Chapter Four
Lauren shouted for Cameron to get down, but it was already too late. The gunman had fired the shot, the bullet blasting through the window.
In the blink of an eye, she saw a piece of glass slice across Cameron’s arm. He was wearing a shirt, and she could immediately see the blood start to spread across the sleeve.
She ran to him, but Lauren wasn’t quite able to reach his arm. That was because Cameron took hold of her and dragged her to the floor. But he didn’t stay there. He got right back up and took aim out the now gaping hole in the window.
“You’re hurt,” she said, her breath gusting so hard that Lauren had trouble speaking.
“I’m okay,” he grumbled.
But she had no idea if that was true. She couldn’t tell if the glass was still in his arm or not because of all the blood.
From the other side of the house, Lauren heard a sound she didn’t want to hear. Patrick was crying. Probably because the noise from the gunshot had frightened him. She considered going to him, but she didn’t want to leave Cameron alone. She got confirmation that would be a bad idea when two more shots came through the window. These slammed into the side of the fridge.
“Merilee!” Cameron called out to the nanny. “All of you need to get down on the floor and stay there.” He glanced at her then, letting Lauren know that applied to her, too.
However, she shook her head. “If I go to the side window, I might have a clear shot and be able to stop the gunman.”
“Yeah, and he might have a shot to stop you. Stay down,” he repeated, this time through clenched teeth. She couldn’t tell if the tight expression was for her or because he was grimacing in pain.
Lauren huffed. She’d forgotten just how stubborn Cameron could be, but this brought it all back. Worse, he didn’t stay out of the line of fire. He leaned away from the wall, took aim out the window and pulled the trigger.
The blast echoed through the room. Through the entire house. And Lauren heard both babies cry. She prayed the nannies could keep the boys as calm as possible, but better yet, she just wanted the women to protect them so that none of the bullets could make it to them.
Her son was in danger.
Both her sons.
Because Isaac might be hers by blood, but Patrick was also hers in every way that mattered. Now the babies were at huge risk, and she didn’t even know why. That was what cut away at her right now. That, and the bullets that continued to tear into the house.
She thought of what Cameron had said earlier. About Trace’s mother, Evelyn, pulling a gun on him. And Lauren wondered if she was behind this. But she couldn’t be. For one thing, the woman was in jail, and for another, she wanted custody of her grandson and almost certainly wouldn’t put him at risk like this.
But Julia or Duane were capable of that.
They wouldn’t have nearly the level of concern for Patrick or any other child that Evelyn likely would. In fact, it would make things easier for Julia or Duane if Lauren and her son were out of the way.
That certainly didn’t help her raw nerves.
However, there was a third player in all of this. The idiot who was sending those threatening messages to her and her family. If so, they didn’t have a clue who they were dealing with, and that person might not care if everyone inside the house died in a gunfight.
Cameron fired another shot, and he followed it with some profanity. “He’s ducked back behind the barn.”
Probably because Cameron’s shots were getting too close to him. Lauren doubted, though, that the man was retreating. No. He was probably regrouping or else contacting his comrade so he could come at them from a different angle.
Cameron ran to the side of the room where Lauren had been earlier, but the moment he made it to that window, the gunman sent more bullets their way. That created yet another spray of glass over the room and caused Cameron to scramble back. Thankfully, he didn’t get cut this time, and the bleeding on his arm seemed to be slowing down. Still, he needed medical attention. That wasn’t going to happen, though, until those gunmen were stopped. No way could an ambulance risk coming to the house, since they would drive right into gunfire.
Cameron’s phone rang, the sound somehow making it through the deafening blasts. He glanced at the screen and tossed it to her. “It’s Gabriel. Let him know what’s going on and find out his location.”
Lauren cursed her trembling hands because it took her precious seconds to hit the answer button, and she put it on speaker so that Cameron could hear.
“Is everyone okay?” Gabriel asked right off.
“No. Cameron’s hurt. His arm is bleeding—”
“I’m fine,” Cameron snarled. “I’ve got a shooter by the barn and another out by the road.”
That sped up her heartbeat even more because her brothers would be coming up that road to get to them. She prayed they didn’t get hurt, or worse.
“Yeah, I’ve already spotted the one on the road,” Gabriel answered. “That’s why Jameson and I stopped. The guy’s in the ditch. If he lifts his head enough, Jameson can take him out.”
Good. Except that would mean Jameson would have to take a huge risk to do that. Lauren had no idea if that guy was firing at her brothers or not. It was hard to tell with all the bullets flying.
“What about you?” Gabriel continued. “Can you shoot the one by the barn?”
“Haven’t managed it so far, but I can’t keep letting him fire bullets into the house.”
No, they couldn’t. Each one was a huge risk to the babies. And that meant she needed to push aside her fears and do something. She was the daughter and sister of a sheriff and had had firearms training. While she certainly didn’t have experience in finishing off hired guns, she had plenty of motivation to put an end to this.
“Are there only two of them?” Gabriel asked a moment later.
Good question, and she could tell from Cameron’s frustrated sigh that he didn’t know the answer. “Two men attacked your sister last night and shot her in the arm so I’m guessing it’s the same pair.”
Gabriel cursed again, and Lauren recognized that tone after all these years. He was furious, and that fury wasn’t limited to only these men, either. As her brother and the sheriff, he would have expected her to come to him with this. Later, she’d need to explain why she hadn’t done that. But that would have to wait.
“I can try to distract the shooter by firing out the kitchen window,” Lauren offered. “That way Cameron can try to get him from the front of the house.”
That offer didn’t please Cameron. It earned her a scowl, but she gave him one right back. “As you said, we can’t let him keep firing shots.”
She could see the debate Cameron was having with himself about that, but before he could say anything, his phone beeped, indicating he had another call coming in.
“It’s from an unknown number,” she relayed to him.
“Answer your phone, Deputy,” the gunman shouted from outside. The shots also stopped. “We gotta talk.”
“The thug by the barn is calling me,” Cameron told Gabriel. “While I see what he wants, try to do something about the guy in the ditch. I don’t want him getting any closer to the house.”
“We’ll do what we can,” Gabriel assured him.
Lauren pressed the button to take the second call, and she crawled even closer to Cameron so he wouldn’t miss a word of what this snake had to say.
“Are you ready to put an end to this?” the gunman asked without any hesitation. “Because I’ve got a solution that’ll make sure your nephew and that other little boy don’t get hurt.”
“Who are you?” Cameron snapped.
“You don’t need to know my name to listen to what I got to say.”
“No, but I do need to know who hired you so I can put his or her butt in jail for multiple accounts of attempted murder.”
The guy chuckled. “Let’s just say that’s not gonna happen and move on. You want me to stop shooting up your house, then here’s what you have to do. Put Lauren on the phone so the two of us can talk this out.”
A chill slid through her. Of course the goon knew she was there, but it was still stomach-twisting to hear him say her name. She opened her mouth to tell him she was listening, but Cameron shook his head and shot her a warning glance.
“Anything you think you need to say to Lauren, you can say to me,” Cameron told the gunman.
“I don’t think so. Something tells me you’re not gonna be nearly as easy to reason with as she’ll be.” Considering his casual tone, he could have been discussing the weather, but Lauren knew there was nothing casual about any of this.
“You want money, is that it?” she asked.
That didn’t please Cameron. No surprise there. He mumbled some profanity and hurried to the other side of the window—probably hoping he could get off a shot while the gunman was talking.
“Money?” the gunman repeated as if it was a joke. “No, sugar. Money ain’t gonna fix this.”
She hated his flippant attitude and wished she could be the one to silence him. But Lauren wanted that silence only after they’d learned who had hired this monster. Then him, his partner and his boss could be arrested.
“What, then?” she demanded, and Lauren hoped she sounded less shaky than she felt.
“I want you, sugar.”
For just a handful of words, they packed a punch along with making her skin crawl. She wasn’t sure if he’d meant for it to sound sexual or not.
“All you have to do is walk out the back door,” the gunman continued. “Of course, I’m gonna want your hands in the air so I can make sure you don’t have a gun. And I’ll also want you to tell the deputy that he’s out of the picture right now.”
“You’re not going out there,” Cameron told her before the gunman had even finished.
“Figured you’d feel that way, but just think about those little kids. Do I hear them crying? Bet they’re real scared, but they’re gonna get a lot more scared when I start shooting again. Because once I start, I won’t stop until I’ve ripped your place to shreds. You got thirty seconds, or the bullets start up again.”
Lauren sucked in her breath so hard that she nearly choked, and she managed to get to her feet.
“No.” Cameron hurried toward her, catching on to her and pulling her down against the fridge. He also took his phone from her and hit the end call button. “He’ll gun you down the moment you step outside.”
She shook her head, not disputing that since she figured that was exactly what would happen. Someone wanted her dead.
“But if I don’t go out there, he’ll shoot into the house,” she reminded Cameron, though she was certain he hadn’t forgotten that.
“He’ll do it anyway.” He took hold of her chin, lifting it and forcing eye contact. Brief eye contact, just enough for her to see the determination in his eyes before he went back to the window to keep watch. “Think it through. He’ll have to kill me, too, so he can escape. In fact, this plan could be about me. A way to draw me out while using you. Because that snake knows I won’t let you go to your death.”
That last part was definitely true. Cameron wasn’t a coward, and he was married to that badge he had clipped to his holster. He would put his own life ahead of hers or anyone else’s that he needed to protect.
She tried to figure out if that was indeed what the gunman had in mind, but the thoughts were flying through her head, making it hard to think. The only thing that was coming through loud and clear was that she had to do something, anything, to save the babies.
Cameron glanced around, too, as if trying to sort out what to do, and he finally tipped his head to the front of the house. “Take your gun and go to the window in there. Stay to the side, but if you get a shot, take it.”
She didn’t thank him. In fact, Lauren didn’t say anything for fear he would change his mind. As she was leaving, she heard him make a quick call to Gabriel to tell him to do something to eliminate the guy in the ditch.
Lauren’s pulse was thudding so hard now that it was hard to hear, and her feet felt heavy, as if she was trudging through mud. Still, she moved as fast as she could and tried to ignore the sounds of the babies crying. She had to focus, had to do her part to make this right. Then she could deal with the fallout of the baby swap and everything else that her homecoming would cause.
There were three windows in the living room. A huge one that faced the front and two side ones that had a view of the barn. She went to the one that she hoped would give her the best vantage point.
It did.
She immediately caught a glimpse of the gunman, and he was lifting his rifle, pointing it right at the house. That put her heart in her throat. She hadn’t needed anything to add to the urgency of their situation, but that did it anyway.
Lauren didn’t waste even a second. She broke the glass with the barrel of her gun and took aim. The gunman shifted his position, trying to turn his weapon at her. But it was too late.
She fired.
And she was right on target. The bullet slammed into the guy’s chest. He stayed there, frozen and crouched, his rifle ready, but neither he nor his gun moved. So, Lauren shot him again.
He finally dropped like a stone.
Despite the fact that she’d probably just killed a man, she only felt relief and not the emotion of having just taken a life. That was because if he’d been given the chance, he would have killed them all.
She heard the footsteps, hurrying toward her. Cameron. From his angle in the kitchen, he probably hadn’t been able to see the fall, but he certainly saw it now. There was no relief on his face, though, because they heard something else.
Another shot.
This one hadn’t come from the barn. It had come from the front of the house, and it wasn’t a single shot, either. Three more quickly followed.
There was no trace of relief now for Lauren. Because she knew her brothers were in the general direction of that fresh round of bullets. Maybe the gunman’s partner had figured out what had gone on by the barn and was now trying to take out anyone that he could.
Lauren turned to run to the front window, but Cameron moved in front of her. “Watch the guy you shot and make sure he doesn’t get up.”
She was about to tell him that she doubted that could happen, but there was more gunfire. Then Cameron cursed when he looked out the front window.
“Change of plans,” he said. “Get down now.”
There was more than enough urgency in his voice for Lauren to drop to the floor, but she’d barely had time to do that when Cameron threw open the front door. The security system started to beep, indicating the alarm was about to go off. He ignored that, though, aimed his gun and fired. He got off four rounds before he stopped pulling the trigger.
Lauren waited, praying and afraid to ask what had happened. Several moments later she heard something she actually wanted to hear.
Gabriel’s voice.
“Is everyone okay?” her brother called out.
Since the babies were still fussing, Lauren knew they were alive, but she got up to hurry to the nursery to make sure. But she stopped when she saw the chaos in front of Cameron’s house.
Two men dressed in camo were sprawled out by the ditch. The one nearest the house was clearly dead, but the other one was still moving around. Both Jameson and Gabriel had their weapons drawn and were closing in on him.
Her stomach sank. Lauren hadn’t even known about the third gunman. He could have attacked them from the front while the thug by the barn was keeping them occupied. Thank God Cameron and her brothers had spotted him and stopped him from doing any more harm.
“I had to shoot him,” Cameron said. He pressed in the numbers on the security key pad to stop the beeping. “I didn’t have a choice.”
It took her a moment to realize why that sounded like an apology. It was because two of their attackers were dead, and the third one was injured. Maybe even dying. Dead men wouldn’t be able to tell them the person or the reason behind what had just happened.
“Stay inside,” Cameron added. “But keep watch to make sure there aren’t others.”
Lauren hadn’t exactly relaxed, but that put her back on high alert again. So did the fact that Cameron hurried outside. Where he could be gunned down like her brothers if there were other thugs hiding.
Even though Cameron had told her to stay inside, Lauren got her gun ready and stepped into the doorway so she’d have a better view of the yard and road. Her brothers were already by the injured man by the time Cameron reached them. She could see them talking, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying.
But she had no trouble seeing the alarm on Cameron’s face.
Whatever the man had said to him had caused Cameron’s shoulders to snap back. Her brothers had similar reactions, and Gabriel took out his phone as he made his way to the house. Cameron and Jameson were right behind him. That was when Lauren realized the injured man was no longer moving.
Gabriel made eye contact with her, and while he continued his phone conversation, he caught on to her arm and maneuvered her back inside the house.
“What about the man?” she asked.
“He’s dead,” Cameron told her the moment he reached the porch.
The sickening feeling of dread went through her. “Did he say anything?” But Lauren fully expected that answer to be no.
It wasn’t.
Cameron nodded. “He gave us the name of the person who hired him.” His mouth tightened when he made eye contact with Lauren. “The gunman said it was you.”