“Start talking,” Cameron demanded. “Why are you here?”
Evelyn looked him straight in the eyes. “Because you set me up.”
Cameron huffed and tried to rein in his temper. “Let’s deal in reality and not fairy tales. I haven’t had time to set you up. I’ve been too busy dodging bullets from hired guns. And if I did want to frame you for something, the ranch is the last place I’d bring you.”
She kept staring at him as if trying to figure out if he was telling the truth. She must have decided he was because Evelyn finally looked away and touched her fingers to her mouth. The gesture muffled a sob. For the most part anyway. Cameron still heard it. Normally, he had a soft spot for a crying woman, but he wasn’t feeling anything more than wariness when it came to Evelyn.
“Start from the beginning,” Gabriel said. “Tell us what happened.”
Since this could go on for a while and he was still in the yard, Cameron joined Gabriel by the door.
“I was leaving my office to go home when a cop pulled me over,” Evelyn explained. “It wasn’t a cop car, but he had a blue flashing light. And a badge. He showed me his badge.” She pressed her fingers to her mouth again. “I lowered the window to ask him why he’d pulled me over, and he pulled a stun gun out. I fought him, but he hit me with it.”
Evelyn turned, showing them her neck. There were indeed two wounds there that looked like the kind of marks a stun gun would make.
“Did you get the cop’s name?” Gabriel asked.
“No. In fact, I don’t remember much after the stun gun. I think he must have drugged me. When I woke up, I was out in the middle of nowhere. The woods,” she clarified. “My car wasn’t there. Neither was my phone or purse. So I started walking on a path. I ended up in your backyard.”
“Convenient,” Cameron mumbled.
She lifted her head, the anger flashing through her eyes. “No, it wasn’t. I was attacked by a cop and brought here.”
“By a fake cop,” Cameron corrected. “Lauren, Duane and Julia all had fake police officers go to their homes. In Lauren’s case, the guy shot her in the arm.”
Evelyn gasped. “Was my grandson there when that happened?”
Cameron nodded. “He was in the house.”
And he carefully watched Evelyn’s expression. The color drained from her face, and she seemed horrified. But Cameron didn’t know if that expression was because her grandson had been in danger or because Evelyn had hired those thugs and they’d gone against her order to make sure the baby was safe.
It took several moments before Evelyn regained her composure. “May I see him? May I see Patrick?”
Cameron didn’t even have to think about this. “No. Not as long as you’re a suspect in these attacks.”
Even though that was a serious accusation he’d just made, Evelyn didn’t lash out. “But you’d let me see him if there was no chance of his being in danger, if the fake cops and hired guns were caught?”
Now he had to think about it. “I’d consider it if I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you had no part in any of this. That includes Maria Black’s murder.”
Her mouth dropped open, and she got to her feet. “Maria’s dead?”
Cameron wasn’t going to get into how she knew the nurse. Apparently, everyone connected to this had known her.
“She’s dead,” Gabriel verified. “A gunshot wound to the chest at point-blank range. My guess is a fake cop who someone hired did that to her.”
Evelyn shook her head and looked genuinely distressed about that. She glanced around as if trying to figure out what to do. Cameron hoped she didn’t try to run because he didn’t want to have to go after her.
“Will you be taking me to the sheriff’s office?” she asked Gabriel.
Gabriel tipped his head to Mark. “No, he will be.” He motioned toward Allen Colley, one of the hands who was close to the house. “And he’ll go with you, too. I’ll be there later when I’ve made sure things are okay here.”
Both Cameron and Gabriel waited on the porch until Mark, Allen and Evelyn were in the cruiser and Mark had driven away.
“You believe her?” Gabriel asked him as they went inside.
“No.” But then Cameron had to shrug. “Maybe she’s telling the truth. Julia or Duane could have set her up because they needed a patsy.” And Evelyn would have made a great patsy because of her police record.
Lauren and Jodi were right there waiting in the foyer for them. Gabriel reset the security system, hooked his arm around Jodi and moved her away from the door. They went toward Gabriel’s office.
“I heard most of what Evelyn said,” Lauren volunteered. “First, though, I checked on the boys. They’re okay.”
Cameron didn’t doubt that, but he wanted to see for himself so he made his way to the nursery. The relief came when he spotted them napping on a quilt on the floor. The disappointment, too, because he’d wanted to hold them. He certainly needed something to ease the tension he was feeling.
Lauren helped with that when she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
Both Dara and Merilee were in the room, sitting on the floor next to the boys. The curtains were drawn, and the lights were off.
“Everything should be all right now,” Cameron told them, and he hoped that was true.
Merilee gave a shaky nod and made her way to a chair where she picked up her e-reader. Dara said something about getting a snack and headed to the kitchen. He doubted she’d be eating, though, since she didn’t look very steady.
Cameron hated what this was doing to Dara and Merilee. Hated what it was doing to all of them. Thankfully, the only ones who didn’t seem to be aware of the danger were Patrick and Isaac.
He looked at Lauren, taking her back into the hall so their conversation wouldn’t wake the boys. But Lauren spoke before he had a chance to say anything.
“We’re leaving the ranch?” she asked.
They were obviously on the same wavelength. He nodded. “It’ll take me a while to set up a safe house, but I should have it ready by tomorrow.”
She didn’t question that. Didn’t argue. But then, Lauren knew full well that the hired guns were still at large, and another attack could happen despite all their security measures.
“We’ll also need to postpone the marriage plans,” Cameron continued. “I don’t want to take you back into town, and I don’t think it’s a smart idea to have the justice of the peace come here.”
Lauren made a sound of agreement. “The thugs could maybe use him to get to us.”
Yep. Heck, the thugs could use anyone, and that was why it was best if they were away from here. Every minute they stayed at the ranch, they put Lauren’s family and the ranch hands in danger.
Cameron was about to find a quiet place to work so he could start on making the arrangements for the safe house, but he heard footsteps, and a moment later Jameson came into the hall. He looked in on the boys before he motioned for them to follow him into the foyer.
“I got some news on the loan shark Julia owes,” Jameson explained. “The guy’s name is Artie Tisdale, and he’s bad news. He wouldn’t say much to me on the phone. I think he was afraid I was recording it, but one of the other Rangers is headed over there now to talk to him.”
It didn’t surprise Cameron one bit that the guy was wary of talking to law enforcement. He probably wouldn’t say much to the other Ranger, either, but they had to try.
“Did he admit Julia owed him money?” Lauren asked her brother.
“He chose his words carefully, said that he’d helped Julia out when she was short of cash, but of course he didn’t admit to being a loan shark. He also didn’t say anything about what he would do if Julia didn’t pay back the cash soon.”
Cameron thought about that. “Tisdale could have paid for the hired guns. Heck, they could be on his payroll. Is there anything t
o link Tisdale to the dead gunmen?”
“There’s no money trail, but yeah, I could see Tisdale doing that to protect his investment. If Julia gets her brother’s estate, then she could pay back Tisdale’s loan along with all his other expenses.”
Lauren shuddered, rubbing her hands along the sides of her arms. She winced a little, too. A reminder of her injury. Cameron wanted to kick himself for not having a medic check her out when they’d been at the sheriff’s office.
“I’ll let you know if the Ranger gets anything more from Tisdale,” Jameson went on. “In the meantime, I’ll look for any connection between Tisdale and the thugs. Something might turn up.”
Cameron wanted that to happen, but a loan shark had probably covered his tracks.
Jameson turned to walk away, but Gabriel came hurrying into the foyer. One look at his face, and Cameron knew something was wrong.
“Please tell me there aren’t gunmen on the ranch,” Lauren said.
Gabriel shook his head. “No, but gunmen just attacked Allen and Mark. And they took Evelyn.”
Chapter Thirteen
Lauren stared out the window of the guest room. She wasn’t standing directly in front of it, though. Cameron’s orders. He’d also told her to keep the curtains shut, which she had, but she could still look out through the small gap on the side where the curtains met the wall. She could see part of the ranch and her parents’ old house.
It was a view she’d seen a lot as a kid since Gabriel’s place had once belonged to their grandparents.
She’d come here plenty of times and stayed in the rambling big house. Had actually stayed in this very room even though in those days it had been her gran’s sewing room. But this was a first for her to stand at the window and keep watch for hired guns.
And Evelyn.
Everyone was on the lookout for the woman. For the thugs, too. But the ranch had over a thousand acres. That made it nearly impossible to watch every part of it. The gunmen could take advantage of that. Maybe Evelyn, too.
Since that only caused Lauren to feel more depressed, she turned her attention to the makeshift bed on the floor where the boys were sleeping. Dara and Merilee had volunteered to sleep in the nursery with them, but Lauren had thought it was safer for them to be on the second floor. Plus, she hadn’t wanted them near her. That way, if something went wrong, she could grab them and try to escape.
At least Mark and Allen hadn’t been hurt when the gunmen had attacked the cruiser. In fact, Mark had said the men hadn’t even seemed interested in them. The goons had rammed into the cruiser, running it off the road. When that happened, they’d opened the door, dragged out Evelyn and put the woman in their SUV before they sped away.
Lauren had no idea if Evelyn was still alive or if this had been some ruse to make it look as if she’d been taken. Either was possible. Heck, the judge could have even helped her do this so she could escape.
Lauren sank down on the floor not far from the boys, and she leaned the back of her head against the bed. Her body needed sleep, but her mind was still racing too much for that to happen. Maybe, though, she’d be able to get in a nap since they would likely be moving to the safe house in the morning. That would bring a whole new set of worries since they’d have to take the boys out in the open, but maybe once they were in place, there’d be some peace of mind, too.
All of their suspects and the hired guns knew the location of the ranch. They almost certainly knew Cameron, the boys and she were in Gabriel’s house. That was why they had to move, and Lauren only wished they didn’t have to go through the long night before that happened.
She’d left the door open, so she had no trouble hearing someone walking toward the bedroom. It was Cameron. Not a surprise. He’d been checking on them and giving her updates every half hour or so. Since he’d been keeping his footsteps light—hard to do with cowboy boots on a wood floor—he probably hoped that he would find her asleep. At least the boys were, and that was enough for now.
Even though the lights were all off, there was still enough illumination coming from downstairs that she could see his weary expression. Of course, that weary expression was on a very hot face, so she saw that, as well. As she usually did when she had eyes on Cameron, she felt that tug in her belly. Felt it lower, too. But she figured they were both way too tired for tugs or kisses.
“Anything on Evelyn?” she whispered. Best to get her mind on something else other than Cameron’s face.
He shook his head, went to her and sank down next to her on the floor. Not touching her exactly, but he sat close enough for her to catch his scent. He’d showered, probably because he’d had blood on his shirt from the earlier attack. Now he was not only wearing clean clothes, he also smelled like soap and the leather from his boots.
That didn’t help the tug.
Normally, she wouldn’t have considered those scents a turn-on, but her body suddenly seemed very interested in that combination.
“There’s been no ransom demand,” Cameron said. “And she hasn’t turned up dead. Judge Olsen thinks we’re behind it, of course. I think Evelyn wants to play the victim card because she thinks it might stop her from being arrested. It won’t,” Cameron assured her.
Good. Well, maybe good. If Evelyn was guilty, Lauren definitely wanted her in jail, but the truth was, the woman could be a pawn in all of this. A pawn who could now be in grave danger if those thugs weren’t actually working for her.
“Gabriel did find out more on the cooked books that Julia claims she found,” Cameron went on. “There’s definitely some money missing from the accounts. Not a lot, considering the company has over ten million in assets.” He turned to her. “Did you know it was worth that much?”
She nodded. “Isaac is the heir to all of that.”
He stayed quiet a moment, a muscle flexing in his cheek. “I’d give away every penny to keep him safe.”
So would she—along with every cent in her own personal accounts. But even that wouldn’t ensure he was safe. Those thugs could still come after them.
“How much money was missing?” she asked.
“About thirty grand. Enough to fund the attacks and then some.”
Yes, it was. “I’m guessing Duane is saying he’s innocent, that he didn’t take it?”
He nodded, but his forehead bunched up when he looked down at her. Not her face. But her shoulder. Cameron mumbled some profanity, reached out and unbuttoned her shirt. Since this didn’t seem to be his version of hasty foreplay, Lauren figured he was checking her wound.
“I meant to change the bandage for you,” he said, peeling it back and having a look at it.
She’d already had a look, and while the sight of it turned her stomach, it wasn’t serious. “I changed it after my shower,” she told him. “Jodi gave me some antibiotic cream to use on it.”
He made a sound, sort of a disapproving grunt. Maybe because the wound turned his stomach, too. Or maybe he thought the home doctoring wasn’t nearly enough.
Since he was examining her, Lauren did the same to him. She eased back the bandage on his forehead and had a look. It was clean but would probably leave a scar. It would just give him some more character on his face.
As if Cameron needed more of that.
“You’re scowling,” he pointed out. “Does the cut look that bad?”
She lowered her gaze, making eye contact with him, and Lauren wasn’t sure what he saw, but the corner of his mouth lifted for a moment. “Oh, that,” he said.
Yes, that. She looked away, but it didn’t help. She was already caught up in the moment. Lauren would have liked to blame it on spent adrenaline and the fact that she didn’t know if she was going to live long enough to see another day. Realizing something like that had a way of making every moment seem as if it might be her last. But she couldn’t lie to herself. What she was feeling had to do with the attraction
and nothing else.
“I kissed you in this room once,” he said, glancing around.
He had, and she was a little surprised he remembered. She’d been seventeen then. Her grandparents had already passed away and Gabriel had moved in. Lauren had come to get her gran’s sewing machine so she could mend the seam on her favorite shirt. Cameron had walked with her there so he could help her carry it back to her house.
“Apparently, a chore like that was fuel for a kiss back then,” she joked.
“Breathing was fuel for a kiss,” he joked back.
Except it was the truth. Still was. And that caused Lauren to sigh.
She should just get up, move away from him and keep watch again. There were so many reasons for her not to be with him. She didn’t want it to cloud her mind. She shouldn’t jump into that kind of intimacy until she was certain of her feelings for him. Plus, the boys were in the room.
But those good reasons turned to dust when Cameron leaned in and kissed her.
Despite his being so close, she hadn’t seen the kiss coming, but Lauren had no trouble feeling it. One touch from his mouth, and the heat trickled through her. Head to toe.
He lingered a moment, deepening the kiss, before he pulled back and looked at her. Maybe to gauge her reaction. It must have gauged well because it caused him to give that hot half smile again.
“I guess breathing is still a fuel,” he said, his voice low. Husky. A Texas drawl that pulled her right in.
Lauren figured either walking out or staying would be the wrong thing to do. Staying would lead to sex. Walking out would no doubt give her plenty of regrets. That was why she slid her hand around the back of Cameron’s neck and pulled him to her for another kiss.
And she made sure it was plenty long and deep.
Enough to rid them of the breath that was apparently fueling some of this. Of course, the kiss did its own share of fueling, too.
“Give yourself some time. Think about it before you do anything,” she said.
Cameron looked up at her, and she had no trouble seeing the surprise on his face. Lauren figured that surprise increased a lot more when she got to her feet and headed for the door.
Lawman from Her Past Page 13