Page 118 of Winter Vows

“She’ll take Bobby,” Dylan insisted, not giving her time to answer. “Take her son back to her.”

Paul displayed a chilling smile. “Why, aren’t you the gallant gentleman? Just her type. Okay, Bobby goes. But what do I do with you?” he wondered aloud. Then he raised his gun toward the ceiling and pulled the trigger.

Dylan heard Kelsey’s scream just before Paul disconnected the phone.

“That ought to keep her focused on what’s important,” Paul said.

He motioned Dylan into the bathroom, removed his belt, then used it to bind Dylan’s wrists and tie them securely to the shower rod. Satisfied that Dylan was immobilized, Paul went back into the room long enough to grab a tie, then added that to the belt to further restrain him.

“That ought to keep you out of action long enough for me to settle things with Kelsey and be on my way,” Paul said. “It ought to give her a few bad moments wondering if you’re dead or not, too.”

“You really are a heartless son of a bitch,” Dylan declared.

Paul didn’t seem particularly distraught by the characterization. It did, however, serve to remind him that once he was gone there was nothing to prevent Dylan from screaming for help. He found a handkerchief, stuffed it in Dylan’s mouth, then used another tie to keep it in place.

“Daddy?” Bobby asked hesitantly, his eyes wide with fear. “Why are you hurting him? He’s Mommy’s friend.”

“He’s not hurt,” Paul assured him. “Just out of commission for a bit.”

Dylan winked at Bobby, hoping to relieve the boy’s concern. Bobby had already been through enough. Besides, if he accepted that Dylan was okay, maybe he could pass the word on that along to Kelsey, who was already frantic enough without worrying about what had happened to him because he hadn’t used his brain when he’d taken Paul down outside.

“Come on, son. Let’s go see your mother.” Casting one last worried look over his shoulder, Bobby eventually followed his dad.

And Dylan got to work on freeing himself.

Kelsey stood holding the phone in her hand, aware that the blood had probably drained from her face.

“Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God.” She kept murmuring it over and over.

Justin’s firm grip on her shoulders finally caught her attention. She stared at him blankly. His mouth was moving, but she couldn’t seem to grasp what he was saying.

“What, Kelsey? What happened?” He shook her gently. “Tell me.”

“He shot Dylan. I was talking to Dylan and then Paul came in and took the phone and then he shot him.” She stared at Justin guiltily. “It’s all my fault. If he’s dead, it’s because of me.”

“We don’t know he’s dead,” Justin insisted. “Stop thinking like that.”

“But he shot him,” she repeated, not just sick to her stomach, but sick at heart.

“Dylan can take care of himself,” Justin assured her. “Let’s try to concentrate, okay? Can you do that? Is the meeting still on?”

Kelsey nodded. Her baby. She had to focus on getting her baby back. If she thought about Dylan, she would go crazy.

“Then let’s go.”

“No,” she retorted fiercely. “Just me. I have to go alone. If he sees you there, he’ll kill me and Bobby.” She shuddered as she heard the terrible sound of that gun echoing in her head. She wondered if she would ever be able to shut it off. “He’ll use the gun again. I know it.”

“All the more reason for us to be there,” Justin insisted. “I can have a sharpshooter standing by. Paul won’t get a chance to use the gun, Kelsey. It has to be that way. He’s out of control.”

She knew Justin was right. Going to meet Paul alone was foolhardy. Her best chance to get Bobby back and to live was to have professional backup, but she was so scared that Paul would see them, that he would panic.

“I need your promise that you won’t let him spot you,” she said, knowing how futile extracting such a promise was.

“We’ll do our best,” he vowed. “Nobody wants everybody to walk away from this safely more than I do. The last thing I want is Grandpa Harlan on my back if there’s a screwup.”

The mention of his grandfather’s reaction had the desired result. Kelsey found she could still smile. A moment ago she’d been so certain she would never smile or laugh again.

She drew in a deep breath and squeezed Justin’s hand. “Then, by all means, let’s not screw up,” she said staunchly.

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