A bug.
Oh, mercy.
They hadn’t even thought to check for that. And it had allowed Diane to follow their every move. Sawyer quickly tried to go back through everything that had been said over the past two days. There’d been a lot of talk not just between Cassidy and him, but his cousins had also spent a lot of time on this investigation.
“You also put tracking devices on all the vehicles,” Sawyer said.
“I did that as a precaution. And then I had one of my hired men go out to the Ryland ranch. He pretended to work for the electric company, and he tagged all the vehicles there. Just in case.”
“You went to a lot of trouble for someone on the bottom of my suspect list,” Sawyer pointed out.
“I might have been at the bottom, but I was still on the list. After I heard all the calls and speculation, I knew they or you wouldn’t quit until one of you managed to piece everything together,” she continued. “But here’s your chance. Let’s end this before anyone gets hurt.”
“Too late,” Sawyer shouted back. “Someone’s dead.” And he hoped that only applied to April. It was making him antsy that he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Grayson since he’d gotten out of the truck.
“April was a casualty of her own stupidity,” Diane declared. She definitely didn’t sound like the shrink who’d been in the sheriff’s office. She sounded more like a cold-blooded killer. And probably was.
“You’re blaming the victim,” Sawyer snapped. Yeah, it was probably dumb to egg her on, but he hated this cold witch who had placed Emma and Cassidy in so much danger.
“April wasn’t a victim,” Diane argued in that ice-queen tone that set his teeth on edge. “She agreed to help set up Bennie’s kidnapping.”
All right. He hadn’t exactly seen that coming, but with April’s track record, it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise. Bennie and April were criminals at the core.
And if he was to believe Bennie—and he did about this—they’d made Emma.
Inside, Sawyer cursed that. Not because he thought they’d passed on those criminal genes to Emma. No, Bennie had good genes. Like Cassidy. He’d just made plenty of bad choices with the good things he’d been given in life. But what gnawed away at Sawyer was that Bennie now had a claim to the little girl who Sawyer loved like his own.
“If April was on your side,” Sawyer said, “then why is she dead?”
Diane shrugged. “Because she got greedy. Wanted a bigger cut of the ransom, and I wasn’t willing to give up a dollar more than I’d promised her.”
“And that’s when you had her killed,” Bennie shouted.
Diane certainly didn’t deny it, and she turned her stony gaze in the direction of Bennie and the gunman. They stepped out, the gunman dragging Bennie closer to the truck. The man had removed his mask, and Sawyer got a good look at him. He was a stranger. A hired gun.
But what exactly was this gun supposed to do?
And where was Chester Finley’s brother, Joe? Chester had already indicated that Joe worked for the kidnapping boss, and that likely meant he was somewhere out there. Hopefully, not putting a bullet in Grayson.
“If you hurt Cassidy,” Sawyer reminded Diane, “you won’t get a penny.”
“And that’s the only reason she’s still alive.” It was as if she had ice water in her veins, and that sent Sawyer’s blood boiling. How dare this witch risk Cassidy’s and Emma’s lives for money.
“Cassidy will come with me,” Diane continued, “and when I have the cash, I’ll let her go.”
“No, you won’t.” Sawyer hated to lay it all out there like that, especially since the color had drained from Cassidy’s face. But Cassidy no doubt already knew what Diane had in mind—she wanted to kill them all so there would be no witnesses to her crime.
The gunman and Bennie stopped just a few feet from the truck. “Your cousin, you and Bennie will stay here,” Diane ordered, and she motioned for Cassidy to get out.
Sawyer caught on to Cassidy so she’d stay put. “How was the baby involved in this plan of yours?” It was something he could learn later, but he wanted to buy some time. Maybe for Grayson to get into place. Maybe for Diane and her hired goon to let down their guard.
All Sawyer needed was a split-second distraction.
“Talk time is over,” Diane snapped.
Sawyer shook his head. “If you want Cassidy to get out, then tell me why you had her bring me the baby, why you let me believe it was mine.”
Diane’s glare got worse, and she didn’t say anything for several heart-stopping moments. “I figured once you learned the baby was Bennie’s, you’d blame him for all of this. He’s a good scapegoat.”
“I didn’t know she was going to use the baby. Or kill April,” Bennie blurted out. “If I had known, I would never have agreed to the fake kidnapping—”
“Shut him up,” Diane said. And her henchman bashed his gun against the side of Bennie’s head. He went down to the ground like a rock.
“Don’t worry, he’s not dead—yet,” Diane added. “But if Cassidy doesn’t step out now, then my next order is to put a bullet in Bennie’s head.”
“I have to go,” Cassidy immediately said. “I can’t let him die.”
Sawyer got that. After all, he had a kid brother, too. But he couldn’t let Cassidy do this.
“If you think your cousin can help you, you’re wrong,” Diane continued, her voice more than a little smug now. “One of my employees has him tied up.”
Sawyer had no idea if that was true, but just in case, he knew he couldn’t rely on Grayson for help. Or Bennie. And that meant he had to do something now.
But now came a little sooner than planned.
Yelling like a man on fire, Bennie got up and although his hands were tied in front of him, he swung his elbow back and connected with the gunman’s gut. The guy yelped in pain.
It was just the distraction Sawyer needed.
He leaned forward, putting the weight of his chest onto the horn. The blare got the cows moving again. And in the same motion, he took aim at Diane.
However, she fired first.
Not at Sawyer.
But at Bennie.
Diane’s shot slammed into Bennie’s chest.
* * *
CASSIDY HEARD HERSELF SCREAM, and she tried to get to her brother before he hit the ground. But Sawyer stopped her from doing that.
He pushed her aside, took aim at Diane and fired.
However, Diane had already moved out of the way by the time Sawyer’s bullet made it to her. She dived to the side of some cows, out of the line of fire. But Sawyer and she weren’t out of danger. Neither was Bennie. Because the gunman who’d been holding Bennie suddenly had his hands free when Bennie dropped, and the guy fired at Sawyer and her.
Sawyer pulled her down onto the seat with him but kept the horn blaring. It was hard to think with the noise, and it took her a moment to realize why he was doing that.
It got the cows moving.
Away from Diane.
And that made her an easier target. She must have realized it, too, because she fired a shot at Sawyer and bolted behind a tree.
There were so many sounds. The shots. The horn blaring in spurts. But Cassidy was able to pick through all of it and hear her brother. Bennie was moaning in pain. That meant he was alive, thank God, but he wouldn’t be for long with Diane’s bullet in him.
“Stay down,” Sawyer told her. He threw open the glove compartment and took out a gun. He put it in her right hand and put her left on the horn. “Keep up the sound so Diane can’t hear me when I open the truck door.”
“No.” Cassidy tried to make him stay put.
“Bennie needs an ambulance. I have to stop her.” And he pressed a quick kiss on her mouth and scrambled out the pa
ssenger’s side.
The movement got Diane’s attention. She leaned out, ready to fire at Sawyer, but Cassidy took aim. Pulled the trigger. She’d never fired before, and she missed. But it forced Diane to dart back behind the tree.
Sawyer threaded himself between the cows, using them for cover, and made his way closer to Diane. Cassidy was so focused on him that the shot startled her.
The shot hadn’t come from Diane or her henchmen.
But rather from behind.
The gunman fell clutching his chest, and that’s when Cassidy spotted Grayson in the side mirror. He wasn’t tied up, after all. He’d taken out the gunman, but Diane was still armed and just as dangerous.
She held her breath, waited and watched. Each time Diane looked out, Cassidy fired a shot at her. Her aim was still awful, but it got the job done. Diane was forced to stay put while Sawyer inched his way to her. But Cassidy was forced to stay put, too, and each step Sawyer took seemed to take an eternity.
Sawyer made it within just a few yards of the woman, when the cows bolted to the side, leaving him without any cover. Diane instantly spotted him and fired.
She missed. Barely. Cassidy thought the bullet came so close to Sawyer that he could probably feel the heat from it.
Sawyer spun away from her, and both Sawyer and Cassidy pulled their triggers.
The combined blasts were deafening, but as before, Diane had already moved before the shots could get to her. Diane pulled the trigger.
And her gun jammed.
Cassidy thought maybe her heart had stopped, and she froze. But Sawyer didn’t. He lunged at Diane, and they crashed to the ground.
Cassidy hurried out of the truck, and she glanced at Bennie first. There was blood covering the front of his shirt, but he was alive. He motioned toward her, and it took her a moment to realize he was telling her to go to Sawyer.
“Help him,” Bennie said, his voice weak. “Diane’s a dangerous woman.”
Cassidy was well aware of that. Diane was a killer and would no doubt do the same to Sawyer if given the chance. She hurried toward them and glanced behind her when she heard footsteps. It was Grayson, and he stopped to help her brother. Cassidy hurried on, and when she got to Sawyer, she saw him in a tangle with Diane.
The woman still had her gun.
And her finger was on the trigger.
She fired, and Cassidy could only pray that the bullet hadn’t hit Sawyer. He caught on to Diane’s wrist, bashed her hand against the tree until her gun went flying. Diane screamed and scrambled for it.
But it was too late.
Sawyer caught on to her and pushed her hard against the tree. In the same motion, he put his gun to her. “Give me a reason to fire.”
Cassidy didn’t think that was a bluff. Sawyer was more than ready to shoot, and she totally understood why. The greedy witch had nearly gotten them all killed.
“We need an ambulance fast,” Grayson shouted, his voice tearing through the silence. “Bennie’s bleeding out.”
Chapter Twenty
Sawyer wondered if Cassidy would ever stop trembling. Nothing seemed to help. Not his arm around her. Not his assurances that the danger was finally over.
Assurances wouldn’t stop nightmares though.
And Cassidy would no doubt have enough of those for a lifetime.
She lifted her head from his shoulder when they heard footsteps coming toward the waiting room at the Silver Creek hospital. But it wasn’t the doctor. It was Sawyer’s cousin Gage, who’d no doubt arrived for the birth of Mason’s baby. It was the reason nearly all of his cousins were there. That, and to give Sawyer a little moral support for everything they’d been through.
“Bennie should have been out of surgery by now,” Cassidy mumbled.
Yeah, he should have. It had been two hours, and while Sawyer didn’t have a lick of medical training, that seemed way too long. Bennie could be dying.
Or already dead.
It wouldn’t matter to Cassidy that her brother had helped set up the kidnapping. It would only matter that she was losing him. Even with all the wrongs Bennie had done, that would always tear away at her heart, and there was nothing Sawyer could do to change it.
Grayson finished the phone call he’d been making and turned in his seat to snag Sawyer’s attention. “Diane’s talking, trying to work out a plea deal before her hired guns do.”
“Is she implicating Bennie?” Cassidy asked.
“Yeah,” he hesitantly answered. “She says it was Bennie’s idea to get the photo of the baby with Sawyer. They were going to use it to set up Sawyer for April’s murder.”
Hell, that wasn’t easy to hear. “Diane could be lying,” Sawyer reminded Cassidy.
But if she wasn’t, it was a smart move.
April had been demanding a bigger cut of the ransom money, and in Diane’s mind, she needed to be eliminated. Best to set up either Bennie or himself to take the fall for it. It wouldn’t have mattered when later they’d learned that Sawyer wasn’t the baby’s father. This was all about casting suspicion, and the photo of Sawyer holding the baby could have set the stage for him to go after the woman who’d wrongfully accused him of getting her pregnant.
“Please tell me Diane won’t be getting out of jail,” Cassidy said to Grayson.
“She won’t be. There’s all sorts of evidence coming in on her drug use and extortion of some of her patients. Coupled with April’s murder and the kidnapping attempts, it’s enough to put her away for life.”
Good. That was one less worry. Sawyer didn’t want Diane anywhere near Cassidy again.
More footsteps, and they got everyone’s attention. Sawyer expected to see Mason come through the door to tell them about his newborn, but it was Bree, Gage’s wife, and she wasn’t empty handed. She was carrying a bundled-up Emma in her arms.
That got Cassidy and him to their feet.
“I thought this little one might cheer you up,” Bree said. Her slight smile made Sawyer believe his cousin knew exactly how much this baby meant to him.
Bennie’s baby.
That reminder hit him like a fist. Sawyer didn’t care what Emma’s DNA proved, he wanted her to be his. He just hadn’t realized how much he’d wanted that until now—when Bree slipped Emma into his arms. How the heck could Emma feel like his baby when she wasn’t?
“Hi, sweetheart,” Cassidy said softly. She leaned in and kissed the baby’s cheek. Even though Emma was asleep, she lifted one lid as if peeking out at them, made a soft kittenlike sound and then went straight back to sleep.
Since Cassidy was still trembling, Sawyer eased Emma toward her. That got him a smile, and some of the trembling stopped when she snuggled Emma against her.
“What’ll happen to her?” Cassidy whispered. The tremble was in her voice now. And the worry. It was the same worry that Sawyer was feeling.
“Her mother’s dead, so that leaves Bennie to decide.” Except he might have the decision made for him.
“He’s facing jail time,” Cassidy added.
Yeah, he was. Maybe he’d get a lesser sentence if he agreed to testify against Diane, but kidnapping was still a felony. And if April’s murder got tacked onto it, Bennie might spend the rest of his life behind bars.
“Thank you,” Cassidy said, getting his attention. “You saved her life and mine.”
He didn’t want her thanks. It only made him feel worse for not having protected them in the first place. Yes, they were both safe now, and thankfully, Emma had no idea what was going on. But Cassidy would remember.
The bullets. The blood.
> The fear that no doubt had her by the throat.
“If I’d realized sooner that the culprit was Diane,” he said, “I could have put an end to her dangerous plan.”
Cassidy stared at him. And stared. “I didn’t realize the FBI had issued ESP with your badge.”
He frowned, shook his head.
“There’s no way you could have known any sooner,” Cassidy continued before he could say anything. “No way you could have stopped her before tonight. She was manipulative and greedy, and she fooled a lot of people.”
Including him. “If she’d just stopped fooling me a little sooner, you wouldn’t have had to go through tonight. Bennie might not have been shot.”
She huffed. She didn’t roll her eyes, but she came close. “Now you’re taking the blame for Bennie? He broke the law, Sawyer. I hate that he was hurt, but we were partly in that position because of him. I’ll forgive him for it because he’s my brother, but I’ll never forgive him for nearly getting you killed.”
It was a concession that he didn’t deserve. But he’d take it.
Sawyer leaned in and brushed his mouth over hers. She trembled again. Just a little. But he thought it was a good trembling this time. So Sawyer kissed her again, and this time he lingered long enough that Gage cleared his throat.
“Need a sitter?” Gage asked. It was an innocent enough question, but since he hadn’t missed the kiss, it was really an offer for Cassidy and him to head off to bed.
Something that suddenly held great appeal for Sawyer.
Sure, they were at the hospital, waiting for Bennie to get out of surgery, but he wished he could magically transport Cassidy to another place.
Okay, to bed.
While Gage babysat Emma for an hour or so.
“You’re smiling,” Cassidy said.
Sawyer automatically fixed that. “Sorry.”
It wasn’t a smiling kind of situation, but it became one when Cassidy smiled, too. She opened her mouth to say something but didn’t get the chance because they heard the sound of more footsteps.
Sawyer Page 18
