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Chapter Three

Drury cursed himself for not getting Caitlyn away from the house any sooner. But he’d delayed because he hadn’t been sure what was going on.

Still wasn’t sure.

But he couldn’t wait around and find out if whoever was in that car had friendly intentions. Judging from the tracking device he’d found, his guess was no. No friendly intentions here. That vehicle was likely carrying more shooters who’d come after Caitlyn and the baby. And being inside the house wouldn’t necessarily help them if these morons opened fire.

Caitlyn ran down the porch steps, and Drury reached across the seat to pull her inside. The moment she was in, he gunned the engine to get them the heck out of there.

“You’re not going to drive toward that car, are you?” she asked. The fear was right back in her voice. Not that it’d completely gone away, but there was a triple dose of it now.

It was raining, they didn’t have a car seat and bullets might start flying at any second.

“We’re not going toward the car,” he assured her, and he bolted out of the side of his yard and headed not for the highway, but toward the main house.

It was a risk, but there were no completely safe options here.

Drury tossed her his phone. “Text Grayson and tell him what’s going on. And climb in the back with the baby. Get all the way down on the seat and stay there.”

She gave a shaky nod, and with the baby cradled in her arms, Caitlyn scrambled into the back. Drury heard her typing the text, but he kept his attention on the other car. Even though he hadn’t turned on his headlights, the driver of the vehicle must have seen him because he came after them.

Hell.

He had hoped the guy would just back off when he saw where Drury was headed. No such luck.

Drury drove toward the main house, but he certainly had no intentions of stopping. There was a security gate just ahead, and like everybody else on the ranch, he had the remote to open and close it. He started pushing the remote button the moment it came into view, and the metal gates dragged open.

It seemed to take an eternity.

And that car behind him just kept getting closer and closer.

“He’s got a gun,” Caitlyn said, and that’s when Drury realized she’d lifted her head and was looking out the back window.

“Get back down,” he warned her.

Yeah, the guy had a gun all right. Drury had no trouble spotting it because the passenger lowered his window and stuck out his hand, trying to take aim.

The moment the gates were open, Drury gunned the engine and flew through them, hitting the remote to close them.

It worked.

The gates closed before the shooter could get through. The driver hit his brakes, slamming into the gate, but the gates held.

Thank God.

Drury kept going, and he sped past the houses that dotted the ranch. He didn’t dare stop because the gunman might have a long-range rifle in the car, and Drury didn’t want to give the guy any reason to keep firing.

“Grayson says his brothers and the ranch hands have been alerted,” Caitlyn relayed after getting a response to the text she’d sent.

Good. Though he doubted that gunman would get out of the car and go in pursuit on foot, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Especially since Drury was already sorry enough for this fiasco.

He stayed on the road that coiled around the pastures, and once he was past the exterior security lights, it was too dark for him to see. Drury had no choice but to turn on his headlights.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

Some place she wouldn’t like. “The sheriff’s office. And before you remind me that these goons can follow us there, they can follow us anywhere. At least if we’re at the sheriff’s office, the deputies and I can protect you, and it’ll get these idiots away from my family.

“Don’t say you’re sorry,” he added, his voice a little harsher than he’d intended.

Drury had caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror and could tell from the tears that she was about to apologize again. Well, it wouldn’t help. Nothing would right now except getting her and that baby to safety.

His phone rang, the sound cutting through the other sounds of his heartbeat drumming in his ears and the wipers slashing at the rain.

“It’s Grayson,” Caitlyn said. She passed him the phone, but since Drury still had hold of his gun, he pushed the speaker button and dropped the phone on the seat next to him.

“Where are you?” Grayson asked. “And what the heck’s going on?”

“I’m at the back of the ranch on one of the trails and about to come out on Miller’s Hill. The car with the gunmen didn’t get past the gate.”

“No,” Grayson agreed. “Gage had eyes on the car, and he said the driver turned around and sped off. He got the license plate numbers, but they’re bogus. Gage and Dade went in pursuit.”

Both men were Grayson’s brothers. And his deputies.

“I’ll take the back roads to get to the sheriff’s office. I should be there in about twenty minutes.” Drury paused. “Caitlyn Denson is with me.”

Grayson paused, too, and then cursed. A rarity for him since he was the father of a five-year-old son and had cut way back on his bad language.

“Caitlyn?” Grayson repeated like the profanity he’d just used. “You’re not involved with her again, are you?”

“No, not like that.” And Drury couldn’t say it fast enough.

“Good. Because the last time you hooked up with her...”

Grayson didn’t finish that. Didn’t need to finish it. Because Drury remembered it well enough without any reminders. Caitlyn had been a CPA in those days. A CPA who’d been helping Drury investigate the crime family that had employed her.

At least Drury had believed she was helping him.

However, he’d been wrong. Because Caitlyn had ended up marrying the very man whose family Drury had been investigating. But those were old memories, and he didn’t have time for them now.

“So, why is Caitlyn with you?” Grayson pressed. “And are those gunmen after her?”

“They’re after her.” That was the easy question to answer. The first one, not so much. “There might be another baby from Conceptions Clinic.”

He gave Grayson a moment for that to sink in.

“Caitlyn and Grant Denson’s baby,” Grayson concluded.

“Yeah. At least that’s what a man told Caitlyn.” Drury could still see her in the glimpses that he was making in the rearview mirror, and she was hanging on to every word. “According to her, a man demanded a ransom. She paid it, but he reneged.”

Grayson mumbled some profanity. “Where’s the baby now?”

“In the backseat of my car with Caitlyn. She was waiting inside my place when I got home.” He figured it wouldn’t take Grayson long to fill in the blanks.

And it didn’t.

“Caitlyn came to you for help.”

Drury settled for another yeah and didn’t miss Grayson’s disapproval about that. Well, Drury wasn’t so happy about it, either.

“I don’t know for sure, but the guy you caught is probably the same one who had the baby. He should have stun-gun marks on...” Drury looked back at her so she could provide that.

“The left side of his neck.”

Grayson made what sounded to be a weary sigh. “I’ll have the doc check for it. I got a name on the guy already. Ronnie Waite. He was in the system not because he had a record but because he used to be a prison guard.”

Interesting. Drury would have bet his paycheck that the guy had a record. But then maybe whoever was behind this had made sure to use someone who was clean.

“Ronnie Waite,” Drury repeated to Caitlyn. He turned onto another road and glanced around to make sure they weren’t being followed. “Do you know him?”

Caitlyn repeated the name, then shook her head. “Is he in charge of this or just a lackey?”

“Don’t know yet,” Grayson answered. “How did Ronnie or anyone connected to this contact you?”

“Only one man contacted me,” Caitlyn answered, “and he always called. I used the internet to do a reverse number lookup, but it wasn’t listed.”

Probably because the phone had been a burner or disposable prepaid cell. No way to trace that. But if Ronnie still had the phone on him, Grayson would have it checked.

“Does Caitlyn, or the baby, need to see a doctor?” Grayson asked.

“Yes,” Drury said at the same moment that she answered.

“No. I mean, I want the baby checked out, but I’m fine. And I don’t want to be in the hospital while Ronnie is still there.”

“Caitlyn’s not fine,” Drury argued. “She might have a concussion. But I agree about not going to the hospital. She shouldn’t be there until we’re certain Ronnie can’t get near her.”

“I’ll have a medic come to the office then.” Grayson paused. “We’ll get into all of this once you’re here, but I’ll need you to think of anyone who could have hired this man.”

“Helen,” Drury and Caitlyn said in unison.

“All right. I’ll get your former mother-in-law here for a chat,” Grayson agreed without hesitation. “I’ll also see if there’s any way to connect her to Ronnie.”

“There has to be a surrogate out there, too,” Caitlyn added. “I’m not sure how to find her, but she might be linked somehow to Ronnie.”

“I can question Ronnie about that. And check for a Jane Doe DB who might have recently given birth.”

DB as in dead body.

Caitlyn made a slight gasping sound. Probably because she’d just realized what Grayson was saying—that the surrogate could have been murdered after she gave birth. Whoever was behind this wouldn’t have wanted to keep a surrogate alive unless, of course, the surrogate was in on the plan.

“I’ll have Mason call the lead investigator who handled the Conceptions Clinic case,” Grayson went on, “but if Helen’s the one who did this, would she have had access to the embryo? In other words, could someone at the clinic have legally given it to her?”

“No. Not legally.” Caitlyn drew in a long breath. “In fact, when Helen found out that Grant and I had visited the clinic, she tried to bribe one of the nurses to get info about what we were doing. When I found out, I had our counselor put a note in my file that no information should be given to the woman.”

“That doesn’t mean Helen played by the rules,” Drury reminded her. In fact, he’d be surprised if she had. But there was someone else in that scummy family who was also a rule breaker. “What about Grant’s brother, Jeremy?”

Drury couldn’t be sure, but he thought Caitlyn shuddered. “Jeremy wouldn’t have done that. And yes, I’m sure. The last thing Jeremy would want is another heir to share the inheritance he’ll get from his mother.”

“Okay,” Grayson said, “this is enough to get things started. How far out are you now?”

“About ten minutes. No one’s following us, but when we get to the sheriff’s office, I want to get Caitlyn and the baby inside ASAP.”

“No problem. Park right in front of the door.”

Drury hit the end-call button and took another glance back at her. “I know you don’t want to go to the sheriff’s office, but you can trust Grayson. If there’s anything to link Helen to this, he’ll find it.”

And so would Drury. He hadn’t especially wanted to get involved with Caitlyn, but this wasn’t about her. It was about that baby in her arms.

“You think I’m a fool for getting involved with Grant,” she said. “But I swear, I didn’t know what Grant was when I married him.”

“You should have. You knew what his family was, knew that I was investigating them.”

“Yes,” she whispered. And she repeated it. “His family but not him.” She paused. “I think Jeremy might have been the one who killed Grant.”

“Killed? I thought he died in a car accident.”

“He did. One that Jeremy could have arranged.” Though she shook her head right after saying that. “I don’t have any proof, and knowing Jeremy, there won’t be proof to find. But I meant what I said about Jeremy not wanting any competition for his mother’s estate.”

The last time he’d tangled with the Densons, he hadn’t fared so well. Drury had ended up with a black mark on his reputation for getting involved with Caitlyn, a woman who’d clearly double-crossed him and had almost certainly been sleeping with him to get info about his investigation.

Of course, that hadn’t stopped Drury from trying to go after the Densons again. Until his boss had finally gotten him to back off when Helen had threatened a lawsuit for harassment. Drury hadn’t wanted to hurt the Bureau for what had essentially become a personal vendetta on his part.

“I hate being drawn back into the viper pit.” He hadn’t intended to say that loud enough for Caitlyn to hear.

But she heard. Because she gave him another “I’m sorry.”

He kept the next comment to himself. Was she sorry she’d dumped him for Grant? Or sorry that she hadn’t gotten that safe fairy tale that she wanted?

Drury wanted to tell her that she couldn’t create “safe.” The cut on her head and baby in her arms were proof of that. Still, he couldn’t fault her for trying. After all, she’d seen her own father—a Texas Ranger—gunned down right in front of her when she was only eight.

Hard to get past memories like that.

Drury took the final turn toward town, and he tried to shut out everything so he could focus on their surroundings. It was late, nearly midnight, and with the rain there wasn’t anyone out and about. Still, those thugs could be waiting on a side street, watching for them.

He held his breath and didn’t release it until he saw the sheriff’s office. And Grayson in the doorway. The moment Drury had brought the car to a stop, Grayson hurried Caitlyn inside, and Drury followed right behind her. He got her away from the windows—fast. Even though they were bullet resistant, he didn’t want to take any chances.

After everything that’d gone on, Drury hadn’t expected a warm greeting from Grayson and Mason. And he didn’t get one. Mason was on the phone, scowling. But then, that was something Mason did a lot.

However, Grayson was scowling, too.

At Caitlyn.

“Is there any part of your story you want to rethink?” Grayson asked her.

That put some alarm in her eyes, and Caitlyn shook her head. “No. Why?”

“Because I just got off the phone with the doctor who’s patching up Ronnie Waite, and Ronnie says that’s his daughter and that you kidnapped her. He’s demanding a warrant for your arrest.”