Justice Undercover

by Connie Queen

  With a hand on Zoe’s back, she played with the girl’s blond curls. Nothing so precious as a sleeping child.

  The day must’ve taken its toll. She leaned back in the hay and closed her eyes. Before she knew it, movement had her trying to figure out where she was. She must’ve fallen asleep. Zoe stirred in her sleep and suddenly Kylie remembered where she was. The barn.

  Scuffling came from outside.

  Where was Luke?

  That wasn’t outside. Something moved in the corner. Her hand was steady in spite of chill bumps popping up on her arms. She slid her Glock out of her holster and gently climbed to her feet, careful not to wake Zoe. Staying low, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. Nothing but hay bales in the corner. No one in the doorway.

  Was Luke still keeping watch? If Luke was keeping an eye on the barn, he should be close by.

  More movement.

  Her chest constricted. Something was definitely in here.

  She eased closer, her gun ready. Two little beady eyes started back at her from behind a bale.

  She let out a pent-up breath with a whoosh.

  A possum scurried across the floor, stopped and looked at her. Then it took off again and disappeared behind the stacks of hay.

  Good grief. A smile spread across her lips and she dropped the gun to her side. She’d be glad when all this was over, and she could get a good night’s sleep.

  “Get me the money, beautiful.”

  Every muscle in her body tensed, and her heart leaped in her chest. She stared at the doorway but still didn’t see anyone.

  “I’m right here.” He chuckled. “In case you’re considering using that gun, just know I have a rifle aimed at that sleeping little girl. Precious, ain’t she?”

  His voice didn’t sound like Barry Goodlow, so Kylie guessed it must be Abraham Fisher. Come on, Luke. Where are you? “Okay,” she said, trying to keep a steady voice. “Let me get the money.”

  “I’d appreciate it if you’d put that gun down first.”

  Kylie did as he asked and laid her weapon on the other side of the barn, away from the twins. What would he do once she gave him the case? Open it or just take the container and run? She bent over and picked up the case by the handle, careful not to make a fast move.

  “See there. Not only are you beautiful, but smart, too. You’re a good nanny.”

  She listened for any sounds that would let her know Luke was nearby, but heard nothing. She stepped to the dark doorway, her palms sweaty, and held the empty case close to her leg. Should she slug him in the head?

  “Hand it over real slow so I don’t mistakenly think you’re trying to hit me like you did Barry.”

  So much for that idea. She’d barely moved the case when the man snatched it from her grip.

  “Thank you,” he said, panting as he moved quickly. His silhouette came into view as he fumbled to unlatch the case.

  Oh, no. Should she run back for her gun?

  “Ky-ee.”

  She turned and saw Braden sitting up and rubbing his eyes. “It’s okay. Go back to sleep,” she said, but he didn’t listen. The toddler got up, and she met him halfway across the hay-strewn floor and scooped him into her arms.

  “Where’s the money?” Abraham’s tone had gone from playful to deadly.

  She tried to swallow but the dryness in her throat made her cough. What to do now?

  The man burst forward and shoved the end of the rifle into her side. “I want the money.”

  “Okay. It’s outside,” she shrieked. “I’ll get it for you.”

  He took a step back to give her room.

  Zoe still slept, so she left her there. There was no way to go for her gun with Braden in her arms and she trekked outside with the man right behind her. A trip over a rock would probably get her shot. Braden remained quiet in her grasp. She maneuvered through a clump of sunflowers to the tractor. Luke said the bills were under the lid. “The money’s in—”

  “Get out of my way.” Abraham pushed her aside and dropped the gun to his side. “If the money’s not here...”

  Kylie dashed for cover. She zigzagged with Braden back to the barn, but Abraham must’ve been happy to see the money because he didn’t shoot at them. She set Braden on the ground and grabbed her Glock.

  Had Barry subdued Luke? Or maybe Abraham had taken him down before he came to the barn.

  As she neared the opening, gunfire exploded in the distance. Abraham cursed from outside.

  Her body shook with surprise before she darted back to the kids.

  The shots had to have come from the trailer.

  FOURTEEN

  Sweat beaded on Luke’s forehead as he stood legs apart, gun drawn. “Drop your weapon.”

  The lack of moonlight made the shadows even darker in the trees where he stood. His hiding place underneath the huge pecan tree couldn’t be better. Someone would have to be five feet away to see him. All the lights in the trailer were off.

  Barry Goodlow had stood frozen in the front yard since he’d fired his warning shot.

  Over thirty minutes ago, Luke heard movement in the woods and left his hiding place to check it out. He’d followed Goodlow from the woods to the trailer.

  Where was Fisher?

  The van sat five yards from Goodlow, and Luke knew a mad dash for his vehicle must be tempting. “Don’t think about it, Goodlow. Drop your weapon,” he ordered.

  Luke didn’t know if Jax O’Neill was close, but earlier he’d seen movement by the front the trailer. Either another suspect had joined them, or O’Neill had arrived.

  Goodlow glanced around like he was considering his options.

  “Now,” Luke said.

  Goodlow threw his rifle to the ground and held his hands in the air. “Don’t shoot.”

  “Walk forward and keep your hands in the air.”

  The man glanced around, hesitant to move.

  Where was his partner? Even when they knew they couldn’t get away, suspects hesitated to obey. “Walk.”

  The man took a few steps, but kept searching the area.

  Luke didn’t detect movement. He kept a lookout for a glint from a gun, a sign of motion. Anything. The trailer was in the shadows.

  Suddenly, the sound of running footsteps came from somewhere behind Luke.

  Goodlow dropped to his knees and gunfire lit up the night.

  Luke moved behind the trunk of the tree for cover.

  A man darted through the trees, gun blazing, and came to an abrupt stop beside the shed.

  Pop. Pop. More shots.

  And then silence.

  Goodlow was still, facedown in the yard. Whether he had taken a bullet or not, Luke couldn’t tell.

  “Don’t move.” Jax O’Neill’s voice carried across the yard, originating from Luke’s right, near the trailer. “Throw down your weapon. You’ve got three armed Texas Rangers with guns pointing at you. We’re short on patience and long on ammunition.”

  Fisher shouted, “You’ll have to come and get me first.”

  Three Rangers?

  “Drop it.” Texas Ranger Randolph stepped out from behind Fisher.

  The kidnapper cussed and had the sense to toss his rifle to the ground and put his hands in air. “This is all Tommy Doane’s doing.”

  O’Neill came out from behind the house as Randolph handcuffed Goodlow. “You all right, Dryden?”

  “Yeah. You could’ve given me warning you were here.” Luke’s heart was still racing. He had expected Jax to give him some sort of sign that he had arrived. It had been impossible to see with all the tree cover.

  O’Neill approached the man in the yard and checked for a pulse. “This one’s alive. Barely. There’s also one in the trailer who’s been shot.”

  “That’d be Tommy. Is he alive?”

  “
He was a while ago,” Jax said.

  Goodlow groaned and mumbled incoherently as sirens sounded in the distance.

  As Ranger Randolph led Fisher across the yard, he said, “We’ll be taking that money.”

  Fisher had the money. Fear choked Luke. “I need to check on Kylie and the twins.”

  “I’m here.” Kylie’s voice came from somewhere on the trail. “You could help me, though.”

  Luke holstered his gun and hurried to meet her. The sight of her with the twins stole his breath, a deep ache in his chest. They were all right. He strode over. Immediately he held out his hands and took Braden.

  The little fellow cried. “Me wanna go home.”

  Luke patted his back. “It’s okay. We’ll take you to Grandpa and Grandma’s house soon.” When he tried to take Zoe, Kylie said, “I can carry one of them.” Her hair hung in her face and the circles around her eyes showed her exhaustion.

  He whispered in her ear, “When I heard Fisher had the money it almost scared me half to death.” His shoulders sagged as he pulled her into a hug. “Glad you and the kids are all right. Heard Goodlow tramping through the woods and I followed him back here. I never would’ve left if I had known Fisher was out there.”

  “When you didn’t come out, I knew something had happened.”

  He pulled away from the embrace as the ambulance pulled into the drive, bright lights swirling. At least they had cut the sirens.

  Kylie looked at him, her eyes full of questions. “Tommy?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t gone in yet.” He squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Let me go check. Keep them out here. Okay?”

  “Okay.” She gave his shoulder one last touch before he turned around.

  Luke hurried into the trailer. Tommy was sprawled out on the floor, his breathing labored. “Are you hit?”

  Tommy moaned. “I am.” He gasped in another breath. “Sorry...’bout this. Megan deserved better.”

  “Save your energy.” Luke kneeled beside his brother-in-law—the pain was evident as Tommy clenched his teeth.

  “Braden... Zoe.” Tommy’s hand grasped Luke’s and squeezed, a desperate act of helplessness.

  “The kids are safe. An ambulance is here to take you to the hospital. Hang in there, Tommy.” Luke waited until two paramedics came through the back door carrying a stretcher.

  “Over here.” Luke motioned to where Tommy was lying on the floor. He stepped out of the way so the man and woman could do their jobs.

  “Get Hal. Make him pay...for Megan. Video on my phone. Couch.” Tommy’s voice trailed behind him as Luke went to retrieve Tommy’s cell phone. A quick scroll through the videos and he found the one he was looking for. Nausea swirled in his gut as Megan’s image appeared. The terror in her eyes. His hands shook as he heard Alcott’s voice demand the return of the money in three hours. Luke stalked down the back steps. He intended to get Alcott. The man responsible for Megan’s death would not get away with it.

  “How’s your brother-in-law?” Jax asked.

  “Doesn’t look good. He took a bullet to the shoulder earlier today and now this one in his gut. He’s lost a lot of blood.”

  Jax shook his head. “That’s never good.”

  “We have the evidence we need to bring Alcott down.” He held up Tommy’s phone.

  “You okay?” Jax’s gaze narrowed. “What did you find?”

  “I will be as soon as this man’s behind bars.” He handed Jax the cell phone and opened it to the video.

  His buddy’s eyes turned cold as he stared at the image. “I’m sorry, Dryden. We’ll get him.”

  To process the scene would take a while. Luke scanned the yard looking for Kylie.

  “Over here.” Kylie’s voice carried above the hum of the chaos in the yard. She had moved off to the side, out of the way of first responders.

  Luke strode over.

  She whispered, “How’s Tommy?”

  “The paramedics are with him right now.” Luke took Braden from her and moved closer, even though he knew the kids wouldn’t understand. “Doesn’t look good.”

  “Is Fisher or Goodlow talking?”

  “Goodlow’s hurt, but he was able to mumble he didn’t know what was going on. Innocent bystander.”

  “Innocent bystander carrying an assault rifle. Of course,” she replied sarcastically.

  “Fisher is throwing all the blame on Tommy. And evidently I grazed his left hand with a bullet while at the quarry.”

  Jax joined them. “This may take a while and the mosquitoes are awful. You want me to help the kids in the truck?”

  “I got this,” Luke answered. With the ambulance’s light flashing across the yard and people hurrying to do their jobs, the kids were wide-awake.

  “Fine,” Jax said. “But I have some fruit snacks in my truck if the kids are hungry.”

  “Thanks.” Luke nodded for Kylie to follow and they put the kids in their car seats.

  Randolph walked up to the truck. “Can they have a sticker?”

  At the sight of the stickers in the shape of an old Western lawman’s badge, Braden and Zoe held out their hands.

  Braden yelled, “I want one.”

  “Me, too,” Zoe chimed in.

  The Ranger smiled and stuck one on each of their shirts. He looked at Kylie. “I have kids of my own.”

  After Randolph walked away, Luke stuck his head in the door. “I’ll be back shortly.”

  It took over an hour for information to be exchanged. When Tommy and Goodlow had left by ambulance and they were through giving their statements, Luke and Kylie drove the kids back to his parents’ house.

  Sam and Dottie were pacing the kitchen floor when Luke walked through the front door at four-thirty in the morning with Kylie and the twins.

  “My babies.” Tears ran down his mother’s face as soon as her gaze landed on the kids. Even though the twins were sound asleep, he allowed his mom to take Zoe from his arms.

  “I was so scared.” His mom squeezed Zoe until she began to stir awake. “Grandma loves you so much.” She looked up at Luke. “Thank you. Thank you so much, son.”

  “Uh, I’ll help you, Dot.” Sam didn’t say a word to Luke but took Braden from Kylie. His dad’s hands shook as he held his grandson. With circles under his eyes, the man seemed to have aged ten years in the last few months.

  “They’re awfully tired, Mom and Dad.”

  A slow smile came to his mom’s lips, her face glowing. “We’ll put the kids to bed. I’m just so happy to have them safe.”

  “What did the doctor say?”

  His dad waved his hand through the air. “I’m fine.”

  “They didn’t think there was a concussion, but your dad has a pretty big goose egg,” his mom added. “They gave me a list of things to watch for like confusion or problems with coordination.”

  Dad’s eyes cut toward her. “Let’s get the twins to bed.”

  “You want something to eat?” Luke asked Kylie after his parents left the room.

  “I’m starved.” She held her stomach.

  “Late supper or early breakfast?” He opened the refrigerator door to see what was available.

  “Doesn’t matter. Anything simple. There’s no need to go to any trouble.”

  “There’s chicken-fried steak and mashed potatoes in the microwave,” his mom called from the bedroom.

  Kylie’s face grew a large smile. “She reminds me of my mom.”

  Luke returned the gesture. “Mom is great.”

  His mom shouted again, “Gravy’s in the fridge.”

  “Thanks.” Luke chuckled. “That’s one thing. I’ve never gone hungry.”

  Kylie helped fill two plates and put them in the microwave. She also found sliced cantaloupe. “This looks so good.”

  Luke found some biscuits in t
he bread cupboard, while she poured a couple of glasses of sweet iced tea and set them on the table.

  They were about to sit down when his folks came into the room, their eyes shining. Before Luke took a seat at the table, a hand clamped down on his shoulder. He turned around to his dad standing there.

  “Thanks, son.” The words were barely more than a whisper but the emotion behind them spoke volumes.

  His dad wasn’t a sensitive mushy type of man, and Luke knew it took a lot for his dad to make the gesture. There was something else in those dark eyes. Guilt? An apology? Luke didn’t know, but his dad was trying to make amends and he wasn’t about to let that slide. “You’re welcome, Dad.”

  If Luke didn’t know better, he’d think the moisture in those eyes were tears. He took the chair next to Kylie feeling somewhat sentimental by his dad’s reaction. It was more than worry over the twins’ safety, although that was certainly part of it. Regret had shown in his dad’s expression. Now in the light of things, his parents withholding the fact that Sam wasn’t his biological father didn’t feel like such a big deal as it did a few weeks before.

  He and Kylie sat at the table. She bowed her head.

  Luke said grace before the meal for the first time in months.

  Things seemed to be headed in the right direction. Only one thing could destroy his future plans. He shoved up his sleeves as he picked up his fork.

  It was time for Hal’s reckoning.

  FIFTEEN

  The early morning sun peeked through the blinds as Kylie and Dottie watched the kids in the living room. Braden and Zoe hadn’t gotten much sleep, but you’d never know it by watching them play in the small frog-shaped tent filled with plastic balls. They were overflowing with energy. No doubt, they’d need a good nap later, but it did Kylie’s heart good to see them just be kids again.

  Even Zoe’s quiet shell seemed to crack as she squealed and threw a ball at Braden.

  Luke strode into the room. “Jax called.” He leaned forward and whispered, “Tommy didn’t make it.”