Landon

by Delores Fossen

  “Don’t,” he said when she opened her mouth, no doubt to remind him, and herself, that this was a bad idea.

  Since he’d stopped her from putting an end to this, Landon decided to go for broke. He lowered his head, brushed his mouth over hers.

  Oh, man.

  There it was. That kick of heat. And it wasn’t necessarily a good kick, either. It made him go for more than just a mere touch of the lips. If he was going to screw up, he might as well make it a screwup worth making.

  He kissed her, hard and long, until he felt her melt against him. Of course, the melting had started before the kiss, so it didn’t take much for him to hear that little hitch in her throat. Part pleasure, part surprise. Maybe surprise that they were doing this, but Landon figured it was more than that. Every time he kissed Tessa, he got that same jolt, the one that told him that no one should taste as good as she did.

  Especially when she had trouble written all over her.

  But it wasn’t trouble on her face when she pulled back a fraction and looked up at him. “This can’t go anywhere,” she said.

  The voice of reason. It couldn’t go anywhere. He couldn’t lose focus, couldn’t get involved with someone in his protective custody. Plus, there was that whole thing about not wanting his heart stomped on again.

  All of that didn’t stop him, though.

  Worse, it didn’t stop Tessa.

  She slipped her hands around him and inched him closer. Of course, the closeness only deepened the kiss, too, and the body-to-body contact soon had them grappling for position. Landon knew what position he wanted—Tessa beneath him in bed. Or on the floor. At the moment, he didn’t care.

  But the baby had a different notion about that. Samantha squirmed, made a little fussing sound, and that was enough to send Tessa and him flying apart. She turned from him but not before Landon saw the guilt.

  Guilt that he felt, too.

  He would have mentally cursed himself about it if his phone hadn’t buzzed. Maybe this would be good news to offset the idiotic thing he’d just done. No such luck, though. Landon didn’t recognize the number on the screen.

  While Tessa tended to the baby, Landon answered the call, but he didn’t say anything. He just waited for the caller to speak first. He didn’t have to wait long.

  “It’s me, Courtney Hager,” the woman said. Her words and breath were rushed together. “Is the baby okay?”

  “She’s fine. Safe.”

  “You have to get a message to Tessa for me,” she said before Landon could add anything else. “Please.”

  “Where are you? Are you all right?”

  His quick questions got Tessa’s attention, and she hurried back toward him. However, he also motioned for her to stay quiet. If someone was listening and had put Courtney up to this, he didn’t want to confirm to that person that Tessa was with him.

  “I’m just outside of town,” Courtney answered after several snail-crawling moments, “but I won’t be here much longer. I have to keep moving. If I don’t, they’ll find me.”

  “Tell me where you are, and I’ll send a deputy to get you,” Landon insisted.

  “You can’t. Not now. They know the general area where I am, and if they see a cop, they’ll find me. Just tell Tessa that I need her to meet me on the playground of the Silver Creek Elementary School. And don’t bring the baby. It’s not safe.”

  You bet it wasn’t. “It’s not safe for Tessa and you, either,” Landon pointed out.

  “I know.” A hoarse sob tore from her mouth. “But I don’t have a choice. You can come with Tessa, only you, but don’t bring more cops or else it’ll just put us all in even more danger.”

  “Who’ll put us in danger?” Landon pressed.

  “I’m not sure, but I need to give Tessa something. Only Tessa. She’s the only one I trust. If she doesn’t come, I’ll have to keep running. Tell her to meet me tonight after dark. And tell her to be careful to make sure she’s not followed.”

  “Where are you right now?” Landon didn’t bother to bite back the profanity he added at the end of that.

  Another sob. “Please have Tessa come.” No sob this time. Courtney gasped. “Oh, God. They found me again.”

  * * *

  AS MUCH AS Tessa wanted to get Courtney out of harm’s way, she prayed she wasn’t trading her friend’s safety for Landon’s. Nothing about this felt right, but then it’d been a while since Tessa had felt right about anything. Someone wanted her dead, and that someone might want Courtney dead, too.

  And Tessa didn’t know why.

  But maybe Courtney could help with that.

  Courtney had said she wanted to give Tessa something. Evidence maybe? Whatever it was, it could turn out to be critical. Or it could lead to Landon and her being in danger again.

  “I really wish you’d reconsider this,” Landon repeated to her, and Tessa knew even when he wasn’t saying it aloud, he was repeating it in his head.

  Landon didn’t want her going into town, where they’d already been attacked twice, but like Tessa, he also wanted to find Courtney and get some answers. If they could protect the woman and if Courtney was innocent in all of this, then she could eventually take custody of the baby, and that meant Quincy wouldn’t stand much of a chance of getting custody.

  She hoped.

  Of course, there were a lot of ifs in all of this.

  Tessa wasn’t sure where Courtney had been for the past few days, and it was possible the woman was involved in something criminal. After all, why hadn’t she just gone to the cops instead of asking to meet Tessa?

  Then there was the matter of the phone Courtney had used to call Landon. When Landon had tried to call her back, she hadn’t answered, and it hadn’t taken him long to learn that it was a prepaid cell. Of course, it was possible Courtney had lost her own phone. Tessa had. But then whose phone had she used to make that critical call to Landon?

  They found me again.

  Tessa had heard the terror in Courtney’s voice and that wasn’t the voice of someone faking her fear. At least, Tessa didn’t think it was.

  “You trust Courtney?” Landon asked as they drove toward town. He was an uneasy as Tessa was, and both of them looked around to make sure no one was following them.

  “I want to trust her,” Tessa settled for saying.

  It wasn’t enough, and that was why Landon had arranged for some security. There was a truck with two ranch hands following them. Two of his cousins, Gage and Josh, had been positioned on the roof of the school building for hours. Added to that, there were two deputies waiting just up the street. If anything went wrong, there’d be five lawmen and two armed ranch hands to help.

  But that wouldn’t stop another sniper with an Uzi.

  Yes, this was a risk, and if Tessa could have thought of another way, she would have done this differently.

  Landon had instructed the deputies and the hands to stay back and out of sight. Of course, anyone looking for Courtney would also be looking for any signs of the cops. If the person or Courtney spotted them, it might put a quick end to this meeting, but Tessa had no intention of doing this without backup.

  “Remember, when we get there, I don’t want you out of the truck,” Landon instructed as they approached Main Street. “I’ll meet with Courtney, get whatever it is she wants to give you and then talk her into coming back with us so I can put her in protective custody.” He paused. “Any other ideas as to what it is Courtney wants to give you?”

  They’d already speculated about the obvious—some kind of evidence. Evidence perhaps linked to the attacks. Or maybe even Emmett’s murder. After all, Courtney had been at Tessa’s place the night Emmett was killed, so maybe Courtney had seen something. Maybe she had even picked up a shell casing or something the killer had left behind.

  Tessa
had to shake her head, though. If she’d found something like that, then why hadn’t she just gotten it to the cops somehow? Unless...

  “Maybe Courtney saw the person who killed Emmett,” Tessa speculated. “Or maybe she found out Ward had hired the killer. If she saw Ward’s badge, she might believe she can’t trust anyone in law enforcement.”

  Landon made a sound of agreement, but his attention was already on the school just ahead. “If anything goes wrong, I want you to stay down.”

  Tessa wanted to tell him to do the same thing, but she knew he wouldn’t. Landon believed that badge meant he had to do whatever it took to make sure justice was served. Even if this was just another trap.

  “Someone could be holding Courtney,” Tessa said, talking more to herself than Landon. She remembered the photo of Courtney’s bruised face.

  “That’s my guess, too, but if someone’s with her, Gage will let us know. He’ll let us know when he spots her, as well.”

  Since there’d been no calls or texts from any of his cousins or the deputies, Courtney probably hadn’t arrived yet. Or else she was hiding and waiting for Tessa to show.

  At least there was one silver lining in this. The baby was at the main ranch house with Mason and Grayson. Both would protect the baby with their lives. Tessa just hoped it didn’t come down to that.

  Landon pulled to a stop next to some playground equipment, and he fired glances all around them. Tessa did the same, but the only thing she saw was the truck with ranch hands parking just up the road from Landon’s own vehicle. When they didn’t spot Courtney, Landon took out his phone, and Tessa saw him press Gage’s number.

  “See anything?” he asked Gage.

  “Nothing. You’re sure she’ll show?” Even though the call wasn’t on Speaker, Tessa had no trouble hearing him in the small cab of the truck.

  “I’m not sure of anything. If she’s not here soon, though, I’m taking Tessa back to the ranch.”

  “Agreed,” Gage said, and he ended the call.

  Landon hadn’t even had time to put his phone away when it buzzed, and he showed her the screen. It was the same number Courtney had used for her earlier call. Landon pushed the button to take the call and put it on Speaker, but he didn’t say anything.

  “Is the baby safe?” Courtney asked the moment she came on the line.

  “Yes. Now, help us to keep it that way.”

  “I tried. I’m trying,” she corrected. “I told you to come alone with Tessa,” Courtney continued. “There are two cops on the roof. Send them away, and we’ll talk.”

  “We’ll talk right now,” Landon snapped. “Someone’s trying to kill Tessa, and you put her at risk by having her come out here. The cops on the roof are my cousins. They’re men I trust, and that’s a lot more than I can say for you right now. Tell me why you dragged us out here.”

  Tessa pulled in her breath, waited. Courtney could just hang up and disappear. And that was why she had to do something.

  “Quincy’s trying to take the baby,” Tessa blurted out. “He’s getting a court order.”

  “Oh, God,” Courtney said, and there was no way that emotion was faked. Tessa could feel the pain. “You can’t let him have her.”

  “Then come out of hiding,” Landon insisted. “Let us protect both Samantha and you.”

  “I can’t,” Courtney said, and this time Tessa heard more than just the fear. She heard the woman sobbing. “I’d hoped they wouldn’t still be on my trail, that I could meet you face-to-face, but I can’t. They’re following me, and I’d just lead them straight to the baby.”

  “Who’s following you?” Tessa and Landon asked at the same time.

  “Gunmen. There are two of them. They caught me by the bridge and forced me to take a picture with a sign that said Help Me. I’m guessing they did that to lure you out to help me, but when they tried to shove me in a car, I managed to get away.”

  Tessa and Landon exchanged glances. “Why would those men send the picture of you to Joel Mercer?” Landon asked.

  The moments crawled by before Courtney said anything else. “Are you sure the men didn’t send the photo to Quincy? I figured they’d send it to him, that maybe they were trying to get money from him because Quincy would pay lots of money to find me.”

  That knot in Tessa’s stomach got even tighter. She didn’t like that Courtney had dodged the question about Joel. To the best of Tessa’s knowledge, Courtney didn’t know Joel. Or at least, Courtney hadn’t said anything about knowing Joel, but if she didn’t know him, then why hadn’t she just come out and said that?

  “So you don’t think these men work for Quincy?” Tessa pressed. Later she’d work her way back to the subject of Joel, but for now she wanted to get as much information as possible, and she didn’t want Courtney clamming up.

  “I don’t know. But it’s possible they used to work for him. They could have gotten greedy and figured they could use me to get him to pay up. But it’s not me Quincy wants. It’s the baby.”

  “So he’s Samantha’s father,” Tessa said.

  Courtney didn’t jump to answer that, either, and she gave another long pause. “How is he getting a court order to get custody? He’s a convicted felon.”

  “He claims he’s got DNA proof,” Landon explained.

  “No. He couldn’t have,” Courtney insisted. “Where does he claim he got it?”

  “He says it’s from a pacifier that he took from your house.”

  “Samantha never used a pacifier, so whatever he’s saying about it is a lie. Have the cops already run a DNA test on Samantha?”

  “Yeah. We’re waiting on the results now. Anything you want to tell us about that?” Landon challenged. Probably because Courtney hadn’t confirmed that Quincy was indeed the baby’s father. In fact, her friend hadn’t confirmed much at all at this point.

  That made Tessa glance around again, and she tightened her grip on the gun Landon had given her. She reminded herself that if this was a trap, Gage and Josh would see an approaching gunman. Ditto for seeing Courtney, too, but it was possible the woman wasn’t anywhere near the elementary school.

  “When you called, you said you wanted to give Tessa something,” Landon reminded Courtney.

  “I left it underneath the slide on the playground.”

  Of course it was in the middle of a wide-open space. A space where a shooter could gun them down.

  “What is it?” Tessa asked.

  “I can’t say over the phone in case someone is listening. Just take it and use it to protect my baby.”

  Tessa hoped there was indeed something to do that, but the only thing that would make it happen was for Courtney to have the evidence needed for them to make an arrest. But if it was that simple, why hadn’t she just said what it was?

  “We want to protect you, too,” Landon said to Courtney. “Tell me where you are, and I can arrange for Samantha and you to be together at a safe house.”

  Tessa couldn’t be sure, but she thought Courtney was crying again. “I can’t risk him finding me in a safe house. For now, just protect my little girl. I’ll call you again as soon as I can. I have to go.”

  “Wait,” Landon snapped, but he was talking to himself because Courtney had already ended the call.

  As Landon had done with her earlier call, he tried to phone her right back, but she didn’t answer. Tessa listened to see if she could hear a ringing phone nearby but there was nothing. Not a sound. Of course, it was possible that Courtney had put that so-called evidence beneath the slide before she even made the original call to them.

  Landon called Josh and filled him in on what Courtney had told them. Judging from Landon’s tone, he was just as frustrated with what Courtney had said, and hadn’t said.

  “Josh is wearing body armor,” Landon explained once he was off the phone. He�
�s going out there to retrieve what Courtney left, and Gage is going to keep watch from the roof to make sure no one comes in here with guns blazing.”

  That jangled her nerves again. She hated that Josh had to put himself out there like that, but whoever was behind this wasn’t after Josh. They were after Landon and her. And Courtney. Well, they were if Courtney was telling the truth.

  “Stay in the truck,” Landon told her, and he opened the door.

  Tessa caught on to his arm. “It’s not a good idea for you to be out in the open.”

  “I won’t be.” He got behind his truck door, using it for cover. “But I want to be in a position to give Josh some backup if he needs it. Just stay down.”

  She did because Tessa didn’t want to distract Landon, but she also kept her gun ready. It seemed to take an eternity for Josh to make his way from the roof to the playground, though she figured it was only a few minutes. With each step he took, her heart pounded even harder and her breath raced. Maybe, just maybe, there’d soon be an end to the danger.

  Josh was being diligent, too, his gaze firing all around him, and he hurried to the huge slide that was in the center of the playground. She watched him stoop down and pick up what appeared to be a manila envelope. He didn’t look inside. Instead he hurried back to the cover of the building.

  Time seemed to stop again, and even though she was expecting the call, Tessa gasped when Landon’s phone buzzed. Unlike with the other call, she wasn’t close enough to hear what Josh said to him.

  “Does it have a name on it?” Landon asked. Again, she couldn’t hear, but whatever Josh had told him caused Landon’s forehead to bunch up. “Go ahead and get in touch with the lab,” Landon added. “Then text me the lab’s number in case I need to talk to them, too.”

  Landon got back in the truck in the same motion as he put away his phone. “It’s DNA results,” he said.

  Tessa’s mind began to whirl with all sorts of possibilities. “Whose DNA?”