The Marshal's Justice (Appaloosa Pass Ranch 4) (18 page)

Chapter Nineteen

Renée.

April certainly hadn’t forgotten about the woman, but she was surprised to see that Renée was on the business end of a gun rather than the one who was pulling the trigger.

Maybe this was some kind of ruse.

Though April couldn’t imagine why the woman would pretend to be a hostage. Still, it was hard to figure out the motives of someone so mentally unstable.

“You shot Shane!” Renée shouted, her attention zooming straight to Malcolm. “Is he dead?”

“He’s dead,” April confirmed.

Renée screamed and started struggling, trying to get away from her captors. It didn’t work. The men held on to her, and when she didn’t stop fighting to break free, one of them punched her right in the face. Hard. Renée’s head flopped back, and blood splattered from what looked to be a broken nose.

Apparently, the woman wasn’t a fake hostage after all. Or if she was, this was a convincing act.

One of the men continued to keep Renée in a fierce grip, and the other hurried to Dexter. The deputy was still unconscious, but the thug put some plastic cuffs on him and kicked Dexter’s gun away.

While they were occupied with that, April tried to elbow Malcolm in the stomach so she could try to break free. She failed, and Malcolm tightened his grip on her even more.

Malcolm tipped his head to Dexter and then glanced at the thug who was hovering over him. “Shoot the deputy in the head if Chase doesn’t drop his gun right now.” His voice was ice cold.

April saw the debate in Chase’s eyes. A very short one. Because they both knew the man would indeed murder Dexter.

Chase tossed his gun to the ground.

Her heart sank. Of course, April already knew they were in extreme danger, but now neither of them was armed. And they were outnumbered. Plus, Chase was hurt. The blood from the shot to his shoulder was now on the front of his shirt. It didn’t look as if he would bleed out, but he needed medical attention. Fast. For that to happen, they had to get out of this.

“Go ahead and kill Renée if she doesn’t stop fighting,” Malcolm told his men. “I’d wanted them all together for this, but I can always change the plan.”

What the heck was going on here?

“Why would you want Renée dead?” April asked.

“She’s a loose end,” Chase provided when Malcolm didn’t say anything. “I figure Malcolm hired the hacker to get into WITSEC files but couldn’t find Quentin because he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. Malcolm then convinced Renée to kidnap Bailey so he could use the baby to draw Quentin out.”

“The plan worked,” Malcolm said. “Well, nearly. I’d wanted Quentin to take the blame for all of this, but now that you’ve seen my face, that’s not going to happen. Still, you can save your brothers and the other lawmen.”

“How?” But Chase didn’t wait for an answer. “By agreeing to let you leave with April, Renée and me?”

But they wouldn’t be just leaving with Malcolm. He would kill them all when he had the rest of his so-called plan in place. That meant he wanted to get Quentin, too, and would likely use her—and possibly even Renée—to lure Quentin into a trap.

A trap that just might work.

“Come on,” Malcolm said, and he started moving her.

Malcolm didn’t take her toward the black car but to the other side of what remained of the church. Jericho had mentioned something about another vehicle, and it was possible Malcolm planned to use that to escape with them so he could finish out his plan.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Renée shouted. “You killed Shane.” A hoarse sob tore from her mouth, and she was obviously in pain from the punch to the face because she was wincing. “Why would you do that?”

“Sorry, but Shane was another loose end.” That’s the only explanation Malcolm gave them.

Though April could fill in the blanks. Shane loved Renée, and he had been a bulldog trying to track her down. Malcolm must have known Shane wouldn’t give up. Something Malcolm would have totally understood since he was doing the same thing to get justice for Tina.

“Want to save your brothers?” Malcolm repeated to Chase. “If so, yell for them to put down their guns. They won’t be hurt.”

“And I’m supposed to believe that?” Chase challenged. “You’ve killed Shane, Crossman, Deanne—”

“Deanne was a mistake,” Malcolm snapped. Not exactly an ice-cold voice now. There was some anger in it, too. “That was Renée’s doing, wasn’t it?”

There was more sobbing from Renée. “It was an accident. No one was supposed to die. The man I hired panicked when he spotted Chase.”

“Well, someone did die.” Malcolm sounded so angry that April thought he might shoot Renée then and there. “You had only one thing to do. Use the baby to draw out Quentin, and instead you got Deanne killed. She was Tina’s CI, and they were close. You’ll pay for that, bitch.”

So, that explained why Renée’s head was on the chopping block. Malcolm was trying to take care of anyone who’d wronged Tina or him.

April glanced back at Malcolm. “I can’t believe you trusted Renée with my daughter.”

“Nothing was supposed to happen to the baby. I warned Renée of that right from the start. I liked Bailey. In fact, the only reason I didn’t gun you down when I first saw you in the hospital was because of her. I didn’t want you shot in front of her.”

Sweet heaven. He’d been planning to kill her even then. And April wouldn’t have seen it coming. She’d been so torn up about Bailey’s premature birth that she hadn’t realized the danger was so close to her.

Too bad. Or maybe she could have ended it before it got this far.

There was more gunfire. All of it came from the front of what was left of the church. Probably more hired guns taking shots at Jericho and the others. She prayed they’d be able to stay out of harm’s way, especially since she might not be able to save Chase.

That broke her heart.

He could die here. And all because of her. April wished she could go back and undo the damage, but instead more people, including Chase, could keep paying for the mistake she’d made. Malcolm would almost certainly kill both of them once he had this plan finalized.

And that meant Bailey would be an orphan.

April felt the tears spill onto her cheek. Then, she felt something else. Something much, much stronger.

The rage bubbling inside her.

She was letting Malcolm drag her to her death, and that was about to end. If she was going to die anyway, she’d do it fighting. April used that rage, pinpointing it into her fist. She whirled around and punched Malcolm as hard as she could.

Malcolm staggered back. Just a little. Just enough to off-balance him. She knocked the gun from his hand as Chase tackled the man. They both went crashing into the debris, some of it falling on them.

April knew she couldn’t just stand there and watch. She snatched up Chase’s gun, and she fired at the gunman standing over Dexter. She wasn’t sure who was more surprised—him or her—when the bullet hit him right squarely in the chest. He collapsed onto the ground before he could even get off a shot.

Renée screamed again, and April pivoted in that direction, ready to stop the second gunman. But Renée was clawing at the man’s face, and she kneed him in the groin. Again. And again.

The gunman fired, but his shot went into the dirt. So did he, and he howled in pain while Renée just kept kicking him.

“Get his gun,” April told the woman.

Renée did that, after she kicked him again. She ripped the gun from his hand, shot him in the stomach before she whirled around, her gaze landing on Malcolm. No scream this time. Just a low feral sound fueled by her rage. Considering that her face was streaked with blood and her nostrils were flaring, April doubted the woman had any control left.

And that meant Renée could possibly shoot Chase while she was gunning for Malcolm.

She raced toward Renée, to try to latch on to the gun. But again, she was too late. Screaming, Renée pulled the trigger.

April could have sworn her heart stopped. Her breath certainly did. It stalled there in her lungs, and it seemed to take an eternity for her to get to Chase and pull him away from Malcolm.

There was so much blood.

Too much.

“Chase,” she managed to say. “Don’t die. Please don’t.”

He shook his head. “It’s not my blood. Well, most of it anyway.”

It took April a moment to fight through the panic and realize he was right. Chase’s shoulder was still bleeding, but it was nothing compared with the blood on Malcolm’s chest.

Renée had shot him.

Chase took April by the arm, maneuvering her away from Malcolm. In the same motion, he yanked the gun from Renée’s hand.

“I hit him,” Renée said. “I hope I killed him.”

Not yet. Malcolm was still alive, his eyes open, but he wasn’t moving, and he was losing way too much blood to stay alive for long.

April saw the movement from the corner of her eye and pivoted in that direction. It was Jax and Jericho. Thank God. And they had their attention focused on that other car. The one that no doubt contained other gunmen ready to do Malcolm’s bidding.

“I hope you burn in hell for murdering Shane,” Renée said, spitting on Malcolm.

April held her back. Not because she thought Malcolm deserved to stay alive for even a second longer, but because he appeared to be trying to say something to Chase.

“Two out of three’s not bad,” Malcolm mumbled, his voice weak, and the life draining out of his eyes.

“What do you mean?” Chase asked.

“I got Crossman.” Malcolm lifted his gaze to April. “And while you and Chase might walk away from this, your brother won’t. Quentin’s a dead man.” He lifted his hand, the same gesture he’d used with the other gunmen. It stayed in the air just a second before it slumped to the ground.

Malcolm didn’t draw another breath.

Almost instantly, the door to the other car opened, and Quentin stepped out. Alive. But she soon realized what Malcolm had meant when he said her brother was a dead man. There was another of Malcolm’s hired killers behind Quentin, and he had a gun pointed at Quentin’s head.

“Tell your brother goodbye,” the man taunted. “Because you’re about to see him die right before your eyes.”

This wasn’t a bluff. She felt that in every part of her body. Quentin obviously did, too. He wasn’t fighting. He’d already surrendered.

“Give me the gun,” Chase said to April.

She handed it to him, not sure what Chase had in mind. And she didn’t have to wait long to find out, either.

Without warning, Chase lifted the gun and fired. Not a head shot. Probably because he would have hit Quentin. Instead, Chase shot the gunman in the leg.

The guy howled in pain. Staggered back a step. Just enough for Chase to shoot him again. The bullet smacked into his shoulder and put the gunman on his knees.

Quentin didn’t waste any time grabbing the man’s gun, and he turned, aiming the weapon at him. For a moment, April thought Quentin would shoot the man in cold blood. But Quentin cursed, lowered the gun and started toward them.

The relief flooded through her. But it didn’t last. Because she looked at Chase and saw something she didn’t want to see. More blood. The front of his shirt was red now, and choking back a sound of pain, he leaned against her.

“Call an ambulance,” April shouted, and she caught on to Chase a split second before he lost consciousness.

Chapter Twenty

Chase opened his eyes. And he groaned. What he wanted to do was curse, but the first person he saw was April, and she had worry written all over her face. It was on Jax’s and Jericho’s faces, too, and Chase was responsible for it being there.

“I’m all right,” Chase insisted, and he sat up. Or rather that’s what he tried to do, but that’s when he realized he was in a hospital bed and hooked up to an IV. He also realized he was in pain.

What the heck?

He remembered getting shot, of course. Hard to forget that, especially now with the blistering pain. He also remembered being in an ambulance, but everything was a little fuzzy after that.

“You’re not all right,” April said. Oh, man. She’d been crying and was still blinking back tears. “You had surgery to remove the bullet from your shoulder, and lost a lot of blood.”

Jericho looked down at him. “He’s fine. Chase is used to getting shot and stabbed, aren’t you, little brother?”

That was a bad joke. But also true. He had been shot and stabbed before. Chase appreciated his brother’s attempt at humor because it lightened his mood a little. However, it didn’t work for April.

She went closer, eased down on the edge of the bed next to him. “You could have been killed.”

He hated seeing her cry or hearing her voice break. It crushed his heart six ways to Sunday. And that’s why he pulled her down for a kiss. Chase figured they both could use it, and he was right, though he wasn’t sure how his brothers would react to the kiss.

Nor did he care.

There was a cut on April’s head, and he moved away her hair so he could see it better. That set off a new wave of rage inside him. Malcolm had been responsible for that. Responsible, too, for nearly getting them all killed.

“Where’s Bailey?” he asked.

“In the hall. Levi and Mack brought her from the safe house and your mother has her. Your mom will bring her in to see you in a few minutes. I just wanted to make sure you were up to it first.”

Chase didn’t even have to think about that. “I’m definitely up to it.”

Like the kiss, seeing Bailey was something he needed, though he was certain his mom was enjoying every second of holding her first and only granddaughter.

“How’s everyone else?” Chase asked. “Was Dexter or Quentin hurt?”

All three of them shook their heads. “Shaken up but okay,” Jax continued. “Dexter’s got a concussion from the blow to the head, but he’ll be fine.” He paused, his gaze drifting to April.

“Quentin’s in a holding cell,” April finished for him. “He’ll be charged with faking his kidnapping.”

“Jail time?” Chase added.

Jericho shrugged. “Some. If he had a clean record, maybe not, but this isn’t his first rodeo.”

“Jail time might do him some good,” April snarled. “Even Quentin agrees with that, and if he hadn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered. I’m not bailing him out.”

Good. Because Quentin had to grow up eventually, and even if he didn’t, it was obvious that April was going to make her brother stand on his own two feet.

“Please tell me Malcolm’s really dead.” Because Chase hoped that wasn’t something he’d dreamed.

“He’s dead,” Jax verified. “And Gene Rooks has decided that now that his boss is dead, he’ll talk to get a few of the charges off the table. Rooks told us that Malcolm had explosives planted under the church when he found out that’s where Deanne’s funeral would be. Malcolm was guessing April might show up.”

And she had. All because they’d wanted to set a trap. A trap that backfired big-time.

“When the explosives didn’t work,” Chase said, “then he turned his hired guns on all of us.”

Chase cursed again, and April leaned in, stared at him. “This wasn’t your fault. Or even mine. I know that now. If Malcolm hadn’t come after us at the church, he would have found another way. Maybe a way that would have involved Bailey.”

She was right. Malcolm was rich and willing to do anything to get revenge for Tina’s murder. Since he’d found someone willing to hack into WITSEC files before, he likely would have tried it again and again until he found April and him. And Bailey would have indeed been with them.

“You’re being logical about this,” Chase pointed out to her.

April shook her head, blinked back more tears. “Not logical. Just thankful we’re all alive.”

Yeah, he was right there with her, and Chase wished he could have a moment alone, to tell her things. And kiss her.

Mercy, he wanted to kiss her.

But judging from Jax’s and Jericho’s expressions, there was still more they had to say. “Renée didn’t escape again, did she?” Chase asked.

“No,” Jericho jumped to answer. Now there was something more than concern for him on his brother’s face. There was relief. “She’s in custody, and after her hearing she’ll be taken to the mental hospital. With all the charges against her, she’ll be there a long time.”

More good news. Not that Chase thought Renée would come after them, but she needed some serious help. “Did Renée say how she knew that Malcolm had shot Shane?”

Jax nodded. “Renée’s been as chatty as Rooks. Malcolm lured her to a meeting near the church. He told her that Quentin wanted to see her. She didn’t trust Malcolm so she called Shane to go with her. Malcolm shot Shane and then kidnapped Renée.”

So Malcolm could no doubt set her up to take the blame for April’s and Quentin’s murders. And his plan might have worked if April and he had been killed in the explosion. Then, the gunmen could have picked off Quentin, too. That would have left a mentally unstable Renée holding the bag.

“I don’t suppose Rooks or Renée knew anything about Crossman’s murder?” Chase asked.

“No,” Jericho verified. “The prison warden will investigate, of course, but I’m betting he won’t get any confessions.”

Probably not. Malcolm had paid someone to murder Crossman, but he’d also probably covered the money trail so that it couldn’t be traced back to him. Since Malcolm had been at the prison that same day, it was even possible he’d managed to slip someone cash to shank Crossman.

“With Crossman dead and Malcolm dead, there’s no reason for us to go to WITSEC,” April said, caution in her voice. “Right?”

“Right,” Chase assured her. Of course, that left them both with a really big question.

What next?

Chase didn’t have much time to consider that because there was a light tap on the door, and when it opened a few inches, his mom peeked in. Smiling. At first, but then she got that worried look everyone had when he’d first woken up.

“I must look pretty bad,” Chase told her, “but it’s okay. I’m fine.”

And he was, and that fine part went up a significant notch when his mother stepped into the room and Chase saw she had Bailey in her arms. The baby was wide awake and looking very content to have her grandmother holding her.

“I brought you a visitor,” his mother said, coming closer to the bed.

April kissed Bailey, and his mom leaned in to put Bailey into the crook of his good arm. Bailey looked up at him, and she smiled.

Now, that was a cure for pain and just about anything else.

“She’s such a good baby,” his mother announced. “I hope I get to spend lots of time with her after you move April and her to the ranch.” She paused, froze as if she’d said the wrong thing. “Sorry, I guess that’s something you two probably need to talk about.”

It was, and his brothers picked up on that right away. Jericho took out his phone and mumbled something about needing to check on a few things. Jax suddenly wanted to get home to see his son.

“Why don’t I wait in the hall for a little while,” his mother added. “Want me to take the baby with me?”

Something else Chase didn’t have to think about. “No. Leave her here.” He wasn’t ready to let go of Bailey just yet, even though it would be harder to kiss April with the baby in his arms.

Or not.

April proved him wrong because the moment his mother stepped out of the room, April kissed him. No logistics problems at all, and it wasn’t as if he was in any shape to haul April off to bed anyway.

Soon, though, maybe he could remedy that. Maybe he could remedy a lot of things.

“I want Bailey and you to move in with me,” he tossed out there. Not that it was a surprise offer since his mom had already suggested it. And Chase waited. Breath held. Because what April said next would be some of the most important words he’d ever hear.

“Are you sure you want that?” she asked.

Well, it wasn’t the enthusiastic response Chase had hoped for, but he was certain of the answer. “Absolutely. The danger’s over, and there’s no reason you two can’t be there. Is there?” he added when April’s forehead bunched up.

She didn’t say anything for several really long moments. “But are you sure it’s what
you
want?” It was nearly the same words, but he picked up on the undercurrent of her question.

“I want you there.” Chase managed to maneuver her closer so he could kiss her again. “I want
you
.”

When he eased back from her, he saw relief, but it wasn’t relief he was going for. “We have a beautiful daughter,” he reminded her. “She’s perfect, but I think we can build on perfect.”

Again, he waited, but April’s forehead only bunched up even more. “I’m in love with you,” she blurted out. “There, I said it, and I don’t want to unsay it, either. I love you and I don’t want to just move in with you, I want—”

He kissed her again. Hard and long. Hopefully enough for her to realize it wasn’t necessary for her to defend her love for him or the life she wanted together with Bailey and him.

Because Chase wanted the same thing.

The kiss left her a little breathless, Him, too. And it left him wanting a whole lot more.

“I want it all, too,” he told her. “You, the baby...the home. Together. Oh, and I want you to marry me.”

He hadn’t meant to make that sound like an afterthought. It wasn’t. It was something he’d been thinking about since he’d come too darn close to losing April today. That ordeal hadn’t made him fall in love with her, but it’d been the knock upside his head to make him realize it.

Tears came back to her eyes. Then, a smile. “You’re proposing?”

“You bet I am. I would get down on one knee, but I’m not exactly in any shape to do that. Just use your imagination and imagine that I’m on one knee.”

April smiled. “I’m imagining a lot of things when it comes to you.”

So was Chase. And he couldn’t wait to get started on all of it.

Bailey squirmed, kicked at him as if reminding him she was a part of this, too. “I just asked your mom to marry me. What do you think she’ll say?”

Bailey smiled.

“That’s the right answer,” April said, kissing Bailey. Then, Chase. And then April made the moment perfect with just one word.

“Yes.”

* * * * *

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