Chapter Fifteen

Luca eased Gabriel back into his crib, and he hoped now that the baby was fed and dry he would sleep for another four-hour stretch. A stretch that might give Bree some rest and him as well.

They’d managed a couple of catnaps, but they needed more. Despite being revved from the incredible sex, Luca knew they were both exhausted. That’s why he’d done the midnight feeding and diaper change.

Luca slid back into bed, and Bree made a sleepy sound of satisfaction and automatically snuggled against him. She was warm and naked, and he wished they didn’t have the threat of danger hanging over their heads so they could truly enjoy every moment of this night. It was still amazing, but Luca figured this was just a short reprieve. Tomorrow, they’d need to dive back into the investigation, and maybe they’d finally get the break they desperately needed.

After that, after the killer was caught, well... Luca wasn’t sure what would happen, but he sure as hell wanted the chance to have some time to try to work out things with Bree. Unfortunately, that working out might mean they still continued to be apart, but he thought this night was a good start in repairing their relationship.

“Thanks for giving Gabriel the bottle,” she murmured.

He sighed because Bree obviously wasn’t asleep as he’d thought. Of course, that only gave him an excuse to brush a kiss on her mouth. She brushed one right back, causing him to smile. A kiss from Bree was something to be savored despite everything else going on.

Luca didn’t have a second condom or he might have pushed the kiss to something deeper, but the deeper didn’t get a chance to happen. Bree and he both groaned when his phone vibrated. He’d turned off the ringer so it wouldn’t wake Gabriel, but his phone was practically skittering across the surface of the nightstand, which meant it was making plenty of noise. Luca snatched it up and saw Slater’s name on the screen.

Hell.

This couldn’t be good. Not at this hour. The ranch should have been locked down for the night.

“What’s wrong?” Luca answered in a whisper. He didn’t put the call on Speaker, but Bree moved closer to him.

“Two of the ranch hands aren’t responding,” Slater quickly said. “We’ve been doing check-ins every hour, and they both missed the midnight one. I’ve tried to call them, but they aren’t answering.”

Luca mentally repeated his, Hell . “Where were they positioned?”

“Both by the back fence. One on the east corner, the other one the west. Yeah,” Slater muttered when Luca groaned. If someone was going to try to sneak onto the ranch, those’d be the places to do it.

Luca got up and started dressing. Bree did the same. “I’ve got thermal imaging binoculars,” Luca explained. He’d brought several back to the ranch from the sheriff’s office, and Duncan had arranged for more to be delivered so the hands could use them. “Let me go to the window and see if I can spot anything.”

“I’ve asked another of the hands, Mike Travers, to use his binoculars to see if he can locate them,” Slater explained. “Mike’s not at the best angle for that, but I don’t want to pull him away from his area since he’s guarding the spot near the road.”

Luca made a quick sound of agreement. The road was a vulnerable part, too. Heck, there were lots of places that a killer could use to gain access to the house.

“The security system is on, right?” Luca asked, already knowing the answer, and Slater gave him instant confirmation.

“Woodrow’s monitoring that,” Slater explained. “He’s trying to get some sleep, but he’s got it set to alert him if there’s any movement in or around the house.”

The perimeter security and cameras were a new addition, put in just hours earlier. A series of motion-activated sensors had been staked into the ground around the entire house, and some had been positioned in the backyard.

“Good,” Luca said, putting on the rest of his clothes and hurrying to the window that would give him a somewhat limited view of the east back corner of the pasture. Limited because of trees and the outbuildings.

Luca handed his phone to Bree who’d joined him at the window, and he looked out with the binoculars. He got a jolt when he saw the glowing eyes but then realized it was a deer. He picked up the livestock, too, and a couple of raccoons. What he didn’t immediately see was a ranch hand or anyone else.

He shifted his view, panning the binoculars over the grounds, and he caught just a flash of a heat source. For a moment, he thought it was another animal, but then Luca realized the red blob was a torso. The person was on the ground, partially hidden by a tree, and he or she wasn’t moving.

“I think someone’s down,” Luca relayed just as he saw another slash of red. He muttered a single word of profanity because he had no idea if this was one of the hands or a killer coming their way. “I’m pretty sure we’ve got a breach,” he said, figuring the guy on the ground was indeed one of the hands.

Slater cursed, too, just as there was a knock on the bedroom door. Bree hurried to open it, and Duncan stuck in his head.

“The security camera has likely been compromised,” Duncan immediately said. “Woodrow just told me he thinks the camera feed’s on a loop.”

Luca’s stomach dropped because that was the same thing that’d happened to the baby monitor.

“I think we’ve got a hand down and someone already on the grounds,” Luca explained, handing Duncan the binoculars so he could see for himself.

It took a couple of seconds with Duncan moving the binoculars around, but his muttered profanity told Luca plenty. “Someone’s coming across the pasture, and I don’t think it’s one of the hands.” His attention slashed to Bree. “Grab Gabriel because you need to take cover now.”

T HE FEAR AND adrenaline slammed through Bree. Oh, God. No.

Please not this again .

She hurried across the room to scoop up Gabriel. She prayed this would turn out to be nothing, that her baby wasn’t in danger yet again. But she had the sickening feeling that a killer was coming for them. And they still didn’t know who was after them. Whoever it was, the person was relentless.

“Take Gabriel to the main bedroom,” Duncan instructed. “Joelle and Sandra are there with Izzie. I want all of you in the bathroom. It’s bigger than the one in here, and the shower stall is all tiled.”

Tiled and therefore more resistant to bullets than a wall would be. Bree had to tamp down images of bullets slamming into the house, the way they had when they’d all been huddled in the barn. She had to tamp down a lot of things and focus on keeping Gabriel safe.

Bree glanced at Luca, and their gazes connected for just a second. He was checking his primary weapon and backup, obviously gearing up for a fight. One where he could be shot.

Or worse.

Yes, that was another image she had to shove to the side because she couldn’t give in to the fear and panic. She had to do whatever it took to keep their baby safe.

Clutching Gabriel to her chest, Bree hurried down the hall. Unfortunately, the jerky movement woke him up, and he started to cry. She soon learned Izzie was doing the same thing as Joelle and her mother maneuvered them into the shower. The shower stall was plenty large enough, but her mother was trying to make it more comfortable by placing heaps of towels on the floor so they wouldn’t have to sit on the tiles.

“I didn’t grab Izzie’s pacifier,” Joelle muttered, handing off Izzie to their mother so she could run back into the bedroom.

Gabriel didn’t use a pacifier, so Bree tried to rock him to soothe him. That wasn’t working though, and she figured Gabriel had to be picking up on her racing breath and accelerated heartbeat. He was too young to understand the danger, but he likely sensed something was wrong.

When Joelle hurried back, she saw that her sister not only had the pacifier and a small stuffed animal but also her holster and gun. It was a reminder for Bree that she hadn’t grabbed her gun from the closet. And she wanted it. If the killer managed to get into the house, she needed to be able to defend Gabriel and her family. Definitely not something she wanted to do because it would mean the killer had gotten way too close to them, but Bree didn’t want to risk being unarmed.

Once Joelle had taken Izzie, Bree eased Gabriel into her mother’s arms. “I’ll be right back. I just want to get my gun and a bottle for Gabriel.” He wouldn’t be hungry, but a few sips might allow him to settle down enough to fall asleep.

As she’d done with Luca, Bree met her mother’s gaze for a second. Of course, there was fear there. Plenty of it. But she also thankfully saw a resolve that Bree figured was in her own eyes and Joelle’s. They weren’t going to let a killer get near the babies.

Bree rushed back out into the hall and spotted Duncan and Luca on the stairs landing. Duncan went ahead down, but Luca stayed put while she made her way to him.

“What happened?” she asked because she could tell from his expression he’d gotten yet more bad news.

“Duncan’s not sure how long the security system’s been compromised,” he said, the worry flaring in his eyes. “He checked the doors and windows, and they’re all still locked, but he can’t be sure someone didn’t manage to get inside.”

It felt as if someone had sucked all the air out of her body. She fired glances around as if someone might be ready to jump out at them. But she heard and saw no one other than Luca.

“I want to get my gun and a bottle for Gabriel,” she managed to say.

Luca nodded. “Do that, and then go straight back into the bathroom. Lock both the bedroom and bathroom doors and turn off the lights. I don’t want anyone watching the house to be able to pinpoint our locations.”

She nodded and tried not to look ready to curse. But she was. It was heart crushing to know the danger could be so close to them.

Luca’s phone vibrated, and when he took it from his pocket, she saw Woodrow’s name on the screen. “Go ahead and get the gun and bottle. Duncan and I are going to do a room-by-room search downstairs and up here, but I won’t do that until you’re safe in the bathroom.”

A horrible thought occurred to her, and Luca must have known what put the terror on her face. “The killer didn’t sneak into our guest room or the main bedroom. If so, we would have heard it.”

That restarted her breath because he was right. It was probably the same for her mother’s room. That left the hall bathroom and the nursery. It was right next to the main bedroom and was empty since Duncan and Joelle had moved Izzie into their room.

Bree hurried into the guest room, grabbing a premade bottle of formula and the diaper bag since she wasn’t sure how long they’d be stuck in the bathroom. She took her gun, shoved it into the back waist of her jeans and went back into the hall. Luca was still there, talking on the phone to Woodrow. He had his back to her and was peering down the stairs, no doubt looking for any signs of trouble. Judging from his body language, he wasn’t seeing any.

Not until he turned toward her.

“Watch out!” Luca yelled.

Bree heard the sound of running footsteps behind her, and she whirled around to see the figure dressed all in black charging right at her. She dropped the diaper bag and bottle, reaching for her gun.

But it was too late.

She felt someone latch on to her, knocking away her gun and dragging her hands behind her back. The person slapped plastic cuffs on her before pressing a gun to her head.

L UCA SHOUTED B REE ’ S NAME , but she didn’t get the chance to run. Couldn’t. That’s because the person who’d run up behind her from the nursery hooked his left arm around her throat and put her in a choke hold. He pressed a gun directly to her temple.

Hell.

This had been exactly what they’d tried to avoid. What they’d been avoiding since the attacks had started. And now, the killer or one of his henchmen had Bree.

Her captor was probably a man, one several inches taller than Bree since he was hunching down behind her. He was dressed all in black, including a ski mask that covered everything but his eyes.

“What’s going on?” Duncan shouted, and there were the sounds of movement at the bottom of the stairs.

Luca brought up his gun to take aim even though he wouldn’t have a clean shot, but when the attacker turned his own gun in Luca’s direction, Luca had no choice but to dive into the open door of the guest room. He landed hard on the floor, the fall knocking the breath out of him so he had to struggle just to get to his knees.

“Stay back,” Bree yelled. “Everyone stay back.” Which was no doubt what her captor had told her to say.

The man didn’t come after Luca and follow up with what would have likely been a kill shot. But he did move. Luca heard the footsteps, heard the sounds of Bree struggling to get away.

And then she went quiet.

That got Luca hurrying to the doorway, ready to launch himself at her captor, but Bree was still alive and she shook her head.

“He says if I fight that he’ll shoot into the bathroom,” she muttered. There was terror in her eyes, and it came through in her voice. She reached in her pocket, pulled out her phone and dropped it on the floor. No doubt something else the man had instructed her to do.

“Who is he? Who has you?” Luca whispered.

“I’m not sure. He’s using something to alter his voice. Probably because he was worried we’d recognize who he was.”

Which meant this thug had come prepared. Of course, he had. He’d compromised the security system and then had gotten in and hidden until the time was right to launch this attack.

The masked thug leaned in closer to Bree’s ear and said something, but Luca couldn’t make out what.

“He wants you to stay put,” she said, her voice cracking. “You, too, Duncan,” she added, shifting her attention toward the stair landing. “I’m going with him.”

“To hell you are,” Luca snarled.

There was no telling what this SOB would do to Bree if he got her alone. But then something occurred to him. If he’d wanted Bree dead, he could have just killed her on the spot. So, he wanted her alive, maybe solely as a human shield.

Maybe for something else.

“Trade her for me,” Luca bargained.

The guy laughed, and the sound was like a cartoon through the voice distorter. A sick sound that ate away at Luca like acid. Somehow, he had to stop this from happening. He couldn’t lose Bree, but he also didn’t want this armed snake so close to the bathroom where the babies were. He had to hope that Joelle had already locked the door and was ready to stop anyone who tried to get in.

Bullets could still get through.

And that was probably why Bree didn’t put up any kind of struggle when the man started toward the stairs with her.

“Duncan, move back,” Bree instructed.

The masked man turned, angling Bree so that she was not only in front of him but so he was pressed hard against her with his back against the wall. That would ensure no one would be able to get a clean shot, not with him plastered to her.

Staying low and prepared to dive again for cover, Luca came out of the guest room, his gun ready. He figured Duncan and maybe Slater and Woodrow were doing the same in the foyer.

“Duncan, he wants you to open the front door,” Bree relayed.

Luca could see her glancing around, no doubt looking for a way out. He prayed she would find one. If she could just manage to drop down, he would be able to send this snake straight to hell.

There was more movement in the foyer, and Luca heard the front door opening. He crept forward, peering down the stairs just as Bree and the thug reached the last step. Lightning fast, the masked man turned his gun toward Luca.

And fired.

For a couple of heart-stopping seconds, Luca thought he’d been hit. But the bullet missed, smacking into the wall above his head.

“Stay back!” Bree shouted. “All of you please stay back,” she added, her voice a strained plea.

Luca couldn’t do that. He couldn’t stay behind cover while she was in immediate danger, but he also had to time it so the masked man couldn’t get off a shot inside the house. He inched forward again and saw the gunman and Bree had already reached the now open front door. Duncan, Woodrow and Slater were indeed all there. All had their weapons drawn and were peering out behind the arched opening that led into the family room.

The thug looked up at Luca, and even though he still couldn’t see the guy’s face, their eyes met for a moment. Luca couldn’t tell for sure, but it seemed to him that the SOB was smirking. The rage knifed through Luca, but he didn’t allow it to trigger him into doing something reckless. It definitely wouldn’t help matters if he got shot. Or if he did something to cause Bree to be hurt.

The thug moved her onto the porch, and that got Luca hurrying down the stairs. Woodrow, Slater and Duncan all came out from cover, too.

And the sound of a gunshot blasted through the house.

It took Luca a moment to realize it hadn’t come from the thug dragging out Bree but rather it’d come from the direction of the kitchen. Every muscle inside him turned to iron when he saw someone. Another person dressed all in black and wearing a ski mask. He or she had a gun and fired again.

This shot, too, missed, slamming into the wall and sending Woodrow, Slater and Duncan scurrying back. Luca didn’t head back up the stairs. Instead, he bolted out through the front door and onto the porch.

He cursed when he realized he still didn’t have a clean shot. And worse. The thug was dragging Bree toward one of the ranch hand’s trucks that was parked behind a cruiser.

Luca could only watch as the man shoved Bree into the truck. Seconds later, he started the engine and sped away.