Delores Fossen - Drury

Other than a soft moan, she didn’t get a chance to respond because Drury’s phone rang. “It’s Grayson,” he said, glancing at the screen.

That got her back on her feet, and Caitlyn shook her head. “Please don’t tell him I’m here. Not yet. I’m not sure who I can trust.”

“Well, you can’t trust me,” he snapped.

But that was a lie. He was a lawman and would do whatever it took to protect her or any other bleeding woman who showed up at his house.

“Please,” she repeated, sounding just as desperate as she looked.

Drury wasn’t going to let that please or desperation sway him. He intended to tell Grayson everything because while she might not trust his cousin, Drury darn sure did.

“We found the shooter,” Grayson said the moment Drury answered the call. “He’d crashed his SUV into a tree about three miles from the ranch. He’s hurt but alive.”

“Who is he?” Drury asked.

“No ID, and the vehicle is registered to a woman in Austin.”

Maybe that meant the SUV was stolen. Of course, Drury already knew this guy was a criminal capable of murder. “Did he happen to say why he fired shots at me or what he was doing at my place?” Drury pressed.

Caitlyn moved closer. Too close. No doubt trying to hear the conversation.

“He’s not saying much of anything. He’s groggy, slipping in and out of consciousness,” Grayson added. “We’ll get him to the hospital, but I did find something in the SUV that was, well, disturbing. Some rope, a ski mask, duct tape and rubber gloves.”

No baby. Though Drury hadn’t expected there would be. Caitlyn had likely been the victim of a scam, and now that they couldn’t milk any more money from her, this thug had been sent to get rid of her.

“I’ll head to the sheriff’s office now,” Drury insisted.

“You need a ride? When I drove by earlier, I saw your truck was messed up.”

“Yeah. That thug shot the radiator. But I have a car in the garage. I’ll also have someone with me who can shed some light on this.”

Caitlyn was shaking her head before he even finished.

“Who?” Grayson asked, but he continued before Drury could respond. “Gotta go. Ambulance is here. You can tell me when you get to the office. See you in a few.”

“No,” Caitlyn said, still shaking her head when Drury ended the call. “You shouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t have told Grayson you were bringing someone in.”

And she took off. Not toward the door but rather into the living room.

“What the heck do you think you’re doing?” Drury asked.

She didn’t answer that. Caitlyn hurried to the side of the sofa, and she grabbed something from the floor. Even though the room was dark, Drury had no trouble seeing the bundled-up coat.

And the stun gun.

Caitlyn picked up both, and with the coat clutched to her chest, she started running, headed to the back door this time.

Drury stepped in front of her, blocking her path, but Caitlyn tried to dart around him. He didn’t want her to get a chance to use that stun gun on him, so he caught onto her arm and knocked the stun gun from her hand.

“I have to go,” she insisted. “It’s not safe.”

Maybe it wasn’t, but that didn’t mean Drury was just going to let her head out. He pulled her closer and had a better look at the coat.

Damn.

In the middle of that bundle, Drury saw something move.

And that something was a baby.

Chapter Two

Caitlyn hadn’t expected Drury just to let her walk out of there, but she also hadn’t thought this insanity would go from bad to worse.

This definitely qualified as worse.

Now that he’d seen the baby, there was no way he’d willingly let her leave.

“The baby’s yours?” he snapped.

“Maybe.”

She’d figured Drury wasn’t going to like that answer, and he didn’t. He groaned. Then cursed.

“But I believe she’s mine,” Caitlyn went on. “And the man said she was. I figured I could have her tested later, but for now I have to go. That man who shot at you wants to kill me and take the baby.”

“Yeah. I got that. According to Grayson, he had rope, tape, a ski mask and gloves in his SUV. All the makings of a felony or two.”

Oh, God. Her stomach dropped. Even though Caitlyn had known the man didn’t have good intentions, it sickened her to hear it spelled out like that. It also confirmed what she’d felt in her heart.

That he had no intention of giving her the baby.

He’d had plans to kill her then and there. She doubted he had just stopped trying to do that, either.

“The man will send someone else after me,” Caitlyn tried again. Tried also to move past Drury, but, like before, he stopped her.

Mercy, she had to convince him to let her go. But how? Too bad her head was throbbing and she was dizzy because it made it hard to think.

“Look, I know you don’t owe me any favors,” she said. “But let me leave.”

An understatement about the favors.

And the sound Drury made let her know that he didn’t owe her a thing. Not after she’d walked out on him four years ago. He’d been in love with her. Then. Definitely not now, though. There wasn’t a shred of love between them at this moment.

However, Caitlyn could still feel the tug of attraction. The one she’d had for Drury the first time she’d laid eyes on him. That attraction was all one-sided now, on her part. Drury’s glare proved it.

“Please just help me by letting me leave right now,” she begged.

It seemed to take him a couple of seconds to get his jaw unclenched so he could speak, and he didn’t look at her when he did it. He volleyed his attention between the baby and the window. Drury was no doubt looking to see if the thug had indeed sent someone else to come after her.

Good.

Because Caitlyn was looking, too.

“How’d you get the baby?” Drury asked.

She huffed. There wasn’t time for all this talk, but it was obvious he wasn’t going to let her leave until he had some answers. Maybe not even then. That meant she had to get away at the first chance she got.

“I took her from that man,” Caitlyn said, blinking back the tears that were burning her eyes. Her voice, like the rest of her, was trembling. “I really don’t know who he is, and I didn’t see his face. He was wearing a ski mask.”

“Keep talking,” Drury insisted when she paused again.

“I was meeting him to deliver another payment, but this time I brought a stun gun with me.”

Mercy. It was hard to relive this. The memories were still so fresh and raw. The fear, too.

“When I handed him the money,” she went on, “I reached for the baby. He smashed me on the head with his weapon, but I was able to hit him with the stun gun. He fell to the ground. I grabbed the baby and got away.”

No groan this time. Drury cursed again instead. “You could have been killed.”

“I could have lost her,” Caitlyn pointed out just as quickly. “Even if she’s not my daughter, she belongs to someone, and I had to get her away from that monster.”

Drury didn’t seem swayed in the least by that. “You should have involved the cops.”

“I couldn’t because the man said he’d know if I brought anyone with me.” In addition to the tears and trembling, Caitlyn had to fight the sudden tightness in her chest. “He said he would hurt the baby if I wasn’t alone. I couldn’t risk it.”

She must have looked ready to fly into a million little pieces because Drury huffed. Then did something surprising. He touched her arm. It barely qualified as a pat, but she’d take it.

Too bad he didn’t offer her a hug, or she would have taken that, too.

The touch didn’t last long. Drury looked at her, his gaze lingering for a moment before it also slipped away.