And that was a big if. It had been minutes since Sawyer had caught a glimpse of the guy, and he could have already come down a fire-escape ladder to join his partner.
“Distract them?” Cassidy asked. “How?”
“With bullets,” Sawyer supplied. “It’s the only thing that’ll get their attention.”
Sawyer waited until Grayson took aim and fired. Not at the back of the building, where they had last spotted Diane. Instead, Grayson shot at the front, and Sawyer did the same. The shots were far enough away so they wouldn’t ricochet and hit Diane.
He hoped.
“Mason got across,” Grayson said a few moments and shots later. “I’m heading over there now.” And he took off running up the block so he could approach from the left.
However, Grayson had barely gotten out of sight when Sawyer got more than another glimpse of Diane. Without warning, her captor thrust her out into the open, and this time, he saw that she had her hands cuffed in front of her. She yelled something. A plea that tugged at every lawman’s instincts in his body.
Help me.
Sawyer wanted to do just that, but he wouldn’t play by the kidnapper’s rules.
His phone buzzed again, and Cassidy answered it on speaker.
“How long you want this to go on?” Not one of his cousins. But the kidnapper.
Sawyer opened his mouth to answer “as long as it takes,” but he got that prickly feeling going up his spine. The one that told him something other than the obvious wasn’t right. Why would the kidnappers want to drag this out when they knew there were lawmen within shooting distance?
They wouldn’t draw it out.
They would attack, and if that didn’t work, then they’d escape, regroup and make another attempt. Well, this clearly hadn’t worked. It was a standoff.
Or was it?
Sawyer whipped around and looked out the back window of the SUV. It wasn’t a second too soon. Because he instantly saw an armed man wearing a ski mask. The guy was skulking toward them and was only a few yards from the driver’s side of the vehicle. Another second or two and the kidnapper would have been right on them.
“What’s wrong?” Cassidy asked.
But Sawyer didn’t have time to answer her. He aimed at the man and fired. The bullet hit him squarely in the chest, and despite the fact he was falling to the ground, he pulled the trigger. The shot tore through the SUV. Not just the glass this time. It came through the metal just below the window and slammed into the dash.
Only inches from Cassidy.
And it wasn’t the only shot. Others started to pelt the SUV. And they weren’t coming from the kidnapper on the ground. Sawyer was pretty sure the guy was dead. These shots came from across the street in front of the sheriff’s office. A frantic flurry of gunfire. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought the shots weren’t just coming from the kidnappers but someone else.
Mason probably.
Sawyer heard a scream, causing his adrenaline to spike. It hadn’t come from Cassidy but from Diane. With her hands still cuffed, he spotted her running away from the building and in the direction Sawyer had last seen Grayson.
Hopefully, Grayson would be able to get the woman out of harm’s way. While he was hoping, Sawyer added that Mason would have a clean shot at these morons.
Because Sawyer sure didn’t.
He could only sit there, sheltering Cassidy, while the shots continued. He wasn’t sure how many seconds passed. It seemed like a million, and with each of those seconds, he realized he could lose Cassidy.
That thought caused him to curse.
Because that shouldn’t be on his mind. His entire focus should be on the attack, and that was a clear reminder that his feelings for her had put her in a dangerous situation.
From the corner of his eye, Sawyer spotted Grayson. Alone. And he was taking cover behind one of the vehicles. Obviously, he hadn’t been able to get to Diane. He hoped that didn’t mean the woman was dead, but it had be a miracle if she managed to get through all of this.
Grayson leaned out of the vehicle, fired a shot at the gunman. From up the street, he could hear Mason do the same. What Sawyer couldn’t hear was the gunmen returning fire.
“They’re getting away,” Sawyer shouted to Grayson.
Sawyer wasn’t sure Grayson would be able to hear him over the gunfire, but judging from Grayson’s body language, he had. Grayson said something into his phone still clutched in his left hand, and he darted out from cover.
“They can’t get away,” Cassidy whispered, her voice trembling.
She was right. They needed these criminals behind bars or the attacks would continue. The next time they might succeed in kidnapping Cassidy. Or killing her.
“Wait with Cassidy,” Sawyer shouted to Grayson. “Make sure there aren’t others trying to sneak up on us.”
Grayson nodded, hurried to the SUV and threw open what was left of the driver’s door.
“No. You can’t go out there,” Cassidy said when Sawyer got out. She tried to hold him by his arm, but he shook off her grip.
“I have to do this.” He didn’t look down at the fear he knew would be in her eyes.
Sawyer readied his gun and ran toward the kidnappers.
Chapter Fifteen
Cassidy started praying. Sawyer and she had already come close to dying today. His cousins, too. And now Sawyer was perhaps tempting fate again by racing after those gunmen. That only caused her heart to pound even harder, and it slammed against her chest.
Grayson waited with her. He fired glances all around them, no doubt watching to make sure there wasn’t another attack. But Cassidy kept her attention on Sawyer.
Until he disappeared from sight.
It sickened her to think of the danger that kept coming at them. Just two days ago, her life had been normal. Sawyer’s no doubt had been, too, though his version of normal was far different from hers. He was accustomed to facing situations like this. Well, maybe not the personal attacks. No one should be accustomed to that. But chasing down bad guys was what he did. She prayed he did it today without getting hurt.
“He’ll be fine,” Grayson said to her.
Cassidy appreciated his attempt to keep her calm, but it wasn’t working. Nothing would until this mess was finished. Until the culprits were behind bars and Sawyer was safe.
She braced herself for more gunfire, but none came. Thank goodness. Her thanks went up a significant notch when Sawyer came out of the building. Unharmed. However, she could tell from his expression that he wasn’t pleased, and that caused her stomach to drop.
Sawyer made a beeline to the SUV. “The kidnappers aren’t back there,” he explained. “Neither is Diane. But they have to be nearby. I don’t want Cassidy sitting out here waiting, in case they come back for round two.”
Grayson nodded. “Take her to the second floor of the sheriff’s office. There’s an apartment up there, and it’s fully wired for security.”
Sawyer glanced at the shot-up SUV and his truck. “It’d be stupid to try to drive back to the safe house now,” he mumbled, and Sawyer helped her from the SUV. He hurried her toward the back door.
“Stay with her,” Grayson called out, heading in right behind them. “I’ll get Mason back in here so we can regroup, and I’ll send some deputies out to search for Diane and the others.”
Sawyer didn’t disagree with any of that. They had to find Diane before something horrible happened to her. Cassidy didn’t want there to be another April, and with each attack, the chances of someone else dying skyrocketed.
He led her up the stairs just off the back exit. The stairs ended at a short hall that had a single door. When she looked inside, Cassidy saw that the entire second floor made up the apartment. It was one giant open space with a bed on one side, a kitchenette and s
itting area straight ahead and a bathroom on the right.
“It used to be the jail before the city built a new one,” Sawyer explained. “Some of the deputies crash here when they’re pulling extra shifts.” He also looked around the room until their gazes met. Then he dragged in a long breath. Shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
She reached out, pulled him to her and brushed a kiss on his cheek. “I’m sorry, too.”
He flinched. Maybe because it was too dangerous for even a chaste kiss. Not with all this adrenaline and energy inside them. But he also likely objected to her apology itself. In his mind, he should have been able to do something to prevent the latest attack from happening.
“If it hadn’t been for you, the kidnappers would have taken me again,” she reminded him.
But he didn’t seem to believe that, either.
“You should get some rest,” he said, tipping his head to the bed and obviously changing the subject. “We’ll probably be here awhile.”
Cassidy was about to try again to relieve this guilt trip that was weighing him down, but his phone buzzed. Until then, she’d forgotten she was holding it. He’d given it to her during the attack.
Sawyer took it from her and answered it right away. What he didn’t do was put the call on speaker. Probably so he could soften any bad news. In other words, he would try to sugarcoat the situation because he would feel she’d already been through enough tonight. So had he, but Sawyer wouldn’t see it that way.
Cassidy moved away from him, went to the fridge and took out two bottles of water. Too bad it wasn’t hard liquor because she needed something to steady her raw nerves.
So did Sawyer.
She saw the muscles tighten in Sawyer’s jaw. But there seemed to be a new hit of adrenaline, too. A new reason for concern. And after he finished the call, she was almost afraid to ask what had caused his reaction. They’d both already had their fill of bad news today, and they didn’t need more.
“That was Nate,” he started. “While his men were out looking for Diane, he talked with some of her former patients. One of them said Diane had extorted money from him.”
Of all the things she’d considered Sawyer might say, that wasn’t on the list. This was definitely a new wrinkle in their already too-wrinkled mess.
“Extortion? How?” she asked.
Sawyer wearily shook his head. “According to this former patient, he told Diane of an extramarital affair he was having, and later Diane threatened to tell the man’s wife if he didn’t pay her ten thousand dollars.”
Mercy. If that was true, the charges were serious, and it wouldn’t just bring her credibility into question. Diane could lose her license to practice and possibly face some jail time. “Did the man say if he paid Diane?”
“He claims he did. Said he paid her in cash, just as she’d demanded. All of this supposedly went down about a week ago.”
So, recently. Probably about the time the kidnappers were putting together their final plans to take Bennie. But that didn’t mean the two things were connected.
“Did Nate believe this man?” Cassidy asked.
Sawyer lifted his shoulder. “Yeah, I think he did. But there’s a problem. The patient and Diane didn’t part on friendly terms, and he’s not willing to press charges against her because it would mean telling his wife about the affair. Nate isn’t sure if this man is just vindictive, crazy or telling the truth.”
Yes, that would be hard to prove. Unless they had bank records. “Didn’t you put in a request to get Diane’s financials?” Because maybe she’d deposited the ten grand. It wouldn’t be absolute proof, but it would be a start if Nate wanted to build a case against Diane.
“Nothing’s come back yet. But this latest incident should make it easier to get a court order if necessary.”
It might be necessary. In fact, Sawyer might have to conduct a full-scale investigation into Diane’s life. Too bad they didn’t have time for that because they kept having to dodge bullets. Literally.
“There’s more,” Sawyer continued a moment later. “You remember hearing that Diane’s married, estranged from her very wealthy husband, who’s cut her off without a dime?”
“I remember. Willy said she had a drug habit.”
He nodded. “Nate hasn’t been able to find out the reason for the separation, but there’s plenty of gossip about her possible drug use. A criminal informant told Nate that Diane owes a lot of money to her dealer and that she might be desperate to pay the guy off before he exposes her addiction.”
It was hard to think of the polished woman she’d seen at the sheriff’s office as an addict. But maybe Diane was just very good at hiding her drug use.
And maybe other things, too.
Cassidy had only gotten a glimpse of the woman when she’d run from the kidnappers. She’d certainly looked frightened. But had she been?
Or had it been some kind of ruse?
“Maybe I’m just getting cynical because of the attacks,” Cassidy said, “but do you think Diane could be behind the kidnappings and the attempts?”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Sawyer readily admitted. “Hard to tell if all of this was an act or not. But the only thing she could have gained from faking her own kidnapping would be to make herself look innocent.”
Considering that the kidnappers were looking at a murder charge, maybe Diane believed she had to do something, anything, to throw suspicion off herself, and in doing so, had only made it worse.
“It’s possible Diane blackmailed April the way she supposedly did this other client,” Sawyer added, and he looked at her, hesitating.
And Cassidy knew why.
“Diane could have believed that April would get the money from Bennie,” Cassidy finished for him. Before the attacks, she would have dismissed that with the blink of an eye.
She didn’t dismiss it now.
And it meant all of this could lead back to Bennie. Diane could have started this by blackmailing April, but Bennie could have finished the botched kidnappings by killing her. However, there was a problem with that theory.
“April wasn’t married, so why would Diane have been able to blackmail her about her affair with my brother?” she asked. “And why would Diane think Bennie would have paid to get April back? Yes, an involvement with a woman like April could have maybe hurt his reputation. Maybe. But we both know Bennie doesn’t have much of a reputation to hurt.”
He made a sound of agreement. “Diane could have told April that it would set Willy off to know about the affair.”
It would have. Willy had a short fuse when it came to April. And it wouldn’t have taken much for Diane to convince Bennie that Willy would come after him. Bennie wasn’t a coward, but he wouldn’t have wanted a fight with a psycho like Willy.
Still, there was a problem.
“Bennie didn’t have the money to pay April’s ransom,” she reminded him. “He’s broke and was trying to get money from me to pay off that bar owner.”
“Yeah, but Diane might not have known about that. She probably thought Bennie could just get the money from you.”
And in the past, that’s exactly what he’d done. This was the first time Cassidy had turned him down, and she wouldn’t have done that if she’d known it would lead to all of this.
“But April could have turned the tables on Diane,” Sawyer went on. “If April learned that Diane and Bennie were having an affair, she might have tried to press both of them for money to keep the affair quiet.”
Yes, because maybe Diane wouldn’t have wanted her rich, estranged husband to hear about her affair. Especially with a man of Bennie’s character. And that meant they were back to square one. Either April or Diane could have orchestrated the kidnappers. Bennie or Willy, too.
“Bennie,” she mumbled, but she obviously didn’t say i
t softly enough. Sawyer heard not just her brother’s name but also the emotion that went along with it. And that emotion said loads—that she was worried, and furious, that her brother might be the reason for all this danger.
“I wish there was something I could do to make this go away,” he said, the emotion in his voice, too. Then he groaned and scrubbed his hand over his face.
“You’ve done plenty,” she said.
Sawyer’s gaze snapped back to hers as if he was looking for any doubts about the truth of that. He wouldn’t see doubts because there were none to see. And Cassidy proved that to him by leaning in for a kiss.
She hadn’t intended to linger on his mouth, but she did, and soon the lingering turned into so much more.
As it always did with Sawyer.
She felt the need ripple through her body. Maybe fueled by the fear. Maybe just the basic attraction that had been there all along. Either way, she didn’t fight it. Neither did Sawyer, despite the grumble of protest she heard in his throat. Yes, Cassidy knew she should protest it, too.
But she also knew it wouldn’t do any good.
She was lost in Sawyer’s kiss. In his arms. And she didn’t want anyone or anything to snap her back to reality. Here, she could forget all about the danger and the prospect of her brother’s guilt. For a few minutes away. She could forget and let Sawyer sweep her away.
It was Sawyer who deepened the kiss. Sawyer who dragged her to him until they were plastered against each other. Body to body so she could feel every inch of him. And there was a lot of him to feel. It didn’t take long for her to want more.
Despite the heat rolling through her and making her crazy, she tried to remember where she was. Above the sheriff’s office. With Sawyer’s lawmen cousins on the floor just below them. Yes, they were no doubt wrapped up in the hunt for Diane and the kidnappers. Wrapped up in the investigation, too. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t come by to check on them.
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