Finally, her gaze came to his, and she took him by the arm. “We have to talk.” With the others watching, she led Declan out into the hall. “Please don’t make me regret telling you this.” Her voice was a shaky whisper.
And Declan knew who’d just called. “Where’s your father?”
“He didn’t say.” She swallowed hard.
“But he wants to meet with you.”
She nodded. “Alone. He said he’s not guilty, that he was framed for trying to kill the witness who was going to testify against him.”
Of course, Zander would say that. It was rare for a criminal to admit guilt, but he wasn’t likely to convince Eden of the possibility that her father could be a dangerous man. “Where’s the meeting?”
Eden turned away from him. She would have avoided his gaze completely if Declan hadn’t caught her chin and forced eye contact. “Where and when?” he demanded.
Still, she took her time answering, and it seemed as if she changed her mind several times about telling him this. “Half hour. A pond about ten miles out of town. It’s on West Farm Road.”
Declan knew the exact spot. It was a remote location with almost no traffic. Plenty of trees for cover. Plenty of places to hide a vehicle, too. Unfortunately, it also had escape routes, since there were several ranch trails that rimmed the pond.
“I own that land,” Declan explained. And he doubted that was a coincidence. Zander had likely chosen it because he knew it would dig at Declan. Had Zander also known that Eden would tell him about the meeting location?
And he went a little further with that thought.
Was Eden telling him the whole truth?
She wouldn’t lead him into a trap. But he rethought that and groaned. Apparently, this attraction had made him a complete idiot, because he shouldn’t trust her.
But he did.
After everything they’d been through, he didn’t think she’d put him in the path of more bullets. And he hoped like the devil that was true.
“I need you to stay here,” Declan told her.
She didn’t just shake her head. Eden took him by the shoulders. “If I’m not at the meeting, my father won’t be, either.”
“That’s a chance I’ll have to take.”
“And it’s a dumb chance.” She huffed, and it seemed to take her a moment to rein in her temper. “If I don’t step out near that pond, then my father will just disappear into the woods. I don’t want that. I want to know the information he has about all of this.”
Yeah, so did Declan, but he wasn’t sure it was worth the risk.
“And I need to make sure he’s okay. I’m going to that meeting,” Eden insisted. “And if you leave me behind, I’ll just figure out another way to get there. My being there is the best way to keep you safe.”
Now he groaned. “It’s not your job to keep me safe.”
Her eyes narrowed a little. “I can say the same thing right back to you. I didn’t ask for your protection.” And then her eyes narrowed a lot. “I’m not backing down on this.”
Nope. She wouldn’t. Any fool could see the determination in her eyes, which weren’t so darn bedroom at the moment. She’d find a way there all right, and nothing short of putting her in a jail cell would make her stay put. Declan considered doing just that—locking her up—but there was something else playing into this.
Without Eden, he wouldn’t be able to get close to her father.
Zander had known exactly where she was. It meant he was watching them or had hired someone to do that. And depending on how long he’d been watching them, Zander might indeed have information about the attack. Maybe even firsthand information that he’d volunteer or let slip when Declan talked to him.
Hoping he didn’t regret this, he leaned back inside the squad room, caught Harlan’s attention and motioned for him to join them.
“This meeting has to stay a secret,” Eden insisted when she realized what was going on.
“Not a chance. We’re not going out there without some kind of backup.”
“I’m your backup,” she protested.
But he ignored her and turned to Harlan. “I need you to follow us out to Old Saunder’s pond. And if Zander Gray calls back, leave instructions to give him my cell number.”
Harlan mumbled some profanity. “You’re meeting with Eden’s father?”
“Yeah. Right after I call the hospital.”
Harlan didn’t ask why he was doing that. His brother knew. Declan needed to ask Kirby about the things Leonard and Jack had said. It was probably nothing. He hoped. But it wouldn’t feel like nothing until Kirby reassured him that he’d had no part in this.
Webb’s murder was a different matter.
Even though there’d been no proof, before now anyway, as to who’d helped Sarah Webb murder her husband, Declan had always known that her accomplice could be a member of his foster family. Now he had another suspect to add to that list of possible accomplices.
Jack Vinson.
He had to figure out if Jack was trying to pressure Kirby into confessing to a crime he didn’t commit. Or if Beatrice Vinson was so jealous of Stella that she was behind all of this.
Still mumbling, Harlan went back inside the squad room.
“I want my gun while we’re at this meeting,” Eden said.
Only then did he remember the sheriff had taken it from her since she’d fired it at the assassins who’d tried to kill them. It would have to be processed as part of the crime scene.
“My backup weapon’s in the glove compartment. Come on.” Declan grabbed their coats and they headed downstairs and to his truck. “But there are rules about this meeting. My rules. You’ll follow them, or we’ll drive right back to town and you won’t see your father.”
Her gaze slid to his. “What rules?”
“Easy ones.” He hoped. “You stay behind me, and if anything goes wrong, you get on the ground. Agree to them or stay here. That’s the only choice I’m giving you.” He wasn’t budging on this, either.
“Agreed,” she finally said. “But if my father sees you with me, he won’t show his face,” Eden warned him right back.
Maybe. “I’m not letting you meet him alone. He could be behind these attempts to kill us.”
“He won’t hurt me.”
Yeah, Declan was counting heavily on that. But he was also counting on backup in case his instincts were dead wrong.
Eden continued to argue, but the moment he unlocked the truck and she got inside, she took his gun from the glove compartment. Extra ammo, too, which she crammed into her pockets.
“Repeating myself here, but it’s a bad idea for you to come with me,” she grumbled.
“A lot of things happening between us fall into the bad-idea category.” And with that obvious statement out of the way, he turned his attention to their surroundings.
Declan glanced around to see if they were being watched, then he eased out of the parking lot, making sure no one followed them. He didn’t want to drive too fast because there might be ice on the roads, and he wanted to give Harlan a chance to catch up with them. Besides, he needed a little time to speak to Stella.
Declan tried her number and was a little surprised when she answered on the first ring—as if she’d been expecting him. He didn’t want to put the call on speaker, though Eden no doubt wanted to hear every word. But this conversation was something he might need to keep in the family.
For now anyway.
Of course, Eden was trying to do the same with this meeting with her father. Still, a phone call wasn’t dangerous. Well, not in a bullet-flying sort of way like a face-to-face encounter with Zander might be. But he could learn something from this call that Declan wasn’t sure he wanted to learn.
“I just got off the phone with Jack Vinson,” Stel
la immediately told him. “He said you had a meeting with Leonard Kane.”
“We did.” And Declan left it at that. If Jack and she had talked, then Stella already knew what he wanted from her.
Answers.
Or better yet, a denial of Kirby’s involvement. But Stella didn’t volunteer anything.
Eden mumbled something he didn’t catch, but she was clearly frustrated that she couldn’t hear what Stella was saying, and she scooted across the seat closer to him. As far as her seat belt would allow, and until they were arm to arm. Not the best position, especially when she put her face next to his.
“Is Kirby up to seeing us?” Declan asked when Stella’s silence continued.
“He’s feeling better. And I’d like to keep it that way for a while longer.” She paused, and even though he didn’t hear her sniffling or anything, Declan could sense that this was not a conversation she wanted to have. “Maybe this can keep for a day or two.”
“In a day or two, Eden and I could be dead.” He hated just to toss that out there, but it was the truth. If the danger had been directed only at him, Declan would have gladly backed off for as long as Stella deemed necessary, but this had to stop.
“Look, I don’t want to make Kirby any worse,” Declan continued, “but you and I both know if he could do anything to prevent another attack, then he’d do it.”
“Yes, he would.” Another pause.
“You know you’re going to have to tell me the truth?” Declan asked her.
“I know. But I’m not sure if the truth will help.”
Declan didn’t like the sound of that. He’d wanted Stella to deny there were any secrets. Especially secrets that had anything to do with Kirby’s involvement not just in this situation but in Webb’s murder.
“I need to hear it,” Declan insisted.
The seconds crawled by. “Tonight then.”
Declan had plenty to do between now and then. That included this little chat with Zander. But he suddenly wanted nothing more than to hurry to the hospital and demand the answers that Stella didn’t want him to know.
Stella ended the call, and Declan put away his phone.
Eden backed away a little, but her stare stayed on him. “If Kirby knows anything about—”
“Then he’ll tell me,” Declan interrupted.
“Us,” she corrected.
Declan wanted to insist that particular conversation be private, but this wasn’t a privacy situation. There was indeed an us in this, and it wasn’t based solely on the attraction. Eden’s life was on the line, too.
“After we’re finished with Zander, we’ll deal with Kirby,” he assured her, though he wasn’t sure how to go about doing that.
“Finished,” she repeated under her breath. “You do know that my father isn’t just going to let you arrest him. And I don’t want another shoot-out.”
Neither did he, and that was why he had to take some basic precautions. He slowed to a crawl until he spotted Harlan’s dark blue truck coming up behind them, and Declan turned onto one of the ranch trails.
He looked at the dirt and gravel surface to see if anyone had driven on it recently, but it was hard to tell since it was scabbed with ice.
Eden glanced around. “Where exactly are we going?”
“This trail takes us to the backside of the pond.”
Of course, her father could have had someone hidden in the trees, watching them. He might know their every move, but this was just a basic precaution. Besides, the trees gave them much better cover than being out on the farm road itself.
Harlan stayed behind him, both vehicles bobbing across the uneven surface. Declan kept watch. So did Eden. Her gaze fired all around, and she had a death grip on the gun she was holding.
Declan followed the trail, moving deeper into the trees. It was darker here since the tall live oaks choked out what little sun there was. They also choked the trail since some were so close that the branches scraped against the sides of his truck. Again, there were no signs that anyone had been here. At least not with a vehicle.
“The pond’s just over there.” Declan pointed to his right, but the water wasn’t in sight yet. “We’ll park and walk the rest of the way.”
At least once they were outside he’d be able to hear footsteps or some other indication that they weren’t alone in these woods. Of course, it’d be next to impossible to hear a shooter who was already in place.
Declan turned, intending to move off the trail and into a narrow clearing, but he spotted a pile of leaves just ahead. It didn’t look like anything Mother Nature had formed, so he hit his brakes.
But it was too late.
The truck jolted. Eden and he did, too, and if they hadn’t been wearing their seat belts, they would have slammed into the dash and steering wheel. Thankfully, Harlan was able to stop in time and didn’t plow right into them.
Eden gasped, lifted her gun. “What happened?”
“I’m pretty sure someone put spikes or nails on the trail.” Because whatever he’d hit had taken out both front tires. It’d also left them sitting ducks.
Hell. This was not the way he’d wanted things to play out.
Declan drew his gun. Looked around. Harlan’s truck hadn’t been disabled, so they’d need to use it to get the heck out of there.
“Move fast,” Declan told Eden, and he opened his truck door. “Stay right with me.” They started walking with her pressed against the truck and with him in front of her.
“See anyone?” Harlan asked, stepping from his truck, as well.
“No.” But Declan had no sooner said it than he did see something. Movement behind one of the larger oaks. Whoever was there ducked back out of sight, and that couldn’t be a good sign.
“Step away from the truck,” someone shouted. “And keep your hands in the air so I can see them.”
Declan saw the gun then. And not just one, but several, all pointed right at them.
The three of them were surrounded.
Chapter Ten
Eden didn’t have time to react. But Declan sure did. He hooked his arm around her and dragged her to the ground.
Her heart slammed against her chest, and she braced herself for the gunshots. However, no shots came. Just the eerie silence and the sound of her own heartbeat crashing in her ears.
“Stand up,” someone said. It was her father. “And remember that part about keeping your hands where I can see them.”
Eden tried to get up, but Declan shoved her right back to the ground. He certainly didn’t do as her father had ordered. He took aim at one of the shadowy figures behind a tree. Harlan pointed his gun at another one. Eden didn’t do any pointing because one of those shadows was her father.
“O’Malley, if I wanted you dead, you already would be,” her father said.
“Is that supposed to make me trust you?” Declan snapped.
“No, but this might.”
She lifted her head just a fraction and saw her father step out from behind one of the trees. He was armed, a gun in his right hand and a large manila envelope in his left. He was dressed like a soldier going to combat, with camo and gear, and he had a black baseball cap slung low over his face.
The relief flooded through her—he was alive—but the relief was soon followed by the fear that he might not stay that way for long. This could easily turn into a gunfight if she didn’t do something to defuse it.
“Declan saved my life,” she volunteered, and despite the fact that he was trying to keep her on the ground, Eden managed to wiggle away from him and get to her feet. However, Declan did stop her from going closer to her father. “I don’t want him or his brother hurt.”
Declan cursed. Stood up. And stepped in front of her after he shot her a glare. “There are rules, and you just broke them.
”
“Admirable,” her father said before she could respond to Declan. “You’re trying to protect my daughter. Ironic, huh? Since you’d like nothing better than to see me dead.”
“Not ironic. Your daughter didn’t try to kill a witness and then escape from jail.”
Her father shook his head. “I didn’t try to kill a witness, either.” He walked toward them and met her gaze. “I would give you a hug, but the marshal here wouldn’t like that.”
“I’m not sure I would, either,” she answered. It hurt to say that, and it hurt to see the flash of surprise go through her father’s eyes. “You should have let us know you were alive.”
“Couldn’t risk you telling the cops. Or the marshals. You always were a do-gooder, Eden.”
His voice wasn’t exactly cold, but the look he gave her was. There’d never been a lot of affection between them. Her father wasn’t, well, fatherly. But she loved him as only a daughter could.
“I wouldn’t have turned you in.” She had to clear her throat and repeat it so that it was more than a whisper. “I would have tried to help you.”
The corner of her father’s mouth lifted. “And now you’re sleeping with the enemy.”
She was sure she blinked and then quickly shook her head.
“Eden’s in my protective custody,” Declan growled.
“And she spent the night with you,” her father growled back.
“Not with me.” Declan’s jaw tightened. “Under the same roof, and she did that because she’s in serious danger. Someone wants me and your daughter dead. I’m thinking that someone might be you.”
Eden pulled in her breath and waited. Prayed, too. Her father couldn’t be involved in this.
“Not me,” her father insisted. “I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Eden or any of my girls. The only reason I’ve stayed away is because it’s safer for them.”
“Safer for you, too,” Declan reminded him. “After all, you’re not in jail.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people who want to silence me.” Zander made a nervous glance around the woods. “More than once someone’s tried to kill me, and damn if I know why. And before you ask, I don’t know who’s trying to kill you, either. Could be Leonard or Jack. Or Jack’s crazy wife. Maybe Kirby.”
JUSTICE IS COMING Page 9
