Lone Wolf Lawman

“He’s on foot, but he’s moving pretty quick. You got fifteen minutes, maybe less.”

Weston figured with the way his luck had been running, it’d be less. That wasn’t enough time for Jericho to make it out to the ranch, but maybe it was enough for Weston’s friends to get onto the grounds and help.

The moment he finished the text, Weston slapped off the lights, pulled Addie’s mom into the office with them and then closed the blinds. “Get down on the floor behind the desk. I’ll go through the house and lock the doors.”

“It’ll go faster if I show you where all the doors are,” Addie insisted.

“Or I could go,” Iris volunteered.

Addie shook her head. “Not with your sore ankle. I can move a lot faster than you can. You wait here and keep watch while I go with Weston.”

Normally, he would have refused her help, but it was a big place even by Texas standards, and he didn’t want to miss an entrance.

“All right.” Iris shifted her shotgun so that it’d be easier for her to use. “I’ll call Jericho. Just hurry and get back here.”

Weston nodded. “Tell the other ranch hands, too, so they’ll get inside and take cover. I also want you to stay away from the windows.”

He wasn’t sure the Moonlight Strangler was into shooting bystanders, but Weston didn’t want to take any chances. Not with Iris. Not with Addie. Especially since she was pregnant with his child.

Later, he’d need to settle that with Addie.

And himself.

Weston figured he’d be asking himself a lot of “what the hell have I done?” questions.

“This way,” Addie said, leading him not to the front of the house but rather the back.

She was focused on the task. Or rather trying to pretend she was. But Weston could still feel the fear coming from her. Could also feel her dodging his gaze. He couldn’t blame her. She probably didn’t want to trust him, but at the moment she had no choice.

“Your friends didn’t see the killer when he shot Teddy,” she said like the accusation that it was.

“Apparently not,” he settled for saying.

“And you still trust them?” Again, an accusation.

“Yeah. With my life.”

She glanced at him, a reminder that he’d trusted them with her life, too. And her mother’s. The glance was well deserved. He had done just that. But both of his friends were former cops and had plenty of equipment that should have detected anyone in those woods surrounding the ranch.

It was obviously a precaution that’d failed big-time.

Addie and he threaded their way through a massive family room, turning off lights and locking two doors there before doing the same to yet three more off the kitchen and adjoining dining room. Even though Christmas was still three weeks away, everything was decorated for the holiday. Trees, wreaths and other decorations were in almost every room.

“My mother goes a little overboard. She loves Christmas,” Addie said.

Maybe because Addie had been found nearly thirty years ago on Christmas Eve. From everything Weston had uncovered, Iris had always wanted a daughter, so this could be a dual celebration of sorts.

Next, there was another office. Jericho’s no doubt, judging from the man-cave decor. And across the hall was a playroom filled with toys and books—a reminder that Addie had a nephew. Thank Heaven the little boy wasn’t in the house, because it was more than enough just protecting Addie and her mother.

“The windows upstairs have child locks on them and are wired in case my nephew tries to open them,” Addie explained. The words practically ran together, even faster than she was jetting around the house.

He doubted the Moonlight Strangler would climb a ladder to try to get inside. That would make him too visible, but he might try other ways. “Is there a security system for the rest of the house?”

Addie nodded, her breath still gusting. “Jericho had one installed after...well, just after.”

It was the kind of security measure Weston would have taken if he’d been in her brother’s place, even if there’d been no hint of the killer coming after her.

“It’s not armed,” he reminded her. Weston knew that for a fact since he’d literally walked right into the house. Something he needed to stop the killer from doing.

“The keypad is by the front door.” Addie led him in that direction, and while she set the system, Weston locked that door. He also checked the sidelight windows.

No one was out there. Yet. If a killer hadn’t had a target on Addie, everything would have seemed normal. Well, everything outside anyway.

“Does the alarm cover all the windows and doors?” Weston asked.

She nodded. “But it won’t go off if the glass breaks. Only if a window is actually lifted.”

That was better than nothing.

Weston took Addie back to her office. Not ideal since there was a big window, but all the rooms on the bottom floor had them.

“Jericho’s on the way,” Iris informed them the moment they returned. “An ambulance, too. I called Teddy again and told him to hold on.”

Maybe holding on would be enough and an ambulance could get to the ranch hand before he bled out. Of course, Jericho likely wouldn’t let the ambulance onto the grounds unless he was certain it was safe for the medics.

And with a killer out there, it was far from safe.

“Get down,” Weston reminded Addie when she hurried to a cabinet in the corner, where she took down a gun off the top shelf.

Good. He hated that she had to be armed, hated she was terrified to the point of shaking, but without backup, Weston wanted all the help he could get.

With his gun ready, he hurried to the window, staying to the side but still putting himself in a position so he could look out and keep watch. Weston lifted one of the blind slats, bracing himself for the worst. His heart nearly jumped from his chest when the lights flared on.

He cursed.

And it took him a second to realize it wasn’t the glare of something from the killer. It was Christmas lights. Hundreds of them. They were strung out across the barns, shrubs, porch and fences, and they winked on and off, the little blasts of color slicing through the darkness.

“They’re on a timer,” Addie said. That’s when he realized she had lifted her head and was looking out, as well. He motioned for her to get back down. “You want me to turn them off?”

“No.”

They actually helped by lighting up the grounds, and it would make it harder for the killer to use the darkness to hide. Weston hoped. This wasn’t the Moonlight Strangler’s first rodeo, and he’d likely already cased the ranch to find the safest path for him to launch an attack.

Too bad there were plenty of places to do just that.

“Why is this monster doing this now, after all this time?” Iris asked.

While Addie filled her in on what they knew, Weston kept watch and took out his phone to call Cliff Romero, a former cop and one of the friends he’d positioned around the grounds surrounding the Crockett ranch.

“What went wrong?” Weston asked the moment Cliff answered.

“We’re not sure. He didn’t get past Dave and me.”

Dave Roper. The other former cop out there. Both men had been armed with thermal equipment that should have detected anyone or anything with a pulse.

And that could mean only one thing.

That the killer had already been on the ranch grounds, maybe waiting in the shed for nightfall. He was also likely wearing some kind of clothing that would make it hard for the equipment to detect him.

“Hell,” Weston said under his breath.

“My thoughts exactly. Dave and I are moving closer, hoping to pick up his trail. Make sure we’re not hit with friendly fire.”

“I’ll try.” He hung up and glanced back at Addie again. “Text Jericho and let him know there are two PIs headed in the direction of the house.”

She did. But that didn’t mean Dave and Cliff were safe. He only hoped the pair caught up with the killer before he could inflict more harm.

“Maybe he’ll just leave if he knows we’re onto him,” Iris whispered.

Yeah, he probably would, and it was tempting to shout out something or fire a warning shot. But if Weston did that, it wouldn’t end the threat. It would only postpone an attack to another place, another time. One when Weston might have a lesser chance of protecting Addie.

“Do you see him?” Addie asked.

Weston shook his head and tried to think of something reassuring to say. He failed. Addie no doubt saw the worry on his face and in his body language. And he was indeed worried. Even if the killer didn’t attack, all of this stress couldn’t be good for Addie and the baby.

The moments crawled by. Turning into minutes. Still no sign of the Moonlight Strangler. No sign of his friends or Jericho, either.

But Weston sensed something.

Exactly what, he wasn’t sure, but he felt the knot tighten in his gut. Felt that warning slide down his spine. A warning that’d saved his butt a time or two. And that’s why he ducked back from the window.

Not a second too soon.

The bullet crashed through the glass in the exact spot where Weston had just been standing.

He’d braced himself for an attack, of course, but Weston doubted anyone could brace themselves for the roaring blast from the shot and the instant surge of adrenaline through their body.

“Stay down!” he warned Addie and her mother. He hoped the ranch hands were doing the same thing.

A second shot came. Then another.

Both went through what was left of the window and slammed into the wall behind him. They also helped him pinpoint the location of the shooter. All three shots had come from the area around the barn nearest the house.

The killer was way too close.

Not as close as he’d been when he had murdered Collette and left Weston for dead, but it was the first time Weston had been in a position to get a glimpse of him since that fateful night.

The rage roared through him. Not a good mix with the adrenaline and other things he was feeling, but Weston refused to let this snake go after anyone else. Especially Addie.

“Are there any ranch hands in the barn out there?” Weston tipped his head in that direction.

“There shouldn’t be,” Addie answered.

Good. That’d be fewer targets for this idiot to try to kill. And the man was definitely trying to kill them. Weston had no doubts about that as even more bullets crashed through the window.

It was always unnerving to have shots fired, but it didn’t help that knot in his stomach when the killer stopped shooting.

Did that mean he was on the move?

Probably. Because it was too much to hope that he’d run out of ammunition.

Weston ducked and hurried to the other side of the window. It was a better vantage point if the shooter was headed to the back of the house, but Weston still didn’t see anything.

Not at first anyway.

Finally, the Christmas lights flickered over a shadowy spot by one of the trucks parked between the house and the barn. Yeah, someone was definitely there.

Weston took aim and fired.

And he got confirmation of the guy’s location when he saw him scramble behind the truck. He also got another confirmation he’d been waiting for—the sound of sirens from a police cruiser. Jericho, no doubt.

But Weston obviously wasn’t the only one who knew that backup was about to arrive. He saw the shooter dart out from the back of the truck. And the man took off running.

Hell.

Weston didn’t want this monster to get away, and that’s exactly what would happen if he waited for Jericho. It’d be a minute or more before Addie’s brother could stop the cruiser and get into place.

A minute the killer would use to escape.

It was a risk. A huge one. Anything Weston did at this point would be.

He fired a glance at Addie. “Text Jericho and tell him where you are. Then stay down and shoot anyone who tries to come in through this window.” He also tossed her his phone. “Text the first contact in there and let him know I’m out of the house.”

She was shaking her head before he even finished. “You can’t go out there,” Addie insisted.

“I can’t let him get away,” he insisted right back. He knocked out the rest of the shards of glass from the window.

Weston wished he had the time to convince her that this was the only way, but he didn’t. With Jericho so close now, he’d be able to protect Addie and their mother. But just in case the killer doubled back and tried to come through the window, Weston kept watch around him.

And he started running the moment his feet hit the ground.

For one thing, he wanted to get out of the line of fire in case Jericho mistook him for the killer. For another, he wanted to make up the distance between him and the guy he could see running flat-out ahead of him.

Weston could also see something else thanks to the Christmas lights.

The guy was dressed all in black and was wearing a ski mask, and he wasn’t running in a straight line. He was darting in and out of whatever he could use for cover. In addition to a gun, he was also carrying something else.

Something that he tossed onto the ground after glancing back over his shoulder at Weston.

Weston darted around whatever he’d tossed, hoping like the devil that it wasn’t a bomb or explosive device, but it wasn’t.

It appeared to be a thermal scanner like the one Dave and Cliff had been using.

That was probably why the killer had managed to pinpoint them so quickly in the house. After all, he hadn’t fired any shots except right into the office, where they’d been hiding.

Behind him, Weston could hear the cruiser approaching, and the slashing blue lights blended with those from the Christmas decorations. It didn’t create the best setup for spotting a killer since it was playing havoc with his vision. But Weston kept on running. Kept looking over his shoulder to make sure this snake didn’t have a partner who was trying to go after Addie.

The killer scurried out of cover, headed toward a second barn. Weston wasn’t sure if there were vehicles inside or not, but he didn’t want to chance it.

Weston stopped. And he took aim.

He didn’t aim for the guy’s head. Something he desperately wanted to do. Especially with all the rage he was feeling. He could avenge Collette’s death right here, right now. No judge, no jury.

Just one executioner with really good aim.

However, if Weston did that, he wouldn’t get answers, and there were a lot of families out there looking for missing loved ones that this piece of dirt could have murdered. Besides, Weston wanted to look this killer in the eyes and make him answer for what he’d done.

Weston fired.

The shot went exactly where he’d intended it to go. In the killer’s right shoulder. It worked because the guy tumbled onto the ground.

“Move and the next bullets go in your kneecaps,” Weston warned him.

Weston wasted no time going after him, and it wasn’t long before he got close enough to see the killer’s face. Or rather the ski mask he was wearing. He was bleeding, clutching his shoulder with his left hand.

But not his right.

Despite the injury, he was reaching for his gun that had fallen just inches away from him.

“You really want to die tonight?” Weston warned him, and he aimed his gun right at the killer’s head.

The killer did move, though, but only to lift both his hands. Weston hurried to kick the gun aside so that the guy couldn’t change his mind and reach for it.

Then, Weston did some reaching of his own.

He had to see the killer’s face. Had to stare down the man who’d murdered Collette. He ripped off the ski mask, and he got a good look at him all right.

Weston cursed.

No.

Chapter Five

Addie wasn’t sure who was more frustrated with this situation—Weston or her. At the moment, she thought she might be the winner.

Because they hadn’t caught the Moonlight Strangler after all.

And that meant he was still out there. Maybe still plotting to kill her.

However, he hadn’t tried to murder her tonight. Not yet anyway. The attacker who’d hurt Teddy and fired shots into the house wasn’t old enough to be the Moonlight Strangler.

So, who was he?

Addie didn’t know, but she was hoping to find out soon. The same was obviously true for Weston.

He had a death grip on the steering wheel of Addie’s truck as they drove toward the hospital. She didn’t miss the glares he was doling out to her, either. He clearly didn’t want her on this trip with him into town. Didn’t want her out in the open.

Well, Addie wasn’t so thrilled about it herself, but she wouldn’t have felt any safer at home than she would at the hospital, where she’d no doubt be surrounded by lawmen.

Maybe surrounded by answers, as well.

Since their attacker would soon be at the hospital, too.

The injured man was just ahead of them in an ambulance. Jericho was inside with him and the medics. Her brother would also be doling out some glares when he learned she’d disobeyed his order for her to stay put at the ranch and had instead come to the hospital with Weston.

But before Addie had left the ranch, she’d first made sure her mother had plenty of protection, both from the ranch hands, Weston’s two PI friends and her other brother Chase who’d hurried out to the scene. Only then, and only after the ambulance had driven away, had Addie demanded that Weston take her with him.

She’d deal with Jericho later.

Later, she’d have to deal with a lot of things.

Including Weston’s arrival.

After three months of not hearing from him, she had written him out of her life. Out of her heart, as well. Addie wasn’t certain what was going on in Weston’s head, but she doubted he would just disappear again.

Well, not until he had caught the Moonlight Strangler anyway.

“I should have known,” Addie heard Weston say.

It wasn’t the first time in the past fifteen minutes he’d said something along those same lines. And maybe they should have known that the Moonlight Strangler would send a lackey to the ranch instead of risking a personal appearance.

Especially after the killer had let Weston know that she was his next target.

Still, a lackey could have killed her just as well as the Moonlight Strangler.

“He’s way too young to be the killer,” Weston grumbled. He was talking to himself now. Or rather berating himself, since the next mumblings had some profanity mixed in with them.

Yes, the guy was too young. Probably only in his late twenties, judging from the quick glimpse she’d gotten of him before Jericho had demanded that she go back inside. Since the Moonlight Strangler had been murdering women for at least thirty years, the shooter definitely fell into the lackey category.

Or worse.

He could be some kind of crazed groupie who had absolutely no knowledge of the Moonlight Strangler’s identity. This could all have been some kind of a sick hoax.

One that could have gotten a lot of people killed.

They were lucky that hadn’t happened, but they weren’t out of the woods yet. Teddy was alive and was already en route to the hospital in an ambulance ahead of the one carrying their attacker, but Addie had no idea how serious his injuries were.

“Thank you for saving my mother and me,” she told Weston.

He glanced at her, maybe wondering if she was sincere. She was. Despite the other stuff going on between Weston and her—the baby stuff—she was thankful he’d been there when the bullets had started flying.

She’d be even more thankful if she knew that was the last of the bullets. But Addie didn’t think she would be that lucky.

“Is it possible this guy faked the threatening letters you got?” she asked.

“No.” Weston didn’t hesitate. “There were personal details in them. Like the cuts on the faces of the victims. That was never leaked to the press.” But then he stopped, added more profanity. “I suppose, though, he could have sent the last two letters. The one that threatened you and my sister. Still...”

“What?” she pressed when he didn’t continue.

“They felt real.” His mouth tightened as if disgusted that he’d rely on something like feelings, but Addie didn’t dismiss it.

“Maybe they felt real because my birth father told him exactly what to write.” Now it was her turn to mumble some profanity. If that was the case, then they needed this slimebag lackey to talk, to tell them anything and everything he might know about the Moonlight Strangler.

“Are you okay?” Weston asked a moment later.

Addie didn’t miss his glance that landed on her stomach. She wasn’t okay, not by a long shot. She felt raw and bruised as if she’d gone through a physical attack instead of just the threat of one. The sound of those bullets would stay with her for the rest of her life.

“I’m fine,” she settled for saying. And she hoped that was true. Her precious baby didn’t deserve to go through this. No one did.

“You should see a doctor while you’re at the hospital. Just to make sure,” he added.

His tone made it sound like an order. Which made her rethink her notion that he’d just leave after catching her birth father.

No.

She really didn’t want to have to deal with this on top of everything else.

“For the record, we barely know each other,” Addie tossed out there. “And you won’t exactly be welcome in my family.”

Another glance at her stomach. “Is that supposed to send me running for the hills?”

“It might after you meet Jericho.”

“I’ve already met Jericho,” he countered.

“Barely.” They’d exchanged brief introductions and some testosterone-laced glares while waiting for the ambulance. “He’s very protective of me.”

Especially since he’d learned she was pregnant. Addie was thankful for his brotherly love. Thankful for all the other things he’d done for her, including offering her a shoulder when she’d been crying over her heart-crushing encounter with Weston. But Jericho wouldn’t be showing much love to the man who’d slept with his kid sister and then dumped her.

“I’ll deal with Jericho,” Weston said as if it were gospel.

“Good luck with that,” she said in the same tone he’d used.

Still behind the ambulance, he pulled her truck into the parking lot. The very truck that he’d insisted on driving from the ranch to the hospital. Normally, that wasn’t a task Addie would have just surrendered, but the truth was, she was shaking, and the nerves were still there right at the surface.

Unlike Weston’s nerves.

He just seemed riled that he hadn’t been able to bring all of this to a close tonight. And it still might happen. If they could get some info from the shooter.

He took the parking space nearest the ER doors. “Stay close to me and move fast,” he instructed.

She spotted the two night deputies already there. Both were positioned just outside the ER. Both with their hands over their guns. A reminder that this nightmare wasn’t over.

“Search anyone who tries to get in,” Weston told them, and he flashed his badge.

Weston used his own body to shelter her while they made the short trek into the hospital. They were just behind Jericho and the medics, who rushed in with their patient. She didn’t hear what Jericho said to the nurse at the reception desk, but Addie didn’t miss the scowl he gave her when he spotted her. He came toward her just as Weston pulled her away from the doors and to the far side of the room.

Maybe just to get her away from the glass doors.

Maybe so he could make this showdown with Jericho semiprivate.

“You should be home,” Jericho insisted, and in the same breath he added to Weston, “And the two of us need to talk.” Weston was on the receiving end of an even worse scowl than she’d gotten.

She seriously doubted Jericho had only talking on his mind, and that’s why Addie stepped between them. “I can handle this myself.”