by Eileen Green
“What interest do you have in the woman?” he asked. “If you were offering a reward, then why come all the way here?”
She stood there, her forehead crinkling up. What is she thinking?
He needed a confession out of her to round this up.
Tanner was slowly moving toward Diego’s body. Chavez knew he was going to try to go for the gun. When Tanner looked at Chavez, Chavez shook his head slightly. He didn’t need any more distractions while he, Derek, and Chase had things covered.
He stopped moving, confusion on his face.
Finally, she spoke. He really hoped the mic he was wearing was picking up everything.
“She accused my father of killing her family. The authorities tried to put him in jail. I want to make sure she dies. It’s for family honor,” she explained.
“But why put out a call for a reward for her death if you were going to come here yourself? Are you trying to swindle me?”
“No.”
Chavez looked her dead in the eye, hoping to unnerve her. “I only contacted your man there”—he nodded over to Diego—“yesterday afternoon that I was going to take care of her. That would mean you were already on the way here. Why?”
She let out a deep sigh while rolling her eyes. There were a few moments of silence during which Chavez thought she wasn’t going to say anything else. Then, she looked over at Tanner. “I found out there was someone here that knew her from one of her previous identities. I knew he had to know where she was. So, I came to find him.”
“Lay down your gun and you can come over and check to see that she is dead. I want my money,” Chavez demanded.
The two stared at each other for what seemed like minutes. Chavez never moved his gun, nor did she. It was a Mexican standoff, one that could have dire consequences if this plan went awry.
He knew that people like Catalina and Perez were usually interested in one thing. Money. However, they both wanted revenge on Blair even though Perez was the one in the wrong.
Catalina was money and power hungry. He suspected that once she confirmed Blair was dead, Catalina would be on her way home, and the headlines tomorrow would be heralding the death of Juan Perez. Of course she would jack anyone who would try to claim the reward. She had grown up poor and in an abusive home. She would want revenge on her father for letting her grow up that way.
Very slowly, Catalina bent over and went to lay her gun on the floor. Come on, lady. Do it!
The weapon was touching the floor, but her fingers were still on it. Come on!
She looked up at Chavez. He motioned for her to get up. Her hand wouldn’t leave the gun.
Deciding to push things along, as they all had things to do, he goaded her some more. “Look. I don’t have all day. Let’s just get this over and done with. I want to get out of here before the cops show up.”
Her eyes never left his as she stood slowly, her hands up in a defensive way. Using his shotgun, he motioned for her to come over to check out Blair. As she moved, Chavez held his breath, praying nothing would go wrong.
* * * *
Tanner watched the scene unfold before him in disbelief. He knew that Blair was supposed to be dead, but how did they get the machine to indicate she was? Was there really something wrong with her? Had something gone wrong?
When he started to go for Diego’s gun, Chavez gave a slight shake of his head to make him stop. Tanner really wanted to get his hand on that weapon. He wanted to be the one to put a hole in Catalina for keeping Blair in a suspended sense of terror for all these years.
Yet, he knew he wouldn’t be able to do that because the guilt would eat away at him. He wanted to make sure his mind was clear for the rest of his life while he made Blair happy. He hoped for children with her and a long, long life.
Chavez was gutsy taunting Catalina. Trying to get information from the woman was difficult, but she was being guarded. Did she know what he was trying to do, or was she hoping he would make a mistake and she could take him?
Looking around the room, Tanner saw a pair of boots under the curtain near where Brock was. He was pretty sure Derek and Chase were packing, and Chavez probably had another gun on him.
This was not how things were supposed to go down for him. He felt helpless. Also, the pain in his arm was really beginning to hurt.
* * * *
Catalina continued to hold her hands up as she took slow steps over to the gurney. She couldn’t believe that she was having to do this. Diego should have contacted this Durango guy this morning and told him that they were on their way to Polson to handle this personally. She shouldn’t have brought the idiot. It served him right that he got shot.
One of the paramedics stepped to the other side of the bed, while the other stepped behind Durango, who had turned as she walked closer to him. The idea that a gun was being held on her was nerve-racking.
Her stepfather had held a knife to her throat when she was younger. Catalina had just left her mother at the local hospital where she was recuperating from a beating the man had given her. Going to the local bar where she knew the man went to drink, she waited for him to come out. It was nearly three am before he stumbled from the building that was more a shack than a bar.
Carefully, she walked behind him expecting him to head home. Instead, he rounded the building to the back where he stood next to a tree and was taking a piss. She didn’t know which smelled worse, him or his piss. He really did need to see a doctor.
When he finished, he began to stumble, but Catalina stopped him. “What are you doing here?” he asked in slurred Spanish.
“I want you out of the house first thing in the morning,” she answered. “You’ve beaten me and my mother for the last time.”
He began to laugh as he pulled his knife from the leather sheath he kept on his belt. She stepped backward, but he grabbed her by the front of her shirt. He hauled her up to his chest, his putrid breath covering her as he said, “You don’t tell me what to do, little girl. You do what I tell you to do.”
Kicking at him and struggling, she just made him madder. He turned and pressed her up against a tree and smashed his mouth to hers. She tried to scream, but he thrust his fat tongue in her mouth.
Trying to fight was going to be difficult with his size, so she went limp. He pulled out of her mouth and threw her to the ground. It knocked the wind out of her, but she kept her senses about her.
She watched as he fell to his knees, a grunt escaping him. He set the knife down to be able to undo his pants. As he was pulling out his limp cock, she kicked out at him, knocking him over. Turning in the dirt, she grabbed the knife and began stabbing him.
Anger for her mother, and for herself, fed her revenge. When she felt as if he couldn’t hurt her anymore, she got up and took off running. She buried the knife deep in the ground in the forest, so the police wouldn’t find it. He was finally out of their lives.
Feeling empowered by her strength, she knew she could do anything. There was another person she had wanted revenge on, and that was her real father. When she went all the way to his compound to see him, he laughed at her and sent her on her way. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do anything to him, for he was constantly surrounded.
Catalina waited until the right moment, and it came in the form of illness. Now, she was in some tiny town in a near desolate state to take revenge on a woman who had been the victim of her father. The woman had been young when he had killed her family. Was this right?
She had to follow this through—otherwise no one would take her seriously.
Looking down, she saw the face of the woman who could have kept Catalina from being born. If her father had gone to jail, he never would have met her mother. Was it possible that things would have been better if her parents had never met?
Suddenly, the woman’s eyes opened and looked straight at Catalina. Catalina gasped and took a step back, right into the barrel of a gun. She froze.
“Juanita Miranda Catalina Ruiz, you are under arrest for the attem
pted murder of Blair Anderson,” Durango said from behind her.
Damn! This was a setup? How did they know I was coming?
She had to get out of here. There was no way she was going to jail here.
Catalina kicked out backward, striking nothing. Durango must have moved back slightly. She began to turn around to see what was going on, but she was met by three guns aimed at her, one from Durango and one from each of the paramedics, who were now sporting police badges on their belts.
Panic began to rise within her. Looking down at Martha, she had an idea. She reached down to grab the woman, but the covers were thrown back now, and Martha was pointing a gun at her. The curtain behind the gurney was pulled aside, and another cop stood with his old-timey pistol aimed at her.
The doors behind her opened, and a man in a suit along with a blond man in jeans and a black T-shirt strode in with guns held out but pointing down. Each had badges on their belts announcing they were with the FBI.
Knowing she was caught, she moved her arms behind her back, waiting to be handcuffed. The FBI agent who was wearing the suit came over and slapped the cuffs on her. As he did, he said in a pleased voice, “Just so you know, the DEA, Homeland Security, and Navy SEALs have gone in and arrested your father and all his men. His accounts and properties have been seized, so if you think you’re going to be able to use his attorney, I’d think again.”
Martha was standing now, her shirt a bloody mess, yet she didn’t look injured at all. Yes, this was all a massive setup.
Brock Tillman came rushing over to Martha, grabbed her in his arms, and held her tight.
Catalina had heard rumors about the people of this town taking on the Russian and Irish mob, but she had underestimated them.
Chapter Twelve
Blair was livid that Tanner had gotten shot. When she saw his arm, she wanted to beat the crap out of Catalina. She realized, though, that Perez and Catalina’s revenge was what brought her to this town, and to her men again. Being the bigger person was what was needed, for she was going to need to take care of her man.
As Catalina was being escorted out, Blair had asked where Brock was and was surprised to find out he had had an accident at the ranch and was in the ER. It hurt that they hadn’t let her know he was there, even after Tanner explained they didn’t want her in town. She was going to have to have a talk with her men.
“Blair,” Tanner asked from the hospital bed he was sitting up in. “Now that Perez has been taken care of, what are you going to want to be called? You can go back to your real name.”
He and Brock were in side-by-side cubicles. The doctor had stitched up his arm, and he would be released any minute. Brock was having his leg splinted. He would have to return in two days to get his leg casted, so for the time being, he was going to have to take it easy.
“Blair is good. I’ve gotten used to it.” She took Tanner’s hand in hers. “I don’t care what you call me, as long as you call me yours.”
Tanner raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I love you, Blair. The whole time I had that gun in my face, I kept trying to think of how I could vindicate you. I’m sorry I failed at it.”
She slapped his leg with her free hand. “Nonsense, Tanner Tillman! You don’t need to vindicate me. I’m just thankful you didn’t get hurt further. If you tried to do something, you could be…” She choked on the sob that surfaced.
“I just found you again, sugar. I’m not going anywhere.”
“That goes for me, too, sweetness,” Brock said from behind her. He was still in his bed, but the doctor and nurse were finishing up with him. “You’re stuck with us for the rest of our lives.”
Warmth filled her from their words. It had taken a long time to find the love she thought she would be without forever, and she was so blessed to have her first loves back in her lives.
Connor stopped at the end of Tanner’s bed, a sick look on his face. At first, Blair was concerned something happened with the prisoner.
“What’s wrong, Connor?” she asked as she tried to tamp down her fear.
“Gina’s on her way in. She’s in labor.”
Blair hid her amusement at his words. He was going to be a first-time father, a child who he would be actively involved in helping to deliver and raise from infancy.
Connor and Jared were wonderful fathers to Nathan, but it was always nice for a man to be there when his own baby was born. However, if he was this sick-looking, Blair hoped he would be able to get through what was going to happen in just a little while.
“That’s wonderful!” Blair exclaimed with enthusiasm. “Is Jared with her?”
“Yeah. He’s the one driving her in,” Connor said, still dazed. “They’ll be in here about ten minutes.”
Concern hit Blair when she thought of one important detail. “I thought she was supposed to have the baby in Kalispell. Her obstetrician is there.”
“Luckily, the doctor lives here in Polson. She’ll be here any minute.” Connor was so nervous, he was checking his watch every half minute or so.
Standing, Blair moved over to Connor and placed her hand on his arm. “Everything is going to be all right. Gina’s strong, and it’s still a couple weeks before her original due date.” She tried to encourage him. “We’ll stick around for a while.”
Connor shifted his gaze from her to Brock, and then Tanner. “Thank you. I appreciate that.” He looked back at her, and he let his eyes roam over her body. “I’m sorry we had to ruin your shirt.”
She shrugged. “It was an old one.” Then, holding out the hem of her new shirt, she sassed, “I really like my scrubs.”
Visibly easing up a bit, Connor laughed at her joke. He stepped over to Brock. “How are you doing? Any idea how long you’ll be down?”
“I’ll know more when I see the orthopedic surgeon, but most likely at least six weeks. The tibia is broken in two places,” Brock explained.
“They’re going to cast it to right above his knee, so it’ll be a bit difficult to get around the ranch for a while,” Blair added. “He’ll still be able to do the paperwork, but that’s about it.”
“I’ll work where I can, most likely giving orders and overseeing things from the sidelines.” Brock was still trying to work even from his hospital bed. Then, a sadness washed over him, his demeanor changing before Blair’s eyes. “Hey, Connor. I am so sorry this happened. It was a rookie move.”
“We all make mistakes, Brock. No apologies necessary. You’ve kept the ranch injury free for years.” Connor was trying to comfort Brock, but Blair could tell he was mulling over what was said.
The door from the reception area opened drawing everyone’s attention in that direction since the curtains had been left open. Trey Goodall walked in with Glen and Victoria. Victoria’s assistant, Darren, was following close behind as she was talking.
The nurse who was helping the doctor turned toward the new arrivals. “Who let you in? I wasn’t informed we had new patients,” she said sternly.
“We’re not patients,” Glen said, his voice boisterous through the large room. “We’re here for the baby.”
“What baby?” the nurse asked as she looked toward Victoria and then Blair.
“The baby that my daughter is going to have.” Glen was so cute when it came to Gina and Nathan.
He had taken both in as family, just like Connor and Gina had done to Blair. Well, the whole town had welcomed Blair with open arms when they found out she was in trouble. Blair had hidden in the kitchen so much while working that she had thought hardly anyone knew she existed.
Blair was truly blessed to have landed in a town that was so welcoming and friendly.
Glen made his way over to Blair as the nurse looked around in confusion. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”
She stood. “I’m good. Worried about my men, but I’m good.”
The man reached out and gathered her in his arms, giving her a bear hug. “You’re one of my kids now. You need anything, you come to me.”
Blair savored his words as she hugged him back. It had been so long since she had a family, and although it was nice to have a town behind her, it was nice to have a close family. She had to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill.
The nurse saved her from making herself a crying mess. “Excuse me,” the woman said with a bit of attitude. “I don’t see anyone here who is pregnant. Can someone explain what you mean by a baby?”
Glen released Blair.
At that moment, the doors to the ER bay opened with some force, and Jared and Gina walked in. Gina had a pained look on her face.
“Oh,” the nurse said quietly as she rushed past Glen to get to Gina. “How far apart are the contractions?”
“About eight minutes,” Jared replied. “But she needs a C-section because of her previous delivery. Dr. Roberts should be here for her.”
“Let’s get you to labor and delivery,” the nurse offered, right before the door to the reception area opened.
Everyone, still a bit on edge from the previous situation, turned to see who had entered.
A woman who looked like she was in her early twenties walked in, a duffel bag in her hand. She was slender and wearing a pair of black jeans and a black T-shirt with a large yellow smiley emoji in the middle of it. She was a striking beauty with long red hair that was pulled back in a ponytail.
“I’m Dr. Sophia Roberts,” she announced as she walked toward Gina. “How are you going?”
“Okay, I guess,” Gina responded. “I feel something like tearing, but I don’t know if that is part of being in labor.”
“No, it’s not.” Dr. Roberts looked at Jared. “Let’s get her to surgery. We should have a baby very quickly.”
Connor walked over to Gina, leaned down, scooped her up into his arms. “Let’s go have a baby, baby.”
He followed the doctor through a door off to the side of the ER with Jared following behind them.
“Jared,” Blair said, stopping the man at the door. “Who’s with Nathan?”
“One of the guys has him out for a ride on his pony until Angela gets there.” Jared went through the door, and it closed behind him.