One Night Standoff

by Delores Fossen

  The shock paralyzed her for several moments, but then she hurried to Clayton to make sure he was okay. But the look on his face let her know that he wasn’t.

  “You’re hurt,” Lenora said.

  Clayton frantically shook his head. “No. But you are.”

  Lenora had no idea what he meant, but then she looked down and saw the blood on the front of her shirt.

  Oh, God.

  Maybe it was the blood or something else, but Lenora suddenly felt woozy. The room started to spin, and she could barely make out Clayton’s face.

  However, she heard his voice.

  “I’m getting you to the hospital now.” He scooped her up in his arms and started running.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “She’ll be okay,” Clayton heard his brother Wyatt say to him.

  Wyatt wasn’t the first family member to try to reassure him that Lenora would get through this. So had Harlan and Declan, who were now on the phone trying to get an update on the investigation wrap-up. Kirby, too, had tried to give Clayton some reassurance before the medics had taken him up the hall of the Maverick Springs Hospital to be checked out.

  Even though Kirby had arrived in an ambulance, he thankfully didn’t appear to have any serious injuries. Ditto for Clayton’s brothers and Stella. No injuries.

  But Lenora was a different matter.

  She’d been in the examination room with Dr. Landry for what seemed an eternity now, but after checking the time, Clayton realized it had been less than a half hour.

  Clayton would have gone in with them, but the doctor had said she needed to give Lenora a thorough exam. Yeah, Lenora and he had been intimate, twice, but he doubted Lenora would want him in there for that. And that meant he had to wait while everything inside was yelling for him to make sure she was all right.

  He didn’t know how bad her injuries were, but there’d been blood, so Lenora had likely been shot. That meant both the baby and she could still be in danger.

  How the hell could he have let this happen to her?

  She’d put her safety in his hands, and he’d failed her in the worst kind of way.

  Clayton cursed Quentin, and even though the man was dead, it didn’t lessen his anger. Quentin’s jealousy and need for revenge had caused four of his hired guns to be killed, it’d put Clayton’s entire family at risk and it would give him enough nightmares to last a lifetime. He’d never forget seeing that blood on Lenora’s shirt and the terrified look in her eyes when they’d come under attack.

  Declan finished the phone call he was making, and all of them turned toward him to hear what, if anything, he’d learned.

  “That was Agent James Britt.” Declan kept his attention nailed to Clayton. “They found the recording at Lomax’s sister’s house. Just where Lomax said it would be. It confirms that Quentin did indeed hire the gunmen to come after you and Lenora.”

  Well, that tied up everything in a neat little package. Maybe. “Any signs that James had anything to do with this?”

  Declan shook his head. “But he just rattled on about how sorry he was that Lenora nearly got killed. I don’t think he’s dirty, but I think he knows he did a lousy job with the way he handled things, including the time when she worked for him as a CI.”

  A lousy job was right, but Clayton would take that over a dirty agent, and it was looking as if James was no longer a suspect in any of this. Later, when he saw the agent, he would apologize for suspecting him. And that brought him to the next question.

  “Any chance that Melvin had a part in Quentin’s plan?” he asked Declan.

  “Sorry, but no. I was looking forward to arresting him for something, but looks like we’ll have to wait. There’s no proof whatsoever that Quentin or Riggs hired Melvin to do anything wrong.”

  Yeah. But Clayton didn’t know how hard he’d be looking into Melvin’s dirty dealings. If Lenora made it through this and both she and the baby were okay, then Clayton wanted to focus on them and not the man who’d been part of his past. Strange that it had taken something like nearly losing Lenora to put things in perspective.

  Clayton again looked at the door to the room where she was being examined, and again he considered going in there. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could wait to learn how she was doing. And even though this conversation about the wrap-up of the investigation was important, nothing was more important than Lenora.

  “That brings us to Riggs,” Harlan added. He, too, had finished a phone call just shortly before Declan’s. “The FBI and the sheriff aren’t finding anything to link Riggs to this, but the justice department used this latest incident to prove to a federal judge just how dangerous Riggs could be, even behind bars. So they finally got approval to freeze all of Riggs’s assets. That should stop him if he decides to hire someone to deter Lenora and you from testifying.”

  Yet more good news. They wouldn’t have to spend the next few months looking over their shoulders. But it wasn’t the good news that Clayton needed to hear.

  He whirled around when he heard the footsteps headed toward the waiting room, but it wasn’t Dr. Landry. It was another doctor, Tony Reardon, who was new to Maverick Springs.

  “You’re Kirby’s son?” he asked, pinning his gaze to Clayton.

  “We all are.” Clayton motioned to Dallas, Wyatt, Slade, Declan and Harlan. “How is he? And Stella?”

  “They’re both fine,” the doctor answered. “Stella got a bump on her head when she fell after being hit with the stun gun.”

  Clayton looked back at Wyatt, who confirmed that with a nod. “Kirby was in bed, so he didn’t hit the floor.”

  The doctor frowned and looked up at the bruises on Wyatt’s cheek and forehead. “Is that what happened to you?”

  “I’m okay,” Wyatt insisted, not answering the question, but he’d already told Clayton that the two gunmen had bashed their way through Kirby’s bedroom window and first grabbed Stella to use her as a human shield. They’d hit Wyatt with a projectile stun gun, then they’d hit Kirby and Stella. They hadn’t even had a chance to fight back.

  The doctor made a sound to indicate he didn’t agree with Wyatt’s I’m okay remark, and he looked at the chart that he was holding. “Stella can go home, but I want to keep Kirby for the night.”

  That didn’t help steady Clayton’s nerves.

  “I thought you said he was all right,” Harlan immediately protested.

  “He is, but because of his existing condition, I want to keep an eye on him. He’s hooked up to an IV right now, and I’d like to get more fluids in him.”

  Kirby wasn’t going to like that, but in this case, Clayton was on the doctor’s side. Better safe than sorry, and heaven only knew what the stress had done to Kirby’s already-weak body.

  “What about Lenora?” Clayton asked. He knew Dr. Reardon hadn’t examined her, but he was desperate for news.

  “She has the gunshot wound, right?” the doctor said looking at the chart again.

  That did it. Clayton was already operating on a short fuse, and just hearing gunshot wound was the last straw. He went to the door where Dr. Landry had taken Lenora and he knocked once. But he didn’t even wait for a response. He threw it open.

  And his heart went to his knees.

  Clayton had hoped to see Lenora sitting up, but the room was dusky dark, and she was lying down on the examining table. Her top was off, discarded onto the back of a chair, and Dr. Landry had a needle jammed into the top of Lenora’s shoulder.

  “I couldn’t wait,” he said, shutting the door behind him. “I had to know.”

  Lenora managed a smile and reached out her hand to him. It took him a moment to get his feet moving, because just looking at her pale face brought back all the memories of the attack.

  Of just how close he’d come to losing her.

  Clayton went to the examining bed and brushed a kiss on her mouth. It didn’t help soothe him, but Lenora made a soft sound of, well, something. Probably not pleasure. Relief maybe. And she tightened t
he grip she had on his hand.

  “I’m fine, really,” she tried to assure him, but words weren’t going to give him much reassurance. He had to see for himself that she was okay, and so far what he was seeing only confirmed that she had indeed been shot.

  “The bullet sliced through the top of her shoulder,” Dr. Landry explained. “Not much damage, just a flesh wound. She’s already stitched up, but I was just giving her a little extra local anesthesia for the pain.”

  “You’re in pain?” Another stupid thing to say. Of course she was. She’d been shot.

  Lenora shook her head. “I didn’t want to take any pain pills, so this will help when the numbness wears off. How are Kirby, Stella and Wyatt?”

  “Fine.” And he didn’t want to discuss them. Clayton wanted to talk about how she was doing. He watched the doctor put aside the needle and pick up another piece of equipment.

  “Is it okay if he stays for this?” the doctor asked Lenora.

  Lenora looked up at him, and for a moment he thought she was going to ask him to leave, but she just nodded. “Dr. Landry’s about to do an ultrasound.”

  He’d heard of them. Some kind of sonar imaging to see the baby. That didn’t help the nerves, either. God, was something wrong with the baby?

  “It’s just a precaution,” Lenora said, her voice a gentle whisper. “The baby’s moving just fine, and Dr. Landry says my injury wouldn’t have any impact on the pregnancy.”

  He wanted to believe that. Desperately wanted to. But with all the bad things that had happened in the past couple of months, he was having a hard time hanging on to hope.

  Dr. Landry helped Lenora put a scrub top on rather than her bloody shirt. Clayton didn’t ever want to see that shirt again.

  “Okay, let’s get a look at this kid,” Dr. Landry said. She pushed up the gray-green sheet that was covering Lenora. She was still wearing her jeans, but they’d been shoved down to her hips so that her belly was exposed. The doctor used a squeeze bottle to smear some goopy-looking stuff over Lenora’s stomach.

  Clayton figured in just a few seconds, they’d all be caught up in seeing the baby. And that was critical. He had to know that his child was okay. But there was something else critical, too, and while he would have preferred this conversation to be private, he didn’t want to delay it or the ultrasound.

  He leaned in closer to Lenora. “You said yes, that you’d marry me.”

  She blinked, no doubt surprised that he’d bring it up now. “I did.”

  Instant relief. Well, sort of. She remembered saying it, but Clayton wanted more. Much more. “Did you mean it?”

  She stared at him a moment while the doctor continued to get the machine ready for the ultrasound. “I meant it,” Lenora verified. “But not for the reasons you think.”

  Okay, there went any sense of relief. “You said it to distract Quentin.”

  Another blink, and Lenora frowned. “No. I said it because I’m in love with you, and that’s the reason I want to marry you.”

  Dr. Landry cleared her throat. “Uh, should I step out for a minute or two?”

  “No,” Lenora and Clayton said in unison. “Clayton and I can talk afterward. Go ahead and do the ultrasound.”

  But Clayton didn’t want to wait until afterward. Partly because Lenora had knocked the breath out of him with what she’d said. “You’re in love with me?”

  Lenora smiled and pulled him down for a kiss. “Don’t look so shocked. You’re a very lovable guy.”

  Clayton hoped like hell that she wasn’t toying with him, but he knew Lenora wasn’t the toying type. In fact, he knew a lot about her.

  “Good.” He returned the kiss. “Because I’m in love with you, too.”

  Now it was Lenora’s turn to look shocked. She made another sound, too—a breathy, happy sound that rushed right out of her mouth and against his when he kissed her again.

  “You love me?” she asked.

  “Hey, you’re a very lovable woman.” And because he couldn’t help himself, he continued the kiss.

  Until the doctor cleared her throat again. “I don’t mind doing stitches or ultrasounds, but I’d rather not witness celebratory foreplay. Besides, those kisses are making Lenora squirm, and I need her to stay still for this.”

  Clayton smiled at the thought of making Lenora squirm, but he did as the doctor asked. However, it was darn hard not to kiss Lenora with her nuzzling her face against his. The nuzzling continued until the images popped up on the screen.

  His breath stalled in his lungs.

  It didn’t look like a baby. More like some alien creature. He hadn’t expected seeing those fuzzy images would pack such a wallop.

  “Oh, man,” Clayton mumbled, and he had no choice but to lean against the bed. He thought his legs might buckle at any second.

  “Yes,” Lenora whispered and clutched his hand again.

  He had no doubt that she knew exactly what he was feeling. The love. The joy. The terror. Yeah, that, too. It suddenly seemed like such a huge weight to be responsible for that little life, but then Clayton felt no weight at all. Just the miracle of seeing his baby.

  “Lots of movement,” the doctor said, her attention on the screen.

  “That’s good?” Clayton asked once he could get his mouth to form words.

  “Very good. Everything looks great. Fingers, toes, heartbeat...” But Dr. Landry’s explanation ground to a halt, and she glanced back at them. “You want to know the sex of the baby?”

  Clayton looked at Lenora to see how she felt about that, but she only shrugged. He was still debating it when he looked at the screen again and saw what had caught the doctor’s eye. Even though the image was alien-like, Clayton had no trouble seeing that.

  “Sorry, sometimes it’s hard to conceal the sex,” the doctor explained.

  Apparently, Lenora saw it, too. “It’s a boy,” she mumbled. Her breath caught in her throat.

  Clayton’s breath caught, as well.

  A son.

  He would have been happy with either, but now that he knew they were having a boy, it was easier to see him. Not just as a baby, but growing up, too. He could be the father to this child that Kirby had been to him.

  And better.

  Because his son would have a better start to life than either of them had had.

  “You’ll change diapers?” Lenora asked, her joke cutting through the silence.

  “Definitely.” He’d walk through fire for both of them, and he let her know that with another kiss. And Clayton didn’t care if this one was too hot and too long for the doctor to witness. Everything around him disappeared except for Lenora and their son.

  “Good thing Lenora’s already pregnant,” the doctor mumbled, “or else she’d soon be that way.”

  That caused Lenora and Clayton to laugh. They had to break the kiss, temporarily, but they stayed wound around each other.

  “I’m very happy,” Lenora whispered against his mouth. “And in love with you.”

  “I’m very happy,” Clayton repeated. “And in love with you, too.”

  “All right,” the doctor said, putting aside the ultrasound device. She wiped the goop off Lenora’s stomach and helped her pull her jeans back up. “This is getting a little too private for my ears. You can go ahead and take Lenora home—and to bed. But congrats. Sounds as if you two will be married before this little fella makes his way into the world.”

  Oh, yeah.

  If Clayton had anything to say about it, they’d be married tomorrow. He didn’t want to wait another minute to start his life with Lenora. Clayton scooped her up in his arms and started for home.

  * * * * *

  The Marshals of Maverick County continues

  next month! Look for OUTLAW LAWMAN

  by USA Today bestselling author Delores Fossen

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  Chapter One

  “This special news report just in—an amber alert has been issued for six-year-old Hank Forte. Hank was last seen at the county fair in Amarillo.”

  Brody Bloodworth’s heart clenched as a photo of the boy appeared on screen. The little boy had blond hair, was wearing a black T-shirt, jeans and cowboy boots. He could be one of the kids on the BBL, the Bucking Bronc Lodge he had started for needy children.

  But he reminded him more of his own little brother, Will, and launched him back seven years ago to the day Will had gone missing.

  Not from a county fair but from the rodeo where he was supposed to be watching him.

  Self-loathing and guilt suffused him, once again robbing his lungs of air. He understood what the family of that little boy was going through now. The panic. The fear.

  The guilt.

  If only they’d kept a better eye on him. If only they hadn’t turned their head for a minute.

  What was happening to him? Had he just wandered off? Would they find him hiding out or playing somewhere at the fair? Maybe he had fallen asleep in a stall housing one of the animals...

  Or had someone taken him? Maybe a desperate woman who’d lost a child and was out of her mind? A child predator who’d do God knows what?

  A killer?

  The reporter turned the microphone to Hank’s parents, a couple who were huddled together, teary-eyed and frightened. A second later, they began to plead for their son’s return, and the mother broke down into sobs.