“Stay close,” Declan reminded her. He grabbed the flashlight from the glove compartment in case the search went on longer than the twilight, and he shoved some extra magazines of ammo into his pockets. Eden did the same.
When he got out, the bitter wind nearly robbed him of his breath. Man, it was cold, and even though they were wearing coats, this still wouldn’t be a pleasant search.
Declan made sure she was behind him, and they headed east. There were no buildings out there, but as Eden had noted, there were trees. Plus, there was a fence, and it, too, would make a good hiding place.
“Keep watch behind us,” he whispered, and he got them moving fast. They had a lot of ground to cover. Acres. And with the wind howling, it would make it hard to hear if someone sneaked up on them.
He shoved aside a low-hanging branch, ducked underneath and saw the clearing just ahead. Declan stopped, tried to listen, because the clearing would be a good place for an attacker to gun them down. But there were no signs of anyone.
Declan turned on the flashlight and fanned it over the ground.
Footprints.
Definitely not drag marks, and they appeared to be fresh.
“Could they be Kirby’s prints?” Eden whispered.
He shook his head. “Too big.” And judging from the depth of the impressions, it was possible that this was someone who was carrying Kirby.
That sent his heart pounding against his ribs. Did that mean Kirby was hurt? Or worse? But Declan forced those questions aside. He couldn’t help Kirby if he didn’t focus solely on the search.
And on keeping Eden safe.
Because he darn sure didn’t want her hurt because of some bad blood between Kirby, Jack or Leonard. Beatrice, either. Though if it was Jack’s wife behind this, she’d obviously hired some muscle since she couldn’t have carried Kirby from his truck.
“Move fast,” Declan told her, and he turned off the flashlight.
He pulled in a hard breath and got them running toward a cluster of trees just on the other side of the clearing. Each step was a risk, and with each step he prayed that he didn’t regret what he was doing.
Declan pulled Eden behind one of the larger oaks, and he took another second to try to hear anything that might be going on around him. Hard to hear, though, with his heartbeat crashing in his ears.
However, some movement caught his eye.
It must have caught Eden’s, too, because she pivoted in the direction of another cluster of trees that was about twenty yards away. Even in the dim light, Declan could see the man.
Not an attacker.
Kirby.
Eden started to bolt toward the man, but Declan held her back so he could assess the situation. Hard to do with his foster father—correction, his father—so close.
Kirby was on his feet, leaning against a tree, and his arms were moving. His head was down with his chin practically touching his chest. No one was around him. At least no one that Declan could see.
Without taking his attention off Kirby and their surroundings, Declan eased his phone from his pocket and hit the first button. Wyatt’s number. His brother answered almost immediately.
“We found Kirby,” Declan whispered. “He’s about a quarter of a mile from the road where I left my truck. Get here as fast as you can.”
“Is he hurt?” Wyatt asked.
“I’m about to find that out now. Hurry,” Declan repeated, and he ended the call so he could put his phone and the flashlight away. He wanted his hands free in case this turned into an attack.
Unfortunately, there was yet another clearing between Kirby and them. Not a wide one. But it was just enough to get them killed. Declan couldn’t risk Eden’s life like that, so he put her between him and a tree. That way he could take what he hoped would be a lesser risk.
“Kirby?” Declan softly called out.
He lifted his head. Not easily. “Declan.” His voice sounded as weak as the man looked, and Declan wasn’t sure how he was staying on his feet.
“Who did this?” Declan asked.
Kirby shook his head. “A lackey. All muscle and no talk. Don’t know who he’s working for because the guy didn’t say a word.”
Declan hoped they could soon remedy that. “Can you make your way to us?”
“Can’t.” It took him a moment and several labored breaths to continue. God knows what this cold and stress were doing to his body. “Someone tied me here.”
Hell. This just kept getting worse.
“We have to go to him,” Eden insisted. “We can get on the ground and crawl.”
It wasn’t a good plan, but it was better than darting across the clearing. Besides, there wasn’t much of an alternative. He couldn’t leave Eden here alone because it might be part of the plan to grab her, too.
“Come on.” Declan dropped to the ground and pulled her beside him. It wasn’t easy. The ground was frozen and rocky, but they crawled toward Kirby.
Declan braced himself for an attack, but it didn’t come. Thank God. They made it to Kirby, and Eden immediately started working to undo the rope that circled Kirby’s chest and stomach.
“Are you hurt?” Declan asked, praying he wasn’t.
“No. Just ready to fall flat on my face.”
Yeah, he looked it. “What the hell happened? Why are you out here?”
“I got a call. Someone using a voice scrambler, but I think it was Jack. The person said I could end the danger to your life with a simple meeting. And a confession to Webb’s murder.”
Then the call must have been from Jack. But Declan rethought that. If it was Jack, why use a voice scrambler unless the man just wanted to throw them off his trail? However, there was someone else who could want that confession.
Beatrice.
Maybe so she could protect her husband from a murder rap. If she was so inclined.
Of course, Leonard could be the culprit, too. There were only two reasons for a suspect to use a voice scrambler. To muddy the waters or conceal their identity. But whoever was behind this, Declan intended to make them pay.
Eden finally got the rope undone, and Kirby practically dropped to the ground. Both Declan and she stopped that from happening by looping their arms around him. Even though Kirby had on a coat and his Stetson, he was freezing. That sent a new round of rage through Declan. This winter air could literally kill him.
“What now?” Eden asked.
Declan didn’t want to go back through the two clearings with Kirby in tow, so he pulled them all as close to the tree as he could manage. “We’ll wait for the others. They should be here soon.”
He hoped.
That hope had barely had time to cross his mind when he heard the sounds. Footsteps, maybe. Maybe just the wind rattling the bare branches of the trees.
But the chill that went down his spine said it was something bad.
“Get down,” Declan told them. And it wasn’t a second too soon.
The shot blasted through the night air.
Chapter Seventeen
Eden tried to do what she could to protect Kirby, but despite his weakened condition, he’d have no part of that. He dragged her to him, shielding her with his body while Declan took aim in the direction of that shot.
Another bullet came their way, smacking into the tree. Then another. And it was that third shot that made Eden’s heart go to her knees.
Because the angle had been different.
And that meant there wasn’t just one shooter, but two. At least. All three of their suspects had enough money to hire plenty of assassins, so heaven knows how many had been paid to come here and kill them.
“Eden?” someone called out.
She hadn’t thought it possible, but that got her heart racing even faster. It was her father.
“Are you all right?” he shouted. He was somewhere to their left, in the direction of the fence. None of the shots had come from there, but he’d had men with him back in the woods near Maverick Springs.
Mercy, she hoped it wasn’t them firing now.
“Don’t answer,” Declan warned her in a rough whisper. “I don’t want anyone pinpointing our position.”
It was a good argument, but she hated for her father to think she’d been shot and therefore couldn’t answer. Of course, that wasn’t the worst of her fears. Her father couldn’t be behind this attack. He just couldn’t be. Whatever hatred he had for Declan, he wouldn’t have gone this far with it.
She hoped.
But the little seed of doubt was there, and it tore away at her heart.
“Who’s doing this?” her father asked.
But no one answered him. Well, no human anyway. Several thick blasts tore through the air. And this time they didn’t come at Declan, Kirby and her—they went in her father’s direction.
No. Someone was trying to kill him.
Kirby held on to her, maybe because he thought she might bolt from cover to help her dad. She couldn’t. It’d be suicide, but she had to look for a way to end the danger now.
“My father’s not behind this,” she whispered. And she hated there was surprise mixed with the relief in her whisper.
“I got a call about an hour ago,” her father continued. Judging from the sound of his voice, he’d moved. “The person said you were here at Rocky Creek and hurt and that you needed help.”
And he’d come. Part of her was thankful for that, but another part of her wanted to throttle him for falling for such a thing. Declan and she had had no choice but to come after Kirby, but obviously someone had gotten her father here under false pretenses, since she hadn’t been in need of help an hour ago.
She needed it now.
They’d need a miracle for all of them to get out of this alive.
But in a sick way it made sense that their attacker would want her father here. Both Leonard and Jack had a beef against him, and including her father and her in this dangerous mix would be a way to get total revenge.
The shots started up again. Mercy, did they. They came at them from both directions, and Declan, Kirby and she had no choice but to get flat on the ground. Maybe, just maybe, the gunmen wouldn’t use that opportunity to close in on them.
“I can stop this,” Kirby said. “It’s me they want.”
“You don’t know that,” Declan snapped. And when Kirby tried to get up, both Eden and Declan kept him on the ground. “You don’t even know who’s behind this.”
“I know it’s someone after me. Jack wants to kill me because of Stella. But not before he can get me to confess to Webb’s murder. I can bargain with him to get you and Eden some time to escape.”
“And if it’s not Jack?” Declan didn’t wait for him to answer. “Beatrice has several possible motives of her own. To get back at you for her husband’s broken heart over Stella. Or to frame her husband for your murder. And then there’s Leonard. Maybe he was lying about wanting to watch you suffer. He could have just waited until he had everything in place to come after you for killing his son, and if so, he’s not the least bit interested in negotiation.”
Kirby gave a weary sigh and quit struggling.
Good. At least Declan had put an end to that, but it didn’t lessen the danger. For any of them. She prayed that her father would stay down and not try to do anything heroic to save her.
Even over the roar of the nonstop shots, she heard Declan’s phone buzz. Because he had his focus on the gunmen, he handed her the phone.
“It’s Wyatt,” she relayed when she saw the name on the screen.
“Tell him and the others to stay back,” Declan insisted. “I don’t know how many shooters are involved or where they are.”
Eden repeated that to Wyatt. “Best not to fire unless you have to,” Wyatt answered. “I’m not exactly sure of Harlan’s and Dallas’s positions.”
She ended the call, and even though Declan hadn’t fired, she told him what Wyatt had said. It caused him to mumble some profanity, and she knew why. Not only were they pinned down in the freezing cold with a sick man, now they couldn’t even return fire.
“I have to take out one of these guys,” Declan said. “Use this if you have to. Just keep Eden safe.” He reached in his boot and took out a small gun from the holster there. He handed it to Kirby.
But before Kirby could even take the weapon, Eden was shaking her head. “You can’t go out there, Declan. You could be killed.”
He leaned over, brushed a quick kiss on her mouth and levered himself up.
“You can’t do this,” she tried again.
But he got to a crouching position anyway. He did stay behind the cover of the tree, but he wouldn’t have that meager protection for long.
“I’ll sneak up behind one of them,” Declan explained. And he got ready to move.
However, before he could go an inch, she heard a sound. Not the shouts and not a person’s voice.
But a car engine.
The vehicle wasn’t on the road, though. She could see the headlights slashing through the woods. And so was the vehicle. It was weaving in and out of the trees, the underbrush scraping against the sides like nails on a chalkboard.
“Maybe it’s one of your brothers,” Eden suggested.
If so, they were moving right into the line of fire.
The shots continued, and perhaps some of them were being fired into the approaching truck. It was hard to tell even after the vehicle came into view.
“Hell,” Declan said. “That’d better not be who I think it is.”
Kirby lifted his head and looked out. He cursed, too. “Stella.”
Oh, God.
Had Stella really come or had she been brought here? Eden prayed not, but her prayers weren’t answered. A moment later, the truck window inched down.
“I’m here to trade my life for theirs,” Stella shouted.
The last word had barely had time to leave her mouth when the bullets began to tear through her truck.
* * *
“GET DOWN!” KIRBY yelled to Stella.
Once again, Declan had to stop the man from bolting into the clearing. But then Eden had to stop Declan. Every instinct inside him shouted for him to protect Stella. Maybe because she was a woman. Maybe because she was his mother. It didn’t matter which—Declan had to force himself to stay put and try to figure out what to do.
He had to take out the shooter.
Why the devil was Stella here anyway? How could she have thought it would help to walk into this mess?
Of course, she might not have been thinking with her head but rather her heart. That particular organ was what had brought Declan out here. To save Kirby. Well, apparently Stella had the same notion. But there was one huge problem with that. She was now smack-dab in the middle of gunfire.
Eden still had his phone, and he glanced at it, then her. “Call Wyatt. Tell everyone to get down.”
She did that immediately, but while he waited for his brothers to comply, the shots were continuing to slam into Stella’s truck. Any one of those bullets could kill her.
If they hadn’t already.
“Stay down,” Declan warned Kirby and Eden.
He came up on one knee, took aim at the shooter to the right of the truck. And he fired. Declan couldn’t actually see the guy, but he must have come close to hitting him because the shots stopped.
Well, on that side anyway.
They continued on the other, so Declan sent a bullet that way.
It worked. For a few seconds. Then the shots started again. His phone buzzed, too, and Eden a
nswered it.
“Wyatt says he’s dead center behind the truck,” Eden relayed. “He’s moving in closer to see if he can get a better shot.”
Good. Declan kept his aim to the right and sent another two rounds that way. As before, the shots stopped, and when they started again, he realized the shooter had moved. Farther from the truck.
But closer to them.
Declan tried to keep himself positioned between Kirby and Eden, but then Eden lifted her head. “Dad, if you’re still out there, get out of the way!” And she took aim at the left side of the truck and fired.
“What part of stay down didn’t you understand?” Declan snarled.
But then Kirby fired, too, using the backup weapon Declan had given him. He aimed at the same spot as Eden, and his shot smacked into one of the trees.
Hell’s bells. He had a mutiny on his hands.
Declan was about to verbally blast them both, but he heard some profanity and didn’t think it was coming from his brothers. Maybe one of the shooters had been hurt. Maybe either Eden or Kirby had managed to do one of them some harm.
“It’s me!” Wyatt shouted, and he sounded close, probably right next to the rear of the truck.
And the next shot definitely came from Wyatt and went in the direction where Declan had been shooting. Eden and Kirby continued to fire, and soon the only shots were theirs. The footsteps confirmed they had the gunmen on the run.
“Cover me, Harlan!” Wyatt yelled.
Until then Declan hadn’t realized Harlan was so close, but that was much-needed backup. Declan waited a few seconds. Then more. And when there were no shots fired, he got down on his belly so he could make it out to the truck.
Eden caught his arm to stop him, but Declan shook his head. “I have to make sure she’s all right.”
Her grip melted off him, and instead she held on to Kirby, probably because he had the same plan to check on Stella. Declan gave Eden one last look, thanking her, and he started to crawl across the clearing.
He didn’t have to crawl far.
The truck door opened, and Stella stepped out. Or rather she staggered out. It was dark now, but thanks to a hunter’s moon, Declan had no trouble seeing the blood on the right sleeve of her coat.
JUSTICE IS COMING Page 16
