Rustling Up Trouble

by Delores Fossen

  “You should have told me that the doctor wanted to do an ultrasound,” Blue mumbled.

  Rayanne braced herself for a lecture, and she was ready to lecture him right back. After all, Blue had refused to go back to the hospital despite the fact he was only twenty-four hours out of surgery.

  “Would you mind if I go to the ultrasound with you?” he added, driving out of the parking lot.

  Oh, so no lecture. But it was something that still caused a rise in her emotions. Viewing an ultrasound together seemed like something a couple would do.

  And they weren’t a couple.

  But there was another angle to this. Rayanne really didn’t want to see the doctor alone. She’d never thought of herself as a scaredy-cat, and she honestly believed all was well with the baby.

  Or maybe that was just what she needed to believe.

  Still, she could get news that would be impossible to take. News that was too painful even to consider, that there might indeed be something wrong.

  “You can be there for the ultrasound,” she finally said. “But this doesn’t mean anything.”

  Blue made that little sound of amusement. “Sure it does. It means everything. Thanks.”

  Maybe he didn’t realize how much that rankled her. Okay, he probably did. Blue could usually manage to get a rise out of her.

  And surprise her.

  “I figured you’d be running for the hills by now,” she mumbled. “I’m sure having a baby wasn’t on your to-do list.”

  He glanced at her stomach but didn’t get a chance to confirm or deny what she’d just tossed at him, because her phone rang.

  “Cooper,” she said after looking at the screen. Something had better not have gone wrong with Gandy. Rayanne pressed the button to put the call on speaker.

  “Get out of your truck now!” Cooper shouted. “I just got a call that there’s a bomb in it.”

  Chapter Eight

  Blue slammed on the brakes, drew his gun and reached for Rayanne to pull her from the truck.

  But then he stopped.

  Not easy to come to a standstill, because he was fighting his instincts to run like the devil and get Rayanne to safety. It was the same for Rayanne. She already had a death grip on her gun and had latched on to the door handle.

  “This could be a trick to get us out in the open,” Blue reminded Cooper, though he figured the sheriff had already thought of that. “How credible is the call?”

  “No way of knowing.” Cooper cursed. “The name and number were blocked. Do what your gut tells you, and I’ll get someone over there to help you ASAP.”

  “We’re on Main Street,” Rayanne told him. “Between the hardware and the antiques stores.”

  She looked at Blue, her eyes wide and her breath already gusting. Obviously, Rayanne was waiting for him to go with his gut.

  “We’re getting out now,” Blue insisted. “Keep watch around us.”

  He would definitely do the same, and even though he was going with that whole gut-trust thing, Blue hoped this wasn’t a huge mistake.

  After he made sure no one was lying in wait to attack them, he threw open the truck door and pulled Rayanne out on the driver’s side.

  Oh, man.

  There was a closed sign on the hardware store. He sure hadn’t seen that when he’d stopped, but with Rayanne in tow, he ran toward a small newspaper office next door. Not his number-one choice of places to take cover since the front of the building was literally a wall of glass, but it beat going back into the street.

  Maybe.

  Perhaps it was the pain roaring through him, but he was getting plenty of mixed signals. One critical one, though. This didn’t feel like a ruse.

  It felt like yet another attempt to kill them.

  “Get down!” he shouted to some men who were chatting just up the block. “Stay away from the truck!”

  Hopefully, they’d listen and maybe it’d be enough to keep them and any other innocent bystanders out of harm’s way. While he hoped, he added that this could just be a bad prank by kids with too much time on their hands.

  Blue got Rayanne inside the office, and he pulled her to the floor next to the reception desk. No one was seated there, but it didn’t take long before he heard footsteps running from the back. He levered up, took aim.

  And got a shriek from the forty-something brunette woman who bolted toward them.

  “Bomb threat,” he warned her, and that got her running back up the hall. Good. Maybe she’d stay put.

  Or not.

  She kept going, straight out the back door. Blue hoped there wasn’t someone out there waiting, but at least the woman wasn’t near the possible bomb.

  Blue intended to get Rayanne away from the windows, as well, and back into one of the offices, but he had another look outside to make sure they wouldn’t be gunned down the moment they stood.

  And he saw something that caused the skin to crawl on the back of his neck.

  There was a man on the opposite side of the street. He had on a nondescript brown delivery uniform and was standing by the side door of the antiques store. The guy was nondescript, too.

  Well, except for the matching brown cap.

  The man had it slung low so that it concealed part of his face. Again, it might be nothing, but Blue wasn’t exactly in a trusting kind of mood.

  “You recognize him?” Blue asked Rayanne.

  She lifted her head just long enough to get a glimpse before Blue pushed her back down. “No. But I don’t know many locals. Is he armed?”

  “Could be. He has several boxes on a trolley, and they’re blocking a good portion of his body.” What the guy wasn’t doing was looking their way.

  That still didn’t mean he wasn’t a hired killer. He could just be watching to see what was going on.

  “Come on,” Blue insisted. “I need to get you away from this glass.”

  Rayanne didn’t argue, but she also didn’t have time to move before her phone rang.

  Blue glanced at Cooper’s name on the screen again. “We’re in the newspaper office,” he said the moment that Rayanne hit the answer button. “Please tell me this is all a hoax.”

  “Still trying to determine that,” Cooper answered. “The bomb squad’s on their way. Stay put until then.”

  He would, but he also kept his attention on the delivery man while he got Rayanne moving away from the window. Blue made sure she stayed low, and he kept himself in front of her in case this situation went from bad to worse.

  “You’re grunting,” Rayanne whispered. “How bad is the pain?”

  At the moment he hardly felt it, but Blue was sure it would hit him again when this was over. For now, he only wanted Rayanne safe.

  They made it to the edge of the desk when Blue saw the delivery guy move. Not a slow, easy gesture, either. The man turned, leaving the boxes on the trolley, and he ran toward the back of the antiques store. Blue threw himself over Rayanne.

  And not a second too soon.

  The blast came.

  It was deafening. A thundering ball of fire that hurled flames and debris in every direction, and it shook the entire building.

  Including Rayanne and him.

  This definitely hadn’t been a ruse. That explosion was the real deal. The wall of glass shattered, and both the shards and the pieces of the truck slammed through what was left of the front of the office building.

  Blue was instantly punched and pelted, but he forced himself to stay put. For several moments, anyway. Once he thought it might be the end of the flying debris, he got Rayanne moving into the hall so he could put some distance between her and anything else that might be about to come their way.

  “That man could be coming,” she said, her voice as shaky as the rest of her.

  Yeah, and that was why he had to get her to safety.

  Blue moved them up the hall to one of the offices, and he shoved Rayanne inside. She tried to pull him inside the room with her, but he stayed put.

  And he took ai
m in case the killer was right on the heels of that explosion.

  Still no sign of the delivery man, but it was chaos out there now. People shouting. Sirens blaring. Blue caught glimpses of people scattering to get away from those flames and a possible second explosion. Not that there’d been any indication of two bombs, but he wouldn’t put it past the person who had orchestrated all of this.

  Rayanne’s phone rang again, and a moment later he heard her answer, “Cooper, we’re okay. We’re still in the newspaper office.” She paused, punched the end-call button. “He says to wait here, that he’s on the way.”

  Waiting sucked, but Blue knew it could have been a lot worse. If someone hadn’t phoned in that bomb threat, then Rayanne and he would have been inside the truck when it turned into a fireball.

  But who’d made that call to warn him?

  Since the bomb hadn’t been a hoax, maybe that meant someone close to the attacker didn’t agree with this plan to kill Rayanne and him. Or maybe the explosion was meant for another reason. Perhaps just to torment and scare them.

  If so, it’d worked.

  Blue was scared, not for himself but for the hardheaded woman crouched next to him. Rayanne wasn’t the backing-down sort, and she would try to go after this goon and get hurt. Or worse.

  That took him right back to the theory that someone could be doing this to force Rayanne and him into what could end up being a failed attempt at some vigilante justice. Still, that didn’t tell Blue who would do this or why.

  “You’re sure that Stetson and vest are lucky?” she grumbled.

  Blue nearly laughed, nearly. Rayanne probably hadn’t asked that to ease the tension, but it did just a little.

  “We’re still alive,” he reminded her.

  “Yeah, but if one more bad thing happens to us, I’m stripping them off you.”

  Again, she’d eased the tension, and embarrassed herself a little when she no doubt realized how that sounded. Blue could have dug himself a really big hole if he’d invited her to strip off his clothes anytime, anywhere. And that was an invitation he really wouldn’t mind extending to her.

  Rayanne’s phone rang again, and this time she put it on speaker. “Colt’s at the back door of the newspaper office,” Cooper said. “He’s got a truck that I want you and Blue to use to get to the ranch. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be in the middle of this.”

  Blue agreed, but his ATF training kicked in. “You might need help catching whoever did this.”

  “Yeah, but the best help you can give me now is to get my sister out of there.”

  Rayanne made a small sound. Not quite a huff but close enough. Probably because she was still at odds with Cooper and didn’t appreciate him calling her sister. Or maybe she just didn’t like being treated like a pregnant woman instead of a deputy sheriff.

  Tough.

  She was pregnant.

  “I’ll get her home,” Blue assured Cooper. “Colt’s cleared that back area?”

  “As best he could. Just be careful.”

  Oh, Blue would.

  They raced toward the back door, and the moment Blue eased it open and looked outside, he spotted Colt. The deputy had his gun ready, and he handed Blue the keys.

  “The ranch hands know you’re coming,” Colt assured him. “They’ll help you secure the place.”

  It wasn’t as good as having armed, nonpregnant peace officers, but at least the ranch hands would be armed. Blue got her inside the truck, and he headed out.

  He didn’t have to remind Rayanne to keep watch. She did. She also kept her left hand positioned over her stomach. Not that he needed it, but it was yet another reminder of just how high the stakes were.

  Thankfully, there weren’t a lot of cars on the road leading out of town, and no one followed when he took the turn toward the ranch.

  “I’m calling Seth,” Rayanne said, still keeping watch. “I want him to make sure your boss gets that recording. The last thing we need right now is for him to arrest you.”

  She was right, but it surprised him that she’d remember to do something like this on the heels of the explosion.

  “Gandy gave us a surveillance flash drive that clears Blue,” Rayanne said when her brother answered. “I know you and Cooper can’t stand the sight of each other, but you need to pick up the flash drive from the sheriff’s office and get it to Agent Caleb Wiggs. We gave it to Cooper, but clearly he’s got enough on his hands right now.”

  “Good day to you, too,” Seth grumbled. “Are you all right?”

  “What do you think? Someone just blew up my truck.”

  “I heard, and I’m repeating my question—are you all right?”

  “I’ve been better,” Rayanne said on a weary sigh. “Just please get the flash drive to Blue’s boss.”

  “That explosion’s given you a one-track mind, sis. Okay, I’ll get the flash drive from Cooper—you’ll owe me big-time for that—and I’ll personally deliver it to Caleb Wiggs. In return, I want a favor from Blue.”

  “I’m listening,” Blue said.

  “Take care of my sister.”

  The look she shot Blue let him know that she wasn’t happy about needing a babysitter, but then the look softened, and a sigh left her mouth. Maybe she’d resigned herself to the fact that Blue was going to be around a lot longer than she’d wanted him to be.

  Blue thanked Seth, ended the call and took the final turn to the ranch. There were no vehicles on the road, but there was a black truck parked at the end of the cattle gate.

  “What the heck?” Rayanne mumbled, moving to the edge of the seat.

  Blue wanted to know the same thing.

  There was a man and a woman standing outside the truck, and they darn sure weren’t alone. There were four ranch hands standing between the couple and the road, and each hand had a gun pointed at their visitors.

  Blue slowed to a crawl, but he got close enough to get a better look at the man. At first he thought it was Gandy making a return visit.

  But it wasn’t Gandy.

  This man had his arms folded over his chest, clearly waiting.

  “Is that who I think it is?” Blue asked.

  “Yes.” Rayanne pulled in a hard breath. “It’s Wendell Braddock.”

  Chapter Nine

  Even on a good day, Rayanne wouldn’t have offered Wendell a friendly greeting, and today certainly didn’t qualify as good. Well, other than the fact that Blue and she had managed to survive yet another attack and were still alive, but the sound of that blast was too fresh in her ears to play nice with a man who might want her dead.

  Might.

  Of course, Gandy could have made it look as if Wendell was the bad guy. Gandy had certainly had enough practice doing bad-guy stuff. It didn’t mean Rayanne intended to trust Wendell or any other member of the Braddock clan.

  “I’ll handle this,” Blue insisted. “Wait here.” He brought the truck to a stop and would have bolted out if Rayanne hadn’t taken him by the wrist.

  She was about to tell him that he was in no shape to battle anyone. However, she had to reassess that when she studied his face. Blue probably was still in pain and weak from the surgery, but he sure didn’t look it.

  “You look mad enough to rip off Wendell’s head,” she warned him. “If he’s behind these attacks, I wouldn’t mind you doing that, but if he’s not, it’ll be hard for him to give us any answers if you beat him senseless.”

  Blue didn’t jump to agree with her. He sat there for a moment, obviously trying to rein in his temper. The sound of the explosion was no doubt too fresh in his head, as well.

  He finally nodded, got out and then shot her a scowl when she followed him. Rayanne slid across the seat and got out on the driver’s side so that she’d be next to Blue.

  “A little bird told me about the trouble you’ve been having lately,” Wendell greeted. He looked and sounded about as friendly to them as Rayanne felt about him. “Also heard that you might be looking to pin that trouble on me.�
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  “I’d love to do that,” Rayanne greeted right back. “Why? Are you here to confess?”

  “He most certainly is not,” the woman next to him said. “What he should do is go home and let his lawyers deal with this.”

  Wendell smiled, not exactly in a happy way but more like a man who was trying to placate the woman. “This is my assistant, Ruby-Lee Evans.”

  “I’m his nurse,” she crisply corrected. “And I’m his friend. He had a bad spell with his heart just last week and he’s not thinking straight. He shouldn’t be putting himself through this kind of stress.”

  Rayanne didn’t know the dynamics of what was going on here, but Wendell was a widower, so it was possible Ruby-Lee was more than just an assistant, nurse and friend.

  “I’m not gonna last much longer,” Wendell added, his gaze shifting back to Rayanne. “But it’d better be long enough for me to see your murdering mother get what she deserves. And what she deserves is a needle in her arm.”

  Rayanne had expected that attitude. Heck, half the town felt the same way. But it cut her to the core that her mother could actually be convicted and given the death penalty for a crime that Rayanne was certain she hadn’t committed. Of course, the Braddocks were equally certain that she had.

  “Is that what the attacks on Rayanne are about?” Blue asked. “You’re trying to give Jewell McKinnon what you think she deserves?”

  For several moments, Wendell didn’t say or do anything, but then he shook his head. “I’d love nothing more than to see that witch Jewell suffer by losing a kid or two. Then she’d know what it was like for me to lose Whitt. But, no, I didn’t put a hit on Rayanne.”

  “You’re sure about that?” Rayanne pressed. “Because a little bird told me that you’d met with the very man who tried to kill Blue and me. That same little bird said there was proof—a photograph.”

  “I meet with a lot of people,” Wendell answered. “But I don’t meet with hired killers. I don’t have so much as a parking ticket, much less contact with felons.”