“How far away is backup?” Lauren asked. She was shaking some, but not nearly as much as Cameron had expected her to be doing. Good. Because he might need her to help him shoot their way out of this.
He hated that she was in this position. Hated even more that he was the reason she was here. But Lauren and he were of a like mind on this. They’d wanted to do whatever it took to protect Patrick and Isaac.
And maybe that could still happen.
Cameron had to hold on to that hope. Unless the thugs had brought an army with them, then they might not be able to get to them in the cruiser. Added to that, backup was almost certainly on the way here, and they shouldn’t be that far away.
“Backup’s coming,” Jameson verified when he finished his call.
Cameron looked back at the SUV again. No movement there. The men were staying inside. There was also no movement from anywhere in the woods, but he was dead certain more men were out there.
Hell.
“This could be a trap for the backup,” Cameron told Jameson.
Jameson cursed, too, and made another call. Of course, backup would have anticipated that the thugs would be on the lookout for them, but they probably thought they’d be coming to a gunfight. There hadn’t been a shot fired, though, since the blast that’d disabled them. That didn’t mean, however, that more shots wouldn’t come soon.
Cameron’s phone rang, the sound knifing through the silence. Lauren gasped, and then she groaned when she saw Unknown Caller on the screen. It was almost certainly their attackers. Cameron answered and put it on speaker, but he didn’t say a word.
“Deputy Doran,” the caller said. “Looks like you and your woman are in a tight spot. I think this is what folks mean by sitting duck.”
The thug was stating the obvious, but it still put a knot in Cameron’s gut to hear it. “What do you want?” Cameron snapped, and he motioned to Jameson to play the recording on his phone. Within seconds, there was the sound of Isaac fussing.
“I want you and your woman, of course. Those kids, too,” the thug said. “Good to know the little fellas weren’t hurt during the blast.”
“What if they had been?” Lauren snarled. “You could have hurt them. Is that what your boss wants you to do—hurt babies?”
There was plenty of anger in her voice, but Cameron figured it was also a stall tactic. The longer they kept him talking, the more time backup would have to arrive.
“Don’t have a clue what my boss wants to do to them, and it falls under the heading of I don’t care. I just want my money. And no, don’t bother to start offering me a payoff. I’m more or less committed to this, you see.”
Which meant he could be being blackmailed or coerced in some way. So Cameron tried a different angle. “If you want immunity, you’ve got it.” That was a lie. As a deputy he couldn’t make an offer like that unless he cleared it with the DA. “All you have to do is tell us who hired you.”
“No more talk about that,” the gunman growled. “Just shut up and listen.” He sounded impatient now. Probably because he knew they would have already requested backup, and that time was running out for him. “You and your woman need to get out of the cop car.”
“And the babies?” Cameron asked. “Which one do we bring?” Because that would narrow down the identity of the person responsible for this. If the man said to bring Isaac, then it was either Duane or Julia. But Evelyn would want Patrick since he was her grandson.
“I would say just bring one of them, but since I don’t know which one,” the gunman snarled, “I’ll be needing you to step out with both of them. And I’m not gonna do a countdown or anything. You come out with them now.”
Cameron doubted the man would want to hear this, but he didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t take Lauren out there for her to be gunned down. “It’s too risky for the babies.”
“Hell, it’s too risky for you!” the goon practically shouted. “Now, move. I’d better see that door opening right now.”
Cameron looked at Jameson and Jace to see if they were ready for whatever was about to happen. They were. Jameson had turned off the recording, put his phone back in his pocket and he had a firm grip on his gun. So did Jace.
And Lauren.
“They’ll come to the cruiser after us, won’t they?” she asked.
As a minimum. And they didn’t have to wait long for that minimum, either.
“Time’s up,” the gunman said, but the words had hardly left his mouth when Cameron saw something he didn’t want to see. It was the guy who’d been by the motorcycle. This probably wasn’t the one they’d been talking to since this man didn’t have a phone.
However, he did have some kind of launcher.
And he aimed it at the cruiser.
Before Cameron could even react, another explosive came their way. It crashed into what was left of the front end of the cruiser, tearing the metal and engine apart. It also knocked out the front windshield. They had to shelter their eyes from the flying glass and debris.
“Still not convinced you should get out?” the goon on the phone said. “The next one goes right into the cop car where y’all are sitting.”
It was a bluff. Possibly. But Cameron couldn’t call him on that bluff, and he didn’t have time to come up with a plan. They were going to have to run for it, and there was only one direction to go. To the right, away from the thug with the launcher. That meant they’d have to run directly in front of the SUV.
Cameron looked at Lauren, who’d just followed his gaze out the window. Judging from her expression she knew what was about to happen.
“Take both blankets, one in each arm,” he instructed. That might save her from being gunned down.
Lauren gave a shaky nod and gathered them up. “When do we start running?” she asked.
“Now.”
Cameron threw open the door and started shooting.
Chapter Sixteen
Lauren hadn’t had nearly enough time to steel herself up for this, but maybe there was no chance of that happening anyway. Not with the strong possibility that they were all about to die.
Cameron got out ahead of her, took aim at the man by the motorcycle and sent several shots his way. Lauren didn’t look back to see if that had pinned down the guy or sent him scrambling. She just ran as fast as she could while trying to keep hold of the blankets. Despite the rain and the slick, muddy surface, she raced across the narrow trail, went several yards into the woods and dropped behind a tree.
She had her gun. She was holding it in a death grip beneath the blankets. But no way did she have a clean shot. That was because Cameron, Jameson and Jace were in between the motorcycle thug and her.
“Run!” she called out to them.
They did, but they weren’t hurrying as much as she’d done, and they were volleying their attention between the motorcycle and the SUV. Good thing, too, because it was only a handful of seconds before both SUV doors opened, and the armed men leaned out. They stayed in the SUV and behind the doors, using them for cover.
While they sent round after round of bullets at Cameron and the others.
Lauren didn’t have a clean shot of them, either, so she could only pray that they reached safety.
Cameron and Jameson did. They ran toward her, but they only made it a few feet off the trail and ducked behind the first tree they reached. It was still much too close to the SUV, but at least they were no longer in a direct line of fire.
Unlike Jace.
He wasn’t nearly as lucky.
Lauren watched in horror as a bullet slammed into Jace’s arm.
She heard him make a sharp sound of pain, and he scurried to the front of the cruiser. It was a wreck, but at least he was out of the path of the men in the SUV. Not from the motorcycle guy, though, or anyone else who happened to be out here in these woods. That was why Lauren tried to
keep watch for him.
Soon, very soon, Jace would need an ambulance, but there was little chance of getting one out here unless they stopped these hired guns. That meant killing them, since she figured they hadn’t come out here with plans to surrender.
The thugs from the SUV continued to fire at Cameron and Jameson, forcing them to stay put, though Cameron did look in her direction. Just a glimpse. And she saw the same worry on his face that was no doubt on hers.
She caught some movement from the corner of her eye. It wasn’t by the motorcycle, where she’d last seen the guy with the launcher. It was a good fifteen feet past that. But it was the same man, all right. He was behind some dense shrubs, and he lifted something. Not a launcher this time. But rather a gun.
And he aimed it at Jace.
“Look out, Jace!” she yelled.
But Lauren did more than just shout out a warning. She dumped the blankets on the ground and shot at the guy. She missed. Cursed herself for doing that because the man dropped back out of sight. She had no doubt, though, that he was still there, waiting for a shot where he could finish off Jace.
Her phone dinged with a text message, and while Lauren hated to take her eyes off her surroundings, she knew this could be important. It was. It was from Cameron.
Stay put and keep holding the blankets, he texted. Backup can’t get to us right away.
Lauren did pick up the blankets, but her breath froze. The fear wedged there in her throat that’d clamped shut.
No.
That wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear.
They needed backup. Worse, it could mean the Ranger and reserve deputies had been hurt or killed. Obviously, these hired guns had known they were trying to lead them to a trap. If they’d spotted the lawmen, then they could have taken them out before Jace had even driven onto the trail.
She forced herself to breathe. To think. Hard to do with the bullets still flying all around, not just from the SUV shooter but also from Cameron and Jameson.
Plus, she had to watch for the man with the launcher. He could send another one of those explosives at Jace. Or at Cameron and Jameson, for that matter. Lauren didn’t think he would aim at her, though. Not as long as he thought she had the babies in her arms. It didn’t make her feel better to know that she was safe while Cameron, Jace and her brother weren’t.
Lauren adjusted her gun, holding it beneath the blankets, and she continued to keep watch. The gunman who’d had the launcher finally leaned out from cover again. Like before, he took aim at Jace. But this time, Jace must have seen him because he fired first. Unlike her shot, Jace’s didn’t miss, and the guy fell to the ground.
Good, one down and at least two to go.
It wasn’t safe for Jace to try to make his way across the trail to her, but he did drop lower to the ground. She could see that he was grimacing in pain. However, he was also looking around to make sure there weren’t others who could pick him off.
Even over the noise of the gunfire, Lauren heard another sound. A car engine. Someone was coming up the trail and would soon be behind the SUV. She hoped it was Gabriel or another cop, but she couldn’t count on that. She had to do something to help.
Now that Jace was out of immediate danger, Lauren started moving. She stayed crouched as low as she could manage while still carrying the blankets, and she began to make her way to Cameron.
Jameson and he had almost certainly heard the car and knew that it could mean more trouble. If they had to fend off more gunmen, she wanted to be in a position to help.
Lauren kept moving. Kept checking her, too, to make sure Jace was all right. He was still in the same spot, and she didn’t see any other hired thugs trying to get to him.
“Stay down,” Cameron snapped when he spotted her. “Don’t come any closer.”
“I can help you return fire.”
He didn’t answer her, not with words, but he gave her a stern look while he continued to trade shots with the gunmen. Lauren did get down, but she went several more feet first and then took cover behind a tree. All in all, it wasn’t a bad position because she had line of sight of Cameron and Jameson as well as Jace.
There was blood on his shirt.
The rain was soaking him, but the blood continued to flow. She saw him grimace again, and he pressed his hand over it. Probably to try to slow the bleeding.
In the distance she heard something else to let her know that things had gone wrong. More gunfire. It seemed to be coming from two areas—both up the trail and back by the road. The gunfire was probably why the backup couldn’t get to them.
She kept her attention on their surroundings, but Lauren took out her phone again so she could try to text Gabriel. He almost certainly knew what was going on, but she wanted to make sure the babies were all right. Before she could press his number, though, her phone rang.
Unknown Caller.
Her heart thudded against her chest. Because the gunman was calling her. Maybe because Cameron was too busy shooting to answer. But it did make her wonder how he’d gotten her number.
She hit the answer button, but as Cameron had done earlier, Lauren didn’t say anything. It didn’t take long, though, before she heard the voice.
“Lauren,” the caller said. “There’s only one way for your brother and Cameron to get out of this alive. And that’s for you to bring me the babies now.”
* * *
CAMERON HAD HEARD Lauren’s phone ring, and he’d hoped it was Gabriel calling to reassure her that he had a plan to rescue her. But after one look at her face, Cameron knew it wasn’t that.
Something was wrong.
Of course, the worst possible scenario came to mind. That something bad had happened at the ranch; that they were under attack. There were plenty of people at Gabriel’s to protect Patrick and Isaac, but that didn’t mean one of the boys couldn’t have been hurt.
He wasn’t close enough to Lauren to hear what she was saying, but she was definitely responding to something the caller had said. Not a good response, either. Lauren cursed the caller, and then her gaze flew to him.
Yeah, something was definitely wrong, but he didn’t think it was fear that he saw. Cameron thought she was angry. So angry that every visible muscle was tight.
Even though Cameron had insisted that she stay put, Lauren started toward him. She didn’t exactly stay down, either. She hurried, but at least she was continuing to hold the blankets to her chest. Unfortunately, they no longer looked much like babies because the rain had soaked the blankets. It had soaked Lauren, too. The rain was dripping off her face.
When she was still several feet away, Cameron ran to her, pulling her behind the tree with Jameson and him. He was about to ask her what’d happened, but she just handed him the phone. Her hand was shaking. She was shaking. But her eyes were narrowed almost to slits.
“It’s Julia,” she said.
Cameron doubted the woman was calling to check on them or declare her innocence for the umpteenth time. No. She was the person behind this. Probably the person in the car that’d just come to a stop in back of the SUV.
Hell.
Of course, she was one of their main suspects, but it sickened him to think of this witch putting Lauren and everyone else in danger. And he figured Julia was doing that because she needed money. Now Cameron could feel his own surge of anger, and he hoped he got a chance to settle the score with this woman.
“What do you want?” Cameron snapped when he finally spoke to her. Jameson moved closer so he could hear over the drone of the rain.
“Lauren and Isaac,” Julia said without hesitation. “Have them come to my car, and you, Patrick and anybody else you brought with you will be safe. You can even get an ambulance out here for your deputy friend.”
Cameron wanted the ambulance for Jace, but that was too big of a price to pay. Jace would feel the same way about it, to
o.
“You really think I’ll just allow Lauren and Isaac to go to you?” Cameron asked. “You’ll kill them.”
Now Julia hesitated. “No. I’m not about to kill my brother’s son. Lauren and Isaac will be taken to an undisclosed location, and once I have the money from Alden’s estate, I’ll release them.”
“Right.” And he didn’t bother to take the skepticism out of his voice.
Lauren was plenty skeptical, as well, and he didn’t think her trembling was all from the cold rain. It was also from the rage she was feeling right now. Cameron had to make sure that rage didn’t cause Lauren to do something stupid. Like try to go after Julia.
“You don’t believe me,” Julia remarked. She sounded so calm she could have been discussing the weather, but Cameron figured the woman was also feeling loads of emotion. Fear being one of them. Julia had to know that so many things could go wrong now.
That applied to Lauren and him, as well.
“You should believe me,” Julia went on. “I’ll disappear after I have the money and settle my debts. I plan to move overseas. A place where I can’t be extradited back here.”
There were many countries that didn’t have extradition treaties with the US, but Cameron still wasn’t convinced.
“I figure you’ll stay put, right here in Texas,” Cameron said. “And you’ll probably set up Duane or Evelyn to take the fall for this.”
Silence. Which meant he was probably spot-on with his theory. No way would Julia take the blame for any of this.
“You need to hurry,” Julia warned him, her voice crisp now. “Don’t count on help from your lawmen friends, either, because my men are holding them off on the road.”
Cameron didn’t like the sound of that, and he hoped none of them had been hurt. The injury to Jace was enough. “You’ve hired an awful lot of thugs for someone who’s flat broke.”
“Funded with money from Alden’s company,” she admitted. “And a little help from the person who loaned me money.”
Lawman from Her Past Page 16