be deadly, especially if Lacy had alcohol in her system. He didn’t smell any on her breath so hopefully she hadn’t indulged.

  The urge to kill Robertson with his bare hands was strong. He hated men like him. The college jock who could get any woman he wanted, but would rather drug a young woman and take advantage of her. The thought of Robertson’s hands on Lacy had him gritting his teeth in anger.

  In the distance he could see the hospital. He slammed on the brakes in the emergency circle drive. He jumped out, opened the back door and scooped Lacy into his arms. Michelle shadowed behind as he stepped through the automatic door. An emergency room nurse raced forward. “She’s been drugged! I think ecstasy.”

  The nurse pointed at a stretcher against the wall. “Place her on the stretcher.”

  Dylan helped secure the straps before the nurse wheeled Lacy toward the swinging doors. He shouted at her retreating back. “I need that sheet she’s wrapped in for evidence.”

  Michelle darted around him, but he grabbed her arm and jerked her around. “I’m going with her.”

  “They won’t let you. They’ll have to give her something to counteract the ecstasy. It’s not a pretty sight.”

  She placed her hands over her face. “What if she dies?”

  He draped his arm a
round her shoulders and squeezed. “All this crying is not going to help Lacy.” In a firm voice he replied, “Dry it up so you can answer some questions. You’ll have to do the paperwork.”

  He needed to bag Lacy’s clothes so he could get them to forensics to check for trace evidence but he was afraid to leave Michelle. Hopefully Robertson left some DNA behind.

  Big sad eyes peered up at him. “What’s your name?”

  He smiled, “Dylan Bauer.”

  She offered her hand. “Michelle Maness. It’s nice to meet you, Dylan.”

  ****

  Thirty minutes later Malory arrived with clothes for Michelle and Lacy. Some guy Dylan had met at the party by the name of Tommy Ross was with her. “Is Lacy okay?”

  “We don’t know.” Michelle stood and took the bag from Malory. “She’s still with the doctor.” She smiled at Tommy. “Thanks for driving Malory.”

  “No problem. I only had a couple of beers.” He took her free hand and twined his fingers with hers. “What happened?”

  “Someone drugged Lacy.” Michelle pulled away. Black mascara had left smudges under her eyes where she had been crying. She looked horrible. “I need to change clothes.”

  The moment Michelle disappeared into the bathroom on the far side of the waiting room, Malory sat down next to Dylan. Tommy gave him a nod of greeting before he took the chair beside Malory. “Someone said you kicked the door in to save Lacy. Is that true?” Long legs crossed at the knees.

  Blood shot eyes peered at him through thick lashes. Her face was puffy from drinking. He could smell the liquor on her breath proving she was still tipsy. “I didn’t have any other choice. Fireball ordered me to. She was hysterical with worry that something terrible had happened to Lacy.” Tired of sitting, Dylan pushed out of the chair to pace for a while.

  Curious, she asked, “Do you know Lacy?”

  He lied. “No, what gave you that idea?”

  “You kicked in the door of a frat house for a woman you don’t even know. Here you are waiting at the hospital to see if a complete stranger is okay.”