Gage Read online

  Her cell phone, too.

  Lynette turned it on and saw the eleven missed calls from her father. He’d left voice mails, too, but she didn’t even bother with them.

  “Rest,” Gage repeated when he came out of the bathroom. He put her bra in the overnight bag. And to make sure that rest would happen, he picked her up again, put her back in bed and draped the comforter over her.

  “I’d rest better with you.”

  “You wouldn’t rest at all with me.” He kissed her again. “I’m staying close, on the stairs, and I’ll leave the door open so I can see you. Sleep,” he insisted. “Tomorrow, we’ll work out what we’re going to do about Dalvetti.”

  Maybe by then this fuzzy haze wouldn’t be clouding her head. Heck, while she was hoping, maybe Dalvetti and her father would wipe each other off the face of the earth.

  Lynette watched through the murkiness as Gage walked away from her and to the door. When he opened it, she could just make out the others who were already there. Four of his brothers—Nate, Dade, Kade and Mason. Nate and Dade hugged him. Spoke in whispers. And Gage eased the door partially shut, so that she could see only him.

  And he could see her.

  She tried to listen to what they were saying. There was a lot of catching up to do, and she wondered if Gage would tell his brothers that he was still married to her and that they had a baby on the way. Lynette also wondered if he would tell them how he felt about her.

  Because he sure as heck hadn’t told her.

  With that thought she drew in an exhausted breath, and even though she fought it, Lynette couldn’t keep her eyelids from drifting down.

  She fell asleep with the taste of Gage’s kisses still on her lips.

  * * *

  GAGE WAITED until he was sure Lynette was asleep. His brothers were waiting for that, too, even though he hadn’t actually said that there were things he preferred that Lynette didn’t hear.

  Things she wasn’t going to like.

  “Lynette’s pregnant,” Gage said in case one of them hadn’t gotten the word. Apparently, they had. Later, he’d explain how the pregnancy had come about, but that could wait. “If this danger continues, I’m worried she could lose the baby.” He was more worried that he could lose her.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Dade asked without hesitation.

  That put a lump in Gage’s throat. It’d been a while since someone had had his back like this. “I’m starting with Ford Herrington. He’s a killer, plain and simple, and he’s not going to stop until someone dies. I’m sure that I’m on top of his to-murder list, but he’s brought Lynette into this, and it has to stop.”

  “A showdown,” Nate concurred. “How? When? What do you need from us?”

  “I need Lynette protected first.” Gage looked at Mason, who had his back against the stairwell wall, his feet crossed at the ankles. Then Nate. Then Dade. “I need you to stay here and make sure no one gets to her.”

  “Bree can give Mason some backup,” Kade suggested. “Both deputies, too.”

  Gage nodded. No doubt Kade wanted that so he could keep his wife out of direct harm’s way. Gage understood that completely. But even with six lawmen guarding Lynette, he worried it might not be enough.

  “Call in anyone you trust from the ranch,” Gage continued. “I can’t use my people because there might be some kind of leak in communication. But I want to make this building a fortress, and that includes more people on the roof who can stop a sniper or rocket launcher attack.”

  All of them nodded.

  Kade turned to him. “And what will I be doing?”

  “You’ll be here, too, and keeping a safe distance from me,” Gage assured him. “I have no plans to make Bree a widow.”

  “Sounds like you’re planning to make Lynette one,” Mason growled. “If Kade keeps a safe distance from you, that means you’re pretty much going in somewhere alone.”

  Gage couldn’t disagree with that. “I’ll call Ford and arrange a meeting at the city hall building. Before I make the call, Mason and I will already be in place there, and Mason will be on the roof watching in case Ford tries to pull something.”

  “Ford will try to pull something,” Nate spoke up.

  Still no argument from Gage. “I don’t want to take any more of you away from this building. Lynette comes first, understand?”

  “So, you’re just going to meet with Ford and have a nice friendly chat?” Mason asked, and he didn’t bother to take out the snark.

  Now, Gage could disagree. “It won’t be friendly. But one way or another the danger from him stops tonight. Then, in the morning I can deal with Dalvetti—alone,” Gage added before any of them could ask.

  “Last I heard there was no I in team or brothers,” Mason mumbled.

  “I can’t risk your lives.”

  “To hell you can’t,” Mason fired back. He stooped down so they were all eye level. “You want to stop Ford Herrington tonight, then put us all to good use. Together, we can stop him.”

  Gage stood, shook his head. “Protect Lynette,” he repeated.

  He didn’t wait for their assurances. Didn’t need them. They might not agree with his plan, but they would do it. And right now, keeping Lynette and his baby alive was the only thing that mattered.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The beeping sound woke Lynette. She sat up in the bed and automatically reached for Gage, only to remember that he wasn’t there. He was with his brothers.

  Lynette tried to settle her breathing. Her stomach, too, since the sudden movement had caused a wave of nausea to come over her. She prayed this wasn’t the start of a bout of morning sickness, because the timing sucked. There were already too many things on Gage’s and her minds.

  She heard the beep again, and this time she realized it was her cell phone, letting her know that she had another voice mail. Lynette glanced at the clock. It was nearly midnight. And there was only one person who’d call her at this hour.

  Her father.

  And she didn’t want to speak to him.

  She threw back the covers and looked around. Listened, too. She could no longer hear the whispered conversations on the stairwell. That caused her to jump from the bed, and despite the sick feeling in her stomach, she hurried to the ajar door.

  No one was on the stairs.

  And the place was way too quiet.

  Except for her phone. It beeped again.

  Lynette grabbed the cell from the bag and jammed the button to retrieve her calls, and she quickly learned that she’d been right. It was her father. She pressed another button to listen to the message that he’d left just seconds earlier.

  “I’m meeting with Gage at the courthouse in ten minutes,” her father’s recorded voice said. “Call me now.”

  Oh, God.

  Lynette’s hands started to shake, but somehow she managed to return the call. “What have you done?” she asked the second he answered.

  “Nothing. Not yet anyway. Gage called me earlier and set up a meeting at the courthouse. I got the distinct impression he was going to try to kill me.”

  No. Gage couldn’t arrange a meeting like this behind her back. It wasn’t just dangerous. It could be suicide.

  “I’m assuming no one else is listening in on this call, but just in case, I’ll mince words.”

  A veiled threat was no doubt coming, and Lynette tried to brace herself for it. What she wanted to do was reach through the phone and tear her father to shreds. But for now her best bet was to listen to what Gage and he had done and then try to figure out how to keep Gage alive.

  “Gage and I are going to talk,” her father said. There it was, the veiled threat. “If you don’t come, too, then you’ll be very sorry. You could lose the things that matter most to you. And Gage, well, Gage could lose a lot more than that.”

  His words fired through her and nearly brought Lynette to her knees.

  “If you call Gage to warn him,” her father continued, “then it’ll only make things worse.
I’ll see you in a few minutes. Oh, and, Lynette, this would be a good time to obey your father.”

  Lynette slapped the phone shut, hurriedly put on her shoes and grabbed the gun that Gage had left for her on the dresser. She ran down the steps, praying that her father had been lying and that she’d find all the Rylands there.

  She didn’t.

  No one was in any of the offices that she raced past, and the lights had all been turned out. Something was wrong.

  “Gage?” she called out.

  “Stay there,” someone answered. Not Gage. But Kade. He came out from the pitch-black reception area by the front door, and he made his way down the hall toward her.

  “Where’s Gage?” she asked, and she felt the terror crawling up her spine.

  That feeling only got worse when Kade didn’t answer right away. “He’s meeting with your father.”

  Oh, mercy. The call wasn’t a hoax. Her father had managed to set up what she’d thought would be impossible. “It’s a trap. My father just called and said if I didn’t show up at the courthouse that I could lose Gage. I have to go to that meeting.”

  Kade shook his head. “Gage’s orders are for you to stay put. Don’t worry,” Kade added. “We’ve covered the entire place. Nate, Bree and some other FBI agents are on the roof. Dade is guarding the back of the building. Dalvetti and his men can’t get within a quarter of a mile of this place without us knowing.”

  “But I could tell by the way he was talking that my father intends to kill Gage at the courthouse.”

  Kade caught on to her arm to keep her from bolting. “Gage has everything set up. Some of the ranch hands are watching the courthouse to make sure Ford doesn’t pull anything. And Mason is there, too. He’s on the roof of the adjacent building.”

  It wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. “Gage went in alone to that meeting?”

  Kade didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. Because she knew that’s exactly what Gage had done.

  “I have to help him,” Lynette insisted.

  “You can’t. Gage wants you to stay here.”

  Lynette threw off his grip and got right in Kade’s face. “I’m not asking for your permission. I’m helping Gage, period.”

  She started down the hall toward the back exit, but Kade raced after her. He took her arm again and whirled her around.

  “Gage said I was to tell you to think of the baby,” Kade warned. “You can’t put the baby in danger.”

  It took a moment for Lynette to steady her voice so she could speak. “I won’t endanger the baby. I’ll do everything to stay safe, but I have to help. I can’t lose Gage. Not again.” She stared at him, even though she could barely see his face. “Please.”

  “I can’t let you go,” he argued.

  Lynette couldn’t outmuscle him, and even though she hated to pull her gun on him, she would if it came down to it. Of course, Kade probably knew that she had no intention of shooting him. Her only intention now was to get to Gage in time to save him from her father.

  “Please,” Lynette repeated. “What if it were Bree out there instead of Gage?”

  Another pause. Then Kade cursed. “But Gage will throttle me if I let you go.”

  “You’re not letting me go. I’m doing this on my own.”

  She remembered seeing a jacket in Grayson’s office so she hurried there to get it. Not for the warmth but so she could slip the gun in the pocket. She didn’t want to go running up Main Street brandishing a Colt .45. Lynette located a raincoat, some extra ammunition, and then she spotted the tiny tape recorder on Grayson’s desk.

  It was a long shot, and it certainly hadn’t worked in the past, but it might come in handy.

  “Reconsider this,” Kade warned her.

  “No.” And she didn’t even have to think about her answer. She ran to the back exit and prayed she would get to Gage in time.

  * * *

  FORD HERRINGTON WAS LATE.

  Gage checked his watch again and cursed. When he’d called Ford nearly two hours ago, the man had assured Gage that he was eager for them to talk.

  Right.

  More like Ford was eager to try to finish Gage off.

  But that was all right. Gage didn’t care why Lynette’s father had agreed to meet with him, he was just glad all of this was about to come to a head.

  “See anything?” Gage asked Mason through the walkie-talkie. Mason and two of his ranch hands were on the roof. Waiting. Just like Gage.

  “Nothing other than Herman Smith staggering home drunk. All okay down there?”

  “Peachy,” Gage mumbled, and he clicked the button to end the conversation so he could keep watch around him.

  The lobby of the courthouse wasn’t exactly sprawling, but it had a curved staircase feeding off one side and a wide hall off the other. Plus, there were the doors and windows. It did have one big bonus though— It was surrounded on all four sides by parking lots and the street, and there wasn’t a vehicle out there now that he had sent the night watchman home.

  Neither Dalvetti nor Ford would make it across those open spaces without Mason or the ranch hands spotting them—especially since Gage was betting neither would come alone.

  Another bonus to the courthouse was there were no convenient nearby buildings where gunmen could hide. Lynette’s one-story newspaper office was on the left side. It was locked up, and he’d seen the red light blinking on the activated security alarm when he’d looked in the window.

  On the front and back side of the courthouse were streets that Mason had blocked off. Someone could perhaps get through the barricade by ramming into it, but it would take a big vehicle and a determined driver.

  That left the right side where there was a hotel under construction. Unfortunately, there were places to hide inside, which was why one of the ranch hands had specific orders to keep his eyes on it at all times.

  Gage checked the time again. Cursed some more. And he thought of Lynette. Of how just hours earlier he’d taken her hard and fast on the bathroom floor. Hardly romantic. He owed her something better.

  Hell, he owed her something better than him.

  He truly had been trouble for her, and he wasn’t sure he could give her the normal, quiet life that she craved.

  “Incoming,” Mason said over the walkie-talkie. “It’s Ford, and he has two goons with him.”

  Gage immediately pushed aside the thoughts of Lynette, took a deep breath and readied himself. “I’ll let them in.”

  “All of them?” Mason questioned.

  “Yeah, I’ll be careful.” Gage cut off whatever Mason was about to argue, and clipped the walkie-talkie to his belt so his hands would be free.

  He went to the front door, unlocked it and then stepped back into the shadows at the edge of the hall. There was a gun in his right hand, another in the back waist of his jeans, and his jacket pocket was crammed with extra ammunition. He wasn’t much for wearing Kevlar, but for this meeting Gage had made an exception and borrowed one from Grayson’s office.

  Ford had killed at least once, and Gage was betting that his goons and he wouldn’t hesitate to kill again.

  One of the goons came in first with his gun already drawn. Then Ford, followed by the third man holding a weapon. All wore dark clothes and stayed by the door. The guards looked around, probably trying to figure out the best place to take cover if shots were fired.

  But there wasn’t any cover.

  It was another reason Gage had picked this place. If it came down to it, he could dive into the hall. Not exactly out of the line of fire, but it was better than trying to get back out that door.

  Of course, he was outnumbered three to one.

  “Check for bugs,” Ford ordered the men. One stayed by him, but the other pulled a handheld device from his pocket. A transmitter detector. And he began to prowl around the room.

  “What about Ryland’s walkie-talkie?” one of the men asked.

  Gage glanced down at it. “You want it? Come and get it.”

 
“Hold off on that,” Ford told his men. “He has some hand-to-hand combat skills, and I don’t want to give him the opportunity to use them on you. Besides, no one on the other end of the walkie-talkie can hear what we’re saying unless Gage pushes the button. He won’t do that if he wants this meeting to continue.”

  Yeah, Gage wanted it to continue. And end. With Ford out of the picture one way or another.

  “Gage,” Ford repeated like profanity. “You’ve come to make a deal with me.”

  “I have.” Best to keep this simple. “I want you to back off and leave Lynette alone.”

  “I can’t,” Ford quickly answered. “She has to pay for her disobedience. Imagine, my own daughter doing that. My only blood kin. I’m sure you know how painful something like would be.”

  Gage figured that could be a reference to the baby. Maybe even a cleverly worded threat. But he didn’t bite. Not yet anyway.

  “Look, we both know you’re dirty,” Gage continued, “but Lynette isn’t going to look for proof of that. She stopped her investigation.”

  His bug-searching goon gave Ford a thumbs-up. “No one’s listening but us.”

  Ford smiled then shook his head. “Lynette stopped her investigation too late.”

  “It’s never too late,” Gage countered.

  Another headshake. “You seem to believe I have complete control over all of this. I don’t. Patrick and Nicole are shaken up, too, and if one of them believes Lynette found anything incriminating, they’d be willing to do something about it. So, you see, I’m not the only person who might want to stop my daughter.”

  “She didn’t find anything,” Gage supplied.

  “They think she’s lying.” Ford paused. “Lynette stopped digging for one reason— She decided that she wanted to test-drive motherhood. But I’m betting she found plenty before she got pregnant with your bastard child.”

  Okay, that chipped away at the temper that Gage was trying to keep in check. “Not a bastard,” Gage calmly corrected. “Lynette and I are still married.”

  “An abomination of a marriage. That makes your baby an abomination, too.”

  “No, it makes this baby a Ryland.” Gage huffed. “Are you trying to make me want to kill you? Because that’s not necessary. I already want you dead.”