Rugged Defender

by B. J Daniels

  “So it could have been several million if there had been five or six investors,” TJ said.

  Annabelle raised an eyebrow. “Who has that kind of cash?”

  TJ met Chloe’s gaze. “Follow the money,” they said in unison.

  She was surprised when her phone rang and it was Justin.

  “I’m on my way to the hospital to see my father. Would you like to go with me?”

  “Really?”

  “I’d love the company and truthfully, a pretty young woman might be exactly what he needs right now,” Justin said.

  “I’d love to meet him.”

  “I’ll be over shortly,” he said. “I have one more thing I need to do.”

  * * *

  HE COULD FEEL everything closing in on him, but he tried to remain calm. He pictured himself holding the rifle lying on the top of the hill overlooking Monte Decker’s ranch. Finger on the trigger. Breath in, breath out. He’d known he had to hit his mark the first time or he might not get a second chance.

  An avid hunter, he’d been shooting since he was nine. He’d spent hours plinking tin cans off the fence at the ranch. That had been child’s play.

  He still practiced because when he hunted, he prided himself on a clean kill. He couldn’t bear to see an animal suffer.

  Monte had been lucky. The first shot alone should have killed him.

  But he hadn’t been able to take the chance that it hadn’t, so he’d fired again and watched him drop. Through the scope, he saw that Monte wasn’t moving. He wouldn’t be moving again. The damned fool had planned to run. He’d tried to talk him out of it.

  I have everything under control, he’d told the banker. Run and it will only make you look guilty.

  He’d known just listening to how nervous and upset Monte had been that he would have to take care of him. Monte would talk. He wouldn’t be able to help himself. He’d get scared and blab.

  He didn’t consider himself a killer. Taking out Monte had been like killing a rabid dog. Even if you loved the dog, you had to put it down. That’s how he felt about Monte. Not that he’d loved him. But he’d liked him well enough.

  Unfortunately, Justin Calhoun and that nosy reporter had shown up too quickly. He had no way of knowing how much Monte had told them before he died—and that was now a problem that would also have to be dealt with. He’d know soon enough—if the sheriff showed up at his door. Otherwise, there was nothing to worry about. Unless Justin and Chloe kept nosing around.

  All of this was because of Drew, he thought with a curse as he cleaned his rifle. They should never have let Drew into the deal. But once he’d gotten wind of it, there was no keeping him out. If Drew had come up with the money like he said he would, none of this would be happening. Drew had no one to blame for his death but himself.

  He knew they couldn’t trust Drew and had argued against bringing him in. But they’d been short a partner, short enough money to make it happen, and Drew had promised he wouldn’t let them down.

  He thought about the night he went out to the Calhoun ranch to pick up the money. They were so close to making the deal that they could all taste it. He’d been excited maybe for the first time in his life. He would be able to do anything he wanted. He’d been so sure they were going to make it happen and since he had the most invested, he would make the most.

  The moment he saw Drew’s face that night, he’d known the cocky cowboy hadn’t come up with his share. He’d waved off all the man’s excuses as he’d tried to still the rage inside him. Drew wanted him to sit down so they could talk about it. Talk about it? Why had they thought they could trust this man?

  Here, have a drink, the cowboy had said. We’ll figure something out. You and I can get past all of this.

  He could see his dreams going down the drain and all because of this worthless piece of—

  Drew’s pistol was within reach. No coincidence there. The cowboy wasn’t stupid. He’d known he was in deep trouble. He just hadn’t known the extent.

  He’d gotten to the gun before Drew. He hadn’t even thought about it. He’d just grabbed up the pistol and fired point-blank into the cowboy’s chest. He’d been so angry that he’d tossed the gun into the man’s lap, never dreaming Drew wasn’t going to die within seconds.

  Then he’d started toward the door. A bullet whizzed by his head and embedded itself in the wall next to the door.

  He hadn’t even turned. He’d kept walking, so angry that if he’d gone back he thought he might have emptied the damn gun into Drew’s dead body. Nothing like overkill at a time like that. But he’d shown his usual restraint.

  He’d parked a good distance away that night and hadn’t looked back on the walk to his rig. Unfortunately, he’d been seen, but at the time he hadn’t worried about it. He figured no one would believe Nici if she did go to the sheriff. But he knew she wouldn’t. She hated the law as much as he did, so he’d kept walking.

  When Drew Calhoun’s death had been ruled an accident, he’d relaxed. It had felt as if justice had really been served, although he’d had to let go of his dream of being rich and free. He’d thought it was all behind him. The only other person who knew what he’d done besides Nici Kent was his banker—and if anything disturbed his sleep it was knowing that Monte Decker was a man who would crack under even a little pressure.

  But after five years, he’d begun to sleep as well as breathe just fine.

  Until Chloe Clementine had started looking into Drew’s death, dragging Justin into it and making Monte nervous.

  He finished cleaning the rifle and placed it back in its spot in the gun safe. Before he closed the door though, he took out a pistol. His work wasn’t done, although he hoped he wouldn’t have to use the gun. He had another less messy plan.

  * * *

  JUSTIN FELT JUMPY. But who wouldn’t be after being shot at earlier? The killer had managed to keep Monte from telling them who he was. Well, it was up to the sheriff now. He was done investigating, he told himself. And Chloe was definitely done although he hadn’t told her yet, he thought with a curse.

  These past few days he’d come to know her pretty well and yet... They hadn’t even kissed. Oh, he’d thought about it on numerous occasions, but none of them had seemed right. He knew he was worried that old magic might not be there. It had been years—and only that one kiss. What if they’d both been mistaken?

  The New Year’s Eve Masquerade Dance was only forty-eight hours away. He was thinking that might be the perfect time. Maybe by then the sheriff would have Drew and Monte’s murderer behind bars. There would be nothing holding Justin back.

  Just the thought of kissing Chloe made him ache with desire. Once he had her in his arms at the dance...

  He pushed the thought away as he drove down the street to Nici’s house. By now the sheriff would have talked to her. Or maybe not. If McCall was right, Nici might have left town. If she had, it would mean that she was more afraid than she’d told him because she knew who the killer was.

  Pulling up to her house she shared with her sisters, he got out and hurried up the unshoveled walk to ring the doorbell. When he heard nothing, he knocked. One of Nici’s sisters opened the door, holding a crying toddler in her arms and looking harried.

  “Is Nici—”

  “She’s gone. Cleared out yesterday owing her part of the rent,” the sister said bitterly. “If she owes you money, good luck.” She closed the door. He could hear her hollering at the toddler to shut up as he walked back to his truck.

  Cursing under this breath, he climbed behind the wheel. The sheriff had been right. Nici had run.

  * * *

  BERT WAS TO the point where he was nagging the nurses and doctors about when he could get out of the hospital. So when Justin walked in, he was more than a little glad to see him. But he realized with a surprise that his son wasn’t alone.

  “Who
’s this with you?” he asked as a pretty blond, blue-eyed young woman stepped into the room.

  “I wanted you to meet Chloe. Chloe Clementine,” Justin said.

  She stepped to his bed and held out her hand. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

  He shook her hand with a laugh. “An honor, huh? Wait until you get to know me.” He glanced at his son and saw the goofy look on Justin’s face. The man was in love. He couldn’t have been more starry-eyed.

  “So how long has this been going on?” Bert asked.

  “Chloe and I go way back, but we just recently reconnected,” Justin said as he looked over at the blonde. “I’ve never forgotten her.”

  Bert nodded. At least his son was serious.

  “Chloe is an investigative reporter,” his son was saying.

  “Or I was until recently. Layoffs. I’m not sure what my plans are right now,” she said and looked toward Justin.

  Bert knew love when he saw it. He remembered the way he used to look at Mary—and the way she looked back at him. It warmed him inside to think about it. He realized right away that Mary would have liked this young woman. He felt a lump in his throat as he wished she was still around to see this. She would have been thrilled.

  “It is nice to meet you,” Bert said, proving that he still had manners. “I hope we get to see a lot more of you in the future. Which reminds me, Justin, there’s something I need you to do for me.”

  “I’ll let you two talk,” Chloe said. “It was nice to meet you, Mr. Calhoun.”

  “Bert, please.” Or maybe one day Dad, he thought as he realized again how much he wanted to live. Was it possible he could live long enough to see grandchildren running around the ranch? It wasn’t the dream he’d once had. But he’d had to let go of that dream. Now it seemed there might be a new one. Was he ready for that?

  “I’ll be out in the waiting room,” she said to his son and left.

  “Close the door,” Bert said and motioned to the chair next to his bed. “I need you to convince the doctor I would be better off at the house. I thought if you told him you were moving back in...” He hesitated. “That isn’t why you’re here, is it? And it wasn’t just to introduce me to your lady friend. What’s happened?”

  Justin pulled the chair up to the bed. “I’m going to tell you because you’re going to hear. But I don’t want you getting upset.”

  He nodded as he lay back against the pillows and told himself his only hope of getting out of this bed was if he learned how to control his damned temper. And yet he wanted to shake the news out of his youngest son. He’d never had patience and it had only gotten worse with the years.

  “Monte Decker’s been killed.”

  “What was it—a bank robbery?”

  Justin shook his head. “Chloe and I were following a lead in Drew’s death. We drove out to his place after finding out that he’d taken what appeared to be an indefinite leave from the bank.”

  “Monte?” Bert was shaking his head. If Justin was going to tell him that Monte had killed Drew, he was going to have to call bull on it. “If you’re going to tell me that he confessed and took his own life—”

  “He did confess, but not to Drew’s murder. Then he was shot. As far as we can tell, the shooter was in those foothills close to his house.”

  Bert couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Someone shot him?”

  His son nodded. “Twice. He was dead before the sheriff arrived.”

  “And you were afraid this was going to make me have another heart attack?”

  “No,” Justin said. “It’s what Monte confessed to. After what you told me about Drew asking for a large amount of money—”

  “Five hundred thousand dollars as if he thought we kept that much out in the barn—”

  “I found out that there was a secret group of men trying to buy the mining rights in the Little Rockies before the new EPA regulations went into effect. Had they succeeded they all stood to make a bundle or at least thought they would. Drew was one of the men. Because they had to move quickly, all of them had to come up with their share—”

  Bert swore and closed his eyes. He could see Drew almost on his knees begging for the money. Begging him to come down to the bank and talk to Monte. All Bert had to do was sign a few papers, put the ranch up and let his oldest son walk away with a half million dollars to invest in some fool scheme.

  “Are you all right?” Justin said. He’d gotten to his feet and was standing right next to the bed. “Do you want me to call the doctor?”

  He could hear the monitor react. His heart was pounding. If he’d given Drew the money... “No, don’t call the doctor,” he said, opening his eyes. He blinked back the tears, then made a swipe at them. “I’m fine.” He wasn’t. His heart had broken all over again.

  But strange as it was, an already broken heart couldn’t seem to break any worse. The monitor sound began to slow again. He’d killed his son.

  “You and your lady friend can stop looking for Drew’s killer now,” he said, surprised how calm he sounded. “We know who killed Drew. I killed him.”

  “No, Dad, that’s not true. You knew him. If you’d given him the money he would have probably tried to double it gambling. He would have screwed up the deal some other way and all that money would be gone.”

  “And he would have been back for more,” Bert said nodding. It was true and he knew it, but right now, none of that helped. Right now he was deep in the if-onlys. “I need to rest for a while.” He patted Justin’s hand resting on the edge of the bed. “Later, come by and talk to the doctor, will you?” He met his son’s gaze. “And I mean it about you moving back to the ranch. Not to take care of your old man. It’s where you belong.”

  Justin’s eyes were shiny as he nodded. “Get some rest. I’ll be back to spring you.”

  “I like her,” Bert said after him. “Your mother would have too.”

  * * *

  JUSTIN TRACKED DOWN his father’s doctor at the hospital to see if his father could be released the next morning.

  “He is giving the nurses a hard time. I wish I could say we’ll be sorry to see him go,” the doctor joked.

  “That’s my father. I’m sorry.”

  The doctor smiled. “He says you’re going to move back into the house. I would suggest having a caregiver on-site as well unless you plan to be there 24/7 at least for a few weeks.” He handed Justin a list of names and numbers. “Any of those should be able to handle him.”

  “So how soon can he leave?”

  “Tomorrow morning if he is still doing as well as he is now.”

  Justin nodded. “I’ll start calling the names on the list. I’d like to get that all set up before he comes home.”

  “Good idea. And best of luck.”

  “I’ll need it until my father can be out on the ranch again doing what he loves,” he said.

  “I’d tell him not to overdo it but I know I would be wasting my breath. If he makes some changes in his lifestyle, he should be fine. But he has to learn to control his temper.”

  Justin couldn’t see that happening, but he hoped his father surprised him. He walked down the hall to tell his father the good news.

  “Not until tomorrow morning?” Bert snapped. “What the hell am I supposed to do in the meantime?”

  “Rest. Also I’ll be hiring a caregiver to live on-site for a while.” He held up his hand to ward off another tirade. “It’s the only way the doctor would release you. I’ll be there too, but not all the time.”

  “That woman you brought by...” his father said, frowning.

  “Chloe Clementine. Hopefully, you and I will be seeing a lot more of her.”

  “So it’s like that, huh?”

  He nodded smiling. “It’s like that.”

  His father finally smiled. “I suppose it wouldn’t be so bad having a wom
an around.”

  He found Chloe down the hall visiting with an old friend who worked at the hospital. As they left, he felt conflicting emotions. His father wanted him to move back on the ranch. He’d dreamed of the day Bert Calhoun would say that, never believing it would ever happen. He was touched and at the same time...

  Mostly he was relieved that his father had taken the news so well.

  “I’m glad I got to meet your dad,” Chloe said as he drove toward her house.

  He smiled over at her. “He liked you. He said my mom would have too.”

  “That’s sweet.”

  “I like you too,” he said, glancing over at her. “We’ve been so busy...”

  She smiled. “The feeling is mutual.”

  “I can’t wait until the dance.” He meant that he didn’t think he could wait to kiss her until then. That had been his plan. To wait. But being around her like this was killing him.

  “Me either,” she said of the dance. “I should warn you. My sisters and I were discussing our investigation before you called. We made a list of suspects.”

  He thought about telling her the two of them were done investigating, but he didn’t have the heart. And what would it hurt to see what Chloe and her sisters had come up with? There was a killer out there. If there was any way to find him before he killed again... He just didn’t want Chloe risking her life again.

  * * *

  “IT COMES DOWN to money,” Chloe said once she and Justin were inside the warm house. TJ and Annabelle had left a note. They’d both gone to be with their fiancés, leaving Chloe and Justin alone.

  She put some music on, poured herself a glass of wine and opened a beer for him, before they sat down in the living room. She could feel the sexual tension arcing between them and wondered if Justin could too. He seemed nervous as a schoolboy who thought her parents might walk in at any moment.

  When their gazes met and held, she felt heat rush to her center. They’d gotten so close. Was he as afraid as she was that if they took it any further, they’d be disappointed?