Page 1 of Brave Horizons (Barrington Billionaires #19)

TOPEKA

Her hair smelled liked pickles. That’s all she could think as she stood in the living room of strangers and glanced around at their photographs.

She wondered if they could smell her. If they knew she’d been driven over here in the back of a truck filled with all sorts of pickled vegetables.

Topeka had been little more than cargo lately.

Shuffled around clandestinely from one spot to another.

“Do you need anything else?” The man fidgeted nervously and cleared his throat. “They said you’d be staying the night. Do you have clothes? Toothbrush?”

“I don’t have anything,” Topeka admitted sheepishly. “I left in a bit of a hurry.”

“We have some things,” the woman cooed gently.

“Sorry we didn’t even introduce ourselves.

I’m Ginger, this is Gary.” They were a cute little older couple that reminded Topeka of grandparents straight out of central casting.

That should have given her a warm and fuzzy feeling after all she’d endured over the past six months.

Instead it made her stomach flip and twist with worry.

She didn’t need kindness right now, she needed strength. Security.

“No one has told me where I’m heading in the morning,” Topeka said, her throat dry and her eyes tired.

“Our son will be here in an hour,” Ginger whispered as if this was a desperate secret to guard with her life. “He was at work when they called. Out on one of the oil rigs. It takes him some time to get back, but once he does, he’ll know more.”

“Your son?” Topeka asked, wondering if this was the person who would take over for Harry as her security detail.

Everything had been a mess. A mess she’d caused and at this point she didn’t really want to bring anyone else into the fold.

She’d caused so much trouble. This lovely couple and their son didn’t deserve to be caught up in the fray.

In a flash, she shook that thought from her mind.

The guilt would crush her if she let it.

She hadn’t started this fight. She hadn’t done this, her father had.

He was a man in power. The head of the Texas Rangers.

And using that power, he had abused, threatened, and killed many people to get what he wanted.

Every step he’d taken up the ranks had been over the dead bodies of the people who stood in his way.

It was something she didn’t want to believe for a long time.

There were rumbles about his tactics. Jokes and nicknames about how he did his job.

But it wasn’t until Russ, a dogged investigator, had approached her with proof she couldn’t ignore anymore.

Her father was a killer. There was one truth harder to swallow than that.

If he could get his hands on her, she’d be his next victim.

“Alexander does this sort of thing,” the man said tentatively, as if he were searching for the right words. “From time to time he helps where he can.”

“He works for...?” Topeka had not gotten used to the lack of control in her life. This running and hiding meant she could rarely make a decision for herself anymore.

The man shifted uncomfortably. “He helps from time to time. It’s not something we nose around in. But you’ve arrived rather unexpectedly and Alexander thought it best you come here.”

“It’s kind of you,” Topeka said, sipping the tea they’d offered nervously ten times until she accepted. “It’s been quite harrowing. Lots of travel. I appreciate the hospitality.”

“We’ve never recognized anyone before though,” Ginger said, her eyes shifting away. “A few people here and there have come through our home as Alexander has needed, but you are on the news. Topeka, right?”

“I, uh. Yes. I am Topeka Majors.” The tea suddenly felt vital. She was relieved to have something to hold. Something to hide behind.

“They’re looking for you,” Ginger said gently. “It sounds as though people care about you and want you home. That’s different.”

“If only it were true,” Topeka mumbled, feeling the intensity of the loneliness now. “The only people who want me home, want me dead. Everything you see on the news, all the resources to find the missing daughter of the head of the Texas Rangers, is a trap.”

“Oh,” Ginger hummed apologetically. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to question why you’re here. It’s just as a mother, to think of your kids as missing breaks my heart. Your father, he was on last night making a plea for your safe return.”

“I wouldn’t be safe long if he got his hands on me.” Topeka placed the teacup down on the small end table near her. “Would it be possible to take a shower? It’s been a really long few days.”

Ginger and Gary exchanged a somber glance as her words seemed to sink in for them. Clearly, they were looking at this situation through the lens of loving parents, something Topeka didn’t have.

“Of course, dear,” Ginger answered sweetly. “Come on with me and I’ll show you to the bathroom. I’m not sure I have any clothes that will fit you, but I’ll get you a robe and throw your clothes in the wash.”

“Thanks.” Her emotional battery was nearly burned out. Topeka’s ability to smile and show gratitude was running dangerously low. These folks, and all the ones who had helped her stay hidden so far, deserved the best of her, but she was fading fast.

The hot shower, an antique claw-foot tub with a very temperamental showerhead and water chugging out in waves rather than a steady stream, was a recharge though.

Ginger had given a brief instructional demonstration but the knobs didn’t seem to be too interested in whether or not Topeka found the right temperature.

Still, it felt good to wash away the dirt and the pickle smell that had come from being smuggled here.

She only had a general idea of where here was. It was open and quiet. She’d seen mountains capped with snow in the distance but Ginger and Gary didn’t have accents that had given them away as Midwesterners or Southerners.

Topeka could bet she wasn’t down south anywhere. Fleeing Texas had been important. Her father’s reach there was endless. The best she could deduce she was in the Northwest somewhere. Remote. Detached.

When she stepped out of the shower, she pulled the plush robe around her.

The mirror was fogged and she left it. She didn’t want to swipe away the mist and get a look at herself.

There wasn’t much left to see. All the life seemed to have left her body the moment she lost contact with Russ.

Her last bit of hope was sopped up and wrung out when she realized he was probably dead.

They’d worked diligently to bring her father’s reign of terror to an end. And they’d failed. All that work and what had it gotten them? Nothing. Literally nothing left to their lives. If Russ was alive and on the run, he was likely no better off than she was right now.

A light knock on the door felt like cannon fire. A boom rattling up her spine.

“Topeka,” the deep voice asked, sounding worried. “My name is Alex. Just checking that you’re okay.”

“I’m fine,” she lied. “Just finishing up.”

“I brought some clothes,” he explained, clearly trying to make this less awkward than it was. “I wasn’t sure about your size but hopefully they’ll work. I’ll leave them outside the door.”

“Thank you.” She pulled the robe tighter around her. There were a million questions she wanted to ask. What would happen next? Where were they? Where were they going? But she bit at her lip and forced herself to be patient.

“I’m going to go downstairs and chat with my parents. My mom is making some dinner.”

“I’m not very hungry,” she said, clearing her throat halfway through the sentence. “Maybe I’ll just lie down.”

Alex chuckled. “There is zero correlation between your hunger and my mother’s insistence that you eat. You can try to put up a fight, others have, but you won’t win. It’s easier to just tackle the mountain of mashed potatoes than try to convince her you aren’t hungry.”

Topeka’s grip loosened on her robe and the tight tethers that had held her face in a perpetual frown seemed to do the same.

She smiled despite herself. In truth she’d lost track of what hunger felt like and when she’d eaten last. All her senses were dulled by the nonstop feeling of dread and looking over her shoulder.

“I’ll be down in a few minutes,” she said, the smile still lingering. “Maybe only a small hill of mashed potatoes though. I’m not sure I could manage a mountain.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Alex chuckled and she heard him walk away.

The kindness of strangers seemed to be the only thing keeping her fed, clothed, and alive right now.

It was the antithesis of what her father had taught her.

Taught was maybe too kind of a word. He’d indoctrinated Topeka into thinking only fierce independence could be counted on.

People would let you down. They’d double-cross you.

She could not be happy unless she could walk away from anything in her life and still survive.

The irony of it all was not lost on her.

The clothes Alex had brought weren’t terrible.

A pair of leggings that fit fine, though they were different than her usual style.

The shirt had a rainbow and the word Smile across the front.

It might have been some divine message or maybe the only thing he could find with such little notice.

Either way, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to live up to the high goal set by this shirt.