Kate watched in horror as Nick pulled a gun from his jacket and pointed it straight at her. She had barely seen a gun up close, let alone had one pointed at her. Bile rose up in her throat, and she had to force it back before she vomited in fright.
“Aldo,” Nick said, addressing one of his thugs. “Go and scout the area. I want to make sure we are not near any houses before I shoot the bitches.”
“P–Please,” her sister cried. “P–Please, I’ll do anything. Just leave Kate alone.”
Nick’s laugh echoed through the clearing. It was deep and sinister and sent shivers down Kate’s spine. They were well and truly in the shit, and Kate couldn’t see anyway of them ever getting out of here alive. The weight of her stupidity sunk in. She would never get to tell her men how much she loved them. Never grow old and have babies. Never get to spoil her nieces and nephews.
“I thought I had killed you when we ran you off the road. My fault for not checking, but I was in a rush. Well, you learn from your mistakes. It was much too impersonal anyway.”
Kate started to sob, tears running down her cheeks, her breath choppy and erratic. Where was all her bravado now? She was frightened, for not only herself but also her sister as well. She sucked in a huge breath and searched for that smart sassy mouth that usually came so easy to her. If she was going to die, she was damned well going to do it with pride.
“You’ll never get away with this. You can’t just kill a US marshal’s woman and walk away. The men in this town will hunt you down, and when they do, there won’t be much left to throw in jail.”
“Shut up, bitch,” Nick said, shoving the gun in her face. “You think I’m worried about some small-town hicks and their incompetent law enforcement?”
Kate slowly turned toward her sister. Sarah knelt next to her, her hand tied in front. She looked like she was reaching for something, so Kate tried to turn Nick’s attention back to her.
“That’s what Angelo thought, and look where that got him.” She smiled snidely. She received another slap to her cheek. It felt like the whole side of her face exploded, and Kate cried out.
“Boss, Aldo hasn’t come back yet!” one of the thugs said, drawing Nick’s attention away from Kate.
“What. What do you mean? We are in the middle of nowhere. Find him!” Nick turned back to Kate. His face was angry, and he wasn’t looking so smug anymore. Kate wondered where he could have gone. He could have gotten lost, she supposed, but she hoped it was more than that. She hoped that someone had come to her rescue.
They all stayed like that for what felt like an eternity. When thug number two didn’t return, Kate prayed and prayed that the sisters would get out of this alive. But the more they waited the more agitated Nick was becoming, and soon he was pacing back and forth in front of them and running his free hand through his inky black hair.
“Fuck!” he shouted. He approached Kate and waved the gun at her in anger and frustration. “Time’s up. I can wait no longer. Say good-bye to your sister, Sarah. You won’t be seeing her again.”
Kate closed her eyes and braced herself, for what she didn’t know. Tears came to her eyes and trickled down her cheek. This was it. She was going to die. She whispered a heartfelt “I love you” as chaos erupted around her.
* * * *
Kate dived to the ground, gunfire exploding around her. She tried to cover her head as best she could with her hands still tied together, and closed her eyes tight. She was going to die. She just knew it. She braced herself for the pain and waited for it to arrive.
Kate continued to cry as the gunfire grew louder and then, with one final shot, went quiet. She lay like that until she got the guts to lift her head and look around.
The dead body of one of the thugs lay on the ground, his lifeless eyes staring at her and his gun still clenched in his hand. She swiveled around, looking for Sarah, her eyes taking in the scene through her panic. Sarah, with her wrists still tied together, was standing with a gun in her hand, pointed at Nick’s lifeless body. She didn’t move and looked to be barely even breathing. She was frozen. It almost looked like a photo. Everything was so still. She didn’t even move when a tall mountain of a man walked from the bushes. He held a semi-automatic shotgun over his shoulder.
Kate rose to her feet and approached her sister. She moved as quietly as someone could with their feet tied together, so she didn’t startle her and get shot.
“Shit, Tank! I shot him.” Sarah’s voice was frantic and she was about to go into a full-blown panic attack. Sarah had noticed the mountain man, too, then. Luckily he was on their side.
Tank wore dark green pants and shirt, military in style, and black boots. He towered over the sisters, at least six foot four and was built like a solid brick wall. His muscles bulged as he walked and Kate gulped as she took in the sheer size of the man.
He approached Sarah slowly, his dark gray eyes taking in everything around him. He kept his black hair cropped short and had dark stubble on his strong jaw. Kate knew this wasn’t a man to mess with.
“That’s the second Russo you’ve shot in like…the last six months,” Kate informed her.
“Oh my god. I did it again.” Kate watched as tears trickled down her sister’s face. She still held the gun pointed at Nick’s dead body, and her hand was shaking.
“Yeah well, they needed shooting,” Kate added.
“That does not make me feel any better.” Sarah started to sob. Her free hand came up to cover her mouth.
“Give me the gun, Sarah,” Tank said in a hard, demanding voice. “No one going to hurt you. It’s over.”
“Where did the gun come from anyway?” Kate asked.
“I took James’s gun when we decided to meet, just in case. I didn’t want to leave the house unarmed.”
“Oh yeah,” Kate replied sarcastically. “Just in case.”
Kate watched as Tank took the gun from Sarah, and she crumpled toward the ground. He caught her in one beefy palm and threw the gun away with the other. Dropping to the ground, Tank cradled Sarah in his arms and shushed her like someone would a child.
Kate could have used some of that coddling herself, but then she hadn’t shot anyone. She kind of felt left out. She looked up as a posse of trucks pulled off the track and into the clearing.
It seemed the whole town had come to their rescue as men flooded the clearing. Blake and James raced to Sarah’s side and scooped her out of Tank’s arms. She watched as they fussed over her and peppered her with kisses.
“Kate Jenkins, you are in a heap of trouble.” Kate turned at the sound of Grayson’s voice. He stood a few feet behind her, his hands on his large hips and his feet apart.
“Calm down,” she replied. “All’s well that ends well or some such nonsense.”
The thunderous look on her men’s faces told her she might have said the wrong thing. Pierson and Brock walked over to her until she was surrounded by three very tall, very angry men.
“Don’t suppose one of you could untie me?” she asked. The smile that came to their faces was all she needed to know.
“Not on your life, baby girl,” Grayson said. She huffed at him and scrunched up her nose.
“The rope is hurting my wrists.” Kate had never seen people move so quickly. One minute she was standing, the next she was sitting on the ground and Brock was cutting the ropes from her hands, whilst Pierson took care of her ankles. The anger in the men seemed to flee when she announced she was in pain.
They helped her to her feet, and she snuggled into Grayson’s arms. It was over. She and Sarah were safe. They had been very lucky that the thugs hadn’t checked that they were armed. Her sister had turned herself into a damned walking arsenal. Who knew her sister would ever start to carry a gun? Would she have to get one now that she planned on staying in Merricks?
She did plan on staying. As long as the Carter men would have her. She still couldn’t believe she had fallen for not one but three men. All that one-man-only stuff had gone flying out the window when th
ese three men came into her life.
They walked over to Sarah and her men, patiently waiting until Blake and James had finished fussing. Tank stood quietly to one side watching the scene with a pained look on his face.
“Tank,” Grayson said, turning to the big man. “The women are damned lucky that Russo stopped on your land. I can’t thank you enough for all you did today.”
“No problem,” Tank replied. “It had been too long since I got to kill someone. But it was fine. Like riding a bike, you know?”
Not really, Kate thought, but she was glad that Tank had been there when he was. Things could have ended very differently.
“Thanks, man,” Brock said and shook Tank’s hand. “Kate won’t be sitting down comfortably for a few days, that’s for sure.”
“I should hope so,” Tank said. Kate glared at him, but he just smiled evilly back at her. She wouldn’t want to be spanked by him, he had hands the size of paddles.
“My thanks, as well,” Pierson added. “If you ever need anything just ask.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Kate watched as James and Blake shook Tank’s hand. He was really a strange man, but she owed him her life. She looked up at her men and smiled until she got their attention.
“Let’s get out of here, please,” she said. “These woods give me the creeps.”
“Not the four dead bodies?” Brock asked. Kate smiled at him and kissed him roughly on the mouth.
“Nope. I’m more worried about bears.”
Chapter Sixteen
Brock followed behind Kate and his brothers as they entered the Hammond ranch house. He was so relieved that they had found Kate and Sarah well and alive, he was on the verge of bawling.
His emotions had been going back and forth from angry to relieved and then back again. When he thought how close they had come to losing her, his heart would lurch in his chest. Then he’d get angry that she’d put herself in danger in the first place. He’d remind himself that she was safe and back in his arms and he’d be relived. Then the cycle would start all over again.
They all walked into the lounge. Brock and Pierson moved to stand behind the chair that Grayson sat down in before pulling Kate onto his lap. She curled up like a contented kitten, happy to let Grayson pamper her after her ordeal.
She wouldn’t be sitting happy for long. The brothers had every intention of punishing her naughty little bottom for what she had put them through and for dragging her sister into danger in the process.
Brock watched as everyone piled into the lounge and either stood or sat were they could. James sat on a rocker with Sarah on his lap. She had passed out on the ride home safe in the knowledge that James would watch over her. Poor Blake had to stay behind at the scene and wrap things up, but Brock could tell all he really wanted to do was be close to Sarah.
Chase and Jared Walker stood by the window, whilst Cole and Trace Jackson stood next to the fireplace. Lucas, Jake, and Marcus sat on the couch with April squeezed in between. Wolf and Hawk stayed by the door. Erik had stayed at the scene with Blake.
It was pure coincidence that Nick and his men had pulled up on Tank’s land. Damned lucky, if someone asked him. He shuddered to think what would have happened if Tank hadn’t been out hunting that day. He had heard all the commotion and went to investigate.
He recognized Sarah from when he had helped rescue her the first time. He had called Blake with his satellite phone and told them of her location and then hung back and waited.
The thugs had walked straight into the bush and straight into his hands. They were easy to disable and he had taken them out quickly and quietly. Things had turned volatile when they didn’t return and he had to act. Russo was going to shoot Kate in the head, and when he saw Sarah pull the gun from the waist in her jeans, he had taken out the third man. He watched as little Sarah had shot Russo and saved her sister’s life.
After giving his statement, Tank had wandered back into the woods and back up to his cabin. He was a strange man, but Brock owed him a depth of gratitude. He had been integral in the girl’s rescue and he would be forever grateful.
“There is something that I still don’t understand,” Chase Walker said from where he stood by the window, next to his brother Jared. “Russo came to kill Sarah and revenge the death of his brother. So that’s who ran them off the road?”
“Yes,” Kate said. “He told that much.”
Brock had to grit his teeth at the news. He wished he could go back there and kill him all over again.
“When we were scouring the town for clues,” Lucas added, “we came across the abandoned white pickup. It was smashed at the front and sides, and we knew it was the one used to run them of the road. We called it in.”
“He only wanted Sarah. He said that I was just a bonus.” Kate buried her head in Grayson’s chest and shuddered. Brock reached down and ran his fingers through her hair. He had to touch her and reassure himself that she was all right. It broke his heart to see her beating herself up. It was another reason the brothers intended to spank her. She would need the release to let go of the guilt she held.
“That I’m up to speed with.” Chase went on. “What I don’t understand is what did the fires have to do with it?”
“Nothing, the fires aren’t related. They—”
“Shit! The fires! Payton. Fuck!” Pierson yelled. Brock stood in shock as he watched his brother tear from the room. He noticed that Payton hadn’t returned to the house with them, but had been at the clearing.
Pierson screamed back to the doorway that they all stood watching.
“I need help. The fires—” he said.
“What about the fires?” James asked. They all watched as Pierson ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
“I don’t know why I didn’t see it earlier. We have to go, now. Before he splits town.”
Wolf walked over and put a hand on Pierson’s shoulder. “Calm down, Pierson, and spit it out.”
“Payton had three red gasoline cans in his boot. All the fires were lit with a liquid accelerant, and red cans were found at the scenes. Don’t you see? Payton is the one starting the fires.”
“He wouldn’t be the first fireman to light fires so he could rush to the rescue and be a hero,” Wolf added.
“Grayson, you stay here with Kate,” Pierson told them. “James can stay with Sarah. The rest of you come with me. We’ll spread out and check the town. I’ll call Blake and head over to Payton’s place.”
All the men stood and headed for the door. Brock walked around the chair and bent down to kiss Kate on the forehead. She had a stunned look on her face that bought a smile to his lips.
“Be safe, babe,” he said and then walked from the room.
All this time and it was a fireman starting the fires. His brother had been on the right track when he had asked him to look for previous cases on the computer. It was a shame that nothing had turned up. They might have been onto Payton a lot sooner.
Kate could have died in the barn fire, and then one stupid rookie looking to be a hero would have been up for murder as well as arson. Either way the kid was going to jail. They just had to catch up with him first.
Brock ran from the house and jumped into Pierson’s truck, slamming the door as Pierson took off in a gravel-spinning whirl.
* * * *
They pulled up at Payton’s rented house on the outskirts of town. Pierson roared into the driveway and pulled the truck to a grinding halt. There was no car in the driveway, and Pierson swore out loud.
“Looks like we missed him,” he told Brock as they jumped from the car. Pierson grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and called Blake to update. Blake was going to head toward the highway and out of town to see if they could catch up with him.
It was a long shot. The rookie could have left town on the highway, in either direction, or taken one of the back roads and even headed toward the mountains. It would have taken him back past Tank’s land, but he might have risked it, thinking that
they would never have expected him to go that way. But surely Blake would have passed him coming back down the mountain.
“Let’s go inside and look around. Maybe there will be some clues as to where he went,” Brock suggested. Pierson thought that was a good plan as any. No point in driving around looking for him. The entire town was already doing that.
The house was an old cream weatherboard structure built in the fifties. It was in desperate need of a renovation and paint job, and Pierson took note of the long grass surrounding the house. Payton obviously wasn’t one to mow.
They walked up the porch to the front door, and Pierson pulled open the old fly screen and jiggled the brass handle on the main wooden door in his hand. It was locked, which was no surprise. Brock had moved to the window and peered inside. He shook his head at Pierson, indicating that he couldn’t see anything of value to them.
Pierson was going to get Brock to check the back door, and then he changed his mind. He stepped back, and with one almighty kick, the door swung from it hinges and crashed to the ground.
It was technically breaking and entering, but Pierson didn’t care. They needed to find clues and fast. Otherwise Payton would slip through their fingers and be gone forever. He’d just change his identity and start all over again.
They both walked into the house, and Pierson went into the lounge whilst Brock walked toward the back where the bedrooms were located. Payton was not a cleanly man. Pizza boxes sat open on the table with empty beer cans, and the carpet was covered in dirt. A Nintendo sat in front of an old television, the games littering the floor.
Nothing. He walked into the kitchen that was in much the same state as the lounge. The sink was filled with dirty dishes, and the bin was overflowing with scraps. How could anyone live like this? And how didn’t he know?
Payton was such a clean person at the firehouse. He was always eager to help out and always picked up after himself. Pierson was shocked with the difference in the person that lived here and the one he knew at the firehouse.
Fire Me Up [Merricks, Montana 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 16
