One Night Standoff (16 page)

From the corner of her eye, she saw Clayton roll to the side, and when he came up, he had a gun in his hand.

Thank God.

He fired at Quentin, but just as Clayton had done, he got out of the path of the oncoming bullet. Quentin landed in the doorway, part of him in the bedroom and the other part in the hall.

The shots came instantly. A battering of bullets that nearly felt like an earthquake. It took her a moment to realize that neither Quentin nor Clayton had fired the shots, but instead they’d come from below.

Her stomach twisted into a knot.

Quentin had warned them if shots were fired, then his goon downstairs would try to kill them. And that’s exactly what he was trying to do. The bullets began to blast their way through the bathroom floor.

However, those weren’t the only shots she heard. There were others downstairs. Maybe from Declan or maybe from Clayton’s other brothers. She hadn’t heard a vehicle approaching the ranch house, but with everything going on, she could have easily missed it. If so, there could be a life-and-death fight going on one floor beneath them.

She thought of Kirby, of how sick he was. Too sick to fight back. And maybe he wasn’t even conscious yet. He, Stella and Wyatt could be sitting ducks right now, and she doubted the gunmen would show any mercy and keep any of them alive.

“Stay on the bed,” Clayton yelled to her. And he came off the floor and took aim at Quentin.

The man skittered out of sight. Somewhere in the dark hall. But Lenora was betting he wouldn’t go far. No. He wouldn’t give up yet, because it would mean his arrest for attempted murder and God knew how many other charges. That made him beyond desperate and very dangerous.

The bullets from below ate their way through the bathroom floor and into the ceiling. And then the angle changed. God, no. The shooter had moved, maybe because Quentin had told him through the communicator, but now the floor shots were going in Clayton’s direction.

Lenora reached down to pull him onto the bed with her. Not that the mattress and frame would give them much protection, but it was better than nothing. And besides, the bed was aligned with the door, so that they might be able to spot Quentin.

A bullet rammed into the metal bed frame. She heard the plinging sound. Felt it, too. The jolt. But she didn’t have time to dwell on it.

She had to try to save Clayton.

Clayton scrambled onto the end of the mattress, and he positioned himself in front of her. Shielding her in case Quentin came through the door again. But as frightening as that prospect was, Lenora was terrified that the gunman below would get lucky with those blind shots. Heck, it wouldn’t even take much luck because of the sheer volume of bullets that were coming their way.

“He’s behind you!” she heard Declan yell.

And she held her breath, praying that none of Clayton’s family had been hurt.

There was another blast, different from the shots going into the floor. And just like that, that battery of bullets stopped. The room suddenly became so quiet that the only sound she could hear was her own heartbeat crashing in her ears.

“All clear down here,” Declan shouted.

Lenora released the breath she’d been holding and was beyond thankful that the floor shooter was out of commission. But Quentin was no doubt alive and ready to launch round two.

“Clayton, are you okay?” It was Declan again. From the sound of his voice, he was making his way up the stairs.

Clayton didn’t answer Declan, though. He took aim at the door. Waiting.

“Get in the closet,” Clayton whispered to her.

Lenora hated to leave him to fight this battle alone, but she had to think of the baby. She couldn’t risk it, so she scrambled off the bed and reached down to scoop up her gun. However, she didn’t even make it a step toward the closet when she saw the blur of motion from the corner of her eye.

The sound came with it.

Yelling at the top of his lungs, Quentin ran into the room, his gun already aimed not at her but at Clayton. Clayton ducked to the side and they both fired at the same time. Even though she couldn’t see if Clayton had been hit, Lenora saw the bullet tear through Quentin’s arm.

It didn’t stop him.

He squeezed the trigger, his shots blistering through the air, and Lenora dropped to the floor when one of them bashed into the headboard.

She pivoted and took aim at Quentin. But it was already too late. Lenora shouted for Clayton to get down, but it was too late for that, as well.

Quentin fired.

So did Clayton.

And this time he didn’t hit Quentin in the chest or shoulder. The shot went into his head. Quentin seemed to freeze. For a split second his gaze met hers, and then he crumpled to the floor.

The shock paralyzed her for several moments, but then she hurried to Clayton to make sure he was okay. But the look on his face let her know that he wasn’t.

“You’re hurt,” Lenora said.

Clayton frantically shook his head. “No. But you are.”

Lenora had no idea what he meant, but then she looked down and saw the blood on the front of her shirt.

Oh, God.

Maybe it was the blood or something else, but Lenora suddenly felt woozy. The room started to spin, and she could barely make out Clayton’s face.

However, she heard his voice.

“I’m getting you to the hospital now.” He scooped her up in his arms and started running.

Chapter Eighteen

“She’ll be okay,” Clayton heard his brother Wyatt say
to him.

Wyatt wasn’t the first family member to try to reassure him
that Lenora would get through this. So had Harlan and Declan, who were now on
the phone trying to get an update on the investigation wrap-up. Kirby, too, had
tried to give Clayton some reassurance before the medics had taken him up the
hall of the Maverick Springs Hospital to be checked out.

Even though Kirby had arrived in an ambulance, he thankfully
didn’t appear to have any serious injuries. Ditto for Clayton’s brothers and
Stella. No injuries.

But Lenora was a different matter.

She’d been in the examination room with Dr. Landry for what
seemed an eternity now, but after checking the time, Clayton realized it had
been less than a half hour.

Clayton would have gone in with them, but the doctor had said
she needed to give Lenora a thorough exam. Yeah, Lenora and he had been
intimate, twice, but he doubted Lenora would want him in there for that. And
that meant he had to wait while everything inside was yelling for him to make
sure she was all right.

He didn’t know how bad her injuries were, but there’d been
blood, so Lenora had likely been shot. That meant both the baby and she could
still be in danger.

How the hell could he have let this happen to her?

She’d put her safety in his hands, and he’d failed her in the
worst kind of way.

Clayton cursed Quentin, and even though the man was dead, it
didn’t lessen his anger. Quentin’s jealousy and need for revenge had caused four
of his hired guns to be killed, it’d put Clayton’s entire family at risk and it
would give him enough nightmares to last a lifetime. He’d never forget seeing
that blood on Lenora’s shirt and the terrified look in her eyes when they’d come
under attack.

Declan finished the phone call he was making, and all of them
turned toward him to hear what, if anything, he’d learned.

“That was Agent James Britt.” Declan kept his attention nailed
to Clayton. “They found the recording at Lomax’s sister’s house. Just where
Lomax said it would be. It confirms that Quentin did indeed hire the gunmen to
come after you and Lenora.”

Well, that tied up everything in a neat little package.
Maybe.
“Any signs that James had anything to do with
this?”

Declan shook his head. “But he just rattled on about how sorry
he was that Lenora nearly got killed. I don’t think he’s dirty, but I think he
knows he did a lousy job with the way he handled things, including the time when
she worked for him as a CI.”

A lousy job was right, but Clayton would take that over a dirty
agent, and it was looking as if James was no longer a suspect in any of this.
Later, when he saw the agent, he would apologize for suspecting him. And that
brought him to the next question.

“Any chance that Melvin had a part in Quentin’s plan?” he asked
Declan.

“Sorry, but no. I was looking forward to arresting him for
something, but looks like we’ll have to wait. There’s no proof whatsoever that
Quentin or Riggs hired Melvin to do anything wrong.”

Yeah. But Clayton didn’t know how hard he’d be looking into
Melvin’s dirty dealings. If Lenora made it through this and both she and the
baby were okay, then Clayton wanted to focus on them and not the man who’d been
part of his past. Strange that it had taken something like nearly losing Lenora
to put things in perspective.

Clayton again looked at the door to the room where she was
being examined, and again he considered going in there. He wasn’t sure how much
longer he could wait to learn how she was doing. And even though this
conversation about the wrap-up of the investigation was important, nothing was
more important than Lenora.

“That brings us to Riggs,” Harlan added. He, too, had finished
a phone call just shortly before Declan’s. “The FBI and the sheriff aren’t
finding anything to link Riggs to this, but the justice department used this
latest incident to prove to a federal judge just how dangerous Riggs could be,
even behind bars. So they finally got approval to freeze all of Riggs’s assets.
That should stop him if he decides to hire someone to deter Lenora and you from
testifying.”

Yet more good news. They wouldn’t have to spend the next few
months looking over their shoulders. But it wasn’t the good news that Clayton
needed to hear.

He whirled around when he heard the footsteps headed toward the
waiting room, but it wasn’t Dr. Landry. It was another doctor, Tony Reardon, who
was new to Maverick Springs.

“You’re Kirby’s son?” he asked, pinning his gaze to
Clayton.

“We all are.” Clayton motioned to Dallas, Wyatt, Slade, Declan
and Harlan. “How is he? And Stella?”

“They’re both fine,” the doctor answered. “Stella got a bump on
her head when she fell after being hit with the stun gun.”

Clayton looked back at Wyatt, who confirmed that with a nod.
“Kirby was in bed, so he didn’t hit the floor.”

The doctor frowned and looked up at the bruises on Wyatt’s
cheek and forehead. “Is that what happened to you?”

“I’m okay,” Wyatt insisted, not answering the question, but
he’d already told Clayton that the two gunmen had bashed their way through
Kirby’s bedroom window and first grabbed Stella to use her as a human shield.
They’d hit Wyatt with a projectile stun gun, then they’d hit Kirby and Stella.
They hadn’t even had a chance to fight back.

The doctor made a sound to indicate he didn’t agree with
Wyatt’s
I’m okay
remark, and he looked at the chart
that he was holding. “Stella can go home, but I want to keep Kirby for the
night.”

That didn’t help steady Clayton’s nerves.

“I thought you said he was all right,” Harlan immediately
protested.

“He is, but because of his existing condition, I want to keep
an eye on him. He’s hooked up to an IV right now, and I’d like to get more
fluids in him.”

Kirby wasn’t going to like that, but in this case, Clayton was
on the doctor’s side. Better safe than sorry, and heaven only knew what the
stress had done to Kirby’s already-weak body.

“What about Lenora?” Clayton asked. He knew Dr. Reardon hadn’t
examined her, but he was desperate for news.

“She has the gunshot wound, right?” the doctor said looking at
the chart again.

That did it. Clayton was already operating on a short fuse, and
just hearing
gunshot wound
was the last straw. He
went to the door where Dr. Landry had taken Lenora and he knocked once. But he
didn’t even wait for a response. He threw it open.

And his heart went to his knees.

Clayton had hoped to see Lenora sitting up, but the room was
dusky dark, and she was lying down on the examining table. Her top was off,
discarded onto the back of a chair, and Dr. Landry had a needle jammed into the
top of Lenora’s shoulder.

“I couldn’t wait,” he said, shutting the door behind him. “I
had to know.”

Lenora managed a smile and reached out her hand to him. It took
him a moment to get his feet moving, because just looking at her pale face
brought back all the memories of the attack.

Of just how close he’d come to losing her.

Clayton went to the examining bed and brushed a kiss on her
mouth. It didn’t help soothe him, but Lenora made a soft sound of, well,
something. Probably not pleasure. Relief maybe. And she tightened the grip she
had on his hand.

“I’m fine, really,” she tried to assure him, but words weren’t
going to give him much reassurance. He had to see for himself that she was okay,
and so far what he was seeing only confirmed that she had indeed been shot.

“The bullet sliced through the top of her shoulder,” Dr. Landry
explained. “Not much damage, just a flesh wound. She’s already stitched up, but
I was just giving her a little extra local anesthesia for the pain.”

“You’re in pain?” Another stupid thing to say. Of course she
was. She’d been shot.

Lenora shook her head. “I didn’t want to take any pain pills,
so this will help when the numbness wears off. How are Kirby, Stella and
Wyatt?”

“Fine.” And he didn’t want to discuss them. Clayton wanted to
talk about how she was doing. He watched the doctor put aside the needle and
pick up another piece of equipment.

“Is it okay if he stays for this?” the doctor asked Lenora.

Lenora looked up at him, and for a moment he thought she was
going to ask him to leave, but she just nodded. “Dr. Landry’s about to do an
ultrasound.”

He’d heard of them. Some kind of sonar imaging to see the baby.
That didn’t help the nerves, either. God, was something wrong with the baby?

“It’s just a precaution,” Lenora said, her voice a gentle
whisper. “The baby’s moving just fine, and Dr. Landry says my injury wouldn’t
have any impact on the pregnancy.”

He wanted to believe that. Desperately wanted to. But with all
the bad things that had happened in the past couple of months, he was having a
hard time hanging on to hope.

Dr. Landry helped Lenora put a scrub top on rather than her
bloody shirt. Clayton didn’t ever want to see that shirt again.

“Okay, let’s get a look at this kid,” Dr. Landry said. She
pushed up the gray-green sheet that was covering Lenora. She was still wearing
her jeans, but they’d been shoved down to her hips so that her belly was
exposed. The doctor used a squeeze bottle to smear some goopy-looking stuff over
Lenora’s stomach.

Clayton figured in just a few seconds, they’d all be caught up
in seeing the baby. And that was critical. He had to know that his child was
okay. But there was something else critical, too, and while he would have
preferred this conversation to be private, he didn’t want to delay it or the
ultrasound.

He leaned in closer to Lenora. “You said yes, that you’d marry
me.”

She blinked, no doubt surprised that he’d bring it up now. “I
did.”

Instant relief. Well, sort of. She remembered saying it, but
Clayton wanted more. Much more. “Did you mean it?”

She stared at him a moment while the doctor continued to get
the machine ready for the ultrasound. “I meant it,” Lenora verified. “But not
for the reasons you think.”

Okay, there went any sense of relief. “You said it to distract
Quentin.”

Another blink, and Lenora frowned. “No. I said it because I’m
in love with you, and that’s the reason I want to marry you.”

Dr. Landry cleared her throat. “Uh, should I step out for a
minute or two?”

“No,” Lenora and Clayton said in unison. “Clayton and I can
talk afterward. Go ahead and do the ultrasound.”

But Clayton didn’t want to wait until
afterward.
Partly because Lenora had knocked the breath out of him
with what she’d said. “You’re in love with me?”

Lenora smiled and pulled him down for a kiss. “Don’t look so
shocked. You’re a very lovable guy.”

Clayton hoped like hell that she wasn’t toying with him, but he
knew Lenora wasn’t the toying type. In fact, he knew a lot about her.

“Good.” He returned the kiss. “Because I’m in love with you,
too.”

Now it was Lenora’s turn to look shocked. She made another
sound, too—a breathy, happy sound that rushed right out of her mouth and against
his when he kissed her again.

“You love me?” she asked.

“Hey, you’re a very lovable woman.” And because he couldn’t
help himself, he continued the kiss.

Until the doctor cleared her throat again. “I don’t mind doing
stitches or ultrasounds, but I’d rather not witness celebratory foreplay.
Besides, those kisses are making Lenora squirm, and I need her to stay still for
this.”

Clayton smiled at the thought of making Lenora squirm, but he
did as the doctor asked. However, it was darn hard not to kiss Lenora with her
nuzzling her face against his. The nuzzling continued until the images popped up
on the screen.

His breath stalled in his lungs.

It didn’t look like a baby. More like some alien creature. He
hadn’t expected seeing those fuzzy images would pack such a wallop.

“Oh, man,” Clayton mumbled, and he had no choice but to lean
against the bed. He thought his legs might buckle at any second.

“Yes,” Lenora whispered and clutched his hand again.

He had no doubt that she knew exactly what he was feeling. The
love. The joy. The terror. Yeah, that, too. It suddenly seemed like such a huge
weight to be responsible for that little life, but then Clayton felt no weight
at all. Just the miracle of seeing his baby.

“Lots of movement,” the doctor said, her attention on the
screen.

“That’s good?” Clayton asked once he could get his mouth to
form words.

“Very good. Everything looks great. Fingers, toes,
heartbeat...” But Dr. Landry’s explanation ground to a halt, and she glanced
back at them. “You want to know the sex of the baby?”

Clayton looked at Lenora to see how she felt about that, but
she only shrugged. He was still debating it when he looked at the screen again
and saw what had caught the doctor’s eye. Even though the image was alien-like,
Clayton had no trouble seeing
that.

“Sorry, sometimes it’s hard to conceal the sex,” the doctor
explained.

Apparently, Lenora saw it, too. “It’s a boy,” she mumbled. Her
breath caught in her throat.

Clayton’s breath caught, as well.

A son.

He would have been happy with either, but now that he knew they
were having a boy, it was easier to see him. Not just as a baby, but growing up,
too. He could be the father to this child that Kirby had been to him.

And better.

Because his son would have a better start to life than either
of them had had.

“You’ll change diapers?” Lenora asked, her joke cutting through
the silence.

“Definitely.” He’d walk through fire for both of them, and he
let her know that with another kiss. And Clayton didn’t care if this one was too
hot and too long for the doctor to witness. Everything around him disappeared
except for Lenora and their son.