Christmas Rescue at Mustang Ridge

by Delores Fossen

  “It’s real. Not enough explosives to kill us, but it would do David in. His dad is really pissed off at him. Wants him dead.”

  Hell. That was one bargaining angle that Jake couldn’t use. He’d hoped that Wade didn’t know about the bomb and would start running.

  “Maybe there are more explosives on David than Tanner wanted you to know about,” Jake tried.

  “He wouldn’t do that.” And it didn’t sound as if Wade had any doubts about his boss.

  “How did you find us?” Maggie asked Wade. “How did you know we’d be here?”

  Jake didn’t miss the quick breath she sucked in at the end of her question. She was in pain. And in danger. It was killing him to stand there and do nothing while she suffered. But he couldn’t just take any shot.

  “Tanner had teams ready to go to various hospitals. He figured Mustang Ridge was the last place so that’s why he put me with this group. I’m hardly a killer, you know.”

  “Yes, I know.” And that was Jake’s opening to keep pushing. “That’s why you should let Maggie go.”

  “Not a chance. Once one of the other guys gets in here, he’ll do the killings. And I’ll get paid.”

  “The other guys?” Jake questioned. “Not Grange?”

  Wade huffed. “Grange isn’t in on this. Tanner could never trust a man like him.”

  “You mean Grange isn’t greedy like you are.”

  “Yeah, so what? You were more than willing to pay me to hack into that database. Well, Tanner’s paying me a whole lot more to do this.”

  So, if the other guy wasn’t Grange, Wade was waiting on one of the two gunmen. Or maybe there were more.

  Hell.

  Tanner could have sent an entire army. But Jake held out hope that wasn’t true. After all, Wade had just admitted that Tanner hadn’t sent his best crew here because he hadn’t expected Maggie and him to use the hospital in Mustang Ridge.

  “You really think Tanner’s going to let you live?” Maggie asked the man. “You’re a loose end, Wade. A bad one.”

  “He’s already on death row. Can’t kill a man twice.”

  “Yeah, but Tanner has a reason to eliminate you,” Jake said. “If you confess to his hiring assassins, then the FBI can freeze his assets. All of them. Without money, Tanner has no power. So, it’s my guess he’ll arrange for you to have an accident.”

  Wade didn’t come back with a smart-mouthed response so maybe he was thinking about it. Jake glanced in at Maggie again, but this time, Wade turned the gun toward him.

  And he fired.

  Jake jumped back in the nick of time, and even over the roar in his ears from the blast, he could still hear Maggie struggling.

  No!

  She wasn’t in any shape to defend herself.

  Jake turned, ready to look into the room to see what was happening, but before he could do that, he heard another sound. One from a different direction. That was the only warning he got before someone kicked down the hall door.

  It came flying right at Jake.

  Jake ducked and came up ready to fire. He did a split-second assessment to make sure it wasn’t Billy or Marcus. It wasn’t. It was one of Tanner’s assassins dressed in camouflage. The guy had his gun already aimed at Jake.

  But Jake fired first and dropped to the floor.

  He fired again.

  And the guy dropped, too. Dead.

  Jake scrambled back to the doorway of the other room and saw the struggle going on. Maggie was against the desk, and she had Wade’s right hand in a firm grip to stop him from firing. However, Wade was using his left hand to punch and hit Maggie on her face and chest.

  Jake didn’t even think.

  He ran into the room, and he, too, latched on to Wade’s wrist while he pushed Maggie out of the way. She fell into the wall, and it no doubt hurt, but at least she wasn’t directly in front of Wade’s gun.

  The man pulled the trigger again, the shot blasting into the floor. And Jake knew enough was enough. He bashed his gun against Wade’s head. Again and again. Until he finally dropped his weapon. It clattered onto the floor next to Maggie, and she scooped it up. She also grabbed her own gun that Wade had obviously knocked from her hands.

  Jake didn’t waste any time. He put his own gun directly to Wade’s head. “Move and you die.”

  And Jake gave Wade a look to let him know that it wasn’t a bluff.

  Wade cursed, but he quit fighting. In fact, he practically went limp. It wasn’t enough for Jake. He shoved the man to floor, putting him on his belly and facedown.

  “Put your hands on the back of your head,” Jake ordered.

  Once Wade had done that, Jake looked at Maggie, afraid of what he might see. There was blood trickling down her mouth, and she was still unsteady because she had to catch on to the wall to keep from falling.

  Jake went to her, just to try to reassure her and himself that she was indeed okay. She was. But they weren’t out of this yet.

  “I need something to tie up Wade,” he told her after he ran his hand down her arm.

  “Maybe use that.” She tipped her head to the doctor’s jacket that was on a hook on the wall.

  It wasn’t handcuffs, but maybe he could make it work. Jake snatched the jacket and went back toward Wade.

  But he only made it one step before the sound of another shot stopped him cold.

  * * *

  MAGGIE’S MOUTH WENT DRY, and her breath stalled in her throat.

  She waited to feel the shot slam through her. Or worse, to see it slam through Jake. But it took her a moment to realize neither had been hit. Not Wade, either.

  The shot had come from the hall.

  She allowed herself a moment of relief, but Maggie knew this wasn’t good. Both Billy and Sheriff Marcus were somewhere out there. Dr. Allen Blake and Betsy, too. Plus, the patients and other staff. David was out there as well, and according to Wade he had a real bomb strapped to him.

  Since Jake had his gun aimed at Wade, Maggie glanced into the room where Jake and she had been earlier, and she saw David run into the room. Even though this room was dark, too, it did have slightly more light because of the window.

  And she got her first look at the bomb.

  Maggie tried to back away from it. From David. But she could barely move.

  “He’s trying to kill me,” David yelled. “And if he hits the bomb with one of those shots, we all die.”

  Maggie heard everything he said, but her attention wasn’t on David but rather the gun he had in his hand. Even in the dim light, she had no trouble spotting it. He didn’t have it aimed at her but rather at the doorway to the hall.

  “You need to drop that weapon,” Maggie told him, and she put Wade’s gun on the desk she could aim her own weapon at David.

  And at the hall.

  Just in case the other killer made his move. Too bad she wasn’t exactly a show of force since she had to latch on to the wall to keep from falling.

  “What the hell is he doing?” Jake snarled, and with his gun still pointed at Wade, he rushed to the door.

  The moment Jake’s attention landed on David’s gun, he stepped in front of her. “Keep an eye on Wade,” Jake instructed, and he turned his attention to David.

  Jake turned his gun on him, too, the moment that Maggie took aim at Wade, but as she’d done, Jake also kept his eye on the hall door.

  “It’s not my gun,” David volunteered, glancing back at Jake. “I picked it up off the floor.”

  It’d belonged to the dead assassin no doubt, and while David still didn’t seem to be threatening Jake and her with the weapon, she didn’t want it in his hands.

  Apparently, neither did Jake.

  “This is your last warning,” Jake told him. “Drop the gun. I can shoot you without hitting that bomb.”

  David looked behind him at Jake, and he no doubt saw that Jake wasn’t bluffing. He’d shoot.

  “Okay,” David said, and he lowered himself toward the floor.

  From over J
ake’s shoulder, Maggie saw the blur of motion in the hall door. Jake turned his gun from David toward the movement.

  Toward the assassin who had a gun pointed right at them.

  The shot echoed through the room, and in the murky darkness it took Maggie a moment to realize that Jake hadn’t fired the shot.

  David had.

  The assassin froze and he dropped to the floor. David dropped the gun, too, and he went to the man and touched his fingers to his neck.

  “Dead,” David announced. “Is that the last of them?”

  “I think so,” Jake answered, but he didn’t lower his gun. He kept it trained on David.

  Maggie did the same to Wade. The man was still on the floor, his hands on the back of his head, and he was cursing a blue streak.

  With his left hand, Jake took out his phone and made a call, just a few words to give someone their location and request the bomb squad.

  “Billy’s on the way,” he relayed to her. “And he’ll check on Sheriff Marcus, too.”

  Good. That was a start, but Maggie wouldn’t breathe easier until she was away from both Wade and David.

  “I want a plea bargain, Sheriff McCall,” Wade insisted, adding some more profanity. “I’ll tell you everything you want to freeze Tanner’s accounts, but you have to give me a written agreement that I won’t get any jail time.”

  It sickened Maggie to think of slime like Wade going scot-free, but it sickened her more to think of Tanner being able to continue these attacks.

  “A plea won’t be necessary,” David whispered. He cleared his throat, repeated it. “Soon, you’ll get the word that my father is dead. Killed in a prison fight.”

  Jake walked closer so he could see David’s face. “How do you know that?”

  David released a long, weary breath. “Because I’m the one who arranged for him to die.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jake paced. He wasn’t good at waiting, and he pretty much sucked at it when it came to waiting on news about his daughter. Now, he could add Maggie to that list. Sunny was in one room with a team of specialists who were doing the transplant at the Amarillo hospital. Maggie was in another room being treated for the injuries she got from Wade.

  This sure as heck wasn’t the way to spend Christmas morning.

  “Wade,” Jake spit out. It was a good thing the weasel was in jail or Jake might be inclined to beat him senseless. The fool had nearly gotten Maggie killed.

  “How much longer?” Chet snarled. He was sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting room, but he looked just as impatient as Jake.

  Even Nell’s nerves were showing. She was next to Chet, a paperback in her hand, but her eyes were fixed on the corridor where they’d last seen both Sunny’s and Maggie’s doctors.

  Royce was the only one not in wait mode. He was on his cell getting updates on the nightmare that Tanner had created when he’d arranged the ambush at the Mustang Ridge hospital. Royce had already relayed that the explosive device was off David and that Billy had him locked up, pending arrival of the Texas Rangers. Jake had gladly handed over jurisdiction to them since he was way too personally involved in the case.

  Sheriff Shawn Marcus was okay, too. He’d sustained a gunshot wound to the shoulder and would spend a few days in the hospital, but he was expected to make a full recovery.

  And the latest update—one of the ranch hands was on the way to the hospital with Sunny’s Christmas presents.

  “The transplant has to work,” Nell said, and it was something they were all thinking.

  While Jake was saying his prayers for Sunny, he was adding some for Maggie, too. She hadn’t appeared to be hurt badly, but she’d been in the examining room a long time now.

  Royce ended his latest call, and they all looked at him, waiting.

  “It’s true,” Royce said. “Tanner’s dead.”

  None of them reacted. At first. Then, Nell let out a breath of relief. Chet bobbed his head in approval. Jake felt the relief, as well. Tanner had been responsible for so many horrible things, and he hadn’t deserved to live.

  “David will be charged with murder for hire for his father’s death,” Royce added. He sank down in the chair next to Nell. “But he’s confessed and said he won’t fight any of the charges. He’ll accept whatever sentence the D.A. offers him.”

  Good. That would mean no trial, and maybe Jake, his family and Maggie could wash their hands of the Tanners.

  “David told Billy that Tanner lured Maggie and you to the prison so he could set up the attack on the road,” Royce explained.

  Not a surprise, but Jake wanted to kick himself for falling for it. He’d been so desperate to keep Sunny and Maggie safe that he’d made too many mistakes. And Tanner had nearly succeeded in finishing Maggie off.

  The sound of the footsteps in the corridor brought all of them to their feet. Not one of the doctors but a nurse. She had something in her hand, but Jake focused on her expression. She wasn’t exactly smiling.

  Oh, God.

  Sunny and Maggie had to be all right.

  “Your daughter’s fine,” the nurse said before she even made it to them. According to her name tag, she was Mary Dickson. “The doctors are very optimistic this will work.”

  The relief that Jake had felt over Tanner’s death was a drop in the bucket compared to what he felt now. He didn’t whoop for joy, but he would later. Once his legs weren’t so rubbery. He didn’t want to disgrace himself by falling flat on his face.

  “When can we see her?” Nell asked.

  “Soon,” Mary assured them with a smile. “The doctor’s finishing up now.”

  More good news, but Jake shook his head. “What about Maggie?”

  The nurse’s smile vanished, and she handed Jake the folded piece of paper she had in her hand.

  Jake’s heart went to his knees. “What the hell happened? Is Maggie okay?” And he would have torn past the nurse if she hadn’t caught him.

  “Ms. Gallagher said the note would explain everything.”

  Jake looked down at the paper. A note? Maggie had left him a note? “Where is she?” Jake demanded.

  Mary shook her head. “She didn’t say, but I think if you read the note, you’ll know.”

  He flipped the paper open so quickly that he was surprised it didn’t rip in half. Jake hadn’t intended to read it aloud, but the words just popped out of his mouth.

  Jake, the doctor just told me that Sunny is going to be okay. Thank you for allowing me to help her, and thank you for giving me this time with Sunny and you. If you need more marrow harvested, just contact Marshal Walker. I won’t be going back to WITSEC, but he’ll know how to reach me. If I stay in Mustang Ridge, it’ll only cause problems for you and your family, so I’m saying goodbye. Love, Maggie.

  Hell. She was leaving. She wasn’t even giving him a chance to tell her how he felt about her.

  Except Jake didn’t know how he felt.

  He cursed, rethought that. Yeah, he did. He knew exactly how he felt, and he wasn’t just going to stand there and let Maggie leave.

  The nurse cleared her throat. “Maggie said to give you the note in half an hour so she’d have time to get out of the hospital. But I didn’t think the part about waiting was a good idea. Hope I’m right about that.”

  “She’s still here?” And Jake couldn’t ask that fast enough.

  “Maybe.” She fluttered her hand toward the back parking lot. “One of the medics is giving her a ride to the police station. They’ll be in a white four-door Ford.”

  Jake turned to run toward the parking lot, but he paused to look at his father. “I want Maggie,” he managed to say.

  His father’s mouth tightened. Then, relaxed a little. “Hell, I could have told you that. Go ahead. Go after her. I won’t stand in your way.”

  Royce and Nell added their nods of approval, and Jake took off. But the truth was, he would have run after Maggie even without his family’s approval. Sunny had already given her endorsement by asking Maggi
e to move to the ranch and be her mommy. That and his feelings for Maggie were all that he needed.

  He ran down the corridor toward the parking lot, and he threw open the door. Because the snow was coming down hard now and everything was white, it took him a moment to pick through the lot and the sea of cars to find the Ford. Finally, he spotted her about to get into the passenger’s seat. The other woman, the medic no doubt, was already behind the wheel.

  “Maggie?” he called out.

  She turned, met his gaze, which was possibly a glare. He was mad enough for one. But his glare and anger softened a lot when he saw the bruises on her face, and her moving as if she was still in pain.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Jake barreled off the steps and hurried through the snow toward her.

  “Amarillo P.D. A marshal is on the way to pick me up.”

  “And take you where?” he snapped.

  She lifted her shoulder, shook her head. And reached for the door handle.

  “Not back to the Tip Top Diner,” he snarled. Jake made it to her and latched on to her wrist to stop her from opening the door.

  “No,” she verified. “I’m not sure where I’m going, but I just know I need to get there.”

  He didn’t like the sound of that, and she wasn’t exactly rushing into his arms. “Tanner’s dead,” he told her. “Another prisoner killed him.”

  She blew out a short breath that mixed with the cold air. “I thought maybe David was telling the truth.”

  Since she kept dodging his gaze, Jake turned her toward him. “The danger’s over, Maggie. You don’t have to leave.”

  “But I do,” she argued. “I have to find a life, Jake. I want to be a cop again. I need something, well, normal.”

  Normal? Well, hell, he wasn’t sure he could give her that, but he could do something about the other part. “I’ve had an opening for another deputy for months now. You’re hired if you want it.”

  She looked at him as if he’d just sprouted a third eye.

  “Maggie?” the medic said, lowering the window on the passenger’s side. “Are you leaving, or what?”