Wasn’t going to happen.
“You should go back in my office,” he insisted. Fewer windows there. “Make sure you leave the light on.”
That was a departure from what he usually told her, but Jericho had turned on every light in the place. Including the bathroom. He hoped that way, if hit men did show up, they wouldn’t know what room Laurel was in. Plus, the interior lights helped illuminate the front sidewalk and the sides of the building.
“Be careful,” Laurel said.
Jericho glanced back at her, their gazes connecting. Usually when that happened, he felt a punch of heat from the attraction, but now he saw something else.
Something he didn’t like.
“I’m not going to get shot,” he let her know. Possibly another lie, but there was no need for her to be worried about him.
“See anything?” Jericho asked Levi once Laurel was back in his office.
“No. You?”
“Nothing.” Jericho reminded himself that was a good thing, but he still had a knot in his gut. A knot that tightened when his phone buzzed, and he saw the caller’s name.
Theo.
Jericho didn’t want to tie up his hands for the call, so he hit the answer button, sandwiched the phone between his shoulder and ear. “Make it quick,” Jericho snarled. “I’m busy.”
Plus, Theo could be calling to try to distract him, which meant Jericho didn’t care to have a long chat.
“Is Laurel okay?” Theo asked.
That didn’t help his uneasiness, and Jericho made another sweeping glance of the area around the building. “Why do you ask?”
“Because she’s in danger, that’s why. Hell, we’re all in danger.”
“Some of us more than others,” Jericho remarked. “Unless you’ve got something new and interesting to tell me—like a confession—then this call is over.”
“Don’t hang up!” It wasn’t a shout. More like a plea. But it took Theo a few seconds to continue. “I think someone wants me dead.”
“That’s not a confession. Heck, it’s not even a surprise. You piss people off, Theo. Me included.”
“But you didn’t just try to kidnap me. Did you?”
“No. That wasn’t on my to-do list tonight.” Now it was Jericho’s turn to pause. “First, did this so-called kidnapping attempt really happen? And if so, did it happen in my jurisdiction?” Because if it didn’t, then that was yet another reason to end the call and have him whine to somebody else.
“It happened just a few minutes ago. I’m a couple of streets away from the sheriff’s office near the hotel. Two big guys jumped out of a black car when I was at the traffic light, and they tried to Taser me. I got away.”
“Convenient.” And possibly the truth. Because it could be true, Jericho had to use his lawman’s voice. “Were you hurt?”
“Just some scrapes and bruises. I carry a concealed .38. Yes, I have a permit,” he added before Jericho could ask. “Anyway, I managed to draw it, and I think I hit one of them when I fired.”
Hell. Discharge of a weapon. Possible injury along with a possible kidnapping attempt. It would have to be investigated, but this was one duty Jericho would have to delegate.
“Call the Rangers,” Jericho told Levi. “Tell them there’s a situation I need them to handle at the Saltgrass Inn.”
“You’re not coming to help me?” Theo asked. Clearly, the man had heard what Jericho had said to his brother.
No way. Jericho had no intention of leaving Laurel to walk into what could be a trap or a ploy to get him away from Laurel. “Why are you here in town?”
“I got a call from one of your deputies who told me Laurel was in trouble, that I needed to go to the sheriff’s office and check on her because she wanted to see me.”
Theo hadn’t hesitated, which meant it could be the truth or he could have just practiced the lie until it rolled right off his tongue. “Laurel doesn’t want to see you, and no deputy of mine called you.”
“But he did. He said his name was Mack Parkman—”
“Was his name on the caller-ID screen?” Jericho snapped.
“No. It said unknown number. But I figured your deputies were just using secure cells.”
Mack was, since he was at the safe house with Jax and Maddox, but there would have been no reason for Mack to call Theo. Still, the lawman in him had to rule it out. Jericho jotted down a note for Levi to call Mack and verify that he’d had no phone contact with Theo.
“I want to come to the sheriff’s office and see Laurel,” Theo started up again. “And don’t say she’s not there, because she’ll be wherever you are.”
“Don’t be so sure of that.”
“I need to talk to her,” Theo said, not even addressing Jericho’s comment.
“Mack didn’t call him,” Levi whispered to Jericho.
Just as Jericho had figured. And yes, he trusted Mack, had known him his entire life. Theo, however, had reason to lie—so he could try to worm his way in and see Laurel. And if he wasn’t lying, then someone like Herschel or Dorothy could have hired anyone to make the call to lure Theo out so he could be kidnapped.
And there’s where Jericho’s theory came to a sudden stop.
Would Dorothy really try to hurt her own son?
Probably, if she blamed Theo for blowing the engagement with Laurel. That broken engagement had cost Dorothy a bundle. Then there was also the possibility that she hadn’t wanted to hurt Theo but rather had wanted to set up someone to make it look as if they had murder or kidnapping on their mind.
Someone like Herschel.
Because if Dorothy was riled at Theo for losing those big bucks, she might aim the same venom at Herschel.
Or vice versa.
Herschel definitely wasn’t a saint.
“Well, can I see Laurel?” Theo pressed.
Jericho was about to tell him a loud no, with some curse words added to it. But he didn’t get the chance to say anything.
Because a blast shook the entire building.
* * *
THE SOUND WAS DEAFENING, and Laurel caught on to the wall to steady herself. Not a gunshot. This was something much bigger and louder.
What the heck had Theo done now?
She’d known that Jericho was talking to him, but from what she could hear, it didn’t seem as if he’d been threatening Jericho. However, something had definitely happened.
Laurel didn’t bolt from the office, but she peered out the door. Jericho was still at the window where she’d last seen him. One of the blinds had fallen to the floor, and she could see the fireball in the street directly in front of the sheriff’s office.
“Stay back,” Jericho warned her. “It was a bomb.”
Her heart was already pounding, but that news made it worse. “How did Theo get close enough to use a bomb?”
“I’m not sure it was Theo. I think someone on the roof of the diner tossed it down.”
Oh, mercy. That meant they could have been aiming for the building itself. It also might mean this bomb wasn’t the only one they had.
“Get under my desk,” Jericho added.
“You should, too.” Though she knew it wouldn’t do any good.
Jericho just shook his head. “Go!”
Laurel did as he said. She scrambled under his desk just as she heard another sound. Not the blast from a second bomb.
But rather a gunshot.
Then, another.
She couldn’t be sure, but Laurel thought maybe they’d been fired into one of the front windows. The glass was bullet resistant, she remembered Jericho saying that, but it didn’t mean the shots couldn’t eventually get through. She prayed that Jericho and Levi were staying down.
“The shots stopped at the Sweetwater Springs o
ffice,” Levi relayed to Jericho. “No one was hurt, and the shooters ran off.”
That was good. The lawmen there were no longer under attack, but it was clear the shots hadn’t stopped here. Because she heard several more of them crack into the windows.
Laurel gasped when another sound shot through the room. Since she was already bracing herself for the worst, it took her a moment to realize it was a landline phone on Jericho’s desk. She wasn’t sure if she should answer it or not, but when it kept ringing, Laurel thought it might be someone calling to report a sighting of their attacker. She grabbed the phone and got back under the desk.
“Who is this?” the caller immediately asked.
Laurel groaned. Because it was Dorothy on the line. “It’s me. And I don’t have time to talk.”
“Then, make time,” the woman insisted. “Because what I have to tell you could save your life.”
All right. That grabbed her attention. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, Theo has gone stark raving mad, that’s what. He’s trying to get to you so he can kill you. And he’s trying to do the same thing to me. Don’t trust him, Laurel.”
“I won’t. I won’t trust you, either.” Laurel could also add her father to the list of people who might want her dead. She had no plans to trust any of them.
“Somehow, he’ll get to you,” Dorothy added. “Jericho, too. Theo wants him dead because of what you two did to him. He blames both of you for ruining his life. Just be careful.”
“Is Theo the one shooting at the sheriff’s office right now?” Laurel asked.
But Dorothy didn’t answer her. “No!” the woman shouted, and it was followed by an ear-piercing scream.
And a gunshot.
This one hadn’t come from immediately outside the building, either. It had come from the other end of the phone.
“Dorothy?” Laurel said. “What happened?”
Nothing. The line was dead.
Maybe Dorothy was, too. Did that mean Theo had had his own mother shot? Or was this some kind of trick?
Laurel debated whether she should tell Jericho about the call, but it would have to wait. The bullets were still slamming into the front of the building, and she didn’t want to say or do anything to distract him. Hopefully soon, the Rangers or backup would arrive and help put a stop to this.
Whatever this was.
Two attacks of sheriff offices in the same night. Yes, the one in Sweetwater Springs was no doubt to get the fake evidence that Jericho had leaked. But then why had it stopped? And why were the gunmen now attacking them here? They must know there were lawmen inside. Four of them. Hardly a fortress, but the gunmen, and their boss, had to be desperate to try to shoot their way inside.
“Hell,” she heard Jericho say, and again she nearly bolted out from beneath the desk to make sure he hadn’t been hurt. By now, some of those bullets had to be getting through.
But Laurel didn’t get the chance to bolt.
Everything happened fast. There was a crashing sound behind her, followed by the howl of the security alarm. Before she could even turn around, the glass from the window came flying out over the room. If it was bullet resistant, then something big had shattered it.
Then a hulking-size man wearing dark-colored camouflage scrambled through the gaping hole and grabbed her. She fought him. Tried to scream out for help. But she didn’t manage even that before another man on the other side of the window took hold of her and pulled her through.
“Laurel!” Jericho shouted. And even over the sounds of the continuing shots and the alarm, she heard him running toward the office.
But it was too late.
She landed on the ground outside the window. So did both of her attackers. One turned and fired shots into the office window.
Right where Jericho would be.
Oh, God.
Had the man managed to shoot him?
Laurel couldn’t see. Couldn’t hear much of anything now with the roar of her heartbeat in her ears and the shots that were no longer buffered by the wall. They were loud, thick blasts.
Too many of them.
One of the men stuffed a gag in her mouth, and they continued to drag her away from the window. Away from Jericho.
There was white smoke snaking through the air. From the explosion, no doubt, but part of it also seemed to be freezing fog. The men ran right into it, using it to conceal them.
Using it to kidnap her.
She stumbled, on purpose, and when the thug on the right reached for her, she brought up her foot and kicked him. He growled in pain, latched on to her hair and kept moving.
When the smoke cleared, Laurel saw where they were taking her. To a black car parked beside a Dumpster. If they got her inside, they’d be able to speed away, so she knew she had to keep fighting. Because this wasn’t just a kidnapping. Laurel had no doubts that she’d soon be dead if she didn’t do something right away.
She twisted her body. Tried to fall again. But the man still had hold of her hair, and he used that to control her. The pain watered her eyes. The fear had her by the throat. But she kept fighting. Kept trying to get away.
“Laurel?” Jericho shouted again.
He was alive. For now. But the gunman turned again and fired a shot in the direction of Jericho’s voice.
She prayed he hadn’t been hit. Prayed that Jericho would get to her in time.
But he didn’t.
The moment the men reached the car, the door flew open. And the men began to drag Laurel inside.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Jericho couldn’t believe what was happening. One second Laurel had been in his office. Now she wasn’t.
He had to get to her. Had to stop whatever was happening to her because he knew whatever it was—it would only get worse.
“What happened?” Reese Jenkins, the reserve deputy, came rushing to the doorway.
“They got Laurel.”
Jericho scrambled through what was left of the window. And immediately had to duck right back down to dodge the bullet that blasted through the air. However, he did get a glimpse of Laurel.
And the two armed thugs that were on either side of her. He also got a glimpse of the car that’d been hidden by the Dumpster. Since it was out of line of sight of any part of the sheriff’s building, Jericho had no idea how long it’d been there, but there was a road just behind it. The men were heading in that direction, and heading fast, so it was clear that’s how they planned to escape with Laurel.
Jericho called out to her. Only to have another bullet come his way.
Still, he could see that she was fighting to get free. Could also see that one of the men had her in a fierce grip—literally dragging her by her hair and trying to put her in the car.
“Cover me,” Jericho shouted to Reese. “And don’t you dare hit Laurel with friendly fire.”
He doubted that it was possible for Reese to actually cover him since the gunmen at the front of the building were still shooting. But Jericho couldn’t just stay put. He had to try to get to Laurel and stop those hired guns.
Reese gave a shaky nod and hurried to the side of the window. He leaned out, took aim while Jericho climbed through and dropped to the ground. The bitter cold hit him right off. So did the smoke lingering from the explosion. Jericho ignored both and started running.
He didn’t get far.
The thug on Laurel’s left turned, fired. Jericho had to drop down behind a cruiser. It wasn’t just one shot, either. At least six bullets came his way, pinning him down.
Reese didn’t fire. Probably because he didn’t have a clean shot. But Jericho heard a sound he damn sure didn’t want to hear.
The roar of the car’s engine.
He peered around the cruiser and his heart missed a co
uple of beats. Because the driver hit the accelerator. They were getting away.
Cursing, Jericho fished through his pocket, found the master key for the cruiser and managed to get the door open. Not easily. Because the gunmen out front started shooting at him. He practically jumped inside once he had it open, and the moment he had the engine started, he hit the accelerator, heading after the black car.
The road behind the sheriff’s office was narrow, coiling through a neighborhood with walls of houses on each side. Plenty of trees, too. Lots of places for hired guns to wait so they could attack. He only hoped that bullets didn’t start flying here or plenty of innocent people could be hurt.
Finally, they reached the edge of the neighborhood, and the black car took a turn into the town’s park. Onto an even more narrow road. Sometime during the past hour or so, a light mist had started to fall, and it had created some ice scabs on the road. Jericho hit one, went into a skid but fought to regain control of the cruiser.
Ahead of him, the driver of the black car wasn’t so lucky.
Jericho could only watch as the car veered hard to the right. The wheels clipped the sidewalk, ricocheting the vehicle to the left.
And it slammed into a streetlight.
Oh, man. It was as if a Roman candle went off in his head. Laurel could have been hurt or worse. The front end of the car was a tangled mess, and there was steam spewing out of what was left of the engine.
Jericho brought the cruiser to a quick stop just a few feet behind the wrecked car, and he hurried out, leaving the door open in case he had to grab Laurel and jump right back in. That’s when he spotted the swirling blue lights from a cruiser coming up the road behind him. Reese, no doubt. Maybe even Levi.
Good. Because Jericho would probably need plenty of backup.
Maybe an ambulance, too.
With his gun ready, Jericho approached the car. However, before he got there, the back door opened and someone got out. Not easily. The person was groaning as if in pain.
Laurel.
She looked up, and when she spotted him, she started to run toward him. Jericho ran, too, and quickly ate up the distance between them. She was alive, but there was blood on her head. Maybe other injuries that he couldn’t see.
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