One Night Standoff

by Delores Fossen

  They wound their way through the maze of halls to the surgical ICU, and there was indeed a deputy outside one of the doors. He had a stocky build and round face. Maybe too young to face down anyone Riggs might send to silence the guy. Clayton was right to add more security.

  “Marshals,” the deputy greeted. According to his name tag he was Randy Wells, and he seemed to know Harlan, Declan and Clayton. Of course, since they were all lawmen, they had probably worked some cases together.

  The deputy stepped aside so they could enter. She immediately spotted the man in the bed and knew this must be the person who’d tried to kill them, but he no longer seemed a formidable foe. His watery, weak eyes opened, and the moment his gaze landed on Clayton he wiggled his fingers, motioning for him to come closer.

  Lenora wasn’t sure she wanted Clayton closer to the man, but she doubted Peter Lomax was in any shape to launch another attack.

  “I need a deal.” Lomax’s voice was a gravelly whisper, and each word was a struggle.

  “What kind of deal?” Clayton asked.

  “For my brother, Johnny.” And that’s all he said for several seconds. Lomax used that time to gather his breath. Or rather, try. He started to wheeze, prompting the doctor to check the machines.

  “I have something that’ll be useful to you,” Lomax finally continued. “And I’ll trade it for a lighter sentence for my brother.”

  “He took shots at us,” Clayton reminded him.

  “He was following my orders.” Lomax pulled in a shallow, ragged breath. “And if you want to know whose orders I was following, then you gotta swear to give Johnny a break.”

  Clayton, Harlan and Declan exchanged glances. “All right,” Clayton agreed, though Lenora had no idea if he truly would go through with it.

  With his eyes barely open, Lomax studied him as if trying to decide if Clayton was telling the truth. Maybe he had his doubts, too, but if so, he didn’t voice them. Of course, he didn’t have a lot of options here. It was obvious that he was dying, and he might bargain with the devil to get what he wanted.

  Lomax finally nodded. “It’s in a wall safe at my sister’s place up in Abilene.” And with that, his eyelids fluttered back down again.

  “What’s in the safe?” Clayton asked when Lomax didn’t continue.

  “A recording.” Lomax repeated his answer in a soundless mumble.

  Clayton moved closer, until he was looming over the man. “What kind of recording?”

  One of the machines made a shrill sound. “Everyone out now,” Dr. Landry ordered.

  “What recording?” Clayton pressed as they moved out of the room and back into the hall with Deputy Wells. “What recording?”

  But Lomax didn’t answer. In fact, he didn’t draw another breath. A nurse pushed them aside and hurried into the room, shutting the door.

  “I’ll call the marshals in Abilene and get them started on a search warrant for his sister’s place,” Declan offered. He took out his phone, mumbled some profanity. “No signal in here.” He glanced around as if he might consider leaving, but then shook his head. “It can wait a few minutes until we hear what the doc has to say.”

  Those few minutes passed slowly, and all of them kept watch just in case Quentin was still hanging around. No sign of him, though, and the doctor finally opened the door. One look at her face and Lenora knew that Lomax was gone.

  Dr. Landry shook her head. “Honestly, I’m surprised he lasted as long as he did. I hope you got what you needed from him.”

  “Maybe.” Clayton sounded cautiously hopeful.

  Lenora knew how he felt. God only knew what was on the recording, but maybe it would indeed give them the name of the person who’d hired Lomax and his brother.

  Clayton thanked Dr. Landry, and with Deputy Wells trailing along behind them, they started back down the hall. Still no sign of Quentin, but the moment they rounded the first corner, she saw someone else she didn’t want to see.

  James.

  As he usually did, Clayton tried to step in front of her, but Lenora maneuvered around him so she could face James down. “If you’re here to find out if I’m mentally competent, the answer’s yes, and I want you to back off. I no longer work for you, and I won’t have you meddling in my life.”

  All in all, it was a warning without teeth. There wasn’t much she could do to get him to back off, but she was tired of staying silent while James tried to run roughshod over her.

  “It’s not meddling.” James gave each of them a glance. “I’m here in an official capacity to question Peter Lomax.”

  “Too late,” she told him. “He just died.”

  If James had a reaction to that, Lenora didn’t see it. “Questioning him is just one reason I’m here.”

  Mercy. She didn’t like the sound of that.

  “You’re not putting Lenora in protective custody,” Clayton insisted.

  “No.” And judging from the way his mouth tightened, James didn’t approve of it. “But the FBI is taking over this investigation. I plan to find Johnny Lomax and interrogate him until he breaks.”

  Harlan cursed. “Under whose authority? Johnny Lomax isn’t a federal fugitive.”

  “Doesn’t have to be if the local sheriff requests FBI assistance.”

  Clayton glanced back at the deputy, who only shrugged. “Sheriff Geary called in the FBI?” Clayton asked James.

  “He did. And I’m the lead agent assigned to the investigation.” James shoved his thumb against his own chest. “So, anything you learned from Peter Lomax, you’re to tell me now.”

  None of them volunteered a thing, not even Deputy Wells.

  “Fine,” James spat out. “Play all the games you want, but if you try to get any kind of search warrant or APB relevant to this case, I’ll have all your badges.”

  With that warning, James pushed past them and headed up the hall, not in the direction of the exit, but straight toward Dr. Landry, who was outside the dead man’s door.

  “Let’s go,” Clayton said, hurrying them out of there. He looked back at the deputy. “You might not want to hear what I’m about to do. Wouldn’t want you to get in trouble with Sheriff Geary.”

  The deputy confirmed that with a nod and got out of there fast.

  “Should I call and get that search warrant?” Harlan asked.

  Clayton shook his head. “I’ll do it. I need to get that recording before the FBI does.” Because if James got it first, he might try to destroy it.

  He took out his phone and made the call.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The restless energy inside her made her want to scream, but Lenora knew there was nothing she could do but wait in the ranch office for some hopefully good news. In Clayton’s case, along with the waiting, he was making calls and sending emails to try to speed things along.

  It was a race against time, and Lenora prayed the Abilene police would get the search warrant for the recording before James got wind and stopped it. That recording could be the key to learning who was behind the attempts to kill them.

  Of course, it could turn out to be nothing, too.

  Lomax might have been lying when he gave them the info, but Lenora didn’t think so. She figured the man wouldn’t use his dying breath to lie, not when he could try to save his kid brother.

  Clayton finished his latest call and sank down on the edge of the desk next to where she was sitting. “We got the search warrant, but it might be too late. Two FBI agents just showed up at the Abilene police department.”

  Lenora groaned and dropped the back of her head against the chair. “Dr. Landry must have told James about the recording.”

  He nodded. “Probably because he threatened or intimidated her.”

  Yes, but Lenora hadn’t thought they could keep something like that a secret for long. Essentially it would be withholding evidence, maybe even obstruction of justice, and she couldn’t imagine the doctor willingly becoming embroiled in something that could land her in jail. Still, Lenora wished that
James hadn’t managed to get agents over to Abilene P.D. so quickly.

  “We do have something going for us,” Clayton continued. “Several Abilene officers will accompany the FBI to conduct the search. So maybe James won’t be able to have the recording hidden or destroyed, if that’s what he was planning to do.”

  That was a big maybe. If James was the person on the recording, he would no doubt do whatever it took to make sure his guilt didn’t come to light. If he was innocent, then they had nothing to worry about, because this could be a key piece of evidence that would blow the case wide-open.

  Clayton turned the laptop in his direction and scanned through some emails. They’d been in the office for several hours now, and Lenora had noticed the email alerts popping onto the screen. Most were from Clayton’s brothers, who were all working hard on the investigation. He clicked on the most recent email from Harlan, and she leaned in closer and read it along with him.

  It wasn’t good news.

  Harlan still hadn’t been able to get any info on the bank-account numbers that Quentin had given them.

  “He hasn’t been able to link the money to Melvin,” Lenora mumbled. Yet another possible key piece of evidence that could still pan out.

  “There might not be anything to link,” Clayton reminded her. “The numbers could be bogus.”

  True, but if they did turn out to be real, that particular piece of evidence might confirm what was on the recording. And even if the account numbers didn’t lead back to Melvin, that didn’t mean the man was innocent.

  Clayton looked at her and at the phone he’d just put back into his pocket. “Why don’t you go ahead and get some rest?”

  It wasn’t that late, just past nine-thirty, but with the hellish events of the day, it felt a lot later. Of course, it’d been a while since she’d actually slept, and that was adding to the fatigue, too.

  “The ranch is locked up tight,” Clayton went on, “and the security system is set. The ranch hands are all armed and doing patrol. Around midnight I’ll relieve Cutter so he can rest.” Clearly, he was trying to convince her to go to bed.

  Alone.

  Lenora nearly stood and did as Clayton had said. But then she saw him glance at his phone again, and she frowned. “What are you planning to do?”

  She saw the debate go through his eyes, and Lenora kept her stare firm. “I’m calling Melvin,” he finally admitted.

  Well, that certainly seemed safer than some of the other possibilities that had gone through her mind—like Clayton going to Abilene to keep an eye on the agents James had sent to retrieve the recording. She didn’t want him anywhere near James, but more important, she didn’t want him away from the ranch. Right now it seemed the safest place for both of them to be, especially since two of his brothers, Declan and Wyatt, were there, as well.

  “You think Melvin might confess to receiving money for the hired guns?” she asked.

  He lifted his shoulder and gave a weary huff. “No.”

  That’s exactly what she figured. “Then don’t put yourself through that. Just wait until some of the other evidence comes through for us, and maybe that evidence will be what you need to arrest Melvin.” Lenora paused. “It will be so much easier if Melvin is guilty.”

  Clayton made a sound of agreement. “Arresting him would give me a certain satisfaction.” But he shrugged. “It wouldn’t change things, though.”

  “Would you want to change things?”

  He blinked, maybe surprised that she’d want to launch into a discussion about their old baggage. She didn’t. Not really. But old baggage had a way of making it into the present.

  “Rocky Creek Children’s Facility was a bad place,” he said, obviously thinking about his answer. “But if I hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have met my brothers. Or Kirby. I wouldn’t be here at the ranch.”

  “Your home.” Yes, it was stating the obvious, but she hated to see the past still able to hurt him this way.

  “What about you?” he asked. “Would you go back and change things?”

  “Absolutely.” And she didn’t even have to think about that. “I would have loved to have known my father. Even if he turned out to be, well, like yours. At least I’d know who he was.”

  Clayton stayed quiet a moment. “That’s why you didn’t keep the pregnancy a secret from me.”

  “That was a big part of it, yes,” she admitted. And how could she say this without making it sound like an invitation for more? “But I also thought you’d be a good father.”

  “I will be,” he promised her. But almost immediately he shook his head. “Better than I’ve been so far. I’ve done a lousy job of keeping you and the baby safe.”

  “Not so lousy. We’re all alive.” Sheesh. That sounded a little invitational, too. Best to move on to something not so personal.

  Lenora stood. “How bad is your headache?”

  He didn’t get up from the desk, but that brought his gaze to hers. “Is it that obvious?”

  Now it was her turn to shrug. “You haven’t taken any meds in hours, so I figured there was pain.”

  “It’s manageable,” he said, and he caught her hand and eased her in front of him.

  For a moment she thought Clayton might take her up on one of those invitations and pull her into his arms, but he didn’t. He just stared at her. “You might find this hard to believe, since we had a one-night stand, but I’m pretty old-school when it comes to relationships and family.”

  Now she was the one who was surprised. She wasn’t exactly sure where this conversation was going, but judging from the way Clayton was staring at her, it was going in a direction she might not like.

  “You’re not planning to challenge me for custody?” she asked.

  “No.” He repeated it, as if the idea hadn’t even occurred to him.

  While that was a relief, there was no relief in that it took him the longest moments in history to continue. “I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, and I feel the best thing is for us to get married and raise this baby together.”

  Lenora’s mouth dropped open.

  “Just hear me out,” Clayton said before she could speak. Not that she would have known what to say, anyway. There were only a few times when she’d been rendered speechless, but this was one of those times.

  “You and I both had some strikes against us right from the start,” he explained. “Broken homes and bad breaks. Well, I don’t want that for our baby. I want him or her to have chances we didn’t get by being raised in a home with both parents.”

  She replayed every word in her head, but she still wasn’t sure where to start. Obviously, Clayton expected her to give him a resounding yes.

  Something she couldn’t do.

  “You want a marriage of convenience?” Lenora clarified.

  He opened his mouth, closed it, then mumbled some profanity. “You make it sound like it’s something bad. We’re attracted to each other. If we hadn’t been, we would have never landed in bed.”

  No way could she argue with the attraction part, and Clayton had enough proof of the attraction by the intensity and frequency of their kisses. When close to each other, they had zero resistance.

  And that was why Lenora stepped back and put some space between them.

  If she allowed him to pull her into his arms, her brain would turn to toast, and this was too important a decision to be thinking with parts of her body that shouldn’t have a say in this.

  But Clayton obviously had other ideas.

  He slid his hand around her waist and kissed her. Really kissed her. So hard and so long that when he finally pulled back, Lenora was speechless for a different reason. She didn’t have the breath to form the words. Good thing words weren’t needed when he returned to her mouth for another kiss.

  Oh, no.

  This was exactly what she was trying to avoid. Her body just melted. So did any resolve she had to resist him, and Lenora felt herself leaning in closer. Closer. Until, yes, she was once again in his
arms. And worse, she kissed him right back.

  She let that dreamy feel of pleasure slide right into her. It excited her body and soothed it all at the same time. She had no idea how Clayton managed to accomplish that with just a kiss, but he did it.

  And then pulled back.

  Lenora was so wound up in his arms that she nearly staggered when he stepped away. That wasn’t her only reaction, either. Every part of her began to protest that she was no longer body to body with the man who made her burn.

  With that fire roaring through her, he didn’t just head for the door. He opened it and said the rest of what he had to say from over his shoulder.

  “Just think about the proposal,” he mumbled. “And let me know your decision.”

  * * *

  CLAYTON SANK DOWN onto the foot of his bed and cursed a blue streak. Well, his proposal certainly hadn’t gone as planned. Not that he’d planned it very well, but he’d figured that Lenora would at least be more receptive to the idea of marriage so they could raise their child.

  Apparently not, though.

  Because only seconds after he’d suggested that she think about it, she had been the one to hurry past him and head to the guest room. And she’d shut the door, too. He knew that because it was directly across the hall from his; he’d also heard her lock it.

  And turn off the lights.

  He supposed it was a good sign that she was getting some much-needed rest. Something he wouldn’t get much of tonight. But he had a sinking feeling that he’d insulted Lenora. Definitely not his intention. Yeah, they weren’t in love, but he’d thought she would be able to see past that and do what was best for the baby.

  Clayton mentally repeated that.

  Groaned.

  Yep, he’d blown it, all right. Lenora wasn’t the sort of woman to lean on a man, any man, even if he happened to be the father of her child.

  Cursing his suddenly sour mood, their situation and anything else he could think of to curse, Clayton waited a few seconds for his temper to die down, then called Cutter to make sure everything was still secure.

  “Thought you’d be getting some rest,” Cutter greeted him.