Page 30 of Chance (Wild River Ranch #3)

C hance lay on his stomach in the snow outside the north pasture cabin, ignoring the cold. When he got Gypsy out of there, he was burning that fucking cabin to the ground.

Now that he'd actually had eyes on her and the detective, he put in a call to his brother.

Boone answered on the first ring. "Hey, where the hell are you?"

“I'm at the north pasture cabin. James is here and he has Joy. He's got her tied with her arms in front of her. I'm not sure what's going on. All I know is my Little girl needs me, and I’m standing outside watching like a fuckin’ Peeping Tom. "

"I know, brother. But you’re doing her no favors if you bust in there like a wild man and get shot right in front of her.

Just hold tight. We’re headed that way. We can be there in five.

Do not, I repeat, do not go by yourself.

You need backup. James may be an ass, but he's a trained ass. Don’t forget it.

He has a gun. He knows how to use it. And he will shoot you before he lets you stop him. "

The rage simmering inside Chance boiled over. "That's great. I'll give you five minutes, and then I'm going in. With or without you. And, brother, at five minutes, all bets are off. "

He disconnected the call and crawled backwards until the truck blocked anyone's view of him from the cabin.

He might not go in alone, but that didn’t mean he could just sit on his ass and wait, hoping for the best. He needed to get closer so at least he could tell if Gypsy was all right.

His mind tried to talk to him about what his babygirl was going through, but he had to shut the thoughts down. If he focused on how terrified she must be, he’d lose his mind.

He’d followed Dodger all the way from Castello Road to the north pasture. At some point in the pasture, he lost sight of the wolfdog. He would have lost him sooner, but Dodger had doubled back and waited for him to catch up.

He had to shut those thoughts down, too. Because that was just crazy.

By the time he’d lost sight of Dodger the last time, he knew where the wolfdog had been leading him.

Slowly, he began to inch his way toward the window on the right side of the cabin. He could use the tree for cover if need be. If James had hurt his babygirl, Chance would take whatever consequences came his way, but James was a dead man.

Before he could make it as far as the window, his phone buzzed. Looking at the screen, he took the call. Sam would keep calling until Chance answered anyway. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Kind of in the middle of something right now, Sam. What is it?"

Sam didn’t believe in wasting time. “Chance, you son of a bitch. I told you to wait for me. If anything happens to James, you'll go away for a long time. This country still takes exception to people killing cops, even bad ones."

"Noted. Any other sage advice?"

“No, you won't listen anyway. Just be careful and be smart." This time is was Sam who disconnected the call.

Turning his phone to silent, he took in a breath. Everything in him wanted to storm the room. Instead, he tucked it in his pocket and made his way to the window. Even though the glass was frosted over, he could see in.

He’d been right, James had tied Joy's arms tied, the dick. Like she would be able to overpower him.

The man had used some spare rope he’d found somewhere, probably in the cabin.

It was rough, and the man had tied it too tightly.

He could already tell Joy's hands and feet were losing circulation. If Sam and Boone wanted to be here before he went in, they’d better hurry.

A slight scuffle behind him told him Trace and Boone were there.

Relief washed through him as his brothers crawled to his side.

He brought them up to speed, then said, "We're not gonna be able to wait on Sam."

If they needed any more persuasion than that, a scream ripped through the air.

A woman's scream.

Joy's scream.

Chance’s mind blanked. He reacted with pure instinct, taking a step back and then crashing in through the window.

He rolled to his feet, ignoring the stinging gash in his arm.

James stood at Gypsy’s side, a syringe in his hand.

He’d positioned the needle just above the vein in the crease of her elbow.

"I figured you'd crash the party soon enough, but I’ll admit I didn’t think you’d be so literal.

You don't want to do anything stupid because your Little girl here will be the one who pays. "

Chance kept his voice calm, even if his words were not.

"If you harm one hair on her head, if anything from that damn needle makes it into her body, I will knock you out and drag you up the mountain.

I know where the grizzlies feed. They're always looking for a nice snack.

You're a little fatty, but I don't imagine they turn down fresh meat. Especially if it’s still alive. "

The detective forced out a laugh, but the pallor of his face told a different story. Chance knew better than to make the man think there was no escape. The only thing James had going for him was the hope he’d make it out of this cabin alive.

As if James could read his mind, he said, "This doesn't have to end badly. Nobody has to die today. I'm thinking we can tell Eddie I took care of your Little girl here. He'll never know. I can walk away. You can walk away. She can walk away. Everybody lives happily ever after."

Chance hadn’t been born yesterday. "If you thought that was a real solution, you’d have done it in the first place.

Hell, you never had to show up in Wilder at all.

If you were gonna lie to your boss, you could have done it two weeks ago.

But you know that, unlike you, Eddie is smart.

I don't imagine he trusts you very much. So, you're in a little bit of a bind here, Detective James. You’re right, though. You don’t have to leave here in a body bag.

You have an option, and if you listen, I might even let you live long enough to benefit from it. "

"Oh yeah, and what's that?"

Before he answered James’s question he turned to his gypsy. "Babygirl, are you all right?"

Pasting on a terrified smile, she nodded. "I'm fine, Daddy. No worries about me."

Damn, he loved his gypsy. “It's gonna be OK,” he said, and it was. There was no other option.

Joy sucked in a breath when James placed the needle against her flesh.

When Chance moved forward, the detective said, "She's okay, for now.

I haven't stuck her yet. If I do, depending on how hard I push it, she’ll probably have barely enough to need a trip to the hospital.

If you get all hero stupid, she's a dead woman, and that will be on you. I told you nobody has to get hurt."

Chance’s temper held on by a thread. "I believe we were talking about your options, not mine," he said.

"Way I see it, you don't have an out. Except for one and that is to put down that syringe, sit your ass down on that couch, and wait for the sheriff to get here. He has connections. I’m sure that there are federal agents somewhere with their eye on Eddie Sharp.

You cooperate with them. They'll work with you. It's your best shot and you know it."

James snarled. "You know what happens to cops in prison. I get any time at all. I'm a dead man. So, as options go, that one sucks.” Chance took a step forward. James shifted the needle into place, pricking the skin of Joy’s arm.

“I told you, back away. I'll barely push the syringe plunger down, not nearly enough of this shit will get into her system.

She'll be fine. You can take her to the hospital.

I can get away. It's a win-win for everybody involved. "

This man had lost his ever fucking mind. "I'm telling you right now, James, you put any of that poison in my babygirl, you have zero chance of survival. And I will make sure your death is as brutal as I can. You will beg to die before you do."

The detective shook his head. Dammit! That fucker was gonna do it. He was gonna inject that shit into his Little girl.

Chance started calculating the distance, trying to figure out how fast he could get to James. Could he make it before the guy pushed the plunger down in the syringe? Did he have another option?

Boone and Trace had angled around and were ready to break in at his signal, but he didn't have time for that.

Praying that her guardian angel was still hanging around, Chance nodded.

"All right. You win. We'll play this your way.

I'm gonna walk over to that chair and have a seat. You need to know if she has trouble getting over whatever a sick fuck like you likes to do to people. I will hunt you down. And when I find you, all bets are off.”

Chance took one step toward the table.

Trace shattered the window on the opposite side of the room and then stepped back. Before Chance could react, Dodger leaped through the window. He sank his sharp teeth into the detective's free arm and pulled him away from Gypsy.

James howled, fighting to wrest his arm from the wolf’s maw. The cloth of James’s sleeve tore, sending Dodger skittering across the room.

Bellowing in rage, James lunged for Joy, the syringe in hand, ready to attack.

Chance got to James just before he reached his gypsy, tackling James to the floor.

The man tried to twist and jab the syringe into Chance, but Chance avoided the man’s effort.

James landed on his stomach, face to the wooden floor.

Chance stepped back, shoving Joy behind him and scooting the chair she was in toward the door. He watched as the detective rolled to his back on the floor.

Something was wrong. The detective was shaking and gasping for breath. Surely a fall couldn’t hurt a grown man that badly. That’s what he thought, until he caught sight of the syringe sticking out from the man’s chest over his heart.

Joy tried to look around him, but Chance held her face against him. His Little girl didn’t need to see that.

Boone entered through the back door. Kneeling by the detective, he checked for a pulse. “Fuck. There’s nothing we can do for him now.”

Trace looked in from the window. “There was nothing you could have done, Chance. He did that to himself.” Chance had no idea how to respond.

He lifted Joy from the chair, arms still bound, and carried her to the waiting truck.

Once he had her in the cab, he checked her arm. How was he supposed to tell if James had dosed her?

“Did that maniac stick the needle of that shot in your skin?” he demanded.

She shook her head. “No, Daddy. I don't think so. I didn't feel anything at all. I think I'm fine. ”

"Thinking is not good enough, babygirl.” Flipping on the interior light, he scanned Joy’s skin for anything that looked like a needle mark.

He didn’t see anything, but he could have missed a mark that small.

Chance raced around the truck to the driver’s seat and spun out, spraying snow in all directions.

He redialed the last person who called, which turned out to be Sam.

“We're headed back to the lodge. Get Doc Bradford to meet us there, and tell him to bring Narcan, just in case.”

Disconnecting, he turned to Gypsy. “You’re all right, babygirl. We’ll be home soon. I’m gonna take care

Gypsy smiled. “I’m going to be okay.” Then, with wonder in her eyes, she said. “Did you see what Dodger did?”

“You don’t know the half of it, babygirl.”

Come to think of it, where did that wolfdog get off to after he attacked James? He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.