Looking for a Cowboy

by Donna Grant

  Chapter 45

  Everything had changed in an instant. And Stella didn’t like it.

  She wasn’t sure what to make of Chuck. He’d always been her right-hand man, the person who always did as ordered without question. But now, he was someone different. Someone she wasn’t sure she could trust—and most definitely someone she was afraid of.

  Not that she could do anything about that at the moment. He literally held her life in his hands.

  Oh, he’d told her that she could leave, but she didn’t believe that for a second. This man was someone she didn’t know. This Chuck was someone who killed simply for sport.

  For all she knew, he’d always been like this, but had kept it from her. It was her fault. She had looked for people just like him because it took a certain type of person to track down pregnant women, kill them, and cut out their babies. She knew what kind of monster she was and had thought she knew what kind of monsters she employed. Obviously, she’d been wrong.

  She didn’t ask him where they were going again. Instead, she kept her hands on her lap as he drove. She noticed the area, keeping details in her mind, even when it got dark. She was shaking, though not from the cold. In response, Chuck turned on the heater. Before, she would’ve thought he had noticed her needs. But now, it made her shake even more.

  “I’m glad you stayed,” he suddenly said.

  Stella glanced at him and forced herself to smile. “We’ve been through a lot together.”

  “Yes, we have. And we’ll get through this.” He blew out a breath. “I’m sure when we do, you’re going to want to talk about all of this. I’ll tell you now, there’s nothing to discuss. I’m doing what needs to be done for you, me, and the company. That includes everyone who works for you. You’ll realize that once you’re safe.”

  She nodded, looking out the passenger window. “I’m sure you’re right. It’s been ages since I’ve had to run for my life.”

  “I always promised I’d protect you. I don’t take vows like that lightly.”

  He slowed and turned off the main road onto what was nothing more than a path created by several vehicles’ passage over the years. They bounced along as the truck rolled through puddles of water, some thick with mud.

  She thought he might have stashed another vehicle out here for them to switch to, but the farther he drove through the woods, the more she realized that wasn’t the case. She tried to tell herself that there was a helicopter waiting for them.

  The idea was ridiculous. It would bring too much attention to them. But she couldn’t stop trying to make Chuck out to be a decent person in her mind. How could she do that when she had employed him to kill others and kidnap children?

  Finally, he came to a stop and put the truck in park. Her gaze took in the clearing she saw through the trees. He turned off the ignition, cutting the light, and looked at her. She couldn’t make out his face, just this outline. He kept telling her that he’d protect her. Surely, that didn’t mean he was going to kill her, did it? In truth, she honestly couldn’t answer that.

  “You can stay here, but I think you’ll want to see this,” Chuck said.

  Stella rubbed her hands together. “I’ve not warmed up yet.”

  “Suit yourself.” He opened the door and got out, shutting the door behind him.

  She watched as he walked toward the clearing with purpose. He had come here for something, but she couldn’t tell what from where she sat. And she had seen very little when they’d driven up. As much as she wanted to remain in the truck, Stella found herself reaching to open the door. She softly pushed it closed behind her and followed Chuck.

  Stella stood behind two trees and watched when Chuck also ducked behind a trunk. She saw him look up. She did the same and made out the outline of something rectangular in the trees. If she wasn’t mistaken, that was a spotlight.

  Her gaze jerked back to the clearing. Chuck had set a trap for someone.

  * * *

  Exhaustion and pain weighed heavily on Marlee. Her throat was parched from dehydration, and she was soaked through and unable to stop shivering. But she wasn’t going to stop. She had to keep going.

  Her mind wandered, going over the conversations she and Cooper had had. Some made her smile, others made her laugh, and many made her stomach flutter. He was special in so many ways, and she’d dragged him and his friends into this mess that was her life. No, it was her life and her work.

  She rolled her eyes. How could anyone even think about being with her when she had such a job? She was always traveling, digging up information on people she’d rather not know. She chased bad guys in the hopes of getting a win at the end of the day. And for what? Little pay, long hours, horrible health benefits, and few rewards.

  Maybe it was time she rethought her future, because she didn’t want to end up alone. And if she continued on this path, that’s precisely what would happen. She had a chance with Cooper. She knew that now. Only a fool would let that go, and she wasn’t a fool.

  At least, not most of the time.

  Her steps slowed as she realized she’d reached a clearing. It wasn’t something she had seen at all yet, so it gave her pause. She leaned heavily upon the stick and tried to get a read on the situation with her instincts, but her head was pounding too hard for her to focus on anything.

  Marlee could go around the open area, but why? It was just a clearing. What could possibly happen? Her entire body ached, and if she could shave off even thirty seconds getting to wherever she was headed, she was going to do it. She took one step, then two into the clearing. On her third step, a voice rang out.

  “Took you long enough.”

  She knew that voice. It was the man who had called her earlier. Marlee stilled, debating whether to back up to the tree line again. Before she could, she heard what sounded like a switch being thrown, and then light flooded the area, blinding her. Marlee lifted an arm to block the lights directed at her as she looked in the direction where she’d heard the voice.

  “Where’s Cooper?” she demanded.

  The man’s laugh sounded all around her. “I have no idea, though my guess is he’s still locked in the warehouse with the bomb on the door.”

  Marlee blinked and lowered her arm. “So you drew me out here on my own because you couldn’t get to me any other way?”

  “Oh, I could get to you,” he said and stepped from behind a tree. He wore a smile that made her blood run cold. It was malicious, one worn by someone without a soul.

  “Then why here?”

  He chuckled, staring at her. “Of all the questions you must have, that isn’t the one I’d be asking if I were you.”

  “Oh? And which should I ask?”

  “The one about your sister.”

  Marlee gasped, her stomach clenching as if she’d been kicked.

  The man laughed, his smile widening. “I didn’t do it, but I know who did. From what I understand, she fought. Even after he cut her carotid.”

  Bile rose in Marlee’s throat. She wished she had her gun because she’d unload the clip in this man’s face.

  “Is that hard to hear?” he asked, his smile still in place. “All these years, you’ve been searching for your sister’s killer. And you’ve been close so many times, I can’t believe you didn’t find us.” The man tapped a finger to his lips. “You know, if I were you and knew how close I’d come, it might make me sick.”

  Marlee glared at him, hate rising in her like a tidal wave. “Do you get off saying these things to people?”

  “Maybe,” he replied. “Before today, the closest you got to us was a year after your sister’s death. I stood ten feet from you. The man who killed your sister was right next to you, and you didn’t even know it.”

  “And you let me live? That’s hard to believe.”

  “It wasn’t my choice,” he told her. “I wanted you dead then. I’ve been trying to get her to let me kill you every day since.”

  Her. Marlee knew he was talking about Stella.

&n
bsp; The man shrugged. “Had I ignored her orders years ago, we wouldn’t be here today. You’ve ruined things for all of us.”

  “I’ve ruined things?” Marlee asked with a snort. “What about all those families torn apart by the murders of their wives, mothers, sisters, or friends? And then the kidnapping of the newborns from their wombs? Shall we talk about that devastation? Everything that’s happening is of your own creation. Yours and Stella’s.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “Of course, you’d say that. You, who live in your perfect little house with your perfect family, perfect job, and perfect life. You have no idea what it’s really like out there in the world. How savage people are, how bloodthirsty. It’s survive or die, and I’m a survivor.”

  “And if it was your wife who was murdered? Your baby cut from her womb?”

  “That wouldn’t happen to me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Boy, are you ever cocky. I hate to tell you this, but your days are numbered.”

  “Says you?” he asked with a laugh. “You came out to the woods without a phone or a weapon, simply because I told you I had Cooper. Love is stupid and blind, and it has done nothing but bring you to your death.”

  Marlee shifted her feet. “Maybe so. But if you think any of my new friends are going to let this go, then you know nothing about them. They will hunt you down. Even if I’m the only one you kill—”

  “Oh, you aren’t. Remember, I got to Jace earlier.”

  She could only blink at him. He had no remorse in his voice or in his expression. This was pure evil staring back at her. She’d known it when she encountered him at the house. She’d known it when she spoke to him on the phone. And she knew it now.

  But it changed nothing. She was still out here. He’d set all of this up, which meant that regardless of what she said or did, she wasn’t getting out of this alive.

  “You think I was kidding about the bomb where I stashed Cooper?” The man shook his head. “’Fraid not. There’s also a trap in the woods by Stephanie’s dead body, waiting for them just in case someone gets smart enough and finds where you dumped the vehicle and then follows you out here.”

  Marlee wasn’t at all upset to hear about Stephanie’s death since it confirmed what she had suspected about the FBI agent.

  The man then lifted a pistol and aimed it right at Marlee’s heart.

  “Chuck.”

  Marlee’s and Chuck’s heads turned at the sound of the voice. Marlee watched as Stella came into the light. Stella kept her eyes on Chuck as she slowly walked toward him.

  “What are you doing?” Stella asked.

  He gave her a flat look, his gun still aimed at Marlee. “I’m sure you’ve heard everything I said. You know exactly what I’m doing.”

  “But why? We can get away.”

  “You’re deranged if you think we’ll get away. We might escape this place, but we’ll be hunted from now until they catch us,” Chuck replied.

  Stella shrugged and continued walking toward him. “So what? What we do is dirty enough. There’s no need to sully ourselves more.”

  “More?” he repeated with a laugh. “Right. Because you didn’t just send Martin to Dallas to kill Penny.”

  “That was different.”

  Marlee looked between the two of them. Stella was focused on Chuck, but he kept his attention on Marlee, glancing at Stella every now and again.

  Chuck shook his head. “It’s not different. Marlee caused all of this.”

  “No,” Stella said. “That was me when I began this business. I’m to blame for all of it. Macey wasn’t supposed to die. I refuse to allow you to hurt Marlee.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Chuck bellowed. He lowered the gun and narrowed his eyes on Stella. “After everything that’s happened in this town because of her?” he asked and motioned to Marlee with the pistol. “You still want to let her live?”

  Stella halted and took a deep breath. “I do.”

  “Did you grow a conscience when you befriended that old woman? So what if she lost a child? So what if she loses another? That’s life. You don’t think twice about doing it to others,” Chuck pointed out.

  Marlee had to agree with him. While she appreciated Stella trying to stop Chuck from shooting her, he had a valid point.

  Stella lifted her hands and continued walking to him. “We’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. We need to get clear of here now. Who cares about some woman who has trailed us? She didn’t catch us before, and it was only by happenstance that she did this time. She won’t again. We won’t let her.”

  Marlee held her breath when Stella reached Chuck. She wasn’t sure what would happen, but Marlee knew it wouldn’t be good. Chuck outweighed Stella by quite a bit, not to mention, he had a weapon. The odds of Stella coming out on top were slim to, well … none.

  “We can be together. As a couple,” Stella continued. “Your words earlier weren’t ones I wanted to hear, but I’ve had time to think things over. I don’t want to be alone. I want you by my side. My partner in all things. We’ll run the company together.”

  Stella finished by reaching up and cupping Chuck’s face with her hands. His head lowered as their lips met. Then there was a loud bang that caused Marlee to jump. Stella jerked, her face locked in a look of surprise as she crumpled to the ground. Marlee watched Stella gasp for breath as blood poured from a wound in her abdomen.

  “Do you think I’m that fucking gullible?” Chuck asked Stella. “You had your chance with me, and you threw it away. I’ve seen the real you today, and it disgusts me. Yeah, I’m going to run the company, and I’m going to run it like it should’ve been run to begin with. And you know what? Anyone who gets in my way is going to eat a bullet. Just like Marlee.”

  Marlee’s lips parted when the gun swung her way. She didn’t have time to think as he pulled the trigger. At the same instant, someone grabbed her from behind and yanked her to the ground.

  “Stay there,” Cooper whispered as he jumped to his feet.

  Marlee could hardly believe that Cooper was there. She could only stare after him as he stalked toward Chuck, firing his gun rapidly.

  And he wasn’t the only one. Marlee counted several other shots as Chuck ran into the night. Then, dogs were barking and growling, and a few more shots were fired, followed by silence.

  Marlee scrambled to her feet and raced to Stella. She slid on her knees beside the woman who was responsible for so much death. Marlee didn’t have a phone to call for an ambulance, but she could apply pressure to the wound to slow the bleeding.

  “Don’t!” Stella said breathlessly.

  Marlee looked into her face to see that Stella was at peace with what had happened.

  “I … deserve this. I’m sorry about … Macey.”

  Marlee wanted to say that she forgave her, but she couldn’t get the words out.

  Stella smiled. “The password is Diane.”

  “What?” Marlee asked with a frown. “What password, and why did you use my mother’s name?”

  “You’ll … know,” Stella said.

  “Tell me.”

  But Marlee’s order fell on deaf ears as Stella’s eyes closed, and her final breath left her body. Marlee fell back on her butt and put a hand to her head. The sound of footsteps approaching made her look over her shoulder. The moment she saw Cooper, she was on her feet again and running toward him.

  “I love you. I love you. I love you. I should’ve told you the moment I knew,” she said.

  He held her tightly for several minutes. Then he pulled back and looked into her eyes. “I love you, too. I spent the day thinking I might never see you again, and I didn’t like what the future looked like. I don’t care where we live or what we do, I just want to be with you.”

  “Good,” she said with a smile. “Because I want to be with you. Always.”

  “Just what I needed to hear,” he whispered before he kissed her.

  Epilogue

  Two weeks later …

  L
ife rarely turned out how anyone believed it would. The same could be said for Cooper. He couldn’t stop smiling at Marlee, who stood beside him in the church as sunlight filtered through the stained-glass windows. She looked up at him and grinned before mouthing I love you. He held her hand, so thankful that they had all survived what could have been a horrendous tragedy.

  Cooper’s shoulder would take a few weeks to mend, but there was no serious damage. Jace had proven to everyone that he had a hard head and an even longer stubborn streak since he wouldn’t take the pain meds given to him by the doctor. He would have another scar to add to the others, but once more, Cooper’s best friend had come out of things alive, which was a blessing in itself.

  A lot had happened for them over the course of two weeks. Marlee identified the dead body in the woods as Stephanie. Cooper and Marlee went to Stella’s house and found her computer. Using the password Stella had given to Marlee, they were able to find all the evidence needed to shut down the operation—including those in the FBI that were in on it with Stella.

  The Feds came to claim Stephanie’s body, and that’s when Danny and Ryan handed them the evidence. Danny and Ryan also ensured that the FBI knew that if something wasn’t done to clean up the corrupt individuals in their organization, all of the evidence would be leaked to the press.

  Marlee finally got to meet Cooper’s mom. The two had hit it off immediately, which pleased Cooper immensely. Then he and Marlee flew out to California to visit her parents for a week. They posed a proposal to the Framptons to see if they would be interested in moving to Texas. If not, then he and Marlee would fly at least once a month to see them. However, her parents were all about being near their daughter and readily agreed to move.

  Marlee decided to stay in Texas and set up her company base there. She kept telling Cooper that he had strong roots. He’d told her that she had roots, as well, but she said that his were different. He would’ve gone anywhere with her, but he was glad he was staying with his family and friends. Cooper had shown her the property he’d been eyeing. She had fallen in love with the land, and plans were already in the works to purchase it.