Page 145 of Proof of Guilt

Despite the gunfire that was going on in the yard, Theo still took a moment to look around the barn. The overhead light was off, but there was a light on in the tack room, and it gave him some decent visibility. He didn’t see a gunman inside, but then, there were plenty of places to hide.

Including the cruiser.

It was impossible to watch every corner of the barn, so Theo turned Ivy so they were back-to-back. Not ideal, since she could end up facing a would-be killer head-on, but at this point nothing was ideal.

“Shoot at anything that moves,” Theo told her, because there shouldn’t be any hands or deputies in the barn.

Without taking his attention off their surroundings, he reached out and slid the barn door shut. Having the place closed off didn’t help with the visibility because it shut out what little moonlight there was, but Theo didn’t want to risk one of those stray shots coming in the opening.

“See anyone?” she asked.

He didn’t. But that didn’t mean someone wasn’t there. “No,” he answered. “Let’s move closer to the cruiser.”

Outside, the gunfire stopped, but that didn’t give Theo any peace of mind. He hoped it didn’t mean Gabriel or Al hadn’t been shot. But it could also mean the gunmen were running away. While part of him would have liked that, he didn’t especially want to give them a chance to regroup and come at them again.

“I don’t see anyone in the cruiser,” Ivy said. Theo hadn’t thought it possible, but her voice was trembling even more than it had before.

He, too, looked on the seat of the cruiser. No one. Well, unless someone was hiding on the floor. Someone could be on the other side of the vehicle, as well. That didn’t help with the bad feeling that was snaking its way down his spine.

“When I open the cruiser door, get in,” he instructed. “And slide across the seat so I can drive.”

She moved to his side and gave a nod that was as shaky as the rest of her. She also still had a hard grip on her gun. A gun he wanted her to use if there was anyone lurking in the cruiser that they’d missed.

Theo shifted his body a little, and the moment he opened the

door, Ivy scooted across the seat. She also locked the door on that side and then looked on the floor of the back seat.

“No one,” she told him.

Theo was right behind her, and he locked up as well when he was behind the wheel. Thankfully, the keys were in the ignition, but he didn’t start the engine. Not yet, anyway. He didn’t want to risk the carbon monoxide building up while he was trying to contact Gabriel. Plus, the sound of the engine might cover up someone trying to sneak up on them.

“Keep watch,” Theo reminded her, though he was certain it wasn’t a reminder she needed. Still, he wanted to be sure because texting Gabriel would divide his attention for a couple of seconds.

We’re in the cruiser, he texted Ivy’s brother. And Theo waited for a response.

A response didn’t come, though, and after a couple of minutes crawled by, he had to consider that Gabriel might not be in a position to respond. He figured that Ivy realized that as well because her breathing kicked up a notch.

The silence came and everything suddenly seemed so still. As if waiting for something to happen. And something happened all right.

More gunshots came.

All of them slamming into the sides of the barn. Both of them. Theo didn’t know exactly where the shooters were, but it felt as if they were closing in on them. He couldn’t wait any longer for Gabriel’s response. He needed to get Ivy out of there in case these thugs had something more than bullets to launch at them. They could have explosives.

“Hold on,” he warned her.

The moment that Theo started the engine, he hit the accelerator, and the cruiser crashed through the barn doors. But almost immediately he had to slam on the brakes. Because there in front of them were two gunmen.

And they had taken a hostage.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Because she wasn’t wearing a seat belt, Ivy jolted forward when Theo brought the cruiser to a quick stop only a few yards in front of the back porch. And she didn’t have to figure out why he’d done that.

There were two gunmen on the porch, their backs to the house.

They were both wearing ski masks, and they had their weapons pointed at Al’s head. Al was standing in front of the two men, their human shield. They’d no doubt taken up that stance so that Theo or someone else couldn’t shoot them.

Ivy’s breath froze. Not her thoughts, though. The thoughts and fears came at her with a vengeance. These men were killers. Or that was their plan, anyway, and now the pair had them exactly where they wanted.

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