Gunfire on the Ranch

by Delores Fossen

  Since that’s exactly what he was doing, Theo hesitated and stared at her. Along with the old baggage vanishing, so did the years. Suddenly, he was nineteen again and wanting Ivy more than his next breath. He hadn’t had much willpower, but that ate up the rest of it.

  Theo pulled her back to him and kissed her.

  This time there was definitely no overthinking. Hell, no thinking at all. He just kept kissing her until the fire was burning so hot inside him that he knew sex was going to happen even if it shouldn’t.

  Thankfully, Ivy was on the same page. Without breaking the kiss, she lowered her hands to his shirt and started to unbutton it. It was not a graceful effort. For one thing, Theo was trying to get her clothes off, too, and their hands kept bumping against each other. Still, he was finally successful at pulling off her top. He flung it to the side, and in the same motion, he turned Ivy and laid her back on the floor.

  Because they’d been teenage lovers, they’d rarely had the luxury of a bed for sex. And Theo hated that they didn’t have it now. Ivy darn sure deserved better than this, but there was no way he could risk taking her into the bedroom.

  “Don’t overthink this,” she repeated.

  She went after his shirt again, succeeded in getting it off him, and then she went after his jeans’ zipper. Since things were moving fast, Theo got in some foreplay before the heat built to a point that they’d be beyond that. He took the kiss from her mouth to her neck. Then to her breasts. That brought back some sweet memories, and they got even sweeter when he unhooked her bra, bared her breasts and kissed her the way he wanted.

  Ivy made a sound of pleasure and pulled him on top of her. Not a bad place to be, but he wasn’t done yet. Theo went lower, dropping some kisses on her stomach while he unzipped her jeans and shimmied them off her.

  Her panties went next.

  And Theo probably would have kept kissing her for a few more seconds, but Ivy had a different notion about that. She latched onto him, hauling him back up to her so that she could kiss his mouth. And unzip him.

  Theo didn’t have much of a mind left. Not with his body burning to ash. But he did remember to take the condom from his wallet before Ivy got him out of his jeans. He also remembered how to put it on. No easy feat with Ivy still kissing him and trying to pull him into her.

  The moment he had on the condom, he stopped resisting her attempts, and he slipped into her. Hell. He got another slam of memories. Of the first time they’d been together like this, and that slam only fired up his body even more. Definitely not something he needed, because this was already going to end much too fast. The pleasure was always too fast with Ivy, and like those other times, Theo tried to hold on to it.

  She lifted her hips, bringing him even deeper into her, and Theo had no choice. There was no holding back, no more trying to draw this out to savor the pleasure. So he took control of the pace. As much as he could, anyway. He kept moving inside her. Kept holding her. Kept kissing her.

  Until it was impossible to hold out any longer.

  Especially when Ivy came in a flash. She made that sound of pleasure again. Gathered him in her arms. And she gave Theo no choice. He let Ivy take him right along with her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ivy dressed while she waited for Theo to come out of the private bathroom area. She figured he wouldn’t be in there long, which meant she needed to try to compose herself before she had to face him.

  The sex had been amazing, and while that pleasure was still causing her body to hum, she doubted that Theo would be humming. No. He was probably already regretting this.

  He would see it as a lapse in judgment, something that had caused him temporarily to lose focus. Heck, he might even regret it because it was too much, too soon between them. Either way, she didn’t want to look as if she expected something more than sex between them.

  Don’t overthink this, she’d told him.

  Well, it was advice she needed to take, as well. What was done was done, and she’d just have to deal with the consequences later. In hindsight, though, Theo and she should have worked out a few things before having sex.

  Ivy pushed all of that aside, put on her clothes and sat back on the floor with the laptop. There were still no signs of an intruder. Both a blessing and a curse. Part of her wanted this to come to a quick end so she could see Nathan. Another part of her wished there was a different way. One that didn’t involve her brother and the hands in possible harm’s way.

  Theo’s phone was still on the floor, and when it buzzed, she started to tell him he had a call. But then she saw Jameson’s name on the screen and hit the answer button.

  “Is Nathan okay?” she immediately asked.

  Jameson hesitated a moment, maybe because he’d been expecting Theo to answer, and Theo must have heard the buzzing sound because he raced back into the main part of the bathroom. He was dressed for the most part but was still zipping up his jeans.

  “He’s fine,” Jameson answered, and with a huge breath of relief leaving her mouth, she put the call on speaker and handed the phone to Theo. “We’re all fine. Jodi and he are eating right now so I stepped into the bedroom to call you. I just got an update on Morris’s family. I’ve already told Gabriel, but he said I should call you because he’s basically got you and Theo locked in the bathroom...together,” her brother added.

  Even though Ivy couldn’t see Jameson’s face, he’d probably lifted an eyebrow over that. He knew that Theo and she couldn’t keep their hands off each other. And they hadn’t. But no way was she going to get into that.

  “Did the cops find Morris’s family?” Theo prompted when Jameson didn’t continue.

  “Yeah. They were in a motel just off the interstate. A maid found them. They were tied up, gagged and blindfolded but otherwise physically fine.”

  Ivy was betting that wasn’t true of their mental state. Unless they were faking this, that is. “Who do they say took them?” Ivy asked.

  “They don’t know. The wife said that she and her daughter got back from shopping, and someone was in the house. The person used a stun gun on them. The guy carried them to a car and drove around with them for hours. In fact, he drove so long that he had to stop for gas.”

  “Certainly the thug made or got a call or two during that time,” Theo pointed out.

  “He made one call at the beginning of the drive and told the person that he had the ‘goods,’” Jameson answered. “Neither the wife nor the daughter could hear anything the caller said, but their kidnapper assured whoever it was that he would keep driving until he got further orders.”

  All of this had no doubt happened while Morris was on his way to the safe house to attack them.

  “The kidnapper received a call right before he dropped them off at the motel,” Jameson added. “By then, they must have known Morris had failed and there was no reason to hold his family.”

  Yes, and the kidnapper’s boss could have already started lining up the next thug he or she could use to storm the ranch. Thank God the person had seen no value in killing Morris’s family. Of course, there was another thing to consider. If Morris had voluntarily been in on this, then his family could have faked the kidnapping and release. They might not know the truth about that unless they caught the man or woman who was responsible.

  “The guy who stun-gunned Morris’s family wasn’t wearing a mask?” Theo asked her brother.

  “No. The wife was able to give a description of the man, but it’s a pretty vague one. Not sure we’ll actually get much from it.”

  Even if they did, the guy was probably long gone by now.

  “I’ll get in touch with you if anything else comes up,” Jameson assured them, and he paused again. “I guess you two have plenty to talk over once we’re out of this mess. Let me know if I can help with that.” And he ended the call before Theo or she could even respond.

  Theo
put his phone in his pocket, and even though his attention went back to the laptop, Ivy knew he was thinking about what her brother had just said. She certainly was. But she didn’t have time to dwell on it because there was a soft knock at the door.

  “It’s me,” Gabriel said.

  Since he could have critical information, Ivy hurried to let him in. Theo stood, too, but he volleyed his attention between Gabriel and the laptop. Gabriel’s eyes did some volleying as well—between Theo and her.

  “Is everything...okay?” Gabriel asked her.

  She nodded and hoped it didn’t look as if Theo and she had just had sex. But judging from her brother’s huff, it did look that way.

  “The last time Theo and you tangled, you left town for ten years,” Gabriel reminded her. “I’d rather that not happen again. In fact, when this danger is over and done, I want you to consider moving back here. It’d be a good place to raise Nathan.”

  It would be. Though she’d been comfortable enough at her own ranch, it had never quite felt like home.

  “You wouldn’t have to move in here,” Gabriel added. He must have taken her silence to mean that she needed more convincing. “We could build you a place or you could have the old house.”

  “Definitely no to the old house. Too many bad memories there.”

  If she came back for good, Ivy would want a fresh start. Something that didn’t add to the weight on her shoulders. Of course, that led her to the next thought that was on her mind.

  Where did Theo fit in with this fresh start?

  He’d said something about a desk job in San Antonio, but Ivy wasn’t sure if he was certain of that or not. It was one thing to love his son and want to spend time with him, but it was another thing to completely alter his life.

  “Is something wrong?” Theo asked, his attention on Gabriel now.

  Because she’d been so caught up in the conversation, Ivy only then realized that Gabriel probably hadn’t come up there to talk about their future. That sent her pulse racing, and it raced even more when Gabriel didn’t jump to answer.

  “Look at the camera that shows the old house,” Gabriel instructed Theo. “You’ll have to zoom in.”

  Ivy practically ran back to the laptop so she could see what was going on, but after frantically searching the screen, she had to shake her head. She didn’t see anyone moving around or lurking in the shadows. But she did see an open window on the second floor.

  “I’m pretty sure that window was closed last time I checked, and I didn’t notice it until a few minutes ago.”

  It was open, not fully, though, only by a couple of inches. Since there were no lights on in the old house, it was just a gaping dark space. However, Ivy could see the reason for his concern—that window was lined up directly with Gabriel’s house.

  “The hands searched the place when we were on the way here,” her brother continued, “but someone could have been hiding.”

  Yes, there was a huge attic along with enough rooms and closets that the hands could have missed someone. Someone like a gunman.

  “Have you seen any kind of movement in the window?” Theo asked without taking his attention off the screen.

  “No. And I considered having a deputy and a couple of hands go down there to check it out, but I decided against it. Too risky at this point.”

  Definitely, because the deputy and hands would be out in the open and could be gunned down.

  “Just keep a close watch on it,” Gabriel told them. “I’ll focus on the other cameras.”

  Good idea, because whoever had opened the window could have meant to do that as a distraction. Maybe to lure them out. Or maybe just to take their attention off another hiding place.

  Gabriel started to leave, and Ivy followed so she could relock the door. But Theo said a single word of profanity that stopped them both. With Gabriel right behind her, Ivy went back so she could see for herself what had caused Theo’s reaction.

  And her heart went to her knees.

  Because of what was now in the open window of the old house.

  The barrel of a rifle.

  * * *

  FROM THE MOMENT they’d come back to the ranch, Theo had known an attack was possible. Likely, even. But it still gave him an adrenaline spike to see that weapon now pointed at Gabriel’s house.

  “Get in the shower now,” Theo told Ivy.

  Gabriel rushed out of the bathroom, no doubt so he could get to one of the windows downstairs so he’d be in position to return fire if it came down to that. Theo locked the door behind him and carried the laptop into the shower with Ivy and him, but not before Ivy grabbed a gun.

  Her breathing was already way too fast, and Theo considered trying to do something to help her level it. But if he pulled her into his arms now, it would definitely be a distraction, and he needed to keep his attention on the rifle.

  It was already dark, but there was enough of a moon to see the light glint off the barrel. Enough to see, too, when the barrel shifted just a little, and Theo spotted the scope on it. The shooter was taking aim at something, and he hoped it wasn’t a ranch hand or deputy who wasn’t hidden well enough.

  “A shot from there would be able to make it here,” she said.

  It wasn’t a question. She knew it could. But he hated to hear the slight tremble in her voice. Both of them wanted this showdown, but there was plenty of worry and fear, too.

  Theo watched as the barrel shifted again, and he steeled himself for what he figured would come next. He didn’t have to wait long.

  The gunman fired.

  Three shots, one right behind the other. Theo couldn’t tell exactly where they’d landed, but they’d definitely hit Gabriel’s house.

  The shooter turned the barrel again, and the goon fired more shots. Not at the house this time. It didn’t take Theo long to figure out what had been the gunman’s new target.

  One of the security cameras.

  He’d shot out the one in Gabriel’s backyard. That portion of the laptop screen went blank.

  “The security system is still on,” Theo reminded Ivy when she made a slight gasp. “If anyone tries to get into the house, the alarm will sound.”

  Plus, there were five other cameras and motion detectors. Theo figured, though, that the shooter would try to take out most of them.

  And he did.

  The next round of gunfire destroyed the camera on the side of the house, the one that had allowed them to see the rifleman.

  “He’s setting up an attack,” Ivy said, her voice a little shaky, but she kept a steady grip on the gun she was holding.

  Theo hoped like the devil that she wouldn’t have to use the weapon. While he was hoping, he added that maybe the ranch hands would spot this snake before he could get anywhere near Ivy.

  They lost a third camera with the next shots. This one near the front porch, and it meant they now had a huge blind spot in the area that divided the two houses. Since that was also where the shooter was, Theo doubted that was a coincidence, and it meant the gunman would probably try to make his way to Gabriel’s.

  The silence came, and in many ways it was worse than the shots. As long as the guy was firing, Theo had known his location. Now he had no idea where the shooter was. However, he kept watch on the three other cameras since someone could be coming from that direction, too.

  There was some movement on the screen from the camera on the other side of the house. Not an attacker. It was Al Talley, one of the ranch hands. He was at the back of a shed, and since Theo hadn’t spotted him earlier, it meant Al had probably been in the shed itself. Maybe the gunfire had drawn him out.

  Hell, or Al could have heard the sound of someone approaching.

  Theo was about to text Gabriel to see if he knew what was going on, but the next shot stopped him cold. Because this one didn’t go downstairs. It slammed into th
e window just a few feet from the shower. The bullet tore through the chunk of glass and sent it flying across the room.

  “The shooter knows we’re in here,” Ivy whispered. Her grip tightened on the gun. She made a strangled sound of fear that came from deep within her chest.

  Yeah, he did. That probably meant he was using some kind of thermal scanning equipment that could pinpoint them. The next shot proved it, too, because it tore through another chunk in the window, and the gunman kept firing, kept chipping away at it until the entire floor was littered with the sharp glass.

  “Why didn’t the breaking window trigger the security alarm?” she asked.

  “Probably because this one wasn’t wired into the system.” It couldn’t be lifted, which meant it wouldn’t normally be a point of entry for someone trying to get in. It still wasn’t, not with those jagged shards of glass sticking out all over.

  “We’ll just stay put,” Theo said when the shots moved from the window to the wall. The wall adjacent to the shower. “The bullets can’t get through the stones.”

  He hoped.

  But the shots sure as heck could cause debris to fly through the air. It seemed as if the guy was trying to rip his way through the wall.

  Theo’s phone dinged, and he saw Gabriel’s text message pop up on the screen. Are you both okay?

  Fine, for now, Theo texted back.

  He caught on to Ivy and lowered her until they were lying on the shower floor. It was larger than average size, but there still wasn’t a lot of room with both of them in it. They were practically wrapped around each other.

  I have a deputy and one of the hands moving in on the shooter, Gabriel added in his text a moment later. I think we can get this snake.

  Theo was about to answer, but then he heard a strange sound. Definitely not an ordinary bullet this time. It was something else. Something that was about to make their situation a whole lot more dangerous than it already was.

  A small metal canister.

  It dropped onto the floor and started spewing tear gas.

  Theo tucked the laptop under his arm, yanked Ivy to her feet and they started running. But it was already too late. The tear gas was burning their eyes and causing them to cough. Slowing them down, too. Not good. Because the gunman started firing bullets again, and this time Ivy and he were right in the path.