Her Colton Lawman

by Carla Cassidy

  Her heart pounded so hard she was afraid she would be physically ill, but she had to stay strong. She had to save Billy. If she managed to save herself, all the better, but right now her sole focus was getting Billy to safety.

  “You know if you let him go, I can get Chief of Police Colton to get you out of town,” she said. “He knows the CDC guards, and he can get one of them to let you slip by. You could be out of the entire state by tomorrow.”

  His eyes narrowed and glittered from the mask’s eye holes in the beam of her flashlight as if he was contemplating her words. “All I have to do is make a phone call,” she pressed, “and I swear you can leave this town forever.”

  “There’s only one little problem with that. First of all, I don’t believe you and secondly, you’re a problem for me whether I leave town or not. No matter where I go, I’m a murderer, and you’re the witness that can put me behind bars in any state in the country.”

  Nina took a step closer and saw the terror in Billy’s eyes as he whimpered. “Then let him go and take me,” she said. She took another step closer, her heart beating frantically.

  There had to be a way not to just save Billy, but to save herself, as well. She just wasn’t sure what it was at the moment. She only knew this standoff had to end with Billy getting away.

  “What are you waiting for? Let him go. I’m the one you want, and I’m right here in front of you.”

  She saw his fingers loosen their grip on Billy’s jacket and knew she only had one chance to take action. “Run, Billy,” she cried as she threw the handful of rocks at his captor’s face.

  The rocks hit him hard in the face, and he cried out as Billy shot away from him. “Come on, baby,” she said to Billy, and when he was in front of her, she turned to run, as well.

  She only managed to take several steps before the man grabbed her by the ankle, tripping her to her hands and knees. “Keep running, Billy,” she cried as she kicked backward in an effort to get free.

  “Just keep running and don’t look back.” Hopefully, he would run into one of the search team or one of Flint’s men, and he would be taken to Grace.

  Screaming like a banshee, she used her free leg to kick backward again and again, finally rewarded with a grunt and the release of her trapped ankle.

  She scrabbled forward and finally made it to her feet. Although she tried to run as fast as possible, she felt his hot breath on the back of her neck, smelled the scent of his sour sweat and knew in desperation that she was not going to be able to outrun him.

  She screamed again as he grabbed her by the shoulders and once again pulled her down, this time turning her over and straddling her.

  She slammed her flashlight as hard as she could into the side of his face, but he instantly wrangled it out of her hand and tossed it aside.

  Bucking and kicking in an effort to get free, she also screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping somebody, anyone, would hear her cries and come to help her.

  The screams were cut short as he wrapped his big hands around her throat and began to squeeze. She gurgled for air and it was at that moment that Nina knew she was going to die.

  As the breath was slowly squeezed out of her, myriad thoughts flew through her mind with near impossible speed. She took comfort in knowing that Billy was safe and would be reunited with his mother, and that Grace would do everything in her power to make sure he eventually forgot his horrible time in the woods.

  Her heart ached as she thought of Flint, who she knew would embrace her death as yet another failure despite the fact that she’d chosen to be out here knowing full well what the end result might be.

  She hated that he would carry the burden of her death along with Madelaine’s in Cheyenne. Neither were his fault, but he was the kind of man who would shoulder the guilt.

  Finally, she wished she had made love to Flint one more time. She should have never denied herself or him that pleasure. At this point, what difference would it have made if they’d made love once or twice?

  She tried to pull Hank’s hands from her throat, but as he squeezed tighter she didn’t have the energy to begin to break his grasp.

  Tears weeped from her eyes and when they fluttered closed she was grateful. She didn’t want the last vision she had on this earth to be of the man who killed her. Instead a vision of Flint filled her head, bringing with it a sense of peace and love.

  A guttural roar came from someplace nearby and a dark figure flew out of the woods and suddenly, Nina was free as Bittard was knocked off the top of her.

  She coughed and choked as precious air filled her lungs and then crawled to where her flashlight had been thrown. Grabbing it she focused the beam on the two men who were grappling on the ground.

  Flint. She’d never seen him look so savage as he fought to gain control of Bittard. They wrestled on the ground, rolling back and forth as each tried to take control of the other.

  She shone her light directly in Bittard’s eyes, and that gave the advantage that Flint needed. He got to his feet and pulled his gun.

  “Put your hands in the air and turn around,” he commanded. As he handcuffed the perp, he glanced at Nina. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine.” She reached up and rubbed her throat. “I’m fine now.”

  Patrick Carter came rushing through the darkness, his gun in one hand and a flashlight in the other. “Everyone okay?”

  “Everyone is fine,” Flint replied and yanked the ski mask off. He frowned as Patrick’s light played on his prisoner’s face. “This isn’t Hank Bittard.”

  Nina looked at him in stunned surprise. “Then who is he?” she asked.

  “His name is Brett Logan,” Patrick said. “He’s a regular down at the Dead River Bar where Jolene used to hang out with Hank and a group of other lowlifes.”

  “Jolene was nothing but a piece of trash, a two-timing bitch,” Brett spat. “I paid the rent on that house for her and bought her food and clothes and then she had a revolving door of men coming in and out when I was busting my ass at work to pay her bills. She got what she deserved, and I’m not sorry about what I did to her.”

  Nina’s head was reeling. There was no question that Brett shared common physical features with Hank. They both were tall with a muscular build. They both had dark hair and eyes and similar facial features, and apparently, they both were cold-blooded killers.

  “Patrick, you want to do the honors and take the prisoner in?” Flint asked.

  “It would be my pleasure,” Patrick replied.

  “And call off the search. We’re done for the night,” Flint added.

  He walked over and pulled Nina into his arms. She went willingly, unaware until this moment that despite her coat she was icy cold. She huddled against him as he held her fiercely tight.

  “I should lock you up for coming out here alone,” he murmured gruffly into her ear.

  “I couldn’t stay away, especially when I found out it was Billy who had been taken off the bus. Is he okay? Did somebody find him?” she asked worriedly.

  “He ran into one of the search team members and was being taken back to the bus and Grace.” He held her even tighter. “God, woman, you never fail to amaze me. I think if I’d been a minute later you would have been dead, and yet your first thought is for Billy’s welfare.”

  “He’s my little buddy,” she replied.

  He released her and took her by the hand. “And we need to get back to the bus. Grace and Billy will be frantic about your safety.”

  Nina’s flashlight led the way through the darkness. “I can’t believe that all this time we thought it was Hank who had killed Jolene,” she said.

  “It was a scenario that made sense,” he replied. “And I can understand the misidentification. Hank and Brett look a lot alike, and knowing that Jolene was a witness to Hank murdering his boss, it just see
med right that Hank was the perp.”

  “I wish it had been Hank, then you’d have him in custody and one of your worries would be gone.”

  “Trust me, right now I’m still trying to process seeing Brett on top of you with his hands around your throat.” He squeezed her hand. “At least the worry of your safety is finally gone.”

  “How did you find me?” she asked.

  “I heard your screams, and when you stopped screaming, I swear my heart stopped beating.” He choked with obvious emotion on the last words, and his hand squeezed tight around hers once again.

  “But all’s well that ends well. At least you got the threat against me in custody, and I don’t have to worry about being on Hank’s radar. I doubt if Hank even knows who I am.”

  Bright lights ahead radiated on the yellow bus, and Nina dropped Flint’s hand and ran toward where Grace sat on the ground with Billy in her arms.

  “Nina,” Billy cried and jumped up to run to her. Nina knelt down and caught him and wrapped her arms around him as Grace joined them. The three of them hugged and cried together for several moments.

  “Billy, you know I didn’t mean those things I said about you being a sniffling brat,” Nina said as she knelt down in front of him.

  “I know, you just had to say that stuff to get me away from him. You saved me,” Billy said, his arms wrapped tight around her shoulders. “You were so brave, and you saved my life.”

  “Actually, I wasn’t so brave. I was totally scared,” Nina confessed and stood.

  “I’ll never know how to thank you for what you did,” Grace said, grateful tears chasing down her cheeks. “Billy told me all about it. You’re my hero forever.”

  “I’m definitely no hero, and you don’t have to thank me,” Nina replied. “I’m just glad it’s all over.”

  It was at that moment she realized it truly was over. With Brett’s arrest, the danger to her was gone. She no longer needed to be in protective custody. She was free to move on with her life with no fear.

  She looked over to where Flint stood with several of his other officers. With everything that had happened, he’d be tied up here for hours.

  She turned to Grace. “Would you mind dropping me off at Flint’s?”

  “Not at all,” Grace replied.

  Nina walked over to Flint and touched his arm to get his attention. “I’m exhausted, and I know you have things to attend to here. I’m going to have Grace take me to your house if that’s all right.”

  “Of course it’s all right.” He dug a set of keys from his pocket and removed one. “This is to the front door.” He handed her the key. “And you can rest assured that you’re safe now whether I’m there or not.”

  “That will be a novel feeling,” she replied. “I’ll see you later or if I’m asleep when you get home, I’ll see you in the morning.”

  He nodded, and she turned to walk back to where Grace and Billy awaited her. As she walked she couldn’t help but wonder if Flint understood that this was the beginning of their goodbye.

  Chapter 15

  It was almost three when Flint finally got home, weary to his very bones. Instead of bunking on the sofa, he headed for the master suite. As he passed Nina’s doorway, her scent of peaches and vanilla drifted out to him and twisted his heart as he thought of that moment when he’d seen her on the ground being strangled by Brett.

  His heart had momentarily stopped before he sprang into action. There was no question that he’d been disappointed that the man he had in custody wasn’t Hank Bittard, but he was grateful that the threat to Nina had finally been neutralized.

  Of course, it was a double-edged sword. She was free now, free to decide what was next for her without needing him for her protection. What he hoped was that she’d stay with him, that she could believe that she was the special woman to share his life, and that he was the man she wanted for the rest of her life.

  Over the next couple of days they’d sort out their personal relationship, he thought as he grabbed a pair of clean boxers and headed into the bathroom for a long, hot shower.

  He kept his mind blessedly blank as the scent of the woods washed away and was replaced by the fragrance of his minty soap. Hot water pummeled tense muscles until they began to relax, and the adrenaline that had driven him from the moment he’d gotten the news about the hijacked school bus finally began to ebb away.

  He got out of the shower, dried off and pulled on his boxers and then opened the door to the bedroom, stunned to see one of his bedside lamps on and Nina in his bed.

  He froze in the bathroom doorway. “What are you doing in here?”

  She held the sheet up in front of her, but her bare shoulders let him know she was naked. “I’ve been living here all this time, and I’d never seen your bedroom,” she replied.

  “And what do you think?” he asked as any weariness he’d carried into the house disappeared.

  She looked around the room. “I like it. The heavy dark wood is masculine yet welcoming, and the blue and black bedspread is lovely. The sheets smell like you.” She looked back at him.

  “What are you doing, Nina?” It hadn’t been that long ago that they’d nearly made love on the sofa and she had stopped things before they could progress.

  While he knew what he wanted at this moment was to crawl beneath the sheets and make love to her, he wasn’t really sure if Nina knew what she wanted.

  It was after three in the morning, and it had been a traumatic evening and night for both of them. Even now in the dimness of the room, he could see the darkened bruises around her neck. Was this really the time and place for her to be making this kind of decision?

  “I thought you were asleep when I came in,” he said.

  “I’ve just been dozing off and on since Grace brought me home,” she replied.

  “Nina, you’re giving me mixed messages. It was a no-go a week ago, and now you’re in my bed,” he said with a hint of frustration.

  “Can’t you get into bed and hold me and make love to me and there be no message?” she asked. When he didn’t immediately reply, she released a deep, long sigh. “Flint, I’ve never known such fear as I did tonight, and when I got here all I could think about was having you hold me, having you warm all the cold places that invaded me in those woods.”

  The fact that she was naked in his bed stirred him on one level, but her words stirred him on a completely different one. His heart twisted as he thought of her fear, of how very close she’d come to death. The evidence of that fact rode her throat in a necklace of bruises.

  “I’ve always told you whatever you need, whenever you need it, I’m here for you,” he said. And with those words he got into bed with her.

  He barely got beneath the sheets before she was in his arms. He’d spent the entire night assuring parents that things were under control and seeing to it that Alma was finally transported to the clinic.

  As Nina shivered in his arms, he realized he’d calmed and taken care of everyone except her. She’d nearly been choked to death and then had come here alone to deal with the emotional aftermath.

  Eventually, he’d need to get an official statement from her about what happened between her and Brett before Flint had arrived on the scene, but there would be time for that tomorrow.

  Right now his sole job was to hold her until she warmed, hold her as closely, as tightly as she wanted all night long if that’s what she needed from him.

  She didn’t speak, nor did he. Their only communication was the sound of their heartbeats mirroring each other. If he could make a wish, it would be that he could have her this close to him every night for the rest of his life.

  He thought she’d fallen asleep when she finally spoke. “When Brett was on top of me and strangling me, I had only two thoughts in my mind.”

  “And what were
they?” he asked as he caressed one hand up and down her bare back in a soothing motion.

  “The first thought I had was that I was so grateful that Billy had gotten away and was safe.” Her voice was a soft whisper in the crook of his neck. “And the second thing I thought was that I was sorry we hadn’t made love another time. I thought I was going to die with that regret.”

  Her words made his hand pause in its stroking of her back. There was no question that her words inspired a burst of heat to fire through him, even though his goal had been merely to soothe her.

  He had no idea what her intention was concerning any future for them together. He had no idea of her feelings for him, although her actions and her gazes appeared filled with love to him.

  “Anything you need, Nina,” he repeated.

  She nuzzled his throat with her lips and then shifted positions so that their mouths met in a gentle, tender kiss that set the mood for their lovemaking.

  There was no frenzied, lustful energy, no frantic grope and grab. They moved together silently, lovingly, and when they were finished, she almost immediately fell asleep in his arms.

  He remained awake long after, with the scent of her clinging to his skin and the warmth of her cuddled against him. He hadn’t told her he loved her. His love had burned in his heart, and he’d tried to show her in every way possible, but he hadn’t actually spoken the words aloud to her.

  Would that change her mind about her own future? Would she trust in his love enough to realize she was the woman he wanted to build a family with, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with?

  More important, did she love him enough to realize that he was the man to change her mind about her solitary path through life?

  She’d had enough love in her heart to put her life on the line for Billy. Did she have enough love in her heart for Flint to bind her life with his?

  He fell asleep without an answer.

  He awakened to the scent of fresh coffee and something cinnamon, indicating to him that Nina was already up and working in the kitchen.