Shotgun Sheriff

by Fossen, Delores

  Reed jerked his phone from his pocket, and since the screen was already lit, it meant he had a call.

  “Shane,” Reed answered. “Where are you?”

  Because Reed had his hands full with the call, keeping watch and with Charla, Livvy hoisted herself back up to a sitting position so she could return fire if necessary. Maybe, just maybe, her body would cooperate. The pain was making it hard to focus, and Livvy was afraid she wouldn’t be able to hear anything over her heartbeat pounding in her ears.

  “We don’t know who the gunman is,” Reed told Shane. “But it’s not Charla. She’s with us.” He paused, apparently listening to Shane. “Okay. But Livvy and Charla are staying put. Call Livvy if there’s a change in plans.”

  With that, Reed shut his phone and shoved it back into his pocket. “Shane’s going to try to sneak up on the gunman,” he whispered. “And I need to help him.”

  Livvy understood. Reed couldn’t help if he had to hang on to Charla. Though it took several deep breaths and a lot of willpower to force herself to move, Livvy reached out with her left hand and began to pull Charla in her direction. Reed moved to the side, and together they maneuvered the woman in place just to the side of Livvy.

  Charla didn’t resist.

  She went willingly and pressed her body against the fence. She also covered her face with her hands. Livvy didn’t think the woman was faking her fear, so that probably meant Charla had no idea who their attacker was.

  “I’m going straight ahead,” Reed mouthed. But he didn’t move. He paused just a moment to meet her gaze, and then he started to crawl forward again.

  “Don’t get hurt,” Livvy mumbled under her breath, but she was sure he didn’t hear her.

  She instantly regretted that she hadn’t said more, something with more emotion and volume. But that would have been a stupid thing to do. Reed didn’t need emotion from her now. He needed her to keep Charla subdued and safe, and for that to happen, she had to stay alert and conscious.

  The next shot put her right back on high alert. The bullet slammed into the limestone just inches from Charla’s head. Charla yelped and dropped on her stomach to the ground, and Livvy sank lower. She couldn’t go belly-down as Charla had done, she needed to be able to help Reed, but she did slide slightly lower.

  Another bullet.

  This one hit just inches from the last one. God, she hoped the shooter hadn’t managed to pinpoint them somehow. But there was some good in this because the shots didn’t seem to be aimed at Reed.

  She heard Reed move forward, making his way across the lawn. Livvy couldn’t see him, but she knew he would use the shrubs for cover. Maybe that would be enough, but bullets could easily go through plants and leaves. She choked back the rest of that realization because the physical pain was one thing, but she couldn’t bear the thought of Reed being hurt.

  Beside her, Charla began to sob. Livvy was about to try to stop her when her phone rang. Unlike Reed, she hadn’t put hers on vibrate, so the ringing sound was loud.

  There was a shot fired.

  Then another.

  The third one bashed into the limestone and sent a spray of stone chips flying through the air. Livvy tried to shield her eyes, and she snatched up her phone so it wouldn’t ring again.

  “It’s me, Shane,” the caller said.

  Livvy released the breath she’d been holding. It wasn’t Reed calling to tell her that he’d taken one of those bullets.

  “Where’s Reed?”

  “I’m not sure. Somewhere between the fence and the west side of the inn.” She tried to pick through the darkness and shadows, but she couldn’t see him either. “Where are you?”

  “The back porch of the inn. I’m going to try to sneak up the stairs to the upper porch.”

  It was a good idea. That way, he might be able to spot the shooter. If the shooter didn’t spot Shane first, that was. The outside stairs weren’t exactly concealed, and the shooter might have an unobstructed view of both the stairs and the upper porch.

  “Be careful,” Livvy warned. “But hurry. Whoever’s doing this isn’t giving up.”

  She got instant proof of that. The shooter fired again, and this time the bullet didn’t go into the fence. It went into the wooden gate just on the other side of Charla. The woman screamed, covered her head with her hands and tried to scramble behind Livvy.

  “Were you hit again?” Shane immediately asked.

  “No.” Livvy pressed the phone between her right shoulder and ear so she could focus on keeping aim. No easy feat. The pain was worse now, and it seemed to be throbbing through every inch of her body.

  “Just hang in there,” Shane told her. “We’ll get the medics in ASAP.”

  He’d obviously heard the pain come through in her voice. Livvy hoped the shooter didn’t sense that as well because she was in no shape to win a gunfight.

  “I’ve got to hang up now,” Shane continued. “I’m at the stairs, and—Wait…”

  That wait got Livvy’s complete attention. “What’s wrong?”

  “I see the shooter. He’s wearing dark clothes, and he’s behind the oak tree.”

  Not the mountain laurels as Reed had thought. She quickly tried to remember the landscape, and if her memory was right, Reed could soon be crawling right past the gunman.

  Or right at him.

  Shane cursed, and the call ended.

  Livvy mumbled some profanity as well. She considered phoning Reed but figured it was too late for that.

  “Reed?” she shouted. “Watch out!”

  But her warning was drowned out by the gunfire that blasted through the air. Not from the direction where the shooter had originally been.

  The shots came from directly in front of them.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Reed heard Livvy’s warning, but it was too late for him to do anything but duck his head and hope the bullets missed him.

  And her.

  God knew how much pain Livvy was in right now, and she certainly wasn’t in any shape to be in the middle of this mess.

  “Stay down!” Reed called out to Livvy, Charla and Shane.

  He hoped they all listened and had the capability to keep out of the line of fire. Shane certainly wasn’t in the best of positions. Or at least he hadn’t been when Reed had last spotted his deputy at the base of the stairs. Then Shane had disappeared, and Reed hoped like hell that he’d taken cover.

  Since there was no safe way for him to go forward and because he was worried about Livvy, Reed turned and began to make his way back to her. It was obvious the gunman was on the move, and Reed didn’t want him to manage to sneak up on Livvy.

  Moving as fast as he could while trying to keep his ear attuned to the directions of the shots, Reed maneuvered his way through the damp grass and the shrubs. He spotted Livvy. She was crouched over Charla, protecting her, but Reed knew Livvy needed someone to protect her.

  God, there was even more blood on her shirt.

  He scrambled to her, keeping low because of the barrage of bullets, and he clamped his hand over her wound again. It wasn’t gushing blood, but even a trickle could cause her to bleed out.

  “We can’t wait for the ambulance,” he whispered. “I need to get you out of here.”

  She didn’t argue. Well, not verbally anyway. He saw the argument in the depths of her eyes, but he also saw that the blood loss had weakened her.

  “I’m going to stay in front of you,” he instructed Livvy. “Do you think you can crawl through the gate and onto the sidewalk?”

  “Yes.” Now, she shook her head. “But I won’t leave you here to fend for yourself.”

  He nearly laughed. Nearly. So, there was some fight left in her after all. “I have Shane for backup. I’ll cover you while you get to the sidewalk. Get as far away from the inn as you can, and I’ll have the medics meet you.”

  Charla moved when Livvy did, but Reed latched on to the woman. “You’re staying here.” Though he doubted Charla was truly involved in the
shooting, he didn’t want Livvy to have to worry about watching her back.

  Livvy had barely made it to the gate when Reed heard the sound. Not more gunfire, but movement. It wasn’t just footsteps either. There seemed to be some kind of altercation going on, and whatever it was, it was happening in front of them.

  Shane.

  Hell, his deputy had likely come face-to-face with the gunman.

  Reed motioned for Livvy to keep moving, but she didn’t. She stopped and aimed her gun in the direction of those sounds. Someone cursed. It was definitely Shane, and then there was a loud thump. Reed had been around enough fights to know that someone had just connected with a punch.

  The silence returned.

  But it didn’t last.

  It was mere seconds before the footsteps started. This wasn’t a quiet skulking motion. Someone was running straight toward them.

  Reed couldn’t call out Shane’s name because it would give away Livvy’s and his positions. Besides, whoever this was, it wasn’t Shane. His deputy was well-trained and would have identified himself to avoid being shot.

  The gunman darted out from one of the eight-foot-high mountain laurels.

  Reed fired.

  And missed.

  But he’d gotten a glimpse of the person. Shane was right about the dark clothes, and it was definitely a man.

  Reed got a sickening feeling. He hoped it wasn’t Woody out there.

  The shots started again, and the man rushed out, coming closer. Each shot and each movement was wasting time, and Reed was fed up. He needed to get Livvy out of there.

  He motioned for Livvy to stay down. Whether she would or not was anyone’s guess. Reed picked up a chunk of the limestone that’d broken off in the attack, and tossed it to the center of the yard. When the stone landed on the ground, the gunman left cover.

  Reed fired again.

  This time, he didn’t miss.

  The shooter howled in pain and clamped his hands onto his left thigh.

  “Fire a couple of shots into the ground but in that direction and then get to the medics,” he told Livvy, pointing to the area on the west side of the inn but still far enough away from where he would be heading. He needed a diversion in case their attacker could still manage to shoot.

  Reed hurried, racing toward the gunman who’d done his level best to kill them. And this wasn’t over. He had no idea just how badly Livvy, and maybe even Shane, were hurt. There had to be a good reason his deputy wasn’t responding.

  When he was closer, Reed saw that the shooter was wearing a black baseball cap that was tilted down to cover the upper portion of his face. Reed didn’t stop or take the time to figure out who this was; he dove at the guy.

  The shooter lifted his gun.

  Aimed.

  But he didn’t get off another shot before Reed plowed right into him.

  Both of them went to the ground, hard, and the guy’s gun rammed into Reed’s rib cage. It nearly knocked the breath right out of him, but Reed fought to pull air into his lungs while he fought to hang on to his gun.

  But he wasn’t successful.

  The man swiped at Reed’s arm, and it was just enough to send his weapon flying.

  Still, Reed wasn’t about to give up. He used every bit of his anger and adrenaline so he could slam his fist into the man’s face.

  It worked.

  The guy’s head flopped back. He wasn’t unconscious, but the movement caused his baseball cap to fall off. And Reed got a close look at the gunman’s face.

  He cursed.

  Because it was a face he knew all too well.

  The shock stunned Reed for a moment. Just a moment. But that was apparently all the time the man needed to get his weapon back into place.

  The gun slammed hard against the side of Reed’s head.

  LIVVY COULD no longer feel the pain. That was good. Because one way or another she was going to make her way to Reed, and dealing with the pain was one less obstacle that could get in her way.

  Charla was still sobbing and cowering against the fence. It was a risk to leave her there alone, but it was an even bigger risk to let Reed take on the gunman without backup. Yes, Shane was out there somewhere, but he didn’t seem to be responding. She hoped he hadn’t been shot, or killed.

  Livvy forced herself to stand, and since there were no more bullets flying, she didn’t exactly crouch. Her goal was to make it to Reed as quickly as possible.

  Still, that wasn’t nearly fast enough.

  She felt as if she were walking through sludge, and it didn’t help that she had to keep her shooting hand clamped to her shoulder. That meant her gun was out of position if she had to fire, but she would deal with that if and when it came down to it. She couldn’t let the blood flow go unchecked, or else this rescue mission would fail, and she would be in just as much serious trouble as Reed and Shane.

  She trudged through the grass and shrubs, and she heard the sounds of a struggle.

  Reed and the gunman, no doubt.

  At least they weren’t shooting at each other, and even though she dreaded the idea of Reed having to fistfight his way out of a situation, he’d apparently cornered the shooter, and maybe that meant this was on its way to being over.

  Just ahead of her, Livvy heard a different sound. Much softer and closer than the battle going on at the other side of the yard. This was a moan, and it sounded as if someone was in pain. The person was lying on the ground just ahead of her. She unclamped her arm so she could aim and moved closer.

  It was Shane.

  He moaned again and touched his head. “Someone knocked me out,” he whispered.

  Livvy didn’t take the time to examine him further. The deputy was alive and could fend for himself for a little while so she could get to Reed.

  She silently cursed. The sex had indeed changed everything. Or maybe the sex was just the icing on this particular cake. Livvy had to admit that the reason the sex had happened in the first place was because she’d fallen hard and fast for the hot cowboy cop.

  Worse, she was in love with him.

  She hadn’t realized that until she’d seen him rush away after the gunman. And he’d done that to save her. That’s the kind of man he was. A man worth loving. Too bad that wouldn’t solve all their problems. Still, that was a matter for a different time and place. Right now, she needed to focus all her energy on helping Reed.

  Oh, and she needed to stay conscious.

  She didn’t think she’d lost too much blood, but the shock was starting to take over. Soon, very soon, she wouldn’t be much help to Reed.

  “I’ll be back,” she whispered to Shane and stepped around him.

  Livvy didn’t have to walk far before she saw Reed and the other man. They were fighting, and in the darkness she couldn’t tell where Reed’s body began and the other man’s ended. She certainly couldn’t risk firing a shot because she might hit Reed.

  The man bashed his forearm into Reed’s throat, and Reed staggered back. She saw the blood on his face. And on the front of his shirt.

  Her heart dropped.

  Livvy blinked back the dizziness and raced to get closer. They were there, right in front of her, less than a yard away, but she still didn’t have a clean shot, and she didn’t trust her aim anyway. The shooter would have to be out in the open before she could fire, and it didn’t help that the man still had a weapon in his hand.

  Reed’s fist connected with the man’s jaw, and that put a little distance between the two. Not enough for her to fire. But enough for her to catch a glimpse of the man’s face.

  It was Ben Tolbert.

  God, had Ben knocked out his own son? And why was he doing this? Why was he trying to kill them?

  “Stay back!” Reed shouted to her.

  She didn’t listen. Couldn’t. Ben was armed and Reed wasn’t. Plus, there was all that blood on Reed’s shirt.

  The milky-white moon cast an eerie light on Ben, and she saw him sneer at her. And lift his gun.

  Ben
aimed it right at her.

  Her body didn’t react as quickly as her mind did. Livvy recognized the danger. She realized she was about to be shot again, but she couldn’t seem to get out of the way. Nor could she shoot. That was because her hand had gone numb. So had her legs, and she felt herself start to fall.

  Reed shouted something. Something she couldn’t understand. And she heard the shot the moment she hit the ground. The blast was thick and loud, and it echoed through her head.

  “Reed,” she managed to say. She prayed the bullet hadn’t slammed into him.

  Forcing herself to remain conscious, she turned her head and saw Reed lunge at Ben. This time, there was no real battle. A feral sound tore from Reed’s throat, and he slammed his weight into Ben. In the same motion, Reed ripped the gun from Ben’s hand. Both of them landed on the grass, not far from her. And she saw Reed put the gun to Ben’s head.

  “Move and you die,” Reed warned. Every muscle in his face had corded and was strained with raw emotion.

  Ben obviously believed him because he dropped his hands in surrender.

  It was over. They were safe. Now, they just needed the medics.

  Livvy tried to get up so she could go find them, but she only managed to lift her head a fraction before the darkness took over and closed in around her.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Reed paced, because he couldn’t figure out what else to do with the powder keg of energy and emotion that was boiling inside him. Waiting had never been his strong suit, and it especially wasn’t when he was waiting for the latest about Livvy’s condition.

  He heard the footsteps in the hall that led to the E.R. waiting room and whirled in that direction. It wasn’t the doctor. It was Kirby, his deputy.

  “Here are the things you asked me to get,” Kirby said, handing Reed the plastic grocery bag. “I don’t guess they’ve told you anything yet?”

  “No. One of the nurses came out about ten minutes ago and said I’d know something soon.” But soon needed to be now when it came to Livvy. “How’s Shane?”