Still, it was dangerous. Especially since Montgomery had made it seem like Keyes was the culprit. Still, why had Montgomery brought the man here? To coax a confession from him maybe?
Or maybe it was a trap, since the doctors could have been in on this together.
Ryan reached out and touched her cheek. “You said it yourself. We can’t just stay locked away forever. We have to put a stop to what’s happening.”
He was right. Her brain knew that, but her heart was having a lot of trouble accepting it. She couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to Ryan.
“Swear to me you won’t do anything stupid,” Delaney said.
He looked at her directly. “I swear. But I’ll ask the same of you. Stay put and don’t go near the windows.”
She nodded and clutched Patrick so tightly against her that he whimpered in protest. Delaney forced her arms to relax. No easy feat. Every muscle in her body had seemingly turned to iron.
“I’ll be back,” Ryan said. And that was her only warning before he headed for the door.
Delaney stepped in front of him. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Which made sense. Because she had no idea what to say to him.
Come back safe.
Be careful.
He already knew those things. They’d be unnecessary reminders and a waste of time. After all, there were no assurances that Montgomery would stay put. He could drive away before Ryan got to him.
“You can watch on the monitor,” he added.
Another nod. Delaney felt her body start to tremble.
Ryan leaned in and kissed her. Then he kissed Patrick and that was it. He stepped around her and hurried to the door. This time, she didn’t try to stop him. Nor did she say aloud the words that were pounding through her head.
I love you.
Heaven help her, she did.
The realization came not as an avalanche but as a soft whisper. A powerful one that she felt in her heart, her soul, every part of her.
She was in love with Ryan.
And she might lose him before she had a chance to tell him that.
Dreading what she might see, she cradled Patrick against her chest and went to the monitor. The doctors were still there sitting in the car on the other side of the gate. Montgomery was pleading with the guards to let them in. But not just pleading.
Begging.
“He tried to kill me,” she heard Montgomery say. “Don’t you understand?” He sounded on the verge of totally losing it.
A feeling that Delaney understood.
She took her attention from the doctor and looked past the gate. Past the guards. She could just make out the pastures that flanked the road. There were several potentially hot spots. Thick clumps of trees that could easily hide a gunman. Montgomery must have thought so, too, for he kept firing nervous glances at those clusters. Keyes, on the other hand, sat there quietly. His attention was fastened to the gate.
Patrick made a few grumbly syllables so Delaney began to rock him in her arms, hoping he’d soon fall asleep. She added some soft shhs and hummed his favorite song. What she didn’t do was take her attention from the monitor. Still no sign of Ryan, and she wasn’t sure how long it would take him to drive from the house to the gate. Probably not long. Which meant he was only moments away from what could become a dangerous confrontation.
That didn’t do much to steady her heart.
Neither did what Delaney saw on the monitor. One second, she had a clear picture of Montgomery, Keyes and the guards, and then there was a flurry of motion. Keyes moved. So did Montgomery and the guards, and she heard Montgomery yell something.
The screen went blank.
Delaney hadn’t thought her heart could beat any faster, but that did it. She tapped the monitor, praying that it was just a temporary glitch. But the screen stayed empty.
She tried the computer itself, attempting to repeat the same keystrokes that Ryan had used to first get the video surveillance.
Nothing.
Since going to the window would be stupid, she resisted that, but while still keeping a firm grip on Patrick, she fumbled around on the desk, looking for whatever device she needed to call for Lena. She didn’t see an intercom, so she picked up the phone.
Picking it up was as far as she got.
Because something stopped her cold. The noise. Specifically, the blasts.
First one.
Then, another.
And a third.
Three thick jolts of sound that tore right through all of Ryan’s promises and reassurances that he would be okay.
She instantly recognized the noise.
Someone had fired gunshots.
Chapter Fifteen
The sounds of the shots stopped Ryan cold.
He pulled his car to the side of the road, lowered the window and listened, hoping and praying he’d been mistaken about the sound.
All he heard was silence.
He was within a hundred yards or so of the gate, but because of the curvy road, he wasn’t able to see the guards or either of the doctors. He almost called out to them, but his instincts told him that wasn’t a good idea.
His instincts told him other things, as well.
That he wasn’t going to like what he saw when he got to the gate.
Thank God, Delaney and Patrick were safe in the house, but Ryan was more than a little anxious to get back to them. Delaney was probably terrified. With good reason. She’d no doubt heard those shots. Plus, there had already been three attempts to kill them, and it was entirely possible that the shooter wanted another chance.
Because he couldn’t risk making noise, he pressed 911 on the car phone and whispered, “I need the sheriff and an ambulance.”
Other than his name and address, he didn’t give any details, not that he had any to give at this point, but he knew the emergency operator would send the authorities out to the estate. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t happen soon enough. The sheriff’s office and the hospital were a good twenty minutes away.
A lot could happen in twenty minutes.
Ryan drew his weapon and got out of his car, easing his door shut so he wouldn’t be heard, and ducked into the thick cover of the shrubs and trees. Hurrying now, he went toward the gate, all the while wondering what had gone wrong.
Had the two guards at the gate fired those shots? Montgomery, maybe? Or was it someone else? Like Delaney’s father. Of course, it was also possible that Keyes had managed to wrestle the gun from Montgomery and was in the throes of a getaway.
Ryan stopped when he reached the last curve before the gate, and peered through the low-hanging branches of an oak. He immediately spotted Montgomery’s car. The driver’s door was wide-open, and the engine was still running. What he didn’t see was either of the doctors.
Nor the guards.
The two armed men should have been posted in or near the gatehouse, but neither was anywhere in sight.
And that sent a slam of adrenaline through him.
At least the gate was still shut tight, which meant whoever had fired those shots hadn’t gained access to the estate.
Well, hopefully that’s what it meant.
The shooter would have to be in great shape and pretty agile to climb the ten-foot-high gate that stretched across the road. Unless the person had gone over one of the pasture fences. However, that would have set off perimeter security. It wouldn’t have been a silent alarm either but a full blast of sound, something Ryan would have certainly heard. Triggering that would have also caused an automatic lockdown of the house.
There was movement to his left, on the opposite side of the road. He shifted his position, aiming his Glock in that direction, but all he saw was a pair of blue jays. Hardly the threat that his body had prepared him to face. But that didn’t mean the threat wasn’t there. Oh, no. It was definitely there. Something had gone terribly wrong with Keyes and Montgomery’s visit.
Bracing his right wrist with his left hand, Ryan walked closer. His h
eart pounded faster, and an image of Delaney and his son raced through his head. He had to stop whatever had already been set into motion. He couldn’t let the person behind this take it any further.
Staying off the road and amid the trees, Ryan went closer, and he listened for any sound to indicate the guards had control of the situation, perhaps crouched down waiting to return fire. With each step, the sense of dread got worse.
And then he saw the blood.
No small amount, either. There was a pool of it on the ground directly in front of the gatehouse entrance.
Dreading what he would see, Ryan went even closer. It would have been easy to let the blood capture his complete attention, but he couldn’t let that happen. He forced himself to stay vigilant. He glanced all around him while he moved closer to the gate.
He spotted one of the guards slumped on the ground near the driver’s side of Montgomery’s car. Ryan cursed. The guard didn’t appear to be breathing, and even if he were still alive, he was bleeding fast.
Ryan inched toward the fence, until he was able to peer inside the gatehouse. The second guard was there, on the floor, facedown. Probably dead, as well.
Hell.
What had happened here?
Frantically, he looked around for Montgomery and Keyes. The men were nowhere in sight, but Ryan did spot something else.
More blood.
It wasn’t easy, because his heart was pounding and his body had geared up for a fight, but he forced himself to look more closely at what he’d found. The blood didn’t appear to belong to the guards. In fact, it led away from them. Not a lot. Just drops.
My, God. Either Keyes or Montgomery had been shot. But which one? And had the other one done the shooting?
Moving, staying close to the fence, Ryan followed the trail of blood. It led to the back of Montgomery’s car. His first thought was that maybe one man had been wounded and then run into the pasture for cover. But Ryan kept looking. And he saw that the trail continued on the passenger’s side.
It didn’t stop there.
The dark maroon-colored drops led directly to the gate.
There was no blood on the gate itself, and that had Ryan’s attention zooming in on the control panel located just inside the gatehouse.
He cursed again.
There were bloody fingerprints on the panel. Specifically on the very button that would have opened the gate. With that realization, he whipped around, his gun still aimed, and looked at the secondary control panel next to him. It was just inside the estate, anchored to a metal post, and it was something he often used when he’d let himself in and wanted to close the gate behind him.
There was more blood.
And that meant Keyes, Montgomery, or both, were on the grounds. They’d used the gate to gain entry and then likely slipped into the dense trees that lined the road. He’d probably driven right past them.
Ryan turned and broke into a run. He sprinted straight for the estate, and he prayed—God, he prayed—that the person who wanted them dead hadn’t already made it to Delaney and Patrick.
DELANEY FRANTICALLY TRIED to access another security camera so she could see what was going on. Ryan had to be all right. He just had to be.
She glanced down at Patrick, to try to give him a reassuring smile. A smile she would have had to fake. But she soon realized the fake smile wasn’t necessary. Patrick had thankfully fallen asleep.
Repositioning him in her arms, she continued to jab at the keyboard, hoping she’d find the right combination.
The scream stopped her.
It was a woman. Probably Lena, since it was Sunday and most of the staff had the day off. Lena was one of the few people in the entire house.
Delaney fought the urge to rush to the door to see if she could help. Because if she did that, it could endanger Patrick. Instead, she eased her sleeping son onto the rug beneath Ryan’s desk and rifled through the drawers to see if she could find another gun, anything, that she could use as a weapon.
She heard the footsteps then. It didn’t seem to be just one set, but two. And they were rushed. Someone was definitely in a hurry, and the footsteps were headed up the stairs.
Right in her direction.
She had to protect Patrick.
Delaney couldn’t waste any more time looking for a weapon. She bolted away from the desk so she could shut and lock the office door. It wouldn’t be much of a barrier against a gunman determined to get in, but at the moment the door was the only protection she had.
She reached for the doorknob, but that was as far as she got.
The first thing she saw was Lena’s terrified, pallid face. Behind her was Emmett Montgomery. Not Keyes. Just Dr. Montgomery.
He had a gun pressed to Lena’s head.
Montgomery shoved Lena forward, and the woman plummeted to the floor. “Get in the corner and stay there,” he ordered.
Lena did as she was told, scrambling on all fours. Only after she was on the other side of the room did the man step inside. In the same motion, he repositioned his gun.
And he aimed it at Delaney.
She saw the gun, knew the danger. Worse, judging from the sheer determination in Montgomery’s eyes, he was more than willing to kill her. But what stopped her heart in mid-beat was her fear of what Montgomery might have already done to Ryan.
“Where’s Ryan?” she demanded, and she didn’t cower. Not because she wasn’t afraid. She was. Actually, she was terrified. But she couldn’t just let him run over her. Since the door ploy hadn’t worked, she was the only protection that Patrick had.
“I suspect Mr. McCall is out and about. Perhaps even following Keyes.” His voice was calm, as was the rest of him. Obviously, he wasn’t unnerved with holding her at gunpoint. “Which is the exact reason we have to hurry. I’d rather not have to kill McCall if you don’t mind.”
So Ryan was alive. Well, maybe. Unless Montgomery was lying, but Delaney refused to believe Ryan might be dead. No, he was alive, probably already on his way to help her.
At the thought, her heart skipped more than just one beat.
Oh, mercy. If Ryan came running in to do what he did best—come to the rescue—then Montgomery would probably shoot him. That upped the urgency, something Delaney hadn’t thought possible. But she had to figure out a way to get the gun from Montgomery before he used it on Ryan.
There was also another problem. Keyes. Was he out there, leading Ryan on a wild-goose chase? Or worse, like Montgomery, did Keyes have murder on his mind?
“What do you want?” Delaney asked.
“Something that I’m betting you won’t give willingly.”
Patrick.
She staggered back. “I won’t let you have him.”
And, by God, she meant it.
She would not let this monster touch her son.
“Then I’m glad the decision isn’t yours to make.” He shifted the gun in Lena’s direction when she moved slightly, gave her warning glare and turned the weapon back on Delaney. “Here’s the deal, and it’s the only deal I’m offering. Get your son and come with me. Quietly. In exchange, Ryan McCall will live.”
The glance he aimed in Lena’s direction suggested that she wasn’t on his list of intended survivors. Probably because she’d seen his face and could identify him. In other words, he was eliminating witnesses.
Perhaps not just for this incident.
“This has to do with the cloning,” Delaney said.
“Yes, it does. I can’t leave evidence lying around. Or rather standing around. And, Ms. Nash, you and your son are potential evidence. It was a mistake to borrow DNA. I see that now. Get your baby, and let’s go.”
And if she went with him, Montgomery would kill both Patrick and her. If she refused, he’d do it anyway—and kill Ryan, too. She tried not to let the magnitude of that bring her to her knees. But it was the ultimate struggle. Just the thought of losing either of them had her wanting to strike out at the man who was threatening them. But while that might
appease her survival instincts, it wouldn’t be smart.
Not with Montgomery holding the gun.
If he killed her, Patrick wouldn’t stand a chance of surviving.
“My son’s in the nursery,” Delaney lied. “I’ll go get him.” That would get Montgomery out of the same room as Patrick and Lena. It might also buy her some time until she figured out what to do.
“No,” was Montgomery’s answer. And he made her wait several excruciating seconds before telling her exactly what he meant. “The housekeeper will get the boy. You’ll stay here, and if she doesn’t return within forty-five seconds, I’ll kill you and then go looking for her. Believe me, it won’t be pretty if that happens. Because, you see, I’m a desperate man.”
He used his gun to motion for Lena to get up. But he didn’t leave it at that. Montgomery repositioned himself just inside the doorway, probably so he could keep an eye on both Delaney and Lena when she went to the nursery. But Lena never made it out of the room.
From beneath Ryan’s desk, Patrick stirred.
Just a whimper.
It was more than enough, however, to capture Emmett Montgomery’s attention. His teeth came together, forming a natural scowl, and he grabbed Lena and slung her back into the corner.
“You disappoint me, Ms. Nash,” he said, his voice chilling. “I’d planned to kill you elsewhere. Easier cleanup and all that, but why wait? Besides, you’ve given me no choice. You’ve made it clear that I can’t trust you.”
She opened her mouth to plead with him, to do whatever it took to keep him from Patrick. And while she considered what to say, she also considered what to do. Her options were practically nil, but she could throw herself at him and hope that would be enough to catch him off balance.
She didn’t get a chance to do either.
“Delaney!” she heard Ryan call out. She also heard his footsteps as he barreled up the stairs.
Montgomery reacted. Fast. He turned in Ryan’s direction.
And fired.
Peekaboo Baby Page 16
