Page 108 of Proof of Guilt

Jameson didn’t have to tell them twice to hurry. Jodi and he took off running, and Theo got Ivy and Nathan moving fast. Nathan ended up in the middle between Ivy and him, and the moment they were buckled up, Gabriel got them out of there. The deputies followed right behind them, no doubt as backup in case there was another attack.

“Is everyone okay?” Gabriel asked.

Gabriel brushed a kiss on Jodi’s forehead, and when his sister looked at her soon-to-be husband, Theo could practically see the love in her eyes. Not really a surprise, though. He had always suspected that Jodi was in love with Gabriel, and despite their painful pasts, it appeared that Gabriel felt the same way about her.

Each of them, including Theo, answered or made some kind of sound to indicate they were okay.

“He’s not all right,” Nathan said, and he motioned toward Theo. “He’s bleeding.”

Theo didn’t exactly thank him for pointing that out, because Nathan seemed to be alarmed by the blood. Theo hated to add to the boy’s anxiety, but he also didn’t want anyone to make a fuss about a small cut. At least he thought it was small. He hadn’t really had a chance to look at it, but he did know that his cheek was stinging.

Jameson opened the glove compartment, located a small first-aid kit and passed it not to Theo but to Ivy. “Since Theo said he won’t see a medic, you make sure he doesn’t need stitches.”

That request seemed to add to Ivy’s anxiety level, but she opened the kit and took out some gauze and antiseptic cream. She reached over Nathan and blotted the gauze against Theo’s cut. It wasn’t a very manly reaction, but he grunted from the pain.

“When Mom’s fixing up my cuts,” Nathan said, “I just think about a computer game or my horse, Willow. You have a horse?” he asked Theo.

Theo shook his head, but nearly cursed when that caused Ivy to press harder on his cheek. He decided it was best to keep still. Best not to make direct eye contact with Nathan, either, since it was obvious the boy was curious about him. Soon, Theo would satisfy that curiosity by telling him the truth, that he was his father. But for now, Theo just let Ivy continue to torture him while he kept watch around them.

Othe

r than the cruiser behind them, there were no other vehicles in sight. Theo wanted to keep it like that. If he’d been alone, however, he would have wanted this SOB to come after him. That way, he could stop him and put an end to this.

No one in the car talked about the attack, though Theo was certain they wanted to do that. Best to wait until Nathan was out of earshot. The boy had already witnessed enough without having the details spelled out for him.

Two men dead.

Countless shots fired.

And a threat still hanging over their heads because this snake might indeed go after Ivy.

Once Ivy was finished cleaning and bandaging the cut, Theo took out his phone and texted a fellow DEA agent in the San Antonio office so they could get started on locating this thug named Mack. He didn’t include Wesley on this, but he would fill him in at the sheriff’s office. As soon as Theo was certain there were no bugs in the place. It was bad enough that he had Jodi, Nathan and Ivy on the road, but he didn’t want anyone else knowing they were on their way to Gabriel’s office.

It wasn’t that far from the ranch to town, and Gabriel didn’t dawdle. He made it there in probably record time, and he pulled the cruiser to a stop at the back door so they could hurry inside. First through the break room and then into Gabriel’s office. Even though it was a good twenty feet away from the squad room at the front of the building, Wesley must have heard them, because he came hurrying back.

Ivy automatically stopped, and she pulled Nathan behind her. Jodi rushed to Ivy’s side to shield the boy, as well. Jameson and Gabriel reacted, too, by taking aim at the man.

“This is DEA agent Wesley Sanford,” Theo explained. “He’s the one who gave me the recording from the CI.”

That caused Gabriel and Jameson to relax a bit, but Jodi and Ivy still stayed in a defensive posture. Maybe because Wesley didn’t exactly have a welcoming expression. Probably because he’d been in law enforcement most of his adult life, first as a San Antonio cop and then as a DEA agent. The man was tall and lanky with a thin face, and he rarely smiled. He certainly wasn’t smiling now.

“You said you had a lead,” Wesley reminded him, “and that you’d text me.”

“Possible lead,” Theo corrected. He motioned toward Gabriel. “This is Sheriff Beckett and his brother, Ranger Jameson Beckett. Are you certain the building isn’t bugged?” he added to Wesley.

“The deputies and I have gone through the place and didn’t see anything.”

“I’m having the Rangers bring in equipment to check every inch,” Jameson volunteered. “They should be here any minute. Until then, anything we say should be in one of the interrogation rooms.”

Good idea. There was minimal furniture, and a person wouldn’t have had easy access to those rooms to plant a listening device. Normally, the other option would have been to discuss this outside, but there was nothing normal about this situation.

Nathan was a reminder of that.

“Why don’t you stay with Nathan here in Gabriel’s office?” Theo suggested to Ivy.

She instantly looked torn, and Theo knew why. Ivy wanted to hear anything about the investigation, but she didn’t want their son to be part of it. Neither did Theo. Jodi must have picked up on their wanting to protect Nathan, because she slipped her arm around the boy’s shoulders and led him deeper into Gabriel’s office.

“I’ll wait in here with Nathan,” Jodi offered. “I can probably download a movie or book for him.”

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