The Marshal's Justice (Appaloosa Pass Ranch 4)

by Delores Fossen

  Heat she pushed aside again.

  That was something she always had to do around Chase. Because he’d spent the past two years trying to put her brother behind bars, April and Chase had never dated. But that hadn’t stopped them from landing in bed together. For one glorious night, Chase had been hers for the taking, but then his friend had been murdered. Crossman—and Quentin—had been implicated in that. And anything she’d ever hoped to have with Chase had vanished in the blink of an eye.

  Well, everything except Bailey.

  That would give them a connection that she was certain Chase would rather have with someone else. Anyone else.

  “Check her for tracking devices,” Chase prompted.

  April hurried to do that, causing Bailey to fuss, but thankfully she didn’t see anything on her gown, blanket or diaper. That was something at least.

  She heard the front door open, and Chase stepped back into the hall. Even though she couldn’t see who’d come in, she did notice the alarm on Chase’s face.

  “What’s wrong?” Chase immediately asked.

  April hurried to the door and looked out to see Jericho. He had the gunman in cuffs and handed him off to Mack, but his attention stayed on Chase.

  “We’ve got trouble,” Jericho answered. “Jax was attacked on the road. He’s okay, but the woman he was bringing in just escaped.”

  Chapter Five

  Chase so didn’t want to have to deal with anything else right now. What he wanted to do was hold his daughter and get to know her. Instead, he was neck deep in making sure Crossman, or whoever was behind the kidnapping and attacks, didn’t get to Bailey and April again.

  That meant going to a safe house. Something he was still working on, but for now, his baby was stuck sleeping on the cot in the break room at the sheriff’s office. Hardly premium accommodations, but Bailey didn’t seem to mind. She was sacked out, not a care in the world. Unlike April.

  Chase saw plenty of those cares in her eyes.

  “Anything?” she asked the moment Chase stepped into the doorway of the break room. She moved away from the cot and came closer to him.

  Chase figured that one-word question encompassed a lot because there were plenty of cogs moving in the investigation. What wasn’t moving was a solution to put an end to this.

  “Renée’s still missing.” Thanks to the help from a gunman who’d run Jax off the road and taken her.

  April’s mouth tightened, clearly not pleased about that.

  Welcome to the club.

  Renée could have given them some answers, and now the woman was missing.

  “And what about Jax? Is he really okay?” Not displeasure now but rather concern in April’s voice.

  Chase nodded. “A few cuts and bruises. He’s pissed off more than anything.” An emotion that Chase completely understood.

  He should have made sure Jax wasn’t being followed. Should have done more to protect his brother. But Chase had had so many things on his mind that he hadn’t taken more precautions. That couldn’t happen again. Because the next time, Jax or someone else could be killed.

  April came even closer to him, glancing back at the baby. Probably to make sure their whispered conversation wasn’t disturbing her. It wasn’t. Now that Bailey had had a bottle, she was sleeping, well, like a baby. However, Chase was betting April and he wouldn’t be getting much sleep, if any, tonight.

  “I’m sorry,” April said.

  Not especially something Chase wanted to hear. Or feel. But he felt something all right.

  Sympathy.

  And he’d learned the hard way, that was never a good thing to feel when it came to April. Best to keep this conversation on a more business level. Easy to do since they had plenty of nonpersonal things to discuss.

  Well, one huge thing anyway.

  There was something he should probably tell her. Eventually. Something that was indeed personal. But it would have to wait.

  “Someone did hack into WITSEC files,” Chase confirmed. “We won’t know the extent of what was compromised for a while, but it’s obvious the hacker was able to find you.”

  “And my brother?” she asked.

  “The marshals went to his house, but Quentin wasn’t there. The place had been ransacked and there were signs of a struggle.” Chase paused, trying to brace himself for how she was going to react to the next thing he had to tell her. “There was blood on the floor.”

  That caused her breath to shudder, and she staggered back. Maybe would have fallen if Chase hadn’t caught her. He hooked his arm around her waist, putting them body to body again. Also giving him feelings he didn’t want to have.

  Lust.

  Not an especially good time for it, but it always seemed to happen with April. Chase cursed it and wished there was some way in hell he could make himself immune to her.

  Rather than stand there with her in his arms, Chase led her across the room and had her sit in one of the chairs at the dining table.

  She shook her head. “Quentin doesn’t even know how to get in touch with me if he needs help.”

  “No, but he knows how to contact me. If it’s a real emergency, he’d call me.”

  April looked up at him, blinked. “You don’t think the blood they found is real?”

  Chase was 1,000 percent sure she wasn’t going to like this. “I think it’s real all right, but Quentin could have planted it so it would look as if he’d been injured. And he could have done that so we wouldn’t believe he had any part in kidnapping Bailey.”

  There were holes in that particular theory, but Chase knew that Quentin was very good at doing criminal things.

  “You think Quentin could have had Bailey kidnapped for ransom money,” April said. She didn’t exactly jump to deny that though it was no doubt what she wanted to do.

  “It’s possible. You have to admit your brother has been involved in some illegal moneymaking schemes before.”

  She didn’t deny that, either. Couldn’t. Because it’d been Quentin’s dirty dealings with Crossman that had set this entire mess in motion.

  “I don’t think Quentin would work with Crossman,” April said. “Not again. Not after what happened the last time.”

  And what’d happened the last time was murder. Specifically, the murder of a cop, Tina Murdock. Tina had gone to question Quentin, had found Crossman instead, and some kind of argument had ensued. Crossman had shot and killed her.

  “You trust your brother a lot more than I do,” Chase reminded her.

  “I know. And I also know you don’t trust me. That’s all right. I deserve it.”

  She did. But there was no need for him to spell that out to her. April had known about her brother’s illegal activity. If she had reported it sooner instead of trying to get Quentin out of hot water, Tina wouldn’t have walked into the bar where she’d been murdered.

  Of course, April hadn’t mentioned anything about knowing of Tina’s visit or her brother’s criminal activity when she’d gone to Chase that night. Even though Chase hadn’t known it at the time, she’d been looking for a shoulder to cry on because she was about to turn in her brother. And during the consoling, they’d landed in bed. Only afterward did Chase learn the truth, and he was still dealing with it.

  “I need some good news,” she said, groaning. “Any good news.”

  “The safe house will be ready soon. I didn’t go through the marshals for it, just in case. Dexter Conway and one of the other deputies are setting up a place in the local area. They’re stocking it now and making sure there’s plenty of security. After we’re settled there, I can work on getting you a new identity.”

  Just thinking about that put a knot in his gut. A knot that’d been there since he’d known April was pregnant with his child.

  Basically, as long as
Crossman was a threat, April and Bailey would have to live in hiding. And if he wanted to be part of his baby’s life—which he absolutely did—Chase would have to go in hiding with them. It’d mean giving up everything he knew. His family. His job. His life.

  But that’s exactly what was going to happen.

  Of course, Chase had thought he’d have a few more days to come to terms with it. However, the little girl sleeping on the cot was the ultimate reminder that his time as a marshal was nearly up.

  And that crushed him.

  Since April looked very tuned in to his thoughts and appeared to be on the verge of another apology, Chase nipped it in the bud and continued giving her the update on their situation.

  “Teddy hasn’t found any cameras or anything else suspicious at my place, but he’ll keep looking,” Chase explained. “And the marshals haven’t discovered anyone in the office who could be a mole.”

  April kept staring at him. “You don’t sound as if you think they’ll actually find anything.”

  Chase shrugged. “Deanne could have been wrong.”

  “Maybe.” April took a deep breath and repeated her noncommittal response. “But she believed she was right. Believed it enough to risk her life to help me find Bailey.”

  That put some tears back in her eyes, and this time April didn’t succeed in blinking them away. “God, Chase, I got Deanne killed. That’s more blood on my hands.”

  The tears came faster. Sobs, too. And he would have had to be a heartless jerk to just stand there and watch her fall apart. Chase sank down in the chair next to her and pulled her into his arms.

  “You might have saved Tina, but Deanne’s a different matter,” he said. It wasn’t exactly a full dose of comfort he was offering, but he hated the tears. Hated even more that there was reason for the crying. “It was Deanne’s choice to try to help you. She was by the creek because she chose to be there.”

  And Chase was thankful for it. He hadn’t wanted Deanne to die, but at least the woman had given up her life while trying to save Bailey.

  “Please tell me the man who was working with Deanne’s killer is talking,” April said through the tears.

  “Not talking exactly, but Jericho did learn some info about him when he took his prints. His name is Gene Rooks, and he’s a career criminal. He lawyered up or rather a lawyer showed up here shortly after Jericho arrested Rooks.”

  She stayed quiet a moment, probably giving that some thought. “Someone must have been watching. That’s how Crossman knew Rooks was in custody.” Another pause. “If it’s Crossman. Renée isn’t off my suspect list just yet.”

  Nor his. It was obvious that Renée was desperate to find Quentin. Why exactly, Chase didn’t know, but desperate people did stupid things.

  “Is Renée Edmunds even her real name?” April asked.

  Chase nodded. “I pulled up her DMV photo and it’s a match. Unlike Rooks, Renée doesn’t have a record. No family for us to contact, either. I’ve put out feelers to see if she has a genuine connection to your brother. She could be just a nutcase or a groupie.”

  There’d been plenty of publicity following Tina’s murder and Crossman’s arrest, and Quentin’s photo had been plastered in the newspapers. Quentin was a rich, good-looking guy. A bad-boy criminal. He was the type who could have attracted a nut job. Including one who could have faked a pregnancy. Of course, it was just as possible that Renée had indeed had a relationship with Quentin, and that was something Chase would ask her.

  If they found her, that is.

  It was going to be hard to track her down. No job. Renée lived off a trust fund, and her neighbors said they hadn’t seen her in weeks.

  Chase’s phone rang, and even though he’d lowered the sound, it still caused Bailey to stir. April sprang out of the chair to go to her while Chase glanced at the screen. It was Teddy McQueen, the ranch hand.

  “I found something,” Teddy said the moment Chase answered. “Two cameras. One on your front porch. The other on the back.”

  Chase choked back a groan because he didn’t want to wake the baby, but that was not the news he wanted to hear. “You’re sure?” he asked, stepping out into the hall.

  However, he’d already gotten April’s attention. Despite her having picked up the baby, she had her gaze fixed on Chase.

  “Yeah, I’m sure,” Teddy answered. “I didn’t see them at first because someone had hidden them in the eaves. And that’s not all I found. There are little black box–looking things—one underneath the windowsill in your office. There’s a second one outside your bedroom.”

  Hell. Eavesdropping devices no doubt. It sickened him to think someone had trespassed onto Crockett land to do something like that. It sickened Chase even more that if April had indeed called him, then Crossman or whoever was behind this could have learned her and Bailey’s whereabouts.

  Of course, the person had learned it and kidnapped Bailey, but at least Chase hadn’t been the one to spill that info.

  But who had?

  Chase intended to find out soon.

  “You want me to take this stuff down?” Teddy asked.

  “No. I’ll need to call in the CSIs and have them do a clean sweep of the place.” Because if the person had gotten close enough to install the cameras and bugs, the individual could have gotten inside, as well.

  Chase thanked Teddy, ended the call and made another one to the CSI lab. The conversation was important, but Bailey snagged his attention. The baby was wide awake now and was smiling at April. Chase made the request for the sweep as quickly as he could and then joined them on the cot.

  “Deanne was right,” April said. Not exactly an I told you so tone. More like one of frustration. They were dealing with someone who was thorough and well connected. Definitely not a good combination.

  Chase nodded and made a mental note to have the marshals look even harder for the possible mole in the office. Until then, he wouldn’t make any calls to the marshals or share any information about April with them. Not exactly ideal because he would miss using their resources to help him figure out what was going on. But the mental note he was making flew right out his head when Bailey looked at him.

  And she smiled.

  Oh, man. That little smile packed a wallop.

  “You okay?” April asked him.

  He managed a nod but then got another wallop when April eased the baby into his arms. Chase had heard Jericho and Jax talk about what it felt like to be a father, but nothing had prepared him for this overwhelming love. It was instant and so strong that he was glad he was sitting or it would have brought him to his knees.

  “I held my nephew when he was this age,” Chase said. “This is different.”

  “Yes. And scary.”

  It was. Chase knew exactly what April meant. The stakes suddenly seemed sky-high. Because they were. Someone had already kidnapped Bailey once, and Chase had to make sure that his baby wasn’t put in the path of any more danger.

  “I didn’t know if I could do this,” he admitted. “If I could be a father,” Chase clarified.

  She nodded and most likely did understand. He’d made it clear to April so many times that he didn’t consider himself daddy material. Chase had always thought he’d missed that particular Crockett gene.

  Heck, maybe he had.

  Just because he loved this baby, it didn’t mean he’d be a good father to her. Though he would try. Too bad trying might not be nearly enough. Suddenly, nothing seemed as if it’d be nearly enough.

  Chase’s gaze came to April’s, and even though she didn’t say a word, he saw the doubts in her eyes, too. Of course, she’d been telling him right from the start that his giving up his badge for fatherhood was a bad idea. That he would resent it. Maybe not this year. Or next. But eventually.

  April wasn’t completely wrong about
that.

  He wouldn’t resent Bailey. Not ever. But Chase couldn’t be sure that he would ever be able to get past what April had done. Not good. Because Bailey would eventually pick up on that.

  “I want Bailey in my life,” he said. “We’ll just have to work out the rest as we go along.”

  April didn’t get a chance to say anything about that because the footsteps got their attention. Jericho was walking up the hall toward them, and he had his phone pressed to his ear.

  Chase put the baby back in April’s arms and stood. Waiting for Jericho to finish his call. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait too long.

  “That was Houston PD. A uniform was responding to a call in Quentin’s neighborhood and spotted your brother near his house,” Jericho explained.

  April slowly got to her feet. “Is he okay?”

  Jericho shook his head. “Quentin appeared to be bleeding, but he ran. The cop’s in pursuit now.”

  Chapter Six

  April held Bailey even though the baby was sound asleep and would likely stay that way for hours. Her head was spinning with too many bad thoughts and images. Ones that would be there for a lifetime no doubt.

  Images of Deanne dead.

  And of Bailey being ripped from April’s arms during the kidnapping.

  Having Bailey so close to her now helped stave off some of those nightmares. Being at the safe house helped some, too. But April still couldn’t fight off all of those bad thoughts. Now she had her brother to worry about. The police had yet to find Quentin, and he was out there somewhere, on the run. Maybe injured.

  Maybe dead.

  Plus, there was the additional worry of being in the safe house itself. The place wasn’t that big, only one living area, two bedrooms and two baths, and while it was better than staying at the sheriff’s office, it meant close quarters. With Chase.

  Chase finished up his latest round of calls. All whispered conversations he’d had in the kitchen. And while looking over the notes he’d taken during those calls, he made his way back into the living room. He checked Bailey first, but it was obvious from Chase’s bunched-up forehead that he’d learned some things in those conversations that hadn’t pleased him.