by Debra Webb
She hurried along beside them. “Is he going to be okay?”
“We hope so,” one of the paramedics said without looking at her.
Fear lanced her heart. Why couldn’t anyone tell her what she wanted to hear?
“Laney.”
She turned to Simon, who gestured to his SUV. “Come with us. We’re following the ambulance.”
He helped her and Buddy into the SUV. Laney couldn’t take her eyes off the ambulance.
The ambulance spun away. Simon maneuvered the SUV onto the road behind it. The police stayed at the farm to look for Weeden and Clare Barker.
But they were gone.
Simon introduced her to the other two men. The only name that stuck was Colby. One was named Jim Colby. She remembered Lucas mentioning him… . He was Victoria’s son.
The men spoke quietly but Laney wasn’t really listening. She kept thinking about the way the woman, Clare, had looked at her. What did she want? Was she giving the orders? Had she told Weeden to kill whoever got in their way?
Laney closed her eyes. She had Buddy back safe and sound. If Joel was okay, those two things were all that mattered at the moment.
Clare Barker could disappear and never come back for all Laney cared. She wished she had never heard that name.
Chapter Twenty-One
Beaumont Hospital, 6:05 p.m.
Laney paced the small E.R. waiting room. Buddy was asleep in a chair. Bless his heart. When he woke up he would be wild with a sudden burst of energy. She wished she could take a power nap right now and wake up refreshed.
But that was impossible. She didn’t dare close her eyes.
She’d taken Buddy to the hospital cafeteria and he’d eaten like he was totally starved. But he had assured her that the grandma lady had fed him.
Simon had called and briefed her on what they and the police had found. Weeden had taken at least one bullet. They had followed the blood trail to an old, burned-out house down the road from the former Barker residence. And that was where the trail ended. It was believed that Clare and Weeden had left their getaway car there.
The police had an APB out for both Clare and Weeden along with the description of their car. Hospitals and clinics had been alerted to be on the watch for a wounded one-armed man.
Simon felt certain they would not seek medical assistance unless the injury was life-threatening. Weeden was a nurse so as long as he was conscious he could instruct his mother in how to attend to his wound.
Laney stopped midway across the lobby. She kept thinking about how the woman had stared at her. About the house and how it had felt to be there. The screams from her lifelong nightmares had come from that house. Laney knew that now.
Whatever had happened in that house, as a four-year-old child she had blocked the memories. She wondered if the older one, Olivia, remembered anything more clearly.
Laney stared beyond the glass wall that separated the E.R. waiting room from the emergency parking area outside. News crews had gathered.
The world now knew that Clare Barker had left prison with an agenda to find her daughters who were, in fact, alive.
Laney had two sisters.
“Laney.”
She turned at the sound of her name, her heart rushing into her throat. But it was not a nurse or a doctor. The woman’s dark hair was sprinkled with gray but rather than looking old, she looked sophisticated. Her face was very attractive and she wore an elegant suit. Was she someone from the hospital staff? Was she about to deliver news that Laney did not want to hear?
“Yes?” Laney held her breath.
“My name is Victoria Colby-Camp. Do you have any news on Joel’s condition?”
Laney was so exhausted she wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed. “Nothing yet. He’s been in surgery for two hours. But he was stable and had regained consciousness before they took him to surgery.” Laney was still furious they hadn’t let her see him.
But, if they made him well again, she could live with that.
Victoria smiled. “Joel is strong and determined. Like my Lucas.”
“Oh, gosh. Your husband is here. How is he?” Joel had gotten the call en route to Granger that Lucas had been found. That was how Simon and his entourage were able to arrive so quickly after her and Joel. Joel had explained their suspicions to Simon. And since Lucas had been located, Simon and his team headed that way, as well.
“He’s fine,” Victoria said. “We expect to be able to go home in a day or two.”
“That’s great.” Laney had so much she wanted to say to this woman but she was absolutely drained and nothing in her head was straight. “I want to thank you for all your agency has done to protect my boy and me.”
Victoria peeked past her and smiled. “Your son is an amazing young man. Simon told me how well he handled this ordeal.”
Pride welled in Laney’s chest. “He is something.” She just hoped she could get over the idea of never letting him out of her sight again. Laney turned back to Victoria. “Things might have turned out way different if it hadn’t been for you and your agency.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what we would have done without Joel.”
Victoria took Laney’s hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. “We will continue to ensure your safety until this is done. You have my word.”
A fresh wave of tears filled Laney’s eyes. “Thank you.” With Buddy safe, if Joel was okay Laney could live with whatever came next. What difference did anything else make as long as those she loved were safe?
That was the thing… She loved Joel. No question.
“I’ll check in with you when I return.” Victoria waved to someone beyond the glass. “Simon and I have an errand to run.”
Laney watched her go.
Thank God for people like Victoria Colby.
Polunsky Prison, 8:00 p.m.
VICTORIA HAD BEEN ESCORTED to the same cold, sterile room as the first time she had met with notorious serial killer Rafe Barker. Warden Prentice had been less than happy with her demand to see his infamous prisoner at this hour, but Victoria had refused to take no for an answer.
In less than three weeks Rafe Barker would be executed for more than a dozen murders. That first time she had come here it had been at his behest. A letter begging her to help him protect his daughters—the daughters he had been accused of murdering twenty-two years ago—had swayed Victoria and brought her here when the warden had insisted she was wasting her time.
Now, almost ten days later, her husband and one of her investigators lay in Beaumont Hospital barely having escaped death. Another man was dead. Janet Tolliver was dead. Fury stoked to a blaze inside Victoria. This had to stop.
Whatever Rafe knew, and she suspected there was a great deal that he wasn’t telling her, she would learn now. Or else the agency was washing its hands of this case beyond protecting Sadie, Laney and Olivia.
Each time she thought of how Lucas could have so easily died, she wanted to tear something apart. And that sweet child. Anything could have happened to him today. The child’s father, no matter his sins, had been murdered today.
This was enough. No more games.
The door of the interview room opened. Victoria jerked from her troubling thoughts and braced for war. Two prison guards escorted Barker into the room. The leg irons around his ankles and the belly chain coiled about his waist rattled as he was ushered to the chair directly across the table from her just like before. The nylon glides whispered across the tile floor as the chair was drawn back.
“Sit,” one of the guards ordered.
Barker followed the instruction given, his gaze already heavy on Victoria. He settled into the molded plastic chair. The second guard secured the leg irons to the floor and the chains on Barker’s hands to the underside of the sturdy table that was all that stood between him and Victoria.
“We’ll be right outside, ma’am,” the first guard said to her, “if you need anything.”
“Thank you. We’ll be fine.”
/> When the door had closed behind the guards, Barker continued to stare at her, his faded brown eyes dull and listless. “Something happen?”
He had refused to speak to her since her second visit here when she had informed him of how his confidant and nurse, Tony Weeden, had double-crossed him. That he uttered even those two words now surprised her and at the same time infuriated her.
“My husband and one of my investigators were almost killed today. Another man was murdered by your former friend, Tony Weeden. We now have reason to believe he also killed Janet Tolliver.”
Barker said nothing. Yet his gaze never deviated from her.
“Your grandson,” Victoria said, making this personal, “was abducted by Clare and Tony.”
He flinched.
So he wasn’t made of stone. “Tony murdered the child’s father and then snatched the little boy with the stench of clotting blood still on his clothes.”
Silence.
Victoria braced her hands on the table and leaned forward. Fury had whipped to a frenzy inside her. “What does she want?”
“To finish what I stopped her from doing twenty-two years ago,” he uttered in a monotone that made Victoria want to grab him and shake him.
“Weeden took her back to the home the two of you shared. From the looks of things, the intent was to take up residence there again.”
The bastard said nothing.
Rage tightened Victoria’s lips. “If you know something that will help us stop her, for the love of God, tell me.”
Barker leaned forward. Victoria refused to back off.
He stared deep into her eyes. “You can’t simply contain her,” he whispered. “She’s pure evil. I had her contained and they set her free. She won’t make the same mistake twice.” He leaned away. “Now my daughters will pay the price for the mistake of this so-called justice system.”
There was a cryptic message there. “What are you saying?”
He leaned forward again. He waited until she did, as well. Victoria hated the idea of being this close to him.
“The only way to stop her is to kill her.” He leaned back far enough to look into her eyes once more. “And I don’t think you’ve got it in you to do that, Victoria.” He laughed, a dry rusty sound. “She knows it’s you trying to stop her now. And she will do everything in her power to make you pay, too. Trust me, I know.”
“She will not stop me,” Victoria guaranteed.
Rafe stared at her a moment. “We’ll see.”
Beaumont Hospital, 9:30 p.m.
WHEN SHE FELT HIS HAND MOVE beneath hers, Laney opened her eyes and sat up straighter. She’d almost dozed off in this uncomfortable old chair.
Joel was watching her.
She smiled. “You’re awake.” Thank God, thank God. He’d come through the surgery just fine but she wasn’t satisfied until he opened those beautiful brown eyes to her.
He managed a lopsided smile. “I dreamed about you.”
Her lips trembled at the sound of his voice. His words were so sweet but just hearing him speak made her more happy than any one thing in her entire life except for the birth of her son.
“I hope it was a good dream.” She moved to his bedside, took his hand fully in hers.
Uncertainty cluttered his face. “Buddy?”
She glanced at her son curled up on the blanket by her chair. “Sleeping like a rock. He’s fine.” There was so much she wanted to tell him about how Clare had sent Buddy to her. But that would all have to wait.
Joel released a breath. “Thank God.” He looked troubled again. “What about Weeden and Clare?”
She hated to tell him this part. “They got away. But Weeden was injured. So far he hasn’t shown up at any clinics or hospitals. As far as we know, anyway.”
“I hit him at least once.” Joel grimaced. “For a one-armed guy he packs a hell of a blow.”
“Are you okay? Do you need more pain medication?” She didn’t want him to suffer any more than necessary.
“I’m good.” He searched her eyes a moment. “As long as you and Buddy are here, I’m perfect.”
More of those sweet words that gave her hope. Laney had done a lot of thinking during the past few hours and she had made some decisions. Maybe they were the wrong ones but there was only one way to find out. “I’ve been thinking.”
He squeezed her hand. “I’m pretty sure you do a lot of that. You’re a smart lady.”
If he didn’t stop she was never going to get all this said. “Anyway, I’ve decided to sell the house and the saloon and go as far away from here as you’re willing to take us.”
His gaze held hers but he said nothing. Doubt usurped her confidence, terrified her. Had she read his feelings for her and Buddy wrong?
“You’ve worked hard on that house and on that saloon, what with all the renovations and building the business. Why would you give that up?”
Well, he’d certainly skirted the real issue. But she couldn’t have been that wrong. “If getting out of here ensures that we’re all safe, I absolutely will.”
For a stretch that felt like a lifetime he searched her eyes some more. “I may be flat on my back right now but I guarantee you I will do a better job of protecting you and Buddy as soon as I’m out of here.”
Oh, no. She hadn’t meant to make him feel as if any part of what had happened was his failure. Good grief! “But I don’t want you to have to protect us like that. I want to be someplace safe.”
He tried to rise up on his elbows, grimaced at the effort.
“Wait. Let me raise the bed.” Nervous now, she fiddled with the buttons until she was able to raise the head of the bed, putting him in a slightly more upright position. “There.”
He wrapped long, strong fingers around hers. “The problem with your plan is that until Weeden and Clare are stopped, they’ll keep coming after you. Whether she wants a simple reunion or has some evil agenda, we can’t be sure. But her actions indicate the latter. If she only wanted a simple family reunion, mailing out invitations would have done the trick.”
Laney thought of how Clare had helped Buddy find her. “If she just wants to see us, why doesn’t she say so?”
“That’s the part that troubles me. Whatever her reason for approaching the situation like this…it’s wrong. We can’t take the risk that she’ll just give up and go away. We have to square this thing away.”
She understood all that. But that wasn’t what she meant. Or maybe it was. She was too damned confused. Too exhausted and too scared and worried to beat around the bush. She wanted to get to the point that had nothing to do with the Barkers.
“I love you, okay?” Oh, God, she’d said it. “I don’t want you risking your life to protect us. If that means we have to pull up stakes and move away, that’s fine. I’m ready to go.”
She’d put her cards on the table.
The longer he stared at her without saying a word, the more she quaked inside.
“Come here.” He tugged at her to get her to sit down on the edge of his bed. “I’ve had a few chicks toss the whole I-love-you thing at me.”
Laney’s heart sank.
“It was a game and I knew it at the time. Frankly, I always wondered how my brothers had found their soul mates. I thought maybe fate had played a big trick on me.”
She wanted to say something but her heart had surged into her throat and she couldn’t. She simply couldn’t.
“What I do know is that no one has ever offered to give up everything they’ve worked for just for me.” He traced her cheek. “I don’t know what I did right to find you or to deserve you and Buddy in my life but I’m sure as hell glad I did.”
She tried to hold them back, she really did, but it didn’t work. The tears slid down her cheeks.
“I love you, Laney, and I love Buddy. If you let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life protecting you.”
What was he saying? She’d been so worried about right now she hadn’t even thought about the future. “Does that mean
you want to take us with you when you go?” That was the closest to a reasonable question she could come up with.
“It means I want to stay here with the two of you.”
All the other worries crowded in on her. “If I can’t swing that loan we may be on the street.” It was the ugly truth.
“You won’t need that loan. Not only will we be paying that off but we’ll be doing some upgrading.”
“You don’t have to do all that.” She wanted him, not his money.
“I want to do all that, Laney. I want to give you the life you deserve.” He swiped at her tears with the backs of his fingers. “And as soon as I’m out of this damned hospital, we’re going to find a ring and a minister and we’re getting married. Buddy can be my best man.”
Laney’s breath caught.
“That is, if you’ll have me as your husband.”
She nodded. “I was hoping you would mention that otherwise I was going to have to do the proposing myself.” She felt giddy, wanted to jump for joy.
“We’ll have a celebration at the High Noon. We’ll have Tatum burn the mortgage in that toaster oven of his.”
Laney laughed. “That little incident almost gave the poor guy a nervous breakdown.” She’d checked in with him and he had the High Noon under control. “I’m thinking of giving him a raise.”
“Make him manager.”
Not a bad idea, she thought. “But then what will I do?”
He tugged on a lock of her hair until she leaned down close enough for him to brush a kiss across her lips. “You’ll stay home and raise all those babies we’re going to have. And watch me teach Buddy how to be the best ballplayer in Texas.”
She smiled. “Are you suggesting I stay barefoot and pregnant?”
He grinned. “Only for the first few years.”
She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “How about I comanage with Tatum and we’ll negotiate the barefoot and pregnant thing? Deal?”
“You drive a hard bargain, ma’am, but you have a deal.”
This time he deepened the kiss and Laney knew for an absolute certainty she had won that negotiation.
Whatever happened from this moment forward, she, Buddy and Joel were a family.