The Marshal's Justice (Appaloosa Pass Ranch 4) (13 page)

April heard the movement behind her, and whirled around to see her brother standing in the doorway of the interview room. Quentin had no doubt heard Renée’s every word, but Chase also motioned for him to stay quiet.

“You’re the one who had Quentin kidnapped?” Chase asked the woman.

“No. I didn’t. I had him brought to me. But he agreed to it. He said it was a way of keeping him safe from Crossman. A way of getting the money he needed, too. And I would get to be with him.”

The anger roared through April, followed by a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t believed Quentin was telling her the truth, but it hurt to hear it spelled out.

Chase lifted his gaze, slowly, and he glared at Quentin. “Quentin was the one who came up with this plan?”

“I came up with it,” Renée quickly volunteered. “After I made him understand all the advantages, he agreed to it.”

“So, what changed?” Chase demanded. “Why did Quentin stop agreeing?”

“April must have gotten to him. Because Quentin left when I was out taking care of some things. Do you know where he is? I have to see him now. I have to convince him his sister’s wrong, that I really do love him.”

Part of her wanted to feel sorry for Renée, but April didn’t feel anything but hatred for the woman.

“I can’t stay on the line any longer,” Renée said. “I don’t want you tracing this and finding out where I am. Call me if you hear from Quentin.”

The moment Renée hung up, April turned and faced her brother. “You lied. Again.”

He nodded, his breath already gusting. “I was desperate.”

“That doesn’t make it all right.” She wanted to scream. Or slap him. But the truth was, April should have expected exactly this from her brother. He’d done similar things time and time again.

Chase stepped closer to Quentin, and April hadn’t thought it possible, but he looked just as enraged as she felt. “Why’d you
escape
from Renée? And this time everything you tell me—
everything
—had better be the truth.”

Quentin nodded, swallowed hard. “I needed money so I called Renée. She was thrilled to hear from me in that stalker, obsessive kind of way. But like I said, I was desperate for the money and thought I could get it from her. She said she was into something and didn’t have access to her funds.”

“Into something?” April snapped. “What exactly?”

“I don’t know, but after everything I’ve learned, maybe she was indeed behind Bailey’s kidnapping. Renée might have thought she could use Bailey to find me.”

April didn’t doubt that, and the woman had said as much when they’d been by the creek. Plus, Renée had asked Shane for money, which meant she likely wasn’t lying about not having access to her funds.

“So, Renée and you concocted that idiotic plan to have you taken from the hospital,” Chase tossed out there.

Quentin’s eyes widened. “Yes, but I had no idea she was going to use real gunmen. I certainly hadn’t thought there’d be shots fired.”

“A man died,” April reminded him. “True, the guy was a hired gun and deserved it, but innocent bystanders could have been hurt.
We
could have been hurt.” She motioned at Jericho, Jax and Chase.

“I didn’t know until after the fact. I swear,” Quentin insisted.

“What happened then?” Chase went on. “Did you have a so-called change of heart and escape from the very people who kidnapped you?”

“The gunmen were going to turn on Renée,” Quentin explained. “I heard them talking after she left, and they were going to kill her, and me, once they had the ransom money.”

April didn’t say I told you so, but she wanted to badly. “You were a fool to trust hired guns.”

Quentin nodded again, but it wasn’t just regret that she saw in his eyes when their gazes met. It was something else. Determination, maybe?

“I can fix this,” Quentin said to her before turning to Chase. “You want Renée and those men she hired? Then, I’ll help you get them.”

Chapter Thirteen

Chase was second-guessing this plan.

Yes, he wanted Renée and her thugs. Wanted answers that would put an end to the danger. But this plan put Jax and Jericho right on a collision with a crazy woman and Quentin, a man they couldn’t trust.

“I should have been the one to meet with Renée,” Chase said under his breath. Obviously, though, he didn’t say it softly enough because April glanced at him and scowled.

“You and I have huge targets on us,” she reminded him.

Something she’d mentioned several times during the planning stage of what could turn out to be a deadly trap. Because after all, if Quentin could try to turn the tables on Renée, then she could do the same to them.

It didn’t help that Renée had picked a really lousy meeting place. And she’d been adamant about it, too. She had insisted on meeting Quentin at a public place with lots of people around. In other words, there was no way Jax or Jericho could control the security.

That’s why Chase had wanted to nix it. His brothers and Quentin had disagreed just as adamantly. He was outnumbered, so the plan had been tweaked, then finalized, and now Jax, Jericho and Quentin were on their way to the fairgrounds, where crews were setting up for tomorrow’s rodeo.

Thankfully, the tweaking had involved a slight change of venue. Instead of at the rodeo arena itself, the meeting would take place in the concession area, where there was less chance of having people wander onto the scene.

Of course, Jericho had put some of his own security in place, as well. Two Rangers and a reserve deputy had gone out ahead of them and were scoping out the fairgrounds to make sure this wasn’t an ambush waiting to happen. If they got lucky, the precaution would just be overkill.

Because maybe Renée’s only goal was to get her hands on Quentin.

If so, perhaps Jericho could arrest the woman and her armed
employees
before they managed to do any damage.

Chase had also made sure April was safe, too. He’d called in two of the deputies, Dexter Conway and Carlos Jimenez, to man the sheriff’s office and provide backup if needed. He’d also locked the front door and set the security alarm to cover all the windows and exits. Chase hoped like the devil all of that was overkill, too.

“You look ready to jump out of your skin,” Carlos said, glancing at April. “And you didn’t eat hardly a bite of your dinner.”

“I’m not hungry,” April answered. But Carlos was right about the jumping-out-of-her-skin part. April alternated between pacing, checking the time and nibbling on her bottom lip.

Chase started to give her a mini-lecture on how she should indeed eat some of the sandwich and fries he’d ordered for her from the diner across the street. But then, he didn’t have much of an appetite, either.

What had helped both of them was another quick video “chat” with Bailey. The baby had been sound asleep, but it’d been good just to see her face and to know that everything was still all right at the safe house.

“You could try to rest in the break room,” Chase suggested. But he wanted to kick himself. Because judging from the surprise that flashed across her face, April was remembering those kisses they’d shared there just a few hours earlier.

Not especially what he wanted on her mind, or his, but at least she no longer looked to be on the verge of a panic attack. Too bad it didn’t last. His phone rang, and April’s nerves jumped right back to the surface.

He halfway expected to see Unknown Caller on the screen, but it was a name he actually recognized. Marshal Harlan McKinney. He’d not only worked with Harlan on several cases, but Chase also trusted the man.

Chase didn’t put the call on speaker. Just in case this was another dose of bad news, he didn’t want to send April over the edge. Still, she moved closer, where she would undoubtedly be able to hear at least some of the conversation.

“We found something,” Harlan said the moment he came on the line. “There was a mole. Not a marshal, though. It was a computer tech working out of the Austin office. Her name’s Janette Heller. Ring any bells?”

He had to think about it a few seconds. “No. Should it?”

“Maybe. She does background checks and such so I thought maybe you’d crossed paths with her.”

“It’s possible. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.” A huge understatement. “Has she been arrested?”

“Yeah, she’s in custody. Lawyered up right away, of course, but we have what we need to set her bail sky-high. The FBI techs went through her computers, and they found enough to prove she’s hacked into some WITSEC files.”

“Any idea who hired her to do that?” Chase immediately asked.

“Following the advice of her lawyer, she hasn’t said a word. Her lawyer’s a bigwig, too. One who costs way over her standard of living.”

“Maybe because she’s using the money she got from hacking to pay for it?”

“Maybe.” But Harlan didn’t sound entirely convinced of that. “This is the kind of lawyer who has a waiting list of clients, but he dropped everything and came when she called.”

So, obviously this Janette had some kind of clout or a backer who hadn’t come up yet in the investigation. “You think she’ll eventually talk and tell us who she’s working for?”

“Not without some kind of incentive. It’s my guess she won’t be giving up that info unless we offer her some kind of deal. Are you okay with that, especially since it was her hack job that put April and your baby in danger?”

No, he wasn’t okay with it. But Chase also wasn’t okay with letting the person behind this go free, either. If it was Crossman and Janette was his “little bird,” they could use this to freeze his assets and stop future attacks.

“Offer Janette the deal,” Chase finally answered. “Call me if you get a name from her.”

Harlan assured him he would and ended the call. Chase immediately turned to April to tell her the news.

“Thank God,” she said. Obviously, she’d heard more than bits and pieces of the conversation.

Finally, he saw some of that tension drain from her, and April slipped her arms around him as if it was something she did all the time. This was a by-product of all that kissing. It’d broken down barriers.

Chase didn’t go stiff, exactly, but April must have picked up on his hesitation because she pulled back. Or at least that’s what she was in the process of doing, but Chase eased her right back to him. It didn’t last because the movement behind him snagged Chase’s attention.

Dexter walked toward the window and looked out.

“What’s wrong?” Chase immediately asked the deputy.

Dexter shook his head. “I just thought I saw someone in the alley next to the diner.”

Normally, that wouldn’t have put Chase on edge, but there was nothing normal about this situation.

“Wait in Jericho’s office,” Chase told April, and he went to the front to have a look for himself.

Nothing.

“Maybe it was a shadow,” Dexter added.

Maybe. But with everything else that’d happened, Chase wasn’t taking any chances. He kept looking, searching for anything that was out of place.

There were people in the diner. People milling around some of the shops, too, but it would have been unusual for someone to be in that particular alley unless it was one of the diner workers on a smoke break.

The minutes crawled by, and Chase glanced over his shoulder to make sure April had gone into Jericho’s office. She had, but she was peering out the doorway. When he shifted his gaze back to the alley, he saw it then.

Someone was at the back of the diner and darted out of sight. Someone dressed all in black.

Chase and Dexter drew their weapons.

“Who’s out there?” April asked.

But Chase didn’t get a chance to answer because he saw more movement in the alley. Not a person dressed in black, either. This was a woman, and someone he instantly recognized.

Renée.

Hell. What was she doing here?

* * *

A
PRIL
COULDN
’
T
SEE
what’d caused Chase and Dexter’s reaction. But both of them snapped back their shoulders. Chase and Dexter had already pulled their guns, but the other deputy did the same.

She tried to tamp down the fear. Tried to remind herself that this could all be just a precaution. However, it didn’t feel like one.

Without taking his attention from the window, Chase took out his phone. April had no idea who he was calling, but she had no trouble hearing what he said once the person answered.

“Renée is here.”

That put April’s heart in her throat. Certainly the woman must have known Quentin wouldn’t be here, that he was at the meeting that Renée herself had helped set up. So, what did she want?

April figured Renée hadn’t come here just to chat.

Maybe they’d been wrong about Renée’s obsession with Quentin. Maybe April was the woman’s target.

Or...

April’s stomach twisted. This could have something to do with the ransom money that would soon be delivered. April had slashed the amount to only what Quentin needed to pay off the loan shark, but what if Renée intended to take that money and use it to try to get Quentin back in her good graces?

But there was another possibility. One that April didn’t like.

What if Renée and her brother were working together on this?

Chase ended his call, and with his gaze firing all around, he glanced back at her. He probably tried to give her a reassuring look. But he failed. April could practically feel the danger and his concern about it.

“Keep an eye on the roof,” Chase told the deputies.

Though that order had no sooner left his mouth when April heard a sound she definitely didn’t want to hear.

The alarm from the security system.

It started to scream through the building. It screamed through her, too. Because it meant someone had just broken in.

Chase ran to her, pushing her deeper into Jericho’s office. “Take the gun from the top right desk drawer,” he instructed. “And keep watch on the window behind you.”

Her heart was already racing, but that caused it to race even more. April hurried to the desk and took out the gun. After going into WITSEC, she’d taken firearms training and knew how to shoot. She prayed, though, that it wouldn’t come down to her doing that.

“The alarm was triggered from the break room,” Dexter called out to them.

So close, just up the hall. There was a back door and windows in the room, but Renée must have known the sheriff’s office would be wired for security.

Was it some kind of diversion?

Several moments later, the alarm stopped. No doubt because Dexter had turned it off so they could hear if anyone was actually in the building.

It was hard for April to hear much of anything with her pulse throbbing in her ears, but both Chase and Dexter had their guns aimed at the break room. She figured Carlos was watching the front in case one of Renée’s hired thugs came crashing through the door. If that happened, it would be a gutsy move, an attack in broad daylight. But then, Renée hadn’t exactly been predictable.

“Do you see anyone?” April risked asking.

Chase shook his head. “If someone opened the break room door, then they closed it.”

The relief came. But didn’t last. Because that could mean the someone had gotten inside before closing the door.

Carlos cursed, and that sent Dexter pivoting in the direction of his fellow deputy. Chase glanced at Carlos, too, and while he didn’t curse, he certainly wasn’t pleased about whatever he saw.

“Get down on the floor,” Chase ordered her, and he stepped out. “A gunman’s in the alley.”

That was the only thing he managed to say before there was another sound that April didn’t want to hear.

Gunshots.

Thick blasts that crashed into the front of the building.

“The windows are bullet resistant,” Chase reminded her.

But he didn’t return fire. Chase didn’t spare more than a glance at the front. Instead, he kept his attention nailed to the break room.

And then he took aim.

Fired.

The shot rocketed through the hall, but since April was on the floor she couldn’t see who Chase had shot at or if he’d hit his target.

More of those thick blasts sounded from the front. Chase fired another shot at the break room.

Then, nothing.

Everything went quiet. While April was glad the shots had stopped, she doubted that was a good thing.

“Renée’s getting away,” Dexter shouted. The deputy started toward the front, probably to go after her, but Chase stopped him.

“It could be a ruse to lure you out,” Chase warned.

A ruse where more attackers could start pouring into the building as soon as the deputy was gone. Or else Dexter could be just gunned down by one of them.

“What about the shooter in the break room?” April asked.

“Gone, too.” And Chase headed in that direction.

April wanted to shout for him to stop, that it could also be part of a ruse, but anything she said right now might be just a distraction. One that could get Chase shot. So, she waited. Breath held and praying.

It seemed to take an eternity for Chase to make his way back to her. He immediately checked on her, helping her to her feet, and he brushed a kiss on her forehead. A kiss of relief, no doubt.

“The shooter broke through the window in the break room,” he explained. “But there’s no sign of him or anyone else back there.”

That didn’t mean they wouldn’t be back. Renée seemed determined to get to her.

“Why would Renée do this?” Dexter asked as Chase stepped back and took out his phone.

“Maybe for the ransom money,” Chase answered, stepping back into the doorway. “Or maybe so she could kidnap April and use her to bargain with Quentin.”

April hadn’t even considered the last possibilities. But if Renée had thought something like that would work, she would almost certainly do it.

“Renée and her henchmen got away,” Chase said to the person who answered the call he made.

It was Jericho. She recognized his voice when Chase put the call on speaker and she heard Jericho curse. “Renée must have figured out the meeting was a trap. There’s not a sign of any gunmen here. We’re heading back to the station now.”