“No,” Caitlyn agreed. “But you might have had a part in trying to make sure that heir didn’t exist.”
Jeremy’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sick and tired of you making me out to be the devil in all of this. Why don’t you go after my mother?”
“You’d love that, wouldn’t you? Because with your mother behind bars, you’d control the estate.”
Jeremy shrugged, clearly not denying that.
Drury had seen and heard more than enough from this clown, and the timing was perfect because Gage came in through the back exit. “The car’s ready,” Gage said.
That was all Drury needed. Apparently Caitlyn, too, since they both got moving.
“That’s it?” Jeremy called out to them. He tried to follow them, but one of the deputies blocked his path.
Drury ignored him. “Is someone else going with us?” he asked Gage.
Gage nodded. “Someone I found in the parking lot.” He opened the door, and that’s when Drury saw Lucas in the front seat.
“Worried about me?” Drury joked when Caitlyn and he got into the backseat. Gage took the wheel. The moment they were all buckled up, he took off, heading onto Main Street.
Lucas glanced at him. Then at Caitlyn. Even though there was no way Lucas could have known about that near kiss earlier, his brother could no doubt see that the attraction was still there.
“Yeah, I am worried about you,” Lucas admitted, but he didn’t spell out what that worry included. However, Drury figured Caitlyn was part of that concern.
Lucas took out a photo from his pocket and handed it to Drury. “Either of you recognize her?”
Caitlyn leaned closer to Drury to have a look. Drury studied it, too. A young woman in her early to midtwenties. Brunette hair and slight build.
Drury and Caitlyn shook their heads at the same time. “Who is she?” Caitlyn asked.
“Nicole Aston.”
Drury repeated the name under his breath to see if it would trigger any kind of recollection, but it didn’t. “Should we know her?”
Lucas flexed his eyebrows. “I think she might have been the surrogate.”
That certainly got Drury’s attention. Caitlyn’s, too. “How do you know that?” she asked.
“I ran a search on recent female missing persons in the state and found out that Ms. Aston was a college student. According to her friends, she was a surrogate. And she disappeared a week ago.”
Bingo.
Caitlyn studied the photo a moment longer before she handed it back to Lucas. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her before. But I doubt Conceptions or whoever’s behind this would have wanted me to cross paths with the surrogate.”
Lucas made a sound to indicate he agreed with that. “I just thought maybe she would try to get in touch with you. Especially if she suspected anything illegal was going on at Conceptions. Of course, maybe the powers that be made sure she didn’t get suspicious.”
Even though this conversation was important, Drury continued to keep watch around them. So did Lucas and Gage. Now that they were out of town, it was a little easier since there weren’t many buildings. Just some ranches and a lot of open farm road.
“Do Nicole’s friends and family have any idea where she could be?” Caitlyn asked.
Lucas shook his head. “Both her parents are dead. No boyfriend. Her friends are pretty much just her classmates who said she kept to herself a lot.”
Which might have explained why Conceptions would have wanted her for a surrogate. Still, there was another possibility. “Nicole could have given birth and then changed her mind about giving up the baby. She could be in hiding.”
Lucas agreed fast enough that Drury knew that he had already considered it. “Her bank account hasn’t been touched in a week, though. Prior to that, there were monthly deposits of fifteen hundred dollars. I’ve put a tracer on the deposits, but it was wired in, probably from an offshore account.”
In other words, the tracer was a long shot. It also meant someone had tried to cover their tracks. Most people who hired a surrogate didn’t need to have their tracks covered like that.
Drury was so caught up in what Lucas had just told him that he hadn’t realized some of the color had drained from Caitlyn’s face. “Someone could have killed her to silence her.”
Yeah. Drury decided not to confirm that out loud. Besides, Gage made a sound that had his attention shifting in that direction.
“What the hell?” Gage grumbled.
Drury followed his gaze and asked himself the same thing. There was something on the road just ahead.
Gage slammed on the brakes, and Lucas and Drury automatically drew their weapons. That’s because they got a better look.
That something was a body.
* * *
CAITLYN DIDN’T GET a long look at the person in the middle of the road. Drury had pushed her down onto the seat. All three lawmen kept their guns ready, obviously bracing for some kind of attack.
But nothing happened.
“I’ll call Grayson,” Lucas volunteered, and a moment later she heard him doing that.
The car also started to move again. Slowly. Gage was no doubt trying to get even closer to see if the person was truly dead or if this was some kind of ruse. After everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, none of them was in a trusting sort of mood, and Drury’s gaze was firing all around them. No doubt searching for anyone who might be lying in wait.
“Blood,” Drury said under his breath. “Anyone recognize him?”
Caitlyn lifted her head, just long enough to have a look at the man. He was belly down on the pavement, his face turned toward the car, and while his eyes were open, they were lifeless. Fixed in a blank stare.
For a moment she thought it was Ronnie since the man had the same hair color and a similar build, but it wasn’t him.
She also glanced around at their surroundings. There were no houses. No other vehicles, either. Just miles of flat pastures stretching out on each side of them. Thankfully, there were only a few trees, and the ones that were nearby weren’t wide enough to hide a gunman.
“Grayson’s sending an ambulance and some deputies,” Lucas relayed when he finished his call. “He’ll be here in less than ten minutes.” He tipped his head to the body. “Anyone else thinking it’d be a really bad idea to go out there and make sure the guy’s dead?”
“Agreed,” Drury and Gage said in unison.
“As soon as the deputies arrive to secure the scene, we’re out of here,” Drury told her. Then he turned back to Gage and Lucas. “Keep an eye on the ditches,” he added.
Caitlyn’s heart was already racing, and that certainly didn’t help. Some of the ditches could be quite deep on the farm roads. Deep enough for someone to use to launch another attack.
The seconds crawled by, and it felt like an eternity. An eternity where Caitlyn had too much time to think, and her thoughts didn’t go in a good place.
Oh, God.
“This could be a diversion so kidnappers can go after the baby,” she blurted out.
None of them dismissed that, which only caused her to panic even more, and Drury took out his phone. “I’ll call the ranch,” he said.
Even though she was close to both Drury and his phone, Caitlyn couldn’t hear what he said to the person who answered. That’s because her heartbeat was crashing in her ears now, but she watched for any signs on Drury’s face that he’d just gotten bad news.
More of the long moments crawled by before he finally said, “Everything’s okay there. The place is on lockdown. Two of the deputies are with the baby, and the ranch hands are all armed.”
Good. Of course, that didn’t mean all those measures wouldn’t keep the kidnappers from trying to take her again.
“Someone’s coming,
” Lucas said, getting their attention.
Caitlyn had another glimpse over the front seat, and she saw the red truck approaching from the opposite direction. It wasn’t a new model, and it appeared to be scabbed with rust. It definitely didn’t look like the sort of vehicle that their attackers would use. Plus, this road led to several ranches, so it could be someone just headed into town.
Lucas, Gage and Drury lifted their guns anyway.
The truck slowed as it neared the body and their car, but because of the angle of the sun and the tinted windshield, Caitlyn wasn’t able to see who was inside. She especially wasn’t able to see when Drury pushed her back down on the seat.
Not a second too soon, either.
She got just a glimpse of the passenger in the truck. He threw open the door and aimed an Uzi at them.
A hail of bullets slammed into the car.
The sound was deafening, and the front windshield was suddenly pocked with the shots. The glass held. For now. But this wasn’t just ordinary gunfire. The rounds were spraying all over the car, and even though it was bullet resistant, that didn’t mean the shots wouldn’t eventually get through.
“Hold on!” Gage told them.
That was the only warning they got before he threw the car into Reverse and hit the accelerator. The tires squealed against the asphalt as he peeled away.
The shots didn’t stop, though. The gunman continued to fire into the car, and it didn’t sound as if he was getting farther away. Because he wasn’t. She glanced out again and saw that the driver of the truck was coming after them. The shooter was leaning out the window to fire at them.
Gage cursed and sped up, but he was driving backward, and the shots had taken off his side mirror.
“Stay down,” Drury warned her.
She did, but Caitlyn wished she had a weapon. Judging from the last glimpse she’d gotten of the truck, it was going fast, and if it was reinforced in some way, the driver could ram into them and send them into the ditch. If so, they’d be sitting ducks.
“Backup’s on the way,” Drury reminded her. Probably because she looked terrified. And she was.
But Caitlyn was also furious with the gunmen and with herself. Here, once again, she’d put Drury and his family in danger, and she still didn’t know who was responsible for this.
Jeremy and Melanie both knew Drury and she had been at the sheriff’s office, and it wasn’t much of a stretch for them to figure out that they’d be heading to the ranch. Of course, Helen could have known that, too. Any of the three could have sent these thugs to try to kill them.
And there was no doubt that’s exactly what they were trying to do.
This wasn’t a kidnapping attempt. No. Those bullets were coming one right behind the other, each of them tearing into the car and windshield.
“Enough of this,” Gage growled.
He hit the brakes, and for several heart-stopping moments, Caitlyn thought he was going to get out and make a stand. However, he backed the car into a narrow side road. In the same motion, he maneuvered the steering wheel to get them turned around. He darted out right in front of the truck. So close that it nearly collided with them.
Gage sped off.
“We’ll lead them straight into backup,” Drury said. He took out his phone, no doubt to let Grayson know. “We need to take them alive,” he reminded the others.
Yes, because it was the fastest way for them to get answers.
“Hell,” Drury mumbled.
She wasn’t sure why he’d said that, but the shots suddenly stopped. Caitlyn followed his gaze, and he was looking back at the truck. She lifted her head just a fraction and peered over the seat to see that the truck was turning around.
Mercy.
They were going to try to get away.
She could only watch as the truck U-turned in the road. And that’s when she got a look at the driver. It was someone she recognized.
Ronnie.
Chapter Nine
Drury figured he should be feeling some relief right about now. After all, he had Caitlyn safely back at the ranch, and other than the unmarked car being shot to pieces, there’d been no other damage.
Well, not to Caitlyn, him or his family.
But a man was dead. They didn’t have an ID on the guy yet, but he’d almost certainly been murdered to get them to stop in the road so they could be gunned down. It was a high price to pay.
Caitlyn was paying a high price, too. She wasn’t crying or falling apart. Not on the outside anyway. However, she had the baby in her arms and was rocking her as if that were the cure for everything. It had certainly soothed the baby. She was sacked out, and maybe just holding the little girl would soothe Caitlyn, too.
As much as she could be soothed considering she’d come close to dying.
“Grayson will question all of our suspects again,” Drury reminded her. He was at the front window, volleying glances between Caitlyn and Lucas. His brother was outside the guesthouse and was pacing across the porch while he talked on the phone.
No doubt pushing to get any updates on the attack.
Drury was thankful for his help because he didn’t exactly want to have those phone conversations in front of Caitlyn. Not with that shell-shocked glaze in her eyes.
“Ronnie,” she said under her breath.
She didn’t add any profanity, but Drury certainly had whenever the man’s name came up. He’d never believed Ronnie’s story that he was the baby’s father and innocent in all of this, but the attack proved it. Ronnie had definitely been behind the wheel of that truck.
So, who’d hired him?
Drury checked his laptop to see if there’d been any breaks on finding a money trail. Breaks on anything else for that matter. But nothing.
“There’s an APB out on Ronnie,” Drury told her. “Everyone will be looking for him.”
That wasn’t a guarantee that they’d find him, but the APB was a start.
She nodded, and he thought the shell-shocked look got even worse. He also noticed that not all the rocking was actually rocking. Caitlyn was trembling. Probably feeling pretty unsteady, too, because she eased the baby into the carrier that was on the coffee table directly across from her.
Drury glanced out the window again. In addition to Lucas, two other armed ranch hands were out there. The front gate was locked, and the perimeter security system was on. That meant things were as safe as they could possibly be, so he left the window, went to the sofa and sank down beside her.
Caitlyn squeezed her eyes shut a moment. Groaned softly. And she eased against him, her head dropping onto his shoulder.
“I can still hear the gunshots,” she said.
Yeah, so could he. He didn’t want to tell her that she would hear them for the rest of her life. But she would. So would he. And he would remember that look of terror on her face.
There wasn’t really a way to comfort her right now, so Drury just slipped his arm around her and hoped that helped. It seemed to do that. For a couple of long moments anyway. Until she lifted her head, and her eyes met his.
Any chance of comforting her vanished. A lot of things vanished. Like common sense because just like that, Drury felt the old attraction.
“I don’t know how to stop this,” she said. Her voice was a whisper, filled with her thin breath.
She wasn’t talking about the danger now.
It would have been safer if she had been.
Before he could talk himself out of it or remember this was something he shouldn’t be doing, Drury lowered his head and kissed her. There it was. That kick. He’d kissed her plenty of times, but he always felt it. As if this was something he’d never tasted before.
And wanted.
He hated that want. Hated the kick. Hell, in the moment he hated her a
nd himself. But that didn’t stop him from continuing the kiss.
This would have been a good time for Caitlyn to pull away from him and remind him just how much of a bad idea this was. She didn’t. She moaned, a sound of pleasure, and she slipped her hand around the back of his neck to pull him even closer.
She succeeded.
The kiss deepened. So did the body-to-body contact, and her breasts landed against his chest. He felt another kick. Stronger than the first one, and even though he knew it would just keep getting stronger and stronger, he kept kissing her.
It didn’t take long for things to rev up even more, and if Drury hadn’t heard the sound, the heat might have taken over. But the sound was the front door opening, and that caused Caitlyn and Drury to fly apart as if they’d been caught doing something wrong.
Which they had been.
Kissing Caitlyn not only complicated things, but once again he’d lost focus.
Drury reached for his gun, but it wasn’t necessary. Lucas came in, and yes, he’d seen at least a portion of the kiss. Or maybe he’d just caught the guilty look on Drury’s face.
Lucas spared them both a glance, but his attention settled on the baby. He went closer, looking down at her, and he brushed his fingers over her toes that were peeking out from her pink gown.
His brother was certainly a lot more comfortable with the baby than Drury was. With good reason. Lucas was a father himself to a two-month-old son, and he was raising him alone since the baby’s mother was in a coma.
Bittersweet.
Much the way Drury felt about this baby. He’d been protecting Caitlyn and the little girl, so that created a bond between them. But the old wounds were still there. Always would be.
“Grayson got an ID on the dead guy,” Lucas said, sitting on the coffee table next to the baby. “His name was Morgan Sotelo. A druggie with a long record. No known family or address.”
Which was probably why he’d been killed. No one would have missed him. Drury doubted the guy was actually involved in the attacks, and that sickened Drury. He’d been killed so that Ronnie and his henchmen could kill again.
Drury Page 8
