The Marshal's Justice (Appaloosa Pass Ranch 4)

by Delores Fossen

  Chase was relieved about the leaving part, but he wasn’t too happy about her being in the front of the church. It put her way too close to the windows and back exit. Still, he couldn’t deny her this.

  “Just make it fast,” he insisted.

  He drew his gun and kept watch all around them, though he knew if a gunman tried to get past Jericho and the others that he’d hear the commotion before anyone actually made it into the church.

  That left the windows.

  There were lots of them. A dozen, but they were all stained glass, making it impossible to see through them. However, if a sniper had indeed managed to get close enough, he could use an infrared device to pinpoint April’s exact location. That was the main reason Chase had to keep her away from them.

  Thankfully, April did hurry. She went to the front of the church, Chase was right by her side, and she placed the flowers on Deanne’s coffin.

  “Thank you,” April whispered to the woman. “I swear, I’ll do everything I can to make this right.”

  Chase didn’t especially like that promise. He’d hoped this would be the last of April sticking her neck out there. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t be doing the same thing. He wanted this person caught and punished.

  April paused, her mouth moving, but Chase couldn’t tell what she was saying. A prayer, maybe. It lasted only a few moments before she turned to him, obviously ready to go.

  Chase didn’t waste any time. He got her moving toward the front entrance, where they’d left the unmarked cruiser. Of course, this was the most dangerous part.

  With April out in the open.

  There were only six steps leading down from the church and only about a dozen more steps to the car, but it would almost certainly feel like an eternity.

  He stopped once they reached the door, and Chase looked out to get a signal from Jericho that it was okay to move April. His brother made a sweeping look around, gave him a nod, and he opened the door for them.

  Chase took a deep breath, ready to move, but before he could do anything else, the worst happened.

  A blast tore through the church.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The sound was deafening, and April wasn’t sure what the heck had caused it.

  Chase seemed to know what was going on, though, because he hooked his arm around her and bolted out of the building and onto the landing just outside the front door.

  April saw Jericho and the others then. Jericho and Jax were scrambling around and taking cover on the side of the unmarked cruiser that Chase and she had used to get there. Dexter and Carlos hurried behind Dexter’s truck. Thankfully, none of them seemed to be hurt.

  Maybe it would stay that way.

  She glanced over her shoulder and saw the damage inside. Someone had obviously set off some kind of explosive, and the blast had ripped through the center of the church, splintering the pews and scattering debris everywhere. Chunks of the ceiling were falling, some landing on Deanne’s coffin.

  Who had done this?

  And how had they managed it?

  The building had been checked and double-checked. And Jericho and the other deputies had patrolled the grounds the entire time Chase and she had been inside. There was no way someone could have gotten past them to do this. Unless someone had managed to shoot a long-range explosive.

  “We need to get in the car,” Chase insisted.

  With his body practically wrapped around hers and with his gun drawn, Chase started for the steps that led down to the flagstone walkway. But they didn’t get far.

  Before the shot rang out.

  Quickly followed by a second and a third one.

  Cursing, Chase yanked her back into the entry just as one of the bullets slammed into the doorjamb where they’d just been.

  Her heart was going a mile a minute. The bad thoughts, too. Someone was shooting at them. Maybe someone who’d used the explosion as a distraction to get closer to fire those bullets.

  April grabbed the gun from her purse and dropped the purse onto the floor. No need for it now, and she wanted to free up her hands in case she got the chance to return fire.

  Or if she had to fight back.

  That didn’t help settle any of her nerves and fear.

  There was a loud noise behind her, and for one terrifying moment, April thought maybe someone had sneaked in through the back and had shot at them. But it wasn’t a bullet. Another piece of the ceiling had fallen. Worse, it looked as if the whole place was ready to collapse.

  “We can’t stay here,” April managed to say.

  Chase made a sound of agreement, his gaze zooming all around. The only other one of the lawmen whom she could actually see now was Jericho, and he was pinned down on the side of the cruiser, and someone was shooting at him.

  That’s when April realized there was more than one gunman.

  Another part of the ceiling fell, crashing to the floor directly behind them. It was obvious they didn’t have many options, but one of those options definitely wasn’t to stay put.

  “We’ll jump off the side of the steps,” Chase finally said, tipping his head in that direction. “Move fast and get down the second we’re on the ground.”

  She nodded, but that was all April had time to do before Chase latched on to her arm and got them running. The bullets didn’t stop coming, and she could have sworn it took hours for them to maneuver the short distance.

  The steps were wide, at least ten feet across, and the moment they reached the side, Chase and she dropped to the ground, landing in the flower bed that stretched across the entire side of the church. All things considered, it wasn’t the worst place to be since the steps were made of concrete and flagstone.

  But Jericho and Jax didn’t have that kind of protection.

  They and the other deputies were pinned down, and the bulk of the bullets seemed to be aimed at them.

  “Do you see the shooters?” Chase called out to them.

  “They sped up in a black car the same time as the explosion,” Jericho answered. “They’re blocking the road. Two of them. Maybe more.”

  April thought her heart had skipped a beat. Maybe more wasn’t good, and with the explosive and the gunfire, it was possible other shooters were getting in place to come at them from all angles.

  Chase glanced back at her, probably to make sure she hadn’t been hurt by any of the falling debris or bullets. She hadn’t been, but there was a cut above Chase’s left eyebrow. Not serious. However, it was a reminder that this could have been a whole lot worse.

  And still might be.

  “I’ll get in the car and will pull it over to you,” Jericho said.

  It was a possible way out. But it wasn’t without risks.

  When Jericho levered himself up to open the door, the shots came even faster, tearing into the vehicle. It was bullet resistant, but that didn’t mean the bullets wouldn’t get through. And the shooters were doing their best to tear through the engine. No doubt so they could disable it since it was the nearest vehicle to Chase and her.

  April watched, her breath stalled in her throat, as Jericho opened the driver’s side door. Jax did the same to the back. Jericho didn’t have the keys, Chase did, but she was hoping once he got inside, it wouldn’t take him long to hotwire the car and drive to them.

  Of course, that wouldn’t solve their problem of the road being blocked, but it was a start.

  Behind her, April heard another sound she didn’t want to hear. The old church seemed to groan, and the roof gave way. All of it. And it came crashing down.

  Oh, God.

  It was falling on them. If they didn’t do something fast, they’d be crushed.

  Chase latched on to her and started running. Not toward the cruiser since it would mean literally running out in the open
where there was heavy gunfire. Still using the steps for cover, he took her toward the side of the church.

  To the cemetery.

  And he pulled her behind the first headstone they reached. Chase didn’t stop there. He pushed her to the ground and crawled on top of her, protecting her with his body.

  None of the headstones in the cemetery were that large, but at least this one was marble, and she prayed it would be enough to stop bullets.

  Especially since the bullets started to come right at them.

  April couldn’t see much because of her position, but she had no trouble hearing the crash. The church had collapsed. No doubt what their attackers had intended right from the beginning. This hadn’t been a kidnapping attempt. But rather an attempt to murder them.

  They’d nearly succeeded, and they weren’t out of the woods yet. Neither were Chase’s brothers and the other deputies. It sickened her to think they could all be killed because of her. Especially since April still didn’t know who wanted her dead.

  Or why.

  “The engine won’t start,” Jericho called out, adding plenty of profanity to that.

  Definitely not good. The unmarked cruiser was their best bet at escaping. Now they’d have to use one of the other vehicles. If they could get to them, that is.

  Chase cursed, too, and it took April a moment to figure out he hadn’t done that because of what Jericho had said. The angle of the shots had changed. Some were still going into the cruiser and toward the deputy’s truck, but the bullets were also coming at Chase and her.

  Not going into the front of the headstone, either. But rather to the side.

  Where they could easily be shot.

  “We have to get away from here,” Chase warned her a split second before he got them moving again.

  They darted behind another headstone, one that was positioned so that it would give them better cover. She hoped.

  “The shooters moved the car on the road,” Chase said. “They’re tracking us.”

  It took a moment for that to sink in, and it didn’t sink in well. The gunmen were closing in on them.

  Chase tipped his head to the gravestone behind them. It was by far the largest one in the cemetery. “We’re going there. Stay as low as you can.”

  She wanted to remind him to do the same, but there wasn’t any time. Chase took hold of her hand again, and as he fired off a shot in the direction of the gunmen, they ran, diving behind the large headstone.

  But before April even hit the ground, she screamed.

  Because she tripped over something.

  A body.

  * * *

  CHASE HADN’T SEEN the body before April and he had scrambled behind the large tombstone. But he certainly saw it now.

  A man on the ground.

  Every drop of color vanished from April’s face, and she clamped her hand over her mouth, no doubt to stop herself from screaming again. She scurried away from the body, backing up against the marble headstone.

  It took April a couple of seconds to lower her hand. “Is it Quentin?” she asked, her breath gusting.

  Hell, Chase hoped not.

  But it was a valid question and hard to tell since it appeared the guy had been shot at point-blank range in the head. There was blood. Lots of it. It had covered much of his hair, and since the man was facedown, the only way Chase could be sure was to turn the body.

  Chase reached to do that, but the shots came at them again. Thankfully, the bullets were all slamming into the marble, and this particular headstone was wide enough that it should be able to stop April and him from being shot.

  Not the same for his brothers and the deputies, though.

  Jericho and the others were still out there in the line of fire with a disabled vehicle. Maybe they’d managed to find some kind of cover. Or better yet, perhaps they were close to ending this attack. There wasn’t any backup to call, what with Levi and Mack at the safe house and the reserve deputy manning the sheriff’s office, where they were still holding a prisoner. After all, this could be some kind of diversion to break out the man who’d killed Deanne.

  But it didn’t feel like a diversion.

  April and he were almost certainly the targets.

  He fired glances all around him. The car with the gunmen was obviously still out there on the road. No one was inside the collapsed church to his right, or if they were inside, they were dead and therefore no threat.

  That left the pasture to his left and behind him. Both were dotted with a few trees and some high grass. Not the easiest way for an attacker to approach them, but it was possible. That’s why he had to keep watch, and April would have to help him.

  Chase motioned toward the left pasture. “Make sure no one comes at us from there.”

  She gave a shaky nod, pinned her attention in that direction, with the occasional glances at the body. He hated she had to see that, but they had to stay put for now.

  When the angle of the bullets didn’t change and come at them, Chase risked turning the body. Again, not easy. Whoever it was, he was literally dead weight, and even after Chase maneuvered him to his back, it still took him a second to recognize the guy. Not Quentin.

  Shane.

  April’s breath rushed out again, but this time he thought maybe there was some relief in it. He was relieved, too. He wasn’t a fan of Quentin’s, but Chase hadn’t wanted April to see him like this, either.

  “Why was Shane here?” she asked.

  Chase didn’t have an answer for that. This was the last place he’d expected to see Renée’s estranged husband, and judging from the pool of blood around him, he’d been dead for at least a couple of hours.

  Dexter had checked the cemetery earlier, but Chase doubted he’d gone from grave to grave since it would have been easy to see something lurking behind a tombstone. But then, Dexter wouldn’t have been looking for someone lying flat on the ground.

  His phone rang, and since Chase didn’t want to take his attention off their surroundings, he passed the phone to April. “It’s Jericho,” she relayed to him when she glanced at the screen.

  “Don’t put it on speaker,” Chase warned her. “There could be a listening device planted on Shane’s body.”

  Judging from the way her eyes widened, she hadn’t thought of that. Considering everything else their attacker had done to get to them, Chase figured anything was a possibility, including more explosives.

  April put the phone next to his ear so they both could hear, and she hit the answer button.

  “Where are you?” Jericho immediately asked.

  “Behind the Millers’ tombstone. We found a body here. It’s Shane, and it looks as if he’s been dead for a while.”

  Jericho cursed. “Please tell me it was suicide.”

  “No, he was shot in the back of the head. I’m guessing he knew his killer because the person managed to get close to him.”

  Of course, that meant it could be any of their suspects since Shane knew all three of them. Renée would have been the one who could get the nearest to him, but Shane also knew Quentin and Malcolm.

  “We haven’t been able to shoot any of the gunmen,” Jericho went on. “They’re using rifles with scopes and are out of range. I called the Rangers, but it’ll take them too long to get here. The gunmen keep moving closer.”

  Chase made a quick glance to verify that. His heart slammed against his chest. Because it was true. It wouldn’t be long before they were in position to blast April and him to smithereens.

  “We can’t wait for the Rangers,” Jericho explained. “We’ll have to use the truck to get April and you out of there.”

  “I’m listening.” And he hoped Jericho had a workable plan because Chase certainly didn’t.

  “Dexter’s going to try to get the truck out to y
ou. I’ll run some interference.”

  “How?” Because Chase didn’t want his brother rushing out in the line of fire to create a diversion.

  “There are some flares in the disabled cruiser. I’ll fire them at the gunmen when Dexter’s driving the truck to you.”

  Chase doubted the flares would do any actual damage, but they could be a distraction. Plus, flares had been known to catch fire from time to time. Maybe they’d get a lucky break and that would happen now.

  “There’s no easy path for Dexter to get to you,” Jericho went on. He was right. The tombstones were staggered, and there definitely wasn’t enough room for a truck to drive around them. “So Dexter will get as close as he can, and you’ll need to make a run for it. All right?”

  Chase looked at April, and he could see the fear in her eyes. Not just fear for the gunmen, but also because this plan was risky. A lot of people could be hurt or killed. But that could happen if they stayed put, too.

  She nodded.

  “Go for it,” Chase relayed to his brother. “When the truck’s in place, we’ll be ready to move.”

  April pressed the end call button and slipped the phone back into his pocket. Now all they could do was wait, and thankfully it didn’t take long for Chase to hear the truck engine.

  And the shots that were now going right at the truck.

  He figured Dexter was staying as low in the seat as possible, but it might not be low enough.

  The truck soon came into view, and though he couldn’t actually see Dexter because of the cracked side window, the deputy stopped in between the fallen church and the edge of the cemetery. There was no fence, just the distance they’d have to cover since there were three tombstones between them and the truck.

  Dexter eased open the truck door, and because this plan would mean April and Chase literally diving inside, Dexter got out from behind the wheel, dropping to the floor in front of the passenger’s seat to give them as much room as possible. The trick would be to get April in there first without either of them getting shot. Then, Chase could drive away, provided the gunmen hadn’t disabled the tires by then.