Landon

by Delores Fossen

  Chapter Eight

  Tessa got just a glimpse of the woman taking aim at Landon before Grayson shoved her behind him.

  “Get down!” Tessa managed to shout to Landon. But it was already too late.

  The woman fired at him.

  Landon dropped down, and the bullet slammed into the window. The glass was reinforced, so the shot didn’t go through into the squad room, but Landon wasn’t behind the glass. He was out there in the open.

  Oh, God.

  It was happening again. Someone was trying to kill them, and Landon was in danger because of her.

  It was hard for Tessa to see around Grayson, and it got even harder when the other two deputies stepped up, as well. All three of them took aim, but it was Grayson who stepped out. He delivered a shot that had the woman ducking back into the alley, and the sheriff continued to shoot at her until Landon could scramble back inside.

  “It’s not Courtney,” Landon relayed to her.

  Tessa heard him, but she couldn’t respond, because she had to make sure he wasn’t hurt. There’d been a lot of shots fired, but Landon appeared to be unharmed.

  And riled to the core.

  “I don’t want her to get away,” Landon growled. “I’ll go out back and see if I can get her in my line of sight.”

  “I’ll do it,” Grayson insisted. “In the meantime, take Tessa to my office. This could be some kind of trap.”

  Tessa hadn’t even thought of that, but he was right. There were four lawmen in the building, and their instincts were no doubt to go in pursuit of the shooter. That might be exactly what their attacker wanted, and he could use this to come after Tessa again. Still, she didn’t want Grayson hurt, either.

  “Be careful,” Tessa called out as the sheriff and one of the other deputies hurried toward the back exit.

  Landon didn’t waste any time taking her to Grayson’s office, but he didn’t go inside with her. He stayed in the hall with his gun ready while he volleyed glances at both the front and back of the building.

  Another shot.

  But Tessa didn’t know if the woman had fired it or if it was Grayson.

  “She wanted us to think she was Courtney,” Tessa said, thinking out loud.

  “Yeah. I believe she was sent here to draw you out.”

  And it’d nearly worked. If Landon hadn’t held her back, Tessa would have indeed gone out there. But which of their suspects would be most likely to use a Courtney look-alike to do that?

  Quincy Nagel.

  Plus, the man had just left the building, so he could be out there somewhere watching his “handiwork.” It sickened her to think of Courtney being involved with a man like that. Sickened her even more that Quincy might have already found Courtney and killed her.

  “Hell,” Landon growled. “I don’t need this now.”

  Tessa could see why he’d said that, but it sent her heart pounding, and a moment later she heard a voice she didn’t want to hear. Joel.

  “What the hell’s going on?” Joel spat out.

  She heard some kind of struggle, maybe between Joel and the deputy, but Landon didn’t budge. However, he did take aim in that direction, and every muscle in his body was primed for a fight.

  “Keep your hands where I can see them,” Landon ordered, and a moment later Joel scrambled into the hallway. He dropped down onto the floor, his back against the wall.

  “If you demand a man come in for an interrogation,” Joel snapped, “then you should make sure the place is safe first. Who the hell is shooting?”

  “I thought you might know something about that,” Landon countered. Now he was including Joel in those volleyed glances, and the man who crawled to Joel’s side. His lawyer, no doubt.

  Tessa knew that Joel was indeed coming in for an interview, and judging from the timing of the attack, this could make him appear innocent. Appear. But it was just as likely that Joel had orchestrated it just for that reason. If so, it was still risky since Joel could have been hit by a stray bullet.

  More shots came.

  These didn’t seem as close as the others, but they still sliced through Tessa as if they’d been fired at her. Then everything stopped, and she held her breath, waiting and praying.

  “Grayson’s coming back,” Landon relayed to her, but he still didn’t budge. He stayed in front of her like a sentry.

  Tessa managed to get a glimpse of Joel to see how he was dealing with this, but he was checking his phone. Obviously, being caught in the middle of an attack hadn’t caused him to go into the panic mode, which only supported her notion that he could have set all of this in motion.

  “I had to shoot her,” she heard Grayson say. “She’s dead.” He didn’t sound any happier about that than Landon was, and Tessa knew why. A dead shooter couldn’t give them any answers.

  “Get into the interview room and close the door,” Landon told Joel and the lawyer, and he didn’t say anything else until they had done that. “Did she say anything?” he added.

  Grayson joined them in the hall, and he shook his head. “She had no ID on her, but she did have a phone. Josh is looking at it now.”

  Good. Maybe they’d find something to tell them who she was and who had hired her. Maybe.

  Grayson tipped his head to the interview room. “Let Joel know it’s going to be a while before I can talk to him. Then, you can go ahead and get Tessa out of here if you want.”

  She could see the debate Landon was having with himself about that. He no doubt wanted to be part of this investigation, but that wouldn’t happen if he was with her at the ranch.

  “As long as the baby’s safe, I’ll be okay here for a while longer,” she offered.

  “My cousins will call if there’s a problem at the ranch,” he said. Landon looked at the interview room. “But now that Quincy and Joel both know you’re here, this is probably the last place you should be.”

  Ironic because it was a sheriff’s office, but Tessa could see his point. As long as she was in danger, so were Landon and his cousins.

  He went across the hall and opened the door of the interview room. Joel and his lawyer were huddled together, talking, but they hushed the moment Landon stepped in.

  “You’re going to have to wait for the interview,” Landon insisted. He certainly didn’t offer Joel the opportunity to reschedule.

  “Who fired those shots?” Joel asked. “And don’t bother accusing me, because I didn’t do it. Nor did I hire someone. Was it Quincy Nagel?”

  Because she was standing so close to Landon, she felt his muscles go stiff. Tessa was certain some of her muscles did the same thing. She stepped in the doorway next to Landon so she could face Joel.

  “How do you know Quincy?” Landon asked, taking the question right out of her mouth.

  Joel looked as if he was fighting a smile. “Really? You don’t think I’ve made it my business to learn everything I can about both Tessa and you? I know you crossed paths with Quincy, and I know he wants to get back at you. I saw him and some guy in a suit just seconds before the shots started. Why was he here?”

  “As you said, he wants to get back at me,” Landon answered. Not exactly the truth, but she didn’t want to discuss Quincy’s possible paternity with Joel. “What’d you learn about Quincy?”

  Joel stared at him as if trying to figure out if this was some kind of trick. It wasn’t, but it was a fishing expedition.

  “I know you arrested him,” Joel finally answered, “that he’s paralyzed because of a prison fight. But I have no idea if he’s the one who murdered Emmett.”

  “Anything else?” Landon pressed.

  Joel did more staring. “What are you looking for on Quincy?”

  “You tell me.”

  Joel chuckled. “It must make your hand really tired, holding you
r cards so close to the vest like that. Well, no need. I really don’t know anything about Quincy.”

  Landon made a sound to indicate he didn’t buy that. Neither did Tessa. Joel knew something...but what? Tessa would have definitely pressed for more, but from the corner of her eye, she saw Grayson motioning for them. Landon shut the door of the interview room and headed toward his cousin.

  “We might have found something,” Grayson said the moment they joined him. “Josh looked through the shooter’s recent calls, and there’s a name you’ll recognize.”

  Tessa figured Grayson was about to say Joel’s or Quincy’s name. But no.

  Grayson lifted the phone and showed them the screen, and Tessa had no trouble seeing the name of the caller.

  Agent Ward Strickland.

  * * *

  WAITING HAD NEVER been Landon’s strong suit, and this time was no different. Where the hell was Ward Strickland and why wasn’t the agent returning Landon’s calls? One way or another, he would find out why, but for now he had to wait it out.

  Along with keeping Tessa and the baby safe.

  That was the reason he’d brought Tessa back to the ranch, but at the time he’d done that, Landon had thought it would be only a couple of hours, but here it was nearly nightfall, and they still had nothing.

  Tessa stared at him from over the dinner that the cook had brought from the main house. Fried chicken, some vegetables and homemade bread. Landon had eaten some of it. Tessa, too. But judging from the way she was picking at her food, her appetite was as off as his. Nearly being killed could do that.

  “You think Ward could be dead?” she asked.

  Landon had gone over all the possibilities, and yeah, that was one of them. The person behind this could have set up Ward with that phone call to the dead shooter and then murdered Ward. Without a body, it would certainly look as if Ward was guilty. And maybe he was. But Landon wanted to make sure. Tessa’s and the baby’s safety depended on it.

  As if on cue, Samantha stirred in the bassinet. Since she’d probably want another bottle soon, Landon figured she’d wake up and start fussing, but she went back to sleep.

  “So how long do we stay here?” Tessa asked.

  Good question. Landon had gone over all the possibilities and for now had put the safe house on hold.

  “I figured we’d need at least one of my cousins to go with us to a safe house, and that would mean tying up a deputy, one Grayson will need,” he explained. “At least by being at the ranch, the hands can help with security.”

  She nodded but didn’t look especially pleased about that. Maybe because she just felt as if she were in hostile territory here because of her connection to Emmett’s death. Or maybe it was him.

  Or rather that stupid kiss.

  Their gazes met, and Landon knew which one it was. Definitely the kiss. Clearly, Tessa wasn’t any more comfortable with the attraction than he was, because she looked away and stood. Too bad Landon did the same thing at the exact same time, and in the small space they nearly bumped into each other.

  The corner of Tessa’s mouth lifted in a short-lived half smile. “It’s a good thing we don’t have time for this,” she said in a whisper.

  If he’d wanted to be a jerk, he could have asked her what she was talking about, but Landon knew. It was the attraction—the reason that kiss had happened. And she was right. They didn’t have time for “this.”

  He had things he could be doing to try to move the investigation along. Calls to make. Of course, none of those calls had resulted in anything so far, but now that they’d finished eating, he needed to get back to it. So far, they’d yet to find a number for Courtney. There wasn’t a phone in her name anyway, but she could have been using a prepaid cell.

  But he didn’t get back to the calls.

  Like in the sheriff’s office, his feet seemed anchored to the floor, and he couldn’t take his eyes off Tessa. What else was new? He’d always had that trouble around her, but unlike at the sheriff’s office, Landon didn’t pull her to him. Didn’t kiss her. Instead, he took out his phone to start those calls, but before he could make the first one to Grayson, there was a knock at the door.

  Landon automatically put his hand over his gun, but when he looked out the window, he realized it wasn’t a threat. It was his cousin Lieutenant Nate Ryland, a cop in the San Antonio PD, and he wasn’t alone. He had four kids with him. The oldest, Kimmie, was Nate’s eight-year-old daughter, but the other three were Nate’s nieces and nephew.

  “Supplies,” Nate said after Landon opened the door. He had two plastic bags, one with disposable diapers and the other containing formula.

  “And a dolly for the baby,” Kimmie added. She held up a curly-haired doll for Landon to see.

  The four kids came in ahead of Nate and made a beeline for the bassinet. Tessa stepped back as if clearing the way, or maybe she was just alarmed by the sudden onset of chattering, running kids. Her nerves probably weren’t all that steady yet, and Landon wasn’t even sure she had much experience being around children.

  Kimmie looked in at the baby, putting the doll next to the bassinet, but one of the other girls, Leah—at least, Landon thought it was Leah—hurried to him and hugged him. Since Leah and her twin sister, Mia, were only six years old, that meant the little girl ended up hugging his legs. Landon scooped her up and kissed her cheek.

  “Are all these your children?” Tessa asked Nate.

  Nate smiled. “Just that one.” He pointed to Kimmie, who had her face right against Samantha’s. “The boy is Grayson’s son, Chet. He’s five. And the twins belong to my brother Kade and his wife, Bree.”

  “And Uncle Landon,” Leah corrected, snuggling against Landon. Landon was her cousin, not her uncle, but since Nate had five brothers, Landon figured the kids gave the uncle label to any adult Ryland male.

  “Yep. I’m yours,” Landon agreed, and that seemed to surprise Tessa, too. Or maybe the surprise was just because he was smiling. Landon certainly hadn’t done much of that in the past couple of weeks.

  “Can we keep her?” Chet asked, looking down at Samantha.

  Nate didn’t jump to answer, which meant he probably didn’t know the situation. He knew that Samantha wasn’t Landon’s daughter, of course, but with the baby’s mother missing, it was possible she might be at the ranch for a while.

  “Don’t you have enough cousins?” Nate teased the boy. He ruffled his dark brown hair.

  Chet shook his head. “I don’t have a sister. Once I get a brother or sister, it’ll be enough.”

  “You’ll need to talk to your mom and dad about that. Grayson and his wife, Eve, are thinking about adopting since they can’t have any more children of their own,” Nate added to Tessa.

  Landon set Leah back down on the floor so she, too, could go see the baby, and once all four kids were gathered around the bassinet, Nate went closer to Landon and Tessa.

  “I got a call from the crime lab a few minutes ago,” Nate said, and he kept his voice low. Probably so the kids wouldn’t hear. “Grayson asked me to try to cut through some red tape so he could get the baby’s DNA test results and the tracking device the doctor took from Tessa. It’s not good news on either front.”

  Tessa groaned softly. “Is Samantha Quincy’s baby?”

  “The results aren’t back on that yet, but Quincy does have a fairly rare blood type, and it matches Samantha’s.”

  Yeah, definitely not good. “Quincy said he was going to get a court order,” Landon told Nate.

  Nate nodded. “He’s already started proceedings. Of course, his record won’t work in his favor, but since he’s served his time, a judge probably wouldn’t block a demand for custody. That’s why Grayson’s pushing so hard to find the baby’s mother. Still no sign of her, though.”

  Hell. It sickened Landon to think of Quincy ge
tting anywhere near the newborn, much less taking her. If Courtney was still alive, Quincy could use the baby to force her to come back to him.

  “What about the microchip taken from Tessa?” Landon asked.

  “It’s not traceable. There were thousands of them made, and the techs can’t work out who, if anyone, was even monitoring it.” Nate paused. “Though I’m guessing someone was monitoring it and that’s how Tessa ended up in that burning barn.”

  Tessa made a sound of agreement. “And I don’t remember who did that to me. In fact, I still don’t remember much about the hours after the two times I was drugged.”

  That was too bad, but the doctor had already warned Landon that those memories might be lost for good.

  “Are you two, uh, back together?” Nate came out and asked.

  “No,” Tessa said even faster than Landon.

  Maybe it was the fast answers. Maybe their body language was giving off some signs of the attraction. Either way, Nate just flexed his eyebrows.

  “All right, kids, let’s go,” Nate said.

  That got varied reactions. The twins were already bored with the baby, probably because they had a baby sister of their own at home, but Chet lingered a couple of extra seconds.

  “Can’t we wait until she wakes up?” Kimmie begged.

  “Afraid not. I gotta get ready for work, but maybe you can come back in the morning with Uncle Mason when he stops by.”

  Despite Mason being the most unfriendly looking guy in the state, that pleased Kimmie. Probably because she had her uncle Mason wrapped around her little finger.

  Landon got hugs from all four of them, but just as he was seeing them out, his phone buzzed, and he saw Grayson’s name on the screen. Landon looked up while he answered it.

  “We found Ward,” Grayson greeted, but Landon could tell from the sheriff’s tone that this wasn’t good news. “Someone ran his car off the road, and he’s banged up. He said he spent most of the afternoon at the hospital and that’s why he didn’t answer his phone.”

  “Could his injuries have been self-inflicted?” Tessa immediately asked. Landon hadn’t put the call on Speaker, but she was close enough to hear.