LITMIR.BIZ

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were no ranch hands around that he could see. Not a surprise. He ran a small operation and only had three full-time hands and Laney, who managed the place. Other than Laney, none of the others lived on the grounds. Not even Francine, since she had her own house only a couple of miles away.

      He glanced at the light switch and considered turning it off, but that might only make things worse. If the intruder saw it, he would know they were in the barn, and he might come out there with guns blazing.

      Owen’s phone dinged with a text message from Kellan.

      I’m here, parked just up the road from your truck. Where is he?

      Owen texted back.

      Still in the house, I think.

      But the moment he fired off the message, Owen saw something in the back doorway of the house. The moonlight glinted off metal and he caught a glimpse of the gun. That confirmed his worst fears, though he couldn’t actually see the person holding the weapon. That was because he was likely dressed in all black and staying in the shadows.

      Owen ducked back to avoid the barn light. That light probably helped Addie since she wasn’t fretting as she usually did in the dark, but it might seem like a beacon to some thug looking to start trouble.

      “Stay down,” Owen instructed Laney. “I’ll see if I can draw this guy out into the open—”

      “You could be shot,” she said before he even finished, her voice shaking.

      Yeah, he could be, but if anyone was going to become a target, Owen wanted it to be him. He didn’t want any shots fired into the barn or anywhere near Addie.

      He texted Kellan to let him know that he was about to head out the back of the barn. He could then use the corral fence and nearby shrubs for cover to circle around the house.

      Keep watch of the front, Owen added to the text.

      He didn’t intend to let this joker get away. He wanted to know who he was and why he’d broken in.

      Owen eased the barn door shut and moved a saddle in front of it to block it. It wouldn’t stop anyone for long, which was why he had to hurry. He ran to the back of the barn and climbed out through the opening sometimes used to push hay into the corral. When his feet hit the ground, he took a quick look around him.

      No one.

      No sounds, either. If the intruder was coming their way, he was being quiet about it. Owen tried to do the same as he made his way to the front side of the barn to take a look at the back porch.

      Owen cursed.

      The guy with the gun was no longer in sight, but the door was still open. Maybe he’d stepped back into the shadows to look for them. But that didn’t make sense, either. By now, the intruder must have spotted Owen’s truck, which was rigged with a police siren, and would have known that he had called for backup. That meant he possibly could have already fled the scene.

      His phone dinged again with a text message. Owen was about to look down at the screen when he heard a sound he didn’t want to hear.

      A gunshot cracked through the air.

      It didn’t go into the part of the barn where Laney and Addie were, thank God, but it did slam into the wood right next to where Owen was standing. That forced him to move back. And to wait. He didn’t have to wait long. However, this time it wasn’t another shot. It was a man’s voice.

      “Elaine?” a man yelled. “I know you’re out there.”

      Owen had no idea who this Elaine was, so maybe this was a case of the thug showing up at the wrong place.

      Except, wasn’t Laney a nickname for Elaine?

      Was this man someone from Laney’s past? Maybe an old boyfriend who’d come to settle a score?

      If so, she’d never mentioned it and nothing had shown up about relationship issues in the background check he’d run on her, and he’d been pretty darn thorough since Laney would be living so close to Addie and him. While he continued to volley glances all around him, Owen checked his phone screen and saw the text from Kellan.

      I’m moving to the right side of your house.

      Good. There was a door there, just off the playroom. Maybe Kellan would be able to slip into the house and get a look at this guy. Or, better yet, arrest him.

      “I’m Deputy Owen Slater,” Owen called out. “Put down your weapon and come out with your hands up.”

      It was something that, as a cop, Owen needed to say. He had to identify himself in the hope it would cause the idiot to surrender. Of course, it was just as likely to cause him to fire more shots. If he did, Owen would be justified in using deadly force.

      But no other shots. Just another shout.

      “Elaine?” the man yelled again.

      Owen used the sound of the man’s voice to try to pinpoint his location. He was definitely no longer by the back door. Nowhere near it. This guy was in the guesthouse, where Laney lived. How he’d gotten there, Owen didn’t know, but it was possible that he’d climbed through a window.

      Since the intruder was now on the same side of the yard as Owen, it made him an easy target, and that was why he hurried back into the barn. He glanced at Laney. Or rather, where he’d last seen Addie and her, but Laney had moved a few feet. She had positioned herself behind the hay bales and was using one as support for her shooting hand.

      “Where’s the baby?” Owen immediately asked.

      “On the floor behind me. She’s playing with my necklace. I wanted to be between the door and her in case... Well, just in case,” Laney added.

      Just in case wasn’t looking very good right now. But at least they were all still safe. He heard Addie then, and she wasn’t fussing. It was more of a cooing babble, so the necklace must have been holding her attention.

      “Elaine?” the man called out. He had moved since his last shout, but Owen wasn’t sure to where. He also wasn’t sure of Laney’s reaction.

      The color had blanched from her face and he didn’t think it was because of the danger. Owen didn’t have to be a cop to figure out what that meant.

      “You know this guy,” he said.

      She didn’t deny it, causing Owen to curse under his breath.

      “What does he want with you?” Owen demanded.

      She didn’t get a chance to answer him because the man shouted again. “Elaine, let’s do this the easy way. Come out now and leave with me, and no one will get hurt.”

      Hell. There was a good bit of anger now mixed with fear for his daughter. Anger that this thug would try to bargain like this. No way was Owen going to let Laney leave with a man who’d just fired a shot at him.

      “Watch out!” someone yelled. Not the thug this time. It was Kellan. “He’s coming right at you.”

      That wasn’t the only thing that came, either. There was a gunshot, quickly followed by another one. From the sound of it, the second shot had come from a different weapon.

      Maybe Kellan’s.

      Owen hoped it had anyway. Because he didn’t like the odds if this intruder had brought his own version of backup with him.

      He debated opening the barn door so he could help his brother, but since this guy was likely coming for them, Owen’s top priority was to make sure that Addie was protected. He hurried to Laney and Addie, standing guard in front of them and waiting for whatever was about to happen.

      Owen didn’t have to wait long. Someone kicked the barn door hard, and bits of wood went flying. The saddle shifted, too, and Owen steeled himself to fire. He was about to do that when he got a glimpse of the person who’d just broken down the door. The man, dressed in black, took aim at them. However, before Owen could pull the

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