by B. J Daniels
But Griff had.
Of course, Griff hadn’t breathed a word about it. Not after the shooting. Not even when later that night she’d gone to his bed to help ease the worry she was feeling for her father. That’s why the cut had felt so deep. Griff had known, and he hadn’t told her.
All of those emotions came flooding back. “I don’t want you here,” she said.
If her words stung, he showed no signs of it. “Yeah, I got that, but I made a promise to your mother that I’d keep you safe.”
It didn’t surprise her that her mother had made that request. Or that Griff had carried it out. But there was possibly another side to this. “Are you using this as a way to mend fences with me? Because if so, it won’t work.”
He didn’t even acknowledge that, but Griff did push her behind him. He brought up his gun as if getting ready to fire. That put her heart right in her throat, and Rachel came up on her toes so she could see over Griff’s shoulder. She shook her head and was about to tell him she didn’t see anything.
But she did.
Rachel saw someone move in the alley to the right of the small hardware store. Since it was only 8:00 p.m., she reminded herself that it could be someone putting out the trash. However, that knot in her stomach returned. It was a feeling that her brothers had always told her never to ignore.
Was this the person who’d made those new threats against her family?
Maybe. Whoever it was definitely seemed to be lurking. And looking in their direction. Rachel doubted the person could see them because Griff and she were deep enough in the shadows on this side of the street. Or at least they would be unless there was more lightning. Which was a strong possibility. She could hear more thunder rumbling in the distance.
“Why would someone want to hurt me?” she whispered.
“To get back at your father. At Warren,” Griff answered without hesitation. “Everyone in the McCall family could be at risk. Don’t worry,” he quickly added. “We have a guard on your mother’s room at the hospital.”
Good. Because her mother was mentally fragile right now. Suffering from a breakdown. Helen didn’t need to be fighting off idiots obsessed with getting back at Warren.
Rachel felt the first drops of rain hit her face. They no doubt hit Griff, too, but they didn’t cause him to lose focus. He kept watching the man across the street. But the guy wasn’t moving. She did see something, however. The flash of light, maybe from a match or lighter. A moment later, a small red circle of fire winked in and out.
That caused her to breathe a little easier. “He’s just smoking.”
But Griff didn’t budge. “He’s carrying a gun.”
Rachel certainly hadn’t seen anything to indicate that, but she took a closer look. She had to wait several snail-crawling moments, but she finally saw the glint of metal. Maybe a gun in his right hand.
More raindrops came. So did the vein of lightning that lit up the sky, and Griff automatically moved her deeper into the alley. He also took out his phone.
“I’m calling the locals for backup,” he said, without taking his attention off the man. “Yeah, it’s me again,” he added, speaking to whoever answered.
That probably meant Griff had already been in touch with local law enforcement. In fact, he’d probably called them as soon as he’d figured out she was in Silver Creek.
“Do a quiet approach,” Griff instructed. “If you can, try to get someone behind this guy so we can take him into custody.” He ended the call and put his phone away.
She doubted it would take long for someone to arrive, but it would feel like an eternity. And might be completely unnecessary.
“If he means to do me harm, why hasn’t he fired at me?” Rachel asked.
Again, Griff took his time answering, but judging from the sound of agreement he made, it was probably something he’d already considered. “Maybe he’s waiting for a clean shot.”
That gave her another jolt of memories. Of her father’s shooting. They hadn’t seen the gunman that day because he or she had fired from a heavily treed area behind the police station. But it had indeed been a “clean shot” that went straight into her father’s chest. It was a miracle he’d survived.
“We can cut through the back of the alley and then get to my truck that’s parked up the street,” Griff whispered. “That way you’re not out in the open.”
“My car is right there,” she pointed out. “Only about ten feet away. And the doors are already unlocked.”
“If this man wants you dead, he could shoot you before you get inside.”
That caused her breath to stop for a moment. Griff normally sugarcoated things for her, but apparently those days were over. Maybe he truly understood that their friendship—and anything else they felt for each other—was over, too.
“There’s a deputy,” Griff said.
Rachel immediately looked out and spotted a man on foot coming up Main Street. He had his gun drawn and was ducking in and out of doorways of the various shops. He was still three buildings away when the guy who’d been watching them turned and started running out the back of the alley. He quickly disappeared from sight.
“He’s getting away,” she blurted out.
“The sheriff might have had time to get someone back there.” Griff didn’t sound very hopeful about that, though. “Come on.”
He took hold of her arm to start them moving, and she saw his truck. It was indeed at the back of the alley. But they had barely made it a step before a deafening noise blasted through the air. Not lightning or thunder from the storm. The impact slammed Griff and her into the side of the building.
And that was when Rachel saw that her car had exploded into a giant ball of fire.
Can Griff protect her and the baby he doesn’t
know she’s carrying before a killer takes his shot?
Find out when Finger on the Trigger by
USA TODAY bestselling author Delores Fossen
goes on sale September 2018.
Copyright © 2018 by Delores Fossen
Read on for a sneak peek of
Good Time Cowboy
the latest in New York Times bestselling author Maisey Yates’s
Gold Valley series!
Good Time Cowboy
by Maisey Yates
“What’s the worst that could happen?”
I could get hurt.
Except Lindy didn’t need anything from Wyatt. Nothing but his body, anyway. If, in theory, she were to give in to their attraction. He couldn’t take anything from her. Not her house, not her land. And if she didn’t love him he couldn’t take her self-respect, he couldn’t take her heart and he couldn’t give her any pain.
Really, what was the point of going through the trauma of betrayal in a ten-year marriage if you didn’t learn something from it? If she knew this was only going to be physical. Only temporary...
What was the worst that could happen?
“I...”
He leaned in, his face a whisper from hers. And oh...the way he smelled. Like sunshine and hay. Hard work and something that was just him. Only him.
She wondered if he would taste just the same.
She was about to find out, she knew. He was leaning in, so close now.
She wanted... She wanted to kiss him.
She wanted to kiss another man, finally. To take that step to move on. But more than that, she wanted to kiss Wyatt Dodge more than she wanted to breathe.
And bless him for taking the control. Something she never thought she would think, ever. But he was going to take the decision away from her, and she wasn’t going to have to answer his questions, wasn’t going to have to do a single thing other than stand there and be kissed.
She was ready.
He squeezed her chin gently, pressing his thumb down on her lower lip, and then he release
d his hold on her, taking a step back. “Think on it,” he said.
“I... What?”
But he was already moving away from her. “Think on it, Lindy,” he said, turning around and strolling away from her.
Leaving her standing between the real estate sign that had served as some kind of metaphor for their attraction, and her little car that served as a metaphor for her freedom.
All alone.
She looked around, incredulous. But the street was empty, and there was no one to shout her outrage to.
And damn that man, she still wanted him to kiss her.
***
Good Time Cowboy
by New York Times bestselling author Maisey Yates
available September 2018 wherever
HQN books and ebooks are sold.
www.Harlequin.com
Copyright © 2018 by Maisey Yates
ISBN-13: 9781488029349
Rancher’s Dream
Copyright © 2018 by Barbara Heinlein
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