Page 66 of Tracking Down the Lawman's Son

Joelle made what sounded to be a sigh of relief. “Mom’s still in the bathroom with both babies, and Woodrow is there standing guard.”

Bree didn’t ask why he was doing that. She knew there could be other hired guns around.

“Some of the ranch hands are searching every inch of the house while others are going over the grounds,” Joelle explained. “Every available deputy and reserve deputy will be here soon to help us make sure everything is secure.”

“Thank you,” Bree managed.

“You’re more than welcome. Just get here,” Joelle said. “I’m signing off so I can better aim my gun at Tara in case she thinks about trying to escape.”

Her sister ended the call, and Bree turned to Luca. She hadn’t allowed herself to really look at him because she’d known what an emotional punch it would be. And it was. She couldn’t fight back a sob any longer, and she practically tumbled into his arms.

“It’ll be okay,” he murmured, brushing a kiss on her head.

She winced a little because she realized she probably had some bruises there from being manhandled by Nathan. It felt as if she’d popped a couple of stitches as well. But that was minor stuff. They were all alive, and Gabriel was safe.

“I’m sorry,” Luca said, and she got the feeling he wasn’t apologizing because of the pain that had caused her to wince. No. Luca was putting all of this nightmare on his shoulders.

Bree eased back, caught onto his chin and kissed him. She made it long, hard and deep, and when she ended it, she looked him straight in the eyes.

“You did everything to put a stop to the danger,” she told him. “You saved me.”

Bree would have added more. So much more. But Sonya took the turn to the ranch, and both Luca and Bree readied themselves to jump out. That’s what they did even before the cruiser was at a full stop, and they ran into the house.

Duncan and Joelle were indeed there, and Joelle had a gun aimed at Tara who was cuffed and belly-down on the floor. Duncan was in the process of bagging her phone and gun.

“I want a deal,” Tara shouted when her attention landed on Bree. “Immunity for testifying against Nathan. He’s the one who got me into this, and Nathan killed my sister.”

“Manny and Nathan are both dead,” Luca snarled, and he hurried up the stairs with Bree.

Tara continued to shout, but they ignored her and went to the bathroom door where Woodrow was indeed standing guard. He quickly let them in to the quiet room. Emphasis onquiet. Her mother was still in the shower stall with a baby in each arm, but both Gabriel and Izzie were sound asleep.

“Thank you,” Bree told her mother and figured she’d be saying that a lot tonight.

Bree went to the shower and eased Gabriel into her arms. She immediately pressed against Luca so he could get in on kissing their son and making sure he was okay. There was so much relief in that moment. Relief that likely would have brought her to her knees had she not been leaning against Luca.

They both examined their little boy, making sure there were no injuries. Physically he was fine. And he thankfully wasn’t showing any obvious signs of trauma because he continued to sleep.

Bree wanted to just stand there and hold him until some of the raw nerves had settled in her body, but there were still a few loose ends to wrap up. Added to that, she wasn’t sure the hands had finished their search of the house.

“Just stay in here a little while longer,” Bree told her mother and put Gabriel back in her arms. “As soon as Duncan gives us the all clear, we’ll be back up to get you.”

Her mother nodded, blinking away tears, but Bree thought they were definitely of relief. They’d all had a horrible scare tonight. A scare brought on by three people who’d joined forces to create a living hell.

Bree wanted Tara to pay for that.

Luca slipped his arm around Bree as they headed out of the bathroom and toward the stairs. He stopped on the landing, and even though they could hear Tara cursing and sobbing below, Luca still took a moment to kiss her. That helped with the nerves. Helped generate some heat, too, but she could practically feel the apology coming off him.

“Not your fault,” she reminded him.

“I should have realized they were lying,” he argued.

“You did realize it. You just didn’t know what they were lying about. You need to request to be issued a crystal ball.”

He gave her a flat look. “I needed to have been a better cop.”

She could have reminded him that none of them had seen this unholy alliance between all of their suspects, but Bree figured a kiss was the way to go here. She kissed, and kissed and kissed until she finally felt some of the tension slide right off her. She might have continued but she heard Tara break into a sob. On heavy sighs, Luca and she went down to see what was going on.

“Manny’s really dead?” Tara asked. Duncan had moved her to a sitting position, and both Carmen and Sonya were getting the cruiser ready to take her into custody.

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