Surrendering to the Sheriff (17 page)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The shot was so deafening that it drowned out everything else. Aiden was shouting something to her, but exactly what Kendall didn’t know.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Aiden hurrying toward her. Sarah, too. But they stopped, their attention rifling to the gunman in the entry. At least, he’d been in the entry just seconds earlier.

Now he was tumbling to the living room floor.

Because Kendall had shot him.

Oh, God.
Not another one. That was the only thing that registered in her mind when she saw that the man was still moving. And not just moving. Even though there was blood on the front of his shirt, he was trying to aim his gun at her again.

Aiden fixed that.

He tore across the room, kicking the gun out of the man’s hand, and pointed his gun at him. “Move and you die,” Aiden said, and there was nothing in his voice to indicate he was bluffing.

The guy stopped, groaned and rolled onto his back, clutching his chest. Kendall could see that he was bleeding, but it didn’t look as life-threatening as she’d originally thought. The bullet appeared to have caught him in the shoulder.

“Watch him,” Aiden told Sarah, and he hurried to Kendall. “Are you all right?”

She planned on lying, telling him that she was fine. She wasn’t, not by a long shot. But the sound coming from the kitchen stopped her from saying anything.

“No!” Carla said. Not a shout, but Kendall could hear the heavy emotion in the woman’s voice.

Kendall turned, dreading what she might see. It seemed a horrible thought to wish a person dead, but she was hoping she would see Palmer lying next to the gunman whom Aiden had killed.

But he wasn’t.

Palmer was on his feet, but he’d still somehow managed to keep hold of his gun. A gun that he now had pointed at Carla’s head.

“Let go of her,” Aiden insisted.

Palmer chuckled. “I’m thinking the answer to that is no.”

He sounded cocky again despite the fact he looked as if he’d lost that fight with Carla. The woman had clawed at his face and left streaks of blood on his cheeks. He must have been in pain, but he certainly didn’t show it.

Unlike Carla.

Aiden’s mother had her teeth clamped over her bottom lip, and she was wincing. Probably because Palmer had managed to hit her multiple times. There were bruises already forming on her face.

“It’s over,” Aiden said. He kept his left hand braced on his shooting wrist and inched closer to Carla and Palmer. “There’s no way you can get out of this.”

Palmer’s smile said differently. “Are you forgetting I have a hostage?”

“Are you forgetting that every cop in the state will be looking for you?” Aiden countered.

“Maybe not,” Palmer mumbled.

And that answer chilled Kendall to the bone.

Because it didn’t sound as if he was worried at all about being caught. Probably because he’d already arranged to kill them all.

Aiden must have realized that, too, because he glanced back at the injured man. “Sarah, ask him if there are any firebombs set in the house or if there are other gunmen waiting outside. If he doesn’t answer, beat him until he tells you.”

Yes, it was harsh, but they had to know. Kendall wanted nothing more than to get out of there with Aiden, Sarah and Carla, but that wasn’t going to happen unless they got that gun away from Palmer and they made sure it was safe. After all, Palmer had already hired plenty of men to come after them, so he could have planted others to make sure he carried out his plan.

“I’m leaving with your mother,” Palmer insisted.

Sarah grabbed the injured gunman, dragged him onto the sofa and snapped him right to her face. “What’s out there? What did your boss do?”

“And remember, Palmer’s not saying a thing about taking you with him,” Aiden added when the guy attempted a smile.

“Come on.” Palmer grabbed hold of Carla and started backing out the door with her in tow. He no longer wore that cocky smile, which meant he was perhaps worried about what his hired gun was going to tell them.

“You’re leaving me here?” the guy shouted.

But Palmer ignored him and kept moving.

The gunman spat out some profanity and came off the sofa to face his boss. “There’s one more guy waiting on a ranch trail about a quarter of a mile from here. He’s in an SUV, and it’s the getaway car.”

“What about explosives?” Aiden pressed.

“None. And I would have been the one to set them.” He added some more profanity, aimed at Palmer.

If Palmer even heard him, he didn’t react. Not at first anyway. Then, without warning, he took aim at the man and shot him. Just as quickly, Palmer put the gun back against Carla’s head.

“Can’t have anybody talking,” Palmer threatened. “Now, can I?”

Yes, he was definitely planning on killing them all. But how? Had the dead man been wrong about more firebombs?

Palmer moved his grip from Carla’s arm to her hair and pulled her out onto the porch with him. Kendall didn’t know where this ranch trail was exactly, but if Palmer somehow managed to clear the barn, there were plenty of trees back there that he could use to hide and escape.

“This one’s dead,” Sarah said, touching her fingers to the gunman’s neck.

Again, no reaction from Palmer. Not that Kendall expected one. He’d just shot a man in cold blood.

Aiden used the appliances and cabinets for cover, following Palmer inch for inch until he reached the back porch. When Kendall tried to follow, Aiden motioned for Sarah to get in front of her, and the deputy did.

Protecting Kendall, again.

She hated that she had to put someone else’s life in danger, but she also had to think of her baby.

There were flagstone steps leading to the unfenced backyard, and that was exactly where Palmer headed. Sarah stopped in the doorway, and Aiden made his way out to the porch. Kendall had her attention focused just on them, and that was why she nearly missed the slight snapping sound behind her.

She whirled around.

And the man was there. Another gunman wearing a ski mask. He put his gun not to her head but to her stomach.

“I thought you might need help,” the man called out to Palmer.

Aiden pivoted around, the color blanching from his face. No doubt because he saw the new threat. The gun pointed at her.

“Get out on the porch with the sheriff,” the newcomer told Sarah.

Sarah volleyed some glances between Aiden and the gunman, and Aiden finally nodded. She didn’t hurry to join him, but when she made her way there, she turned her gun toward the new attacker.

While Palmer continued to drag Carla across the yard.

It was still dark and it was hard to think or see with her pulse racing a mile a minute, but Kendall knew they didn’t have much time. Once Palmer cleared the yard, this monster would kill Aiden, Sarah and her. Palmer would take care of Carla. If Palmer did manage to destroy all the evidence, then he could get off scot-free.

“I’m not going to let you kill my son and that baby,” Carla spat out.

Without warning, she dropped to the ground. Palmer fired, but Kendall didn’t see where the bullet went. That’s because the goon behind Kendall grabbed her. No doubt ready to shoot her. And he would have done just that.

If Aiden hadn’t come right at him.

There was a rage in Aiden’s eyes. All aimed at the scum holding her.

Kendall managed to get out of the way, barely, and Aiden rammed his full weight into the guy. There was another shot. Not from this goon, Kendall realized. It’d come from the yard.

“Help my mother,” Aiden said to Sarah, and he stripped the gun from the man’s hand and body-slammed the gunman against the wall.

Hard.

So hard that it rattled the porch.

The guy made a guttural gasping sound. Clearly Aiden had knocked the breath out of him, and he also slammed his fist into the man’s face. Not once but three times. Before Aiden latched on to him and dragged him into the yard.

Carla was sprawled on the ground, and Sarah was struggling with Palmer, trying to disarm the man. However, Aiden pulled her off him and grabbed Palmer as he’d done with the gunman.

Kendall’s breath was already thin, and that robbed her of what little she had. For a moment, she thought Aiden might kill Palmer right then, right there.

But he didn’t.

“You’re under arrest,” Aiden said, reaching for Palmer’s gun.

An oily smile bent Palmer’s mouth, and there was a loud blast.

Oh, God.

A gunshot.

“Aiden!” Kendall shouted, hurrying down the porch.

A thousand things went through her head. None good. Palmer had managed to shoot Aiden, and now he’d die without knowing how she felt about him. Without ever having seen his son.

“I’m okay,” Aiden managed to say when she flung herself into his arms.

And he was.

However, she couldn’t say the same for Palmer. With that sick smile still on his face, he crumpled to the ground, the gun falling out of his hand.

The gun Palmer had used to kill himself.

“Sarah, call an ambulance,” Aiden said, and she felt the muscles in his arm go stiff. He also moved away from her.

That’s when Kendall saw the blood.

Carla had been shot.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Aiden felt as if he’d been through a war. A war that wasn’t over yet.

Yes, Palmer was dead, most of his hired guns, too, and Kendall and the baby were no longer in danger. But that danger had ended with a high price tag.

His mother was unconscious in a hospital bed after having had surgery, and Kendall looked as if she might faint at any moment. That’s why Aiden had tried multiple times to make her sit down, but she’d insisted on waiting in the hall outside his mother’s room.

Maybe because Kendall felt that Carla wouldn’t want her in there.

Or maybe because Kendall wanted some distance from his mother and him.

Aiden couldn’t blame her. He’d always thought of himself as a damn good lawman, but here he hadn’t been able to stop four attacks on Kendall. Any one of which could have left her dead.

Just the thought of it twisted his stomach into a hard knot.

It probably wasn’t doing much for Kendall’s stomach, either. Or the baby. Thank God his son wouldn’t remember any of this, but it would stay with Kendall, his mother and him for a lifetime.

“Your sister Shelby is on the way,” Leland said, sticking his head in the door of the hospital room. “She was in Houston, and she’ll get here as fast as she can.”

Good. His other sister, Laine, was already there in the waiting room, and once Carla woke up, it would probably help to see her kids.

Probably.

There was a good chance that Carla would want to wash her hands of him. A good chance that he’d want to wash his hands of her, too, if she didn’t have a change of heart about Kendall and the baby.

With that thought, Aiden moved away from his mother’s hospital bed and stepped out into the hall. Kendall’s back was against the wall there, and she was chewing on her bottom lip.

“Is she awake?” Kendall asked.

Aiden shook his head, and because she looked as if she could use another hug, he pulled her into his arms. Something he’d been doing most of the night, and like the other times, Kendall stayed there a couple of seconds and then maneuvered away.

“I’m okay.” Another repeat of what she’d already told him. “You should be with your mother.”

He stared at her, wishing he had a translation for that. Even though he had two sisters, Aiden knew he didn’t always interpret the signals right. And Kendall definitely seemed to be sending out some kind of signal here.

“I should be with my mother,” he admitted. “But I’d like to be with you, too.”

Oh, man.
That sounded pretty lame, and it was a massive understatement. “I
need
to be with you,” he tried again.

And that need encompassed a lot. He not only wanted her in the room with him, but he also wanted her in his arms.

“When I hold you,” he said, “it makes the worst of the images disappear.”

She blinked.

Aiden groaned. He was making a mess of this. “I want you in my arms for other reasons, but that’s one of them.”

Kendall nodded, slipped back into his embrace.

It definitely helped. Well, it helped him anyway, but he wasn’t so sure Kendall was getting anything out of this.

“What can I do to make things better for you?” he asked.

She didn’t move away this time, but Kendall did look up at him. “You can kiss me. When you kiss me, the worst of the images disappear.”

All right. Aiden preferred a kiss to a hug anyway, so that’s what he did. He kissed Kendall, probably not for all the right reasons, either. Of course, he wanted to get those nightmarish images out of her head, but kissing her was also the purest form of pleasure for him.

Like always, the heat slid right through him. Head to toe. And it helped a whole heck of a lot to push his nightmares aside, too. Nightmares of the attack anyway. But there were plenty of other things about their situation that would give him some sleepless nights.

“I could have lost both you and the baby,” he said.

“But you didn’t.”

She kissed him again, a nice reminder that both she and the baby were okay. Aiden hadn’t taken her word for that, though. Kendall had had a checkup and another ultrasound while his mother was in surgery. Thank God this latest attack and stress hadn’t caused any physical harm.

His mother was a different story.

She’d come out of the surgery to remove a bullet from her chest. A bullet that Palmer had put there. If the man weren’t dead, Aiden would have gone after him and made him pay. He and his mother didn’t have a perfect relationship, nowhere near it, but she didn’t deserve this.

Aiden heard the footsteps, and because the adrenaline was still fueling his body, he turned, ready to draw his gun. But it was just Leland, making his way down the hall toward them. Aiden hoped the deputy wasn’t there to deliver bad news, because Aiden had met his quota for a lifetime or two.

Kendall started to step away, probably so that she wouldn’t be in his arms while he talked to Leland, but Aiden held on. He wasn’t ready to let go of her yet. Maybe not ever.

He mentally repeated that.

And then took out the
maybe
.

He had no intention of letting Kendall go, but the problem was—how did he make that happen?

“You two okay?” Leland asked, eyeing them. Maybe because of the snug embrace but also because they’d been put through the wringer and back.

Aiden nodded. “Did you get Palmer’s hired gun to the jail?”

“Yeah. And he’s talking. Neither of our other suspects was involved in this.” Leland’s gaze drifted to Carla. “And we’re gathering the money trail to prove that it was all Palmer’s doing.”

Kendall gave a heavy sigh. “Palmer did all this because of bad blood. For revenge. And what did he get out of it? Nothing. He’s dead, and we’re all left to deal with the aftermath of this mess he created.”

Yes, that was the problem with bad blood. It stayed bad and festered unless someone did something about it.

And that’s what Aiden intended to do.

“I want us to put this bad blood aside,” he said to Kendall. “If our families don’t do the same, then that’s on them, but I don’t want this between us any longer.”

She looked up at him. Smiled. Okay, it wasn’t a big smile, but man, it lit up her whole face.

“And I want you to marry me,” he added.

Aiden wasn’t sure who was more surprised that he’d just blurted that out: Kendall, Leland or himself.

“Uh, I think I got something else to do,” Leland said, making a vague motion toward the exit. “I’ll call you if there are any updates.”

Aiden mumbled something about that being fine, but he kept his attention on Kendall. She wasn’t exactly jumping for joy over his proposal.

Of course, it’d been a lousy proposal.

“I know,” he explained. “That was bad. I should have gotten down on one knee. Should have had a ring. Probably should have waited until we were in a place that didn’t smell like antiseptic.”

Kendall stared at him, obviously waiting for something, so he kissed her again. At first, she stayed a little stiff, but by degrees, she softened until she melted right into his arms.

Just a few days ago, Aiden had never thought of himself as the marrying kind. Not the fathering kind, either. But he was looking forward to both. At least he was if he could convince Kendall to say yes. The kiss had helped plenty, but Aiden wasn’t sure he wanted her saying yes simply because they were good at kissing and falling into bed.

Though those things did help.

This time, he was the one to break the kiss so he could put his mouth to use, hopefully convincing her that marriage was the right thing to do. But he didn’t get a chance to say anything, because he heard a soft moaning sound. His gaze flew to the hospital bed, and he saw that his mother was opening her eyes.

“Aiden,” Carla said, her voice as weak as her hand that reached out for him.

Kendall didn’t just let go of him, she nudged him in Carla’s direction, and Aiden went to his mother’s bedside so he could give her hand a gentle squeeze. “How are you, Mom?”

Her eyes fluttered open, and she managed a smile. She also looked past him, her attention landing on Kendall. Kendall started to back out of the doorway, but Carla motioned for her to come closer.

“I’m so sorry,” Carla said.

Aiden could count on one hand how many times he’d heard his mother apologize over the years. Maybe it was the painkillers or the ordeal, but the apology was aimed at Kendall.

“This wasn’t your fault,” Kendall assured her. “Palmer was a sick man, and he put a very sick plan into motion.” That was generous of Kendall, considering that his mother hadn’t exactly been kind to her.

“A plan that Palmer wouldn’t have come up with if he hadn’t hated me so much.” Carla groaned softly and closed her eyes.

“I’ll get the doctor,” Aiden insisted, but Carla caught on to his hand to stop him.

“You can do that later. For now, let’s just talk for a couple of minutes.” Again, her attention went to Kendall. “I don’t want you to push Aiden out of your life because of the things I said.” She gave Kendall’s stomach a soft pat. “If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, then I want to be a part of this baby’s life.”

Kendall swallowed hard, and for a moment Aiden thought she might tell Carla to take a hike. She certainly had a right to do that. But Kendall nodded.

“You’re his grandmother, and I don’t want this baby to experience any more fallout from bad blood.”

It was a bighearted concession, and Aiden was darn thankful for it.

“You mean that?” Carla asked.

Another nod from Kendall. “No matter what happens with my sister’s trial, you’ll be part of this baby’s life. Aiden’s sisters, too. If they want to be part of his life, that is.”

Tears sprang to his mother’s eyes. To Kendall’s, too, and while this was a moment that went a long way toward mending some fences, there was something missing.

Something huge.

Because while Kendall had agreed to include his family, she hadn’t exactly extended that invitation to him. And she hadn’t said a word about his marriage proposal.

“Go ahead,” his mother said as if sensing he had something on his mind. “I need to rest.” As if to prove her point, she closed her eyes again.

Aiden didn’t intend to go far from the room, but he did want to have that talk with Kendall. He led her back into the hall, got the attention of one of the nurses and let her know that his mother had regained consciousness. While the nurse went into the room to check on Carla, Aiden took Kendall several yards away.

“Thank you for that,” he started. Except the start was as far as he got. He paused, waiting to see what the verdict was on his proposal.

No verdict. Kendall stared at him. Then she huffed. “So, you should have proposed somewhere else and gotten down on one knee. Is there anything else you should have changed?”

And with that, she kissed him again. Hard. Unlike the others, this one had a bite of anger in it.

That’s when Aiden got it.

Even a semi-angry kiss with Kendall was still enjoyable, but Aiden broke away because he knew where this conversation had to go.

To the L-word.

In case he was wrong about that, Kendall quickly clarified it. “I won’t marry you just because I’m pregnant with your baby.”

Yep, that was confirmation, so Aiden did a turnabout and kissed her. A real kiss. No anger involved. But he made it long and hot. It went on for so long that one of the nurses cleared her throat.

Aiden ignored her. He ignored everything but Kendall.

“Would you marry me if you were in love with me?” he asked. “Let me rephrase that. Are you in love with me, Kendall?”

Her left eye narrowed a little as if she was suspicious. “Yes. I am. And I’m surprised you even had to ask.”

That was mighty good to hear. “What can I say? I’m a little thick when it comes to such things.”

But she loved him.

Kendall loved him!

And that made him grin like an idiot.

“I don’t know why you’re smiling,” she said. “Yes, I’m in love with you, but that doesn’t mean I’ll marry you.” Kendall looked him straight in the eye. “The only way I’ll marry you is if you’re in love with me, too.”

Problem solved. “Well, heck. I guess that kiss wasn’t good enough after all.”

“It was plenty good enough, but you have to say it.”

Judging from the look she was giving him, Kendall probably thought he would choke on the words. But this was the easiest thing he’d ever done.

“I’m in love with you, Kendall. Have been since I kissed you over two decades ago. And I’m still in love with you now.” He slid his hand over her stomach. “This baby is just the icing on the cake.”

The best kind of icing.

“So, what do you say about marrying—”

“Yes,” Kendall answered before he even finished. And she gave him one of those delicious kisses. “Because I’ve been in love with you, too, since that first kiss.”

More than two decades seemed like an awfully long time before they came to their senses, but he had plenty of sense now. Aiden pulled Kendall into his arms and held on, something he planned to do a lot of for the rest of their lives together.

*

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