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Gunfire erupted outside. Thomas took aim out the window.

“Take cover,” Eric whispered. The next instant, he launched forward and tackled the reporter. They rolled, fighting for possession of the gun.

Allye scrambled to her feet and grabbed onto the back of the chair to steady herself. She had to help somehow. The gun went off, and she screamed. But the shot had gone wild.

More shots sounded from outside. Then everything went quiet—everything except Eric’s grunting and Thomas’s curses as they continued to wrestle for the gun.

The door burst open, and two county deputies rushed inside. They aimed their weapons at the men on the floor. “Stop! Police!”

Thomas let out a feral scream and threw Eric off. He swung the gun toward the deputies as Eric rolled out of the way.

Allye dropped behind the chair and slapped her hands over her ears as several more shots filled the air. Deathly silence followed. When she dared to peek around the edge of the makeshift barrier, Thomas lay unmoving on the ground. Eric knelt beside him, checking for a pulse. He shook his head.

“This one’s still alive!” The shout came from the other side of the room. “Get a stretcher in here!”

Not trusting her legs to hold her, Allye crawled around the chair and looked for the owner of the voice. One of the deputies was bent over Wesley, applying pressure to his chest. How was he still alive?

Eric rose, wiping blood from his busted lip. His gaze found her. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, unable to speak.

“I have to check on Dion.”

“Go,” she whispered to his retreating back. Her gaze fell on Wesley again.Lord, please let them both be okay.

45

Eric did not have his reports submittedby Monday morning.

After spending most of yesterday serving warrants to search the devices, homes, and offices of the men involved in Allye’s kidnapping, he and Chief McHenry were holed up in the police station conference room, combing through the evidence.

Eric flipped another page on his notepad and clicked his pen before finishing his sentence. If he kept going at this rate, his reports were going to be backlogged for a month. He stifled a sigh. Fat chance McHenry would allow that.

Considering the events of the weekend and their current priorities, the chief had been understanding of his tardiness so far, though he nearly took Eric’s head off for allowing a minor to accompany him into a hostage situation. He’d cooled down somewhat once Eric explained that Dion had been instructed to remain in the car, which Eric had left parked in the weeds at the far end of the long drive so he could safely approach on foot.

Unfortunately, Dion had ignored him and followed anyway. When he saw Eric get jumped and then heard the gunshots, he’d attempted to distract the men by throwing a rock through the window. And he’d taken a bullet to the shoulder for it. Eric andAllye had spent the evening in the hospital waiting room while the teen underwent surgery. He’d lost a lot of blood, but he’d come out of surgery all right and was expected to fully recover with a little TLC.

Bernie had also undergone surgery to treat the gunshot wounds he’d received during the shoot-out. Barring some unforeseen complication, he should survive to stand trial, and Eric couldn’t wait to see him behind bars.

Thomas had been pronounced dead at the scene, as had Lenny. And Wesley? He was hanging on by a thread. His prognosis wasn’t hopeful, and the doctors had warned Hailey that he probably wouldn’t make it another night.

By all indications, Thomas Marshall had been the brains of the local drug ring. Bernie had served as manager and primary enforcer while Thomas orchestrated everything behind the scenes. Despite everything they’d discovered so far, Eric hadn’t quite pinpointed what Wesley’s part had been or how many other players there were, but he hoped to find an answer to that somewhere in these files.

Mayor Jennings’s role also puzzled him. As it turned out, the hunting cabin belonged to him. But so far, nothing indicated that he’d given permission for its use or that he’d been aware of Saturday’s activities. According to Allye’s statement though, Thomas had claimed the mayor and Wesley had both been involved in trying to gaslight her. But why? And could it be proven? Without further evidence, it was just hearsay.

Eric clicked his pen as he skimmed through more of the reporter’s computer files. If they hadn’t already suspected the mayor, he might be inclined to agree with McHenry’s opinion that Thomas had been blowing smoke. But from where he sat, something smelled fishy.

“If you click that pen one more time, I’m going to confiscate it,” Chief growled from the other side of the conference room table.

“Sorry.” Eric put the pen in his pocket. He stood and stretched. They’d been at it for hours and still had a ton of work to do. He poured himself another cup of coffee from the ten-cup pot he’d made an hour ago. Looked like he’d need to brew another soon.

Sipping the steaming liquid, he returned to his seat and clicked on another file folder. He straightened. This was interesting. He read the contents of the folder more carefully, then clicked on the accompanying photos. This might just be the proof he was looking for.

He glanced at the chief. Did he trust him? He decided that he did. McHenry had always been a by-the-book guy. Until he had reason to believe otherwise, Eric would give him the benefit of the doubt.

He drew in a breath. “Chief, I think you need to see this.”

McHenry circled the table to read over Eric’s shoulder. A minute later, he hung his head. Eric hated this for him.