Settling an Old Score

by Delores Fossen

  Ashlyn hoped it didn’t come down to that. Because if it did, it would mean she, Kellan, Eli and Gunnar would be dead. So would any of the hands who’d witnessed any of this.

  “Tell Gloria to come out,” Dominick snapped to Ashlyn. “Tell her Eli will die if she doesn’t. I can put a bullet through that couch and straight into him. He’ll die because of you. Do you really want to see someone you love die right in front you again?”

  No. She didn’t. In fact, just mentioning that triggered some flashbacks that she had to force away. She couldn’t let that play into this now. She had to keep her focus. Ashlyn shook her head, not sure of what she should do, but Eli spoke before she could figure it out.

  “Let Dominick shoot me,” Eli said, his voice calm and hard at the same time. “That means he’ll have to take the gun off you, and when he does, Gunnar will kill him with a shot to the head.”

  Ashlyn felt the muscles tense in Dominick’s arm and chest, and even though she couldn’t see his face, she thought maybe his gaze was firing all around.

  “Yeah,” Eli added. “Gunnar’s got sniper skills, and he’s got a gun aimed at you right now. All he’s doing is waiting for you to move. An inch is all he needs to end your worthless life.”

  “You’re lying,” Dominick spat out, but he didn’t sound as if he was so certain of that.

  Neither was Ashlyn. She knew it could be a bluff, but Gunnar was indeed out there somewhere, so it was highly likely that he had Dominick in his sights.

  “You really think I’m lying?” Eli taunted. He kept his gaze nailed to Dominick. “If you honestly believe that, then you should be checking out the window to see for yourself who’s watching you.”

  Ashlyn saw Eli shift a little, leaning out from the sofa as if daring Dominick to take aim at him. That caused her heart to jump to her throat. She didn’t want Eli putting himself in the line of fire like this. She definitely didn’t want him hurt or dead because he was protecting Cora and her.

  Again, she felt Dominick tense, and maybe he did glance outside. If so, it wasn’t for long, and he didn’t shift his position enough because Eli stayed put. He didn’t get that shot that he was no doubt hoping for.

  “Ashlyn and I will go and get Cora,” Dominick finally growled. “Tell your deputy friend that he’d better back off.”

  Neither Eli nor Kellan did that, and she saw both of them move again when Dominick started down the hall with her. He kept her in a chokehold and took slow, cautious steps backward. He was almost certainly glancing behind him as well as keeping an eye on Kellan and Eli.

  It didn’t take long, only a few steps, before Ashlyn lost sight of Eli. Kellan was still there, though, but that was because he inched to the side of the table. That’s when Ashlyn noticed the gun he was holding. His backup weapon, no doubt. Good. He had a way to fight back if it came down to that.

  Even with the porch light still on, it was hard for her to see in the yard, but she searched through the darkness to try to spot Gunnar. Still no sign of him, but she heard movement. Apparently, so did Dominick, because he stopped.

  “Just remember that at any time, I can put a bullet in Ashlyn,” Dominick called out as a warning. “It won’t kill her, but she’ll be in a lot of pain, and it’ll all be your fault.”

  No, it wouldn’t be. The blame for this was solely on Dominick, but Ashlyn doubted anyone would convince him of that.

  Dominick stayed still several more seconds. Clearly, he was listening, but Ashlyn was thankful what he wasn’t hearing were any sounds coming from the bathroom. Cora wasn’t crying, and Gloria was keeping quiet. Of course, that might change once they made it to the door, and she figured that wouldn’t take much time. There wasn’t much space between the hall and that bathroom.

  “Don’t do anything stupid,” Dominick warned her again, and he started moving. Walking backward until they made it to the doorway of the bedroom.

  Ashlyn glanced inside and didn’t see anyone, but there was light spilling from beneath the bathroom door. She also noticed that the room seemed warmer than the rest of the house. For one terrifying moment she thought maybe the fire from the car had spread back here, but the fire wasn’t spreading. Plus, it wasn’t that kind of heat. It was just the humid hot air from the night.

  And that’s when she noticed the bedroom window.

  It was open, causing the curtains to flutter in the breeze. Since it had been closed before this whole ordeal had started, it meant Gunnar had likely opened it. Maybe so he could get inside, or he could have done it to give himself a better shot.

  Dominick stopped, and he cursed when he saw the window. That sent him snapping in all directions, dragging her along with each move he made. He shifted his gun, taking aim at each corner of the room, but if someone was there, they were staying out of sight.

  “I’ll kill her if you make it necessary,” Dominick spat out, speaking to no one in particular.

  His breathing was a lot faster now, practically gusting, and Ashlyn could feel his heart thudding against her back. She didn’t mind if he was scared, but she didn’t want him to panic and do something dangerous that could get Cora hurt.

  She heard someone moving around in the living room. Kellan and Eli no doubt. The only way they could access the bedroom from inside the house was to come down the hall. A hall that Dominick was still clearly watching. But if either Eli or Kellan went outside, they could come in through the open window.

  Dominick kept moving, inching his way to the bathroom door, and when he reached it, he used his foot to knock. “Open up, Gloria!” he shouted.

  No answer.

  Ashlyn tried to tamp down her own pulse so she could hear any sounds of her baby, but nothing. That didn’t help with the fear that was already skyrocketing. Mercy, had something happened?

  “Gloria?” Dominick banged his foot even harder against the door, but he stopped abruptly and pivoted her in the direction of the hall. Adjusting her so that she was squarely in front of him. And Ashlyn soon saw why.

  Eli.

  He was no longer by the sofa but was peering out from the wall that led into the hall. He was close, but he still wouldn’t have a clean shot. Not with Dominick’s position. If Eli missed, the bullet could go through the door and into the bathroom.

  “Gloria!” Dominick shouted, and she could feel the rage bubbling inside him. He was quickly losing control.

  She adjusted the grip on the keys, getting ready to make her move. Ashlyn figured she wouldn’t be able to go for his face this time, but she would jam the keys like a knife in his thigh. If that was enough to break the hold he had on her, then she could drop to the floor and hopefully drag him down with her.

  Dominick’s next shout for Gloria was even louder, and without warning he turned and bashed his body against the door. Again and again. Harder and harder.

  Until the door flew open.

  Dominick pivoted to the side, no doubt looking around the small room, just as Ashlyn was doing. And what she saw caused her heartbeat to go into overdrive.

  The bathtub was empty.

  Neither Gloria nor Cora was there, and there wasn’t any place in the room for them to hide. They were simply gone, and not knowing where they were or what happened to them nearly sent Ashlyn into a panic.

  Dominick cursed, his words vile and raw, and his profanity only got worse when his attention landed on the open bathroom window. But Ashlyn wasn’t cursing. The relief came because she knew that Gloria had managed to escape. Maybe with help from Gunnar. If so, she prayed that Gunnar had them tucked somewhere safe. Away from Dominick and any shots he might fire.

  “Call out for Gloria,” Dominick demanded, strangling her again. “Tell her to bring Cora in here right now!”

  Even if Ashlyn could have spoken at that moment, she wouldn’t have done that. Not even if Dominick threatened to kill her again. No way would she do anything to br
ing her baby back into the middle of this.

  Since the strangling was blurring her vision, Ashlyn figured she didn’t have long before she passed out. That meant she had to do something now, especially since Dominick was already dragging her toward the window—maybe so he could take her outside to look for Cora.

  Ashlyn pinpointed all her strength into her hand, and she rammed the keys into the side of his leg. Dominick howled in pain, cursing her again, but he also staggered back. It was just enough for him to move the gun away from her head. Also enough for him to ease up on the chokehold. Ashlyn took advantage of that and dropped to the floor.

  Even though she was gasping for air and her throat was throbbing, she swung out at him again with the keys, digging them into his other leg. As he roared with pain, their eyes met, and in that instant she saw that rage had tightened all the muscles in his face. There was pure hatred in his eyes. And she also saw something else.

  That he was about to shoot her.

  Dominick shifted, taking aim with his gun to do just that, and she knew at that range, he wouldn’t miss.

  The blast came, thick and loud. It echoed through the room. Through her head. And it was followed by a second shot, one just as loud as the first.

  Ashlyn braced herself for the pain. But it didn’t come. It took her a moment to realize that she hadn’t been shot.

  But Eli had been.

  Eli was in the doorway of the bathroom, and there was blood on his shirt. God. Blood. But despite that, he still had his gun aimed at Dominick. He was bleeding, too, and it was spreading across the front of his shirt. Eli and he had exchanged shots, and both had been hit.

  Groaning, Dominick turned and jumped out the window.

  Escaping.

  Eli took aim again, but it was too late. Dominick was gone.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Eli felt the burning and the pain in his arm and knew he’d been shot. Despite that, plenty of things had just gone right. Ashlyn hadn’t been hurt, and Dominick hadn’t managed to get to the baby.

  Now Eli had to make sure things stayed that way, along with catching Dominick and making sure he paid for all the things he’d done. Things that could have left all of them dead and Cora in the hands of a killer.

  “Cora!” Ashlyn practically shouted.

  Despite the alarm on her face when she looked at his bloody shirtsleeve, she scrambled away from him to get to the window. No doubt because she thought that Cora and Gloria were out there where Dominick could still get to them.

  Eli hurried to her, took hold of her and pulled her from the window. He also slapped off the lights so that Dominick wouldn’t be able to see them.

  And shoot them.

  Because while Cora and Gloria weren’t out in the yard, Dominick was.

  “Gunnar has Cora and Gloria,” Eli told Ashlyn, and even though she was still struggling to get away from him, he maneuvered her out of the bathroom and back into the hall where they wouldn’t be in Dominick’s line of sight.

  It obviously took several seconds for his words to sink in, but Ashlyn finally stopped trying to fight him off, and blinking, she stared up at him. “Cora’s all right?”

  Eli nodded. “Gunnar texted me about five minutes ago. He went in through the bathroom window, got Gloria and the baby out, and took them to the cruiser. It’s bullet-resistant,” he reminded her. “Gloria has the baby on the floor of the car so Dominick can’t see them. The hands are guarding them to make sure Dominick doesn’t get close.”

  Her breath swooshed out, and she practically sagged against him. “Cora’s all right,” she said. “My baby’s all right.”

  But her relief was very short-lived. Almost immediately, the alarm returned to her eyes, and Ashlyn’s gaze slashed to his shirtsleeve.

  “Oh God. You’ve been shot,” she blurted out. “Dominick shot you.”

  “It’s okay. I’m okay.” Though Eli thought it was more than just a scratch, he had no intention of telling Ashlyn that. Not when she was so close to panicking.

  Ashlyn volleyed her attention between his face and the wound, and she shook her head. “How soon can an ambulance get here?” So, she wasn’t buying his I’m okay, and she eased up his sleeve to take a look.

  “Soon. Kellan called for one, but it won’t be able to get on the grounds until we’re sure it’s safe.”

  “Safe,” Ashlyn repeated. “You mean not until Dominick is caught.” She paused, her bottom lip trembling a little. Considering everything she’d just been through, that was a fairly mild reaction. However, he was betting that every nerve in her body was rattled right now. “You shot him.”

  Eli nodded. Then he silently cursed himself. “I should have gotten off a second shot so he couldn’t get away. I should have killed him.”

  Apparently, Ashlyn wasn’t the only one with rattled nerves, but it had cut him to the bone to see Dominick holding that gun to her head and hearing the man threaten to take Cora. It had also cleared Eli’s mind in a very unexpected way. The fear had cut through the old wounds, their pasts, and it had made him realize just how much Ashlyn and Cora meant to him.

  They meant everything to him.

  Everything.

  “You need an ambulance, and I need to see Cora,” Ashlyn said, shifting his attention back to her. Not that it had strayed too far away, but Eli was keeping watch to make sure Dominick didn’t try to get back in the house.

  “Soon,” Eli assured her.

  Because he thought they could both use it, he brushed a kiss on her cheek. That’s when he noticed the bruises already forming on her temple and throat. Both were reminders of what Dominick had done to her. That caused a whole new round of anger to slam through him.

  “How soon will the ambulance be here?” she pressed, and Ashlyn ripped off part of his sleeve to form a makeshift tourniquet on his arm.

  “After Kellan and the hands find Dominick and arrest him.”

  She looked up at him, and he saw her blink back tears. “They have to find him, Eli.”

  Yeah, they did. And while Eli was certain that would happen, he also knew that Ashlyn and he wouldn’t be breathing easier until the man was in custody. As long as Dominick was out there, he could manage to escape and get away from the ranch. Maybe even get help and recover from his gunshot wound, and that meant he could try to come after Ashlyn and Cora again.

  That sent a new round of anger through Eli. Ashlyn and Cora had been through enough, and he didn’t want them having to live out their lives while keeping watch for a snake like Dominick.

  “The danger has to end,” Ashlyn said, her voice more breath than sound, and she put her arms around him, pulling him close to her.

  He didn’t have any trouble making the contact even tighter. He looped his good arm around her, and this time when he kissed her, it wasn’t on her cheek. He really kissed her, pouring all his anger and relief into it. It helped. Well, it helped him, but it caused his wound to throb. That didn’t make him let go. Just holding her like this gave him another of those realizations like the one he’d gotten when Dominick had her hostage.

  Eli wanted Ashlyn and Cora in his life.

  He was about to tell her that when his phone dinged with a text. “It’s from Kellan,” he told Ashlyn, and he read through the message. “No sign of Dominick yet, but Gunnar’s going to pull the cruiser right up to the door. Kellan wants you and me to get in it. Then Gunnar can get us out of here.”

  Eli didn’t add that his brother was concerned about Dominick trying to double back and sneak into the house. Best not to put that idea in Ashlyn’s head, especially when she already had enough bad memories and nightmare images there.

  “I can see Cora,” Ashlyn muttered. “And if there’s a first aid kit in the cruiser, I can take care of your arm until you can see an EMT.”

  There was that, and Eli wanted to be closer to Cora so he could m
ake sure she was safe. But Eli also knew this meant having Ashlyn go out into the open. Even if it would only be for a few seconds, it was still a risk. A risk that Kellan must have thought was worth taking. Maybe because Dominick was still close to the house?

  Hell.

  Eli hoped not, but if so, he would have to stay on guard and be ready. He watched as the cruiser drove up, moving as close to the house as the driver could get. The ranch hands hurried to flank the car, one on all four sides, and each of them was armed.

  “Move fast,” Eli told her.

  Though the reminder wasn’t necessary. The moment the front passenger’s door opened, she took hold of Eli and started running. Ashlyn scrambled in first, moving to the middle of the seat next to Gunnar, who was behind the wheel. Eli got in right after Ashlyn.

  The first thing Eli heard was Cora. The baby was making cooing sounds, and when he looked in the back seat, he saw the baby smiling as Gloria talked to her. Thank goodness Cora wasn’t scared—though Eli could see plenty of fear on Gloria’s face. However, there was relief on Ashlyn’s.

  Ashlyn, too, was smiling when she leaned over the seat to kiss the baby, and Eli found himself smiling right along with them. Yeah, he definitely wanted them in his life and would figure out a way to make that happen as soon as they were all safe.

  “The ambulance is just up the road,” Gunnar explained. He glanced at the blood on Eli’s arm and frowned. “Sorry that happened.”

  Eli shook his head. “It’s nothing. Thanks for getting Gloria and Cora out of the house.”

  “Yes, thank you,” Ashlyn echoed.

  She was still leaning over the seat when Eli heard something else. Something he didn’t want to hear.

  “Watch out!” someone shouted. Kellan. “He’s coming your way!”

  Eli pivoted to the sound of his brother’s voice, but instead of seeing Kellan, he spotted Dominick. The man was coming out of the house and running straight toward them. Kellan was on the side of the house. Also running. But he might not be able to intercept Dominick in time.