For a moment the fear froze her, but then she heard the shot. Heard Gabriel curse, too. And Jace shouted for him to watch out. The gunman who had Jace was no doubt on the trail, too, and he was trying to gun down Gabriel. Or else just keep him occupied while this goon stabbed her. Either way, that got her unfrozen, and Jodi remembered her training.
He still had hold of her hair. The knife, too, but she got to her feet, bashing her head into his chin. That stopped the next blow, but he made a feral sound and took another swing at her.
“Jodi!” Gabriel called out, and she heard him scramble toward her. Heard another shot fired, too. She only prayed they’d get out of this alive, but that might not happen if she didn’t stop the knife.
Gabriel pushed through the shrubs, and she got just a glimpse of him before her attacker dragged her to her feet with her back against his chest. Like Jace, she was now a human shield. And she was bleeding. She could feel at least two stab wounds, but it was as if he’d cut her many more times.
Just like that night.
Her attacker motioned for Gabriel to drop his gun, and he put the tip of her knife right at her carotid artery. One jab of the blade, and she’d bleed out in no time at all.
“Let her go,” Gabriel tried. “No way can you get out of here alive.”
The man’s silence let them know he didn’t agree with that. For a good reason. He had at least one healthy gunman and two hostages, Jace and her. That would get not only Gabriel but the deputies and Jameson to back off.
He started backing up, dragging her with him. The brushes scraped at her hands. Probably at him, too, but he didn’t react. He was solely focused on getting her away from Gabriel. No doubt so he could finish her off.
This wasn’t a hired thug. That feral sound he’d made had dripped with emotion. And she doubted it was a coincidence that he’d yet to say anything to them. This wasn’t some hired gun. This was the one.
She heard it then. The sound that had been in her head for nearly ten years. His footsteps. Yes. They were identical to the ones that night. When he’d been dragging her nearly lifeless body into these very shrubs.
But who was it?
He was wearing a ski mask, so she couldn’t see his face even if he would have allowed her to turn around. All of their suspects had similar builds, and she couldn’t assume that Hector had truly been hurt. No. All of that could have been faked to bring them to this point.
Jodi let everything inside her go still. Just as Hector had taught her to do, and she gathered her energy. Her focus. And she pinpointed into the only weapon she had readily available to her.
Her own body.
It was a risk, but everything, and nothing, would be at this point. So, she made eye contact with Gabriel to try to give him some kind of heads-up that she was about to make her move. Whether he noticed her look or not she didn’t know because he was volleying glances between her attacker and the approaching gunman.
Jodi dropped, her weight dragging her attacker down with her, and in the same motion she rammed her elbow into his ribs. He staggered back, letting go of her and dropping the knife, but she soon realized the only reason he did that was so he could draw a gun and take aim.
He fired at Gabriel.
Thankfully, Gabriel must have realized what was happening because he was already moving to the side before the man pulled the trigger. The shot blasted into the ground.
Jodi fumbled around, looking for a knife or gun, but the man latched onto her again. He bashed the gun against her wounded shoulder, causing the pain to shoot through her. It was blinding and robbed her of her breath for a few precious seconds. Seconds that he used to drag her in front of him again. But Jodi did some grabbing of her own.
She caught on to the ski mask, dragging it from his face.
And she finally knew who wanted her dead.
Russell.
Even with only the watery moonlight, she saw him smile. A sickening smile that revealed the monster beneath. He’d been the bogeyman all this time.
“Why?” she managed to asked.
“You were a mistake,” he said, surprising her with his answer. “I was mad, high and thinking like an idiot when I came here and saw you leave Gabriel’s house. I lost my temper.”
“You did all of that because you lost your temper?” she repeated, and Jodi didn’t bother to take out the sarcasm. Nor the rage that was bubbling up inside her. “You stabbed me and tried to bury me.”
“Like I said, it was a mistake. But your mistake was remembering after all this time. I couldn’t risk my wife finding out. I’d lose everything.”
It twisted at her to hear that. It notched up the anger inside her, too. This sick excuse for a man was ready to murder heaven knew how many people to cover up his crimes.
Gabriel didn’t move, but she could tell he was trying to figure out what to do. Once again, he couldn’t risk shooting the man, so, like Jodi, he just had to wait and hope for some kind of opportunity.
“A lot of people are dead because of you,” Gabriel said, his voice low and dangerous. “Why did you kill my parents?”
“I didn’t,” he said without hesitation. “They were already dead when I went to their house looking for Jodi. The blood was fresh, as if they’d just been killed. I figured the person who did that to them could still be around, so I ran out. I saw the knife in the yard, picked it up and then spotted Jodi at your house. I waited for her on the trail.”
She wasn’t sure about the timing of that. Jodi had always assumed that the Becketts had been murdered during a twenty minute or so window when she’d been at Gabriel’s. But she’d thought that because of when Ivy had called Gabriel after discovering the bodies. Maybe, though, Ivy hadn’t found her parents until minutes after they’d been killed. That would have given Russell time to find the knife, come after her and put her in that grave before Gabriel even started running up the trail to his parents’ house.
Of course, Russell might be lying, too.
“That’s when I lost my temper,” Russell went on. “When I saw her on the trail. I figured she’d just left your bed.”
It wouldn’t do any good to say that she hadn’t done it, that Gabriel had rejected her that night. Even if Russell believed her, it wouldn’t change anything that’d happened.
“Is Hector dead?” she asked.
“Maybe. If he’s not, he should stay away from me because I’d have to kill him, too.”
So, Hector hadn’t been a part of this. That was something at least, though it might be too late for Jace and Hector.
“I’m tired of talking now,” Russell said, dragging her even deeper into the shrubs just as he’d done ten years ago. “Jodi, I’m thinking you aren’t going to cheat death this time—”
“Your wife is suspicious of you,” Gabriel interrupted.
That stopped Russell in his tracks. Not Gabriel, though. He moved slightly to the right, and since he still had his gun in his hand, maybe he’d get in a position to shoot. Since the original attack, everything in her life had centered on killing the man who’d done those horrible things to her. But now, she just wanted him dead or at least locked up.
“What are you talking about?” Russell snapped.
“Your wife went to see August earlier today.”
Judging from the way Russell’s arm tightened, he hadn’t known that. “What did that SOB tell her?”
“That he thought you were the one trying to kill Jodi and me.”
Russell made another of those vicious sounds. “I’ll kill him for doing that. He had no right. That fool has been interfering from day one, always digging, always sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“Ironic that you’d mention rights when you had a cop murdered so you could set up Hector. Billy and Mara, too. Plus, you might have let an innocent man spend a
decade in jail for murders that he didn’t commit. I’m guessing you and Mara were having an affair, and that’s why she was so willing to help you.” Gabriel paused, moved again. “By the way, your wife talked to August about your affair with Mara.”
That was a lie, of course, but she understood why Gabriel had said it. It was to make Russell believe that this was all for nothing, that his marriage was going to fall apart after all. That way, he might let them go, so they could get an ambulance out for Jace, Hector and her.
“I’ll fix things with Tracy when I’m finished here,” Russell mumbled. He was getting more agitated with each passing second. “She’s not like Jodi. She’s loyal to me.”
Jodi could have told him that she hadn’t been loyal because they’d dated only a short period of time. It certainly hadn’t been serious. Couldn’t have been. Because she’d been in love with Gabriel.
Still was.
Too bad it was a tough time to remember that. Because it was also a reminder at how much she had at stake. She couldn’t lose him.
She braced herself for Russell to shoot her. And there was a shot. It just hadn’t come from him. It had come from the direction of Gabriel’s house.
“It’s me,” Jameson called out. “We’ve got both gunmen in custody and an ambulance on the way for Hector and Jace. Where’s Russell?”
Apparently, one or both the gunmen had decided to rat out their boss. So much for loyalty. Of course, if they were like the others Russell had hired, they were common thugs.
Thugs who could have easily killed them.
“Russell’s here,” Gabriel answered. “He’s holding Jodi at gunpoint.”
Before Gabriel had even finished what he was saying, Russell fired, the shot so loud that it blasted through her head. She couldn’t hear, but Jodi could certainly feel, and she knew Russell was getting ready to run.
She dropped down before he could do that and grabbed the knife.
Jodi didn’t have time to get back up and stab him in the heart, so she just slashed the blade at him, the knife gouging into his stomach.
Russell cursed at her, calling her a vile name, and he backhanded her with the gun. Again, the pain came and put her right back on her knees. Russell took advantage of that. He shoved her at Gabriel.
Gabriel and she collided, both of them falling to the ground.
Russell fired another shot and took off running. Jodi got up to go after him. But she stopped.
Because she saw the blood on Gabriel’s chest.
Chapter Seventeen
Gabriel wished he had something to punch—hard. Preferably Russell. That might rid him of some of this lethal energy that was bubbling up inside him.
The pain didn’t help with that energy, either. This was his first gunshot wound, and it thankfully hadn’t been life-threatening. Russell’s bullet had been a through and through into Gabriel’s shoulder, but even after some meds, it was throbbing like an abscessed tooth. However, his pain was nothing compared to what he was feeling about Jodi.
Gabriel had refused to leave her side not only for the ambulance ride but while they were both getting examined and stitched up at the hospital. His staying close to her was partially because he was just plain worried about her.
But it was also because her would-be killer was still at large.
Somehow, Russell had managed to escape. Probably because he had a car stashed near the ranch, and he’d no doubt fled while Jameson was concerned with keeping Jace alive. The deputy and Hector were both going to be okay, but their injuries were more serious than Jodi’s and his.
Of course, nothing was more serious to Gabriel than seeing the blood all over her. Hell. It was like that night all over again. He’d saved her then, but the cost of that attack had been sky-high, and he wasn’t sure how long it would take Jodi to recover a second time. The images of this attack would now be piled on top of the nightmarish memories she already had.
Despite all the blood, Jodi had gotten lucky, too. There was a cut on her upper arm. Another near her left wrist. The doctor had taken off her T-shirt while he’d examined her, so Gabriel had no trouble seeing each wound. The camisole she’d had on beneath her shirt had blood on it, as well.
He wanted to punch something again, and that feeling got worse with every new bruise, cut and scrape he saw on her silky skin.
Jameson stepped into the treatment room, glancing at both of them and shaking his head. “I hope you know how to get bloodstains out of clothes.”
It was a really bad joke, and Gabriel scowled at him. Jameson, however, went to Jodi and brushed a kiss on her forehead. She flinched a little, but that was possibly because she was reacting to the stitches that the nurse was just finishing applying to her wounds.
“Please tell me you caught Russell,” she said.
“Not yet. But SAPD has officers at his house to protect his wife and baby. I had a Ranger go to August’s place just in case, too.”
Good idea. Russell had been pretty riled about his wife going to see August, and he might want to find out what the woman had told him. Of course, that was all water under the bridge now. They knew Russell was a killer, and soon his wife would know that, as well.
“I put two deputies at the hospital doors,” Jameson went on, and he looked at Jodi’s empty hip holster. Gabriel had managed to hold on to his own gun, but Jodi had lost hers in the scuffle. Jameson took out his backup from the slide holster in his jeans and gave it to her. “Just in case.”
That put some alarm back in Jodi’s eyes. Not that she’d exactly looked calm and serene before his comment, but this was a reminder that Russell could come charging in there and try to kill them. According to the hired guns Jameson had rounded up, there wasn’t anybody else on Russell’s dirty payroll, but Gabriel had seen the sick hatred in Russell’s eyes.
If there was any humanly way he could get to Jodi, he would.
That’s why Gabriel was thankful his brother had given her the gun. Now, he had to pray she didn’t need it.
Gabriel stood from the table and reached for his shirt to put it back on. Before he could do that, though, Jameson snatched it away.
“No,” Jameson said, “you’re not going after Russell.”
Since that’s exactly what Gabriel had been planning to do, he couldn’t deny it, but he could pull rank on a younger brother. He wasn’t so sure, though, that he could do that with Jodi.
“You’re not going after Russell,” she echoed. “Not without me anyway.” She stood, too, reaching for her shirt. Wincing and grunting in pain, she started to put it on.
“You’re not leaving this hospital,” Gabriel warned her.
“And neither are you.” Jodi’s chin came up, and he could have sworn she was fighting back a smile. Maybe because she’d just one-upped him. He didn’t want her out there, so that meant he was staying put, too.
Gabriel went to her with the hopes of convincing her to stay seated. She did but only because he hovered over her and kissed her. He had intended for it to be just a peck, but it felt so good that he lingered a few seconds.
God, he could have lost her.
“I’ll see if your rooms are ready,” the nurse said, standing. She was fighting back a smile, as well. “And no, it won’t do any good to tell Dr. Holliwell that you don’t want to stay. He’s already said he’s keeping both of you for the night.”
Yeah, that was an argument he didn’t even want to try to win with the doc. Dr. Holliwell wanted Jodi in the hospital in case her injuries were worse than the original diagnosis, and Gabriel didn’t want her alone. That meant both Gabriel and she were staying.
“I’ll see if there are any updates,” Jameson said. “You two look like you could use some alone time.”
Gabriel gave him another scowl, but he did want some time with Jodi. There were things he had t
o tell her.
“I’m so sorry,” he started. “I should have stopped this—”
She caught on to his neck, pulling him down to her, and kissed him. It hurt. Mainly because it tweaked the muscles in his throbbing shoulder. But he didn’t care. Kissing her was worth the pain.
“I’m the one who should be saying I’m sorry,” she insisted. “Russell was on the trail because he thought I would remember that he was the one who’d attacked me.”
This called for another kiss to shut her up, but Gabriel got in something else he wanted to say first. “Neither one of us made Russell a killer. He did that all by himself.”
And they’d both be cleaning up Russell’s mess for a long, long time.
Now, he kissed her, and it wasn’t to hush her. It was because he needed it. Judging from the sound she made in her throat, she needed it, as well. The kiss might have gone on a lot longer if his phone hadn’t buzzed. Since it could be about Russell, he stepped back to take the call.
“It’s August,” he told her after seeing the name on the screen.
He considered letting it go to voice mail, but since August was in possible danger, he hit Answer and put it on speaker.
“Is it true?” August practically yelled. “Is that idiot Russell after me?”
“He could be. I told him that his wife had visited you.”
August cursed him. And Gabriel let him go on for a while. In hindsight he probably should have figured out a different way to get Russell to confess to using Mara and then murdering her, but considering everything else that had been going on, it was the best he could do.
“I want you to stay in your house with the Rangers,” Gabriel told him. “If Russell shows up, have the Rangers call me.”
“Hell, no, I won’t. I’ll kill him on sight. And in the meantime, you’ll get my brother out of jail. This proves he didn’t—”
“Russell said he didn’t kill my parents.”
“And you believed him?” August howled.
“Yeah, I did. Because he didn’t deny murdering Mara. Didn’t deny attacking Jodi, either.” Gabriel had to pause and gather his breath. It was hard to think of just how close Russell had come to ending her life—again. “If he had killed them, I believe Russell would have taken great pleasure in letting me know.”
Always a Lawman Page 17