In a Killer’s Sights

by Sandra Robbins

  Dean’s back straightened, and he gripped the phone tighter. “And?”

  “Like I thought, it was a burner phone. So no record of who it belongs to, but I did find out one interesting fact.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The tower the cell phone hit when it relayed the message is the same one that yours did, the tower just down the road from your ranch.”

  Dean set his coffee cup on the table next to the window and rubbed his hand across his eyes. “Oh, man. That means whoever texted me was close enough to see the fire.”

  “That’s right. In fact, he could have been standing at your ranch setting the fire when he texted.”

  “And he could even have been here with me watching it burn.”

  “That’s just speculation, but you could be right. Anyway, I wanted to give you this information before I checked out for a few hours. If anything else turns up, I’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks, Ben.”

  There was a brief pause before his friend spoke again. “How are you this morning? Have you come to any decision yet?”

  Dean smiled. “Yes. Gwen’s still sleeping, but when she wakes up, I intend to talk to her. I think we both have things to forgive each other for. I love Gwen, and I want to get to know my daughter. We need to be together, all three of us.” His throat closed up, and he cleared it. “I want my family, Ben.”

  Ben’s laughter drifted into his ear. “Good choice, buddy. I’ll be praying that it’s gonna work out for you. Have a good day.”

  “I plan to.”

  Dean ended the call and stood there smiling for a few moments as he thought of all the things he wanted to say to Gwen. Then he exhaled a deep breath. For now, though, he needed to get to work. This was going to be a busy morning, with guests leaving and him having to cancel all the upcoming reservations.

  He turned back toward the desk and spotted an envelope lying there. Frowning, he walked over and picked it up. The sight of his name written in Gwen’s precise handwriting made his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. Dean tore the envelope open. The note contained only a few short lines.

  Dear Dean,

  Please believe me when I say I’m sorry for keeping the truth from you. I will always love you no matter how you feel about me. Enclosed is my card. Please have your lawyer get in contact with me about arranging for shared custody, and I will agree to anything you ask. I think that’s only fair.

  Goodbye,

  Gwen.

  The letter and card fluttered from his hands and landed on the desk. He couldn’t believe what he’d read. She was gone? Without even giving them a chance to try to figure out what they should do?

  No, he couldn’t let this happen. He had to find her and bring her back so they could talk.

  He barreled from the room and out the front door. His truck sat beside the house, and he jumped in, then roared down the driveway toward the main road. He had no idea how long she’d been gone or how far she could have got, but it didn’t matter. He would find her. He would follow her all the way to New York if need be.

  He wanted his family back, and if any part of Gwen wanted that, too, then he wouldn’t allow anything to stop them from having it.

  TWELVE

  Gwen struggled to open her eyes, but it seemed to be too much of an ordeal. All she wanted to do was sleep, but she couldn’t. She felt certain she had something she needed to do, but at the moment couldn’t think what that might be. Still, she had to make herself open her eyes.

  “I see you’re about to come back to life.”

  The voice startled her, and her body trembled. Her eyes popped open, and she stared upward into bright lights. She tried to move, but her limbs wouldn’t respond. Slowly, her hazy thoughts began to clear, and she stiffened in surprise when she realized she was sitting in a chair with her hands tied behind her back. She struggled to get free, but it was no use. She was tied too tightly.

  Fear shot through her as the memory returned of Billy stopping to help her and a needle prick. She wriggled again in the seat, but couldn’t loosen her hands. She stilled for a moment, and then a new fear shot through her. Where was she, and what was going to happen to her?

  Cold sweat poured down her face, and her lips and chin quivered as she slowly turned her head and took in her surroundings. Her eyes grew wide as she realized she sat in the middle of a rodeo arena. Not just any arena, but one she had been to years ago with Dean. Lambert’s Practice Arena, where riders honed their skills for rodeo competition.

  Livestock panels perhaps six or seven feet high fenced the area, and at either end she could see chutes for holding animals before they were released into the ring. As she stared at the chute at the far end, the gate shook, and a loud thumping sound sent a chill through her. What was behind that gate?

  “Renegade’s restless today,” a voice behind her said.

  She tried to turn her head to see the speaker, but it was no use. She sensed movement beside her, and then Billy Champion stepped into view. He grinned at her, but it wasn’t in a friendly manner. The man who had seemed so sympathetic to her plight when he stopped to assist her now looked as if he was possessed with pure evil.

  Her breath hitched in her throat, and she swallowed. “Why have you brought me to Lambert’s Arena, Billy? And where is everybody?”

  “I brought you here so we could have some quiet time together, Gwen. We don’t have to worry about being interrupted, because the arena’s closed. That means all the employees are off enjoying being with their families except me. Mr. Lambert was so appreciative, when I started working here, that I was willing to come in alone to feed the livestock when everybody else was off.” He shrugged. “Of course, I didn’t mind, because I don’t have a family.”

  The chute rattled again, and she nodded in that direction. “You said Renegade is restless. What’s behind that gate?”

  Billy laughed. “An old friend of mine. Renegade is a bull, the one all the cowboys hope to beat. He’s a mean one, all right, one of the worst I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot of them.”

  “You’re making no sense. Please tell me what’s going on here.”

  A wistful smile pulled at Billy’s mouth. “Years ago I was a stock contractor for rodeos. I had the reputation of having some of the toughest stock in the business, and all the big rodeos wanted to use my animals. Of course, they didn’t know that I was in partnership with a breeder down in Mexico who used some special methods to produce bucking animals that were almost impossible to ride. We had a scheme in place to smuggle our horses and bulls into the country and produce false papers that said they’d been bred in the States.”

  “But that’s illegal. How did you think you could get away with it?”

  He shrugged. “I was young and foolish. I wasn’t afraid to take some chances. In the long run, though, it didn’t pay off. We got caught, and I spent the next twenty years in jail. My son was just six years old when I went to prison, and when I got out, he was dead.”

  Gwen’s heart thudded in her chest as she stared up at him. “Billy, I’m sorry about that, but it doesn’t explain why you’re doing this.” A menacing snarl was her only answer as he turned and started to walk away. “Billy! I don’t understand!”

  He whirled and stormed back to her, his fists clenched at his sides and a deadly rage etched into his face. “I didn’t understand, either, when Dean killed my son.”

  Gwen wanted to shrink away from him as he came nearer, but that was impossible. Instead, she tried to swallow back the fear that was quickly taking over her body and stared up at him. “What are you talking about?”

  Her captor bent forward again, until his face was only a few inches from hers. “My son, Trip King. Dean killed him.”

  Her eyes grew wide again, and she flinched at the fury he directed toward her. “Your son?
How can that be? Your name is Billy Champion.”

  He gave a snort and shook his head. “That’s what I told everybody, but it’s not. My real name is King. Aaron King, and I’m Trip King’s father.”

  “But...but I don’t get it. I thought Trip’s father was dead.”

  Aaron laughed. “My wife divorced me when I was sent to prison and told everybody that I was dead. But I wasn’t. I had a son, and I kept up with him all his life. He was going to be somebody, the only thing I had in my life to be proud of. A world champion bull rider and maybe a movie star. Everyone was going to know his name. But he never got his chance.” Aaron leaned forward again and yelled into her face, “Because Dean killed him! That’s why he has to pay!”

  Gwen tried to process what he was saying. “So you’re after revenge?”

  “Yes!” He raked his hand through his hair and began to pace up and down in front of her.

  “I don’t understand,” she said. “Trip’s death happened years ago. If you wanted to get even with Dean, why have you waited so long?”

  “Because I didn’t get out of jail until a year ago. When I did, I changed my name, came here and rented that house on the Little Pigeon Ranch. I worked at becoming friends with Dean and his grandfather, and I studied them while I planned on how I was going to repay Dean for what he did.”

  “But his grandfather liked you. He trusted you, helped you get a job with the Lamberts.”

  “Yeah, he did. Am I supposed to feel grateful for that, after what Dean did to me? All that time I was just waiting for the right moment to strike—to hurt him like he’d hurt me. And then it came.”

  The man’s eyes darkened with burning hatred, and Gwen cringed from the heat of his glare. “What do you mean?”

  Aaron stopped pacing and came back to stand in front of her. “I decided it wasn’t enough just to kill Dean. I had to make him suffer, too. So I invited James to go hiking with me the other day. We did that a lot. And when we were on the trail, with him leading the way, it was easy to hit him on the head with a rock I’d picked up.”

  She gasped. “You were the one I saw dumping his body in the stream?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. When I saw you, I didn’t know if you’d seen me kill him or not. But I knew I had to stop you from going to the authorities. I thought I had, but from where I was hiding in the woods I saw them put you in the ambulance. So I had to try again.”

  “You shot at the ambulance and made us crash?”

  Aaron chuckled. “Yeah, and I don’t mind telling you when I opened that ambulance door after the wreck, I was surprised to see Dean with you. I thought I’d better get out of there before he recognized me. But I had a bigger surprise when he brought you home and I recognized you from James’s picture as Dean’s ex-wife. That’s when I decided I could hurt him a bit more by killing you, too. The barn was just something I threw in after I botched the ambush at Rattlesnake Creek.”

  “That was you, too?”

  “Guilty as charged,” he said with a laugh.

  “B-but you helped me with the puppies. Why did you do that?”

  Aaron placed his hand over his heart and stared up at the ceiling. “Just being a good neighbor who wanted to help out a friend.” He dropped his arm to his side and glared at her. “And it worked. Dean was so grateful to me for helping keep you safe. It’ll never occur to him to doubt or question me until it’s too late.”

  Gwen sucked in a breath to try to slow her racing heart. Although she wanted to yell back at him, it was clear that would do no good. She needed to remain calm and try to reason with him, though she had her doubts that would prove successful. He was already so agitated he looked as if he might explode any minute.

  “Billy—” she began.

  “Aaron!” he interrupted. “You can call me Aaron now. It’s not as if you’re ever going to tell anybody.”

  His words sent a new wave of fear rushing through her, but she tried not to show how she’d been affected. “All right, Aaron. Think about what you’re saying. We all agree that Trip’s death was a terrible thing. I know Dean has suffered from guilt ever since it happened, but we can’t change the past.”

  The man’s face turned bright red, and a spot of saliva seeped from the corner of his mouth. “He should suffer. He killed my son. Shot him down in cold blood.”

  “No, you’re wrong, Aaron. Please think about what you’re saying. Dean was a police officer. Your son was a drug dealer, and he killed another policeman. Instead of dropping his gun when Dean ordered him to, Trip aimed it at him. Dean didn’t have a choice. The investigation proved that it was self-defense.”

  “Lies! All of it lies!” her captor shouted. “The police covered up Trip’s murder and took care of their own. Dean may have gotten away with it then, but he’s not going to now.”

  “Billy—I mean, Aaron—Dean didn’t want to shoot your son, but Trip gave him no choice.”

  “Well, I have a choice, and I’m taking it right now,” he spit as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Say cheese,” he said and snapped her picture. Then he held it up for her to see.

  Gwen’s stomach churned at the way she appeared in the photograph. Her tousled hair looked as if it hadn’t been combed in days, and her bloodshot eyes gave evidence of her sleepless night. But it was the expression of pure fright on her face that made her heart race. Anyone looking at the picture would know right away that she was terrified.

  She turned her gaze on Aaron. “What are you going to do with that picture?”

  Busy tapping out a text message, he only smiled. When he’d finished, he took a deep breath. “Now all we have to do is wait for Dean to get here.”

  He turned and started to walk away, but Gwen called out to him. “Aaron, why did you text Dean?”

  He stopped and stood still for a moment before he sauntered back to where she sat. “I thought he might like to try to save his wife, so I’ve invited him to the party. Of course, he won’t be able to change things. Not with Renegade in the ring with you.” Aaron tilted his head to one side and grinned. “Did you know that bulls are very unpredictable? In fact, only one person in twenty survives an attack by a bull.”

  Gwen’s heart leaped into her throat, and she began to shake. “What do you mean to do?”

  “Well,” he said, “I’m going now to get Renegade ready to meet you and Dean. I don’t think that meeting will turn out well for either of you. Of course, one of you could be the one in twenty that survives, but it seems far more likely you’ll both be among the other nineteen.”

  Gwen cast a quick glance toward where Renegade snorted and bucked against the railings. “You wouldn’t...”

  “Oh, yes, I would.” Her captor leaned close to her. “Bulls are the most dangerous livestock animals to be around, Gwen. From a standing-still position, they can turn on a dime and outrun a human. Once he attacks he will either gore a person to death or crush them. I wonder which it will be with you.”

  “Aaron, please,” Gwen begged. “This is insane. You have to let me go.”

  “I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to.” His eyes narrowed into sinister slits. “Right now the one thing I want to do is get Renegade ready to meet you.”

  “Wh-what are you going t-to do?”

  “A little trick I learned when I was a livestock contractor. If you’ve ever seen a bull-riding event, you’ll know the bull has a flank strap around it. The contractor has to make sure the strap is tight enough to stay on, but loose enough to make the bull think he can kick it off. A seventeen-hundred-pound bull sure can kick.” Aaron held up a finger as if to emphasize a point. “But if the contractor wants the bull to really kick, he can insert some kind of sharp objects under the strap. That drives them wild.”

  Gwen cast a terrified glance toward the chute that held Renegade. It rattled again, and the sharp ti
p of one of his horns appeared between the slats of the panel gate. She tried to look away, but the sight of that horn and the thought of how it could rip into a human body paralyzed her with fear. “P-please, Aaron, let me go!”

  He shook his head. “Sorry. Can’t do it, Gwen. I don’t imagine it’ll be too long before Dean gets here. That picture I sent him should do the trick. Now just sit still and be quiet or I might decide to silence you before I turn Renegade loose.”

  With that, he spun around and strode toward the chute. She started to call after him, to beg him to let her live for her daughter’s sake. Then a terrifying thought flashed in her mind. If he found out she and Dean had a daughter, he might go after Maggie once they were dead. Gwen couldn’t risk letting him know that.

  She struggled against the bindings at her back but they didn’t budge. There was no way she was going to escape. All she could do was wait for Aaron to do what he’d promised.

  She closed her eyes, and a tear dripped down her cheek. Less than twelve hours ago she had been hoping that Dean would forgive her and that the three of them could be a family. Now she sat alone in the middle of a rodeo practice arena and waited for a killer to take his revenge.

  God, take care of my little girl, she prayed as the tears continued to spill from her eyes.

  * * *

  Dean knew he was exceeding the speed limit on the road from the ranch into town, but he didn’t have a choice. Every minute was crucial if he was to catch up with Gwen and stop her before she got on a plane. If the police caught him, he would gladly accept a ticket and pay the fine, if it meant he could reach her in time.

  As he drove, he rehearsed what he was going to say to her. He would tell her that he loved her, that he would never love another woman. And that he wanted his family. Ideally, he wanted Gwen and Maggie with him at Little Pigeon Ranch, but he wasn’t sure Gwen would want the same thing.