Page 34 of Targeted in Silver Creek

But why?

That was the question that continued to race through her head. Was she the target? If so, was it because of something she might remember?

Groaning, she sank down into the tub across from Melissa and the baby, and she tried to will the memories to come. It didn’t work. It was as if her brain had gone on lockdown and a wave of pure frustration coated the fear and worry.

The sound of a shot cracked through the air. Along with causing her heart to pound against her chest, it caused Hanna to latch onto Melissa so she could pull her lower in the tub. The woman ended up on her back with Evan nestled in her arm. There wasn’t enough room for Hanna to lie down next to them, but she stayed as low as she could and prayed that bullet hadn’t hit anyone but the intruder.

There was another gunshot blast. Then another. The sound whipped up Hanna’s adrenaline and vised her lungs so that it was hard for her to breathe. Unfortunately, it didn’t shut down the horrible thoughts she was having about Jesse. He was probably out there. Probably right in the line of fire, and he was doing that not only because it was his job but because he would protect them.

“It’ll be okay,” Melissa whispered, and Hanna heard the woman mutter a prayer. This had to be terrifying for her, too, since that was her son out there.

Hanna’s phone dinged with a text. Her hands were shaking when she pulled it from her pocket and saw Jesse’s name on the screen. Thank God, he was alive.

Isabel just pulled into the driveway. We’re getting someone to her now.

Sweet heaven. Now her mother was out there in harm’s way. But Hanna had to immediately rethink that. Was it actually harm’s way or was this part of some plan to silence her before her memory could return? She didn’t want to think the worst about her mother, but someone was behind this, and Isabel hadn’t exactly been forthcoming about knowing Arnie.

She showed Melissa the text so that she’d know Jesse hadn’t been hurt, and the woman’s face relaxed just a little. “You know, I was a deputy when Grayson arrested your father.”

Hanna shook her head. She hadn’t known that, but of course, the timing worked since that arrest would have happened about thirty years ago.

“Your mother was so angry, and she attacked Grayson,” Melissa went on. “She scratched his face and tried to stab him with a letter opener.”

Even with everything else going on outside, that shocked Hanna. “Did Grayson arrest her?”

“No, he said it was just a fit of anger and that she had enough to deal with. He didn’t want both your parents in jail, I guess.”

Again, the timing for this wasn’t stellar, but Hanna asked the question anyway. “Was my father guilty? Did he assault the young woman?”

“He never confessed, but all the evidence pointed to him, and there was an eyewitness. Mason,” she supplied.

Hanna groaned. Isabel wouldn’t have cared much for that, and it added another layer of her hatred for the Rylands.

“You should just be careful around Isabel,” Melissa suggested. “I don’t like to stir up trouble, but she wants to put a wedge between Jesse and you.” She paused. “After Evan was born and you were still in the hospital, Isabel even threatened to try to get custody of Evan.”

Another blow. Good grief. Just what lengths would Isabel go because of this old feud between the Rylands and her?

“Was I wrong to tell you all of that?” Melissa asked. She winced, shook her head. “Of course, I was wrong. Let’s just say I no longer have nerves of steel the way I did when I wore a badge.”

“You weren’t wrong to tell me,” Hanna assured her, and the woman’s nerves seemed just fine to her.

“Stay put, but they’ve got the two men,” Ava called out to them.

The relief came, but it was just as much of a punch as the adrenaline. And the worry was still there. “Is everyone okay?” Hanna asked the deputy, and she could have sworn her heart skipped a couple of beats when Ava didn’t immediately answer.

“One of the gunmen is dead,” Ava relayed, coming to the bathroom door. She still had her gun gripped in her hand. “No one else was hurt. Jesse and Grayson have the second man.”

More relief came because Jesse and the others were okay. Better yet, they had someone in custody. “Who is it?” Hanna wanted to know.

“Not sure yet, but it wasn’t any of our persons of interest.”

So, not Shaw, and Hanna had known it wasn’t Marlene or her mother because it was a man. However, that didn’t mean one of the two women hadn’t hired someone to do this.

The seconds crawled by while they waited, and Hanna tried to keep herself steady by watching the peaceful, rhythmic rise and fall of Evan’s breathing. Unfortunately, it didn’t cause much peace inside her because she couldn’t stop thinking about those two men, and the person who’d hired them, putting her precious little boy in jeopardy.

“It’s Jesse,” Ava announced when she got a text. She went to the nursery door where Hanna heard her unlock it.

A moment later, Jesse walked in, and Hanna couldn’t stop herself. She got out of the tub, hurried to him and clamped her arms around him. All the steeling up she’d done nearly vanished thanks to the relief at seeing he truly was unharmed.

---