Page 13 of Tracking Down the Lawman's Son

Nathan spoke before she could. “I can come over and give the baby a checkup. You know, just to make sure he’s really okay.”

That gave her another jolt of fear. She hadn’t checked Gabriel after she’d taken him from her mother, but she intended to do that now.

“I have to go,” she told Nathan, and she ended the call so she could put her phone away and open Gabriel’s onesie.

Her movements must have been frantic because Luca holstered his gun and moved closer to help her with the onesie zipper. Gabriel objected to that by frowning and whimpering, but other than that, there appeared to be nothing wrong with him. She wanted to do a more thorough check soon. First though, she needed to deal with her mother.

“I didn’t hurt him,” her mother insisted. “I wouldn’t. I stopped him from being hurt. If the kidnapper had taken him...” She stopped, dragged in a few clipped breaths. “I don’t know what would have happened. And I couldn’t risk it.” Sandra paused. “We should take the baby inside the house and I can tell you how I ended up here. I can tell you what happened to me.”

Bree very much wanted to know that, but she didn’t budge. Neither did the rest of them.

Duncan’s phone dinged again, breaking the silence. “The CSIs are going with one of the deputies to locate the silver truck. If it’s where Sandra says it is, then we should know within the hour if there are paint flecks on the truck that match Bree’s and Manny’s vehicles.”

“Do you mean Manny Vickery?” Sandra asked. “The owner of the Hush, Hush bar in Austin?”

Once again, they all turned toward her mother. She had managed to surprise them once again. “You know him?” Luca asked.

Sandra nodded. “I talked to him when I was helping your dad investigate Brighton’s murder.” She stopped, gathered her breath and opened her mouth to continue.

The sound stopped Sandra cold. A loud blast. And Bree instantly knew what it was.

A gunshot.

Gabriel jolted from the sound and began to cry. Bree instinctively pulled him back to her body while she stooped to go to the floor.

Luca helped her with that. He got her down in a blink, positioned himself over them and drew his gun. Joelle, Slater and Duncan did the same, and they took cover behind the hay bales.

“Move away from the wall,” Duncan told Sandra, and the woman scrambled closer to Joelle. Duncan then called for backup. “Carmen and Woodrow were already on their way out here to look for Gabriel,” Duncan relayed to them a moment later. “They’ll be here in less than five minutes.”

Carmen Gonzales and Woodrow Leonard, both veteran deputies. Good. Bree wanted all the help they could get.

There was another blast, but it didn’t seem to hit anything. At least Bree hoped it hadn’t.

“I think both shots came from the direction of the road,” Luca muttered. His gaze met Bree’s for a split second, and she saw the renewed fear that was there. Fear for their son’s safety.

She doubted the shots had come from a hunter who’d strayed too close to her place. Not with everything else that had gone on. Someone was after her, and that someone didn’t care if they put her baby at risk. That both sickened her and terrified her. Bree could deal with someone coming after her. She was a cop’s daughter after all. But she didn’t want her baby involved in this.

Keeping low, Slater made his way to the barn door that was still open, and staying to the side, he peered out. “I don’t see anyone, but if the shots are coming from the road, the shooter could be hiding in the trees.”

There were certainly plenty of those by the country road. So many places for a gunman to hide. But maybe Carmen and Woodrow would be able to see the shooter when they arrived. Maybe they’d even be able to arrest him, and Bree might be able to get those answers she so desperately needed.

The seconds ticked by, and her heartbeat and breathing had just started to level when there was another gunshot. This one blasted through the wall of the barn, creating a hole where light speared through it.

Another shot.

This one tore through the barn as well and smacked into the wall on the opposite side. The shots weren’t low but rather at the height if the target had been standing. That changed though because the next shot came in low. It ripped through yet more wood, sending splinters flying.

Bree ducked her head, putting her face right against Gabriel’s to shelter him. He continued to cry, loud wails now because he was obviously afraid.

In the distance, she heard another sound. A police siren. Obviously, Carmen and Woodrow weren’t going with a silent approach. Part of her was thankful for that because it might cause the shooter to stop. But it might also cause him to run.

Duncan’s phone rang, and he answered it while he ran to the barn door next to Slater. “The deputies don’t see a shooter or a vehicle on the road.”

The vehicle could be on the ranch trail. Perhaps even the one where her mother had left the silver truck. But there were trails that threaded all through this area. What likely hadn’t happened though was the shooter had come on foot. Her place was too far off the beaten path for that.

The wailing of the sirens got closer. But there were no more gunshots.

“Luca and Joelle, wait here with the others,” Duncan instructed. “Slater will come with me. Stay put,” he added to Bree.

---