Wounded Pride

By Amelia Rose

Melinda Brandt is fiercely protective of her brothers, and has been since her mother's death at an early age. In fact, she has built her life and her career as Sheriff on her ability to always maintain control. Now, it feels as if even that is slipping away from her. A madman (Charles Sanders) has entered her family's lives, causing her brothers to flee and leaving her all alone. Now an outside agency is moving in to take the case away from her, and she cannot bear to let it go. In a desperate attempt to regain control, Melinda goes outside of the law and leaves town with Charles's step-brother (Cale Winters) to track him down and bring him to her own brand justice. On the road, she finds her primal self responding to Cale's presence, but how can she dare to let her guard down with so much on the line?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gold Crown
• Release date: Dec 5, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311262936

Amelia Rose

Amelia Rose holds a PhD in Literature and Language; she specializes in teaching positive, self-reliant principles to children and adults of all ages.  Dr. Rose lives with her husband and three children in the Hudson Valley, New York area, where she enjoys the outdoors and spending time with her family and friends.   Matthew Maley is an artist with nearly twenty-five years in the fields of Illustration and Design. His work has appeared in publications such as Archie Comics, Marvel, Disney, Nickelodeon, and Children’s Television Workshop. He lives in the Hudson Valley with his wife, daughter, and a variety of animals.

Book preview

Wounded Pride

License To Love Series:Book 3

By Amelia Rose

~~~

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2013 by Amelia Rose

Visit www.ameliarose.info

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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DEDICATION

To YOU, The reader.

Thank you for your support.

Thank you for your emails.

Thank you for your reviews.

Thank you for reading and joining me on this road.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Epilogue

Copyright

Chapter 1

Melinda hung up the phone with Woody and immediately signaled to the deputies standing around her.

Sanders was last spotted at the Garrison farm. Apparently he was holding Alyssa there, but now he’s gone. He took her car and it looks like he has a stab injury on his right side. Move out from the farm in all directions and canvas the back roads. He couldn’t have gotten too far, people. She clapped her hands together and climbed into her SUV, determined to corner Sanders at the farm.

When she took the dirt road leading out the farm she didn’t brake, and even though the SUV was weighted down, she took the corner almost on two wheels. Her speedometer never fell below forty. Her jaw was clenched together so tightly that she could feel her teeth grinding in their sockets.

How could Woody have found him before her?

That was the single thought that kept running through her mind, over and over. She had always looked out for her brothers, and the one time that Woody had really and truly needed her to be there for him, she hadn’t been able to.

When she had realized that Alyssa had been taken by Sanders, Melinda felt her fear begin to tighten around her. It was that protective instinct that let her know when it was time to take charge and keep the boys out of trouble. Now that she knew Woody had been able to get Alyssa back safely she felt a little better, but it didn’t help that both of her brothers were now out there on the run from a criminal with a history of tracking down his prey.

He’s too dangerous out there in any capacity. What happens when they catch him and he finds another way out, and then another? What will become of my brothers’ lives now? How long would they be forced to stay in hiding?

These were the questions that had been plaguing her since she had gotten the call of Charles’ disappearance. Although her official role was that of an officer of the law who was bound to capture and return him to the custody of the court, her closer role as a sister was causing overriding emotions. She was not sure what she would do if she confronted Charles all alone, but a large part of her was worried that he might not make it back alive were she to find him in such a circumstance.

Melinda had never thought of herself as a stone cold killer, but her family had never been threatened like this before. It was as if the practical and the emotional side of her were deadlocked in an anticipation game of "What if?"

Her heart was pumping in her throat when they pulled up at the Garrison farm and she could feel that anticipation of a conflict coiled tightly in her stomach, churning with anger. As soon as the truck came to a stop, she jumped out of it, barking orders for her deputies to secure the crime scene as she ran around the back and began the process of infiltrating the large building.

Woody had told her where in the large dairy farm the confrontation had been, and she immediately walked toward that area to see what information she might be able to gather.

Peering around a door frame, Melinda stepped into the cool darkness of the massive structure with her gun drawn. She did not see anyone, but she was immediately assaulted by the fragrant smell of old hay and mildew. Rounding the stalls, she carefully made her way through the barn’s maze of concrete and cinderblock stalls, securing and clearing each section before moving onto the next. Woody had said that Charles had driven out from the farm, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. Sidestepping into the third section where Woody had told her he’d found Sanders and Alyssa, she was extra cautious. After a brief pause, she swung her gun around and pointed it to the middle of the room.

Sure enough, there was a chair with some duct tape hanging off it in the middle of a small clearing just like he’d described. On the far side of the room there was a table with a few different tools on it. There were also quite a few blood-stained paper towels and wadded pieces of duct tape lying about as well.

Woody had mentioned that the wound which had caused the blood at the farm was Sander’s. Apparently Alyssa had managed to stab him in the side with a paring knife before he took her. It was not enough to do any permanent damage, but it had been enough to slow him down some. Woody had seemed to feel that without that wound he would have stood a lot less chance of getting Alyssa back.

He fought like a caged animal, sis. If he hadn’t had a weak spot, I don’t think I could have taken him down. Woody’s words floated back to her in the stale barn air. He had not thought of his actions before rushing in head first. Neither of her brothers ever did. However, she was forced to carry the burden of worry around with her.

She’d been doing it ever since their mother had died while giving birth to Woody. Technically Shad was the older one, but responsibility had lingered with her. Even as children, people would often remark about how much she acted like the mother hen. She knew that without her, they would have gone off and done something stupid years before. But now Melinda was beginning to feel that her role within the family was lost. It was as if everything was restructuring itself right in front of her, and she’d never felt so lost.

Operating without an anchor, she thought as she bent down close to the chair and inspected the strips of tape hanging from its edges. This was where Alyssa had been held. The floor all around the chair showed the evidence of the scuffle between Woody and Sanders. Dirt and hay were displaced, tools were strung about, and a trail of blood ran from one side of the room to the other. Melinda said a silent prayer under her breath, thankful that the damage had not been inflicted on Woody.

Part of her wanted to be angry with Clara and Alyssa for bringing this drama and tragedy into their calm and peaceful lives at Stanhope, but she knew that wasn’t fair. None of this had been their fault. They had not come into town looking to cause trouble. And, if she were being honest with herself, she would have to admit that she had never seen either of her brothers this content with life.

The