Cowboy Above the Law

by Delores Fossen

  And he wouldn’t have, since Bobby Joe was using an alias. Still, it made Rayna wonder why Warren hadn’t followed up on that. Or maybe he had so many people who disliked him that it wasn’t anything that concerned him.

  “Dustin’s real name was Bobby Joe Hawley,” Court provided. “Ever hear him mention that?”

  She quickly shook her head. “I only knew him as Dustin.” She stopped, looked at Rayna. “That’s the man you were accused of murdering. The one that Warren was certain you’d killed,” she added. “Since you were acquitted, that means you couldn’t be tried for his death now.”

  “I didn’t kill him,” Rayna insisted. She kept her stare on Alma.

  “Well, neither did I.” Alma huffed again. “What possible motive could I have for wanting him dead?”

  “Maybe you hired him to shoot my father,” Court answered. “Or maybe Bobby Joe found out you’d hired someone to do that and he was trying to extort money from you. This is a long way to come to pay a ranch hand some wages. You could have just mailed him the money.”

  Alma’s mouth tightened. “I always pay my debts.” And since she’d said it through clenched teeth, it sounded like some kind of threat. But she glanced away, her expression softening a little. “Dustin...Bobby Joe or whatever his name is...said he didn’t have an address here. Nor a car. He asked me to meet him.”

  Court and Rayna exchanged another glance, and Rayna could almost see the thought going through his head. He was wondering if Bobby Joe had been planning to set up Alma in some way. Though that still didn’t explain who’d killed him.

  “Bobby Joe hated my father and Rayna,” Court said to Alma. “It’s possible he hated them even more because she wasn’t convicted of his murder. Now, think back to your dealings with Bobby Joe. Did he ever ask you any questions about Warren or Rayna?”

  “Not Rayna,” she answered right off. “But like I said, we did discuss Warren after he’d come to the ranch. Bobby Joe was upset, but after what I’ve just learned about him, maybe he was just trying to make sure Warren didn’t come back. If he was supposed to be dead, he wouldn’t have wanted Warren to recognize him.”

  True. In fact, it’d probably given Bobby Joe a jolt, or maybe a secret thrill, when he’d seen Warren.

  “But Bobby Joe did mention Helen,” Alma added a moment later.

  Rayna saw Court’s muscles go stiff, and he motioned for Alma to continue.

  She did not until she’d taken a deep breath first. “It was after Warren’s visit. Bobby Joe told me that Warren was married, and that his wife, Helen, was the darling of McCall Canyon. Darling, that’s the word he used. Bobby Joe didn’t come out and say it, but I could tell he suspected an affair between Warren and me.” She paused. “I lied and said Warren was there on ranching business and that there was absolutely nothing going on between us.”

  If Bobby Joe had truly been suspicious of the affair, Rayna wondered why he hadn’t exposed it. He couldn’t have personally done that, but he could have sent Helen or someone else an anonymous note or maybe even pictures of Warren’s visit to the Lawton ranch.

  “Anyway, I told Warren it wasn’t a good idea for him to visit me at my house again,” Alma continued. “Warren and I ended things shortly after that.”

  Court stayed quiet a moment, obviously processing that. “And you didn’t mention Dustin or what he’d said to you about my dad?”

  “No.” She paused again. “I didn’t want to know anyone was suspicious. I mean, I could feel Warren already pulling away from me, and I didn’t want to give him a reason to break things off.”

  That was the first time Alma had admitted that she’d wanted to stay in the relationship.

  And, of course, it was also her motive for Warren’s attempted murder.

  It was hard for Rayna to stand there so close to the woman who might have tried to kill Court and her, but if Alma had indeed done that, then things hadn’t gone according to plan. After all, Court, Warren and she were all still alive.

  “Am I free to go now?” Alma asked. “Or should I call my lawyer?”

  Court gave that some thought. “I don’t have a reason to hold you, yet. But I’ll be checking your phone records. Now would be a good time to tell me if there’s something else you want to add about Bobby Joe, or anything else for that matter.”

  Alma’s mouth tightened again. “I haven’t done anything wrong, and the next time you want to speak to me, call Simon.” With that, she walked out.

  “You believe her?” Rayna said the moment the woman was out of the sheriff’s office.

  Court shrugged. “I’d love to pin this on her, but I don’t think I’m objective when it comes to Alma.”

  No, neither was she. The woman had basically been living a lie for over thirty years, and she could be lying now.

  “I meant it when I said I’ll be checking out her story,” Court said, “but I can do that at the ranch. I doubt you want to stay around here much longer.”

  She didn’t. Rayna was exhausted and was now dealing with the aftereffects of the spent adrenaline. “But what about the gunman? And what with the fire and attack, I doubt Egan can spare a deputy to go with us.”

  “I can have a couple of the hands come here and then drive back with us. The ranch is already being guarded.”

  Yes, but that didn’t mean it was safe. Of course, the sheriff’s office wasn’t exactly safe, either. Someone could easily fire shots into the building.

  “Let me talk to Egan before I call the hands,” Court added. But his phone rang before he could do that. “It’s Larry.”

  Since this was the CSI, Rayna definitely wanted to hear what he had to say, and thankfully Court put the call on speaker.

  “We found something,” Larry said as soon as he was on the line. “Court, it’s another dead body.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Court stared out the window of his house. It was something he did often as the sun was setting, something that usually relaxed him. But it was going to take more than familiar scenery to take this raw edge off him.

  Four murders. Probably all connected, and yet they still didn’t make sense. Now he could add the latest body to the “not making sense” category.

  Mitch.

  One of their top suspects was dead, shot at point-blank range, two bullets to the head. Since the PI and Hallie had been killed in a similar way, it was possible it’d been the same shooter. But if it was, Court didn’t have any proof. All he had were those damn questions that just wouldn’t stop going through his mind.

  Who’d killed those people? And why? Of course, one of the biggest questions of all—was his mother involved?

  So far, Rachel hadn’t found any unaccounted-for funds in Helen’s checking account. No missing cash, either, from the safe at the family home. But there were other ways people could get cash. His mom could have sold some jewelry or had money stashed away that no one else had known about. The fact she’d known about the affair and had even gotten that business card from Jennifer were red flags that he couldn’t ignore. The problem was it was going to be days, maybe even weeks, before he could question his mother.

  “You’re going to drive yourself crazy, you know that?” Rayna asked.

  Her voice cut through some of his mind-clutter. So did the sound of her footsteps as she walked toward him. She’d showered and looked less tense than she had when they’d arrived back at his place. But then, if she’d looked more tense, he would have had to call the doctor because she’d been right on that edge. With reason.

  She was probably the killer’s next target.

  Judging from the other attacks, so was he.

  She came closer, and he caught the scent of the soap and shampoo she’d used. His soap and shampoo, but it smelled better on her than it ever had on him. She’d dressed in the jeans and blue top they’d gotten from her house. And she was holding
the gun he’d given her.

  The gun had been a compromise. Court hadn’t wanted to give her one because he hadn’t wanted her to do anything to put herself in even more danger. If there was another attack, he wanted her to get out of harm’s way rather than returning fire.

  But that wasn’t practical.

  The truth was someone could get on the ranch. Yes, the hands were watching the road, but someone could get to his house using the back trails. Heck, a gunman could climb over the fence. Rayna knew that. And that was why she now had the gun.

  “Any updates?” she asked. She tucked the gun in the waistband of her jeans at the small of her back, poured herself a cup of coffee and joined him at the window.

  This wasn’t exactly a topic to keep her nerves steady, but Rayna needed to know. “We don’t have a dental match ID on the dead guy in the car, but the other body they found is definitely Mitch. No one heard gunshots, but there was a lot of commotion what with the fire.”

  “Yes,” she said as if giving that some thought. “The unidentified gunman could have killed him. He could have set the fire, too.”

  “Or Alma or Whitney could have done it,” Court quickly pointed out.

  Rayna flinched, probably because it was hard for her to hear that her former friend could be a cold-blooded killer. It was especially hard since they weren’t sure what Whitney’s motive would have been for that.

  Alma was a different story though.

  “I’ve gone through Alma’s phone records,” he explained, “and she did call Bobby Joe aka Dustin three times.” That wasn’t a large number, and the calls could have been legit if Bobby Joe had actually been working for her.

  “What about her financial records?”

  He shook his head. “I haven’t gotten those yet, but even when I do, I’m not expecting much. If Alma has been putting this plan together for months, then she probably would have been smart enough not to use funds that would create a money trail leading right back to her.”

  “True.”

  Court didn’t think it was his imagination that she was waiting for more. “Nothing on my mother, either,” he added. “Warren also hasn’t been much help. He says he didn’t know about Mom meeting with the PI.”

  “You think he could be covering for your mom? He might feel so bad about the affair that he doesn’t want her punished.”

  That was possible, of course, but Court just couldn’t buy it. “If the attacks had only been limited to Dad, he might have covered for her. Might. But no way would he sit back and not spill something that involved four murders. Plus, there were the attacks on us. My dad might not have valued his marriage vows, but he’d do anything to protect his kids.”

  She had a sip of her coffee. “You’re right.”

  That caused him to breathe a little easier. It was already hard enough to accept his mother might have had a part in this without believing the same of his father.

  “What about Bo and Whitney?” she asked. “Did Egan get anything from them when he questioned them?”

  “No. Whitney stuck to her story about not having a clue what was going on. And Bo didn’t say anything that he hadn’t already told us. The DA plans to charge him as an adult. That might spur him to spill something new.” If there was anything new to spill, that was. Bo did seem like a pawn in all of this.

  Like Hallie. Maybe Jennifer, too. And since they were both dead, it meant Bo needed to be in protective custody.

  The sun finally dipped below the horizon, so Court went to the foyer, turned off the interior light and turned on the ones outside. There were about a dozen of them, and they went all around the house and grounds. When he’d had them installed though, it hadn’t been with the idea of seeing an intruder. It had been to try to keep the coyotes and other wildlife away. Now it might keep that gunman from trying to sneak up on them. Just in case he did, Court made sure the security system was armed and ready. It was.

  “Rachel is at the hospital with my mom,” Court continued. “Egan’s at the main house. Or at least he will be when he finishes up at the office.”

  Whenever that would be. Court figured it’d be a late night for his brother, and he was feeling guilty about that. Still, someone needed to stay with Rayna at his house, and it might as well be him.

  That thought stopped him for a moment.

  He wanted to be the one to stay with her.

  Hell, that wasn’t a good sign. Coupled with those kisses he’d been doling out to her, it meant he’d had a big-time loss of focus. He looked at her, to warn her about that, but one look in her eyes, and he realized no warning was necessary. Rayna knew exactly what was going on.

  “Sometimes, it feels like we’re back in high school,” she murmured. Rayna set her coffee cup back on the counter. “Well, with the exception of someone trying to kill us, that is.”

  She managed to make that sound, well, light, and it caused Court to smile. She smiled, too, but then she quickly looked away as if trying to remind herself neither smiling nor looking at him that way was a good idea.

  It wasn’t.

  Court stayed in the foyer on purpose. Best to keep some distance between them. But Rayna didn’t go along with that. She went to him, her steps and body language hesitant. There was nothing hesitant about the feelings going on inside him.

  He wanted her.

  And no distance between them was going to remedy that. Silently cursing himself and cursing Rayna, Court strode forward to meet her and pulled her into his arms.

  * * *

  RAYNA HAD KNOWN the kiss was coming even before Court’s mouth landed on hers. Still, she hadn’t been prepared for the shock of the sensations that went through her. Yes, in some ways it did feel as if they were back in high school, but she also hadn’t remembered anything this intense when they’d been teenagers.

  “You know this is a big mistake, right?” Court asked when he broke away from her for air.

  She did know that. So did he.

  But apparently knowing wasn’t going to make a difference here because he went right back for a second kiss. Rayna had been hesitant about that first one, since it’d thrown her off guard a little, but with this one, she just gave in to the moment and kissed him right back.

  Rayna slid her hands around the back of his neck, pulling him closer until they were body to body. Along with the new slam of heat that gave her, it also tapped into some old memories. Of other times when Court had kissed her.

  And made love to her.

  He’d been her first, something she wouldn’t have been able to forget even if he hadn’t been doling out some mind-blowing kisses.

  Court stopped again, easing back so they could make eye contact. It seemed to be his way of giving her an out. He was giving her time to put a stop to this. But Rayna had no intentions of stopping it. That was why she pulled him right back to her.

  He deepened the kiss, stoking the fire between them. And he stoked it even more when he took those kisses to her neck. It didn’t take her body long to realize it wanted a lot more of what Court was giving her.

  Years ago, Court and she had kissed like this for hours, driving each other crazy, until they’d finally become lovers. All of that came back now and upped the urgency even more.

  She reached for the buttons on his shirt, but his hands got in the way. That was because he pulled off her top, tossing it onto the floor. In the same motion, he kissed her breasts. First, the tops, and then he shoved down her bra to kiss her the way Rayna wanted. He’d remembered those were sensitive spots for her, and he made sure he gave her as much pleasure as possible.

  But soon, it wasn’t enough.

  Rayna went after his shirt again and managed to get enough buttons undone so she could kiss his chest. Apparently, that upped the urgency for him, too, because Court pulled her to the floor.

  There were no lights on inside, but the exte
rior lights were enough for Rayna to see his face. Mercy, he was hot. Always had been, and that hadn’t changed. If anything, the years had made him even better, and she regretted the time she’d lost with him.

  Regretted, too, that she might never have him again like that.

  That tugged at her heart, but Rayna didn’t have time to dwell on it. That was because the kisses continued. The touches, too, but it was obvious that foreplay wasn’t going to last much longer. That was okay with Rayna. For now, she just needed Court to soothe the fierce ache inside her. She needed him to make her forget all the bad things that had been happening.

  Of course, she wouldn’t forget for long, but that didn’t matter.

  All that mattered right now was having him.

  Court did his part to speed things along. He took out her gun, placing it on the floor next to them, and he shimmied her out of her jeans. Since he’d already taken off her bra and top, it made her aware of just how naked she was. He wasn’t. So, she rid him of his shirt and tackled ridding him of the rest of his clothes.

  It wasn’t pretty, but she was about to get him unzipped and shove off his jeans when he stopped her by sliding his hand over hers.

  “Condom,” he managed to say. He rummaged through his back pocket to get his wallet and took out a condom from it.

  She groaned because she hadn’t even remembered safe sex. Then she groaned again, this time in pleasure, when Court started kissing her again.

  Those wildfire kisses didn’t make it easier for her to move around, but Rayna managed to get him unzipped, and Court broke the kiss long enough to put on the condom.

  He looked at her again, and Rayna thought maybe she saw some hesitation in his eyes. But no. There was no hesitation whatsoever when he pushed into her.

  She got another huge jolt of pleasure, and it just kept coming when Court started to move inside her. This was familiar but also new. He’d obviously learned more about how to please a woman since their make-out sessions in high school. He seemed to know just how to touch her. Just how to move. Just how to make her crazy with need.