Page 61 of Targeted in Silver Creek

Isabel nodded. “She must have put something in my coffee. She came over to talk and claimed she was worried about what was going on with Hanna and these attacks.” Some anger flashed through her eyes. “She wasn’t worried. She drugged me and then kept telling me how I had to drive out here and demand that Hanna and Evan come back to my estate.” She stopped, swallowed hard. “Marlene wanted me to be a distraction so she could get those militia members onto the grounds.”

Yeah, that was Jesse’s take in it, too. Unfortunately, it had worked, and whoever had fired at Grayson on the road had added to the distraction and prevented Grayson from getting to the house to help them.

“I’m not sure how Marlene managed to cut the power to the house,” Jesse muttered, “but it’s possible somebody in the militia knew how to do that.”

Knew, too, how to get their hands on the tear gas canisters they’d used to scatter the ranch hands. Of course, a group who dealt in illegal weapons and drugs likely wouldn’t have had trouble getting supplies like that.

“The CSIs will have to process the house,” Hanna said, drawing his attention back to her.

Not that his attention had strayed too far. Along with keeping watch, Jesse made frequent glances at Hanna and Evan to make sure they were okay. They were, but he probably wouldn’t be certain of that until he could hold them in his arms. He considered doing that now, but he knew it should wait.

“They will,” he agreed. And he hated that her home would be off limits to her for a while. Maybe forever. He didn’t know if she’d ever feel safe here after what’d happened tonight.

“Evan and I can go to your place?” Hanna asked.

Isabel opened her mouth, probably to say they could come to her estate, but the look Hanna gave her silenced the woman.

“Of course,” Jesse assured her, and while that wasn’t a hug, it gave him a whole lot of comfort. Neither Hanna nor Evan had ever stayed the night at his house, and it would be great to have them there.

Not just temporarily, either.

Jesse thought back to those terrifying moments when they had realized they were under attack. The moment when he’d realized just how much he loved her. And he did. That wasn’t a false feeling created by the adrenaline. He loved both Evan and her, but he wouldn’t lay that all on her now. Best to give her some time to come down from what she had gone through.

“I’m in love with you,” Hanna said.

When Jesse heard the words, at first he thought he’d said them, that he had blurted it out, after all. But he looked up and realized Hanna had spoken them.

To him.

“You don’t have to do anything about it,” she added, making a gesture as if waving that off.

Jesse would have definitely done something if, at that exact moment, his phone hadn’t vibrated with a call from Grayson. Talk about bad timing. But in this case, it was warranted because it was good news.

“We got them,” Grayson immediately said. “Rounded them all up. I’m at the front door, so I need you to let me in.”

Jesse hurried to the front to do just that, but he didn’t linger for Grayson to fill him in. He went back to the bathroom. Outside, he heard the ambulance, another good sign.

Grayson came to the bathroom door and looked in at them, obviously checking to make sure everyone was okay. They were, but they probably showed every bit of the fierce battle they’d just fought.

“You’re sure you got all of the thugs?” Hanna asked.

Grayson nodded. “Shaw helped. So did the ranch hands once the tear gas had cleared. There were three gunmen. One clammed up, but the other two decided they wanted to confess to any and everything. They independently told us that Marlene had brought three of them with her.”

Three. Not an army exactly, but they clearly had managed to do a lot of damage. They could have done more.

“We can wait in here until the EMTs arrive,” Grayson went on, “and then I can take you to wherever you need to go in the cruiser.”

“The ranch,” Jesse and Hanna said at the same time.

Grayson’s only reactions were a lifted eyebrow and brief smile, but it was obvious he approved. “It shouldn’t take long before I can get you there. Theo and Ava are taking the three thugs to jail now. Obviously, we won’t hold them with Bull. We’ll be releasing him.”

Jesse was okay with that even if he couldn’t do the whole forgive-and-forget deal for Bull not being able to stop Arnie from shooting Hanna. But that wasn’t a reason for him to stay behind bars. If Bull had been involved in anything illegal, Marlene would have ratted him out since it was obvious she hated her brother for being a deep cover agent.

“So, there’s no indications that Shaw was dirty?” Hanna asked Grayson.

“None, and since he jumped right in to help us tonight, I’m inclined to believe he’s clean. The ATF will have the final say on that though. I’m sure their internal affairs will pick through everything and make sure both Bull and Shaw haven’t bent or flat-out broken the law.”

Yeah, that IA investigation would be a given in a situation like this. The ATF would probably also fully take over dismantling the militia, and that was a chore that Jesse knew Grayson would gladly hand over to them.

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