A Threat to His Family

by Delores Fossen

At least they weren’t going to try to open the doors, and the cruiser itself would indeed give them some protection. Still, getting there wasn’t going to be easy.

  While there was another round of gunfire, Owen sent a text. Probably to Kellan to let him know they needed backup. The hands from Kellan’s place would be able to get there faster than he would. Maybe in only a couple of minutes. And that gave her some hope that they might actually survive this.

  Owen glanced back at her again. “Go as fast as you can,” he told her.

  That was the only warning she got before he moved. Not forward. He pulled her to his side so that he’d be between the gunman and her, and then he gave Jack a nod. Jack immediately levered up just enough to send some bullets in the direction of the tree.

  And Jack started firing.

  Owen started moving, and Laney scurried along beside him, digging her elbows and knees into the ground to get some traction. Each inch seemed to take an eternity, and there were more shots. Wild ones that she suspected the gunman was just blindly firing off with the hope of hitting them.

  Along with a fresh hit of adrenaline, the raw fear came roaring through her. Fear not just for her safety but for Jack and Owen. Once again, she’d put him and a member of his family in danger. Once again, she was the reason he might die, that by helping her, Owen might never see his little girl again.

  Owen, though, had obviously figured out a way to get past the fear and focus on getting to the cruiser. The moment they reached it, he practically shoved her beneath it. Laney moved over far enough for him to get under there with her.

  He didn’t.

  “Move,” Owen called out to his brother. With his body only partially beneath the cruiser, he started firing, sending a series of shots in the direction of the gunman.

  Jack turned and, staying low, crawled toward them. When he got closer, Laney took hold of him to pull him in next to her. Owen sent another round toward the shooter and then joined them.

  The gunman was still firing so there was no way Laney could relax, but because they were no longer in the direct line of the shots, she did feel some relief.

  It didn’t last.

  When the gunshots abruptly stopped, Laney heard another sound. Someone revving up a car engine. She hoped it wasn’t one of the hands who would come charging in. If so, he or she could be shot, too.

  “Hell,” Jack swore.

  Since she was between the two men again, Laney couldn’t see what had caused him to curse. But she heard the car engine again. Closer this time.

  “Hold on,” Jack warned them.

  Owen threw himself over her, gathering her beneath him just seconds before the crash. There was the deafening sound of metal colliding with metal, and from the corner of her eye, she saw the tires of the other vehicle. It had rammed into the cruiser, bashing in the side enough so that the tires were nearly right on Jack. He scrambled back, bumping into Owen and her.

  The engine revved up for a third time and she could see the vehicle reverse, readying to bash into them.

  Owen moved fast, rolling her until they were out from beneath the cruiser and into the yard. Jack was right behind them. And not a second too soon. The cruiser was no doubt reinforced, but there was the horrific sound of metal being crunched.

  “Keep an eye on Laney,” Owen told his brother, rising as he passed her off to Jack.

  She wanted to yell for Owen to get back down, but Laney realized what he was doing. With the cruiser between him and the vehicle that’d been ramming them, Owen started firing, almost certainly aiming his shots at the driver.

  Laney sucked in her breath, so hard that she felt the pain in her chest. Mercy. Owen right there, putting his life on the line. He could be killed.

  There was another squeal of brakes and Laney braced herself for another jolt. It didn’t come. Instead of coming toward them, she heard the vehicle speed away.

  Owen took off running after it.

  Chapter Nine

  Owen stood in the observation room of the sheriff’s office and watched Laney as she gave Kellan her statement about the attack. Owen had already done his report, but each word he’d written had only fueled his rage. It didn’t soothe his temper one bit hearing and seeing Laney replay the ordeal.

  He wanted to curse himself, but he didn’t even know where to start. He’d screwed up way too many things today—things that could have gotten people killed.

  Here, he’d ignored his gut instinct and allowed Laney to be put in yet another dangerous situation. One that had not only involved his brother but also his daughter. All those shots had been fired way too close to the house and Addie.

  Owen had known it hadn’t been a good idea to take Laney to the bank, had known her being out in the open was just asking for trouble. And trouble was exactly what they’d gotten.

  However, that was only the start of things that he’d botched. The driver of the SUV that had nearly killed them had also gotten away. Now the ranch was yet another crime scene, and he had nothing to show for it. No shooter and no safe way to get Laney to Austin. Whoever was after her would just use that trip to make another attempt on her life.

  When he saw Laney push back from the table and stand, Owen went back into the hall so he could see her. She wasn’t crying, wasn’t shaking. That was something at least, and she looked less on edge than he felt.

  “Still beating yourself up?” she asked, sliding a hand down his arm.

  Kellan came out of the room, his glance at Owen connecting long enough for them to have one of those silent brotherly conversations. At the end of it, Kellan only lifted an eyebrow.

  “Laney held up just fine,” his brother told him before he headed back to his office.

  Owen was glad about the “holding up” part, but it didn’t let him off the hook. “I deserve some beating up,” he told her.

  Laney made eye contact, too, but it was more than a long glance with those baby blues. “You saved my life” was all she said before she leaned in and brushed a kiss on his mouth.

  He didn’t know what stunned him more, the kiss or the fact that she seemed sincerely grateful even though he’d nearly gotten her and others killed by not listening to that bad feeling he’d had in his gut.

  “I can see you don’t want my thanks,” she whispered. “You want to beat yourself up for something that was out of your control. Should I beat myself up, too? After all, I’m the reason for the danger.”

  Owen cursed. “I knew it was a mistake to try to take you to the bank.”

  “I pushed you into it,” Laney insisted and then paused. “Maybe we can beat ourselves up together?”

  Laney added what might have been a smile to that, but he didn’t want any attempt at being lighthearted right now. He was angry...and scared. Because no matter what he did, he might not be able to keep Addie, Laney and the others safe.

  She stayed close, right against him, while she looked up at him. She seemed to be holding her breath as if waiting for something.

  Behind them, he could hear the chatter in the squad room. Could also hear Kellan talking to someone on the phone. There was so much to do with this new investigation, but he didn’t budge. Owen just stood there. Until he gave up on the notion of common sense.

  And he kissed her.

  He instantly felt the relief, the tension, draining from his body. Of course, he got a tension of a different kind. The heat from the attraction. But he didn’t care. Right now, he just needed this, and he was pretty sure Laney needed it, too.

  She moved against him, slipping right into his arms. Moving into the kiss, too. He took in her taste, her scent, and likely would’ve have taken a lot more than he should have if he hadn’t heard the footsteps.

  Owen pulled away from her and turned to see Gunnar coming toward them. If his fellow deputy had seen the kiss, then he wisely didn’t say anything about it.


  “I just had another go at questioning Gilley,” Gunnar explained.

  Owen certainly hadn’t forgotten about the hired gun they had in a holding cell, but he’d moved the man to the back burner. He was glad, though, that Gunnar hadn’t because right now Gilley was the one person who might be able to give them answers.

  “Please tell me that Gilley’s talking,” Owen said.

  Gunnar shook his head, but then he shrugged. “He’s not talking about the attack, but when I mentioned that someone had tried to kill Laney and you again, he didn’t exactly seem pleased about that. He got nervous and then demanded to speak to Emerson.”

  “Emerson?” Laney and Owen repeated at the same time.

  “Did Gilley say why he wanted to see him?” Owen asked.

  “No, but I figure Gilley’s still wanting a plea deal, and he wants to go straight to the source.”

  Maybe. But with everything that had gone on, Owen had to wonder if Gilley wanted to talk to his boss, the man who’d hired him. And that man could be Emerson.

  “I called Emerson to let him know about the request,” Gunnar went on, “but he didn’t answer, so I left him a voice mail.” Gunnar stared at him. “You don’t think it’s a good idea for Emerson to see Gilley?”

  Kellan had almost certainly filled Gunnar in on the investigation. All aspects of it. But it was possible that Gunnar didn’t know that Owen now considered the DA a suspect in Hadley’s murder.

  “No, it could be a very good idea.” Owen thought about it for a second. “But if Emerson shows for that talk, I’d like to be here to listen.”

  Gunnar nodded, started to walk away and then turned back. “Jack checked out the car that Terrance said was following him, but when he didn’t get any hits, he went ahead to the ranch. He said he figured you’d want him to be there with Addie and the others.”

  Good. He did indeed want his brother at the ranch to make sure Addie stayed safe. Maybe the same at-large gunman was the one who’d attacked them, but it was just as possible there were several of the hired thugs. Either that or the shooter had manager to get away from the tree and into that SUV darn fast.

  “I need to get some paperwork done,” Owen told Laney after Gunnar had left. “You should try to get some rest in the break room.”

  She shook her head. “I can work, too, if I can borrow a computer. I need to touch base with the San Antonio cops to see if they’re making progress on Joe’s murder. I also want to contact some people who knew him and try to come up with a lead.” She paused, met his gaze. “It’s very likely that his killer and our attackers are one and the same.”

  Owen couldn’t dispute that. He hated that her mind would be on murder when she was clearly exhausted, but if their positions had been reversed, he’d be doing the same thing. Any thread they could latch onto right now could lead them to an arrest and put an end to the danger.

  “You can use my desk,” he offered as they headed for the squad room. “I’ll work in Kellan’s office with him. Just stay away from the windows.”

  And Owen hated that he had to add a reminder like that. Not while the memories of the most recent nightmare were so fresh. Still, they had to take precautions even in the sheriff’s office since one of their suspects was the district attorney who could easily gain access to the building.

  “You do the same.” Laney stopped as if she might say something else. Or kiss him again. But then she managed a thin smile before she went to his desk.

  Kellan was on the phone when Owen walked into his office. Owen didn’t know who he was talking to but, judging from his brother’s tight jaw, it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. Kellan wrote something down on a notepad, finished the call and stared at the phone for a few seconds before he put it away and looked at Owen.

  “The link for the eavesdropping device was on one of the computers we took from Nettie and Emerson’s house,” Kellan finally said. “Specifically, it was on Nettie’s laptop.”

  Owen understood his brother’s tight jaw. Oh, man. This wasn’t going to be pretty.

  “The techs got not only a date but the exact time of installation.” Kellan passed him the notepad and Owen saw that the software had been put on the computer less than a week earlier at four thirty in the afternoon. “Obviously, I’ll need to get both Emerson and Nettie in here to see if they have alibis.”

  “They do,” Owen immediately said. “That’s when they had a big birthday barbecue for Nettie. I even dropped by with Addie.” Owen cursed. “And that means Emerson and Nettie will claim one of the guests or someone from the catering company could have slipped inside and done this.”

  “Yeah,” Kellan grumbled profanely. “I don’t have to ask if you saw anyone suspicious.”

  Owen dragged a hand through his hair and tried to pull up the memories of the party. “No, but there were a lot of people that I didn’t know. Some of Nettie’s old college friends and some of Emerson’s business associates. Addie was fussy—teething,” he added, “so I didn’t stay long. Only about half an hour.”

  Still, Owen would go back through what he could remember of the day to see if there was anything to recall. One thing was for sure, he hadn’t remembered anyone who’d looked like a hired thug. That would have certainly snagged his attention.

  Kellan put his hands on his hips. “Let’s go with the theory that Nettie knew about her husband’s affair. An affair that her husband claims never happened. But maybe she wants to know for sure, and the best way for her to do that is to listen in on what Laney is saying.”

  “And have a look at her computer files,” Owen piped in, agreeing with his brother’s theory.

  Kellan nodded. “Nettie could have hired someone to put the program on her computer, and the party would have been a good cover. Her hired man could just pose as part of the catering crew or a guest. Or Nettie could have even slipped away and installed the software herself.”

  Both were possible. Ditto for Emerson being able to do it, as well. No one would have thought anything about the host disappearing for the handful of minutes it would have taken to plant the device.

  So they were right back to square one. Not a good place to be with the possibility of another attack looming over them.

  “The next question is how Joe Henshaw fits into this,” Owen noted, still going with Kellan’s train of thought.

  Maybe Laney had heard him say her assistant’s name because she hurried to the doorway and volleyed glances at both of them. “What happened?”

  Owen and Kellan looked at each other and Kellan gave him the go-ahead nod to answer her question.

  “The eavesdropping software was on Nettie’s computer,” Owen explained. Then he filled her in on the time of the installation and the party that either Nettie or Emerson could have used as an alibi.

  When he finished, Laney’s only reaction was a long exhale of breath. Obviously the news wasn’t a surprise to her, so the frustration he was seeing on her face was for him. Because she knew it wasn’t easy for a member of his family to be a murder suspect.

  “I don’t know if Joe found something to link Nettie or Emerson to Hadley’s murder,” she said after she’d taken a moment to absorb everything. “I’ve been going through his files, and I haven’t found anything like that. Maybe Nettie or Emerson didn’t want to risk him, or me, learning something.”

  Owen tried to wrap his mind around Nettie and Emerson committing cold-blooded murder. He couldn’t, but they likely hadn’t been the ones to put the bullets in Joe. Maybe hadn’t even been the ones who’d personally murdered Hadley. However, they could have hired someone to do their dirty work.

  “Emerson gave us permission to review his financials,” Owen reminded Kellan.

  Kellan nodded again. “I got them just a couple of minutes ago. Nothing pops, but I haven’t had time to take a close look.”

  “I can do that for you,” Owen offered. But
Emerson’s bank accounts were only half of the picture. “Is the eavesdropping software enough for us to get into Nettie’s accounts?”

  The sound Kellan made let Owen know even with that kind of connection, it wasn’t going to be easy, but he took out his phone anyway. It rang before Kellan could make a call.

  “It’s Austin PD,” Kellan relayed to them. He didn’t put it on speaker, but whatever the caller said to him had Kellan blowing out what sounded to be a breath of relief. Relief that didn’t last long, though. “No. That’s not a good idea. There’s been another attack, and it’s not safe.” He paused, obviously listening, and ended the call with “Good. I’ll get right on that.”

  “What happened?” Owen immediately asked.

  Kellan typed something on his laptop keyboard. “The search warrant on the bank came through, finally, and since it’s not safe for Laney to go there, I convinced the Austin cops to do a video feed for us when they open the box.”

  Owen didn’t exactly cheer, but that was what he felt like doing. He’d wanted to know what was in that box without putting Laney in harm’s way, and this was the best way to do it.

  “I’m setting up the feed now,” Kellan explained. He continued to work on the laptop while he turned the screen so that all three of them could see it.

  Laney automatically moved in closer and, while she didn’t say anything, Owen knew this had to feel like a victory for her. She’d been looking for this safe-deposit box for months because she believed it held the photos that would confirm her theory that Emerson had killed Hadley.

  And maybe it would.

  Owen certainly wasn’t feeling victorious about that. Yes, if Emerson had indeed murdered Laney’s sister, he wanted the man brought to justice. But that wasn’t going to be easy when the photos might only prove an affair and nothing else. Of course, it was possible Hadley had something else in there.

  As they waited, Laney took hold of his hand just as the images and sounds popped up on the computer screen. The audio feed crackled with static, but Owen had no trouble seeing the two uniformed cops go into the vault area. Owen didn’t know who was operating the camera, but it didn’t pan around much. The focus stayed on the box that a guy in a suit—probably the bank manager—pulled from one of the slots in the wall.