Angel of Mercy & Standoff at Mustang Ridge

by Heather Graham

  Sophie backed away, and she hadn’t realized that she was wobbling until she felt Royce take her arm to steady her.

  “I should be the one comforting Sophie,” Travis said, and he went to her as well and caught onto her other arm. “I think you and the cowboy can see now that I didn’t have any part in the attack.”

  Sophie couldn’t argue with that last part, but she shook off Travis’s grip. After everything that had happened, it turned her stomach to have him touch her.

  “As far as I’m concerned,” Travis continued, “you’re still my fiancée, and the wedding is still on. Once we’ve said our I do’s, your father will have the money to pay off the loan shark and his other debts. The threat to your life will stop.”

  Everyone turned to her. She saw the hope in her father’s eyes. The smugness in Travis’s. Her brother just looked disgusted by the whole situation, but some of that disgust might be aimed at her since she hadn’t been able to find a way around the terms of her mother’s will.

  But it was Royce’s reaction that grabbed her attention.

  He was staring at her, waiting, and he seemed to be reminding her of that slap that Travis had given her. Sophie didn’t need his reminder, because she could still feel the sting on her cheek. However, she wasn’t sure she could let her father face down a loan shark, either.

  Royce huffed, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. “You don’t have to marry a jackass to stop a criminal. That’s what cops are for.” He took a pen and paper from Maggie’s desk and pushed it toward her father. “I want the name of the loan shark and any contact information you have.”

  Her father nodded. “His name is Teddy Bonner, and he’s in Amarillo.”

  “This guy is clearly dangerous,” Travis pointed out. “And besides, you’re a small-town deputy sheriff. You hardly have the credentials to stop a loan shark.”

  Royce didn’t glare. Just the opposite. He returned the smug expression. “I have a gun and a badge. Pretty good credentials if you ask me. And then there’s the whole part about Sophie being here and not in the hands of the kidnapper. I’m pretty sure that means this small-town deputy outsmarted the dangerous loan shark.”

  Travis’s eyes narrowed. “For now.”

  Royce leaned in. “For now is a good start. I plan to keep it that way.”

  Sophie wanted to cheer. Well, for a few seconds anyway. But then she remembered Royce was paying a very high price for her safety, and after what she’d done to him, she didn’t deserve his help.

  Her father wrote on the paper, handed it to Royce and then stood. “You’ll stop this monster from going after Sophie?”

  “I’ll do my best,” Royce promised.

  “Are we free to go then?” Stanton asked.

  Her brother was already turning toward the door when Royce answered, “No. Mr. Congeniality here,” Royce continued, glancing at Travis, “said he had some photos sent to him anonymously. Know anything about that?” And, with another glance, Royce extended that question to her father.

  “What photos?” her father immediately asked.

  “Of Royce and me,” she clarified when Royce hesitated. Maybe because he didn’t want to have to explain anything about the incident in the motel. She certainly wasn’t looking forward to explaining it, either, but it might be connected to the attack.

  Her father’s gaze flew to Travis. “What photos?” he repeated.

  “Doctored ones, no doubt,” Travis answered. “Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that at the time, and it caused Sophie and me to have a little disagreement.”

  “He slapped her,” Royce quickly provided, causing Travis’s scowl to return.

  “A small fit of temper, that’s all,” Travis growled. “It won’t happen again.”

  Royce made a sound to indicate he wasn’t buying that and looked at her brother again. “What do you know about those photos?”

  “Nothing.” Stanton dodged Sophie’s and Royce’s gazes, and he opened the door. “Time to go, Dad.”

  Her father hugged her and brushed a kiss on her cheek. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “For everything.”

  The for everything made her freeze, and Sophie wanted to know what he meant by that. The engagement, maybe? But she didn’t have time to ask, because Stanton took their father’s arm and started to leave.

  However, Eldon stopped and turned back to Royce. “This seems minor in light of what happened to Sophie and you, but someone broke into our house.”

  “When?” Royce and Sophie asked at the same time.

  Eldon shook his head. “This morning. Maybe it was the gunmen looking for Sophie.”

  No doubt. They would have definitely searched the house for her.

  “Anything missing?” Royce pressed.

  Again, her father shook his head. “Not from what I can tell, but there was some furniture overturned and things out of place.”

  “I’d take some security precautions if I were you,” Royce said. “In case those men return.”

  That got her moving, and Sophie raced toward the door where her father and brother were exiting. “Be careful.”

  “We will,” Stanton assured her, and he practically stuffed Eldon into the car.

  “Did you see the look on Stanton’s face?” Travis remarked. “He doctored those photos so it’d break up you and me.”

  It was so ridiculous that she nearly laughed. “And why would he do something like that?” Sophie fired back. “Because without your money, my father loses the ranch and everything else. That means my brother loses, too.”

  His smug look returned. “You think Stanton cares about the ranch when he can get his hands on all that money your mother left you?”

  She shook her head. “The only way Stanton could get the money is if I’m dead.”

  And it chilled her to the bone just to say that.

  Travis shrugged. “You just spelled out your brother’s motive. I figure he doctored those photos. Or maybe drugged you and the cowboy so he could get you in a compromising position. And then he sent the pictures to me, figuring I’d lose my temper and kill you. Or else hire someone to do it.”

  Sophie wanted to deny all of that, but her throat clamped shut.

  Oh, God.

  Had Stanton done that?

  “Here’s another theory,” Royce said. He moved closer, right by her side, so that their arms were touching, and they were facing Travis head-on. “You found out that Sophie and I had been together, and you decided a slap wasn’t enough punishment. You hired those men to kidnap her. Or kill her.”

  “I wouldn’t do that,” Travis argued.

  “And then you come here, pretending that you’re as innocent as a newborn calf,” Royce continued, obviously ignoring Travis’s remark. He shook his head. “I’m not buying it.”

  “You don’t have to buy it,” Travis fired back. “Sophie’s opinion is the only one that matters right now.”

  Both of them looked at her. Waiting. She’d just had an avalanche of information come at her, and she didn’t know where to start sorting it all out. One thing was for certain—she trusted Royce.

  Well, trusted him to keep her safe anyway.

  Travis definitely didn’t care for her hesitation. He huffed. “Sophie, here’s the bottom line. If you don’t leave with me now, the marriage is off, and your father loses everything. Maybe even his life.” He looked at his watch. “You’ve got two minutes to decide.”

  6

  Royce didn’t realize he was holding his breath until his lungs began to ache. Hell. He wanted to toss both Travis and his ultimatum out the door, but there was a lot at stake here.

  For Sophie.

  And for her family.

  Travis might indeed save her father from going under financially, but Royce didn’t trust the
man. He wanted to believe it had nothing to do with Sophie herself. And especially nothing to do with their scalding-hot kissing session the month before. But he figured that his breath-holding wasn’t a good sign.

  “I’ll check up on this loan shark,” Royce told her as Travis kept his attention nailed to his watch. “If he sent those kidnappers after you, maybe I can prove it.”

  That would get the loan shark off the street, but it wouldn’t pay off her father’s debts. It also might not end the threats to Sophie and anyone else in her family.

  “No,” Sophie said. “Travis, I’m not going with you.”

  That was the answer Royce had hoped for, but he sure hadn’t expected it. Maybe Sophie had realized just how dangerous Travis could be. Next time, the man might do more than just slap her.

  “You know what’s at stake,” Travis warned her.

  She nodded.

  Travis waited several moments, maybe to see if she’d change her mind. When Sophie didn’t budge, Travis cursed and headed for the door. “You’re an idiot to trust that cowboy over me, and you’ll be sorry.”

  Royce nearly gave a smart-mouthed reply, but the truth was, he wanted Travis out of there. He didn’t have to wait long for that. Travis slammed the door and headed to his car across the street. Royce kept his eyes on him until the man had driven away.

  Sophie was doing the same, and the moment he was out of sight, her breath swooshed out. “I’ve had more than enough excitement for one day,” she mumbled. “I need to go home.”

  “You can’t,” Royce reminded her. “Those gunmen are still at large, and they could have your house under surveillance.”

  The color drained from her face. “I have to get out of here and go somewhere else then,” she insisted.

  Yeah. Royce knew how she felt. The adrenaline crash was no doubt hitting her pretty hard right now. Him, too. And now that the dust was settling, she was starting to realize just how close they’d come to dying today. Agent Lott was supposed to arrive soon, but they could reschedule their meeting with him. Sophie wasn’t in any shape to face the questions he’d no doubt ask.

  Her tears didn’t return, thank God, but since she looked ready to keel over, he held her up. Sophie took the gesture one step further and leaned into him. Royce upped things too by looping his arm around her waist.

  Then she sort of melted against him.

  This holding was wrong, and Royce knew it. Sophie was business now. She was the target of hired guns, and that made her someone in his protective custody. Hugging her wasn’t exactly crossing the line, but whenever he was close to her like this, his thoughts didn’t stay just on hugging. Royce didn’t remember everything that happened in the motel, but he sure as hell remembered kissing her.

  And touching her.

  There was even a blink of an image of him unhooking her black lace bra and having her breasts spill out into his hands.

  This wasn’t a good time to relive that specific image. Not with her this close and not with Royce dealing with his own adrenaline crash.

  “I need to get out of here,” she repeated. She stayed melted against his body, and that didn’t help clear Royce’s head.

  “We can go to my place,” he heard himself offer.

  She looked relieved, as if she wanted to jump at the idea. Royce wasn’t jumping, that’s for sure. It was a dangerous mix—them, alone at his place. But with this heat simmering between them, maybe there was no place safe. At least he had a security system at his house and the ranch hands could help him keep an eye out for the gunmen. So he rationalized that Sophie would be safer there.

  Well, safer from gunmen anyway.

  But maybe not from him.

  “But what about the office?” she asked. “No one else is here.”

  “Give me a second.” Royce called Billy and asked him to come in.

  The deputy said he’d be there in ten minutes, but Royce didn’t want to wait. He made a second call to one of the ranch hands, Tommy Rester, and asked him to secure the ranch.

  Royce locked up Travis’s gun in his desk and stuffed the paper with the loan shark’s name and number in his shirt pocket. He hung the Be Back Soon sign in the window that had the emergency contact number. That was the advantage of living in a small town—people didn’t expect the sheriff’s office to be manned 24/7 as long as someone was on call and responded to 9-1-1.

  He locked up and got Sophie moving toward his truck. The snow was light but still coming down, and the icy wind whipped at them. Royce got Sophie inside as quickly as he could, and on the drive to the ranch, he called Sergeant Frank Coulter, a cop in the Amarillo P.D.

  Royce didn’t put the call on Speaker, even though Sophie no doubt wanted to hear what the sergeant had to say. Still, she might need a toned down version though he had no idea how to tone down the fact that her father might have nearly gotten her killed.

  “What do you know about a loan shark named Teddy Bonner?” Royce asked Frank.

  “Plenty. Please don’t tell me he’s in Mustang Ridge.”

  “Maybe. Or maybe he just hired two goons to come after a local woman. When I intervened, they tried to gun down both of us.”

  The sergeant made a slight sound of surprise. “You’re sure it was Bonner behind that?”

  “No, but the woman’s father owes Bonner plenty of money.” Royce glanced at Sophie, and she was leaning closer, trying to listen.

  “The hired guns don’t sound like Bonner,” Frank continued. “Neither does the part about going for the guy’s daughter. He’s real old-school, Royce. Breaking kneecaps is more his style, and he hires muscle to do that. And I’ve never heard of him using family to get back at someone who owes him money.”

  Hell. If Bonner wasn’t responsible for this, then they were right back to Travis.

  “I can bring Bonner in and ask him a few questions,” Frank offered. “Who’s the fool stupid enough to borrow money from a worm like him?”

  “Eldon Conway,” Royce answered. “When I get the report done on the shooting, I’ll send you a copy. There might be some details of the attack that we might be able to tie back to Bonner.”

  Royce thanked the sergeant, hung up.

  “I heard,” Sophie said.

  Unlike him, she was no doubt relieved that her father’s loan shark might not be the reason she’d nearly died. If it had been Bonner, it would have made this investigation a whole lot easier because he would have had an instant suspect and perhaps even a quick arrest.

  Royce turned onto the ranch road, the tires of his truck crunching over the snow and ice. Maybe the weather would slow down the gunmen enough for the Rangers to find them. Maybe. But Royce was guessing the pair already had an escape route planned before they even fired the first shot.

  He spotted one of the ranch hands in the doorway of the barn nearest the front of the property. The hand was armed with a rifle. So was the one sitting in a truck by the cattle gate that stretched across the entire road. The moment that Royce drove through, the hand shut the gate.

  “You have Angus cows,” Sophie mumbled. “I wasn’t sure what kind of livestock you raised.”

  Royce followed her gaze to the cows in the fenced pasture. They were indeed Angus, and since her father didn’t raise cattle, only quarter horses, he was surprised she even recognized the breed.

  “We have some Charolais, too,” Royce explained.

  Her attention went from the cows, to the outbuildings and then to the two-story ranch house where his father and sister, Nell, lived. Jake, Maggie and his niece, Sunny, were there, too, for now, but in another month or so they’d be moving to their own house that Jake was having built near the creek.

  “It’s a big place,” she commented.

  “Not as big as your father’s. And we won’t be staying here anyway. We’ll be at my house, a
nd it’s a lot smaller than this place or yours,” he clarified. “It’s about a quarter of a mile from here.”

  “My father has land and the house, not me,” she said a moment later. “But he had to sell the livestock because of his money problems.”

  Yeah. Royce had heard that. And that brought him to something he should probably let lie, but Eldon’s money problems were perhaps connected to Sophie’s safety. “Why doesn’t he sell the ranch and pay off that loan shark?” Instead of trying to marry off Sophie to Travis.

  She shook her head. “Even if he got top dollar for the place, it wouldn’t be enough, and the ranch isn’t worth what it was a few years ago.”

  Royce had to replay that in his head to make sure he’d heard her correctly. Maybe the value had gone down, but Eldon still had a lot of land. “How much does your father owe?”

  “Honestly, I’m not sure, but from what I can tell he owes about a dozen people close to a million dollars. I don’t know exactly how much of that has to be paid to Bonner.”

  Hell. “That was a lot of cash for Travis to cough up to marry you.”

  She made a sound of agreement. “But there’s a twist,” Sophie said as Royce came to a stop in front of his small, wood frame house. “My mother left me nearly ten million, and while there are a dozen or more conditions of her will that prevent me from giving money to my father and brother, there’s nothing that prevents my spouse from dipping into it.”

  “Isn’t that what prenups are for?” he immediately asked.

  “Travis refused to sign one.”

  He thought about that. And cursed. “Then Travis could be pressing for this marriage so he can get his hands on your money?”

  “Maybe. He said he wouldn’t sign a prenup because he has triple the money that I do and doesn’t need my inheritance, but I found some things in the papers I sent to Agent Lott that contradicts that. I believe Travis has the million to pay off my father’s debts, but I think it would also wipe out his liquid assets.”

  “Yet you agreed to marry him? Hell’s bells, Sophie, Travis could have been planning to kill you—” And his argument came to a halt. “But after the wedding. That’s the only way he could have gotten his hands on your money.”