Christmas Rescue at Mustang Ridge

“It’s not too late.” Maggie hoped. “All that Wade can tell Tanner is that you hired him. Wade doesn’t know you found me.” But then she stopped. “Unless you told your family.”

Jake shook his head. “They don’t know that I was coming here.”

“You didn’t even tell Royce?” His brother, and a deputy sheriff. Jake and Royce were close, and she couldn’t imagine Jake keeping this from him.

“Royce knows I’m looking. He doesn’t know I found you. I didn’t want him involved.”

Yes, she could see why. It was very possible that this would lead to Jake’s arrest. He’d risked so much by finding her, but Maggie couldn’t let him risk his life.

Or Sunny’s.

Her phone rang again, and Maggie looked into her purse at the screen. It was her boss, Gene. Again. And she figured he’d continue to call until she answered. Worse, he might alert the Coopersville sheriff more than he was already alerted. If that was possible. She’d have to call Gene first chance she got.

Jake stayed quiet a moment. “Something’s not adding up. Tanner has to know if he hurts Sunny that you’d spill the evidence you have about David.” He paused, stared at her. “You would spill, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes.” She said it slowly, but there was no hesitation. Not about Sunny anyway. It sickened her, though, to think of Tanner harming that child.

“I obtained the evidence illegally,” she admitted. And she looked at him, daring him to challenge that since he’d just done the same darn thing to find her. “If I break the pact with Tanner, he could decide that his bottom-line threat to me is more important than the risk to his son.”

“Especially if Tanner can get the evidence thrown out because it was illegally obtained,” Jake concluded. He added a groan. “Not much of a pact if you ask me.”

“It was all I had, and I hoped if I stayed away, if I did as Tanner wanted, then it would be enough.”

Jake didn’t respond to that right away. “What about the Coopersville sheriff?” he asked. “And the people in the Tip Top Diner? One of them could say something that would get back to Tanner.”

“I’ll do some damage control.” How, exactly she didn’t know, but Maggie would find a way to convince them to stay quiet about what they’d seen. Maybe a boatload of lies would work.

Jake glanced around the woods and then at her. “Come on. You can’t stay out in this cold, and I can drive you to your car.”

“Too risky.” Her car and apartment were just a block from the diner. “There’s a town, Howard’s Creek, not too far from here. You can drop me off at the town’s edge, and I’ll catch the bus into Sweetwater. I can go to the nearest hospital, have the test done and they can fax the result to Mustang Ridge. I’ll use an alias in case Tanner manages to buy off someone at the hospital.”

Jake stood there, apparently processing everything but not moving.

“I swear I’ll do the test,” she said. “I love Sunny, and I’ll do whatever’s necessary to help her get better.”

That seemed to be the assurance he was waiting for, because Jake gave her a nod, turned and started for the truck. Maggie let out the breath she’d been holding, and she hurried to catch up with him.

“On the bus ride to Sweetwater, I’ll call my boss at the diner,” she added, more for herself than for him, “and I’ll tell him you’re someone I met in a bar last weekend. I can give him enough details to ease his suspicions.”

And maybe, just maybe, Jake’s visit wouldn’t undo the deal she’d made with Tanner and set off the powder keg Maggie had been sitting on for two and a half years. Of course, Jake was sitting on a powder keg of a different sort.

After that, she’d need to ditch the phone in case the marshals tried to use it to try to track her. The phone had special security measures on it, to prevent just anyone from finding her, but right now, the marshals were a concern. If they found her, they found Jake.

“How sick is Sunny?” she asked.

Jake didn’t stop walking, didn’t look back, but she saw his shoulders tense. “I told you it was bad, and it is. She’s very sick and won’t get better without a transplant.”

That cut through her hard. Mercy, this was so unfair. Her little niece had already been through too much. Jake, as well. And Maggie prayed she could help in all of this. Not that it would absolve her of any guilt in Anna’s death.

No.

Nothing could ever do that, but at least she had the chance to save Jake from having to lose someone else he loved.

“I’ll be arrested soon,” he said, still not looking back as they walked to the truck. “But Royce can handle the test results. He’ll see to things.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Jake came to an abrupt stop, and Maggie nearly plowed right into him. He lifted his head and appeared to listen for something. Maggie did the same, but she heard nothing.

“Move, now!” Jake insisted, and he caught her arm.

Maggie hadn’t exactly been at ease, but that gave her another jab of fear and concern. Jake started to run with her in tow, but they were still a good twenty feet from the truck when she finally heard something.

Something Maggie didn’t want to hear.

A gunshot.

* * *

JAKE HOOKED HIS ARM around Maggie and dragged her to the ground.

It wasn’t a second too soon because the second shot came almost immediately after the first, and both slammed into the ground right where they’d been standing. There weren’t many places he could use for cover so he pulled her behind a fallen tree. It wouldn’t give them much protection, but it might be enough if he could pinpoint the shooter.

Jake drew his gun.

He followed the direction of the third shot. It hadn’t come from the road or even near his truck but instead had come from the right, and his attention zoomed in on a group of cottonwood trees. It wasn’t deep cover, but it was just enough for a gunman to hide.

Tanner’s hired gunman, no doubt.

If Coopersville’s sheriff had found Maggie and him, the lawman wouldn’t have shot first, especially since Maggie could have been hurt. Unless Tanner had already managed to get the sheriff on his payroll.

The next shot smacked into the fallen tree and sent some splinters and bark flying through the air. Jake pulled Maggie lower, until she was flat on the ground, and he covered her body with his. He couldn’t risk her being shot and killed, because she was the only one who could save Sunny.

He’d die for her, if necessary.

Ironic, since more often than not, he’d been the one to want her dead. Or at least he’d wanted her grieving at much as he was.

“If it’s Tanner’s man, I can negotiate with him,” she insisted.

“This isn’t a negotiating situation.” And the next round of bullets hopefully proved that to her. Jake took aim at the cottonwoods and fired a shot of his own. Not that he had the shooter in line of sight, but he didn’t want this guy moving in closer for an easier kill.

“I still have that proof to send David to jail,” she reminded Jake.

Yeah. But that apparently wasn’t stopping Tanner. Of course, maybe the man just had plans to kill Jake. That would take care of his threat to make Maggie “sorry again,” but Tanner could still use threat of violence against the rest of the McCalls to keep Maggie from turning over that evidence to the authorities.

“Tanner wants me,” Jake relayed to her. “If that happens, get the hell out of here and go to the hospital in Sweetwater. Don’t waste any time reporting any of this.”

Even over the sound of the next shot, Jake heard Maggie curse. “You’re not going to sacrifice yourself.”

“Might not have a choice. Time’s running out.”