Chapter Fifteen

Joelle's heart was pounding in her chest. Her breath was gusting. And the fear was right there, clawing away at her.

So much fear for her precious baby.

But she wasn't fighting as the two thugs manhandled her out of the house, down the porch and into the backyard. Not fighting. She had to get away from them, but she couldn't do that now.

Not with one of them holding a stun gun directly against her stomach.

She had no idea what a stun gun would do to the baby, but it couldn't be good. No. She had to wait for a safer way to try to escape, and she had to pray that opportunity would happen soon. Especially since they had gotten her out of Duncan's house and were taking her heavens knew where.

At least they hadn't killed her on sight, and she didn't think they'd killed Carmen or Luca, either. While one of the goons had used her as a human shield—after he'd knocked away her gun—he had held her at bay with the stunner. The other one had used a stun gun on Luca, and Joelle had seen him drop to the floor. Hard. Maybe hard enough to crack his skull.

Carmen had come at the hulking attacker, and she'd had her gun drawn, but she hadn't got off a shot before the thug hit her with a billy club. Carmen went down, too, and then the men had dragged Joelle toward the back of the house.

Now she had to pray they didn't shoot the ranch hands.

Since the hands were at the front of the house, they didn't have the best angle to see what was going on, but if they did, hopefully they'd take cover and call—

She mentally stopped right there.

Someone would call Duncan. If not the hands, eventually Carmen or Luca would do that when they were able. And Duncan would come for her.

Which was possibly what these thugs wanted.

The chance to have her while also forcing Duncan to put his own life in danger to save her and the baby. Was that the thugs' intention? Or would they try to get as far away from Duncan and the other cops as possible? She just didn't know, but she had to be ready for either of those things to happen.

"Was that really my mother who called me?" she asked. Not that she especially wanted to know the answer, not at the moment anyway, but if one of them spoke, she might recognize the voice and then she could know who was doing this.

Not Kate.

She was the only one of their suspects who couldn't be dragging her past Duncan's barn. Of course, Kate could have hired the pair, but it was possible one of the men was either Hamlin or Brad. The smaller goon was the right size to be one of them. But neither of them spoke. They just kept moving.

Joelle tried to tamp down the panic that was threatening to consume her. Hard to do, though, when everything was at risk. Her breathing didn't help. Way too fast. Way too shallow, and it didn't help that the air felt so heavy, like wet wool.

Soon, those heavy clouds would unleash a bad storm, and she figured that wouldn't help matters. It'd mean Duncan would be driving through that to get to her.

The manhandling continued toward the back of the barn, and Joelle heard someone shout. Carmen. The deputy was calling out to the ranch hands for help. That caused both alarm and relief for Joelle. Carmen was alive, but Joelle also didn't want the ranch hands gunned down if they charged at them. Hopefully, the hands would use caution if they figured out where she was.

Once her attackers were behind the barn, they kept moving. Kept dragging her, and just ahead she spotted an old ranch trail. They were commonplace in the area, and this one had a spattering of trees flanking it. A car was there, tucked in between the shadows of those trees. Definitely not visible from the house.

"Where are you taking me?" Joelle asked, trying to make that sound like a demand.

Of course, they didn't answer, which meant they either had orders not to speak to her or there was the real possibility that she would be able to ID one of them from his voice. The men just kept moving until they reached the car, and they shoved her into the back seat.

Since the maneuver caused the stun gun to shift away from her stomach, Joelle tried to pivot so she could do something to escape. But the bulkier man pointed at her with the billy club. The threat was clear. He'd hit her if she tried anything.

She stayed put.

The big guy got in the back seat with her, and the other man jumped behind the wheel. He drove out of there fast. Not heading toward the house, of course, but rather using the trail. She had no idea where it led. They obviously did, though, since they had driven it to get to Duncan's.

She glanced around for anything she could use as a weapon. And she froze. Not because there was something that could help her defend herself but because of the photos.

Dozens of them scattered on the floor of the car.

The pictures of her father. Bleeding. Dying. The same ones that'd been left on the side of the ranch house.

Her gaze fired to the big thug, and while she could see his eyes, there was nothing. No concern that he had just kidnapped a pregnant cop. No worry that she'd just seen photos that could link him to her previous attack.

And to her father's murder.

She hadn't needed any further proof that this was a hired gun. A person capable of cold-blooded murder.

"Did you kill him?" she had to ask.

Still no reaction, though, she heard the driver. He growled out a "shut up." Maybe meant for her. Maybe meant for the big guy as a reminder not to say anything. Either way, the two words had been so low that she hadn't been able to tell if this was Hamlin or Brad who were both out on bail. It was possibly neither of them since the driver could be a hired gun as well. This way, their boss took no risks and kept their hands clean.

Her body shifted and leaned as the driver threaded the car around the ranch trail, and Joelle pushed all thoughts of their suspects aside. Instead, she tried to focus on the shifting and leaning. If she timed it right, she might be able to shove herself against the big guy. Might be able to ram her elbow into his gut and strip him of that billy club and stun gun. But any hopes of that vanished when the driver came off the trail and onto the road.

Joelle glanced around again to get her bearings, and she recognized where she was. It was, indeed, the road that led to Saddle Ridge, and to the interstate, but they weren't heading in that direction. Just the opposite.

The driver didn't stay on the road for long, though. He took another turn onto another ranch trail. The car bobbled over the uneven surface, and Joelle knew even if she managed to somehow jump from the vehicle, she could be killed since there were thick trees on both sides of this trail.

The minutes crawled by before the car exited out onto another road. She recognized this one as well. And her heart dropped when she realized where they were going.

"You're taking me to my family's ranch," she muttered.

Neither man responded, but Joelle didn't need their confirmation. This wasn't the main route to get to the ranch. This was a much less traveled farm road, one she'd used as a teenager to learn to drive.

They were taking her to Duncan at her family's ranch.

But she immediately rethought that. Duncan would almost certainly be on his way back to his place. And he would be driving the usual faster route. He wouldn't see her. In fact, maybe these goons were taking her there to hand her off to someone. To their boss. Though Joelle couldn't figure out why they'd choose her family ranch for the exchange, she knew she had to be ready to try to escape.

The goon behind the wheel took the turn onto the ranch grounds. Again, not the usual front driveway but rather the back trail that led from the road to the pasture. It was dirt and gravel, not paved like the other, but it was in decent enough shape since it's how her father had often had hay and feed delivered to the barn.

Even though it was hard for her to see the front driveway, Joelle did her best to look around and tried to spot Duncan. Or Woodrow and Ronnie since they were backup. She couldn't see any of them so it was entirely possible that the two deputies had followed Slater and him back to Duncan's place.

And that could be what the goons had counted on.

Maybe that's why they'd left Luca and Carmen alive. It would have ensured one of them would be able to call for help, and Duncan would come running. Once he arrived at his place, though, Duncan would see she wasn't there.

Would he think to come back here?

It was possible, but it was just as likely he'd be frantically trying to shut down the interstate exits and roads to try and stop the goons from getting her out of the area.

The driver pulled to a stop at the end of the road. Directly in front of the back door of the barn. The loading door was wide enough to accommodate a vehicle, but he didn't open it and park inside where the vehicle would be out of sight. However, he did park, and he immediately got out, throwing open the door on her side and pulling her out. He put the stun gun to her stomach again.

Goon number two made a fast exit, too, and he hurried to his partner so he could hook his arm around Joelle's waist and get her moving. Again, not into the barn but across the backyard.

And that's when Joelle realized where they were taking her.

They were dragging her straight toward the well.

D UNCAN WANTED TO smash his fist into the steering wheel. But that wouldn't help him get to Joelle. Still, the smashing would give him a hard jolt of pain that might rid him of some of the anger, fear and frustration bubbling up inside him. Then again, nothing would help that.

Nothing but finding Joelle and making sure she was safe.

Slater was on the phone to Carmen, and since the call was on speaker, Duncan was hearing what a hellish situation was waiting for him at his place. The ambulance was on the way to get Luca who apparently had a head injury. Carmen had one as well and was bleeding from being hit. And while all of that was important, it wasn't at the top of his worry list.

Joelle was.

And she hadn't been seen since two masked SOBs took her. The ranch hands hadn't spotted anyone. Hadn't seen a vehicle. That could mean the kidnappers had taken Joelle into the barn and were waiting for some kind of showdown. But it was just as likely they'd had a vehicle on one of the ranch trails and used that to escape with her. If so, she could be anywhere by now.

Duncan couldn't let that thought linger in his head. Like bashing his fist on the steering wheel, it wouldn't help, and right now, he just had to focus.

Where would they take her?

And why?

For the baby? So they could wait until she delivered and then try to sell the child? Maybe. But like the other times he'd considered that, it just didn't feel right. Four months was a long time to hold a woman, and if it was the baby they wanted, then why not wait to take her until closer to her due date?

Because this was about revenge.

Of course, that didn't rule out any of their suspects. Hamlin had been riled at Joelle's father for alerting the authorities about the sale of his baby. Hamlin could have decided to aim that anger at Joelle. But Brad hated Sheriff McCullough, too, and he had a beef with everyone in the sheriff's department over Shanda's arrest.

That left Kate.

Joelle's father had been investigating the sale of babies. Had his investigation led him to Kate, and had she silenced the sheriff before he could arrest her? If so, maybe Kate believed that Joelle would follow the same trail as her father and that trail would eventually lead her to Kate.

Of course, none of those theories addressed the baby. And maybe their child didn't directly play into this. It was possible the person doing this didn't want to kill a pregnant woman.

In the background of Slater's phone call, Duncan could hear the wail of sirens approaching his place. He also heard something else, the dinging sound that Slater had an incoming call.

"It's Woodrow," Slater said. "Carmen, I'll call you right back," he added, and he switched to the incoming.

Duncan immediately thought of the heat source they'd seen on infrared in the barn. Possibly Joelle's mother. Or another hostage. And that's why Duncan had had Slater call Woodrow and Ronnie and tell them to stay at the McCullough ranch. Not by the barn, either, in case the person inside turned out to be a gunman. But rather Duncan had wanted them to pull the cruiser out of sight and keep watch of the barn. Hopefully, things hadn't gone to hell in a handbasket there.

"Slater," Woodrow said the moment he was on the line, and Duncan could hear the urgency in the deputy's voice. "A dark blue car just approached the barn from the pasture side of the property."

It took Duncan a second to realize that Woodrow was talking about the McCullough ranch and not Duncan's place. "Is Joelle in the car?" Duncan couldn't ask fast enough.

"I'm pretty sure she is," Woodrow was equally quick to answer. "There's a woman in the back seat that I believe is Joelle. There are two people with her, both wearing ski masks."

Hell . They had taken her there and that made Duncan even more suspicious of that heat source. The killer could be inside the barn.

Duncan slammed on the brakes, and even though the road was narrow, he executed a U-turn to get them headed back to his place. He only hoped he was in time to stop whatever was about to happen.

"We're on our way back there," Slater explained to Woodrow. He glanced at Duncan. "You want Woodrow and Ronnie to move in or wait for us to get there?"

This might turn out to be a "damned if he did, damned if he didn't" situation, and it could put Woodrow and Ronnie at extreme risk. Still, Duncan didn't have a lot of options here.

"Woodrow, move in if they get Joelle out of the car," Duncan instructed the deputy. "Do as quiet of an approach as you can manage. I want you to try to sneak up on them and see if you can get her away from them. We'll be there as fast as we can."

Slater ended the call so that Woodrow could get started on that, and then Slater phoned Carmen back to fill her in on what was happening. Or rather what they thought was happening. Duncan wasn't sure what the hell was going on, but if these SOBs hurt Joelle, he was going to rip them to pieces.

Duncan drove too fast and had to fight to keep the cruiser on the road when he took one of the many curves. He had to push. Had to get to Joelle. Because he could be wrong about the boss not wanting to kill a pregnant woman. This could be a sick attempt to use her to replay her father's murder.

Duncan had to stop thinking like that.

"We'll get to her in time," Slater muttered under his breath when he finished his call with Carmen.

Duncan prayed he was right, and he kept up the speed, eating up the distance to the ranch. He was still a good two minutes out when Slater's phone rang again.

"It's Woodrow," Slater said, taking the call on speaker.

"Ronnie and I are out of the cruiser and are approaching the barn on foot," Woodrow said in a whisper. "They just took Joelle out of the car, and one of them has a stun gun pointed at her belly."

That gave Duncan a nasty punch of fear and adrenaline. "Is she injured?" he managed to ask.

"I don't think so." Woodrow paused a heartbeat. "I don't have a clean shot," he added. "They're holding her close."

Duncan got another of those nasty punches. They were using Joelle to protect their sorry butts. "Are they taking her to the house?" Specifically, to the front door so they could recreate the murder.

Woodrow wasn't so quick to answer this time. "No. They're taking her to the well."

Duncan went stiff with surprise. Then, dread. Pure, sick dread.

They were planning to toss her in.

"If we don't get there in time," Duncan said, his voice strangled now from the tight muscles in his throat, "move in to save her. Save her, Woodrow. Don't let her die."

"I won't," Woodrow assured him.

And Woodrow would try. Even if it meant giving up his own life, both Woodrow and Ronnie would attempt to save her. That could get them all killed. But Duncan had to hold on to the hope that all of them would make it out of this alive.

Had to.

Because he couldn't imagine a life without Joelle.

Woodrow ended the call, no doubt so he could focus on getting to Joelle. Duncan focused, too, and he decided not to go with a quiet approach. That would eat up precious time since he would have to park at the end of the driveway and run to the well. Instead, he turned on the sirens, hoping it would distract the two men and cover up any sounds from Woodrow and Ronnie's approach.

Duncan took the turn into the ranch, the cruiser practically flying when he slammed on the accelerator again. Everything inside him was yelling for him to get to Joelle.

He spotted the car in the pasture by the barn. Then, he spotted Joelle. She was, indeed, being used as a shield for two masked men. But she was alive. For now, anyway. She was also right next to the well, and one of the snakes holding her stooped down to shove the cover of the well aside.

Duncan couldn't be sure, but he figured both men were looking at his cruiser now. Joelle certainly was, and he saw the mix of emotions on her face. The fear. The hope. The extreme sense of dread that their baby wasn't safe.

That none of them were.

He fired some glances around, to see if there were any other gunmen lying in wait. No sign of them, but Duncan did spot Woodrow and Ronnie. They were skulking toward the barn, staying on the side where the two thugs hopefully wouldn't be able to see them.

Duncan drove through the yard until one of the thugs motioned for him to stop. That wouldn't have caused him to hit the brakes, but then the thug's partner yanked back Joelle's head, using the choke hold he now had on her. Duncan stopped about thirty feet away, drew his gun and threw open his door. He used the door as a shield and took aim, even though he had nowhere near a clean shot. On the other side of the cruiser, Slater did the same.

Neither man spoke, but the bigger one of the two continued to hold Joelle while the other looped a rope around her. Not in the usual way someone would tie up a person. This was more like a harness that they looped around her bottom.

When the two goons started to move Joelle, Duncan's heart slammed against his chest. They were going to put her in the well. Duncan tried not to look at Joelle's face since he knew that would be too much of a distraction. Instead, he focused on the men, waiting for one of them to move so he could take the shot.

But that didn't happen.

He could only watch as Joelle clutched the rope, and the goons began to lower her into the well.

"Shoot me or my hired help, and we drop her," the smaller man said.

And that's when Duncan knew who was behind this. Because he instantly recognized the voice.

Brad.

J OELLE CURSED WHEN she heard Brad's voice. Everyone in the sheriff's office had searched nonstop to find out the identity of their attacker, and now they had confirmation of who it was with just that handful of words.

Shoot one of us, and we drop her .

And they would. They already had her over the opening of the well, but she had no idea why. If they wanted her dead, why not just kill her...

That thought immediately stopped because she knew why. A moment later Brad confirmed that, too.

"We're going to play a game, Sheriff Holder," he said, his voice dripping with venom. Brad yanked off his ski mask. "You and Slater McCullough are going to die. No way around that," he added in a snarl. "Joelle, too, but you can make her death painless or a nightmare."

It was already a nightmare. She was literally hovering over a well that was at least a hundred feet deep. The sides were narrow so it was possible she could try to hold on, but she wouldn't be able to do that for long. Brad had a grip on the end of the rope, but there were no guarantees whatsoever that he wouldn't just let her drop.

"What the hell do you want?" Duncan snarled.

"Revenge," Brad spat out just as the first drops of rain started to fall. "For ruining my life. For bringing me to this."

"You brought yourself to this," Joelle muttered.

Brad apparently heard her because he made a feral sound of outrage. "You and your fellow cops arrested Shanda. You caused her to miscarry," he shouted.

"And you killed her," Joelle said. Yes, it was a risk to agitate him like this, but the agitation might distract him so that Duncan and Slater could shoot him.

No feral sound this time. Brad made more of a hoarse sob. "That was an accident. She was going to the cops because she thought I'd killed Sheriff McCullough, and I had to stop her." He sounded genuinely sorry about that. And maybe he was.

"You had to stop her," Joelle repeated, and she managed to keep her voice calm. "But you couldn't reason with her."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Woodrow peer around the side of the barn, and she felt another surge of hope. If Duncan and her brother didn't get a shot, then maybe Woodrow could.

"Yes," Brad muttered, and it seemed for a few moments, he was lost in some memories with Shanda. "The hired guns, too, since they chickened out after taking the dispatcher who helped arrest Shanda. Not Arlo, though. He tried and tried hard. So did Willie Jay, and he knew to do the right thing after he was caught."

"I'm guessing Willie Jay knew he was a dead man once he was in custody so he ended things," Duncan said.

"He did the right thing," Brad emphasized. "Not my mother, though. She was going to rat me out, just like Shanda," he added in a mutter that was coated with pain.

"Is your mother alive?" Duncan asked.

"Of course." The pain in his eyes evaporated, and Brad's gaze flicked to the barn. "She's, uh, waiting her turn. I've already planted some records for the withdrawals from the bank to point to that idiot Hamlin hiring some muscle to carry out the kidnappings and such, and now I'll walk away," he said.

Oh, mercy. If Kate was in the barn, Brad probably didn't have plans for her to come out. He would likely kill her and pin that on Hamlin, too.

Then, Joelle had a sickening thought. What if Brad had managed to get his hands on Molly? She could be in the barn right now, gagged, unable to call out for help.

"You waited a long time to come after us," Duncan said, his gaze fixed on Brad. "It's been five months since you murdered Sheriff McCullough."

"I didn't kill him," Brad snapped, and the grip tightened on the rope, yanking Joelle back and nearly causing her to fall in the well. "Shanda thought I did, and I was afraid she'd be able to convince you that I had. Convince you enough to arrest me. But I didn't kill him. Someone beat me to it."

Joelle hadn't thought anything else could add to her grief, but that did it. From the moment Brad had revealed himself, she'd thought they had found her father's killer. Of course, Brad could be lying.

But why would he?

He'd just confessed to killing Shanda and orchestrating a plot to get revenge for her arrest. Why not just own up to her father's murder if he'd done it?

Because he hadn't, that's why.

Now it was Joelle who had to choke back a sob, and later—sweet heaven, there would be a later—she'd deal with that. For now, though, she had to stay alive and make sure Duncan, Slater, Woodrow and Ronnie did, too.

"Do you have Sandra McCullough?" Duncan asked. "Or was it a recording you spliced together?"

Brad's brief smile gave away his answer, but Brad confirmed it anyway. "Easy to fake a recording when she's blabbed on and on during interviews. I had a lot to work with to create a lure."

Part of her was relieved that Brad didn't have her mother. Joelle had to hope that meant she was alive and would be found.

"So, what now?" Duncan demanded.

"Now, you step away from your cruiser," Brad said, his voice eerily calm. He was blinking hard because the rain was getting in his eyes. "Slater, too."

"Step away so you can gun them down," Joelle spelled out. She saw Woodrow again, and he was on his belly inching closer.

"Of course." Again, Brad's voice stayed calm. "This was the best way I knew to draw them out into the open, and I'll deal with Molly later. She's the only one left, and then all the loose ends will be tied up."

"My baby is not a loose end." In contrast, there was plenty of anger in Joelle's voice. "She's an innocent victim in all of this."

"I know. And I'm sorry about that. I am," Brad repeated when she glared at him. "But I'll make this fast. Once Duncan and Slater are dead, then I can finish you fast. You won't feel a thing."

Joelle doubted that, and when Brad started to glance around, she knew she had to do something to pull his attention back to her. "Slater had nothing to do with Shanda's arrest."

Fresh rage flared in Brad's eyes. "He's his father's son, and if he'd been on duty, he would have taken part in it." He shifted those anger-filled eyes to Duncan. "You've got five seconds to step away from the cruiser." And he started the countdown. "One, two, three—"

Before he could get to four, Joelle caught onto the rope and gave it a quick hard jerk. It did what she wanted. It off-balanced Brad. But it did the same to her, and Joelle had to struggle to catch hold of the sides of the well so she wouldn't fall and plunge to the bottom. She scrambled onto the ground, clutching at the grass to make sure she didn't slip back into the gaping hole.

Brad cursed, calling her a vile name, but the sound of the gunshot stopped his profanity tirade. A split second later, there was another blast. Then, a third.

Behind her, the big thug fell. The headshot had made sure of that. Brad, however, stayed on his feet. Frozen with his face pale with shock. He dropped the rope, clutching his left hand to his chest.

Where the blood was spreading fast.

"I'm not sorry," Brad muttered, his gaze fixed on Joelle. "I wish I could have killed you." He pressed something in his pocket before he slumped lifelessly to the ground.

Behind them, fire erupted around the barn.