The Texas Lawman's Last Stand (10 page)

Good. She didn’t want to stay. Mattie wanted to go to the children.

The children,
she mentally repeated.

Even though Jacob wasn’t her child, Mattie felt a connection with the little boy, and she was just as worried about him as she was Holly.

The seconds crawled by, and they continued to wait. It had probably been only a couple of minutes, but it felt like an eternity.

Mattie heard the autumn wind whistle through the opening created by the blast. She heard her own breathing. And Bo’s.

But she also heard something else.

Something rattled.

It took her a moment to pick through the other sounds, and she realized it hadn’t come from the front of the house but rather the back.

“Someone’s trying to get in the back door, into the kitchen,” Bo whispered.

That sent her stomach to her knees. God. When was this going to end?

Bo fired glances between the front and the back, and he kept his gun ready to respond in case there was another attack. Mattie could only stand there, listen and wait. She didn’t have to wait long.

The doorknob rattled again, this time almost violently, and then there was the sound of wood being splintered.

Someone had kicked down the kitchen door.

And that someone was inside.

“I’m Lieutenant Duggan!” Bo called out. He pointed his gun to the ceiling and fired.

Even though it was clearly a warning shot, the blast sent Mattie’s heart pounding out of control. She needed her gun so she could try to defend them, but there was no chance she could go into the kitchen.

“Unlock the door,” Bo told her, and he fired another warning shot into the ceiling. Bits of the acoustic tile rained down on them.

Mattie somehow managed to turn the latch, even though her hands were shaking. It obviously didn’t help that she’d had experiences with nearly being killed, because the danger felt fresh and raw, just as the day when the gunmen had stormed the hospital.

“Get in the black SUV,” Bo ordered, and he muscled her out of the laundry room and into the garage.

The large metal garage door was closed, thank goodness, so that gave them some protection in case there was someone at the front of the house waiting for them. But it would also trap them inside if an assassin came through the kitchen.

Mattie didn’t waste any time. She got in the SUV, jumped into the passenger’s seat and waited for Bo to follow her. But he didn’t. He stayed in the doorway with his gun lifted high.

Had he seen the person who’d broken down the back door?

“Get in!” Mattie insisted. She didn’t want him to stay put and be gunned down.

Mattie leaned over, threw open the driver’s door and started the engine. Bo slammed the laundry room door and jumped into the SUV. In the same motion, he pressed the garage door opener clipped to his visor, and the large double door began to inch open.

“Put on your seat belt and stay down,” Bo warned her.

Somehow Mattie managed to get the belt secured around her. Bo did the same. She slid as deep into the seat as she could but also kept watch of the laundry room door. It sickened her to think of an intruder inside Bo’s home, but right now, she only wanted to get out of there.

The moment the garage door was fully open, Bo gunned the engine, and the SUV bolted down the driveway and into the street. She heard the sirens then. Thank God backup had arrived, because she wanted this would-be killer caught.

Mattie lifted her head just enough for her to check the rearview mirror, and she saw the laundry room door open. She caught just a glimpse of the man as he peered out but then quickly slammed the door shut.

She gasped.

“Yeah,” Bo said. “I see him. It looks like Terrance Arturo, the guy from the van last night.”

It did. But then she hadn’t gotten more than a glimpse. If it was indeed Arturo, then that would lead them right back to Kendall. She didn’t think it was a coincidence that Ian, Kendall’s friend and employee, was also Arturo’s attorney and that both had shown up at Bo’s less than an hour after she’d arrived there.

While he sped away from the house, Bo took out his phone and pressed in some numbers. “O’Malley,” he said a moment later. “No. We’re all right. I have Mattie with me, and the twins were already at the captain’s house, but I want additional officers dispatched there.”

Her heart was practically pounding out of her chest, but that sped it up even more. Bo had assured her that the children would be safe, but if they needed extra officers, then he must believe they could be in danger.

“I just passed the officers responding to the scene,” Bo continued, “but I want to get Mattie to headquarters before I come back and assist. Is Terrance Arturo out of jail?”

Mattie couldn’t hear the officer’s response, but Bo’s profanity confirmed that the man was free. Free and responsible for an attack that could have killed them.

Well, maybe.

There had only been enough explosives to take out the front door, but a true killer would have put enough in that package to blow up the entire place. That meant this had probably been a kidnapping attempt.

And she had likely been the target.

“What?” Bo snapped, drawing her attention back to him. “He’s there right now?”

Mercy, was he talking about Arturo? Or was there another attacker already at the captain’s house? Mattie put her hand to her chest to steady her heart, and she waited and prayed.

“The children are fine,” he said, obviously seeing her reaction. “But Terrance Arturo is out of jail, so he could have been responsible for that package.”

Anger soon replaced the fear. “And we both know it was Kendall who was behind this.”

Bo nodded, his expression as ripe with anger as hers. “We’ll get a chance to ask him all about it. He’s at headquarters with Ian Kaplan, and he wants to talk to you.”

B
O REMINDED HIMSELF
that he was a peace officer. A twelve-year veteran of the SAPD and head of a large investigative unit. He couldn’t just walk into an interview and beat someone senseless.

But that’s exactly what he wanted to do to Kaplan and Collier.

Probably because of them, his home had been violated. Hell,
he
felt violated. And it would take a lifetime or two for him to come to terms with how close his children had come to being hurt. If they had been home and not at the captain’s, then God knows what could have happened.

Plus, there was Mattie. Yet another attempt on her life, another nightmare to add to the memories of the ones already there. Mattie and he might be on different sides when it came to Holly, but she damn sure didn’t deserve to bear this kind of burden all because she tried to do the right thing.

It was difficult, but Bo kept reminding himself of the
right thing
part. She wasn’t responsible for any of this, and even though he hated that the danger had spilled over to his kids, he couldn’t fault Mattie. No, the
fault
was inside the interview room waiting for a meeting they’d demanded.

“You’re sure the children are all right?” Mattie asked again.

“I’m sure.” He’d called both Rosalie and the captain, and both had assured him that all was well.

It was
well
there at the captain’s house, but Bo felt anything but well here at headquarters. He needed to get control of his temper before he walked into that room, because this might be the most critical interrogation of his life. Until he stopped the danger that centered around Mattie, his children might never be safe.

“Let me ask the questions,” Bo insisted as they walked toward the interview room. He glanced at her. She was pale, and her lips were still trembling a little.

“If you’re not up to this, you can wait in my office.”

She started shaking her head before he even finished. “No. I want to look Kendall in the eye. Ian, too. After what just happened, I want to strangle them both.”

Bo felt the same way, and he hoped they both could hang on to their composure long enough to get some answers from these slimeballs.

Bo led Mattie not to the interview room but to the observation area next to it. Through the two-way mirror, they could see Ian Kaplan seated in the far right chair at the metal table. Next to him was a sandy-haired woman wearing a gray outfit.

“That’s Cicely Carr,” Mattie provided.

Kendall Collier’s fiancée. “You said you know her?”

Mattie shrugged. “We grew up in the same social circles and went to the same private school. But I haven’t spoken to her in years.”

Social circles and private schools. Those were reminders that Mattie was wealthy and had probably had the best privileges that dirty money could buy. But she was anything but privileged now.

Cicely didn’t exactly look the privileged part, either. Her clothes and hair were nice enough, but she certainly didn’t scream “old money.” She was somewhat of a plain Jane in her dove-gray suit that didn’t seem to be tailored for her rail-thin body.

Bo followed Mattie’s gaze, which was firmly on the man who was standing behind Kaplan and Carr.

Kendall Collier.

Bo recognized the man with the graying brown hair from the photos of his trial. Unlike his fiancée, Collier was dressed to perfection. He wore a midnight-blue suit that probably cost more than Bo made in six months. But while the suit screamed his social status, the man himself did not. Collier was pale, and even though he was standing, he was not moving, as if trying to conserve his energy. Bo had expected someone arrogant and impatient, but he didn’t see any of that.

Bo led Mattie from the observation area and back into the hall. He paused, just long enough to allow her to change her mind, but she only opened the door and went inside.

“Mattie,” Ian Kaplan and Cicely Carr said in unison. They got to their feet, and both were smiling.

“It’s so good to see you.” Cicely Carr came from around the table and wrapped her arms around Mattie.

Mattie went stiff and then eased herself out of the woman’s grip. “Cicely, why are you here?”

“To help Kendall mend some fences with you.” She looked at her fiancé and gave him a dazzling smile, which he didn’t exactly return.

“I thought it would help if you talked to her,” Kaplan added.

“The only one Mattie wants to talk to is me,” Collier interrupted. He kept his distance on the other side of the table. “I’m here to bury the hatchet,” he added, looking at Mattie.

“Bury it where—in my back?” Mattie snapped.

Carr shook her head. “It’s not like that anymore. Kendall’s a changed man—”

“Really?” Bo made the interruption this time. “Then who tried to kill Mattie this morning?”

Bo studied each of their reactions. Carr gasped and flattened her hand over her chest. Kaplan had just a flash of surprise—or else he faked it—but he resumed his poker face when he looked at Collier, whose reaction was the strangest of all. He seemed angry.

Seemed.

“Are you okay?” Kaplan asked Mattie. “Were you hurt?” He walked toward her, but Bo blocked his path.

“You think I’m responsible,” Collier concluded. He groaned softly and scrubbed his hand over his forehead.

“Kendall didn’t do this,” Carr protested, turning toward Bo. “He’s a changed man. I swear he is.” She whipped back to Mattie. “Do you think we would be getting married if he hadn’t changed?”

“People marry for all kinds of reasons,” Mattie said, her eyes narrowing.

“Yes,” Collier quietly said, and he repeated it. “I’m forty-nine, Mattie, and I want to be with my family. That’s my priority now.”

Carr slid her hand over her stomach. “Our baby is due in seven months, and we want all of this bad blood to end before he or she comes into the world.”

Mattie glanced down at Carr’s stomach and then at Collier, who only nodded. Bo wasn’t sure what to make of the moment. He’d interrogated enough people to know when someone was lying to him, but this didn’t seem like a lie. Well, not about the baby, anyway.

“I’ve sold my business,” Collier continued, looking at Bo now. “That’ll be easy enough for you to check. There’s nothing illegal going on. I’ve learned my lessons, and in part I can thank Mattie for that.”

Mattie lifted her left eyebrow. “Is this for real?”

“Yes,” Collier confirmed. Both Kaplan and Carr nodded in agreement.

“I feel as if I’ve stepped into an alternate universe,” Mattie mumbled. Then she hiked up her chin and faced down Collier. “You had my fiancé gunned down.”

“Not me.” Collier pulled in a long breath. “But it was probably one of my former business associates. I believe they’re the ones who tried to kill you immediately after the trial.”

“Your business associates?” Mattie challenged, and her eyes narrowed again.

“I want names of these associates,” Bo insisted.

Collier lifted his shoulder and slipped his hands into his pockets. “That wouldn’t benefit anyone, especially Mattie, and it has cost me a great deal, but I’ve negotiated a truce with them. There will be no more threats on Mattie’s life. She can find her child and bring him or her home.”

“For the record,” Kaplan added, “Kendall isn’t admitting to any wrongdoing. He merely orchestrated a legal transaction that gave an amicable severance of ties to several of his former business associates.”

Bo rolled his eyes at the legalese. “And I’m to take your word for this?”

“It’s the truth,” Carr insisted. She kept her attention fastened to Mattie. “We don’t want any more problems, because we want to concentrate on our new life together.”

“That’s one of the reasons all three of us wanted to talk to you,” Kaplan continued a moment later. “We want you to be able to get back to normal. And Kendall and Cicely want you back in the family.” He paused a moment. “I’d especially like having you in my life again.”

Bo didn’t miss that last part. Mattie was right. This guy did have feelings for her, but Bo didn’t know if they were real or of the sicko variety. Kaplan could be holding a grudge because Mattie had rejected him. That was often a motive for murder.

Collier’s motive was obvious, too. Revenge for Mattie testifying against him. But Cicely Carr…well, she apparently loved Kendall Collier, and that made Bo wonder how far she would go to protect her baby’s father. Was her adamancy about a new life just an act, or did her idea of a new life mean Mattie being out of the picture if she didn’t cooperate with the game plan?