Chapter Twenty-Eight
Lyle spotted Cowboy’s gun. “Well, son, it would seem we are at an impasse.”
He should just shoot the son of a bitch now.
“Oh, wait,” he said. “We’re not. You see, I have your girlfriend.” He pointed his weapon inside the cabin. “Whose shot will go off first, huh? Drop the gun, or I kill her. That thing’s got nothing on my rifle anyway.”
Lyle had a point, but Cowboy needed to know what he was up against. “I want to see her.”
“Sure. Put the gun down.”
“First let me see her.” If he’d already hurt Grace, Lyle was a dead man.
The wind picked up and blew smoke in Cowboy’s face. The fire hadn’t gone out.
Lyle smiled and waved him forward as he walked backward into the cabin. Inside, he got his first look at Grace, unconscious, lying on a dirty cot. She appeared fine, just asleep. He wanted to go to her but didn’t dare. Cowboy stood in the doorway, resisting the urge to run over there and hold her, tell that he loved her and he would get her out of here.
“Look, I only want one thing from the girl, but if you’re willing to give it me, then I’ll let you both go.”
“How stupid do you think I am?” Cowboy asked. Lyle had no intention of letting either of them go.
Lyle laughed. “Yeah, I guess that was dumb. How about this? She’s unconscious. Dwayne, he’s not so good with administering drugs. We’ve been stuck here waiting for her to open her eyes. You tell me what I want to know and she goes free. She’ll wake up in her hotel room none the wiser.”
He was lying. Cowboy could see it on his face. But he needed time to make another move and right now Lyle had the upper hand and the motherfucker knew it. So Cowboy played along. “She hasn’t seen you?”
“She’s seen Dwayne out there,” Lyle nodded outside. “But he had her out before I came into the picture. I don’t want to hurt her. I just need some information. If you have it, I’ll let her go.”
“And me?”
“I don’t know. I might have a place for a man like you in my organization. You’re smart. I could always use a smart man. Dwayne is dumb as pie. And his mistakes are costing me. Think about it. We got time. He gave her too much ketamine. It’ll be a while before she wakes up.”
“Ketamine? They found ketamine in Jessie Cook’s body.”
“Yeah, poor Jessie. She’s a prime example of what happens when you don’t give me what I want. I didn’t mean for her to die. I only wanted to know where her kid was.”
Had he heard right? His shock must have registered on his face because Lyle picked up on it.
“Oh, you didn’t know? Huh, maybe Ms. Irvine was telling the truth. Not good for you though,” he said. “We’ll get to that later. Isaiah is Jessie’s son. She gave him up for adoption. I figured my idiot grandson knocked her up when he was having his fun with her, and when she left town, I paid her no mind. No one knew what Edward had done and she wasn’t talking. So I let it go.”
He wasn’t going to let them go. It was better to find out everything before he killed the bastard. “You knew he’d raped her?” What else did he know?
“You can call it that if you like. After he died, I was the first one in his bedroom. I wanted to be near my grandson. I was devastated. In his closet, I found pictures of these Negros,” he said with disgust. “Including Jessie. Nearest I could tell he was following them. But I recognized two of the girls. They’d been featured on the news earlier that month. They’d been raped and killed. One in Austin, one just outside San Antonio. It didn’t make any sense, why he’d have their pictures. I refused to think of my grandson sleeping with all those black whores. So I put it out of my mind.”
The man was truly a disgusting sack of shit. And soon the world would know it.
“Then Ella was born. I was at the hospital visiting when I saw Jessie there. She turned, and for a fraction of a second I could see her swollen belly. She tried to hide it with her clothes. I’m certain her parents didn’t know, or they knew and didn’t speak of it. I mean, the preacher’s daughter knocked up.” He snorted. “Can you imagine? I’d seen her cozying up to the Danielle kid just before he ran away, so I wasn’t sure. For a while I even thought that little prick had killed my grandson. But I started to wonder if it was Edward’s bastard she was carrying. And then she left town. Maybe she killed him. I didn’t know. But as much as I wanted justice, what he’d done couldn’t come out. Not with my son running for office.”
“So you kept the secret?”
“I kept the secret. Told no one. Then Ella got sick and needed a donor. Her older brother was a match, but he died a short time later. Rocked our house to the very foundation. That day I swore I wouldn’t ever lose another grandchild. People say I’m a cold-hearted bastard and I guess am, but I love my family. I’ll do anything for my family.”
Including commit murder.
“This is where you come in. Maybe now you’ll understand. Ella’s cancer has returned and William is not a match. Isaiah is.”
“How do you know that?”
He smirked. “I needed a backup plan, should Ella need it. I found that kid. Regina was living in Florida at the time. I found out who her doctor was and paid him to get me a sample of that kid’s blood. But then she moved and I lost track of them. I hadn’t known she got married and changed her name. Do you understand now? I’m trying to save my granddaughter’s life. I need that kid. Help me, and I’ll let the reporter go. Don’t help me and three people die.”
Grace, him… and Ella. His heart broke for the sixteen-year-old, and when this was over he’d do everything he could to help her, but first this had to go his way. “Jessie Cook, she wouldn’t tell you where her son was?”
“I tracked her to that paper. But she wouldn’t talk to me. It was sheer fate that our little lady here,” he nodded toward Grace, “wanted Jessie to take on the story. Her editor didn’t think she was experienced enough, but I convinced him otherwise. She wasn’t happy, I’ll tell you. But bills needed to be paid and she couldn’t do that if she was out of a job.”
That was why she’d taken the assignment; her editor had threatened to fire her.
“She wrote a real good article too. Then Dwayne fucked it up by giving her the wrong dose of ketamine. I still don’t understand how she got away from him. She was swerving all over the road by the time we caught up to her. Then along came Sally,” he sang. “I wanted to strangle that woman. Would have too if Jessie had died.”
“She hadn’t?” They’d pulled her out of the car alive?
“No. Not then. We pushed the car into the ravine and I called Rick to take care of Madeline. We told him she’d hit a tree. We were taking Jessie to another location when she died on us. She must have been busted up inside. Then I went to plan B.”
Plan B? As if a woman’s death meant nothing?
“What’s it going to be? Gonna drop that gun and we can talk? Or do I kill you right now and deal with your lady friend?” Lyle cocked the rifle, a not so subtle warning.
What choice did he have? He dropped the gun.
“You should know the police are looking for her. They’re at the ranch. They found the car you hid in the barn.”
“That’s on Rick and Madeline. Not me. The police will find Rick has disappeared and Madeline doesn’t remember the accident. Now, tell me what I want to know or you both die.” He moved closer to Grace, that damn rifle hovering over her. “At this range I don’t even have to aim.”
Without warning, smoke blew into the cabin, the wind having picked up. Lyle glanced at the door. “Looks like your fire is back. We, meaning you, should probably put that out.” He waved his hand in front of him, trying to clear the air. Lyle coughed.
It was his undoing. Grace’s foot kicked up, knocking the rifle loose in his hands. Lyle clung to it, but it was enough of a distraction for Cowboy to make his move. He leapt forward and fought for control of the weapon. He was taller, stronger, and younger but Grace’s body was too near and Lyle’s hand to close to the trigger. He yanked forward, toppling over and taking Lyle with him. He heard more coughing and through the thickening smoke saw Grace struggle to get up. But the distraction cost him. The butt of the rifle caught him in the jaw. Infuriated by his own stupidity, he bucked and threw the man off. He didn’t know how the older man managed to regain his footing so quickly but he stood and aimed his gun at Grace. Without thinking, Cowboy sprang to his feet and threw himself in front of her. Fire spread across his shoulder and down his back as a white haze threatened to knock him out. He gritted his teeth, ready to do what needed to be done to protect Grace, when another shot rang out. Then his world went black.