by SUE FINEMAN
“No deal, Blackburn. And get the hell out of my house.” He wasn’t about to make a deal with the devil. If Blackburn killed him, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t still go after Mom and the kids.
“Watch the news tonight, and keep an eye on those pretty little girls if you don’t want them to end up like their mother. And their grandmother.”
The line clicked dead and Chance swore as he punched in McBride’s phone number. “Blackburn just called me from my house. I don’t know what he has planned, but he told me to watch the news tonight.”
“On my way,” said McBride, and the phone clicked off.
He looked over at Baylee, who stood in the bedroom door. “Blackburn wants to trade my life for my kids. Turn on the television, a local news station.”
As Baylee walked away, Chance punched in his youngest brother’s home phone number. “Yeah, Gregory,” he answered.
“Greg, this is Chance. Blackburn just called me. He knows where the kids are, says if I don’t let him kill me, he’ll come after Mom and the kids.”
“He’s not going to get to them, Chance. We’ll move them to my house and hire a guard if we need to. How did he get Mom’s address?”
“He broke into the house and found Emma’s address book. I didn’t even think of it, Greg. I got the other important papers, and I completely forgot about her address book.”
“Okay, we can handle it. When are you coming?”
“I don’t want to bring him out there.“
“He doesn’t want the kids, he wants you, but if he shows up here, I’ll shoot the son-of-a-bitch. Are you alone?”
“No, I have Baylee Patterson with me. She’s on Blackburn’s kill list, too.”
“The cute blonde newspaper reporter?”
“That’s her.”
“Then bring her along. Does she know how to shoot?”
Chance stifled a laugh. “No, she doesn’t like guns.”
“Ah, one of those.”
“Yeah, one of those.”
“Okay, let me know what you’re doing. You’re not at home, are you?”
“No, I’m at McBride’s ski cabin. If someone doesn’t catch that bastard soon, I’ll go back to Tacoma and shoot him myself. No jury would convict me after what he did to Emma and his wife.”
“He killed his wife?”
“Last night. Apparently Baylee and I are next on his list, and then he’s going after the cops who caught him, the prosecutor, and the judge.”
Greg whistled. “This guy is a real piece of work. He’s looking for revenge.”
“I feel like getting some of that myself.” They talked a few minutes longer, and by the time Chance ended the call, he felt better. Greg was the county sheriff in Caledonia, Texas, and before that, he was a DEA agent. Chance’s macho brother wasn’t afraid of anything or anybody. Greg would make sure Mom and the kids were protected.
He walked out to the living room, where Baylee sat flipping channels on the TV.
“Find anything?”
“No, not yet.”
Chance still had his phone in his hand when it rang. Blackburn said, “Boom, you’re dead,” and then clicked off.
Punching in McBride’s phone number, Chance prayed he wasn’t too late. “McBride, don’t go in the house. I think he planted a bomb.”
He heard yelling in the background, and then McBride came on again. “Do you have gas heat?”
“Yeah, why?”
Chance heard more yelling and running before McBride came back on the line. “There’s a ruptured gas line in the area, probably in your house. The whole damn street smells like gas.”
A loud boom came across the phone, and then Chance sat in stunned silence, holding a dead phone. “He blew up my house. That son-of-a-bitch couldn’t get to me, so he blew up my house.”
Baylee nudged his arm. “At least you and your kids weren’t in it at the time.”
He shook his head slightly. “You’re just Little Miss Mary Sunshine, aren’t you?” he muttered mostly to himself.
“Make that Miss Baylee Sunshine,” she shot back. “And there’s nothing little about me. Big mouth, big nose, big butt—”
“Big ego,” he shot back.
“Look who’s talking, Mr. Big Shot Attorney.”
Within minutes, the television news station had pictures of the house and the debris littering the area, including the broken furniture Emma had so carefully chosen for her dream home. Two police cars were damaged, and the windows in the neighbor’s house had blown out. Several people were injured, but none seriously. For that, Chance was immensely grateful. Steven’s best friend lived in the house next door.
He pictured Emma’s face and knew she’d be glad he’d had sense enough to get the kids out before this happened. Still, his skin crawled. “I slept in that house last night.”
“Yeah, but there’s a higher power watching over you and your kids.”
“Where in the hell was this ‘higher power’ when that bastard kidnapped and killed Emma? When he tortured Melissa?”
“I don’t have an answer, Chance.”
“What? Newspaper reporters don’t know everything?”
“No, attorneys know everything, or at least they think they do.”
At that moment, he wasn’t sure he knew anything.
They watched the news reports for over an hour, and then Chance called McBride again. “Blackburn wants me, so feel free to use me for bait. I’ll leave Baylee here at the cabin.”
“Like hell you will,” she muttered.
“We don’t need bait,” said McBride. “We have both cops wired, and the judge and prosecutor are on vacations with their families. He’s trying to get under your skin.”
“Yeah, I know, and he’s doing a bang up job of it, too.”
“Look at it this way. You’re insured, and when buyers hear the history of the house, you’d never sell it for fair market value anyway. Nobody wants to live in the house of a murder victim, and nobody would buy it at any price until after we get Blackburn.”
With any luck, the cops would kill that bastard and save the state the cost of putting him to death. One way or the other, Chance would see him dead for what he’d done to the mother of his children.
Chapter Three
Baylee watched Chance pace. “Will you knock it off? You’re driving me crazy.”
He stopped by the open kitchen counter. “Go to bed, Baylee. I’ll keep watch tonight.”
“Why? If he knew we were here, he would have bombed this place instead of your house.”
Chance’s cell phone rang again. He reached for it, but Baylee grabbed it first. “Hello,” she said in a throaty whisper.
After about five seconds of silence, a man asked, “Who is this?” and she knew it was Black Jack Blackburn calling to torment Chance again.
“Emma Gregory,” she said in that same throaty voice. “You didn’t kill me, Jack. No one can kill a witch. I’m going to put a spell on you. Keep an eye on your stubby little penis, you miserable mortal. It’ll shrink so much you’ll have to sit down to pee, and forget sex. After my spell, you won’t be able to get it up.” She snapped the phone closed.
“What in the hell are you doing?” Chance yelled.
“He scared the piss out of me today, with that knife in my pillow, and I’m just returning the favor.”
“Using Emma’s name?”
“I don’t think she’ll mind,” Baylee muttered mostly to herself.
Chance’s phone rang again. She handed it to him.
“Gregory,” he answered.
“Emma? Hell yes, she’s a witch. Why do you think I divorced her?” Chance winked at Baylee. “You just blew up a witch’s house. What in the hell did you expect her to do?”
He turned the phone off, and a little smile softened his face. “He thinks she’s come back to haunt him.”
“When I get finished with him, he’s going to wish Emma had killed him. Next time the phone rings, let me answer it.”
B
ut Blackburn didn’t call again that night.
<>
Early the next morning, sunshine streaked through the dusty window, waking Baylee. She dressed in warm clothes and pulled on her hiking boots. The mountains were calling her. She’d leave a note for Chance on the kitchen counter and then follow the trail behind the cabin.
As she opened the kitchen door, Chance called, “Going somewhere?”
“For a short hike.”
“Then wait for me.”
She turned to look at him. He wore no shirt and his jeans were unsnapped as if he’d just pulled them on. He was the only man she’d ever been with who didn’t have chest hair, but his body looked different than it had the last time she saw it. “You’ve been working out.” His chest and arms had thickened with hard muscle, and his stomach rippled. This man was absolutely gorgeous, his face and body sculpted and toned to perfection.
His hand came up to rub his washboard stomach and a quirky smile lifted one corner of his mouth. “You like the new look?”
“Oh, please!” She wasn’t about to feed his giant ego. “If you’re fishing for a compliment, drop your hook in another pond.”
Ignoring her comment, he said, “I’ll be ready to go in five minutes. Wait for me.”
“I don’t need a baby-sitter, Chance.”
He stared her down and she finally lifted both hands in defeat. It probably wasn’t a real good idea to go out alone, although she wouldn’t admit it to him. “Okay, all right. I’ll wait five minutes, but I get the first shower when we get back.”
Six minutes later, Chance put on his jacket and pulled a red stocking cap on over his short, dark hair. “Did you start the coffee?”
“No. I drink herbal tea.”
Chance stuffed his gun in his right pocket and his cell phone in the left. Who did he think they’d run into on the their hike? Godzilla?
He pushed her out the door. “I’ll make coffee when we get back.”
“Is it your turn to be grumpy? I thought you had your turn yesterday.”
“Smart-mouthed reporter,” he quipped.
“Know it all attorney.”
They locked the cabin and started out, following the trail back through the woods and over rocks, up the gently sloping mountainside. Baylee’s breath hung in foggy clouds in the cold, clear morning air. She found it invigorating. The fir trees were so tall she couldn’t see the tops, and the trail was coated with slippery needles. The trees filtered out most of the sunshine, but the vigorous physical activity kept her warm.
They walked single-file up the sloping trail, with Chance leading the way. After a half-hour or so, Baylee’s legs and lungs screamed for rest, but Chance was way up ahead, so she found a big rock and sat down to rest. He might be in great shape, but she wasn’t. The most exercise she got these days was chasing down a story, and that usually involved a fast food lunch on the run. Not the healthiest way to live.
She heard something behind her and turned to look. A big animal on the rocks behind her snarled and hunched as if ready to pounce on her. It looked like an overgrown house cat, but this was no pet. Those fangs were big enough to rip out her throat.
Frozen with fear, Baylee couldn’t even scream.
<>
Chance walked along, enjoying the peaceful hike up the mountain. He came to a fork in the trail and turned to ask Baylee which way she wanted to go, but she wasn’t behind him. With a surge of panic, he forced himself to stand quietly and listen for her footsteps. He heard the wind in the trees, the birds chirping, and the rustle of small animals in the undergrowth, but no footsteps. Where in the hell had she gone?
Retracing his steps down the mountain, Chance walked quietly, watching and listening for Baylee. He didn’t want to call to her in case Blackburn had found her, but how would he find her? McBride wouldn’t tell anyone, and he was the only one who knew where they were. Unless Baylee told someone. She wouldn’t do that, would she?
An animal snarled up ahead and kicked Chance’s heart into overdrive. He rushed down the trail, pulling his gun out of his pocket on the way, praying Baylee was all right. As he rounded a bend, he spotted her sitting on a rock, staring at the cougar crouched to leap from the rocks behind her.
Chance took aim and brought the big cat down with one shot. It fell at Baylee’s feet.
She screamed and jumped away. “You shot it. Ohmygod, you shot it.”
Chance ran down the trail, hoping he’d killed the cougar and not just wounded it. An instant later, he fired another bullet into the cat’s head and pulled Baylee into a tight embrace. She was shaking hard. She must have been terrified.
“I want to go home,” she whined.
“I know.” So did he, but he didn’t have a home, and Blackburn knew where Baylee lived. She couldn’t go home either. But they couldn’t stay here. Not now. He had to report that he’d killed the cat, and it would no doubt hit the news, not only because the animal he’d killed was on the protected list, but because he was the man whose house blew up last night, the man whose office was vandalized yesterday, the man whose ex-wife was recently murdered.
So much for hiding out in the mountains.
Standing in the middle of the trail, holding Baylee in his arms, he wished he could undo the past, beginning with the night he met her in the bar. He regretted sleeping with her and then not calling. He regretted a lot of things, but he couldn’t undo the past any more than he could stop his nightmares. Last night, he’d dreamed the crying babies in the orphanage had turned into his own children, and he knew he had to get to them soon. They needed him almost as much as he needed them.
When Baylee stopped shaking so hard, she said, “Okay, I guess I did need a baby-sitter.”
He smiled to himself and they walked back to the cabin. And this time, they stayed together.
While Baylee showered, Chance started the coffee and made a phone call.
Baylee had the hair dryer going and he was sipping his first cup of coffee when the sheriff’s deputy arrived. Chance poured him a cup of coffee and related the events on the trail. “When I saw that cougar ready to pounce, I thought she was gone for sure.”
“Do you always carry a gun, Mr. Gregory?”
“I do now. The man who killed the woman in Tacoma last night is after us.” He gave the deputy Detective McBride’s phone number, so he could verify the information. “I know this is going to hit the news, but if you can give us a few hours, we’d appreciate it.”
“As long as you don’t leave the area until I finish my investigation.”
“You want us to hang around here and wait for the killer?” said Baylee. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
Chance shook his head slightly and she closed her mouth.
The deputy finished writing something in his notebook and then tucked it in his pocket. “Show me where you killed the cat.”
Minutes later, Chance stared at the beautiful animal he’d killed. He’d never been into hunting, and this was the first thing he’d killed. If he thought he could have scared it away, he would have shot into the air, but in another instant, the cougar would have had his fangs and claws into Baylee’s flesh. Funny that an animal that size would have gone after a full-grown woman.
The deputy hunkered down beside the cougar. “This is the one we’ve been after. Look at its back foot.”
The foot was a mangled mess, half missing and the other half raw and swollen. “What happened to it?”
“He probably got caught in a trap and the only way out was to chew his foot off. It’s infected, what’s left of it, so he couldn’t hunt.”
Sitting on that rock, Baylee must have looked like a banquet.
The deputy looked up at Chance. “There’s no need for further investigation, Mr. Gregory. You did what you had to do, and everyone in the area will be glad to know this animal is no longer a threat to their children and pets.”
The deputy snapped several pictures and then they pulled the dead animal onto a tarp and lashed it down. They too
k turns dragging it down the narrow trail to the cabin, where they loaded it in the back of the deputy’s SUV.
Chance walked into the cabin to find Baylee folding clean clothes. “What are you doing?”
“Laundry. I didn’t have time to do mine before we left, and I was running out of clean clothes.” She looked up. “I assume we won’t be spending another night here.”
“No, the investigation is over.”
“Good. Get your shower, so I can wash the towels while you eat breakfast.”
He took his clean underwear from her hand. “Find anything else interesting in my suitcase, Lois Lane?”
“No Superman cape, if that’s what you’re asking, and this girl reporter, unlike Lois Lane, is not trying to snag a husband.”
“Point taken.” He poured himself a cup of coffee. “If you were looking for condoms, I don’t have any. Birth control is no longer an issue, and the only women I’ve been with in the past ten years have been my wife...and you.” He sipped his coffee and gazed into her eyes.
“Information overload, counselor. I really didn’t need to know that.”
Yes, she did, and he wanted to get it out of the way before things got hot and heavy between them. Holding her in his arms out on the trail today, he realized he’d gone too long without the comfort of a woman, too long without sex, and way too long without Baylee Patterson. He had to change that.
If she’d let him.
<>
As Chance pulled away from the cabin two hours later, Baylee tinkered with the radio until she found KOMO, the strongest news station in the area. The reporter was talking about Chance Gregory killing a cougar near Snoqualmie Pass, but they didn’t mention Baylee’s name. Chance had asked the deputy to leave her name off his report, and he obviously had. After the news report, Baylee turned the radio down.
Chance glanced at her. “Blackburn will probably think Emma is the woman with me.”
“I sent in a column while you were out on the trail with the deputy. In the column, I said I was hiding somewhere in Tacoma because Black Jack Blackburn broke into my apartment and threatened me. My editor doesn’t even know where I am. Nobody does except you and Detective McBride.”
