by Reina Torres
Jake’s eyes widened at the name and then narrowed as he focused his gaze on her face. “What did you say?”
She shrank back a little, afraid that she’d just said the wrong thing, again. “Joe,” she made herself say it slowly to make sure she got it right. “Joe Merrel.”
Jake cursed under his breath and pulled out his phone. “I need to call this in.”
As the phone started to ring, she heard a hollow CLICK echo in the room. Something about the sound sent a cold shiver down her spine.
Anne cried out and Hildie lurched to her feet, almost falling to her knees as she stumbled into the aisle between the benches. The scene before her made her heart seize in her chest.
The maintenance man had Anne and her attorney at gunpoint.
“Anne?” Hildie reached out a hand toward the other woman. “What-”
The gun swung in her direction and she shrank back, almost knocking Jake to the ground.
“Stay where you are!” The man in the maintenance uniform gave her a look that said he meant business. And the way he held the gun in his hand said he knew what he was doing.
No one grew up in her neck of Texas without knowing how to properly handle basic firearms and how to recognize the skill in others. The man standing between her and Anne had a good grip on the gun, steady and direct.
But the gun pointing back at the man was just the same. She’d almost forgotten that she’d been sitting next to a Texas Ranger. Jake had his gun out and leveled at the man’s head, or as much as she could figure from her vantage point.
Jake’s arm was steady, his grip firm.
His voice had more than a commanding presence when he spoke.
“This isn’t going to get you anywhere.”
The man narrowed his gaze down the sight of his pistol. “This gun is going to get me and Anne out of here.”
Hildie heard Anne gasp.
“Joe?”
Hildie narrowed her gaze at the man. He didn’t look anything like the photos she’d seen of Joe Merrel, but that’s probably how he’d managed to get this close. And she’d promised to be there with Anne the whole way through this hearing.
And she had failed.
She’d accepted the invitation to sit down with Jake. It didn’t matter that she’d admired him, quite literally, from afar for the better part of six months, but her place should have been with Anne.
She had to make it up to her.
Had to make things right.
Hildie had never wanted to be a hero and would never try to lay claim to the title, but her parents had raised her with a real sense of right and wrong and she wasn’t going to stand by and let this man take one more moment of Anne’s life with his anger and frustration.
So, Hildie Faraday did something she’d never had to do before. Never even had to consider before. She kept her eyes squarely on Anne and took a leap that had nothing to do with faith. It was pure determination.
When she stopped moving, she had her arm around Anne and her heart in her throat. Why she’d done it at all could be grounds for a seventy-two hour hold, but she knew she wasn’t going to let Joe hurt Anne if there was anything she could do to stop it.
She heard Joe’s voice rise as he cursed at her, felt his spittle land on her cheek, and somewhere in her brain she heard another harsh shout… one of warning… before a hand clamped down on her shoulder.
Somehow, she had the clarity to push Anne away and tried to ignore the woman’s tear-filled gaze as Hildie was jerked back.
Hildie stumbled against Joe, felt his arm drop around her, holding her arms down against her sides.
She fixed her gaze on the floor, willing the whole nightmare to disappear.
“Let her go, Merrel.”
Jake’s voice was rough, harsh in her ears, but she held onto the sound like a lifeline.
“Not going to happen.”
Hildie felt the arm around her tighten and turned her gaze toward Anne and her attorney. “Go. Hurry.”
The air in her lungs rushed out when Joe lifted her off the floor. She had a moment to acknowledge how strong he was. She wasn’t a little thing and had some meat on her bones. The ease in which he picked her up was surprising and terrifying when she remembered the still-healing bruises on Anne’s body.
Strength could hurt and strength could protect.
Sadly, Joe was one of those men who liked to use his power to injure.
He set her down, and Hildie was finally able to look up and see where they were. They were almost in the back corner of the room near the emergency exit. The heavy bar across the door wouldn’t do much to stop them if he got that far, so she dug in her heels.
“Don’t do this, Merrel. Let Miss Faraday go.”
“Miss Faraday,” Joe’s mockery was cold. “You mean the bitch who’s trying to take what belongs to me?”
Startled, Hildie tried to turn in his arms. “Anne’s not a thing! She’s a person who deserves to be happy.”
“Oh, I kept her happy all right.” He shifted his hold on her and Hildie gasped out the rest of her air, “a couple pills and she can take a beating all night long.”
Hildie heard Anne’s pained gasp.
“You’re not a man.” Hildie struggled to free herself from his hold. “You’re an animal!”
Lifting her knee, she kicked back and felt her heel connect with his leg.
She dropped like a stone and slipped from his arm like a toddler badly in need of a nap, boneless. And the moment before she hit the ground, she heard the rapid-fire report of two gunshots.
Chapter 2
It was not the first time that he’d fired a gun on the job, and sadly it probably wasn’t going to be the last.
He had to try and convince his heart to keep beating as he rushed forward and rolled Joe Merrel onto his stomach. As soon as his hands were on Joe, the gunman struggled against him, trying to free himself. Jake wasn’t going to let it happen. Holstering his weapon, he shouted orders to the security officers who entered the room. “EMS. Check the others…” he continued to handle the situation, securing Joe’s wrists with handcuffs. He set his knee in the man’s lower back to hold him in place. Joe swore a blue streak and turned his head to glare.
Jake knew exactly what Joe was doing. The women were all gathered on that side of the room.
Adjusting his position, Jake called one of the security guards over and the two of them helped Joe to his feet, jerking him around so that he couldn’t see the women anymore.
It was then that he chanced another look at Hildie.
She was on her feet with Anne at one side and the attorney at the other. Hildie was steady on her feet, but he knew that might be from the adrenaline of the last few minutes.
When she looked up and met his eyes, he held his breath, wondering how she would react. He’d taken the shot, sure of his skill and training, but that didn’t make him any less worried about her feelings.
She mustered a smile for him and that’s all he could hope for at the moment. Switching his hold on Joe, he may or may not have twisted the arm nearest to the bullet wound.
Joe’s explosion of curses gave Jake some satisfaction. He’d been willing to take the shot and known that it was the safest way to take Joe down. There had been too much of a chance for Joe to turn his gun on the women. And if that had happened, Jake would never have forgiven himself.
SAPD showed up minutes later along with representatives from the Rangers. Taking custody of the gunman, the SAPD officers walked him out into the hallway where EMTs waited to take him to the hospital. They would accompany the medical personnel in the ambulance and follow behind in their squad car.
As much as Jake wanted to follow Joe, there were other things he needed to do.
A superior officer took possession of his side arm and was in the middle of taking his statement as Anne left the courtroom, flanked by her attorney and Hildie.
The relief he felt at seeing the three again, was monumental.
“Jake?”
He turned to look at his fellow ranger, Daxton Chambers. “You still in one piece?”
Nodding, he blew out a breath. “Yes, sir.”
Dax gave him a pointed look. “So, you stumbled onto Joe Merrel?”
“Seems like,” he responded back. “I was here getting Judge Takata to sign a warrant and saw Hil- Miss Faraday waiting for her client.”
“Client?” Dax turned to look at the women as an EMT stopped them, likely to check their vitals for shock. “Protective order.”
“When they told me that it involved Joe Merrel I stuck around. No one had any idea that the maintenance man was Joe in disguise.”
“Criminals playing dress up and it’s not even Halloween.” Dax shook his head. “Well, I don’t envy you the paperwork on this one.”
“Thanks,” Jake sighed, “but I’ll take a mountain of paperwork instead of what could have happened.”
“They were lucky to have you there.”
Jake looked up in confusion. “I’m talking about… Hildie put herself in between Joe and Anne.”
That got Dax’s attention.
“I had it handled.” The words came out, but he didn’t feel like they were the exact truth. Wishful thinking, yes. “She could have been killed.”
Jake’s mind churned with images of worst-case scenarios. The blossoming of blood against her creamy skin made him nauseous.
“Why would she do something like that?”
When Dax didn’t answer, Jake looked up at his friend and saw the ghost of a smile on his lips before Dax pushed it down.
“What?”
“You met Mack, right?”
Jake knew who Mack was. Mackenzie was Dax’s fiancé and as special a woman as any he’d ever met, effusive in her words and thoughts, but a complete joy to be around. “Sure.” But that didn’t mean he understood why Dax was bringing her up at that moment.
“She’s my force of nature.” Dax’s smile was full of love and he wasn’t afraid to show it. “Sometimes she leaps into the fire before thinking, but if there’s one thing I can count on, it’s this. She’ll follow her gut instinct and sometimes that means I’m this close to a heart attack, but it comes from her heart. I can’t fault her for that any more than I can blame her for being the woman I love.”
Jake reached up and tugged at his collar, hoping for a sink hole to open under his feet. “And that has what to do with me?”
Dax’s hand clapped down on his shoulder. “We’ve been working with each other for a while, Jake. It’s no secret that I think you’re an incredible ranger. You’re a credit to your family’s history wearing the badge, but I think my investigative skills have a bit on you.”
He narrowed his gaze at his friend.
“Anyone who’s spent time around you when Hildie is nearby knows what I’m talking about.” Dax gave his shoulder a squeeze. “You’ve got it bad for her, Jake. Don’t think you’ve managed to hide it from anyone.”
“Except her.”
Dax nodded. “Yeah, it’s not always easy to see when you’re in the situation, I’ll give you that.” He turned and took the lay of the land in the lobby of the courthouse. “They’ll send someone with Joe to guard him on the way to the hospital. Once they patch up his sorry hide, they’ll transfer him to the jail. He’ll be out of our hair for a while.”
“Good.” Jake agreed. “It’s good to have a man like him off the streets. He’ll be a help for us with our investigation on the drug trade in town.” Jake was struggling to pull his attention from Hildie.
“You know,” Dax began, “you’ll probably get a commendation for this.”
“For being lucky?”
Dax dropped his hand down to his side. “You took him into custody.” Holding out his hand, he curled his fingers, waiting for something. “Give me the warrant. I’ll get a squad together and serve it.”
Jake felt a twinge at the back of his neck at the thought of someone else taking over his responsibilities. Still, he had to wait and have the shooting cleared before he could go back on duty. “Be careful.” He reached into his coat and pulled the warrant from his inside pocket. “I was looking forward to serving this.”
“Well, you don’t have a gun, son. So, you’ll have to leave this,” Dax plucked the warrant from Jake’s hand, “to the big boys.”
He knew Dax was trying to make this easier on him and for that he was really grateful. It was good to have folks he could trust, but knowing they were also his friends made everything better. “Yeah, yeah. Just keep thinking that.”
“But,” Dax continued on, “since it seems you have the rest of your day off… maybe you should go and check on the ladies and see how they’re doing.”
Jake turned his head unerringly in Hildie’s direction. He could see her smiling at Anne and giving her encouragement, but he could also see that there was something odd about her smile. Her complexion was a little pale as well. Instead of the warmth he always associated with her, she looked drawn and the line of her shoulders was tense.
“Yeah,” he nodded at Dax, but didn’t take his eyes off of Hildie as he began to move. “I think I will.”
He arrived at Hildie’s side as Anne and her attorney were leaving. Anne paused long enough to thank him, but he reminded her that he was indeed, “Just doing my job. I’m glad you’re okay.”
It was good to see Anne’s smile as she turned and walked away. She almost seemed like a different person, taller somehow without the weight of fear on her shoulders.
“Thank goodness you were there.”
Jake turned back and saw Hildie looking up at him from the rolling gurney. A second ambulance had answered the call to check on the women involved in the incident. It wasn’t just about the gunshot wound that Joe had received, the others were in danger of shock. And if he was any judge, Hildie was suffering from it. “I’m glad I was there,” he told her and looked over at the EMT. “How is she?”
A soft chuckle reached his ears. “She is doing just fine!”
The EMT’s curious look dampened Hildie’s bravado.
“Okay,” Hildie sighed, “my blood pressure’s a little high, but it’s only because I had a bad guy dragging me around. Now that you’re here,” she gave him a pointed look, “I don’t need to go to the ER Right?”
Jake turned back to the EMT. “Do you want to take her in?”
The younger woman looked back and forth between them and spoke when Hildie gave her a little nod. “It’s up to her. Her pressure is a bit high for my liking, but when I told her that I wanted to take her in for observation, her color dropped even more.”
Jake balled his hands into fists at his side. She didn’t deserve to suffer for what she’d done.
The EMT continued. “As long as she has someone watching her for more signs of shock, I’m comfortable with her going home on her own.”
“I’ve got it.” Jake told the EMT.
“Oh, good.” Hildie slid off the gurney and wobbled a little on her heels before Jake took hold of her elbow. He shared a look with the EMT over Hildie’s head and then turned his attention firmly onto the beautiful woman at his side.
“Why don’t you let them take you to the-”
“Nope,” she shot back, “it’s just my heels.” Reaching out for the back of the bench nearby, Hildie moved closer with his help and took a seat. Jake sat down next to her.
Wiggling her skirt up on both sides of her thighs, she moved the hemline high enough for her to cross one leg over the other so he could see her shoe.
Her heels weren’t nearly as high as the pair she had with red soles, but as he watched she touched the heel on her shoe. It pulled away from the base and he saw the unfinished part of the sole. “These are great,” she sighed, “but apparently these weren’t meant to be used to kick a jerk in the shins.”
He shook his head. “A shoe as a weapon.”
“It worked. People make fun of women suffering for fashion. This is the first time I’ve made a man suffer from fashion.” She shrugged and
sat back against the bench, lifting her leg off the other and setting it back down on the floor, knees together in a lady-like pose. “We tell the women at the center to use whatever you have available. Things can be fixed as long as you’re alive.”
The words sobered him. “You’re right. That was some quick thinking.”
“I know what Sloane would say if she was here.” She lowered her gaze down to her lap. “She’d yell at me for getting that close to him, and then she’d hug me until she was close to smothering me and tell me how much she loved me anyway.”
“I can see why she’d be upset. While I understand why you did what you did, I had the same thoughts once I realized that things were under control.”
“So, you want to scold me and then smother me for worrying you?”
“Absolutely.” He lifted his hand and set it against his heart. “My heart is still racing.”
She laughed. “It’s the adrenaline.” As soon as she said it, she winced. “I guess I don’t need to tell you that.”
He shrugged. “You can say anything you like. After all, we’re going to be together for the next few hours at least.”
Her jaw dropped, and he couldn’t help but feel a little impressed that he’d made her speechless. With Hildie, that was an accomplishment.
Smiling, he leaned back against the bench. “I’m glad you agree.”
That seemed to shock her out of her silence.
“Agree! Hardly!” She folded her arms across her chest. “I’m fine.”
“She said,” Jake gestured down the hall at the door where the EMT had exited a few moments before, “that someone had to keep an eye on you for shock. I’m a Texas Ranger, ma’am. I have my duty to perform.”
He should have known he was in trouble when he decided to argue with her. While he’d only interacted with her a few times, he’d seen her more than enough to know what kind of reaction he was going to get.
But, when Hildie turned her head toward him in a slow and measured swivel, he felt something turn in his gut.