“You thought if I was in jail for Warren’s murder that Bobby Joe wouldn’t try to get back together with me,” Rayna concluded.
Still, no denial, and every bit of that silence cut Rayna to the core. She’d been a fool to trust this woman.
“Whitney?” Court called out again. “This is the last warning you’ll get. Put down that gun.”
Rayna couldn’t be sure because she was still light-headed, but she thought maybe Court had moved farther to the right. Whitney must have thought so, too, because the woman shifted their positions, putting her back to the ditch while keeping Rayna in front of her.
“If you try anything, Rayna dies,” Whitney shouted back. “Since she just confessed to me that she’s in love with you, I doubt you want her dead.”
That caused Rayna’s chest to tighten even more than it already was. Whitney’s outburst wasn’t something she wanted Court to hear. Not like that. And not now. He didn’t need any more distractions.
“I didn’t want my father shot. Or Jennifer and Hallie dead, either,” Court responded. “But you killed them. Killed Mitch and Bobby Joe, too. You know what that makes you, Whitney? A serial killer. And people aren’t going to go easy on you just because you work for the sheriff’s office.”
Whitney made a loud sob, and Rayna didn’t think it was fake. No, that was real emotion, and Whitney was probably just now realizing the horrible things she’d done. A string of murders that had all started because she wanted to keep Bobby Joe away from Rayna.
There was some more movement, and even though Whitney was crying now, she still pointed the gun in those trees. Which meant she was probably pointing it at Court or Ian. No way was Rayna going to let her claim another life.
Rayna knew she still wasn’t steady, but that didn’t stop her. She could tell from the way that Whitney tensed her arm that she was about to pull the trigger. That was why Rayna gathered all the strength she could and rammed her elbow into Whitney’s stomach.
Whitney howled in pain, cursed.
And she turned the gun on Rayna.
Even in the darkness Rayna could see the hatred in the woman’s eyes. Could see that Whitney was going to kill her.
The shot came. Blasting through the air. And Rayna braced herself for the pain. It didn’t come though. But there was pain on Whitney’s face. Along with some shock. That was when Rayna saw the blood spreading across the front of Whitney’s top.
Court stepped out from the trees. He had his gun in his hand, and it was aimed at Whitney.
The woman looked down at the blood, then at Court before she laughed again. Like the other one, there was no humor in it.
But there was something. Something evil.
“You might have put a bullet in me,” Whitney said, “but you’ll never see your mother again. By the time you get to her, she’ll be dead.”
Whitney dropped to the ground, gasping on the last breath she would ever take.
Chapter Eighteen
Court’s mind was shouting for him to do a dozen things at once. He needed to get to his mother, to save her, but he had to make sure Rayna was safe, too. Whitney appeared to be dead.
Appeared.
But since the woman had already murdered at least four people, Court didn’t want to take any chances. He scrambled into the ditch so he could get Rayna out of there.
“Your mom,” Rayna said. “We have to find her.”
Yes, they did, but first they had to confirm that Whitney was indeed dead. Court kicked the woman’s gun away from her hand and touched his fingers to her neck to see if he could feel a pulse.
Yes, she was dead all right.
“She hit me with a stun gun,” Rayna muttered.
So, that was why she was so wobbly, but it could have been worse. Whitney could have used a real gun, and the only reason she hadn’t was because she’d intended to use Rayna as a human shield to try to make an escape. And now even though Whitney was no longer a threat, she still could claim another victim.
His mother.
Ian hurried out from the trees, his gun pointed at Whitney. He didn’t get in the ditch with them. He stayed in the pasture keeping watch. He also gave the all clear for backup and the fire department to come closer.
Because they could possibly use it to track the person who’d kidnapped Helen, Court went through Whitney’s jeans pockets and located her phone. Actually, there were two of them. One was probably the one she regularly used, and the other was likely a burner cell that couldn’t be traced. He put them both in his pockets.
“You’re bleeding,” Rayna added when he scooped her up and lifted her out of the ditch. Not easily. His arm was still throbbing, but he had to take her to the cruiser so that she wouldn’t be out in the open.
The night was suddenly filled with flashing lights from the approaching deputies and the fire engine. With Rayna still in his arms, Court started moving with Ian right behind them.
“You shouldn’t be carrying me,” Rayna protested. “You’ve been shot.”
That was true, but Rayna wasn’t in any shape to run and probably wouldn’t be for at least another couple of minutes. Those were minutes he didn’t want to risk her being in the pasture.
The moment Court reached Ian’s cruiser, he got her in the back seat, and Ian took the wheel. The deputy radioed backup to let them know they were about to drive out of there. Good move, since Court didn’t want the other deputies thinking they were perps trying to make an escape.
Despite Rayna still being shaky, that didn’t stop her from checking his arm. It was still bleeding, which was probably why she made a slight gasping sound.
“Here’s a first-aid kit,” Ian said, passing it to her when he took it from the glove compartment. Rayna immediately got to work applying a bandage to Court’s arm to slow the bleeding. “Should I take you directly to the hospital—”
“No. To San Antonio. I need to help Egan look for our mother.”
Neither Rayna nor Ian argued with him about that. Probably because they figured it wouldn’t do any good.
Because he needed it, Court brushed a quick kiss on Rayna’s mouth. She looked up at him, their gazes connecting for just a second before he took out his phone and the two he’d taken from Whitney.
“Glance through those and see who Whitney called,” Court told Rayna.
He’d put his own phone on vibrate when he’d gone into cover by the trees and had three missed calls. Two from Rachel and another from Egan. He pressed in Egan’s number. And his heart sank when his brother didn’t answer. He tried his sister next, and unlike Egan, she answered on the first ring.
“Court,” Rachel said on a rise of breath. “Are Rayna and you okay?”
He’d expected her to blurt out some bad news about their mother, so the question was somewhat of a relief. “We’re fine. Ian, too.” He paused a heartbeat. “Whitney’s the one who had Mom kidnapped.”
“Whitney?” Rachel repeated, and her tone said it all. She was as shocked as Court and Rayna had been. “Why would she do that, and where does she have her?”
He didn’t want to get into the “why,” but he had also been hoping that Rachel would know the “where.”
Hell.
“God, Court. Why did Whitney do this?” she repeated.
“To get back at Rayna. Maybe to get back at me, too, for helping Rayna.” Or Whitney could have been hoping to set up Helen some way and pin the murders on her. “When’s the last time you heard from Egan, because he’s not answering his phone?”
“About fifteen minutes ago. He said he was getting ready to meet with the kidnapper.”
Now it was Court’s turn to be shocked. “Meeting with him? How’d Egan find out where he was?”
“The guy made a ransom call to Egan. It was a man, and he sounded frantic, like maybe things weren’t going as planned.”
&
nbsp; Maybe because he’d realized that the woman who’d hired him was dead or about to be dead.
Rayna held out Whitney’s phone for Court to see. “Is that the kidnapper’s number?” she asked.
Court read off the number to Rachel. “Yes, that’s it,” Rachel verified.
Whitney had called the man multiple times in the past two hours. And not just during that time frame, either. When Court scrolled through the history, he saw that Whitney had been calling the man often for the past two days. That was the link they needed to prove that Whitney had hired him. And it was the reason the woman had no doubt used the second phone. It almost certainly wasn’t a number assigned to her actual name.
“The kidnapper’s using a burner cell so Egan couldn’t trace it,” Rachel went on, “but the guy wants Egan to meet him and give him some money.”
That was good news and bad. Good because the kidnapper would almost certainly keep his mother alive if he wanted to ransom her. But it was bad, too, because it meant Egan could be hurt or killed in an exchange like that.
Court debated if he should call the kidnapper’s number, but he decided to wait a few more minutes. Until he’d heard from Egan. If he called now, he might distract his brother at a critical time. It could make things even more dangerous than it already was.
“Please tell me Egan didn’t go alone,” Court said.
“No. Griff and another Texas Ranger are with him. Egan said I was to wait here, but I’m going crazy. I have to do something to help Mom. I have to do something to stop this.”
“You can help her by staying put.” Court made sure he sounded like a lawman giving an order and not just like a big brother. “Rayna and I are on the way there to the hospital. I’ll drop Rayna off with you and go out and help Egan. Do you know his location?”
“No. He wouldn’t tell me.”
Probably because Egan hadn’t wanted Rachel to try to follow him. But Court could track Egan through his cell phone, since it wasn’t a burner.
“Court was shot,” Rayna blurted out. “He should see a doctor.”
“It can wait,” Court said at the same moment Rachel said, “Shot? You said you were fine.”
“I will be,” Court assured his sister. “Or at least I will be once Mom and Egan are safe.” And after he’d made sure that Rayna was okay. Then there’d be time for stitches. “We’re about thirty minutes out.”
“Forty,” Ian corrected.
“Light up the sirens and get us there in thirty,” Court told him.
“Stay put,” he repeated to Rachel, and he ended the call so he could try Egan again.
Still no answer.
Rayna gave his bandage another adjustment, and when he looked at her, Court saw the tears in her eyes.
“I’m okay, really,” he assured her.
She shook her head and blinked back more of those tears. “This is all my fault.”
Court had known she was going to say that before the words had even come out of her mouth. Since it wasn’t her fault, and he didn’t want to hear her continue with an apology, he kissed her.
All in all, it was an effective way to put an end to it. An effective way to make him feel instantly better, too. He was still in pain, but he no longer cared. After several moments, he didn’t think Rayna cared, either, because she moved right into the kiss, and she only broke it when she took in a huge gulp of breath.
“You’re trying to distract me,” she said with her mouth still very close to his. Close enough for him to kiss her again, so that was what he did.
“Yeah,” he admitted. “But I need distracting, too.” After all, his mother was a hostage, and his brother was out there trying to rescue her. Something that Court wanted to be doing.
Rayna nodded, eased back even more, and he saw the look in her eyes. She was about to apologize again. This time it would no doubt be for his mother.
“None of this was your fault,” he said. “Put the blame right on Whitney where it belongs.”
She nodded again, but the agreement didn’t seem very believable. “I shouldn’t have trusted her. I mean, I always knew she had feelings for Bobby Joe, but I thought it was just a crush. I had no idea she was in love with him.”
“That seems to be going around,” Court muttered.
Her eyes widened. Because she knew they weren’t talking about Whitney now. They were talking about her.
“You told Whitney you were in love with me,” Court reminded her, though he was certain it wasn’t a reminder she needed.
Those words were no doubt as fresh in her mind as they were in his. But it might not be true. The fear and the adrenaline might have caused her to blurt that out.
“Yes,” Rayna answered.
She glanced in the front at Ian, but the deputy was on the phone with Thea. Besides, Ian had almost certainly heard what Rayna had said to Whitney.
“It’s true. I am in love with you.” Rayna’s voice was barely a whisper, but Court still heard it loud and clear.
“You’re in love with me?” he said just to make sure. Though he didn’t want her to take it back.
She nodded but didn’t add more because a ringing sound cut through the silence. It wasn’t his phone though but rather one of Whitney’s. And it was the kidnapper’s number that appeared on the screen.
Court steeled himself as much as he could. Even though he wanted to rip this guy limb from limb, he reined in his temper and hit the answer button.
“Whitney?” someone said. But it wasn’t the kidnapper. It was a voice Court recognized.
“It’s Court,” Court answered. “I have Whitney’s phone. She’s dead.”
“Good. Because I just found out from this piece of slime that Whitney’s the one who hired him.”
Court hoped that meant Egan had not only the kidnapper but their mother, too. “Is Mom okay?”
“She’s shaken up but fine. Not a scratch on her even though she did try to fight off the kidnapper. Griff is taking her back to the hospital right now.”
“She’s alive,” Rayna said, her breath rushing out.
“Yeah,” Egan verified. “And it’s good to hear that Court and you are, too. What happened?”
Rayna shook her head, obviously not trusting her voice and motioned for Court to give the explanation. He would, but since he didn’t want to repeat a lot of the details in front of Rayna, he just kept it simple.
“Whitney killed Jennifer, Hallie, Bobby Joe and Mitch. Then she tried to kill Rayna and me.” The woman had almost succeeded, too.
“That’s what I got from her hired thug. By the way, his name is Burris Hargrove, and he’s talking even after I read him his rights.”
“Good.” Because Court was sure they would need some details filled in, and Hargrove was the only one who might be able to do that. “How’d you catch him?”
Egan took a deep breath first. “I met Hargrove at the drop site he arranged. It was a gas station about two miles from the hospital. We’d agreed that I would bring thirty grand in cash.”
Not much, considering the McCalls were worth millions, but then maybe Hargrove had asked for such a small amount because he’d figured Egan would be able to get it together quickly. Then he could have used it for a fast getaway.
“When I got to the gas station,” Egan went on, “I had Griff and Ranger Jameson Beckett come up behind Hargrove. He had Mom gagged and tied up in his car, so Griff got her out of there before Hargrove even knew what was happening. Jameson moved in behind Hargrove so we could trap him. I offered him a choice. He could put down his gun or I’d kill him.” There was plenty of anger in Egan’s voice. “He put down his gun.”
So, Egan had managed to rescue Helen without any shots being taken around her. That was something at least. But he was certain these nightmarish memories would stay with his mother for a long time. They’d certainly stay with hi
m, and he could add nearly losing Rayna to those memories.
“Did Mom say anything?” Court asked.
“Plenty. She was mad Hargrove took her, and she tried to punch him. I let her get off a swing before I pulled her back.”
Even though he hated that his mother had been through that ordeal, this was a normal reaction, and he much preferred it to her breaking down again. Maybe that meant this situation wouldn’t interfere with her treatments and healing while she was trying to get her mind back in a good place.
“What about Dad?” Court pressed. “Was it Hargrove who shot him?”
“He says no. He claims the only thing he did was fire shots at Rayna and you, but that he didn’t intend to kill you. Yeah,” Egan snarled when Court huffed, “I’m not buying that, either. I think Whitney got riled because her plan to set Rayna up wasn’t working, and she gave Hargrove the order to kill her. That order probably included you if you got in the way. Which you would have done.”
Definitely. No way would Court have just stood by while some snake attacked Rayna.
Rayna’s forehead bunched up. “But why did Whitney stop the attack at the hospital?” she asked. “Hargrove had us pinned down. He could have carried through on her orders to kill us.”
Court figured he knew the answer to this. “We had backup moving in fast. It wouldn’t have been but another few minutes before the deputies would have gotten to him. Whitney wouldn’t have wanted us to catch—and interrogate—her hired thug because he might have implicated her.”
Rayna made a sound of agreement. “That way Hargrove could regroup and come after us again. Which he did.”
Yes, he had. Well, maybe the man had done that. They might never know if it was Whitney or Hargrove who’d fired at them near the sheriff’s office. Or set that fire in the alley. And it really didn’t matter. Whitney was dead, and whether Hargrove realized it or not, he’d be charged with accessory to murder, which would carry the same penalties as murder itself. The man would probably get the death penalty.
Cowboy Above the Law Page 17
