The Marshal's Justice (Appaloosa Pass Ranch 4) (15 page)

Thankfully, Chase put the call on speaker. “Did you find out anything else about Crossman?” Chase asked.

“Not yet, but there are a few inmates who seem to want to talk. In exchange for lighter sentences, of course. Something might pan out with that, but it’s not the reason I’m calling. It’s about Janette.”

It took April a moment to remember that was the name of the mole they’d found in the marshals’ office.

“Janette took the plea deal,” Harlan continued a moment later. “And she gave us the name of the person who hired her to hack into WITSEC files.”

Chapter Fifteen

Renée.

Chase wasn’t exactly surprised that Renée had been the one to pay off Janette, the hacker. It’d been clear from the start that the woman would do anything to find Quentin. What was surprising though was that she hadn’t covered her tracks better.

Most criminals would have used a middleman to broker the deal and added layer after layer of cover so that nothing could be traced back to them. Renée hadn’t done that. Why?

That’d been the question on Chase’s mind during the entire drive to the safe house. And it was still on his mind now.

The safe house was quiet with Levi and Mack asleep in the living room and Jax’s return to the sheriff’s office. Bailey was also sleeping in the makeshift nursery they’d made out of the second bedroom, and April was in the only other bedroom across the hall. Probably to give him some alone time with Bailey.

Alone time with his thoughts, too.

So much had gone on what with the attacks, Crossman’s murder and now the news about Renée hiring Janette. All of it was twisted into a tangled mess, and even the quiet didn’t help Chase sort through it.

What did help was knowing that Bailey and April were safe. For now, anyway. With Crossman out of the picture, Chase had to work on keeping it that way. That started with figuring out how Renée played into all of this. Whoever was behind this wanted April hurt.

Or dead.

If it was Quentin, it could be for whatever part of April’s estate he’d inherit. If it was Malcolm, it could be simple revenge. Revenge that he’d perhaps already started by having Crossman murdered. But what would Renée possibly hope to gain by killing April?

Unless...

“What’s bothering you?” April asked, snapping him right out of his thoughts.

Chase looked up at her. She was in the doorway, her hands bracketed on each side of the jamb, and she was watching him watch a sleeping Bailey.

He did a double take. Because April wasn’t wearing any clothes. Well, she had on a bathrobe, but that was it. Judging from the towel she had draped over her arm, she was headed to the shower.

April did her own double take when she noticed where his attention had drifted. To her body. He quickly fixed that and turned back to the baby.

“Is something wrong?” April pressed.

Because something might indeed be wrong and since he didn’t want to wake Bailey, Chase stepped away from the crib and joined April in the hall so they could talk. He reminded certain parts of himself that this was just for a chat. And not so he could keep gawking at her in that bathrobe.

“I’m thinking it’s possible Janette was paid to say that Renée had been the one to hire her,” Chase tossed out there.

April stayed quiet a moment, obviously processing that. “Is there anything specific that makes you think that?”

“Harlan said Janette got a top-notch lawyer, one that she wouldn’t normally be able to afford.”

She shrugged. “Maybe Renée paid for that, too.”

“That’s what I thought at first, but why wouldn’t Renée just spend that money to better cover up what she’d done? There doesn’t appear to be a personal connection between Renée and Janette, so I’m surprised Renée didn’t just put up a front man to hire her and then let Janette hang if she got caught.”

April made a sound of agreement. “Especially since Renée got the information she wanted—my location so she could use Bailey and me to help her find Quentin.” She paused. “So, you’re thinking Malcolm could be behind this?”

“Or Quentin.” Chase didn’t have to wait long for the surprise to appear on April’s face.

“Quentin might have needed to find you so he could get the money to pay off his debts. After all, you had a do-not-contact order on him when you entered WITSEC, and he had no way of getting in touch with you.”

“Only because I thought it was too risky for us to try to communicate with each other.”

Chase nodded. “So, this might have been Quentin’s only way of finding you. And then he could get rid of Renée by having Janette say that Renée was the one who hired her.”

“You really think so?” she asked.

Obviously, he hadn’t convinced her. Chase hadn’t actually convinced himself, either, but he wanted to tell her what was on his mind and hope that she could see any flaws in his theory. Because it would be a lot better for April if her brother didn’t want her dead.

“Think it through,” Chase continued. “Yes, Renée resents you because she believes you turned Quentin against her, but Quentin could be manipulating that. He could be baiting Renée to go after you.”

April groaned, leaned against the wall. And she blinked back some tears. “I know I shouldn’t be shocked by anything he’s capable of doing, but it still hurts.”

Now he had convinced her. But maybe he was wrong.

“I know. I’m sorry. And this is all just a theory. Quentin might be innocent.” Of this, anyway.

Even though it was a different kind of dangerous to get closer to her, Chase did it anyway. He pulled her to him. And he had to give those parts of his body yet another reminder that this was a hug of comfort. Too bad those parts couldn’t tell the difference.

And April felt the difference.

She eased back, looked up at him, and he saw the questions—and the heat—in her eyes.

Not good. Chase moved away from her. It didn’t help. He could still feel her in his arms. Still had the taste of her in his mouth.

Still wanted her more than his next breath.

“All right.” April sounded disappointed that he hadn’t acted on the heat crackling between them. She fluttered her fingers toward the bathroom just up the hall. “I won’t be long, and then I’ll probably spend the night in here with Bailey.”

Chase wanted to remind her there was a baby monitor so she could sleep in the room set up for her and still hear Bailey. Heck, he also wanted to follow April and...

Well, he wanted to have sex with her.

That was the down and dirty, but considering everything that’d gone on between them, she might turn him down flat.

His stupid body seemed to take that as a challenge. Chase grabbed the baby monitor and headed for the bathroom. She’d already turned on the shower. He could hear the water running, which meant she’d likely already stripped down.

His body took that as a challenge, too.

He knocked once, just a sharp rap, and April opened the door. He stepped inside with her and set the baby monitor on the vanity.

April stared at him. Frozen. Well, except for her breath. It was gusting.

Chase had a big reason to keep his hands off her. April was a criminal. He was a marshal. Opposites. But that didn’t seem to matter when it came to this attraction between them.

It sure didn’t matter now.

There were times when he wished he’d never met her. Other times when he knew he’d never have this feeling with anyone else. Despite that whole opposite thing, his feelings for her ran hot and deep. And not just sex, either.

It would have been so much simpler if this were just about sex.

“I’m never sure what I should do when it comes to you,” she said, her voice all mixed up with that gusting breath.

“I know exactly what to do with you.”

And he did. Chase proved it by sliding his hand around the back of her neck and hauling her to him. His brain sent up a red flag warning. Which he ignored and kissed her.

There it was. That slam of fire that he always got whenever he was near her. He put her body right against his. Her breasts against his chest. The rest of them aligned just right, too.

She tasted like something forbidden. Probably not too far off the mark. But there was something else, as well. Something familiar that whispered of home. And family. That was brief, though, because soon the fire had its way, and his body urged him to do more than just kiss her.

So, Chase did.

He pushed the robe off her, and he lowered his mouth to her breasts. She was curvier than she had been before the pregnancy. He approved and savored every inch of her breasts until she was breathless and clutching onto him.

And kissing him in return.

April sank to the floor, pulling him down with her. It was warm and steamy like the rest of the room, and they landed on the thick bath mat. She located his mouth again and did some damage there while she went after his shirt. Once it was off, he felt her bare skin against his. Not just her breasts, either.

She was naked.

And beautiful.

Man, she knew how to take away his breath, too.

Chase considered scooping her up and taking her into the bedroom.
Briefly
considered it. But the bedroom suddenly seemed miles away.

Their other time together had been crazy and rushed. This time was no different, and even though he wanted to slow down, to savor her a while, he knew that was a pipe dream. The need pushed aside the foreplay.

Without breaking the kiss, she fought with his jeans and would have lost that battle on her own if Chase hadn’t helped. His boots, holster and the rest of his clothes went flying over the small bathroom. At the last second, he remembered to take a condom from his wallet.

And then it was his turn to freeze.

“Is it okay if we do this?” Something he should have asked before he even started this.

She blinked, and then he saw the realization hit her. “You mean because I had a baby?” Relief washed over her face, and she pulled him right back to her. “It’s been two months. This is fine. Better than fine,” she added in a rough whisper.

Chase had to agree with that. It was much, much better than just fine.

Despite her assurance that all was well, Chase forced himself to be gentle when he entered her. The gentleness didn’t last, though. April hooked her legs around him and forced him in deeper. Harder.

Then, faster.

Even though the need was in control now, Chase still looked at her. Savoring as much of this as he could. Hanging on to every second with her.

But it didn’t last.

He knew it wouldn’t. The thrusts inside her took them to the exact place that fire demanded they go. April made a soft sound of pure pleasure as the climax rippled through her. It was the sound, that look on her face, the way her body gripped his. All of that took hold of him. And didn’t let go.

Chase gave in to it, in to her and finished what April and he had started.

Chapter Sixteen

April figured this was as close to perfect as her life could get. Sex with Chase. Great sex at that. They had a healthy baby girl. And Crossman was dead. But even with all the semiperfectness, something big was missing.

Chase himself.

He was there physically in bed with her at the safe house, but somewhere between the time they’d made love on the bathroom floor and then come into the bedroom after Bailey’s late-night feeding, he’d taken a mental hike. And it wasn’t just because he’d been asleep, either. He’d likely dozed through the night, but every time April had checked, he was awake, staring up at the ceiling.

Did he regret what they’d done?

No doubt. April was pretty sure he trusted her now, but there’d always be that divide between them. A divide that even the danger, Bailey and the sex hadn’t been able to erase.

Of course, it might also have something to do with the two phone calls Chase had made during the night. From what she’d been able to gather, they’d been updates from Jericho. Or rather lack of updates since there’d been no new information about the investigation.

“Want to talk about it?” she risked asking.

Even though he was still wide awake, her question seemed to startle him, and it took a moment for him to turn his head and look at her. There wasn’t regret in his eyes, but there was something.

“I’m not going to apologize for what happened,” he said.

All right, so maybe he wasn’t as distant as she’d originally thought. “I don’t want an apology. If you hadn’t come into that bathroom after me, I would have made my way back to you.”

In fact, she had indeed been reaching for the doorknob when she’d heard Chase’s well-timed knock.

“So, what’s bothering you?” she pressed even though April wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what had caused his forehead to bunch up like that.

“Today is Deanne’s funeral,” he tossed out there.

Oh. That. She certainly hadn’t forgotten about it and felt a pang of a different kind. Grief. It was so senseless that Deanne had died. Even more senseless that they still didn’t know who had hired the man who’d murdered her.

“Deanne didn’t have a next of kin,” Chase went on, “so Jericho arranged to have her buried at the church near the ranch. We have lots of family graves there that we maintain. We’ll do the same for Deanne.”

April had to tamp down the lump in her throat before she could speak. “Thank you for that.”

“It was all Jericho’s doing. He might act like a badass, but he’s got a couple of soft spots.”

She’d yet to see those soft spots, but Jericho had done his best to keep Bailey and her safe, and that was plenty enough for April.

There was a sound from the baby monitor. Not a cry exactly, but Bailey was stirring. She’d had a bottle only three hours earlier so probably wouldn’t be hungry yet, but she might want some attention.

“I’ll get her,” Chase said, dropping a kiss on her mouth before he climbed out of bed.

He was already wearing his jeans. He’d put them back on shortly after returning to the bedroom and had slept in them. With his gun and boots nearby. Reminders that even though they were in the safe house, Chase was still on alert.

With good reason.

It was entirely possible the danger wasn’t over.

Also entirely possible the danger wasn’t going away anytime soon. Well, unless they did something to bring things to a head.

Chase came back in the room, holding Bailey and smiling at her. For a couple of moments, the thoughts of danger and fear vanished, and April went back into that near-perfect state. This was what normal couples had.

Not that their relationship was anywhere near normal.

Still, it was nice to think of what could be.

Chase sat on the bed, easing Bailey between them. The baby volleyed glances between them as if trying to figure out what was going on. April was trying to do the same thing. However, any plans or thoughts for their future meant getting rid of one big obstacle: the person who’d set all this danger in motion.

April wanted to believe Crossman had been the one to do that, but her gut was telling her otherwise. They had to know for sure.

“We could set a trap,” April tossed out there, hoping Chase didn’t nix the idea before she could even explain it.

He didn’t.

“I know a trap might not even be necessary,” she continued. “Maybe Crossman was the only one behind all of this, but if he wasn’t, then the person responsible will still want to come after me.”

And that person could be Renée, Malcolm or, yes, Quentin.

Chase nodded. “I was thinking about going to Deanne’s funeral in the hopes of drawing out Quentin or Renée.”

She shook her head. “You’re not the target. I am. The only way it would work is for me to be there.”

Now he shook his head. “Too dangerous.”

“It’s too dangerous not to do anything. And think of what it would mean to bring this all to an end. No WITSEC. You wouldn’t have to leave your family or give up your badge. Bailey could have a normal life.”

Chase wasn’t surprised with any part of her argument. He’d likely gone over this too many times during the sleepless night he’d just had. But he still didn’t jump to agree with her that this was the fastest way.

Bailey smiled, getting their attention. The conversation was way too dark, considering they had their precious baby next to them. But it was because of Bailey that something had to be done.

“You said the funeral would be at a church near the ranch,” April went on. “How hard would it be to secure the location?”

“Hard.” Chase lifted his head, his gaze meeting hers. “But not impossible. The church and adjacent cemetery are in a clearing with a road in front and pastures on the back and east side. It’s the west side that would pose the biggest risk. There are plenty of trees where snipers could hide.”

Obviously, he’d already given this some thought. “Even if we caught a sniper, he might not talk and tell us who hired him,” she admitted.

“Yeah, and that’s why I don’t think this is a good idea. Too big of a risk with little chance of a payoff.”

“What if the culprit thinks he or she can personally get to me?” April suggested. “Just hear me out,” she added when he started shaking his head again. “We put out the word that I found something to ID the person. No specifics, only that Crossman gave me some information when we visited him right before he died.”

At least Chase didn’t shake his head at that. “What kind of info?”

She shrugged. “Bank routing numbers maybe that could be traced back to the person who hired those gunmen. We could say that I’m not willing to share the info with the cops yet because I want to use it as a bargaining tool to get Quentin out of hot water.”

Something she’d done with the last plea deal. And she’d been getting Quentin out of hot water most of his life.

“Then what?” Chase asked. “The person responsible tries to gun you down when a sniper can’t?”

The thought of that required her to take a deep breath. “Maybe no guns will be involved at all. I could stay inside the church the whole time. Both Quentin and Renée are fugitives. If they try to get inside to see me, you can arrest them. Interrogate them. And maybe get them to crack.”

Which shouldn’t be hard in Renée’s case. Her short fuse and mental instability might be enough to get a confession.

“What if it’s Malcolm?” Chase snapped. “I don’t have any grounds to arrest him—yet.”

“No. But if he shows up, I can tell him Crossman gave me proof that he’s the one behind the attacks. If Malcolm is indeed the one behind this, I think he’ll have some kind of reaction to that.”

“A bad reaction,” Chase pointed out.

“And if it is, you’ll arrest him.”

“What if he attacks first?” he pressed.

“Then you’ll stop him. We can add some urgency to all of this by saying after the funeral I’ll be heading back to WITSEC. And meeting with the marshals to tell them everything I supposedly learned from Crossman because I’ve worked out the plea deal for Quentin to take his false kidnapping and extortion charges off the table.”

Chase looked as if he wanted to curse. Hard to do that with a still-smiling baby between them. “I don’t want you in that kind of danger.”

“I’m already in that kind of danger,” she reminded him. “And if the suspects don’t show up, at least I get to say my goodbyes to Deanne.”

Still, no response from Chase.

“Please,” April pressed. “Call Jericho and let’s set this up. Levi and Mack could stay here with Bailey, and in just a few hours this could all be over.”

He didn’t exactly jump to take out his phone, and she could see the wheels practically turning in his head. It wasn’t a perfect plan. Far from it. However, she felt in her gut that one way or another it would bring all of this to a close.

“I won’t make you regret this,” she added.

“I already do,” he said.

But Chase reached for his phone to make the call.

* * *

E
VERYTHING
WAS
QUIET
. Too quiet, maybe. Of course, if it hadn’t been quiet, Chase would have still felt the same uneasiness.

And had the same doubts about this so-called plan.

Having April out in public like this could turn out to be deadly. But then again, having her anywhere could have the same consequences. After all, someone—maybe Renée—had tried to kidnap April from the sheriff’s office in broad daylight. The woman certainly wouldn’t have any trouble showing up at a country church.

Nor would any thugs she might have hired to finish off April.

That’s why Chase had insisted on April wearing a Kevlar vest under her shirt. She could still be injured in an attack, but the vest was something at least. The church had also been searched from top to bottom.

Of course, there were plenty of places for an attacker to hide a bomb or some other kind of device in an old church like this, especially since Deanne’s funeral arrangements had been made before this plan had been put into motion. Someone could have easily gotten into the church. Still, they’d done all they could in that particular area of security.

As a final part of this plan, April was also armed. Everyone in or near the church was since, with the exception of April, they were all lawmen.

Jericho, Jax, Carlos and Dexter.

No minister. Chase hadn’t wanted to bring Reverend Marcum into the middle of this. And the burial crew wouldn’t show up until April was away from the grounds. That would ensure the crew’s and minister’s safety.

Too bad Chase couldn’t do much of anything else to give April that same kind of assurance.

Or comfort.

April had started crying the moment they’d stepped into the church for the closed-casket funeral. And she was still fighting the tears now while they stood in the back corner. Where they would stay to see how this plan played out.

The corner wasn’t ideal since the walls of the church were wood, but it was away from any doors and windows, and it gave Chase the vantage point of being able to see both the front and rear exits while keeping April right next to him.

She was still looking shaky and had a death grip on the small bouquet of flowers she was holding. Flowers that Jax had remembered to pick up for her so April would have something to put on Deanne’s coffin. Chase hadn’t expected his brothers to be so accommodating to April, but he was thankful for it. Thankful, too, that they were putting their lives on the line for this.

“Deanne’s death wasn’t your fault, you know,” Chase told her when the tears started again. But he was repeating himself, and April didn’t look as if she believed him any more now than the first time he’d said it.

“If it hadn’t been for Deanne, we might not have gotten Bailey back.” She whispered it as if it were too frightening to say it aloud.

Chase shared that same frightening realization with her. Thank God they’d managed to get to Bailey because as bad as this all was—and it was
bad
—at least their baby was safe.

The challenge would be to keep it that way.

There was some movement near the front door, and Chase automatically stepped in front of April. But it was only Jericho, and his brother made a sweeping glance around before he made his way to them.

“Anything yet?” Chase asked.

Jericho shook his head. “No sign of snipers or anyone else for that matter. But then, I wasn’t convinced any of our three suspects or their hired guns would just come waltzing up to the place.”

“They might if they believe this is their last chance to get to me,” April reminded him. “Did the word get out that I’m about to leave for good?”

“It did. We used Janette for that.”

Chase pulled back his shoulders. “The hacker who broke into WITSEC files? You trust her to do something like that?”

“I don’t trust her one bit, but trust has nothing to do with this. As part of her plea deal, she told us that she communicated with Renée or whoever hired her by transferring the info she hacked into an encrypted file that she then put in an online chat room.”

April jumped right on that. “You’re not sure it was actually Renée who hired her?”

“Not sure of much of anything, and I don’t think Janette is, either. It’s fairly easy to pretend to be someone else on the internet. And I have to wonder—why would Renée let this be traced back to her?”

Chase had asked himself the same thing, and he didn’t like the answer any more than the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Yes, Renée could have just screwed up. She was crazy after all. But it would have been just as easy for someone to frame her.

Either Malcolm or Quentin.

“Anyway,” Jericho continued, “the marshals used the same encryption code and put out the news about April heading back to WITSEC today.”

“But won’t our suspects know the info didn’t come from Janette?” Chase asked.

Jericho gave him a half smile. “It did come from her. That was another part of the plea deal we worked out with Janette. They allowed her to log on to a computer but watched everything she was doing to make sure she didn’t try to double-cross us.”

April didn’t seem that relieved. “What if Janette found a way around that? What if she figured out a way to tell her boss that this was a trap?”