Standoff at Mustang Ridge by Fossen Delores

Author:Fossen, Delores [Fossen, Delores]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin Intrigue
Published: 2012-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

“You shouldn’t have come out of the house,” Royce said to Sophie again. “I told you to stay inside.”

“I’m okay,” she reminded him again. “And so is your father. You, too. It all worked out.”

Well, except for Tommy, but according to the medic who’d taken him away in the ambulance, his injuries didn’t appear to be life threatening. Sophie was more than thankful for that since Tommy had been shot trying to protect her.

“It worked out because we got lucky,” Royce snapped. “Same for you,” he snarled to his father who was in the backseat of the SUV where he was guarding the handcuffed gunman they were driving to the sheriff’s office.

Clearly, she’d upset Royce by going into the yard, but there was no way she could have stayed tucked safely inside while he took all the risks. Sophie would have reminded him of that, again, if his phone hadn’t buzzed, something it had been doing nearly the entire trip from the ranch and into town.

It wasn’t a pleasant drive.

The snow had started to fall again, making the roads slick, and they were literally inches from the man who’d tried to kill them.

She listened to the phone conversation to see if it was an update about Tommy, but apparently it was about the gunman’s body the police would have to retrieve from the ranch. It was necessary since that shooting would involve reports and such, but she figured Royce’s mind was racing too much to deal with the details.

Hers certainly was.

Chet, however, seemed to have his attention honed in on the man next to him.

“I want the name of the dirtbag who hired you,” Chet demanded. It wasn’t his first demand. He’d repeated it from the moment Royce had handcuffed the guy and stuffed him into the SUV.

“I have to see my lawyer first,” the gunman mumbled.

That only hardened Chet’s glare, and even though Sophie didn’t believe in breaking the law, she almost wished Chet could smack the man around and force him to talk. Especially since his lawyer would almost certainly tell him not to say anything incriminating. Judging from Royce’s stern expression, he felt the same way.

Royce brought the SUV to a stop in front of the sheriff’s office, and Billy, the deputy, threw open the front door for them. With Chet on one side of the gunman and Royce on the other, they practically dragged him into the building. They made a beeline for the holding cell and dumped him inside. Royce had already called the assailant’s lawyer, so now it was just a matter of waiting.

Sophie hoped that waiting didn’t include her falling apart.

Her hands were trembling, and now that the immediate danger had passed, she was reliving every moment of the attack and was painfully aware of just how close Royce had come to dying.

But it wasn’t just their own dilemma.

There was the injured ranch hand and the fact that Royce’s truck and house were now riddled with bullet holes. He’d also killed one of their attackers and would mentally have to deal with taking a man’s life.

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