Delores Fossen - The Texas Lawman's Last Stand

Both looked in the direction of the sound, and a moment later Rosalie appeared in the entryway of the living room. “Hate to disturb you, but it’s important.” There was already alarm on her face, but it went up a notch when the nanny noticed their positions. Bo still had her by the shoulders.

“What’s going on here?” Rosalie asked.

He turned his attention back to Ms. Cooper. “I’m not sure.”

“Well, whatever it is, I hope it can wait,” Rosalie insisted. From the other end of the hall, Bo could hear his son, Jacob, babbling and playing. “You said something about a black van when you came in. You thought it might have been following you?”

That grabbed his attention. Bo let go of the woman’s shoulders and turned toward Rosalie. “Yes. Why?”

Rosalie aimed her trembling hand in the direction of the front door. “Because a black van just pulled up in front of the house.”

Mattie’s heart dropped to her knees.

No, no, no! This couldn’t be happening. They couldn’t have found her this fast.

Bo reacted like a cop. He whipped his gun from the shoulder holster that was concealed beneath his jacket.

“Go to the babies,” he told the nanny. “Call Garrett O’Malley at headquarters. I want a unit out here now.” Then he headed for the front door.

Mattie followed him. She eased her snub-nose .38 from her purse and braced herself for the worst. However, she hadn’t counted on the worst coming from Bo himself.

He turned around, lightning fast, and with his left hand caught on to her right wrist. Before she even knew what was happening, he tore the gun from her hand.

“What the hell are you doing with this?” he snarled getting right in her face. So close that his body brushed against hers.

Mattie pretended not to notice the contact. “I have my reasons for carrying a gun. And you might need backup if there’s danger.”

“I don’t want or need backup from you. Get in the living room and stay there.”

Mattie didn’t try to wrestle her gun away from him, not that she would have succeeded anyway. He outsized her by at least seven inches and seventy-five pounds. But despite being outsized, she disobeyed his order.

She went to the front door and looked out one of the beveled glass sidelight windows. Even through the distortion of the bevels and the dusky light outside, she had no trouble seeing that black van. What she couldn’t see was who was inside it. The heavily tinted windows prevented that.

“What do you know about this?” Bo asked, joining her. Well, actually he muscled her out of the way and looked out for himself.

“Nothing … specifically. Maybe nothing at all.”

That earned her a glare from his narrowed brown eyes. “Then you’d better get into un specifics, even if they involve nothing at all.”

Mattie tried to keep her chin high, though it wasn’t easy. “Later. After we take care of this.”

Whatever this was.

It could be someone from Witness Protection, or her family, or maybe the men who’d been hunting her. None of these was a good option. Unfortunately, with her luck she didn’t think it would be a van of Girl Scouts selling cookies.

From the end of the hall, Mattie could hear the sounds of children playing. Happy sounds. The nanny obviously hadn’t frightened the children with her alarming news about the van. That was good. Now Mattie had to make sure it stayed that way. She didn’t want the children upset or anywhere near the possible danger.

Despite Bo’s grunt of obvious disapproval, Mattie stayed by the sidelight window. “How long before the police unit arrives?” she asked.

“Soon.” He slipped her .38 into his jacket pocket. “Once they’re here, I’ll go out and have a chat with whoever’s in that van. And then, Ms. Cooper, I’m taking you to headquarters for an interview and possibly even an arrest for carrying a concealed weapon.”

Mattie couldn’t go to headquarters, of course. She couldn’t risk being seen. If she couldn’t convince Bo otherwise, then she’d have to figure a way out of there. But she didn’t want to leave. Not with so much unfinished business.

Or with so much at stake.

Bo volleyed glances between the van and her. He had a unique way of making her feel like a criminal.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t all.

He also had a unique way of making her feel like a woman.

It probably had something to do with all that testosterone emanating from him. Yes, he was a man. As alpha as they came. Tall, dark brown hair. Oh, and dangerous, too. Not the kind and gentle soul that Nadine had described. But Mattie saw the appeal.

Or rather, she felt the appeal.

And she gave herself a good mental tongue-lashing for it. There was no room in her life for Bo Duggan or any other man.

After she had another look to make sure no one was coming out of that van, Mattie stepped back, putting some distance between her and the hot, glaring cop.

And then she saw it.

The photo on the wall.

She probably hadn’t noticed it when she first came in because Rosalie had quickly ushered her to the living room. But Mattie saw it now. It was a picture of two babies.

A boy and a girl.

Both were around a year old. Both smiling for the camera. The boy had dark brown hair and was a genetic copy of Bo Duggan, right down to his already intense eyes.

And then there was the little girl.

Brown hair, as well, but hers was shades lighter than the boy’s. Green eyes, not so much intense but filled with curiosity. She was so beautiful.

So precious.

Mattie heard the sound escape from her throat. Part moan, part gasp. A paradox of emotions flooded through her. The unconditional love mixed with the heart-wrenching pain of how much time she’d already lost.

She felt the movement next to her. It was Bo, although she had to blink back the tears just to see his face.

He was scowling.

And worse, he was puzzled and almost certainly on the verge of demanding answers. Mattie wasn’t ready to give him those answers just yet. First, she had to lay the groundwork. She had to convince him—somehow—to help her.

“The van,” she reminded him, looking back out the window. It was still there. No open doors.

Bo returned his attention to the menacing vehicle, as well, and the silence sliced right through the foyer. “Who’s out there?” he asked.

She had to clear away the lump in her throat before she could speak. “I honestly don’t know.”

“But it’s related to you?”

“Maybe. But I don’t think so. I’ve covered my tracks well. Plus, as you said, the van followed you. There shouldn’t be a connection between me and you.”

Mattie prayed that that was true. It didn’t mean it was. Someone could have put one and one together and that would have led them to Bo. And to that precious little girl in the picture.

“Have you been followed before?” Mattie asked.

“No.” He was adamant enough about it, but there was something that made her keep pushing.

“You’re sure?”

He cursed under his breath. “Someone’s been looking into my personal info. And yesterday someone tried to break into my SUV.”

“Yesterday,” she repeated. Mattie didn’t like the timing. Yesterday was when she’d called Bo’s house and asked for an appointment to see him.

She caught some movement on the street and spotted the white police cruiser. It came to a stop behind the van.

“Wait here,” Bo ordered. But he didn’t just order it. This time he snared her gaze, and there was trouble in his eyes. Trouble that dared her to defy him.

Mattie stayed put. Besides, it was possible that whoever was in that van would want to shoot her on sight. She didn’t want to die, and she didn’t want bullets coming anywhere near the children.