A Threat to His Family

by Delores Fossen

  The room was so quiet that Laney nearly gasped when she heard the sound. Not an intruder. It was Eli’s phone that dinged with a text message.

  Volleying glances between the window and his phone, Eli read it. Then he cursed. “Jeremy said he lost sight of the armed idiot and thinks the guy went behind the trees.”

  Laney wanted to curse, too. That definitely hadn’t been what she’d wanted to hear. Now the guy could be anywhere, including much too close to the house.

  “Keep watch,” Eli reminded them as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

  She did. Laney’s gaze went from one side of her area to the other. Trees, yes. A white rail fence. And she could see the edge of the barn behind the house. What she couldn’t see were any signs of a hired gun. Since Owen had a much better view of the barn, she glanced at him just as he glanced at her. And he shook his head.

  “Nothing that I can see,” he said.

  “How’s the security system rigged?” she asked. She was certain that Owen had already mentioned it, but she wanted to make sure.

  “There are alarms on all windows and doors, including the windows on the top floor. If anyone tries to get in, we’ll know about it.”

  Good. It was especially good about the alarms being on the second story of the house. Laney doubted the intruder could get a ladder past the ranch hands, but even if by some miracle that happened, he wouldn’t be able to just break in without alerting them.

  Her heart skipped a couple of beats when she saw something move by the barn, and Laney automatically pivoted in that direction. It got Eli and Owen’s attention, and she heard them shift their positions, too. Then she saw the yellow tabby cat skirt out from the barn and dart across the yard.

  “It was just the cat,” Laney said. Even though she couldn’t actually hear Eli and Owen take breaths of relief, she figured that was what they were doing. She certainly was.

  Eli’s phone dinged again, putting her heart in her throat as she waited for him to relay the text. “Jeremy caught sight of him by the left side of the barn.”

  The barn. Much too close. And possibly the reason the cat had run.

  She couldn’t see the left side of the barn from her position, so she shifted, moving to the other side of the window. She still didn’t have a clear view, but she could see more of the barn.

  As she’d done earlier, Laney took aim in that direction. Just as she heard another sound. One she didn’t want to hear.

  A gunshot.

  * * *

  OWEN SAW THE rifle a split second before the bullet crashed through the kitchen window right next to where he was standing.

  Almost immediately the security alarm went off, the shrill, clanging sounds pulsing through the house. The bullet had been loud, deafening even, but the alarms were drowning out sounds that he wanted to hear.

  Like any kind of movement in the yard.

  If this armed thug was coming closer to the house, Owen darn sure wanted to know about it. Plus, he needed to make sure Francine and Gemma weren’t calling out for help.

  “Kill the alarm,” Owen shouted to Eli.

  His brother was closer to the keypad by the door, and besides, the shooter was obviously at the back of the house, where Owen was.

  Using the wall as cover, Owen glanced around the window frame at the barn. He didn’t see anything, but he knew the guy was there, hiding in the shadows. Waiting to do some more damage. He got proof of that when he saw the rifle again.

  Owen immediately fired, but the shooter must not have been hit because he managed to get off a shot. A second bullet came crashing through what was left of the window. The guy fired a third shot, then a fourth, but Owen couldn’t tell where the last two had landed.

  He prayed they hadn’t gone upstairs.

  Just the thought sent his heart and fear into overdrive. He knew that Francine would have Addie in the tub where she’d be relatively safe, but he didn’t want relatively when it came to his daughter. He wanted this idiot gunman dead so he couldn’t send any more lethal shots anywhere near the house.

  The house went silent when Eli turned off the alarm, and Owen immediately listened for Francine. Nothing, thank God. And he added another thanks when he didn’t hear Addie crying.

  “I’ve reset the security system,” his brother said. “But I had to turn off the sensors on the windows. All the windows,” Eli emphasized. “It was the only way to shut off the alarms.”

  That wasn’t ideal, but at least the doors would still be armed, and if the gunman came through a window, he’d have to break the glass since they were all locked. Owen knew that because he’d checked them all himself.

  With his attention still on the barn, Owen heard the dinging sound of a text message from Eli’s phone.

  “Jeremy’s been hit in the leg,” Eli relayed, tacking on some raw curse words. “Bennie says it’s not bad, and he’s tying off the wound.”

  Good. Owen definitely didn’t want the hand dying, but the injury basically took out both men who’d been guarding the house. It pinned them down so they might not be able to shoot the gunman even if they caught sight of him.

  “Should I call for backup?” Laney asked.

  Owen purposely hadn’t looked at her—because he hadn’t wanted to remember that she, too, was in danger, but he glanced at her now and shook his head. “I don’t want anyone else coming into an ambush.”

  In fact, he wanted her away from the window, but the truth was, with the hands out of commission, Owen needed her eyes and gun right now. Laney seemed ready to give them both. She certainly didn’t look as if she might fall apart. Just the opposite. She had a firm grip on her weapon and had it aimed in the direction of the barn.

  “I’ll call Kellan and an ambulance,” Eli volunteered. “But I will tell them to hold off, to keep some distance from the house. I agree. I don’t want anyone else gunned down tonight.”

  Owen listened while his brother made the quick call. That would put Kellan and the EMTs on standby at least, and he hoped like the devil that no one else got hurt. Well, no one other than the idiot who’d shot Jeremy.

  He dragged in a hard breath and held it while he continued to take glances out at the barn. He couldn’t wait long, though. Despite having Bennie there to help, Jeremy would soon need medical attention. Besides, Owen couldn’t have any more shots being fired into the house.

  “I see him,” Laney blurted. Before Owen could even respond, she fired, her shot blasting through the window. The glass practically exploded from the impact.

  Laney ducked back. Barely in the nick of time because the gunman returned fire, sending a shot right at her. This one didn’t just take out more glass but also a chunk of wood from the window frame. A reminder that those bullets could go through the walls.

  Owen saw the blood on Laney’s face. No doubt a cut from the flying glass or wood. And it turned his stomach. She was hurt, and even though it was probably minor, he hated that this snake had been able to get to her. Hated even more that the injury could have been much worse.

  Laney didn’t even react to the cut. She adjusted her position again, still staying by the window, and Owen quit glancing at her so that he could keep his attention nailed to the barn.

  The seconds crawled by as he waited, his finger on the trigger. He knew that Eli and Laney were doing the same thing, but Owen didn’t hear or see anything.

  When the seconds turned to minutes, Owen knew he had to do something. Jeremy needed help, and they couldn’t just stand there. He was going to have to do something to draw out the gunman.

  “Eli, keep low but come back here,” Owen instructed. “I’m going to duck out from cover. When he takes aim at me, shoot him.”

  “No,” Laney insisted. “You could be shot.”

  Yeah. But so could everybody else in the house. Owen didn’t say that to her, though. He just waited until
Eli was in position on the other side of the window. Owen gave him the nod and leaned out from cover.

  Nothing.

  No rifle barrel. No gunman.

  Where the hell was he? Owen was about to ask Eli to text Jeremy to see if he had eyes on the gunman, but before he could do that, Owen heard something that shot fresh adrenaline through him.

  The alarm from the security system.

  Someone had tripped it, and that someone was in the house.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Laney tried to tamp down the jolt of fear she got from the alarm, but it was impossible not to react.

  The gunman was almost certainly inside.

  She forced her mind to clear so she could do a quick review of the house. Eli had said the windows were no longer armed so the intruder must have come in through a door.

  Laney could see both the front door in the foyer and the back door in the kitchen. They were closed, so that left two other points of entry. The one at the side of the house off the family room. Or the one that led from carport area and into the house. Either one of those could give him access to the kitchen.

  Or the back stairs that led to the second floor.

  “Addie,” Owen said over the clamor of the alarm.

  Eli nodded. “I’ll go up and guard the door.” She saw the same fear and concern in his eyes that was no doubt in hers.

  Eli had likely volunteered because he was closer, right at the base of the front stairs. Without waiting for Owen’s response, he disengaged the security system, silencing the alarms again, then barreled up the steps, taking them two at a time.

  Owen hurried into the living room with her, positioning them so they were back to back. He didn’t have to tell her to keep watch of the foyer in case the gunman came that way. He did the same to the back of the house.

  Even with the silenced alarm, it was still hard for Laney to hear, but she picked her way through her throbbing pulse so she could listen. Nothing. Not at first. And then she heard what she was sure was someone moving around.

  Owen must have heard it, too, because the muscles in his body stiffened even more than they already were. “It came from the family room,” he whispered, automatically switching places with her so that he faced that direction.

  Laney didn’t like that he’d done that to take her out of the line of fire, but she knew that was an argument she wouldn’t win. No way would Owen just stand there and let her face danger when he could do something about it.

  Owen cursed softly when something or someone bumped against the wall. Not in the family room. Laney was almost positive this sound had come from the carport area. That caused the sickening dread to flood through her.

  Because it meant there were likely two killers.

  Her gun was already raised and ready, but she tried to steady her grip. A shaky hand wasn’t going to help them now. Especially since it was possible the two thugs had coordinated an attack. They could come after them at the same time, trapping them in the crossfire.

  That put a crushing feeling around her heart to go with the dread that was already there. Owen could be killed. And all because of her. Then these monsters could go upstairs and finish off everyone in the house. That meant she and Owen had to stop them before they got a chance to do that.

  Owen’s phone dinged, the sound she recognized as a text from Kellan. But Owen didn’t take his phone from his pocket. She was thankful for that. Laney didn’t want anything to be a distraction right now even though the message could be important.

  Laney kept watching. Kept waiting. With her breath so thin, she felt starved for air, and her shoulders so tense, the muscles started to cramp.

  She heard another sound. Not footsteps this time but rather a car engine. She didn’t risk looking at Owen, but she saw the slash of headlights coming straight for the house.

  Kellan.

  Maybe.

  Eli had told him to stay back to avoid being ambushed. Maybe Kellan had decided against that, which would explain the text to Owen’s phone that he hadn’t been able to check. If Kellan had indeed decided to come forward, she hoped he wouldn’t be shot.

  She glanced over her shoulder when the sound and lights got closer. In the distance, Laney could hear the sirens. Too far away to be the vehicle approaching the house.

  And it was coming too fast.

  There was a loud crash, and it felt as if it shook the entire house. The impact sent the front door flying open, and that was when she realized the car had collided with the front porch.

  Maybe this was a third gunman. Or some kind of ruse to distract them from the two who were already in the house. If so, it worked, because the person who staggered through the front door got their attention.

  Emerson.

  “What the hell is going on?” he grumbled. “The ranch hands wouldn’t let me in, and I had to bash through the gate.”

  The headlights on the car were out now, maybe damaged in the collision, making it was hard to see Emerson in the dark foyer. However, she could tell that he wasn’t armed, or rather that he didn’t have a gun in his hand, which was probably the only reason Owen hadn’t shot him on sight.

  Even in the darkness, she noticed that Emerson’s eyes widened when he looked at them, and he shook his head as if dazed. Maybe drugged or drunk. Something was definitely wrong.

  “What the hell is going on?” Emerson repeated, his words slurred.

  “Why are you here?” Owen asked. He had his gun aimed at his brother-in-law while his gaze fired all around the area.

  Emerson opened his mouth, closed it and scrubbed his hand over his face. “Something happened to me. I’m not sure what.”

  Laney had no idea if he was telling the truth, but even if he was, she had no intention of trusting the man. This could all be some trick to make them believe he was innocent when he could be the one pulling the strings on the hired guns. He could have already given them orders to attack.

  “Get facedown on the floor,” Owen told Emerson. “Put your hands behind your back.”

  Good. That way, they could maybe restrain him until they could take care of the intruders.

  “You’re arresting me?” Emerson howled. Now the anger tightened the muscles in his face. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

  “I’m the lawman who’s going to take you down if you don’t get on the floor.” There was plenty of anger in Owen’s voice, too.

  Emerson made a sound of outrage and moved as if he might charge right at them. He didn’t get a chance to do that, though, before someone reached out from the side of the stairs and latched onto the man.

  Then the person put a gun to Emerson’s head.

  * * *

  FROM THE MOMENT Emerson staggered through the door, Owen had figured that things were about to go from bad to worse. He’d thought that maybe Emerson would just start shooting.

  Or order his goons to shoot.

  And maybe he would still do that, but for now it appeared that one of those hired guns had taken him hostage. Appeared, Owen mentally repeated. There was no way he was going to take this at face value.

  Owen immediately grasped Laney’s arm and pulled her to the side of arched opening that served as an entrance to the family room. As cover went, it wasn’t much, so he made sure he was in front of Laney.

  “Do anything stupid—anything—and the DA dies,” the man behind Emerson growled.

  Owen didn’t recognize the husky voice and, even though it was hard to see the man in the dark shadows, he got a glimpse of part of his face. Owen didn’t recognize him, either.

  “Let go of me,” Emerson yelled and tried to ram his elbow into the gunman’s stomach.

  The gunman dodged the blow, bashed the butt of his gun against Emerson’s head and curved his arm around his neck. Emerson continued to struggle as the man tightened his choke-hold grip.


  “What’s going on down there?” Eli shouted. “I texted you to tell you that Emerson charged past the hands. Did he make it all the way to the house?”

  “Yeah. I’m handling it,” Owen answered. “Stay put,” he added to his brother when he heard a sound he didn’t want to hear.

  Addie crying.

  “She’s okay,” Eli quickly said. “The noise just woke her, that’s all.”

  Owen released the breath that had caused the viselike pressure in his chest. His baby was safe. For now. He needed to make sure she stayed that way.

  “Are you working for Emerson?” Owen asked the gunman.

  The guy snorted out a laugh. “Does it look like he’s my boss?”

  A desperate person out to kill them could make this look like anything he wanted. That included setting up a fake hostage situation. But it didn’t look fake. Didn’t feel that way, either. Emerson’s head was bleeding, and he was gasping for air. Plus, there was that panicked look in his brother-in-law’s eyes, which looked like the real deal.

  “Things obviously didn’t go as planned,” the man said. “My partner’s missing. Maybe your sheriff brother took him out, but he’s not answering.”

  That was possibly Kellan’s doing or one of the hands’. Either way, Owen was thankful there was only one of them. But that did make him wonder.

  When had it happened?

  He’d heard two sets of footsteps—Owen was certain of that—so did that mean Kellan was in the house?

  “Because things got screwed up, I need to get out of here, and I’m going to use the DA here to do that,” the gunman insisted. “Since it appears he’s messed up his car by running it into your porch, I’ll be taking that truck parked out front. If you don’t have the keys, I’ll start shooting, and that woman you’re trying to protect just might be the one who takes the bullet.”