Gage nodded. “Stay here,” he told Meredith. “Don’t move. You don’t have a weapon.”
She nodded. Reluctantly.
He leaned over and kissed her. “I love you, Ms. Rawson.”
Then he was gone, sprinting toward the cabin, zigzagging as he did so. Menelo kept the shooter occupied by shooting slightly above the window. It was obvious he didn’t want a stray bullet to go inside.
Meredith prayed as Gage reached the side of the cabin and disappeared behind it.
She heard a siren. The backup car was on its way. Most likely more calls had gone out.
But where was Liz Baker? Was Liz Baker really Holly Ames?
Was she already dead?
And Gage? He was taking so many chances. She wondered whether her breath would stop coming every time he was on duty.
Shots. Different sounds. Then Gage appeared at the front door. “Call an ambulance.”
She ran toward him. So did Menelo.
“Liz?” he asked.
“There’s only one here,” Gage replied. “And he’s wounded.”
Holly heard the hunter behind her. He was making no attempt to mask his movements.
Harry was exhausted. The dog was panting. She didn’t know if she could run another step. They couldn’t go any farther.
She heard a siren in the distance. Then shots. She stopped. Listened. But then she heard a rustling of brush beneath her and understood the pursuit had not ended. She urged Harry onward again.
Doug was here. She’d known he would come. And now he would probably come after her. He would be a prime target for the man chasing her.
She stopped, looking around. They were high. Near the edge of a cliff.
Harry had caught her urgency. He’d suddenly understood danger. So apparently had the dog. He didn’t bark. He just went where led.
She saw a cottonwood not far from where they were. It had been struck by lightning and was charred.
She stopped and kneeled. “Harry,” she said. “You must do something for me. No matter how hard it is.”
His eyes grew big.
“Do you see those bushes over there? Near the tree?”
He nodded.
“Take Caesar. Hide behind them, and if you see a man, toss a rock toward that ledge. Can you do that?”
His lip trembled. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“You won’t be far away. You can always see me.”
She heard a rock fall. It wasn’t far from them. “Please, Harry.”
“I can,” he said.
“Don’t let him see you. I just want him to hear the rock land. Right over in that spot.” She pointed out a spot.
“’Kay,” he said.
She hugged him. “I love you,” she said.
“I love you, too.”
“Now go. And find a good rock.”
He dragged the dog away, and she watched as he hid himself. She went close to the ledge and sat as if she couldn’t go any farther.
In seconds, a tall, well-built man appeared. His gaze moved around, catching her. She watched as he glanced down at a photo, then back at her.
“You’re going to pay for making me go to all this trouble,” he said as he approached her. “Where’s the kid?”
“I didn’t bring him.”
“You lie. I saw the coloring book. Two plates on a table.” He drew closer. “I won’t hurt him.”
“You heard the siren. The police are here.”
“Hick cops,” he said arrogantly. “They’re probably dead by now. Now where’s the kid?”
A thud behind him. Harry’s rock. The man quickly turned toward the sound and she ran toward him and pushed. He stumbled, took a step, then started to swing around, grabbing for her. A flash of color flew past her, a low growl filling the air. The hunter put up his hands to protect himself, dropped the gun and stepped back into nothing.
Holly grabbed the dog’s leash and pulled him back as her hunter went over the cliff, his scream following him all the way down.
thirty-two
Meredith heard the scream. A man’s scream.
Doug turned to one of the two newly arrived officers. “Take care of the man inside the cabin. You,” he said to another, “come with me.”
He started toward the back of the house and up a trail behind it, moving faster than Meredith thought possible. Gage was next to him. Dom behind.
She followed.
Gage turned. “Stay here.”
“Not on your life,” she said. “It’s my sister.”
He shook his head and took off.
The trail was difficult, rarely used and barely visible in the gathering dusk. Yet they could still see what must be recent footprints. They were clear and pronounced. Someone in a hurry.
“Liz?” the sheriff called out as they continued to climb. Meredith glanced to the side and saw a body sprawled out on the ground far below, limbs at an unnatural angle.
“Sheriff,” she shouted.
He stopped, turned and said something to the deputy beside him, who peeled off and headed toward the figure. The sheriff continued to climb, his gun ready in his hand. Gage still carried the rifle, cradling it in his right arm. Of all of them, he seemed to move the most easily, his rangy body taking the climb gracefully and surely.
Meredith’s heart pounded faster with each step. What had happened up above? That could have been her half sister and nephew lying broken on the ground, the family she’d never met, never known. She prayed that they were all right.
She heard a voice. A woman’s voice. Low. Scared. “Doug. Here. I’m here.”
Breath rushed back into her throat. She stepped up her pace and reached the summit of a ridge in time to see a lovely young woman throw herself into Menelo’s arms. He held her tight for a moment, then finally released her.
“Anyone else around?”
She shook her head.
Menelo holstered his pistol, leaned down, picked up a small boy and held him as if he were a precious object.
Meredith stood back and watched.
Gage put an arm loosely around her shoulders. Dom was staring transfixed at the man, woman and boy, who were totally oblivious to anyone else.
The woman finally turned and looked at them, bewilderment in wide blue eyes. Cornflower eyes. A lighter blue than Meredith’s. Her hair was short, dark, unlike the blond tresses Meredith had seen in photos. Her face was streaked with dirt, possibly tears, but even that couldn’t disguise her beauty.
Meredith walked toward her. “I’m Meredith Rawson,” she said slowly. “I think … I believe I’m your half sister.” She couldn’t wait to say it, not when she had come so close to losing all the family she had left. Not after the secret had been stifled for so many years. How close had they come to it being too late for the truth?
Too close.
“That couldn’t be,” the woman said. “I don’t have any—”
“Thirty-three years ago my mother was seventeen. She had a child out of wedlock, a girl, in Memphis, Tennessee. The child was taken from her. She tried to find her, but couldn’t. There were no records. At the same time your mother was in Memphis, Tennessee, but we don’t think she had a child. We think you were given to her.”
Bewilderment crossed the woman’s face. Liz Baker’s face. Holly Matthew’s face. “But why?”
“We don’t know exactly. We have some good guesses. But a DNA test would confirm your parentage.”
Meredith held her breath as she watched the words take hold. Holly looked up at Menelo, who was still holding her son. She took one of the boy’s hands and held it tight. A frown creased her brow as she obviously tried to absorb what was being said. Meredith knew how hard it must be for her.
“You mean my father … isn’t really my father?”
“It’s possible.”
“Then who …?”
Dom, who had been silent until now, stepped forward. His face was a mask of control but his brown eyes were roiling with emotion. “I thi
nk I am,” he said. “I didn’t know about you until a few days ago. I—” His voice broke.
Meredith wanted to hug Holly. She wanted to hug the boy. She knew Dom must be fighting every fiber of his being not to do so.
The officer who had been dispatched to check the body below arrived. “Dead,” he reported to Menelo.
“What happened?” Doug ask Holly softly.
“I was … waiting for you. So much I needed to tell you. I saw the car approach. I knew it wasn’t you, so I took Harry and Caesar …”
For the first time, Meredith noted the nondescript Benji-type dog that huddled close to Holly, its leash trailing on the ground. “He saved our lives,” Holly said, “He went after …” A tear started rolling down her face as she knelt and hugged the dog.
The aftermath of fear, Meredith thought. She was becoming all too familiar with it. “There’s another man down in the cabin. He’s been injured. Perhaps he can tell us who sent them and why.”
“It was my husband,” Holly whispered, looking up at Sheriff Menelo, her heart in her eyes. “He sent them. He sent someone to kill me in New Orleans. I overheard a conversation I shouldn’t have.”
Menelo’s eyes closed for just a fraction of a second, and Meredith saw the pain he felt for Holly. “I thought it might be something like that,” he said softly, putting his free arm around her.
“I killed the man he sent,” Holly said. “I knew no one would believe me. My husband is …” She was trembling. Her entire body trembled. Her eyes were glazed with tears.
Meredith couldn’t stop herself from reaching for her free hand. Holding it tightly. “They’ll believe you now,” Meredith said.
“Why?”
“It’s a very long story,” Meredith said. “Maybe we should go down.”
But Holly wasn’t ready yet. She looked at Dom, obviously trying to see something of herself there. She bit her lip. “My father—Judge Matthews—is part of it. He’s untouchable. He and my husband—”
“No one is untouchable,” Dom said roughly. “With your DNA, we can prove he defrauded his father’s estate. We have a witness alive below. There’s been other murders, and if we can tie him to them, he’ll have to talk to avoid the death penalty.”
Holly looked at him again. “You’re Dom Cross, aren’t you? I’ve read about you. You work with children.”
He nodded. Meredith could tell how much he wanted to go over to her. Meredith dropped Holly’s hand and moved away, making room for Dom. Or maybe they both needed more time.
But Holly held out her hand to him.
Tears gathered behind Meredith’s eyes.
Holly Ames looked fragile but there was a gentleness and kindness in her that glowed. Obviously, there was also strength. That she had escaped a murder attempt, made a new life with friends who apparently would do anything for her, then survived this last attempt on her life proved that. Pride surged through Meredith. And admiration. Her heart swelled with a sweet poignancy.
In the last few weeks, she’d lost her family. Now, as Gage took her hand and squeezed it, she knew she had discovered a new family.
Gage watched the reunion in the soft twilight. A lump formed in his throat. He thought of how Meredith had fought for this moment, had never ceased looking despite all the roadblocks thrown in her way.
Her sister had the same grit.
He thought of Clint. Of his middle brother, Terry, who had died in a gang fight. Of his mother who simply didn’t have the emotional or financial ability to cope with raising three boys.
He had tried to help them, but he wondered whether he had ever done enough. He realized now he’d kept an emotional distance from Clint, terrified that he would lose him as he had lost Terry.
No more. He would make sure Clint had everything he needed to succeed. Particularly love. And support.
He could do that now. He had closed down years ago and hadn’t realized it. Whether it was due to Debbie’s betrayal, Terry’s death or his mother’s, he didn’t know. He just knew it had happened.
Meredith awakened his heart with her own passion and guts.
He leaned over and kissed her. “I love you,” he whispered.
Her face transformed in front of him. He’d always liked her face. Integrity radiated from it. Honesty. But now she looked truly beautiful. God, he loved her.
“We had better get down before it gets any darker,” Menelo warned.
They started down the path, this time Gage leading the way, his hand clasped with Meredith’s. Menelo carried the boy. Dom steadied his daughter. Gage could only imagine what Dom was going through.
How would he feel at suddenly discovering he was a father?
Emotion surged through him. It was so strong, he almost stumbled. He tried to identify it. Tenderness. That was it. And love so powerful, it could overcome anything.
They finally reached the cabin. An ambulance had taken away the wounded shooter. The sheriff called his office and ordered that there be an around-the-clock guard on the gunman.
Menelo then talked softly to Meredith’s sister. Gage heard the name, “Marty.” Holly’s face crumpled at the news, and Menelo called the hospital. “Marty’s in recovery,” he said. “She’s going to be okay.”
Gage watched the interaction between the sheriff and Holly.
They couldn’t keep their eyes off each other. And the moment Menelo sat down, the boy crawled up in his lap. It was obvious that Holly and her son had a protector. A strong, competent one.
Starting with Meredith, they told the story to Holly. Dom finished with the events of thirty-three years earlier: his arrest, his imprisonment.
Holly’s eyes filled several times. “I’m so sorry,” she told Dom.
His hand trembled slightly in his lap. “Believe me, everything was worth it to find you. And my grandson.”
“We still need the DNA,” Menelo warned. “We can get the blood work done at the hospital tonight and drive it to a lab in Tucson first thing in the morning. Until we get the results and get the prisoner talking, we have damned little proof.”
“What about tonight?” Meredith asked. “Could there be anyone else out there?”
“I want Liz to stay with me,” Doug said. “With added protection.” He paused. “If that’s what she wants to do.”
Holly nodded. “Thank you. Harry will love that.”
“I wish I had more room, but I don’t,” he added regretfully. “But the Copper Queen is a great hotel and I’ll assign a couple of troopers there. We can have breakfast at my place, then drive to Tucson.”
Meredith broke in. “I think Holly—or should we call you Liz?—needs some time to absorb this. I know I did.”
“It’s Holly. I always felt a little uncomfortable with Liz.”
“Holly.” Doug tried it on his tongue. “I like it, too. And Harry?”
“His given name is Michael. I always called him Mikey, but he really has become Harry to me.”
Harry had been drowsing with the sheriff’s arms but perked up when he heard his name. “Like Harry Potter,” he said.
“And you are a little wonder, just like him,” Holly said. “You were so brave and smart.” She looked up, pride all over her face. “He threw a stone and distracted that man … and then Caesar knocked him down.”
“I’m impressed,” Meredith said, smiling.
“I want to be just like Sher’f Doug,” Harry said, and closed his eyes again.
Hours later, Gage and Meredith shared a glass of wine in their room at the Copper Queen, a legendary hotel which, they were told, had been a frequent haunt of John Wayne.
Dom had retired to a room next door. He had calls to make, he’d said, but Meredith felt he really just needed time alone.
So did they.
But first Meredith wanted to call Sarah and tell her all was well and ask if anything needed her attention.
Sarah answered on the first ring. “Thank God, you called. I’ve been worried.”
“It’s been a busy da
y. We found my sister.”
“Are you sure?”
“As sure as I can be without the DNA test. Any problems?”
“Other than having a boss who has been a target of some madman, nothing.”
“I think it will soon come to an end,” Meredith said.
“Oh, someone from your father’s law firm called. Associates have been going through his files to divide the cases and decide if any required follow-up work. They found an envelope made out to you.”
“Where is it now?”
“It’s in the office safe.”
“Good. I should be home tomorrow. I’ll check it then.” She hung up.
Gage had taken off his shirt. He looked terrific, but then he always did. He gave her a quizzical look.
“Sarah says my father’s law firm called about an envelope an associate found in one of his files. It was addressed to me. I can’t imagine why he would put something there instead of giving it to me.”
“I’ll call about flights tomorrow afternoon,” he said.
She hesitated. She’d told Sarah she would be back, she needed to go back, but she really didn’t want to leave her sister. Not now. “We won’t know about the blood tests then.”
“Menelo will let us know.”
“I like him.”
“I do, too,” Gage said. “I noticed he threw away the rule book a couple of times.”
He reached out to her and pulled her against him. Both of them had a few cuts from flying windshield glass but nothing serious, and now all she wanted was to lie in his arms. They both had been exhausted, too exhausted to do more than order a hamburger from room service, take a shower and lie on the bed.
His lips touched hers and all the exhaustion fled. There was something in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. A commitment. A comfort along with passion. As if he’d settled something deep inside himself.
She touched his cheek, feeling the roughness of a new beard. Then she buried her fingers in his hair, savoring the closeness, drinking in the essence of him.
“I love you, Meredith Rawson,” he said, his lips brushing the words against her skin. He’d said it earlier, but then adrenaline had been running in all of them.
The earth moved and the heavens thundered, all within her soul.
Cold Target Page 39
