Both searching the area.
Both also keeping watch on the front door in case the shooter tried to make his way inside.
Her breath froze when Weston came to an abrupt stop, and he whipped his gun toward the far right front corner. Not too far from that creaking door.
Daniel was a big man, but Addie came up on her toes so she could see what had captured Weston’s attention. And she soon saw it.
Something, or maybe someone, in the shadows.
“Get down!” Weston shouted, and he did the same, diving to the side of some crumbling hay bales.
At that moment, a gust of wind caught the barn door and slapped it fully open so that the shadow was no longer a shadow. It was a man, and Addie saw his face.
And she also saw the gun he held in his hand.
* * *
OGDEN.
Of course.
Weston figured Ogden had some part in this, and that gun in his hand proved he was up to his old tricks. He was there to try to kill Addie again, but Weston had no intention of letting him do that.
“Addie, stay down,” Weston warned her, and he took aim at Ogden.
Weston expected the man to fire or at least try to duck behind something. But he didn’t. Ogden just stood there, staring at him.
“Why are you here?” Ogden asked.
Not only was it a strange question, Ogden’s body language was strange, too. He had his left hand bracketed on the barn wall, using it to support himself.
The barn door shut again, but Weston’s eyes had adjusted enough to the darkness that he could see that Ogden wasn’t pointing the gun at them. It was aimed at the floor.
“What are you doing here?” Weston fired back.
Ogden shook his head and looked around. Not the kind of look of a man trying to escape or decide what to do. He was looking at the place as if seeing it for the first time.
“Why did you bring me here?” Ogden said.
Weston cursed. Then he groaned. Either Ogden was high or drunk, or else he wanted to make it seem that way. It wouldn’t matter which. Weston didn’t trust this fool for a minute. Nor would he let Ogden distract him so that the hired guns could come in for the kill.
He motioned for Kirk to keep watch at the back. Weston did the same at the front, but he doubted he’d actually be able to see anyone sneaking up on them. The darkness would work in favor of their attackers, and there were plenty of ways to get to the barn. Of course, a shooter wouldn’t have to get too close to send another firebomb their way.
“I didn’t bring you here,” Weston said to Ogden, “but you’re going to tell me why you’re holding that gun.”
Ogden glanced at the gun then. And he dropped it. He frantically shook his head again. “That’s not my gun.” He touched his fingers to his temple. “Did you give me pills or something to get me here?”
“I didn’t give you anything.”
Weston went closer to Ogden to kick the gun out of his reach. He also patted the man down. Ogden wasn’t carrying any other weapons. Nor did he smell of alcohol. However, he was wobbly, and if Weston hadn’t helped Ogden lean against the wall, he probably would have fallen.
Heck, maybe someone had drugged him, or he could have drugged himself. Once backup arrived, Ogden could be taken and tested. Too bad backup was still probably fifteen minutes out.
“Now it’s your turn to answer some questions,” Weston demanded. “Did you hire those shooters out there?”
Ogden’s eyes widened. “No. Why would I do something like that?”
“You tell me. But my guess is you wanted to try to have another go at Addie. Especially since that attack on the road failed big-time.”
“Attack?”
“Yeah, you know—the one where you blocked the road with the cows and then tried to kill Addie.”
No headshaking this time. “That wasn’t me.”
“I saw you,” Addie insisted. “You were in the woods near Daisy’s house.”
Ogden made a sound of disbelief. “But I wasn’t there to kill you. I was running for my life.”
Weston made his own sound. One of skepticism to let Ogden know he wasn’t buying any of it. “And you just happened to be in the same area when bullets started flying?”
“Yes, because I escaped from a car. Someone kidnapped me again. Like this time. Someone must have kidnapped me and brought me here.”
“Who would do that?”
Ogden didn’t answer Weston for a long time, and the already distressed look on his face got a whole lot worse. “My father maybe.”
“The Moonlight Strangler brought you here?” Weston was fishing for info and hoped he didn’t get a yes from Ogden. Not on this anyway.
Ogden turned toward the stall where he’d heard Addie’s voice. “Addie, you have to believe me. I don’t want you dead. Not anymore. I was confused. I thought my father was telling me to kill you. But I don’t think it was my father doing that.”
“Then who was it?” Weston asked.
Ogden opened his mouth to answer, but the sound of the blast stopped him. Not from a firebomb this time but from another bullet. And this shot sounded a whole lot closer than the other ones.
Weston kept an eye on Ogden, but he pivoted in the direction of the barn door. Just as another shot came.
This one slammed into the rotting wood at the front of the barn. And it wasn’t a single shot. More came. One right after another, and Weston had no choice but to dive back to the ground with Addie. He also heard something else he didn’t want to hear.
A thud.
And Daniel started cursing.
Kirk had fallen and was clutching his chest.
Hell, the marshal had been shot.
Except he hadn’t been, Weston quickly realized. No blood. The gunman had fired a shot into the Kevlar vest that Kirk was wearing. It wouldn’t be deadly, but Weston knew from experience that it hurt like the devil, and it’d clearly knocked the breath from Kirk because he was gasping for air.
Gasping in pain, too.
Daniel pulled Kirk to the side, away from the door, and began to unstrap the vest so he could get the scalding hot bullet off Kirk’s skin.
The shots didn’t stop. They continued to tear their way through the barn.
“Get down!” Weston yelled to Ogden when the man just stood there in a daze.
Ogden seemed to freeze. For a second or two. And then he got down all right.
But not the way Weston had figured he would.
Ogden, too, clutched his chest. No Kevlar vest for him. So, this time, there was indeed some blood.
He’d been shot.
“Help me,” Ogden groaned before collapsing to the ground.
Weston didn’t go to Ogden because he heard something behind him. Not Kirk or Daniel. But something else.
Something that got his complete attention.
Addie made a strangled sound.
And that’s when Weston saw the man come through the back opening and put the gun to Addie’s head.
Chapter Nineteen
Addie didn’t move fast enough. She’d heard the footsteps behind her a split second too late and hadn’t scrambled out of the way in time.
It could turn out to be a deadly mistake.
Because someone now had her at gunpoint and was using her as a human shield to stop Weston and the marshals from shooting him.
The fear slammed through her, but she tried not to panic. Hard to do, though, when her baby was right back in danger again.
She couldn’t see her attacker’s face. But Weston could. And judging from his profanity and glare, he knew the man. So this probably wasn’t just another hired gun but rather the person behind all these attacks.
“Canales,” she said without having to look back at him.
Boggs wasn’t much taller than she was, and this man was stooping, trying to keep his body hidden behind hers. It had to be Canales.
“Put down that gun and move away from Addie,” Weston ordered him.
“You really think that’ll work?” Canales asked, the sarcasm dripping from his voice. “I’ll put it down when I’m done here. Which shouldn’t be long. I just need a few answers.”
“So do we,” Weston fired back.
Daniel made a sound of agreement about that and moved protectively in front of Kirk, who was still on the ground trying to regain his breath.
“Is he dead?” Canales asked tipping his head to Ogden.
Weston didn’t even look back at Ogden. He kept his attention focused on Canales and her. “Probably. Why, are you all torn up about that?”
“No. But he would have made such a good scapegoat. I’d planned on pinning all of this on him. Copycatting his daddy will make good press. The reporters will gobble it up.”
They would. If Canales got away with this. Addie had to figure out a way to make sure he didn’t.
“Now all of you toss your guns into the center of the barn,” Canales demanded. “If you don’t do it right now, I’ll shoot Addie. I won’t kill her yet, but I will hurt her.”
She believed him, and any shot could cause her to miscarry. Still, it sickened her when the marshals and Weston threw their guns onto the floor near Canales. She wasn’t sure if Weston had a backup weapon on him or not. They’d run from the house in such a hurry that it was possible none of them had another gun they could use to try to put a stop to this.
“I’m surprised you didn’t send one of your hired lackeys to do your dirty work,” Weston said to Canales.
“My lackeys have failed, time and time again. And because they didn’t do their jobs, Addie got yet another round with that therapist.” Canales put his mouth against her ear. “I just need to know what you remembered during the hypnosis session.”
So that’s what this was about. Or at least part of it. She knew from the DNA test that Canales wasn’t the Moonlight Strangler, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t working for him.
“Is Boggs the Moonlight Strangler?” she asked.
“Answer my question!” Canales shouted.
She jumped from the sheer volume of his voice, but Addie steeled herself. Or rather tried to do that. “You answer mine first, and then I’ll tell you what you want to know. Is Boggs the Moonlight Strangler?”
“Not a chance.” Canales mumbled some raw profanity. “The man can barely tie his own shoes. Hardly the serial killer type. He’s much better suited to being a politician. Or at least the front for a politician, and that was our arrangement.”
It was possible Boggs could be lured into a deal like that. But did that mean Boggs was innocent? Or maybe he was in on this plan. If so, backup might be able to capture him if he was out there somewhere. Of course, her first hope was that backup would be able to save Weston, the marshals and her.
“So who’s the Moonlight Strangler?” Weston snapped.
“Wouldn’t have a clue,” Canales answered, “but I’ll soon find out. He’s not pleased with me. I got some nasty letters telling me to back off. Or else. I went with the or else and decided to set a trap for him. If all went well, that trap is being sprung as we speak.”
A trap? She wondered what it was. Or if Canales was even telling the truth. After all, he didn’t need the Moonlight Strangler around if he wanted to pin their deaths on him and Ogden.
“You decided to let everyone believe the Moonlight Strangler was behind this,” she concluded. And Canales sure didn’t deny it.
“We’re getting off track, and I don’t have a lot of time.” Canales jammed the gun even harder against Addie’s head. “What did you remember?” he repeated.
Addie winced, hoping her sound of pain didn’t send Weston charging at the man. He certainly looked ready to tear Canales limb from limb.
“I didn’t remember anything,” she said.
“Liar! The FBI’s doing all kinds of checks on gunrunning operations in the area thirty years ago.”
So, they were back to that. “I didn’t remember any gunrunning, only men with guns.”
“Tell me everything you said to that FBI shrink.” Even though she still couldn’t see his face, Addie knew he was speaking through clenched teeth.
Anything she said to him right now was a risk. A huge one. But there was no way he would allow any of them to live anyway. No. His plan was likely to learn whatever information she had and then he’d kill them all. Canales couldn’t leave them as witnesses. After that, he’d work on trying to cover everything up.
“I remembered you.” Addie let that hang between them for several moments. “Of course, I didn’t know your name at the time, but I was able to describe the guns. And Boggs and you. The two of you came once when Daisy wasn’t there. You met with her husband.”
She held her breath, waiting and praying that her lie wouldn’t get her killed right here, right now.
Addie had no idea if Canales had actually ever been to Daisy’s house, much less with Boggs and a gun shipment. The only thing she had remembered were several armed men. She had no clear images of their faces.
But Canales didn’t know that.
“You don’t have to worry, though,” she continued, “the statute of limitations is up on the gunrunning.”
She left it at that, though Canales no doubt knew that the gunrunning was the least of his problems. The conspiracy. The cover-up. All of that would send him to jail for the rest of his life.
A feral sound tore from his throat. “Everything I’ve worked for could be gone. And all because of you!”
He dug the gun barrel so hard into her temple that she felt the skin break. Addie clamped her teeth over her bottom lip to stop herself from crying out in pain, but she hadn’t needed Weston to hear anything for him to react. He charged toward Canales.
Canales reacted, too. Fast.
He turned the gun on Weston. And Canales fired.
The shot was deafening, and it drowned out Addie’s own scream. Everything was one big blur of shouts and movement, but the only thing she could think of was Weston.
Mercy, had he been shot? Or worse. Was he dead?
It took her several painful moments to focus on what had actually happened. Weston had scrambled to the side of the barn, and even though she couldn’t see all of him, he was alive. He lifted his head from behind one of the hay bales.
“Try that again,” Canales warned him, “and I’ll have the privilege of killing you myself. The same goes for you two,” he added to the other marshals.
Her ears were roaring from the blast, and the shock of nearly losing Weston had put her in panic mode. But she finally heard something she’d wanted to hear since this latest nightmare had started.
Sirens.
Backup was finally here.
Of course, that didn’t mean they were all safe. She was betting Canales had hired thugs stashed out there somewhere. Judging from the threat he’d just made, he planned on using those thugs to finish them off.
“This isn’t over,” Canales insisted. “I can do damage control with the FBI. And I can discredit the memories of a brat-kid, especially one with killer blood running through her veins.”
As it usually did, the killer blood comment turned her stomach. But from the corner of the barn, she heard a loud groan. Not one of pain, either.
It was the sound of outrage.
At first she thought it’d come from Weston. But then Addie saw Ogden come off the ground. He snatched up his gun.
And pulled the trigger.
* * *
WESTON CURSED HIMSELF.
He’d been so focused on stopping Canales that he hadn’t noticed Ogden. Weston moved as fast as he could and prayed it was fast enough to stop a bullet from hitting Addie.
But it was already too late.
Except the shot hadn’t gone toward Addie, Weston quickly realized.
Ogden had shot into the back opening of the barn. At first Weston thought the man just had bad aim, but then he heard someone groan. The ski-mask wearing gunman who’d been waiting outside crumpled to the ground. Weston ha
dn’t had the right angle so he hadn’t even known the guy was out there.
Canales cursed and moved, too, dragging Addie to the side of the barn.
Or rather that’s what he was trying to do.
Addie wasn’t making it easy for him. She was fighting to get away, and she rammed her elbow into the man’s stomach. It didn’t stop him, but Canales did bash his gun against the side of Addie’s head.
The rage went through him, so strong that Weston could have sworn he saw red.
Weston grabbed his gun from the floor and raced toward Canales. The man still didn’t have control of Addie, though he tried to put the gun to her head. Not that he would need a head shot to kill her. With all the struggling going on, the gun could accidentally go off, and he could lose both Addie and the baby.
He had to make sure that didn’t happen.
Weston immediately tossed his gun aside so he could dive into the fray. He hit the ground, hard, and it nearly knocked the breath out of him. Still, that didn’t stop him. Weston latched onto Canales’s hand while he tried to push Addie out of the way.
From the corner of his eye, Weston saw Daniel run in Ogden’s direction. Good. Yes, Ogden had shot that ski-mask-wearing thug, but there was no telling what else he would do.
Canales kicked Weston, the blow landing right in his stomach. It dazed him for a second. Just enough for Canales to grab Addie by the hair and drag her a few inches away.
Weston went after him again.
No way was he letting Canales hurt her. But that’s exactly what Canales was trying to do. Addie had hold of his right wrist and she was obviously trying to wrestle the gun away from him, but Canales was a lot stronger and bigger than she was, and he got the barrel aimed at her head again.
“Back off,” Canales growled to Weston.
With Addie still struggling, Canales managed to get into the corner with her. Hell. She was his hostage again.
Outside, the sirens stopped, and Weston couldn’t hear the sounds of anyone about to burst in and rescue them. It was entirely possible that Canales’s hired guns had overpowered the backup, too.
“You want her to die?” Canales taunted. “Then, make a move toward me. She won’t have time to draw another breath.”
Weston believed him, and that’s the only reason he didn’t lunge at the man. For now anyway. But when he got the chance, he was going to make Canales pay, and pay hard, for this.
Lone Wolf Lawman Page 17