Gabby heard her own scream as Liam slumped to the ground, but she couldn’t move. A second armed man grabbed her, pinning her arms tightly behind her and pulling her backward toward the wall. She squirmed, trying desperately to get away, but his iron grip only tightened against her flesh.
A wave of nausea flooded through her. She glanced up at her attacker, and time seemed to momentarily freeze. Even with his ski mask, she could see his piercing brown eyes and the spiderweb tattoo on the side of his neck...
“You’re such a fool.” She could feel his breath against her ear as he spoke to her. “We already told you you’d regret nosing into something that’s none of your business.”
A shiver of terror coursed through her at his words. She’d ended up doing exactly what she’d promised herself she wouldn’t do. Will had been a born warrior, sworn to obey and protect his country, and in the end, it had gotten him killed. What if coming here ended up putting her or her daughter in further danger? If these men had their way, the same thing was going to happen to her and Liam.
Her attacker gripped both her shoulders. “What do we do with them? If they really do have evidence—”
“She wouldn’t be here if she’d found it.”
“Maybe not, but this is going to lead back to us. That was never the plan.”
Liam groaned on the floor as he struggled to get up. Sirens wailed in the background, shifting her gaze to the front window. Her attacker loosened his grip slightly at the distraction. She stomped on his foot with her boot, managed to jerk one arm away, then grabbed the lamp sitting on the end table beside her.
“Gabby!” Liam shouted her name. “Run.”
Swinging with all her might, she slammed the lamp into her attacker’s head. Glass shattered. Her attacker groaned, then stumbled backward, giving her the second she needed to pull away from him. She ran across the living room toward the one unblocked exit that she assumed led to the kitchen. She and Liam had no advantage against bullets. And she had no doubt the men intended to shoot them, which was probably what they’d done to Casada.
“We need to go,” one of them shouted. “Now.”
She stopped at the edge of the hardwood floor of the kitchen, then stumbled backward. James Casada lay still on the floor, eyes open and a gunshot wound through his forehead, blood trickling down the side of his face. But there wasn’t time for regrets or grief. She glanced around the room for a cell phone.
A door slammed open, hitting the wall, and she spun around as Liam stepped into the room.
“Gabby...they’re gone.” Liam ran toward her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, but...”
“Looks like they decided to cut their losses and run when they heard the sirens. And at least one of them will be leaving with a pretty good shiner.”
She nodded, barely hearing him. Her legs were shaking. She felt as if she were going to throw up. How had this happened?
“He’s dead.” She turned back to Casada. “What if they come back?”
His hand squeezed her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“No. They killed him.” She pressed her hand against her mouth, biting back the bile. While Liam and Will had seen the terrors of war, the only dead bodies she’d ever seen had been faked on television, and even that was something she preferred to avoid. Give her a sappy romance movie any day over a cop show and reality TV. “They could have killed you...”
She fought to take in a deep breath, but the air wouldn’t fill her lungs. She was responsible for this. If she’d never called Casada, never tried to involve him, he’d still be alive. And now she’d risked Liam’s life on top of everything else.
“Gabby, the police are going to be here any moment now.”
She looked up at him, her eyes wet with tears. “And you’re bleeding.”
He reached up and touched the side of his face. “It’s nothing. I’ll be fine.”
Maybe he would, but she didn’t think she’d ever be okay again. She needed to do something to fix everything that had just happened.
“Wait...” She grabbed a paper towel from the roll sitting on the counter, wet it at the sink, then started to dab at the blood, still unsure where the blood was coming from.
He took her hand to stop her. “I’m fine. We need to go out there now. Because while I’m not sure how we’re going to explain what we’re doing here, I’d rather not get caught hovering over a dead body.”
She glanced toward the front entrance. Car doors slammed. The police were here now, which meant they were finally safe. But if that was true, why did she feel so terrified? She dropped the paper towel into the trash, then followed Liam out the front door.
Officers were surrounding the house, their weapons drawn.
“Let me see your hands,” one of the officers shouted at them. “Both of you. Now.”
She raised her hands in the air, praying her legs wouldn’t give out and willing her heart to stop racing. Her mind wanted to pray. To beg God to put an end to this, so she could go back to taking care of her little girl. But her heart wasn’t sure He’d listen to her after all this time.
Two uniformed officers patted them down, searching for weapons, then combed through her bag.
“Let me see your ID.”
Gabby slowly pulled her driver’s license out of her wallet, then handed it to the officer.
“Liam O’Callaghan and Gabby Kensington.” The officer turned to Liam. “You’re military?”
“Captain Liam O’Callaghan. US Army.”
“We received a 911 call that there had been gunshots coming from this house.”
Liam nodded. “We came to visit the man who lives here. James Casada. I met him when I was deployed in the Middle East. Two men were here in the house when we arrived. The door was open, so we went in, but he was already dead. The men fled when they heard your sirens.”
A female officer approached them. “Their story fits. The neighbor across the street told 911 a couple matching their description showed up after she heard a gunshot and called 911. Said she was still on the phone with the operator when she saw two masked men escape down the street right before we showed up.”
“Cordon off the house and get a BOLO out on the suspects. Turner and Sterling, go interview the neighbors.” He turned back to them. “I’m Lieutenant Baxter with DPD. What can you tell us about the intruders?”
Liam shook his head. “Nothing as far as facial features. They both wore black ski masks. But I can give you a description of their clothes.”
The lieutenant pulled out a notepad and pen.
“One wore khaki pants, a gray T-shirt and gray tennis shoes. The other one wore jeans and a black jean jacket and cowboy boots.”
Gabby was amazed he remembered anything. In the middle of the attack, her mind had frozen and now any details she’d seen had vanished.
“Did you have physical contact with the men?”
Liam reached up and touched his face. “One of them hit me with something from behind before we even knew anyone was in the house.”
“The paramedics just pulled up. I want you both checked out to ensure you’re okay, then we’re going to need a full statement from each of you.”
A minute later, Gabby was answering questions from a paramedic, wondering how she’d managed having to be checked out by medical personnel twice in two days. “Miss Kensington? Does anything hurt?”
“I’ll probably have a few bruises on my arms where he grabbed me, but that’s all. I’m fine. Really.”
Physically, at least. Emotionally was a whole different matter. She tried to concentrate as they ran through their list of questions and focused on her answers, but she couldn’t settle her mind. These were no idle threats. Yesterday’s accident made that clear. But did that mean they’d stumbled across the people who’d killed Will?
“Looks like you’re okay, but it’s probably a good idea to go to your own doctor for a thorough check-up, and if you need to talk to someone about what happened—”
“I will. Thank you.”
She nodded. All she wanted to do was to get away from all of this and get back to the ranch and Mia. She sat on the curb outside Casada’s house, her hands still shaking while the paramedics finished looking over Liam.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion around her. An officer yelled something across the front lawn. They were searching the house, trying to find the motivation behind what was going on. She pulled her phone out, needing to make sure Mia was okay, and called the number she’d programed into her phone for Liam’s mom.
She let it ring until it switched to voice mail. “Marci...it’s Gabby. I just needed to check on Mia and make sure everything is okay there. We’ve run into a bit of a snag on this end, so we might be gone longer than we planned. Just...just call me when you get this please.”
She hung up, trying to convince herself there was nothing to worry about. Mia was fine. Glitches in cell phone service were common. Liam had told her that. If they’d gone for a walk or a drive, they wouldn’t get her call. Which was okay. Liam’s dad was there; plus, his brother Griffin had promised to stop by. And from what she knew about his family, you couldn’t ask for better protection for her daughter.
She was just getting ready to try calling again when Liam climbed down from the back of the ambulance and joined her on the curb.
“You okay?” she asked.
“I’ve got a bit of a headache, but thankfully there’s no need for stitches. What about you?”
“I’m fine, too.”
“You don’t sound okay.”
She shot him a half smile. “You’re the one with a goose egg on your head.”
“I’m supposed to watch for any symptoms that might pop up, but they don’t think it’s a concussion. Just a nasty bump.”
“I tried calling your mother but couldn’t get through.”
A flicker of concern registered in his eyes as he pulled out his phone. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Signal out there can be spotty.”
“I know.”
“I’ll give Griffin a call. Make sure the sheriff’s office knows what happened here.”
She grabbed the edge of Liam’s sleeve, her adrenaline still racing, and leaned toward him. “But we can’t tell them the real reason we’re here. Not yet. This wasn’t over. The text earlier told me not to talk to the police.”
We know where you are.
Stop asking questions.
Don’t go to the police.
You will regret it.
It was going to be a long time before she could forget the threats. A long time before she didn’t see Casada’s lifeless face staring up at her. All she cared about right now was protecting her child, and if it meant not telling the police everything, then it would have to be that way. Because she wasn’t taking any chances.
Liam hesitated as he tried to form a response. While he understood her fears, figuring all this out on their own was no longer an option in his opinion. “I don’t think we have a choice, Gabby. We need help to figure out what’s going on. The authorities have the resources—”
“You’re wrong. They threatened me again. In the house. Threatened Mia. I can’t let them hurt her. Please. They said no cops, and if we go in there and tell those officers what happened I have no doubt that they’ll follow through. The only reason we’re alive right now is because a neighbor called 911 and spooked them, but this is far from over.”
Which was exactly what had him worried.
“Then what are we supposed to tell the police?” he asked.
“Only what we have to. Casada was a friend of yours. We came by to visit him. That’s all they need to know at this point. I want to keep Will out of this.”
“And the fact that Casada’s lying in the house with a gunshot wound to his head? How do we explain that? They’re not going to just believe that our showing up when we did was a coincidence any more than I do.”
“We came here to visit him, and he was already dead. Which they know. We were just paying an old friend a visit. There doesn’t have to be anything more to our story.”
Liam stared at his phone. “We need to find out the truth, Gabby, and I’m pretty sure that withholding evidence isn’t the right way. How are we supposed to do this on our own? We don’t even know what those men are looking for. And until we figure things out, you and Mia won’t be safe.”
“These people don’t play games. We’ve both seen that firsthand now.”
“All the more reason to tell the police what’s going on. They need to know you’ve been threatened. You don’t have to tell them everything, but we need to let them help us figure out what’s going on.”
She shook her head. “The men were searching the house.”
“I know.”
“They won’t stop until they have what they want. Until they ensure there is no one left to spill their secrets.”
“I’ll make a deal with you. We leave out Will’s connection, for now, but you let me keep Griffin in the loop and see what he can find out. Quietly.”
She hesitated before giving him an answer. “I’m not sure we should. Not yet.”
“If you change your mind?”
“I’ll tell you.”
An hour later, they finished talking with the police. Gabby was exhausted. He could tell by the look in her eyes. He needed to get her back to the ranch where she could take a nap.
“We appreciate your cooperation in this matter,” the lieutenant said. “We have your contact information and we will be in touch in case we end up with any more questions. All we need now is a signature on your statements and for you to double check that your contact information is correct.”
Liam signed his name, then slid the paper back across the table to the officer. He hadn’t lied. The only thing he hadn’t mentioned was the threats Gabby had received and the possible connection to Will’s death. He led Gabby outside to where his truck was parked, staying silent until they got into the vehicle.
She slid on her seat belt. “Thank you.”
“I’m still not sure we did the right thing.”
“They know enough. But there’s something else I’m worried about. I’ve tried calling your mother three times now and no one answers. What about Griffin?”
He hesitated, knowing she wasn’t going to like his answer. “I haven’t got ahold of him yet, but I reached out to the Timber Falls sheriff’s office. They said he was out on a call, and they’d have him get back to me as soon as possible.”
He was positive it was nothing, but he wasn’t sure she’d believe the same. She was scared and had every right to feel that way.
She was quiet as they took the highway south and headed out of Denver. He tried asking a few questions but finally gave up, realizing she wasn’t in the mood for small talk. Instead, he used the scenic drive to come up with his own plan. He understood her fear of telling the authorities what was going on, but they needed help. Griffin could discreetly use his resources and try to find out about the men who’d attacked them, as well as James Casada.
“How’s your headache?” she asked, breaking the silence between them.
“Better, thanks. Pretty much gone, in fact.”
“I’m glad.”
“Me, too.” He glanced at her profile, wishing he could fix everything for her. “Gabby, what happened this morning was traumatic, and it’s okay to feel scared.”
“I know. I guess... I’m just more worried about Mia right now. She’s totally dependent on me and yet I feel so helpless. Like there’s nothing I can do to stop this. And that’s what I’m supposed to do.”
He knew that what had happened today had to have brought up a surge of emotions about losing Will. She was strong, but everyone had a breaking point. A place where they needed someone else to step in and help pick up the slack. But she also had a stubborn streak. Maybe that was a part of being a single mom when everything automatically fell on her. It had been a long time since she’d had someone to care for her and protect her. Which was exactly what he intended to do.
“I’d still like to read Griffin in on what’s going on. Let him discreetly use the department’s resources to see if he can find out who’s behind this and keep us updated on the police investigation into Casada’s murder.”
He glanced at her, trying to gauge her reaction, but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “Gabby?”
She nodded. “Okay. But only him for the moment.”
“Agreed.”
Liam’s phone rang, and he pushed the answer button on the steering wheel.
“Mom?”
“I saw I missed a couple calls from you and Gabby.”
“Yeah. We’ve been trying to get ahold of you.”
“I’m sorry. We’re fine. Your father needed to check on a couple fences, so we decided to take Mia with us. She loves the truck. I hope the two of you weren’t worried.”
“As long as you’re all okay, that’s all that matters. We’re headed back to the ranch now, actually. I’ve got the call on Speaker.”
“I just listened to your voice message, Gabby. What’s going on?”
“We’ll fill you in on everything once we get back to the ranch, but we’re okay.”
His mother had come to terms over the years with the fact that she had four adult sons who all had dangerous jobs. But he knew for a fact, as much as she tried to hide it, that it didn’t mean she didn’t worry. And she spent a lot of time on her knees in prayer.
“What about Griffin?” Liam asked. “Have you seen him? I’ve been trying to get ahold of him as well.”
“He was out at the ranch with us until about an hour ago. He had to go out on a call.”
“Okay. We’ll meet you at the house shortly.”
He hung up the call, then reached out and squeezed Gabby’s hand. “Relieved?”
“Very.”
“But?”
She let out a low laugh. “How did you know there was going to be a but?”
“Just a guess.”
“I know I shouldn’t let my mind automatically go to the worst-case scenario, but it’s hard not to worry and question. Especially after all that’s happened. I feel like I’m waiting for the next catastrophe to hit, and then praying I can deal with it.” She stared out the window at the mountains in the distance. “Do you believe in prayer?”
“I do. I’ve seen enough horror in my life to know that without my faith I couldn’t go on. But I’ve also learned that there are times when we feel like we’re in the wilderness. When God’s presence seems far away.”
“And what happens when you can’t find your way back? I believe God is out there. Know He still cares, but I’ve had a hard time praying these past few months.”
“I’ve been exactly where you are and still too many times find myself there again. But Gabby, He’s not out there, watching down on you from above. He wants His presence to be in you. Constantly with you. Even when things hurt the most. Maybe especially when things hurt the most.”
The phone rang again, interrupting their conversation as Griffin’s name showed up on the caller ID.
“It’s my brother, but I’d like to continue this conversation.”
She nodded as he picked up the call.
“Griffin? What’s going on?”
“Sorry I missed you. Where are you?”
“Almost to Timber Falls, headed back to the ranch,” Liam said, quickly filling him in on what had just happened.
“I hate to throw another wrench into the works,” Griffin said, “but I need you to stop by town on your way. I’ve got some new information you’re going to want to hear.”