Taking Aim at the Sheriff (6 page)

She huffed. “My father, of course.”

“So, there had to have been some kind of communication between him and Rossman and Cawley. I’ll have Levi keep digging.”

It was a long shot, but maybe, just maybe, something would finally turn up.

“Maddox will be hungry soon,” she said, forcing the conversation in a different direction. “He doesn’t take a bottle, but he’ll need cereal or something.”

“I’m pretty sure Ellie and Mom will be fixing some oatmeal,” Jericho finally said, a muscle flickering in his jaw.

Ellie, their longtime housekeeper. She probably wouldn’t care for Laurel being there, either.

“I can’t make this perfect for you,” Jericho said as if reading her mind. With Maddox still in his arms, he headed toward the door and the stairs.

Laurel followed after them. “At least tell me someone found the kidnapper and he’s been arrested.”

“Afraid not.” Jericho glanced back at her. No heat this time. Just the same worry she figured was in her own eyes. “Not yet, anyway. But Jax and the other deputies are working on it.”

Jericho likely had been, too. There was more than worry and brief flashes of forbidden heat for her in those amber eyes. There was also plenty of exhaustion, which probably meant he’d been up most of the night—something she should have done, as well. But the adrenaline crash had gotten the best of her and, despite the nightmares, Laurel had gotten some sleep.

He led her through the family room, and the Christmas tree with the twinkling lights instantly caught Maddox’s attention.

“Pretty,” he said. Or rather he said a baby version of the word. And he repeated it with each new decoration. The wreaths on the walls and the gold angels and a trio of stuffed Santas on the mantel.

“My mom really gets into Christmas,” Jericho said as they passed another decorated tree in the hall. There was yet another small one in the eating area just off the kitchen.

Normally, Laurel made a big deal out of the holidays, too, but with grieving over her mother’s death and trying to escape her father, the holidays hadn’t exactly been in the forefront of her thoughts. Too bad, because Maddox deserved Christmas. Instead, they’d dodged bullets.

And she would have to dodge more. Not literal ones this time. But rather, Jericho’s mother. Iris was at the stove, stirring a pot of oatmeal. She looked up, sparing Laurel a frosty glance, but her expression warmed considerably when she spotted Maddox.

“There he is.” Smiling, Iris put aside the wooden spoon, and wiping her hands on her apron, she walked toward them. She held out her arms, and Laurel got yet another surprise when Maddox went to her.

Maddox had
met
his grandmother hours earlier when they had first arrived at the ranch house, but Maddox hadn’t been fully awake then. And Iris hadn’t exactly been in a chatty mood, especially since she’d just learned that Jericho was Maddox’s father. Laurel was certain Jericho had gotten an earful about that after Laurel had gone to bed.

“He’s usually a little shy around strangers,” Laurel remarked. Obviously, though, he didn’t consider Iris a stranger. Or the enemy.

Unlike the way Iris felt about her.

After a few snuggles with Maddox, Iris finally made eye contact with her. “I can’t forget that my husband is dead. Murdered. And it’s all because of your family. You might not have pulled the trigger, but you also didn’t help us put Herschel behind bars. Now it’s led to this.”

Laurel nodded, was about to assure her that she couldn’t forget it, either, but Iris continued before she could say anything.

“But we need a truce,” Iris said. “Certainly not for your sake but for Maddox’s. Agreed?”

“Agreed.” It definitely wasn’t a warm fuzzy welcome, but then Laurel hadn’t expected one.

Iris’s smile returned. Aimed at Maddox, of course. “Are you hungry, sweetie?” Iris asked him. “Because Grandma and Ellie made some oatmeal. Scrambled eggs, too.”

Laurel noticed the easy way
Grandma
had rolled off her tongue. It had to be hard because of the bad blood between their families. Still, Iris was either putting on a good show or else she wasn’t letting any of that bad blood extend to Maddox.

“The oatmeal will be fine.” Laurel went to the stove to dish him up a bowl so it could cool.

“Tar,” Maddox said, showing Iris Jericho’s badge.

“Yes, it is. A pretty one. And there’s another star. A gold one.” Iris pointed to the one on top of the Christmas tree by the breakfast table, and she went in that direction with Maddox. Maddox discarded the badge when Iris plucked off a horse ornament for him to play with.

That’s when Laurel noticed the blinds were down. Not just in the breakfast area, either, but in the kitchen, as well. That probably wasn’t their usual position, but she was thankful for it. The ranch was likely well protected, but that didn’t mean someone with a rifle couldn’t fire a shot into the house, as they’d done to Jericho’s the night before.

Not exactly a good thought to settle her already churning stomach.

And speaking of unsettling things, Laurel glanced around at the empty kitchen. She’d known Chase and Levi wouldn’t be there yet, but she’d expected to see the others. “Where is everyone?”

Iris and Jericho exchanged an uneasy glance before Jericho answered. “Addie and Weston are in Austin visiting his sister. Jax’s son is staying with his other grandmother for a few days.”

Laurel understood the uneasy glance then. “They’re not here because of me. Because of the danger.” She huffed. “Maddox and I should have been the ones to stay elsewhere.”

“Nonsense.” Iris got another ornament off the tree for Maddox. “Addie and Weston understand.”

Laurel didn’t get a chance to argue about that because Jericho’s phone rang, and she saw Jax’s name on the screen. Since this probably had something to do with the investigation, he stepped out of the breakfast area and into the hall.

“I’ll feed Maddox,” Iris volunteered, taking the bowl of oatmeal from Laurel.

“Thank you.” And Laurel meant it. She was thankful because it gave her the opportunity to go into the hall with Jericho and listen in on his conversation.

Jericho didn’t put the call on speaker. Probably because he didn’t want his mother to hear if it turned out to be more bad news. That meant Laurel had to go close to him.

Very close.

And despite the fact her mind should be on anything but Jericho, her body gave her a little nudge to let her know Jericho would always be on her mind.

“We haven’t found anything on DeWitt’s lawyer,” she heard Jax say. “He used a fake ID when he checked into the sheriff’s office, and we can’t get any usable fingerprints off the sign-in sheet.”

All planned, no doubt. Heck, the man probably wasn’t even a lawyer.

“I reviewed the surveillance footage from the camera outside the holding cell,” Jax continued, “and he did hand DeWitt some papers. It’s possible that’s when he passed DeWitt the poison he used to kill himself.”

“So, he didn’t actually murder him,” Jericho concluded. “Any reason why DeWitt would commit suicide?”

“Nothing I can find so far.” Jax added something under his breath she didn’t catch. Profanity, maybe. “In fact, I’m not finding anything on anybody that’ll put an end to this danger.”

Jericho whispered some of that profanity himself. “Get some rest. I’ll be there in about an hour.”

He pushed the button to end the call but didn’t budge. Maybe because Jericho needed a moment to take some of the gloom and doom off his face. Laurel was sure there was plenty of it on her face, as well.

“What now?” she asked.

Jericho stared at her and touched her arm, rubbed gently. “I’ll make arrangements for a safe house for the three of us.”

She was partly relieved that Jericho would be going with her. No one would protect Maddox the way he would. But Laurel reminded herself that being under the same roof with Jericho just wasn’t a good idea.

Jericho must have gotten that same jolting reminder because he glanced down at where he was rubbing her arm and eased back his hand. He looked ready to apologize.

Or kiss her.

That stupid part of Laurel was hoping for the kiss. But he didn’t get a chance to do either because the phone in the kitchen rang. Jericho hurried to answer it, but his mother beat him to it.

“Teddy,” Iris greeted. She was still holding Maddox in her arms. Still smiling, but the smile quickly faded. “I’ll let Jericho know.”

“Teddy’s a ranch hand,” Jericho explained to Laurel. “What’d he want?” he asked his mother the moment she hung up.

“We have a visitor,” Iris said, her voice practically trembling. “Herschel Tate just arrived, and he’s demanding to see his daughter.”

Chapter Seven

Hell. This was not the way Jericho had wanted to start the morning. Yes, he’d braced himself to interrogate Herschel. But not now and not here at the ranch.

And definitely not with Laurel and Maddox around.

“Oh, God,” Laurel said under her breath.

He hated that her father could put that kind of fear on her face. Hated even more that the fear was warranted.

Jericho took the phone from his mother, but for Maddox’s sake, he tried to appear calm. He figured he was failing, but maybe Maddox wouldn’t be as frightened as Laurel was.

“Teddy,” Jericho greeted the ranch hand, and he put the call on speaker so Laurel could hear. His mother moved into the hall with Maddox. “Where’s our visitor now?”

“Herschel’s still in his car in the driveway. I’ve got a gun pointed at him. That was the right thing to do, wasn’t it?”

“Absolutely.” Jericho had instructed all the hands to keep an eye out for a possible attack, and this could be the start of one. Of course, it’d be pretty stupid of Herschel to come to the ranch and personally try to attack them. “Keep the gun on him. Is he alone?”

“No. There’s a woman and another fella with him. And a driver. The woman says her name is Nan Winston, Herschel’s lawyer, and the fella introduced himself as Laurel’s fiancé.”

Laurel groaned. “Ex-fiancé. And what the heck is Theo doing here? Why are any of them here?”

Both good questions, but Jericho doubted their visitors would provide the answers to Teddy.

“I want to see my daughter,” he heard Herschel insist. Not exactly a shout but close enough.

With Herschel’s temper and mean streak, the man might provoke Teddy into a fight just so he could shoot the ranch hand. Of course, Teddy knew how to handle a gun. That’s why Jericho had posted him out front. Still, it was best if Jericho went outside and faced down this idiot and his entourage. Besides, he might even get Herschel to say something incriminating so he could arrest him.

Or so Jericho could shoot him.

It was probably wrong to wish that, but after the things Herschel had done, he deserved a bullet or two.

“Wait inside,” Jericho told Laurel. “And I mean it. I don’t want your father to even know you and Maddox are here.”

Laurel suddenly no longer looked afraid, and she darn sure wasn’t trembling. “He already knows or he wouldn’t have shown up. I need to stand up to him.”

“Admirable. But it’s not the right time.”

She shook her head, no doubt ready to launch into an argument. One that Jericho intended to nip in the bud. He took hold of her arm and moved her deeper into the kitchen so Maddox wouldn’t hear. Maddox probably wouldn’t be able to understand what was being said, but Jericho didn’t want to risk it.

“Both the so-called lawyer and driver could be armed,” Jericho reminded her. “Plus, you don’t need to go another round with delusion-boy Theo. At best, he has a serious issue with reality by still referring to himself as your fiancé. At worst, he wants you dead and is trying to goad you into coming out.”

Her chin stayed firm. “I need to stand up to him, too.”

“Again, admirable. But it’s not going to happen. Not until one or both of them are behind bars.”

Jericho took his badge from the table and clipped it on. He was already wearing his holster and weapon, something he normally didn’t do around the house, but then just about everything that’d happened in the past twenty-four hours had been far from normal.

“They could gun you down, too,” Laurel said, following him to the front.

Jericho took hold of her. There were sidelight windows on both sides of the door, and while there was holly and such rimming the glass, he didn’t want to risk Herschel’s seeing her. Jericho glanced out, though, and saw not only Teddy but three other ranch hands.

All armed.

Their visitors were still inside the car. Or rather the limo. But the left-side passenger’s door was open.

“I’ll be okay.” Jericho put on his jacket and Stetson. “And remember that part about staying inside.” He shot her a warning glance he hoped would do the trick and make her stay put.

He didn’t open the front door until he made sure Laurel wouldn’t be in anyone’s line of sight, and he went onto the porch, closing the door behind him. It was cold, and he got a full blast of that cold when the wind battered into him. The temperature was yet another reason to end this conversation fast so he could get Herschel and the others off the ranch.

The moment Jericho went down the stairs, someone stepped out of the limo. Herschel. He’d always been a big man, and he still was, even in his late sixties. Not overweight, just bulky. He’d always looked formidable to Jericho.

That hadn’t changed, either.

He, too, was wearing a cowboy hat and a heavy jacket. Jericho didn’t care much for that jacket because it could conceal a weapon.

“What the hell do you want, Herschel?” Jericho didn’t want to sound even marginally pleasant.

His question must have spurred the others into action, because Theo stepped out, and he was soon followed by a leggy blonde wearing a red dress. Hardly the right garb for butt-freezing weather. This was no doubt Nan Winston, Herschel’s lawyer.

“You know what I want—to see my daughter. Tell her to come out.”

Jericho would take a hit with a hot branding iron first. “Who says she’s here?”

Herschel jammed his thumb against his chest. “I do. My daughter’s predicable.”

He made a sound to let Herschel know he didn’t agree with that. Laurel was far from predicable.

“Tell your driver, aka thug, to get out of the car, too,” Jericho ordered. “I expect this little chat to be short and sweet. Emphasis on the short part. But I want everyone to keep their hands where I can see them.”

Herschel chuckled, obviously trying to dismiss any danger that Jericho might pose to them. “You’re going to shoot us,
Sheriff
?”

“Maybe. Haven’t had my coffee yet, and I’m a bit testy. My advice—don’t test me anymore. Do as I’ve said, speak your piece and then get the hell out of here.”

No more chuckling, but his words did spur some glares from the trio. The driver also stepped out. He didn’t lift his hands in the air, but he did put them on the car door in plain sight.

“I know my daughter’s here,” Herschel argued. “I had someone watching the sheriff’s office, and they called and said you brought her and Maddox to your family’s ranch. I gotta say, that wasn’t very predictable.”

Jericho shrugged, not fessing up to anything.

But Jericho had to admit to himself that it was possible for someone to have followed him from the sheriff’s office. Not all the way to the ranch however. Even though he’d been bone tired, he would have noticed another vehicle on the rural road, but Herschel’s hired morons could have seen the route he was taking and figured out he was going to the ranch.

“I’m here to take my daughter and grandson home,” Herschel insisted.

“Really?” Jericho challenged “You honestly think I’d let that happen?”

“The law’s on my side, Jericho. I have proof Laurel’s not mentally fit to be a mother.”

“Says you.”

“And a team of respected psychiatrists,” Herschel countered.

“Which you bought and paid for,” Jericho countered right back.

Herschel didn’t deny it. “She got involved with you and got pregnant. That proves she’s not stable.”

“No.” Jericho stretched that out a few syllables. “It proves she was once attracted to me, that’s all.”

Oh, Herschel didn’t like that one bit. Herschel really wouldn’t like it if Jericho pointed out that the attraction was still there. Jericho certainly wasn’t pleased about it, either.

“Laurel committed a crime,” Herschel tried again.

“That’s the pot calling the kettle black. Or did you think I’d forget all about you ordering my father’s murder?”

Now Herschel got a smug look. So did the skinny lawyer. “But there’s proof of Laurel’s crime,” the lawyer said. “No proof whatsoever of Herschel’s wrongdoing. Unlike his daughter, he has a spotless record.”

No smug look for Jericho. He huffed, and because he really was testy, he put his hand over his gun. “You know, I’m getting a little tired of you bantering around this so-called proof you have against Laurel. Where is it?”

“You’ll see it soon.” Herschel checked his watch. “The warrant for her arrest will be finalized within the hour.”

“Finalized unless I hand over my son to you,” Jericho finished for him.

It wasn’t Herschel who answered but rather Theo. “You don’t have the right to raise that little boy.”

Jericho was about to assure Theo and these other three that he did indeed have that right, but then he heard a sound he definitely didn’t want to hear. The front door of the house opening.

And Laurel stepped onto the porch. She didn’t stay on the porch, however. She marched down the steps toward them.

“Which part of
stay inside
didn’t you hear me say?” Jericho whispered to her through clenched teeth.

“I can’t let you fight my battles for me.”

He would have liked to remind her this battle wasn’t just hers. It was for custody of Maddox. But there was no sense letting her father know they were still at odds.

“You’ll be arrested soon,” her father said. “I plan to wait here until the cops from Dallas show up and take you away in handcuffs.”

So, the Dallas PD had drawn the short straw. They probably didn’t know this was part of Herschel’s sick plan—especially since there was almost certainly some evidence against Laurel.
Some.
Her father would have seen to that.

Too bad Herschel hadn’t sought out help from the SAPD. Jericho’s brother Levi could have possibly helped put an end to this already. Of course, Herschel was probably insisting the crime had taken place in the Dallas PD’s jurisdiction.

“I guess this means I won’t be going to a mental hospital,” Laurel remarked. She folded her arms over her chest, faced their enemies head-on. Well, at least she wasn’t looking afraid now. Just riled to the core.

“That was only if the warrant fell through,” her father answered. “It didn’t. But I can always use it as a backup.”

“Or you can come to your senses and do the right thing,” Theo said to Laurel.

When Theo took a step toward Laurel, Jericho drew his gun. Aimed it at the man. “First warning. Don’t come closer. You don’t get a second warning.”

Theo’s expression turned to iron, and his eyes were still narrowed when he looked at Laurel. “You can marry me and put an end to all of this.”

“Marry you?” she repeated. “And that’ll make the criminal charges and the insanity allegations go away? That’s not going to happen.”

“Then prepare yourself to go to jail,” the lawyer said, her tone sassy enough to put Jericho’s teeth on edge.

“I’m already tired of you and I barely know you. Get back in the limo,” Jericho ordered her. “Teddy, shoot her if she manages to get her hands on a gun while she’s in there.”

Clearly, Nan wasn’t accustomed to being put in her place. She cursed at him. A vanilla kind of profanity that a third grader would have used. But she got her butt back in the limo.

One down, three to go.

Jericho pointed to several heavily treed areas around the ranch and then got the attention of the other two ranch hands. “Keep watch, because our visitor here likes to hire killers. Which is why you should be inside,” he added to Laurel.

“I’m staying put until they leave,” Laurel insisted.

Of course she was. And besides tossing her over his shoulder and hauling her back into the house—something that Jericho briefly considered—there was no way to get her to budge. That meant he really needed to hurry this conversation along.

“All right, let’s just get this out on the table,” Jericho said to Theo. “Laurel’s not marrying you.” After clearing that up, he turned to Herschel. “And she’s darn sure not going anywhere with you.”

“Then be prepared for me to take custody of my grandson, because the warrant will include a court order for me to do just that.”

Doubtful. Still, Herschel could have manipulated that some way, too. It didn’t matter. Jericho usually didn’t have a shades-of-gray approach to the law, but in his son’s case, he’d make some exceptions.

“I’m Maddox’s father,” Jericho said, just in case these two nut jobs had forgotten that significant detail.

Hell. Herschel’s smug look returned. “You have no legal right to him. Your name’s not even on the birth certificate. Plus, I have DNA results that my own daughter gave me. Results that prove that Theo is the baby’s father.”

“Those results are a lie!” Laurel snapped.

“Are they?” Herschel’s smug look got worse.

“You know they are. I couldn’t put your name on the birth certificate,” Laurel whispered to Jericho. “I couldn’t let my father know. And I would have had to let you know, too.”

Yes, because she couldn’t have added Jericho’s name without his knowledge. Considering she thought it would be a death sentence for him, there was no way Laurel would have done that. But that blank space and the fake DNA results were going to give Theo some leverage.

If Jericho allowed it to happen.

He wouldn’t.

Herschel shrugged. “It’ll take a while for you to redo the DNA test. Until then, Theo has a right to take his son. Go inside, Theo, and get Maddox. You know he’s in that house.”

“And I have a right to shoot Theo if he tries to go inside,” Jericho insisted right back.

Maybe Theo wasn’t so stupid, after all, because he didn’t make a move. “We’ll be back when that court order arrives, and Herschel and I will take custody.”

Jericho wanted to use the cliché
over my dead body
, but since that’s exactly what someone wanted, he kept it to himself. Besides, he didn’t need to say anything. Herschel knew what kind of man Jericho was, and even with all this bluster and talk, he also knew Jericho wouldn’t just hand the child over to Theo or him.

“Think of the danger,” Theo said, looking at Laurel now. “Someone’s obviously trying to kill Jericho and you. Maddox shouldn’t be near you, or he could get caught in the crossfire.”

“He’s already been caught in it.” And that’s all Laurel said for several moments. The anger was there in her voice, but there was also plenty of hatred. “If you’re so concerned about his safety, then come clean and tell us who’s behind the attacks.”