Cowboy Famous: Book 4 (Cowboy Justice Association) (30 page)

G
riffin pushed the accelerator of the SUV all the way to the floor. He’d punch his foot through the fucking floorboard if he thought it would make this thing go any damn faster. The needle on the speedometer read a hundred and twenty but it wasn’t nearly quick enough.

Deep in his gut he knew something bad had happened to Jazz. The fact that Adam and Levi had seen his truck abandoned on the side of the road with the keys still in the ignition, her purse on the seat, and no sign of Jazz was deeply disturbing. If she wasn’t walking to the next town, where was she? She was a city girl and he doubted she would take a ride from a stranger.

“We’ll find her.”

Reed’s softly spoken words from the passenger seat did nothing to calm Griffin in the least. His pulse was racing and a band was tightening around his chest as one nightmare scenario after another raced through his mind.

“She’s disappeared. Gordon’s on the loose and was seen driving this direction. I have a bad feeling, man.”

“We don’t even know why he killed those other women. What is his MO? Do they all remind him of his mother or something? You don’t know he’s taken Jazz.”

But Griffin did know. Deep down inside, fear was gnawing away at his gut. Reed was trying to make Griffin feel better but there was only one thing that would do that. He needed to see Jazz safe and sound with that beautiful smile on her face.

“It’s too much of a coincidence, don’t you think?”

Reed’s lips twisted and he scraped his fingers through his hair. “It is a bit of a coincidence. One I wouldn’t like, I admit.”

Griffin slowed down as his truck came into view. Pulling his own vehicle directly behind it, he jumped out of the SUV so he could examine the truck and the area. Levi was standing next to it and walked up to meet him.

“Tell me what you’ve seen.”

Griffin didn’t bother with greetings or social niceties and Levi appeared to understand. He nodded and pointed to the cab of the truck.

“The keys are still in the ignition and her purse is on the seat. I tried to start the truck but no luck. I checked under the hood but there’s nothing loose. Before Adam left to find Jazz, we tried jumper cables but that didn’t work. Then I checked the gas tank. Empty with a big hole in it.”

“I know for a fact that tank was filled three-quarters full,” Griffin growled. “I don’t have a fucking gas leak. It just came out of the shop.”

“You do.” Levi knelt by the rear tire of the truck. “I crawled underneath while I was waiting for you guys. You can feel the gouge in the tank. It’s not something that just spontaneously happens. Someone or something put that hole there.”

“Still think it’s all a coincidence?” Griffin asked Reed, who was watching the proceedings with a grim expression. “My truck was parked behind the station this morning. Gordon could have got to it. He knew she would run out of gas and followed her. Hell, she’d never think Gordon could hurt her. She might even have got in his car of her own free will. Son of a fucking bitch. This is all my fault.”

He’d failed Jazz. The one woman who had made him feel like there might be a future and he’d fucked it all up. He was a sorry excuse for a lawman and she was paying the price.

“It is not your goddamn fault.” Tanner stepped forward, his brows pulled down and his lips pressed together. “This is no one’s fault. Got it?”

“No.” Griffin shook his head. “I was focused on Tony because he was sleeping with Sandy. If I’d loo–”

“Just fucking stop this shit. Stop second guessing yourself.” Reed cut him off. “Gordon didn’t have a motive that you knew of. We follow the evidence. That’s what we do. If there wasn’t anything against this guy there was nothing for you to do.”

“Now what do we do?” Seth asked, his arms crossed over his chest. “Assuming this guy has Jazz, where would he take her?”

“We need to check the Rinehart place.” All Griffin had was his intuition at this point, but it speaking loud and clear. With Jazz’s life possibly on the line, waiting for a warrant was not going to happen.

“I think that’s a very good idea. And fast.” Jared pointed into the distance. “I see smoke on the horizon. Isn’t that the same direction we’re headed?”

With a growing sense of horror, Griffin saw the tendrils of dark smoke begin to fill the clear blue sky. Something on the Rinehart spread was on fire, and Jazz might be caught up in it.

*   *   *   *

Finally at the top of the hill, Jazz didn’t take the time to look over her shoulder. She could hear Gordon’s footsteps in the thick grass. That was enough. Running straight to the house, she pulled on the doorknob, rattling the hinges, but it wouldn’t budge. Banging on the door, she peered anxiously into the home through the dirty and smudged windows. Her heart fell as she took in the rooms devoid of any furniture or humans.

This house had been empty for a long time.

Even if she could get into the home, the chances of a working telephone were nil. Once inside, could Gordon trap her there? Possibly even setting fire to the house as well? She couldn’t take the chance of being cornered.

One glance over her shoulder told her that Gordon was gaining on her. She had to make a decision and make it now. There was no time to waste. Running to the far side of the structure, she was hidden from Gordon’s gaze. For mere moments. She frantically looked around for a weapon but there was nothing but a grove of shade trees the hung over the large yard.

Trees.

Not hesitating for a second, she braced her leg on the trunk of an old oak and grabbed one of the lower branches. She hadn’t climbed a tree since she was a child but some things you never forget. Especially when your life just might depend on you remembering.

Grunting with the effort, Jazz managed to pull herself up into the top part of the branches, skinning both her knees and shins along the way. The thick foliage of July gave her decent camouflage despite the pink of her blouse. Its bright color had dulled considerably between the dirt, sweat, soot, and blood that now covered it.

Balling herself up as small as possible, she balanced on the upper branch, her entire body trembling with fear. She had to press her hand over her mouth to keep the scream that was building inside of her from escaping and announcing her location.

She couldn’t lose control now. She had to keep herself together if she had any hope of coming out of this alive. If Gordon found her, she didn’t stand a chance in hand to hand combat with him. He was taller, heavier, and stronger and could easily overpower her small frame.

Time seemed to stand still as she waited in the silence. It could have been seconds or minutes, the only measure the frantic beating of her heart. Teeth chattering together from the chill of terror that swept through her body, she sat perched in the tree shaking like one of its leaves in the cruel Montana wind. It was almost a relief when Gordon came striding into sight. Whatever daze he’d been in after she’d hit him was long gone, although the back of his head was matted with blood.

He paused under the shade trees, looking from side to side as if she might be hiding behind one of the thick trunks. Maybe he’d think she ran in another direction. Or perhaps found a way into the house. Even from where she sat, she could hear his labored breathing and see the angry set of his shoulders and features. Far from the calm, almost robotic man he’d been earlier, now he was clearly enraged.

Jazz relaxed slightly as he stalked off to the front side of the house. Pressing her hands to her face, hot, salty tears leaked down her dirty cheeks even as the smoke from the barn made her throat ache. She had to swallow hard several times to keep from coughing and giving herself away. Gordon wasn’t far and he could come back at any minute. She tried to scrub away the wetness from her face as she silently screamed in her head.

Wrapping her arms around her torso to stop the shaking, she closed her eyes and imagined Griffin’s handsome face. So strong and good, he’d captured her interest, then her respect, and now her heart.

Yes, her heart.

No more denying or pretending it hadn’t happened. She loved Griffin Sawyer. Every part of him. The passionate lover. The considerate boyfriend. Heck, even the control-freak roommate who didn’t want to share the remote. She loved him. She was only sorry she might not get a chance to see him again. To tell him he was loved.

She’d spent her whole life trying to get love and approval. First from her parents and then from an audience. Twisting and molding herself into something new with each role. Something she wasn’t and never would be. With Griffin she was simply herself. All the struggling to become a star suddenly seemed silly and stupid. She wanted to be loved for who she really was. End of story.

When Gordon came back into her sight, she bit down onto her knuckles to keep from whimpering. His head was whipping from side to side and his breathing was even heavier now, whether from fury or the smoke she couldn’t tell.

Her breath caught as he stood still under the tree and leaned his head back so he was looking up into the branches. She froze in place, every muscle in her body paralyzed with fear as he circled the tree gazing up. Directly at her.

“You fucking cunt. Get down here right now.”

*   *   *   *

The three vehicles pulled up to the burning building, tires screeching. Griffin barely had the SUV in park before he jumped out, running toward the now destroyed stable. The roof had caved in and flames leaped from the rubble as thick, black smoke filled the air. If anyone was in that building there was no way they could have survived.

The bile in his stomach rose to his throat, choking him along with the dust and smoke. He stared at the destruction for a long moment before praying to the God he hadn’t spoken to in quite awhile that Jazz wasn’t in there. That she was somewhere safe.

“That’s Gordon’s rental car.” Levi was pointing to the sedan sitting about ten feet away. Griffin ran over to the vehicle and circled it, coming to a horrified halt near the trunk.

“Blood.”

A smear of blood was on the bumper easily seen on the shiny surface. He didn’t know for sure it was Jazz’s blood but his the gut instinct he’d come to rely on so heavily when he was overseas was screaming at him now. His woman was in danger.

Casting his gaze around the property, his eyes went to the abandoned home on the top of the hill. Was that the kill site? Or the stable that was now in ashes, any evidence destroyed?

“Let’s spread out and search. Reed, Jared, and I will search the house. You guys head for the outbuildings.”

There were still several smaller buildings on the property where Gordon might take Jazz. But Griffin’s money was on the house. Running up the hill with Jared and Reed at his heels, he froze when he heard a man’s shouting.

“Listen,” he hissed, holding his arm out so his friends would halt. The yelling was coming from the back of the house. Pulling his firearm, he nodded to Jared and Reed who both fanned out, circling around the far side of the structure. Griffin could clearly hear Gordon screaming curses but had yet to lay eyes on him.

Flattening his back against the side of the house, Griffin slid slowly to the corner and peered around to the backyard. Gordon was shouting up into a tree and struggling to climb the slippery bark, coughing as he breathed in the smoky air.

“Freeze, Gordon. This is Sheriff Griffin Sawyer with the Hope Lake Police Department.” Griffin’s voice cut through the heavy air. “Drop whatever weapon you may have and get on your knees on the ground.”

“You fucking bitch! You goddamn cunt!” Gordon ranted and raved in a raspy voice even as he slid down the trunk once again and onto the ground. From Griffin’s vantage point, the man didn’t appear to have a weapon but one could never tell. Far too experienced to assume anything, Griffin kept his own firearm drawn and ready.

“Kneel on the ground,” he commanded but Gordon wasn’t listening. Screaming at the top of his smoke-filled lungs, he looked past furious and bordering on crazed.

Griffin moved out into the backyard and Reed and Jared followed. Gordon seemed oblivious to the fact that he had three loaded guns pointed right at him, instead ranting about some cosmic unfairness.

Stopping about three feet from Gordon, Griffin lifted the gun higher and inspected the scene. Gordon’s hands were empty but he still might have a weapon in his pockets or pants.

“Shut up.” Griffin normally had copious amounts of patience, but when it came to Jazz…

“Where is Jazz?”

Gordon began yelling again but this time he pointed to the top of the tree. Taking a few deep breaths, Griffin braced himself for the question he was afraid to ask.

“Jazz? Is that you? Are you okay?”

Miraculously, his voice sounded even and in control despite him feeling anything but. If this guy had hurt Griffin’s woman, he was going to wish he’d never been born at all.

“Jazz?” he repeated when there was no answer. Was Gordon just one crazy bastard and shouting at trees? If so, where was Jazz?

“Yes. Yes, I’m okay.”

The voice was small and the coughing and hacking that followed sounded terrible but Griffin had never heard such sweet music. Almost dizzy with relief, he had to discipline himself to keep from taking his eyes from Gordon and looking up into the tree. Until he could see for himself that she was alright, he wouldn’t truly believe it.