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CHAPTER NINE

G avin’s heart rate jumped as the vehicle tailing them sped up. The roar of the engine cut through the night air. He glanced behind him in the rearview mirror. Visibility was poor. There weren’t any streetlights on the country road and the moon hid behind a wall of clouds. “Dark blue or black truck. No headlights.”

Claire turned around to peer out the back window even as her hand fumbled for the radio to call dispatch. “How long has he been following us?”

“About a minute. He pulled out from a dirt road we passed.” Gavin weighed his options. This street passed by Claire’s property. He needed to deviate. A road with better lighting would be a good start. If he could get a view of the license plate, they could get an ID on the owner.

The rear window of their patrol truck shattered. Gavin instinctively grabbed Claire and pushed her down into the seat. “He’s shooting at us.”

Several more bullets slammed into their vehicle. Anger, piping hot, raced through Gavin’s veins. His foot pressed down on the accelerator as he tried to put some distance between them and the shooter. Dangerous, given the wet road conditions and the chance of black ice, but he didn’t have a choice. The madman behind them was determined to hurt Claire at any cost.

Icy wind whipped into the truck through the broken rear window. Gavin didn’t hit the brakes as the road curved. His mind raced as he ran through various evasive maneuvers. He prayed no one was coming in the other direction on the road. The last thing they needed was an innocent civilian getting caught in the shootout. Claire rapidly spouted off their location and the situation to dispatch.

The truck behind them increased his speed. Gavin gripped the steering wheel. “Stay down!”

Another spray of bullets rocked their vehicle. Gavin swerved to make them a harder target to hit. The windshield shattered, spraying squares of glass in all directions. One sliced his cheek, another his hand. He barely felt the cuts. “Claire, you okay?”

“I’m not hit.” She stayed low and pulled her weapon. “You?”

“No.”

He gritted his teeth as Claire turned and returned fire. The truck behind them immediately backed off. It then took a sudden turn toward the lake. With horror, Gavin realized where the shooter was going.

Claire’s family. Jacob. He’d taken the turn that would lead to her parents’ house.

Gavin slammed on the brakes. The seat belt dug into his shoulder and smoke drifted from the tires as the scent of rubber filled the air. He maneuvered the damaged patrol truck into a three-point turn. Every precious second it took made his chest tighten. In the passenger seat, Claire was speaking frantically to her father, telling him to move to a secure location in the house.

She hung up. “The trooper assigned to guard my family is doing a perimeter check of the property.” She radioed into dispatch, ordering them to contact the trooper.

Somewhere inside his head, Gavin was grateful for her quick thinking and level headedness. It allowed him to focus on driving while she coordinated the safety of everyone else. The frigid air flying in through the shattered windshield iced his hands. His fingers grew numb.

He turned onto the Wilsons’ property and blew past the main office. The lights were out. Claire’s dad had given his staff a few days off and arranged for the few renters they had to stay at a hotel. It was good foresight on his part.

Gavin took the fork toward Claire’s childhood home. The lights in the pretty log cabin shone like a beacon in the dark. He increased his speed. A flash of chrome on a side street caught Gavin’s attention.

The black truck.

Gunshots erupted. The steering wheel under Gavin’s hands jerked as several bullets hit the tires. He struggled to regain control of the vehicle, but it was impossible. They went into a spin. Metal crunched and more glass shattered as the patrol truck slammed into a pine tree. The engine sputtered and then died.

Claire. Gavin sucked in a breath and turned his head. His airbag hadn’t deployed, but hers had. He pushed it out of the way. “Claire.”

She lifted her head and blinked at him. White powder covered her face and a scratch from the glass marred the bridge of her nose, but recognition flared in her beautiful eyes. “I’m okay, Gavin. What happened?”

The black truck pulled out from a small side road. The shooter had laid a trap, using Claire’s family against them, and Gavin had stupidly fallen for it. He fumbled with his seat belt. Numb fingers slowed his movements. “Get down, Claire.”

He spared a quick glance in her direction. She was slipping low in her seat, reaching for her weapon. Gavin’s fingers finally found the button and his seat belt released. He pushed open his door with one foot while pulling his gun.

“Texas Ranger,” he screamed, loud enough for the driver of the truck to hear. “Come out of your vehicle with your hands up.”

On the other side of the car, Claire had also opened her door and, like Gavin, was using it as a shield. Her gun was trained on the truck. Gavin’s heart thumped once. Twice. He thought for a second the driver was going to listen to his instructions.

Then the motor revved. Gavin fired his gun, but the truck kept coming. He was on a collision course with them.

No. Not them. With Claire. The angle of the truck would put the brunt of the impact on her.

Gavin didn’t have a second to shout a warning, but in his head, he was yelling Claire’s name. He threw himself clear of the open door, just as the criminal’s vehicle rammed into the patrol truck. Metal screeched. Asphalt bit into Gavin’s skin as he rolled across the road. Pain ricocheted through his shoulder. His gun tumbled from his fingers.

He landed in the grass on the opposite side of the street. Gavin lifted his head and his heart stopped. His vision narrowed to the two vehicles mashed together on the other side of the road. Claire’s side of the patrol truck was crumpled against the trees. If she hadn’t moved in time, she’d been crushed. God, no. Please, no.

Gavin stumbled to his feet. His gun lay on the road in the opposite direction. The black truck reversed in preparation to slam into Claire’s vehicle again.

One step. Two. He wouldn’t make it to the weapon. There was no choice. Gavin screamed and raced for the side of the truck. He would stop the man with his bare hands if he had to. The driver turned. Gavin glimpsed a black ski mask.

The wail of sirens erupted through the night air. Relief rippled through Gavin. Backup was coming.

Still, he kept moving toward the truck. “Come out with your hands up.”

The driver ignored his order. He spun his tires, tearing up the grass on the side of the road, and took off. Gavin didn’t watch him go. He spun toward Claire’s vehicle. She was nowhere in sight. Desperation stole his breath as he raced toward the place he’d last seen her.

Please, God, please let her be okay.

Hours later, Claire closed the children’s book she’d been reading to Jacob. Her little boy was fast asleep in the bed beside her. He looked like an angel. His long lashes cast shadows on his cheeks. Wrapped in his arms was Mr. Woof, the stuffed dog he’d had since he was a baby. After the incident with the black truck, Claire had to see and hold her son. The memory of a shooter barreling toward her parents and child brought fresh tears to her eyes.

She bit her lip hard to keep from falling apart. Crying could wake Jacob. She didn’t want him to see her upset. Her little boy was completely unaware of how close he’d been to danger. After Claire warned her father, her parents hustled Jacob into the bathroom by saying it was a fun game. Even after everything calmed down and things were safe, Jacob had wanted to finish building his car tracks in the tub. Claire had helped him. It’d eased her worries to hear his laughter and see the bright smile on his face.

Now, in the quiet stillness, the terror came rushing to the surface. Every muscle in Claire’s body ached. She’d dived out of the way before the truck rammed her vehicle. By some miracle, neither she nor Gavin had been seriously hurt. Her patrol truck was totaled though.

Thank you, Lord, for watching over us. For protecting my family and Jacob. I’m scared, but I know we are in Your hands. I’m trusting You.

It was tempting to curl up next to Jacob and sleep. She would’ve gladly stayed there the entire night. An iron will and a strong sense of duty forced her to slip from the bedroom to face reality.

The house was quiet. Her father stood next to the dining room window, a cup of coffee in his hand, staring at the deputies processing the scene on the road. A handgun was holstered at the small of his back. He heard her footsteps and turned. “Jacob sleeping?”

“Out like a light.” She joined him at the window. Keith, her chief deputy, was speaking to Gavin and Ryker. None of the men looked happy. Claire sighed. The shooter must’ve gotten away. “Dad…maybe it’s time you and Mom leave. Take a vacation with Jacob.”

“Can you be certain whoever this is won’t follow us? Try to use Jacob against you?”

“No. I can’t.” She couldn’t be sure of anything.

“Then the best place for us is right here. Ryker will stay in the other guest bedroom. We’ll have a trooper outside. I’m armed, and there’s a home security system. Cameras will be installed outside tomorrow.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll keep Jacob and your mom safe, honey. Concentrate on doing your job.”

She hugged him, breathing in the familiar scent of his laundry soap. “I love you, Dad.”

“Love you too.”

When she pulled away, Claire could’ve sworn there were tears in her father’s eyes. Daniel cleared his throat. “Your mom’s knitting in the bedroom. Go give her a kiss goodnight before you leave.”

She went into the master bedroom, but her mother had fallen asleep. Claire blew her a kiss so as not to wake her and tiptoed out. She would call her in the morning.

Outside, the air smelled of pine and grass. It was freezing. Claire zipped up her jacket and tucked her hands into the pockets. Most of the deputies had left. Her patrol truck was also gone, although glass and broken tree branches still littered the road.

Gavin spotted her. His long strides ate up the distance between them. Each step made Claire’s heart beat faster. Scratches from the glass had carved nicks in his face. One along his nose, another above his eyebrow. His sleeve was ripped and his pants muddy.

He’d risk his life for her. Again.

The echo of Gavin screaming her name replayed in her head. Panic had layered the timbre of his voice. She’d seen him racing toward the truck with nothing but his bare hands, determined to protect her. There was no going back from that. No way for Claire to ignore her growing feelings for the handsome lawman.

Gavin stopped in front of her. “We’re done with the crime scene.”

His words brought her attention back to the case. “What’s the update?”

“The shooter got away. The black truck was stolen from an adjacent county. We found it abandoned an hour ago. It’s being towed to the evidence shed for processing.”

Nothing. They had nothing. The killer was running circles around them, putting Claire’s family at risk, and it was infuriating. What would he do next? One thing was clear. He wouldn’t stop coming for her. Not until she was dead.

Gavin glanced at the house behind her. “Is Jacob okay?”

“He’s fine. I was worried he’d be upset, but my parents did a great job of protecting him, both physically and emotionally. Jacob had no idea he was in danger.” The last words clogged in her throat as the tears she’d been holding at bay threatened to overwhelm her.

Gavin lifted his hand as if to comfort her and then stopped halfway. Indecision flared in his eyes. Claire stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. His heartbeat thumped against her ear, soothing and solid. She melted into his embrace. Gavin’s hand cradled the back of her head, his other arm gently supporting her waist. This time, when the tears came, she didn’t bother to hold them back.

He murmured words of comfort. Gavin’s touch was gentle, undemanding, and tender. Claire sucked in a deep breath to gather her emotions back under control. “Sorry. I’ve been holding it together for my family and…”

He wiped the tear tracks from her face with the pads of his thumb. “No apologies, Claire. You’ve been through so much. I’m surprised you’re on your feet. Anyone else would be curled up in a ball in the corner right now.”

She laughed despite herself. “Don’t tempt me.”

He smiled. Claire wanted to drown in his eyes. The way he looked at her…it was intoxicating. Now wasn’t the best time to have a conversation about what was brewing between them, but she didn’t have the luxury of waiting. Not with a killer chasing her down.

She took another deep breath. “Gavin, I care about you. There’s something between us and I’ve tried ignoring it, but that’s not working.”

“That makes two of us.”

His thumb trailed along the edge of her jaw, sending sparks through her. She couldn’t think with him touching her like that. Claire reached up to take his hands in hers. “My divorce changed me. My husband cheated on me, left me for another woman while I was pregnant with Jacob. He’s never even met his son. We were having problems in our marriage for a while, but I took my vows seriously. I thought he did too. I was wrong.”

This next part wouldn’t be easy to say, but she needed Gavin to understand. Claire didn’t want to lead him on. He deserved so much better than that. “I’m not sure I can fully hand over my heart to someone again. Until this moment, I’ve never even thought of trying.”

Gavin was quiet for a long moment. “First, let me say that your ex-husband is a fool. To have left you and Jacob…he’s missing out in a big way.”

Oh, heavens, she was going to cry again. Claire bit down on the inside of her lip to keep her emotions in check. She wanted to hear what Gavin had to say.

“You and I, Claire, we’re more alike than you know.” He pulled her into his arms. “I have my own bumps and bruises in the romance department. This isn’t the best time for either of us to make decisions. So let’s not. We’re friends, and when this case is over, then we’ll talk again.”

“I like the sound of that.” She sighed, a sense of peace settling over her. Being honest with Gavin about her feelings had lifted a weight from her shoulders. Claire wouldn’t have to keep questioning herself around him. They cared about each other. It was enough for now.

Gavin’s cell phone rang, breaking the moment. He released Claire to answer it. The cold air rushed in to replace his body heat, chilling her. She hugged herself. From Gavin’s side of the conversation, she gathered he was speaking to his fellow ranger, Weston.

Gavin shot a glance at Claire. She froze. Ice flooded her veins, erasing any last remnants of their stolen moment together. She grabbed Gavin’s arm. “What is it?”

He lowered the phone. “Weston located the private investigator Faye hired. He’s dead.”