But the right moment didn’t come.
The kidnapper stormed toward her, moving just behind Kelly to use her as a human shield. Sweet heaven. Nick wouldn’t come in with guns blazing, but a shootout seemed inevitable.
The stable doors flew open, and Kelly braced herself to see Nick and to hear the shot that would almost certainly be fired at him.
“Watch out!” Kelly yelled.
But the warning wasn’t necessary. Because there was no one in the stable doorway.
That obviously didn’t please the kidnapper, who cursed viciously, hooked an arm around Kelly’s neck and repositioned her so that she was in the line of fire. The only advantage that Kelly had was that she was able to keep her hand on the gate latch.
“Show yourself or I’ll kill her now,” the kidnapper called out.
Kelly’s breath stalled in her throat, and she waited, bracing herself for whatever was about to happen.
Nick appeared in the doorway with his hands on his head. A show of surrender. And if he had a gun, it wasn’t visible.
“Let Kelly go,” Nick insisted.
“Get inside,” the kidnapper answered. “Close the doors.”
Nick did as ordered, and the moment the doors were shut, the kidnapper moved away from Kelly and aimed the gun at Nick. Even though the light was dim in the stables, Kelly had no trouble seeing the gloved hand of the kidnapper tense around the gun.
And the trigger.
That was Kelly’s cue. She couldn’t wait. She pulled back the gate lever, and the metallic creaking sound that it made seemed to echo through the entire stables.
That sound alerted the kidnapper, who whirled around, re-aiming the gun at Kelly.
Then all hell broke loose.
Nick launched himself at the kidnapper. Kelly dove to the side. Away from Greta and the babies so that she could hopefully draw any gunfire away from them.
She heard Nick yell for her to get down. Kelly yelled for him to do the same. That didn’t stop the kidnapper from coming after her—or the massive palomino from bolting from the stall.
The horse blocked Nick from getting to her.
Knowing she would die if she didn’t do something, Kelly took a huge risk. Instead of moving away from the kidnapper, she turned and barreled right toward the gun that was aimed at her chest. Obviously, the kidnapper hadn’t expected her to do that, because there was just a moment of hesitation. A split second of time. But that was all the time Kelly needed to ram into the kidnapper.
Both fell to the stable floor.
Around them were the sounds of chaos: deafening thunder, babies crying, the horse rearing and snorting, and Nick shouting. Kelly wanted Greta to get herself and the babies out of there, but the woman was trapped because of the horse. Maneuvering past it would be too dangerous.
Kelly fought, going for the kidnapper’s gun. It was their best chance at survival. But she heard the loud thud behind her. Looked up. And saw that the horse’s front hooves were about to come down right on her.
She rolled to the side. So did the kidnapper. Just as Nick managed to get around the rearing horse.
The kidnapper turned the gun on Nick.
Kelly reached out, latching on to whatever she could. She caught onto the stretchy ski mask, ripping it off the kidnapper.
And came face-to-face with the person who obviously wanted them dead.
Nick kept his attention on the kidnapper’s gun. Not on Kelly. Not on the babies’ now-frantic sobs. Not on the mare that was totally out of control and would likely hurt herself and the rest of them.
His focus was only on the gun.
He had to get it away from the kidnapper before Kelly was shot.
Nick ducked around the mare and raced toward Kelly. She was on the ground in a wrestling match with the kidnapper. It was a battle she was on the verge of losing. Her opponent was larger and much stronger.
When Nick made it to them, the kidnapper spun around, and the light from the overhead dangling bulb illuminated the person’s face.
It was Paula Barker.
His gaze met hers, and in her eyes he could see not anger or venom but her determination not to lose this battle. She cursed, caught Kelly by her hair and got them both to their feet.
Paula also put the gun to Kelly’s head.
Kelly’s eyes were filled with determination, too, and Nick knew that in an all-out battle, Kelly would find a way to win. They both would. Because their children’s lives were at stake.
“Stay where you are,” Paula ordered him.
Nick froze—for the time being—and he tried to figure out what to do. This situation was already out of hand. But it could easily turn deadly if he didn’t handle this the right way.
“You’re on Eric’s payroll,” Nick said, hoping to distract Paula.
The attempt at distraction didn’t work. With Kelly in tow, Paula began to back up toward Greta and the babies.
Nick tried again. “You jammed the security equipment and the cell phones. You don’t want Eric brought to justice because he’s your real boss.”
Again Paula had no reaction other than to yell out, “Keep your hands in the air where I can see them.”
He did. Though he wouldn’t hold that particular stance for long. He had his gun tucked into his slide holster in the back waist of his pants, and he was definitely going to retrieve it so he could stop this woman.
Paula volleyed glances between Nick and Greta. Probably because she thought that Greta might try something. Nick was almost positive that she wouldn’t. Or rather, she
couldn’t.
Greta was in her own struggle to hang on to both boys, who were crying and squirming to get away from her.
“You know this is a mistake,” Nick said to Paula. “Eric’s paying you to do his dirty work, but in the end you’ll be caught. You’ll go to jail. And he’ll walk away scot-free.” He kept his voice calm and began to inch down his hands so he could go for his gun.
He might as well have been talking to himself because Paula didn’t even acknowledge that he’d spoken. She was focused totally on the task, and it didn’t take him long to figure out what exactly that was.
Paula made her way toward the gasoline. And she was careful about it, too. She kept herself between Kelly and the babies. Even if Nick could manage to draw his gun, he wouldn’t be able to fire unless Paula moved out of position. He had to think of something fast to get her to do that.
Without taking her attention off him, Paula used her foot to knock over the metal can. The liquid spilled onto the hay-littered floor.
She was going to set the place on fire.
Kelly’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. Nick knew they couldn’t wait any longer. He dropped his arms and reached for his gun. In the same exact moment, Kelly dropped her weight and sank below Paula.
Paula aimed at Kelly and was no doubt about to fire.
“No!” Nick yelled. He drew his gun.
It worked.
A little too well.
Paula took aim at him. Nick dove to the side just as she pulled the trigger.
T
HE SOUND OF THE SHOT
tore through the stables.
It was deafening. And it caused the babies to shriek even louder and the horse to rear in a mad panic.
Kelly pushed all the noise and the horrific sounds aside so she could check and see if Nick was okay.
He seemed to move in slow motion. Or maybe that was the way her brain was trying to process all of this pandemonium. Nick scrambled toward an empty stall and dove inside it just in time.
Paula’s bullet sliced away a chunk of a wooden post that was close to where Nick had been standing. Too close. If he hadn’t moved when he did, he would have been dead.
Kelly watched in horror as Paula aimed again at Nick. She couldn’t risk another shot being fired at him, so Kelly rammed her body into Paula’s back.
Both of them tumbled forward.
Nick shouted something that Kelly couldn’t hear with all the surrounding noise. And she didn’t take the time to try to understand what he’d said. Kelly grabbed Paula’s right wrist and dug her nails into the woman’s flesh.
Paula didn’t just give up. She fought like a crazed demon. And that was probably because the stakes were astronomical for her.
But not as high as they were for Kelly and Nick. So Kelly continued to hold Paula’s wrist until the woman elbowed Kelly in the jaw. The impact sent Kelly flying back, but she immediately scrambled forward so she could grab Paula’s shooting hand again. She needed to get that gun away from Paula.
Kelly soon had help. She heard footsteps a split second before Nick reached down into the scuffle and yanked Paula out by the hair, wrenched the gun from her hand and kicked it away. It landed in the area where the horse was pawing.
But Paula wasn’t ready to surrender.
The woman obviously had plenty of defense training because she aimed her fist at Nick’s jaw. He ducked. Paula came at him again. Nick shifted his position, stepping slightly to the side, and when Paula launched herself at him, he put her in a headlock and dropped to the ground. Paula’s head hit the concrete floor, the sound thudding over the other noise.
Paula went limp.
Nick immediately checked for a pulse. “She’s alive,” he relayed to Kelly. His breath was gusting and his chest pumped as if starved for air. “Are you okay?”
She nodded and glanced at the boys. Though they were both crying at the tops of their lungs, they seemed physically unharmed. However, Kelly didn’t want to think of the trauma this had caused.
Nick made it to her and pulled her into his arms for what had to be the shortest reassurance hug ever. Still, it was heaven. Nick and the babies were unharmed.
“We’re getting out of here
now,
” Nick insisted. “I’ll phone the police from the car. They can come out and arrest Paula.”
He didn’t have to tell Kelly twice. She sprang from the floor. So did Greta, and Kelly hurried to her so that she could take one of the boys.
Nick dodged the rearing horse again and raced to the front of the stables. “Stay put until I make sure everything is clear.”
But the words had hardly left his mouth when the stable doors burst open.
A truck rammed through the steel and the wood, and the impact threw Nick back. He went sprawling to the floor. So did his weapon.
Eric stepped from the vehicle. A gun in each hand. And the first thing he did was fire at the gun that Nick was frantically trying to reach. The shot caused Nick’s weapon to skitter across the floor away from him.
“Don’t go for it,” Eric warned through clenched teeth.
He was drenched, rain dripping from his hair and face. And he was obviously pissed off. He got even angrier when he glanced at an unconscious Paula on the floor.
“Stupid bitch,” he mumbled.
Eric fired nasty glances at all five of them in the stables. “You all should have been dead by now, and the place should have been on fire so that your bald-headed security honcho could be set up to take the blame. That’s the last time I hire a woman to do a man’s job.”
He aimed a gun at Kelly but divided his attention between Nick and her.
Eric went toward the gas can that was lying on its side. But that wasn’t all he did. He aimed the gun in his left hand at Greta who was cradling Joseph in her arms.
“You two first,” Eric announced. “Don’t worry. The rest won’t be far behind.”
Fear and anger raged through Kelly. She was sick and tired of this monster trying to destroy her family. She didn’t think, didn’t hesitate. She pushed William at Greta. She heard a feral sound vibrate in her throat, and she ran at Eric, putting herself between his gun and Joseph.
That didn’t stop Eric. He fired just as Nick tackled him from behind.
Kelly didn’t wait to see if she’d been hit. She charged toward Nick and Eric, who were in a fight for the guns that Eric still had in his hands.
The horse stopped her.
The palomino moved between the scuffle and her. For just a moment, she lost sight of Nick, and it caused her to lose her breath. God, he had to be all right.
Kelly picked up the empty gas can, intending to use it to bash Eric. She moved around the side of the stable, trying to avoid the horse. It wasn’t easy to do. The animal seemed to charge right at her, and the old fears returned. It didn’t matter, however. No phobia was going to stop her from getting to Nick.
The horse was so close to her that she felt its hot breath snort against her face. Still, Kelly worked her way around the stalls and spotted Nick.
He was on the floor with Eric. Nick had hold of both of Eric’s wrists. The death grip prevented Eric from aiming the guns, but it didn’t stop him.
Eric’s right index finger was on the trigger.
And Kelly watched in horror as he pulled it.
There was another thick blast, and Kelly saw the impact. Wood and splinters spewed from the back of the stable wall.
“Try to get the boys out,” Kelly shouted to Greta. Though she wasn’t sure Greta could manage to get past the horse.
Kelly started toward Eric and Nick again. But she didn’t make it to them in time. Nick slammed his brother’s hand onto the floor, next to Eric’s head.
Just as Eric pulled the trigger again.
Kelly dropped the gas can and rushed to Nick. Greta stopped, too. But it wasn’t Nick who’d been hurt. It was Eric. The shot he’d fired had entered his own right temple. There was no need to check for a pulse or any other sign of life.
Eric was dead.
Kelly’s breath broke. She felt on the verge of breaking, as well. Her legs gave way, and she would have fallen if Nick hadn’t caught her. He hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her to him.
The emotions came at her nonstop. Eric was dead. As horrible as the gruesome sight was in front of her, she couldn’t feel grief that he was no longer a threat in their lives.
“It’s over,” Kelly heard herself say. And she leaned against Nick and let him support her. “It’s really over.”
“Not quite,” someone said.
It was Paula.
Nick and Kelly whirled around, and just on the other side of the palomino, Kelly saw something that turned her blood to ice.
Paula was no longer unconscious. There was a fresh trail of blood seeping from her forehead and onto her parka, but other than that, she seemed alive and well.
She was also armed.
She’d obviously retrieved her gun while Eric and Nick had been fighting.
“Eric is dead,” Nick shouted to her. “This is over.”
“No. It’s not over.” Paula was standing several yards in front of Greta and the babies.
And the agent had a lit match in her hand.
She tossed the match onto the gasoline. The blaze was instant.
But Paula merely stepped to one side, took aim and fired at Kelly and Nick.
N
ICK DIDN’T HAVE TIME
to retrieve one of Eric’s guns. He caught Kelly and dragged her to the floor with him. The bullet whipped right over his head. But it wasn’t a solo shot. Paula fired again and again.
This was Nick’s worst nightmare come true. Kelly and the babies were in danger, and even though Eric was out of the picture, Nick might not be able to save them.
The orange flames began to eat their way through the stables, and Nick knew that Greta was trapped. There was no exit in that corner, and she’d have to get past Paula to escape. An impossible task, especially with two babies in tow.
The horse reared again, and Nick used that opportunity to grab Kelly and move her just inside one of the stalls. He didn’t pick that one randomly; it was next to the fire extinguisher, which he tore from the wall.
He didn’t wait to come up with a plan. There wasn’t time for that. He had to react now. Using the mare for cover, he maneuvered himself to the back of the stable. The smoke was already so thick that Paula was coughing and trying to make her way to the front exit.
Nick didn’t want to let her escape, but he had to save Greta, Kelly and the babies. Kelly obviously had the same idea, because she raced toward Greta and scooped up the babies in her arms.
Now Nick had to create an escape path for them all.
Unfortunately, Paula was on the other side of the mare and closer to the fresh air. She turned and fired.
Nick jumped in front of Kelly to shield her and then tossed the fire extinguisher to Greta. Putting out that fire was their only chance right now.
He heard Greta spraying the flames, and he raced toward Paula—who was taking aim at Kelly and the boys.
Nick dove toward his brother’s body and slid across the floor so that he could snatch up one of the Glocks. He lifted the gun just as Paula whirled toward him and prepared to shoot him.
But Nick fired first.
Paula froze as if in shock. Her startled gaze met his for just a second before she collapsed into a dead heap on the stable floor.
“Kelly?” Nick shouted.
He didn’t bother to confirm that Paula was dead because the extinguisher hadn’t yet taken care of the flames. The fire was out of control and quickly making its way through the stables.
Nick got to Kelly, who was trying to stomp out the flames, and he latched on to both Greta and her. It was a race for their lives. Thankfully, the mare realized that and bolted out of the opening that Eric had created when he’d crashed through the stable doors with the truck.
Nick wasn’t far behind. He grabbed the babies from Kelly, and they ran toward the opening. He felt the heat from the flames and felt his throat close from the smothering smoke. But he didn’t stop.