Seduced by the Badge
Page 25
He was about to make full-body contact with her. She had no time to think but could only react. She quickly sidestepped and when he brushed by her body, she used her elbow to chop him on the back. Obviously surprised by her quick action, he went down hard on his hands and knees.
She gave him no time to recover. She kicked his midsection as hard as she could once, twice, and a third time. He groaned and attempted to regain his footing, but before he could get to his feet, she had drawn her gun.
“Raise up slowly and turn around,” she commanded. “Ignore my instructions and I’ll shoot you,” she warned. He turned and she quickly snapped cuffs on his wrists. It was only then that she leaned over, breathing hard, but not as hard as her prisoner who, even though he was winded, managed to gasp out some ugly language directed at her.
“Shut up,” she said as she picked up her phone from the pavement. “All I have to do is say one word and my partner here will tear out your throat.”
He’d obviously thought she’d be an easy takedown because she was a woman. The joke was on him for underestimating her skill and clear focus. She’d had the same training as the men and she was as good as any one of them...including her brother.
Footsteps slapped pavement, coming toward her. She held her gun tight, unsure if it was more danger approaching. She relaxed as she saw her brother and his partner running toward her.
“Elle, are you okay?” Carson asked, his eyes blazing with concern. He stopped abruptly at the sight of her prisoner.
“Elle, why didn’t you yell for help? I was on the phone with you,” he said angrily. “All you had to do was say that you were in trouble.”
“Cool your jets, Carson. I didn’t need any help from you. He attacked me and I handled the situation.” A sense of pride swept through her as she watched his panic turn to grudging respect.
“Good job,” he replied. “I heard the commotion on the phone and knew you were in trouble.”
“Like I said, I handled it. This is one bad guy—a thug associate of the Larson twins—who will be off the streets for a while,” she replied. At that moment her phone vibrated again. Carson took control of the prisoner while she answered her phone.
It was Chief Finn Colton. “I want you to get over to the foreman’s cabin on the Double C Ranch. A baby has been abandoned there with Anders Colton. Your brother can handle the surveillance without you.”
An abandoned baby. It was a nonthreatening job and if she didn’t know better she’d swear that her brother had talked to the chief and told him to pull her off this more dangerous case.
She hated to leave the surveillance at the warehouse. She really wanted to catch one of the Larson twins red-handed and put at least one—if not both—away.
At least her sense of pride stayed with her as she and Merlin got into her car and headed for the Double C Ranch. She’d taken care of the thug all by herself, without the help of one of her Overly Protective Brothers. She hadn’t even had to set Merlin into motion.
She wasn’t particularly happy to be going to interact with any Colton other than the police chief and her fellow officers. The feud between the Coltons and the Gages was legendary. It began a century ago when the Gage family lost a good plot of land to the Coltons in a poker game. There had been cheating accusations, and the bad blood between the two families remained today.
Most recently she had a wealth of rage directed toward one particular Colton...Demetria “Demi” Colton, the woman she believed had murdered her brother, Bo.
On the night before his wedding he’d been found shot through the heart and with a black cummerbund stuffed in his mouth. It was supposed to be a bachelor party at the Pour House, a dive bar in a sketchy area of Red Ridge, but there had been no party, only the murder of her brother.
Bo. Bo. His name blew through her on a wind of pain and terrible regret. The last time she’d seen him they’d had a terrible fight...and then he was dead. How she wished she could take back some of the things she’d said to him. How she wished he were still alive instead of the first victim of someone the police and press were now calling the Groom Killer.
She cast all of these things out of her mind as she pulled into the entrance of the Double C Ranch. She drove slowly past the huge mansion where Judson and Joanelle lived. The lights in the house were all dark, so apparently Anders hadn’t disturbed anyone there.
Anders Colton. The only thing she really knew about him was that he was a wealthy cowboy and definitely a piece of eye candy. He was a tall, muscular man with dark hair and bright blue eyes.
Elle was immune to all men right now. At twenty-six years old, her entire focus was on her work and the need to prove herself to everyone in her family and on the police force.
In any case Anders Colton would be the last man she’d have any interest in. First of all, he was a Colton and that was enough to make her keep her distance. But, secondly and more important, it was possible he was aiding and abetting his cousin Demi, who was still on the run from authorities. Had Demi killed Bo? Was she the Groom Killer? Evidence said she was. Witnesses said so, too. And the fact that she’d fled town before she could be arrested and had been on the run ever since made a lot of people, her own relatives on the force included, think she was guilty. But the FBI had caught sightings of her far from Red Ridge on the night of subsequent murders with the same MO. Some said Demi had been framed. Others said she was smart and setting it all up herself.
All Elle wanted was for the murders to stop. And justice for her brother.
Although she didn’t know specifically where the foreman’s cabin was on the property, she followed the dirt road that took her past a huge barn and a wooded area.
Then she spied the cozy cabin with the porch light on. Seated on the porch was Anders Colton, rocking the baby in his arms. He didn’t move as she parked her car and then got out with Merlin at her heels.
As she got closer, her heart flipped just a bit at the sight of a hot, handsome cowboy holding a bundle of pink. It didn’t help that he was clad in a pair of worn jeans and a blue shirt that was unbuttoned, putting on display his firmly muscled chest.
“Looks like you’ve got yourself a baby,” she said in greeting.
He smiled. “Looks like you’ve got yourself an ugly, fat baby of your own.” He looked pointedly at Merlin.
Oh no, he didn’t, she thought with irritation. “My baby can protect me from getting killed. What can yours do?” she asked coolly.
“Touché,” he replied, and stood. His arms still rocked the baby with a gentle motion. “I’m not quite sure what to do with her. She’s awakened twice and started to cry, but if I rock her she goes back to sleep. Come on inside.”
She followed him into a homey living room with a beautiful natural stone fireplace and casual brown leather furniture. He placed the baby into a wicker cradle. He straightened and then motioned for her to have a seat in a recliner. “Even though my sister and your brother are together and I’ve seen you around, we haven’t ever officially introduced ourselves. I’m Anders Colton.”
She sat on the edge of the chair and tried to avoid looking at his broad chest. “I’m Officer Elle Gage and this is my partner, Merlin. Now, tell me about what’s going on.”
She listened as he told her about the thefts that had been occurring and then stepping outside to find the baby on his porch. While he spoke he buttoned up the blue shirt that mirrored the beautiful blue of his eyes. Thank goodness, she thought. She didn’t need to be distracted by the sight of his bare chest.
“These thefts...were they break-ins? Do you know how the person is getting inside the cabin?” she asked.
“I never lock my doors. I’m pretty far off the beaten path and I’ve never had a reason to lock up,” he replied.
“Even after the first theft you didn’t start locking your doors?” she asked in surprise.
He shook his head. “I
t was obvious the thief wasn’t after anything valuable. I figured if somebody was stealing food then they must need it. He or she only came in at night so I intentionally left the doors unlocked hoping I’d catch them. I just want to know who it is and if they’re in some kind of trouble.”
“And you have no idea who left the baby here?”
“Not a clue, but she had a note pinned to the blanket.” He pulled a small piece of paper out of his pocket and then walked over and handed it to her.
She’s a Colton.
Elle’s heart nearly stopped as her brain worked overtime. Demi Colton had been pregnant when she’d gone on the run to avoid being charged in Bo’s murder.
Was it possible? She stared at the sleeping baby. Suddenly the baby’s eyes opened and she began to fuss. Elle jumped to her feet and picked her up.
She held the baby close to her heart and breathed in the sweet baby scent. If this little girl was a Colton, then it was possible she was Bo’s baby. Bo and Demi had been engaged to be married for a week, and then he had dumped her for Hayley Patton, a K9 trainer.
Bo’s baby. For a moment she believed she felt his spirit swirling in the room, surrounding her with warmth and love. She stared down at the baby who couldn’t be older than a couple of weeks. A part of Bo...a gift from heaven. She looked up at Anders, wondering if he’d put it all together in his head.
“She may be a Colton but that means she’s also probably a Gage,” she said. “And if I find out that you’re helping Demi stay hidden on this property, I promise I’ll have you arrested so fast your head will spin.”
Copyright © 2018 by Harlequin Books S.A.
ISBN-13: 9781488093074
Seduced by the Badge
Copyright © 2018 by Deborah Fletcher Mello
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