Standoff at Mustang Ridge (16 page)

“I’ll tell Davis that the interview will start as soon as the Rangers arrive,” Royce said.

He gave her another quick kiss, this one on the mouth, before he clicked on the intercom mounted on the wall and strolled out as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. There was nothing ordinary about his kisses.

Nothing ordinary about the man, either.

Sophie sat there, the feel of his kisses still going through her, and she groaned. She was in real trouble here, and it wasn’t just from the danger. She was falling for him. Hard.

She watched as Royce went back into the interrogation room, but he’d hardly made it through the door before the lawyer stood.
Uh-oh.
Sophie figured the man was about to put a quick end to any interview.

“We want a plea deal,” Davis said, surprising her. But Sophie figured without a deal, the gunman wouldn’t volunteer anything, putting them right back to square one.

Royce’s hands went on his hips. “Your client took shots at several people, including me. I’m not exactly in a charitable mood.”

“He wasn’t there to kill anyone,” Davis argued.

“Coulda fooled me. My ranch hand, too. He’s the one who got shot.”

“An accident, I assure you. My client was hired to find Sophie Conway and talk to her, that’s all.”

Sophie jumped to her feet. The comment was so ludicrous that it was insulting. There’d been no attempt to talk, only the attack with a hail of bullets.

“Talk?” Royce repeated. She heard the raw anger in his voice. Saw it even more in his body language.

Haggard, who was seated at the table, calmly nodded as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “I got written instructions to talk to the woman and give her a phone number. The man who hired me wanted to speak to her.”

Royce walked forward, practically pushing the lawyer aside so he could get in the gunman’s face.

“What number and who gave it to you?” Royce asked, slapping his fists onto the metal table and getting right in Haggard’s face.

“You didn’t agree to the plea deal.”

That didn’t help ease the tension in Royce’s expression. “I’ll tell the D.A. you cooperated and see what can be worked out. And that’s the best offer I can give you.”

Haggard hesitated, then shrugged. “The whole deal was brokered through a third party. And before you ask, you can’t speak to him because you shot and killed him.”

No, no, no!
That was not what she wanted to hear.

Sophie moved closer to the window, until she was so close to it that her breath fogged the glass. She wanted to get a good look at Haggard’s face so she could see any signs that he might be lying. But the man was no doubt a good poker player, because he wasn’t revealing anything.

“When you surrendered back at the ranch, you said you’d tell me the name of the person who hired you,” Royce reminded Haggard.

Another shrug. “The man’s name is Lucky Monroe, and like I said, he’s dead.”

Royce groaned, stepped back, but his hands stayed balled up into fists. “So, this Lucky Monroe hired you?”

Haggard nodded, and his carefree expression turned smug. “I guess you’re sorry now that you killed him, huh?”

Royce’s gaze sliced back to the man. “No. The only thing I’m sorry about is that I didn’t take you out, too.”

“Deputy,” the lawyer warned.

“Your client is scum,” Royce informed him right back without taking his glare off Haggard. “Where’s this so-called phone number you were supposed to give Ms. Conway?”

Haggard lifted his hands, the cuffs clanging against the table, and he spread his fingers to reveal the writing on his left index finger.

Royce took out his phone and pressed in the numbers. Sophie waited, her lungs aching because she was holding her breath. She prayed it wasn’t her brother or father who would answer that call.

The seconds crawled by, and she finally heard Royce curse. He jabbed a button on the phone and shoved it back in his pocket. “I got a recording. The number is no longer in service.”

Both relief and disappointment flooded through her. This would have been so much easier if Travis had been on the other end of that line. Of course, it didn’t make any of their suspects innocent. It only meant the person after them had covered his tracks.

“Since Lucky Monroe couldn’t have disconnected that number,” Royce said, “any idea who did?”

Haggard shrugged again but didn’t say a word.

Sophie tore her attention from the man when she heard the front door open, and she went to the doorway to make sure it wasn’t another visitor they didn’t want.

However, it was Jake.

Royce’s brother glanced down at the blood drops on the floor. “From Travis Bullock?” he asked Billy, and the deputy verified that it was.

Jake stepped around them and made a beeline toward her. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“We’re alive,” she settled for saying and tipped her head to the interrogation room. “Royce is in there with the gunman and his lawyer, but they’re not saying much.”

“Figures,” Jake grumbled. “I’ll see what I can do about getting Royce and you out of here.”

Sophie shook her head. “But what about your daughter?”

“She’s fine. Maggie and my sister are with her, and none of us will be going back to the ranch until we’re sure the danger has passed.”

Which might not be for weeks.

It sickened her to think of that. Jake’s little girl should be home, recovering from her ordeal, but there was no way that could happen with the gunman’s boss still calling the shots.

“I’m sorry,” she said to Jake.

He nodded. “Not your fault.”

Jake walked away and into the interview room. She couldn’t tell from Royce’s face if he was glad to see his brother or not.

The two brothers stepped out into the hall, and even though Sophie couldn’t hear what they said, the end result was that Jake went back into the interview room and Royce came to her. Sophie expected him to say they were leaving, but he stood in front of her, not moving.

“I need those papers,” he said.

Her breath stalled a moment. She certainly hadn’t forgotten about the papers that would incriminate Travis. And her father. But with everything else going on, she’d pushed them to the back of her mind.

Royce obviously hadn’t done the same.

With reason. Those papers could perhaps put Travis behind bars and stop the attacks, and even though it could cause her father’s arrest, too, she couldn’t put that above the safety of Royce and his family.

Sophie nodded. “They’re in a safety-deposit box in Corner’s Lake.” It wasn’t far, less than ten miles from Mustang Ridge, but she stepped into the hall so she could glance out the front window. “How bad do you think the roads will be?”

“We can get there,” he assured her. Royce blew out a long breath. “I’m sorry you have to do this. Sorry that I couldn’t find another way.”

Yes, so was she.

They started toward the front, with Royce grabbing their coats that he’d dropped onto his desk, but before they could even put them on, Royce’s phone buzzed. He took it out, glanced at the screen.

“It’s Special Agent Kade Ryland,” he let her know. “My friend at the FBI.” As Royce had done before, he put the call on Speaker.

“Royce,” the agent said. “This is a heads-up. Lott managed to get a court order to put Sophie Conway into protective custody.”

Her breath didn’t just stall, it stopped for several seconds.

“How the hell did Lott get that?” Royce asked. His voice was tight, the emotion barely under control.

“I’m not sure,” Ryland answered. “He pulled some strings, that’s for sure. Oh, and get this. The investigation is all aboveboard now. Well, as aboveboard as the paperwork says it is.”

Oh, mercy.
Normally, a legal investigation wouldn’t have caused her heart to race out of control, but she didn’t trust Lott. And besides, he was a suspect in these attempts on their lives.

“Any way you can stop the court order?” Royce asked. She hadn’t thought it possible, but his jaw muscles tightened even more.

“Sorry, no. It’s too late for that,” Agent Ryland answered. “Lott’s on his way to the sheriff’s office now to take Sophie into his custody. I figure you’ve got ten minutes at most to get her the heck out of there.”

Chapter Thirteen

This was not how Royce wanted things to play out.

He didn’t want to be on the run with Sophie, especially with the snow coming down, an FBI agent on their tails and no answers to help them stop another attack.

Still, they had no choice. He couldn’t let Lott take her into custody, because Royce wasn’t sure he could trust the man. Of course, there were several people on his do-not-trust list, including Sophie’s own father and brother.

Royce checked his watch again. Only a few minutes since the last time he’d looked, but time seemed to have stopped while Sophie was inside the secure area of the Corner’s Lake Bank where the safety-deposit boxes were kept. He hadn’t gone into the room with her because he’d wanted to keep watch. It was the least he could do since he was already having second and third thoughts about taking her there. But he couldn’t get past his gut feeling that those papers were critical to their staying alive.

Still waiting, he stayed near the window so he could see the traffic trickling down Main Street. He’d parked in the back, just in case Lott took this route to get to Mustang Ridge, and Royce had made sure they hadn’t been followed. Still, he wouldn’t rest easy until he had Sophie out of there and safely tucked away somewhere.

If somewhere safe was even possible.

They’d been lucky that the bank wasn’t crowded. Luckier still that it hadn’t yet closed because of the weather. Maybe their luck would hold up, and the snowy roads would stop Lott or anyone else from finding them.

Royce heard the footsteps and spotted Sophie walking back toward him. She handed him the manila envelope she’d had tucked beneath her arm, and without making it too obvious that they were hurrying, they got out of there.

“Where now?” she asked as they made their way to the parking lot.

“A motel.”

She slowed a little and gave him a questioning look. Maybe she was asking if that was a good idea, but Royce had no idea how to answer that. Even if a motel turned out to be perfectly safe, Sophie and he would still be alone there. And with the attraction simmering hot and fast between them,
alone
probably wasn’t a good thing. Better, though, than having bullets fired at them.

They got into the SUV that he’d borrowed from Billy and drove out onto Main Street. Sophie tipped her head to the grocery store just up the block from the bank.

“We could get the test,” she reminded him.

Royce certainly hadn’t forgotten about the possible pregnancy, but unlike the bank, the grocery store was packed. Probably because people were stocking up on food in case the snow closed the roads.

“Too risky,” he explained.

If someone recognized them, the word might get back to the person behind the attacks. Or to Lott. Either way, that wouldn’t be good for Sophie and him. It was best if they kept their location as secret as possible.

Sophie didn’t argue and kept her attention on the side mirror. Royce kept watch, too, and headed out of town and toward the highway that would eventually lead to the interstate. He didn’t want to go too far in case Jake needed him, but he wanted to be far enough away from Mustang Ridge that he wouldn’t immediately be recognized when he checked into a motel.

In the few minutes before he’d gotten Sophie out of the sheriff’s office and away from Lott, Royce had managed to grab a few supplies. Definitely no pregnancy tests. But Billy had given them some sandwiches and soft drinks he’d brought for his lunch and dinner. Royce had even grabbed some cash and a change of clothes from his locker. Not that the extra jeans and shirt would fit Sophie, but she might be able to use the shirt as a pajama top.

It certainly beat the alternative of her sleeping naked.

Okay. Royce amended that.

Her sleeping naked greatly appealed to certain parts of his body, but it wasn’t a good idea. Nor was thinking about her wearing only his shirt. However, he might be able to get a room with two beds. Separate rooms were out, because he didn’t want her out of his sight, but separate beds might help him get through the night without going crazy.

He looked around the cab of the SUV to see if there was anything they could use while hiding out. Royce had to push away Billy’s stash of cigarettes and disposable lighters, and he found something he hoped they wouldn’t need.

A handgun and some extra ammo.

It wasn’t much, but with everything going on, Royce would take every little bit of help he could get.

He heard the unfamiliar buzzing sound and realized it was the prepaid cell he’d taken from the sheriff’s office. Jake and he used the phones sometimes to issue to temporary-hire deputies, but Royce had snagged one so he could leave his own phone behind. With Lott’s FBI resources, he’d easily be able to trace Royce’s phone, but he couldn’t do that with a prepaid cell.

Royce shut the glove compartment and answered the call, but he didn’t say anything in case it wasn’t Jake or Billy. However, it was Billy, so Royce put the call on Speaker.

“Lott finally left a few minutes ago,” Billy explained. “And yeah, he was madder than a hornet when he found out Sophie wasn’t here and that we couldn’t tell him where she was. He’s threatening to bring charges against us for obstruction of justice.”

Royce groaned. He didn’t need this. Neither did Jake or Billy, but there wasn’t a good alternative for keeping her safe.

Sophie cleared her throat, causing Royce to glance at her. “I don’t want anyone getting in trouble because of me,” she said. “I can call Lott, talk to him.”

He shook his head. “Not a good idea. I don’t want any communication with him because we might inadvertently give him clues to our location.”

Plus, he didn’t want to put Sophie through Lott’s intimidation tactics, especially since she might be giving in to them.

She squeezed her eyes shut a moment. “But maybe I should go with him.”