“She’s my wife. Where is she?”
Bobby blew out a breath and pushed away from the crate. “You’re a smart man, Jace. Things have gone your way tonight. Don’t push it.”
“I’m not leaving without my wife,” he stated emphatically.
Chapter 28
Ryan watched through the sniper scope as police, black SUVs, and helicopters swarmed Boyd’s compound. He wasn’t sure if his friends were all right or not. He had helped them out as much as he could, but it was time for him to go.
Choppers moved over the area with spotlights, looking for anyone trying to escape. He moved back onto his knees and lifted his rifle to put it away when one of the spotlights landed on him. Ryan rolled into the darkness, holding his weapon tightly against him. The helicopter blades drowned out all noise.
Then the spotlight found him again. Ryan lay on his back, looking up at the chopper. He had known this might happen. With a sigh, he carefully set aside his rifle and held up his hands. He didn’t have long to wait before someone appeared.
“Keep your hands where I can see them!”
“I’m a cop!” Ryan shouted over the whirl of the helicopter. “My badge is in my pocket.”
Suddenly, men were all around him. They flipped him roughly onto his stomach and patted him down after his hands were cuffed. When they reached his back pocket, they pulled out his wallet. Ryan waited, wondering if they would let him go because he was a police officer. Or arrest him for being out of his jurisdiction with a sniper rifle atop a building.
Seconds ticked by. Just when he thought he was done for, the spotlight on him vanished, and the chopper flew away. Someone uncuffed him and helped him to his feet. When he turned around, Ryan found himself looking at a familiar face.
“Danny?” he asked in shock.
Danny motioned over his shoulder with his thumb. “I happen to know a division head for the Rangers up here. I had a feeling you might help.”
“I … Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“It’s not easy when you have friends like ours, and they get into situations like these. We have to toe the line of our positions, and yet we want to help.”
Ryan swallowed, trying to take it all in. “How did you know it was Boyd?”
“It took some doing. I understood Taryn’s position in not wanting our help, so I was careful. I ran the plates for the car she was driving. Turned out, they were registered to one of Boyd’s legal businesses. I kept tabs on everyone, and the minute Taryn left town, I came up here.”
“To the Rangers?” Ryan asked as he glanced at the men in cowboy hats standing behind Danny.
Danny chuckled. “Clayton isn’t the only one with connections. How did you find out?”
Ryan glanced at the ground, wishing he could tell his friend the truth.
“I see,” Danny said with a nod. “I know that look. You got information, but you can’t say from who.”
“I wish I could.”
“You don’t need to explain anything to me, of all people,” Danny said with a grin.
Ryan glanced behind him to where the authorities were gathered. “What do you know about our friends and Taryn? I saw she was injured.”
“She’ll live. She’s being taken to the hospital, and the Feds want a statement from her.”
“And the others?”
Danny had a smile on his face. “Being let go to return home.”
Ryan was flabbergasted. “Are you serious?”
“You’re not being detained either,” Danny pointed out.
Ryan chuckled and looked back at the buildings where the dead were being put into body bags. “They’re one lucky group.”
“I wish we would’ve spoken to each other about our plans. Things could’ve gone smoother.”
“I can’t believe no one was seriously injured or killed.” Ryan ran a hand down his face. “Fuck. I can’t believe we aren’t being arrested.”
Danny winced as he looked at Ryan. “Trust me, there are some noses bent out of joint right now. The best thing everyone can do is return to Clearview immediately.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
* * *
Abby let out a cry and rushed to Clayton when they received word that no one was being detained. Clayton squeezed his eyes shut, thankful that they had once more gotten out of a difficult situation with very little flack.
Taryn was injured, but it wasn’t life-threatening. Payton was dead. As for Boyd, they were still waiting to hear about him. Clayton didn’t think the worm could get away, but bastards like Boyd always managed to land on their feet, uncaring of who got hurt in the process.
“Everyone is coming home,” Clayton told Abby. “Our family will be whole again.”
She sniffed and nodded her head against him. “With a new member. I’m so excited that Jace and Taryn got married.”
“We’ll do something for them when they return, and Taryn feels up to it.”
Abby leaned back and looked up at him, tears running down her face. “I honestly don’t know how much more my heart can take. This might be the final straw.”
He smiled and smoothed her hair away from her face. “Life is messy and cruel and merciless. We’ve got an amazing family, and people come into our lives when we can help them. I know you, Abby East, there’s no way you’d refuse a friend in need, no matter how dangerous the situation.”
“You know me too well,” she said with a chuckle.
“It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with you.” He kissed her softly, then pulled her against him so he could wrap his arms around her. “Yet I also wonder how many more times we can rush into danger without someone getting seriously injured. Or worse, killed.”
Abby sniffed again. “Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.”
“Yeah. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that our children live very quiet lives.”
But Clayton understood the odds. So did the others. Those odds meant nothing when someone you loved was in danger. There were still nights he woke in a panic when the nightmare of Abby being shot by the cattle rustlers returned. He had known that day that he would do absolutely anything for her, to keep her safe. Because of that, he would never say a word to Brice, Caleb, Cooper, Jace, Danny, Ryan—or his children—about not following their hearts.
Chapter 29
When she opened her eyes to the bright lights of the hospital, it took a moment for Taryn to remember where she was. Blue curtains were drawn around her, and she could hear others moving about, tending to patients on either side of her.
The pain in her shoulder had lessened so she could think clearer, but she could also tell that she had been given a heavy dose of painkillers. She was groggy, and though sleep pulled at her, she forced her eyes to remain open. The nightmare of the past years was over. So, why did she feel so paranoid? Was it because she had lived in fear for so long that she didn’t know any other way to be?
No. She hadn’t felt the panic and alarm as she did now when she had been with Jace. Taryn realized that a part of that was because she trusted Jace and knew that she was safe with him. But another part had known that when she was in Clearview, she was out of the fire, so to speak.