Guilty until proven innocent?
This deputy isn’t taking chances
When his father is shot, Deputy Court McCall initially suspects Rayna Travers. Her mysterious past raises questions, even if his attraction to her is impossible to contain. Before long, though, he discovers Rayna is an innocent pawn in a very dangerous game. Now, to catch a killer, this cowboy will go wherever the case takes him. Even if that includes ignoring the truth in his hardened Texas heart.
The Lawmen of McCall Canyon
“I know this isn’t comfortable for you...”
Rayna’s voice was a hoarse whisper now. “It’s okay if you put me in someone else’s protective custody.”
It wasn’t okay. Court refused to let their past play into this. “I’ll do my job,” he said but hated that it came out rough and edged with too much emotion. “Or rather, I’ll do my job better than I have so far. I nearly let you get killed.”
“You nearly got yourself killed protecting me,” she corrected. “I don’t want anything happening to you because of me.” She looked him in the eyes as she spoke.
That riled him. And gave him an unwanted jolt of memories. Memories of what used to be between them. Memories of Rayna.
Then her expression changed, and he saw something more than the feigned strength in her eyes.
Hell.
Rayna had almost certainly gotten a jolt of those memories, too.
Court didn’t move. Neither did she. That wasn’t good.
Because he was thinking about doing something like kissing her.
COWBOY
ABOVE THE LAW
USA TODAY Bestselling Author
Delores Fossen
Delores Fossen, a USA TODAY bestselling author, has sold over fifty novels, with millions of copies of her books in print worldwide. She’s received a Booksellers’ Best Award and an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award. She was also a finalist for a prestigious RITA® Award. You can contact the author through her website at www.deloresfossen.com.
Books by Delores Fossen
Harlequin Intrigue
The Lawmen of McCall Canyon
Cowboy Above the Law
Blue River Ranch
Always a Lawman
Gunfire on the Ranch
Lawman from Her Past
Roughshod Justice
The Lawmen of Silver Creek Ranch
Grayson
Dade
Nate
Kade
Gage
Mason
Josh
Sawyer
Landon
Holden
HQN Books
A Wrangler’s Creek Novel
Lone Star Cowboy (ebook novella)
Those Texas Nights
One Good Cowboy (ebook novella)
No Getting Over a Cowboy
Just Like a Cowboy (ebook novella)
Branded as Trouble
Cowboy Dreaming (ebook novella)
Texas-Sized Trouble
Cowboy Heartbreaker (ebook novella)
Lone Star Blues
Cowboy Blues (ebook novella)
The Last Rodeo
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com.
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CAST OF CHARACTERS
Deputy Court McCall—Court usually goes by the book when it comes to serving up justice, but he might have to bend the law to protect his old flame from a killer.
Rayna Travers—Three years ago she was accused of a crime that she didn’t commit. Now, to stop someone from murdering her, she must turn to Court, but just being with him also makes him a target.
Warren McCall—When this former sheriff’s secret life comes to light, it creates a dangerous situation that tears his family apart. Worse, someone’s now trying to kill him.
Helen McCall—Warren’s wife of forty years. She’s devastated by her husband’s secret and could be mentally unstable. But would she go so far as to commit a deadly crime?
Whitney Goble—Rayna’s best friend, but Whitney could have her own motives for getting rid of Rayna.
Bobby Joe Hawley—The local bad boy everyone thought was dead, but did he fake his own death so that his ex, Rayna, would be convicted of his murder?
Mitch Hawley—Bobby Joe’s hothead brother who might do anything to get back at Rayna since he still believes she killed Bobby Joe.
Alma Lawton—When her secret life with Warren is uncovered, she immediately becomes a suspect in the attacks on Warren and Rayna, but someone might be setting her up.
For devoted reader Betty Kincaid, who passed along her love of books to her children and grandchildren. Betty, you’ll be missed.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Excerpt from Three Courageous Words by Elle James
Chapter One
Deputy Court McCall glanced down at the blood on his shirt. His father’s blood. Just the sight of it sliced away at him and made him feel as if someone had put a bullet in him, too.
Court hadn’t changed into clean clothes because he wanted Rayna Travers to see what she had done. He wanted to be right in her face when he told her that she’d failed.
Barely though.
His father, Warren, was still alive, hanging on by a thread, but Court refused to accept that he wouldn’t make it. No, his father would not only recover, but Warren would also help Court put Rayna behind bars. This time, she wasn’t going to get away with murder.
Court pulled to a stop in front of her house, a place not exactly on the beaten path. Of course, that applied to a lot of the homes in or near McCall Canyon. His ancestors had founded the town over a hundred years ago, and it had become exactly what they’d intended it to be—a ranching community.
What they almost certainly hadn’t counted on was having a would-be killer in their midst.
Court looked down at his hands. Steady. That was good. Because there was nothing steady inside him. The anger was bubbling up, and he had to make sure he reined in his temper enough to arrest Rayna. He wouldn’t resort to strong-arm tactics, but there was a high chance he would say something he shouldn’t.
Since Rayna’s car was in her driveway, it probably meant she was home. Good. He hadn’t wanted to go hunting for her. Still, it was somewhat of a surprise that she hadn’t gone on the run. Of course, she was probably going to say she was innocent, that she hadn’t had anything to do with the shot that’d slammed into his father’s chest. But simply put, she had a strong motive to kill a McCall.
And then there was the witness.
If Rayna tried to convince him she’d had no part in the shooting, then Court would let her know that someone had spotted her in the vicinity of the sheriff’s office just minutes before Warren had been gunned down. Then Court would follow through on he
r arrest.
He got out of his truck and started toward the porch of the small stone-front house, but Court made it only a few steps because his phone rang, and his brother’s name popped up on the screen.
Egan.
Egan wasn’t just his big brother though. He was also Court’s boss, since Egan was the sheriff of McCall Canyon. By now, Egan had probably figured out where Court was heading and wanted to make sure his deputy followed the book on this one.
He would.
Not cutting corners because he wanted Rayna behind bars.
Court ignored the call, and the ding of the voice mail that followed, and went up the steps to the front door. This wasn’t his first time here. Once, he’d made many trips to Rayna’s door—before she’d chosen another man over him. Once, he’d had feelings for her. He had feelings now, too, but they had nothing to do with the old attraction he’d once felt.
He steeled himself and put his hand over his firearm in case Rayna wasn’t finished with her shooting spree today.
“Open up,” Court said, knocking on the door. Of course, he knocked a lot louder than necessary, but he wanted to make sure she heard him.
If she did hear him, she darn sure didn’t answer. He knocked again, his anger rising even more, and Court finally tested the knob. Unlocked. So, he threw open the door.
And he found a gun pointed right in his face.
Rayna’s finger was on the trigger.
Court cursed and automatically drew his own weapon. Obviously, it was too late because she could have fired before he’d even had a chance to do that. She didn’t though. Maybe because Rayna felt she’d already fulfilled her quota of shooting McCalls today.
“Put down your gun,” he snarled.
“No.” Rayna shook her head, and that was when he noticed there was blood in her blond hair. Blood on the side of her face, too. Added to that, he could see bruises and cuts on her knuckles and wrists. “I’m not going to let you try to kill me again.”
“Again?” Court was certain he looked very confused. Because he was. “What the devil are you talking about? I came here to arrest you for shooting my father.”
If that news surprised her in the least, she didn’t show it. She didn’t lower her gun, either. Rayna stood there, glaring at him.
What the hell had happened here?
Court looked behind her to see if the person who’d given her those injuries was still around. There was no sign of anyone else, but the furniture in the living room had been tossed around. There was a broken lamp on the floor. More blood, too. All indications of a struggle.
“Start talking,” Court demanded, making sure he sounded like the lawman that he was.
“I will. When Egan gets here.”
Court cursed again. Egan definitely wasn’t going to approve of Court storming out here to see her, but his brother also couldn’t ignore the evidence that Rayna had shot their father. There was definitely something else going on though.
“My father’s alive,” Court told her. “You didn’t manage to kill him after all.”
She looked down at his shirt. At the blood. And Rayna glanced away as if the sight of it sickened her. Court took advantage of her glance and knocked the gun from her hand.
At least that was what he tried to do, but Rayna held on. She pushed him, and in the same motion, she turned to run. That was when Court tackled her. Her gun went flying, skittering all the way into the living room, and both Court and she landed hard on the floor.
Rayna groaned in pain. It wasn’t a soft groan, and while holding her side, she scrambled away from him. Court was about to dive at her again, but he saw yet more blood. This time on the side that she was holding.
That stopped him.
“What’s wrong with you? What happened?” Court snapped.
She looked around as if considering another run for it, but then her shoulders sagged as if she was surrendering.
Rayna sat up, putting her weight, and the back of her head, against the wall. She opened her mouth as if to start with that explanation, but she had to pause when her breath shuddered. She waved that off as if embarrassed by it and then hiked up her chin. It seemed to him as if she was trying to look strong.
She failed.
“When I came in from the barn about an hour ago, there was someone in my house,” Rayna said, her voice still a little unsteady. “I didn’t see who it was because he immediately clubbed me on the head and grabbed me from behind.” She winced again when she rubbed her left side. “I think he cracked my ribs when he hit me with something.”
Well, hell. Court certainly hadn’t expected any of this. And reminded himself that maybe it was all a lie, to cover up for the fact that she’d committed a crime. But those wounds weren’t lies. They were the real deal. That didn’t mean that they weren’t self-inflicted.
“I got away from him,” she continued a moment later. “After he hit me a few more times. And I pulled my gun, which I had in a slide holster in the back of my jeans. That’s when he left. I’m not sure where he went.”
That didn’t make sense. “If someone really broke in an hour ago, why didn’t you call the sheriff’s office right away?”
Rayna lifted her head a little and raised her eyebrow. For a simple gesture, it said loads. She didn’t trust the cops. Didn’t trust him.
Well, the feeling was mutual.
“I passed out for a while,” she added. She shook her head as if even she was confused by that, and she lifted the side of her shirt that had the blood. There was a bruise there, too, and what appeared to be a puncture wound. One that had likely caused the bleeding. “Or maybe the guy drugged me.”
“Great,” he muttered. This was getting more far-fetched with each passing moment. “FYI, I’m not buying this. And as for not calling the cops when you were attacked, you called Egan when you saw me,” Court pointed out.
“Because I didn’t want things to escalate to this.” She motioned to their positions on the floor. “Obviously, it didn’t work.”
He huffed. “And neither is this story you’re telling.” Court got to his feet and took out his phone. “Only a couple of minutes before my father was gunned down, a waitress in the diner across the street from the sheriff’s office spotted you in the parking lot. There’s no way you could have been here in your house during this so-called attack because you were in town.”
She quit wincing so she could glare at him. “I was here.” Her tone said I don’t care if you believe me or not.
He didn’t believe her. “You must have known my father had been shot because you didn’t react when I told you.”
“I did know. Whitney called me when I was walking back from the barn. I’d just gotten off the phone with her when that goon clubbed me.”
Whitney Goble, her best friend. And it was entirely possible that Whitney had either seen his father get shot or heard about it shortly thereafter because she worked part-time as a dispatcher for the sheriff’s office. It would be easy enough to check to see if Whitney had indeed called her, and using her cell phone records, they could possibly figure out Rayna’s location when she’d talked to her friend. Court was betting it hadn’t been on Rayna’s walk back from the barn. It had been while she was escaping from the scene of the shooting.
“This waitress claims she saw me shoot your father?” Rayna asked.
He hated that he couldn’t answer yes to that, but Court couldn’t. “She was in the kitchen when the actual shot was fired. But the bullet came from the park directly behind the sheriff’s office parking lot. The very parking lot where you were right before the attack.”
Judging from her repeated flat look, Rayna was about to deny that, so Court took out his phone and opened the photo. “The waitress took that picture of you.”
Court didn’t go closer to her with the phone, but Rayna stood. Not easily. She continued to c
lutch her side and blew out some short, rough breaths. However, she shook her head the moment her attention landed on the grainy shot of the woman in a red dress. A woman with hair the same color blond as Rayna’s.
“That’s not me,” she insisted. “I don’t have a dress that color. And besides, I wasn’t there.”
This was a very frustrating conversation, but thankfully he had more. He tapped the car that was just up the street from the woman in the photo. “That’s your car, your license plate.”
With her forehead bunched up, Rayna snatched the phone from him and had a closer look. “That’s not my car. I’ve been home all morning.” Her gaze flew to his, and now there was some venom in her eyes. “You’re trying to set me up.” She groaned and practically threw his phone at him. “Haven’t you McCalls already done enough to me without adding this?”
Court caught his phone, but he had to answer her through clenched teeth. “We haven’t done anything.”
She laughed, but there wasn’t a trace of humor in it. “Right. Remember Bobby Joe?” she spat out. “Or did you forget about him?”
Bobby Joe Hawley. No, Court hadn’t forgotten. Obviously, neither had Rayna.
“Three years ago, your father tried to pin Bobby Joe’s murder on me,” Rayna continued. “It didn’t work. A jury acquitted me.”
He couldn’t deny the acquittal. “Being found not guilty isn’t the same as being innocent.”
Something that ate away at him. Because the evidence had been there. Bobby Joe’s blood in Rayna’s house. Blood that she’d tried to clean up. There’d also been the knife found in her barn. It’d had Bobby Joe’s blood on it, too. What was missing were Rayna’s prints. Ditto for the body. They’d never found it, but Rayna could have hidden it along with wiping her prints from the murder weapon.
The jury hadn’t seen it that way though.
Possibly because they hadn’t been able to look past one other piece of evidence. Bobby Joe had assaulted Rayna on several occasions, both while they’d been together and after their breakup when she’d gotten a restraining order against him. In her mind, she probably thought that was justification to kill him. And equal justification to now go after Court’s father, who’d been sheriff at the time. Warren had been the one to press for Rayna’s arrest and trial. After that, his father had retired. But Rayna could have been holding a serious grudge against him all this time.
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