Maya couldn’t see the guns from her angle, but there were holes in the upper part of the barn. The guns could be positioned behind there.
“You and Maya need to step out of the truck,” the kidnapper instructed. “I want the money in Maya’s hands. You can keep your gun because I suspect you’ve got one hidden away as backup anyway. Just remember that part about bullets flying. Not a good idea.”
“There’s no reason for Maya to get out,” Slade argued. “I can bring you the money.”
“You could if that’s what I’d told you to do. I didn’t. I said for Maya to bring it. Or maybe you want this kid sent off to Mexico.”
“I’ll do it,” Maya insisted. Their gazes met, and she hoped that her expression was a reminder that they had backup in place and there was no reason for the kidnapper to shoot them.
Well, no reason she could think of.
She prayed she was right about that.
Slade mumbled some profanity, and she could see the struggle going on behind those steely muscles. But there was no other option here. They couldn’t risk a shootout with the baby and Nadine as hostages.
“Stay behind me,” Slade insisted, and he scooped up the money bag and handed it to her. “Get out on this side.”
Of course, that meant her crawling over Declan, but somehow they managed to reposition themselves so that she could exit on the driver’s side behind Slade.
Maya finally got a good look at the kidnapper, who was indeed wearing a ski mask, and he had a gun in his right hand. The baby in his arms was crying nonstop now. That didn’t help settle her nerves. Of course, nothing would at this point except getting the baby out of there.
Was it Morgan Gambill behind that mask?
It was possible.
He’d escaped from the sheriff’s office during that fake bomb scare, and she had no doubt that he worked for the kidnapper. That slight bulge beneath the mask near his right ear also told her that he was probably wearing some kind of communicator. Maybe so the man who’d orchestrated this could give him orders.
“Is the baby Will?” Nadine called out. “I can’t see his face, but I need to know if it’s Will.”
Maya was surprised she couldn’t tell from the baby’s cries. She certainly would have been able to tell if it was Evan. Of course, Nadine probably hadn’t spent a lot of time with the baby she’d intended to adopt since the adoption had been Chase’s idea.
“Open the money bag and drop it in front of me,” the kidnapper instructed, drowning out Nadine when she repeated her question.
Even though her hands were shaking, Maya managed to open it, and Slade and she walked forward with him staying in front of her. She saw Nadine sitting on the hay-strewn floor. Her hands had been tied to a support post, and she looked as terrified as Maya felt. If this was an act, then Nadine was doing a very good job of playing the hostage victim.
“Come closer,” the man ordered. They took another step just as Slade’s phone rang. “Go ahead. Answer it.”
That was a surprise, and Maya was instantly suspicious. Slade didn’t take his eyes off the kidnapper, but he used his left hand to ease his phone from his pocket, and he handed it to Maya. She saw Declan’s name on the screen and figured this wasn’t good news.
“We got a problem,” Declan said the moment she answered. “There are two vehicles approaching the ranch. Slade and you need to get out of there now.”
Chapter Fourteen
Slade couldn’t hear what the caller had said to Maya, but it had her turning, and her attention zoomed to the road leading to the ranch.
“I guess that was one of your brothers letting you know we have visitors,” the kidnapper calmly said.
Hell. This couldn’t be good. Even though his gun was ready, Slade turned slightly so he could try to better protect Maya.
“No reason for concern,” the man added. “Our visitors are just like you. They’re here to bring money so you can bring this squalling kid back where he belongs.”
Slade glanced at the two approaching vehicles. There was no way Declan could have seen them from his position in the truck, so that meant his brother must have used the infrared.
“Are they armed?” Slade said loud enough that Declan would hear.
Maya still had his phone pressed to her ear, and she shook her head. “He can’t tell.”
So that meant Declan was no doubt positioning himself in case this went from bad to worse.
“Remember, keep your fingers off those triggers,” the kidnapper growled.
As if Slade needed the warning. The baby’s cries were plenty enough for him to know this couldn’t turn into a shooting match. Well, not unless Slade could get the baby and Maya to safety first. Then he’d like nothing more than to take this guy out.
Of course, there was the threat of the assault rifles.
It was possible to rig the rifles to fire with some kind of trigger device, but there was no way to predict the path of the bullets. That only made things more dangerous.
The two cars pulled to a stop on each side of his truck, and Slade maneuvered Maya so that she was closer to the door in case she had to run for cover and get back inside with Declan.
“It’s Randall,” Maya mumbled.
Yeah, it was. Randall stepped from the first car. He had a gym bag in his left hand and lifted his right hand in the air as if surrendering.
“Welcome, Mr. Martin,” the kidnapper said. “Hope you brought me lots of cash.”
Randall scowled at Slade and Maya as if this were somehow all their fault. “I brought what I had from my business. About $11,000.” It wasn’t just his expression that was hostile. His tone was, too. “Now, where the hell is Gina? And is that her kid?”
The kidnapper shook his head, and though Slade couldn’t see his face, he could have sworn the guy smiled. “Sorry, no Gina.”
“You bastard! You said you had her and would release her if I paid you.” Randall charged forward but came to a skidding stop when the kidnapper pointed the gun at him.
“Hey, I had to say something to get you here,” the kidnapper calmly answered. “And it worked. Besides, this kid could be hers. Trust me, I’ll be more than happy to turn him over to you just as soon as I have all the money.”
Randall made a sound of outrage. “I don’t want the baby. I want Gina!”
“Oh, your poor thing,” he mocked, but his voice took on a harder edge. “Just drop the money bag in front of me and shut the hell up.”
“I want to know where Gina is,” Randall fired back.
“You’ll learn that after I have the money from all of you. Now put it on the ground and then step back by the marshal.”
Slade wasn’t at all sure Randall would do that, but he finally went forward. That was when Slade saw the gun tucked in the back waist of Randall’s pants. He hoped to hell Randall didn’t start shooting.
“He says he’s got assault rifles rigged to a sensor,” Slade explained to Randall. “If any of us fires, he says the rifles go off.”
Randall’s eyes widened, and he glanced nervously around the barn. He gave a shaky nod, dumped the bag on the ground and then went to stand beside Slade. Not the best position as far as Slade was concerned. He didn’t want any of the suspects this close, but at least he could see Randall this way. The more immediate concern was the person in the other car.
“Maya, it’s your turn now,” the kidnapper said. “Put the money bag next to Randall’s.”
“Not until I know who’s in the other car,” Slade countered.
“I figured you’d already guessed.”
Yeah, he had. “Chase Collier?”
“And the nanny, Andrea whatever-her-name-is.” He made a motion with his hand, and the two stepped out. Both put their hands in the air as well, and Chase was carrying what
appeared to be yet another bag of money.
Both Andrea and Chase looked terrified, normal for the situation, but there was nothing about this situation or their reactions that Slade trusted. After all, they were both suspects. As were Randall and Nadine. For all he knew, Nadine wasn’t even tied up.
“Chase!” Nadine yelled. “Help me. Get me out of here.”
But Chase barely spared his wife a glance. His attention went to the baby. “Is it Will?”
“We don’t know, and he won’t say,” Slade answered.
“You can’t tell from the cries?” Maya asked.
Both Andrea and Chase listened, and Andrea finally shook her head. “It doesn’t sound like Will.”
Then it could be the other baby, Caleb Rand. Or another baby the guy had kidnapped. It could even be Slade’s child. But he forced the thought aside. The only thing that mattered now was that a baby needed to be rescued.
“How’d you know to come here?” Slade asked Randall and the others.
“I got a call from this bozo,” Randall snapped. “He said he had Gina and that he was holding her hostage.”
“He called me, too,” Chase answered.
Andrea’s attention was glued to the baby. “I was with Chase when he got the call, and I insisted on coming with him. I had to make sure Will was okay.”
Later Slade would want to know why they were together, but he had bigger fish to fry—mainly getting them all out of there alive.
“Toss the money bag next to Randall’s,” he told Maya.
She reached around him and slung the bag in that direction. It landed practically at the kidnapper’s feet.
“And what about you, Mr. Collier?” the kidnapper asked. “How much did you bring me?”
“Fifty thousand. It’d better be enough. Now hand over the baby. And Nadine.” But it certainly sounded as if he’d added his wife as an afterthought.
Nadine obviously felt the same way. Her mouth tightened to the point of looking painful.
Chase put the money next to the others, and by Slade’s calculations, it was about a hundred grand. Not chump change but still not as much as the kidnapper could have gotten from a man like Chase. Of course, if the kidnapper had guessed the child might be Slade’s, he could have demanded more, too. Slade himself wasn’t a rich man, but since Kirby had given him and each of his brothers part ownership of the ranch, they were all doing a lot better than just okay.
So why this hasty demand?
Had something gone wrong and this guy’s boss had told him to unload the baby? Or was something else going on? It was the possibility of something else that worried him most.
“You’ve got your money,” Slade reminded the guy. “Now give us Nadine and the baby.”
“I think I’ll keep Nadine for a while,” the man said. “But Maya can take the kid, and the rest of you can go.”
Slade wasn’t sure who howled the loudest—Nadine or Randall. “I’m not leaving without Gina,” Randall said at the same time that Nadine yelled out, “Chase! Don’t let him do this.”
“You want Gina,” the kidnapper said to Randall. “You need to look in Houston. A little bird told me she was in at one of those extended-stay motels called the Bluebonnet.”
Randall turned and started to bolt, but Slade caught onto his arm. “Best if we all leave together,” he warned Randall in a whisper. “The kidnapper could have gunmen somewhere on the road to pick us off one by one.”
Randall mumbled some profanity, but he stayed put.
“Let’s get the baby,” Slade whispered to Maya, and he walked with her over to the kidnapper.
“No way,” the guy snarled, turning his gun on Slade. “You stay put. I figure if you get hold of me, you can kick my butt six ways to Sunday. So stay back.”
And the kidnapper did some moving, too. He positioned himself in front of Nadine and crouched down so that it would make it next to impossible for one of his brothers to use infrared to pinpoint the kidnapper’s location and send a kill shot right at him.
That new position didn’t please Slade, nor did the man’s order for him to stay back, but he stopped. “Move fast,” he told Maya. “Get the baby and then get inside the truck.”
Maya did exactly as he asked, and Slade knew she was moving fast, but time seemed to stop. It sent his heart crashing when he saw the kidnapper point the gun within just a few inches of Maya’s head.
She wasn’t faring much better.
Her hands were shaking, but she managed to take the crying baby and pulled it close to her chest as she raced toward the truck. Slade held his breath until she was inside, but he figured his breathing wouldn’t return to normal until they were out of there.
“Is that Will?” Andrea called out. She rushed forward and probably would have jumped in the truck if the kidnapper hadn’t pointed his gun at her.
“I don’t want anybody moving. And here’s what’s gonna happen next. Maya, you put the baby on the seat and drive out of here. I’ll keep the marshal and the others a little while longer.”
“No!” Maya said, lifting her head. Nadine and Andrea shouted the same, and Nadine began to struggle even harder with the ropes.
“Yes,” the kidnapper argued, his gun still aimed at Andrea. “And since I don’t think anyone wants to be shot, Maya better get behind the wheel and start that engine now.”
“Do it,” Slade insisted when she didn’t move. “Get the baby out of here,” he added. Yeah, it was playing dirty. No way would she hang around an armed man and put the baby’s life at risk.
Behind the kidnapper, Nadine tugged and jerked, her shoulders rocking back and forth. If the gunman noticed, he didn’t say anything. He volleyed his attention in front of him, specifically at the truck.
Damn it. This could be a ruse to separate Maya from the rest of them. Was she the kidnapper’s target? If so, why hadn’t he tried to shoot her when she stepped from the truck?
Maybe because the kidnapper needed her alive.
But why?
Slade didn’t have time to come up with an answer, because Maya started the engine and began backing out of the drive. She’d barely made it a foot when Nadine broke free of the rope. Instead of ramming her body into the kidnapper, she tried to get to her feet and run.
Not a good idea.
The kidnapper cursed, turned and latched on to her. Slade’s instincts were to rush forward, to try and help Nadine, but he had an even greater need to protect Maya and the baby.
Chase and Andrea, however, both shouted and ran toward the front of the barn. Randall drew his gun. Not the best thing to steady Slade’s nerves. Because now he had to watch Randall and the kidnapper.
“Try to contain the situation,” Slade shouted, and he hoped his brothers could do that.
He turned so he could get into the truck. That way, if this was some kind of ruse to get Maya, both Declan and he could protect her. Besides, they needed to get the baby to the hospital ASAP just in case he’d been injured.
But the sound stopped Slade cold.
The shot blasted through the barn, and he whirled back around to see Nadine’s hand on the kidnapper’s gun. Judging from her horrified expression, she’d accidentally pulled the trigger in the struggle. Slade couldn’t tell if she’d been shot or if she’d managed to shoot the kidnapper.
That’s because a new sound snared his attention. Movement from the barn rafters, and before he could even make it to the truck, the bullets started flying.
Hell.
Since Slade knew from infrared there were no other people inside the barn, that meant the kidnapper hadn’t lied about the assault rifles being rigged with a sound sensor.
Everyone dived to the ground, but Slade got into the truck. In the same motion, he pushed Maya back to the floor. Declan was still lying on the seat, th
e crying baby in the crook of his arm, but he handed off the baby to Maya so he could get up. He lifted his gun.
Just as some shots crashed into the front windshield. The bullet-resistant glass stopped them, but the glass cracked and webbed, making it impossible for Slade to see what was happening.
But he could hear the chaos.
Nadine was screaming nonstop. Andrea, too. But the nanny was shouting out Will’s name.
“Get in the back of the truck,” Slade yelled to whoever could hear him.
It wasn’t ideal cover, but it was better than being out in the open. However, none of them took him up on the offer. Randall jumped to the side of his own car, and Chase and Andrea dived to the side of Chase’s vehicle.
The bullets continued to smack into the truck, tearing through the metal and glass, and Slade knew he couldn’t wait any longer. He had to get out of there.
He threw the truck into Reverse and slammed on the accelerator, but he had to weave around Randall’s and Chase’s vehicles so he could get to open space.
“Harlan and the others are closing in on the barn,” Declan relayed. Declan had his phone sandwiched against his ear and his attention on the side mirrors.
Good. Maybe they could get Nadine to safety and arrest the kidnapper. They needed the man alive so he could tell them the location of the other baby.
And the name of the person who’d hired him.
Slade especially needed that so he could go after the person who’d put all these babies and Maya in danger.
The bullets continued to come at them, and once Slade was clear of the other vehicles, he turned the truck around so that the shots were going into the back rather than the windshield. The moment he was on the gravel road, he hit the accelerator again to put some distance between them and the bullets.
“Someone might try to take Maya,” Slade relayed to Declan.
She gasped, but Declan only nodded. “That’s why the kidnapper insisted you bring her.”
“But why?” Maya asked.
That was the million-dollar question, but there was the possibility that the kidnapper wanted to use Maya to get them to turn over Evan. That wouldn’t happen, but it was clear the kidnapper was desperate or he wouldn’t have orchestrated this lethal situation.
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