Page 63 of Protecting the Newborn

“Guns down now,” the thug insisted. “I’ve got a clear shot of your woman,” he added to Ruston.

And he did. All the gunman had to do was aim in her direction and fire. There was nothing she could dart behind for cover, and if she tried to scramble out of the ditch, he’d likely just shoot her.

But why hadn’t he just done that already?

And why hadn’t he finished off Ruston instead of putting a gun to his head?

Because with both Ruston and her alive, they could be used against each other. Leverage. This snake and his boss had to know that she would cooperate to keep Ruston from being killed and vice versa.

“Last chance,” the guy warned them. “Guns down now.”

Ruston’s Glock slid from his hand and dropped on the ground at his feet. Gracelyn knew what that had cost him, to lose the primary way to defend them. But he’d had no choice.

Neither did she.

Gracelyn dropped her gun as well, but she didn’t toss it. She wanted it as close to her as possible. That way, if she got the chance to use it, she wouldn’t have to reach that far.

“What now?” Ruston demanded.

“We walk and get the hell away from this gas,” he answered right away. “Go to the baby farm. You got somebody there who’s anxious to see you.”

Gracelyn felt the fresh jolt of adrenaline, and she forced herself not to think of the other attack. Those images weren’t going to help her think more clearly, and right now, she had to think. She had to figure a way out of this.

“Out of the ditch,” the man ordered. “And remember that part about me shooting one of you? I will, you know. In fact, I’ll get paid a bonus, so don’t test my patience.”

A bonus. She hadn’t needed more proof that this was a hired thug, but there it was. Someone—maybe Charla, Tony or Devin—had paid this guy to do the dirty work. That could include murder. In fact, that was no doubt the killer’s plan after Ruston spilled the username and password.

The thug shoved Ruston out of the ditch first, following quickly behind him and putting the gun back to Ruston’s head. A silent warning for Gracelyn not to try anything. Not yet. But leaving the ditch meant leaving their guns behind, and Ruston wouldn’t have a backup weapon on him since he’d given it to her.

But there would be backup.

No way would Duncan let Ruston come here alone. The sheriff was no doubt on his way, but he couldn’t just come in with sirens blaring. He’d have to do a silent approach, but hopefully that meant he was making his way to them now.

“You stay ahead of us,” the thug told Gracelyn. “And go ahead and put your hands on your head so I can see them.”

She did as he said, and they started walking. The air cleared even more as they moved away from the ditch and back on the road. Her eyes were still stinging a little, but she could clearly see the building ahead.

And the shadowy figure that stepped out from it.

Gracelyn couldn’t tell who it was, and the person stayed back enough so that she couldn’t get a good look at him or her.

“Good,” the thug muttered. “The boss is coming out to meet us. Might get home in time to watch the game.”

It sickened her that he was being so flippant about this. Then again, she figured the other hired guns had been pretty much the same. Well, maybe not Zimmer. But the one who’d attacked with Zimmer had fired shots at the SUV with Abigail inside, and the two goons in the sheriff’s office hadn’t seemed to care how many people they killed to get to their targets.

“So, it’s just you and the boss,” she remarked.

He chuckled. “Honey, I’m the only one the boss needs to finish this.”

She thought he was telling the truth. Hoped he was, anyway. She didn’t want an army of hired thugs waiting for them.

Gracelyn purposely slowed her steps just a little, not because she wanted to delay facing down the killer. No. She was to the point that she wanted to know the person responsible. But she slowed down so that she could try to get closer to Ruston. If the thug was right, this was a two-on-two situation, and while Ruston and she weren’t armed, that didn’t mean they were defenseless. If they couldn’t stall the killer until backup arrived, then they might have to fight their way out of here.

Again.

“And before either of you think about running again,” the gunman went on, “my orders are, I lose you two, then I’m to go after the kid.”

Oh, the anger came. Boiling hot. A full rage that Gracelyn had to fight to tamp down before she turned and clawed out this snake’s eyes. How dare he threaten that little baby. And he was going to pay for that threat. She wasn’t sure how, but he would pay.

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