by Barb Han
A disturbance out front caught their attention.
“Wait here.” Caleb moved to the cabinet and pulled out a handgun.
He crossed to her and placed it in her hand. Katherine’s hand shook as she recoiled. “Not a good idea. I’m scared to death of those things.”
“I won’t leave you here without a way to protect yourself. It’s a .38. You have to cock it to fire. Like this.” He pressed her thumb to the hammer. “Then you point and pull the trigger. Wait here for me, but if someone comes through that door you don’t recognize, shoot.”
A lump in Katherine’s throat made swallowing difficult. Her breathing came in spasms and her chest hurt. Be strong. Refuse to be defeated. She gripped the handle tighter. “Okay.”
“I better check on Matt.” Caleb kissed her forehead. He turned and headed toward the front of the house. “Don’t be afraid to use the gun if you need to. Look before you shoot.”
All her danger signals were flaring, and she knew on instinct something very bad was about to go down. They’d found her. Fear crippled her, freezing every muscle of her body even though she had the very real sense she was shaking on the outside. Sweat beaded and dripped down her forehead like the trickle of melting ice cream.
She couldn’t let Caleb go alone.
Her eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, so finding her way around outside the house wasn’t a problem. At the last corner, she crouched low, making herself as small as possible, and moved behind the Japanese boxwoods in the front landscaping. Caleb stepped out the front door with his right arm extended, gun aimed.
Matt was on his knees in front of the house with his arms and legs bound. A man the size of a linebacker stood behind him, his gun pointed at his head.
Oh. God. No.
She turned away for an instant, unable to look. Guilt this was all her fault gripped her.
“He has nothing to do with this. Let him go.” Caleb’s voice was surprisingly even. He was calm under pressure whereas Katherine’s nerves were fried.
The sound of gravel crunching underneath tires brought her focus to the road where a blacked-out SUV barreled down the path.
“Doesn’t seem like your friend here wants to get up,” said the linebacker, kicking Matt from behind.
Katherine prayed Caleb wouldn’t react to the taunting.
A thousand ideas ran through her head. Should she slip into the house and call 9-1-1? Wasn’t Coleman on his way? She crouched low, rooted to her spot as two men stepped out of the SUV. One she recognized from Noah’s kidnapping, the other was new. He was smaller than the others, but wore an expensive suit. His hair was dark, curly and slicked back. Kane?
“Put your gun down on the porch, and we’ll consider sparing your life,” the familiar one said.
Caleb didn’t budge.
“Fine. Then your buddy here gets a bullet in the head.” He lowered the barrel toward Matt.
Caleb put up both hands in the universal sign for surrender. “No need to do that.” He lowered his gun to the porch and kicked it forward with the toe of his boot.
“Where is she?” the man with the slicked-back dark hair asked, his tone clipped; there was that telltale albeit subtle difference in the way he pronounced his vowels.
Katherine knew exactly who he was. Kane.
“I’m afraid it’s just us guys here,” Caleb responded.
“Don’t insult me. I happen to know you were with her. She must be here somewhere.” Kane glanced around. “Come out. Come out. Wherever you are.”
Kane walked closer to Caleb, eyeing him up and down. He turned to his henchmen and pointed to Matt. “Show them we’re serious.”
The crack of a bullet split the night air.
Katherine’s heart plummeted. A gasp escaped before she could squash it. She fought the urge to vomit. Make a noise and Kane had what he wanted. Her. Game over.
She forced herself to peer through the bushes at him, expecting to see blood splattered on the men. There was none. If they hadn’t shot Matt, what had they hit?
The bullet must’ve pinged the ground instead. Thank God. No one was hurt.
A wicked grin crossed Kane’s attractive features. Authority and power radiated from him. Underneath that good-looking exterior, this man was the devil reincarnate. How horrible was he? Leann was a good person. How could she have gotten involved with such evil?
Katherine remembered the practiced, cool voice she’d first heard on the phone. Was that the one he’d used to lure Leann? If she’d seen the other side to him, no wonder she’d wanted to escape. She must’ve innocently believed she could keep him away from Noah. That definitely had to be why she’d moved around so much. It all made sense now. She’d kept the evidence quiet, waiting until the day he showed up again. And when he’d found her? She’d decided to play him while she’d gone to the Feds for help. A new life. A new identity. She and Noah would be hidden forever.
The cost?
She would have to cross the father of her child.
That couldn’t have been easy. Sadness and anger burned Katherine’s chest, firing heat through her veins. Why hadn’t Leann confided in her?
She didn’t want to bring you down with her, a little voice said.
Oh, sister.
Kane glanced around wildly. “Still not wanting to come out and play. Well let’s see if this changes your mind.” He opened the back door to the SUV and lifted a small figure into his arms.
Noah?
Katherine’s heart faltered. She feared it would stop beating altogether if her nephew was dead. Kane was a horrible man. Would he hurt his own son?
No. A man who made sure the boy had his medicine wouldn’t harm him.
But he would kill Matt. Possibly even Caleb.
She had to stop him.
Without thinking, she tucked the gun into the band of her shorts and stepped out of the boxwoods. There was no way she could hit him from this far. Not with the way her hands were shaking. If she could get close enough, she’d take that bastard out with one shot. His henchmen might retaliate, but at least Kane would die. “I’m right here, you son of a bitch. You don’t have to hurt any more innocent people.”
Caleb made a move toward her but backed off when Kane aimed his gun at Noah’s temple.
“Don’t be a hero, cowboy,” Kane said, smooth and practiced. “I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. You won’t ruin it for me, will you? No one’s going to wreck my plans. No one sends me to jail.” He turned to face Katherine. “Not that bitch sister of yours. And sure as hell not you. She said she loved me. All the time she was sneaking around behind my back. Talking to the Feds. How could she love me when she stabbed me in the back? What about you? Will you betray him, too? Let’s see how much you care about your cowboy.” He nodded toward his henchman, who moved behind Caleb and pressed a gun to his back.
“Hurt him if you want. It won’t bother me,” Katherine lied.
She needed Kane to believe those words even though she could feel warmth traveling up her neck to her cheeks. She ignored it.
Convincing Kane she didn’t love Caleb might be his only chance to live.
If she could distract Kane long enough to pull the gun, and then fire, she’d stop him from hurting anyone else. He wasn’t more than five feet away. So close she could smell his musky aftershave. Too far to make a move before Kane’s guy had a chance to pull the trigger and end Caleb’s life.
She couldn’t get a clear shot while Kane held Noah anyway. Thank God he was sleeping. She had to get that monster away from her nephew and focused on her.
“Besides, he doesn’t know anything. But I do. And I’ll testify. You’ll rot in jail with all the other scum who think they’re above the law.”
“Scum?” Kane’s voice raised another octave. “That’s what your sister said about
me?” The pained look on his face said he still loved Leann.
“Don’t believe her. I know exactly what you did. I can point authorities to the evidence, too, and she can’t,” Caleb said quickly.
Damn him. Didn’t he see what she was trying to do? He was going to get himself killed.
“He’s wrong. This is between you and me. Let Noah get out of here. Matt can take him. And I’ll do anything you want.” Noah blinked up at her. Fear filled his brown eyes. He couldn’t possibly know how much she loved him. And if they saw how important Caleb was to her, he’d be dead, too.
“Let my son go? My son? Your sister tried to keep him from me. No one will ever keep me from my boy again.” Kane’s voice bordered on hysteria. The high-pitch sound echoed in the night. “Do something to the friend.”
The linebacker hit Matt with the butt of his gun.
Matt crumpled forward. Didn’t move again.
Was he unconscious? Alive? He had to be.
Tears welled in her eyes. She sniffed them back. She couldn’t afford to let her emotions take control.
A bolt of lightning raced sideways across the sky. A clap of thunder followed moments later.
If she were going to stop Kane, she had to act fast.
Caleb spun around and disarmed the man on him. The pair tumbled onto the ground in a twist of arms and legs.
Katherine used the distraction to slip her hand behind her and grip the gun. She fired a shot and the linebacker went down. Before she could locate Kane, he was next to her, his hand gripping her neck, and it felt like her eyes might pop out.
Another shot rang out.
Chapter Seventeen
Katherine forced herself to look at Caleb, expecting her own exploding pain to register at any moment. Everything had happened so fast, her brain almost couldn’t catalog the sequence. Both he and the man on him lay still. Blood. There was so much blood. Please move, Caleb. Get up.
He didn’t.
Hopelessness engulfed her. If he was dead... Oh, God... She couldn’t even think what she would do without him.
Tears sprang from her eyes. She doubled over. Her world imploded around her. She’d finally invested herself and fallen in love. Now he was dead. Just like her parents. Just like her sister.
Leann.
Noah was sick. Would he die, too?
A hand gripped her shoulder, pulling her upright. Cold metal poked her back. She jerked away, spun around and stared into the blackest set of eyes she’d ever seen. “You killed him. This is your fault. You caused me to drop my son, too. That won’t be forgiven.”
Through blurry eyes she searched for Noah. He’d been placed on a seat in the SUV. The door was open.
Her gaze flew to Matt’s lifeless body.
“He’s still alive. For the moment. Make another move and he’ll be dead, too,” Kane said into her ear, disarming her. “You’re going to pay for what that bitch sister of yours tried to do to me. I loved her. I treated her like a queen. Look what she did.” He waved his gun around, and then pressed the metal barrel against Katherine’s temple. “I never would’ve known if she hadn’t gone and gotten herself killed. I pieced it together when I was going through her things. Nobody betrays me and gets away with it.”
She squeezed her eyes shut.
“Now move,” he growled.
Every muscle in her body stiffened as she forced herself by sheer will to walk. He pushed her toward the barn. The man behind her directed her actions. This was something new to fear. A crazed psychopath who wanted to do more than kill her. He needed to see her suffer.
“You won’t get away with this,” she said in the dark. His icy fingers gripped her neck. Her body convulsed. She could feel his hot breath on her.
“I’m going send you to meet that bitch sister of yours in death. But first, you’re going to watch that boyfriend of yours burn.”
Katherine’s heart shriveled. The air thinned. She struggled to take a breath. She refused to believe Caleb was gone and her life would end like this. That Noah would be brought up by this monster. There had to be a way out.
He tossed her into a stall and on top of a bale of hay. She popped up. “The cops are coming. They’ll arrest you. Hurting me won’t help your case. It’ll only make it worse. If you leave now, you can disappear. They won’t find you if you stay out of the country.”
“Be still, kitten.” He knocked her down, forced her hands behind her back and tied them together. “I have no plans to rot in jail. Time to get rid of the evidence.”
Her body shuddered at his touch. She kicked as hard as she could, connecting with his shin multiple times.
He flinched and slapped her across the left cheek. Katherine’s head jolted. It felt as though her eye would explode. A fresh course of adrenaline pumped through her.
“You’re about to learn something.” A wicked grin spread across his lips. “Look at me.”
He touched her cheek with the back of his hand. “She favored you. So beautiful.” He shook his head. “She could have had anything she wanted. I would have given her the world.”
His lips thinned. His gaze narrowed. “Now you all die.” He shook his head. “What a waste.”
Katherine struggled against her bindings. The rope cut through her flesh. She ignored the pain, trying to loosen the ties.
A hysterical laugh brought her focus back to Kane.
“Stay here, little one. I’ll be right back.”
Maybe Katherine could free herself before he returned. Her body convulsed. Yet she couldn’t budge the ropes. Kicking did no good, either.
It felt as though Kane had been gone for eternity when he finally showed up, dragging a bloody lifeless body.
Her heart beat against her ribs in painful stabs.
Caleb.
“One more to go and I’ll finally be rid of you all,” Kane said before he disappeared again.
Where was the sheriff? His men?
Katherine’s gaze frantically searched for any sign of life in Caleb. She knew it was too much to hope he was still alive. Yet she had to be sure. She watched his chest for signs of movement. His broad chest rose and fell.
Or was she seeing what she wanted to?
Was he unconscious?
Katherine could’ve sworn she just saw Caleb surveying the area. Were his eyes open?
Yes. Definitely so. Her heart soared at the realization Caleb was alive. He brought a finger to his lips, the universal sign to keep quiet.
Matt was dragged in next. Katherine wanted to scream. She fought harder against the ropes.
Kane positioned Matt next to Caleb and threw a few fistfuls of hay on top of them. Her pulse beat in her throat. She was sure a red heat crawled up her neck. She put all her focus toward Caleb.
Kane hovered over Katherine. She kicked and threw her arms at him, trying to fight. He held out a match over the heap.
She looked toward the man she loved one more time. One wrong move and Kane would shoot. She needed to stall. To get his attention. She looked up at him. “Leann wouldn’t want this. She never meant to hurt you. The Feds must’ve forced her to turn against you. I know she loved you.”
Kane’s laugh was haughty and arrogant. He trailed his finger along her jawline, and she saw Caleb’s hands fist. Hope filled her chest.
“You are almost as beautiful as Leann,” Kane said. “She was a free spirit. You, on the other hand, are a bit uptight. Even so, I could make you moan. The things I would like to do to you before I watch you burn....”
Allowing him to touch her and talk about her sister in that way nearly killed her.
He smoothed his hand across her red cheek. “I wish you hadn’t made me do that to you.”
Kane’s dark eyes homed in on her. He brought a match to life with a flick of his n
ail and dropped it next to Caleb.
The moment Katherine moved, Caleb was on top of Kane. With a few quick jabs to the head, Kane’s body slumped on top of her, pinning her to the ground. He was unconscious, but for how long?
A scream escaped before she could get her bearings and push him off. “I thought you were...”
“I’ll be fine. I took a blow to the head. Scrambled a few things. Took a minute to shake. By the time I got my bearings again, I was being dragged to the barn.”
She struggled against the ropes on her wrists, tears falling down her cheeks. When Caleb helped free her, they pulled Matt to his feet. He shook his head. Disoriented, he didn’t seem able to hold his own weight.
“Help him outside.” Caleb handed over Jones’s cell. “Call 9-1-1. I have to put out the fire before it spreads.”
Katherine dialed the emergency number as she bore some of Matt’s heft, and walked outside the barn.
After giving her location and details to the operator, she helped Matt ease onto the ground.
A moment later, Caleb dashed to her side, a fire extinguisher in his hands. “It was contained. Didn’t take much to put it out.”
“The police are on their way.” Katherine looked to Matt. “He’s hurt, but conscious.”
Max was at the door to the tack room. He stood sentinel, barking wildly.
Caleb’s autumn-brown eyes pierced through her as he set the extinguisher down and told her to wait for him.
“No. I’m going with you,” she insisted with a glance toward Matt.
He motioned for her to go.
Kane was moving toward the back of the tack room, trying to escape. He rounded on them.
Caleb shielded her with his body, pulling a gun from his waistband. Kane launched himself toward them. The gun fired as the two landed on the ground.
In a quick motion, Caleb straddled Kane. Blood was everywhere.
Panic momentarily stopped her heart. “Are you shot?”
He shook his head.
Kane gurgled blood before his gaze fixed and his expression turned vacant.
She dropped to her knees. Max ran to her. She cradled him. “It’s over.”