Cowboy Behind the Badge (19 page)

She would have said anything at that point to put an end to this, but the truth was her legs were shaking so hard she thought she might collapse.

Tucker solved that problem for her. He slipped his arm around her, supporting her weight, and they started back toward the main house.

“Take this snake to jail,” Tucker told his brother.

“Gladly. Maybe he'll even resist arrest so I can add some bruises to his face. It takes some kind of jerk to hit a woman.”

Laine was glad Colt hadn't qualified that with
“any woman.”
Even one his family considered an enemy. That was indeed progress when it came to the McKinnons.

“I'll call the doctor,” Tucker whispered to her. “How bad are you hurt?”

“Not as bad I could have been. Thanks.” She tried to brush a kiss on his cheek, but the emotions were still too raw, as if it hurt him to see her, to touch her.

“You need to find Steve Wilkey,” Hague shouted back to them.

Laine stopped and shook her head. The name was only vaguely familiar, and it took her a few seconds to realize where she'd heard it before.

“You mean the lawyer you brought to the sheriff's office?” she asked.

“He's a lawyer, all right, but he's not mine.” Hague winced and cursed when Colt dragged him to his feet. “He insisted on coming with me because he was sure I'd screwed things up. You're lucky he didn't have all of you killed that day, because those were his hired guns who shot at you.”

Despite the steamy heat, that sent an icy chill through her. She wanted to believe that Hague was lying, that there was no other person involved in this. But it didn't sound like a lie.

Tucker turned and faced Hague, but he kept a gentle grip on her. “You owe this man money?”

“Yeah. Plenty of it. Find him and arrest him, because he'll send someone after me even if I'm behind bars. At best, he'll kill me. Or else he'll make me wish he had.”

“And why should I be concerned about that?” Tucker fired back. Laine wanted to ask him the same thing. After everything he'd done, she didn't care an ounce what happened to Hague.

“You should be concerned, because Wilkey's after the twins.”

Laine was sure her heart skipped a beat or two. Tucker and she exchanged glances, and she prayed he would have some reassurance that it wasn't true. But he only looked as thunderstruck as she felt.

“What'd you mean?” Tucker demanded.

“He has a buyer for the twins,” Hague fired back. “A big buyer. Wilkey has men out looking for them now, and there'll be a huge payout for whoever finds them. With Wilkey's resources, if I were you, I'd hurry. Maybe you can get to them before he does.

“Maybe,”
Hague repeated, his voice and the threat echoing in the darkness.

 

Chapter Nineteen

Once again, Tucker was watching a medic tend to Laine. This time, they weren't at the sheriff's office but rather in his family's home.

That cut and god-awful bruise that Hague had put on her face turned his stomach. So did the still-haunted look in her eyes. But he knew that look wasn't just from the pain of the attack or the thorough job the medic was doing of cleaning the wound.

No. It was from a different kind of pain and fear.

For the babies.

Tucker was right there on the same page with her. No way could he stand the thought of someone taking those children. Somehow they had to stop this Steve Wilkey from getting close to them.

Or close to Laine, for that matter.

Tucker had already beefed up security at the ranch. The hands were all armed and were patrolling the grounds in case Wilkey came their way. He'd also spoken to Sergeant Egan Caldwell and had learned that Wilkey and his henchmen hadn't come to the safe house.

Thank God.

Tucker hadn't wanted to move the twins. Instead, he had sent out several Texas Rangers to look for the lawyer and haul him in for questioning.

Hague could have been lying about Wilkey's involvement, but Tucker wanted no stone left unturned when it came to Laine's and the babies' safety.

They'd gotten somewhat lucky tonight. Everyone was alive, and his dad and Rosalie were all in one piece. Thankfully, none of them had tried to play hero and come storming into Cooper's house, where Hague had been holding Laine at gunpoint. Roy and his twin sister had stayed put on Colt's order, and instead of injuries—like Laine's—all they would have to deal with were the horrible memories of the attack.

That was more than enough, and was likely the reason Rosalie had gone back to the guesthouse as soon as Hague had been taken away. She'd already been through so much with the kidnapping of her own baby that this could have brought it all back to the surface. He made a mental note to check on her.

Once he'd seen to Laine, that is.

“I think she'll be fine,” his dad said to him. Again. Roy could no doubt tell that this had shaken him to the core, but it was a surprise that his dad and Colt were being so, well, friendly.

They certainly weren't giving Laine any signals that they wanted her immediately out of there. And that was good. It was a start, anyway. Because after everything that'd gone on tonight, Tucker couldn't see himself giving Laine the heave-ho.

Maybe they could even date or something.

Images of her naked flashed through his head. Okay, so they were well past the dating stage, but he had no intention of letting this go back to where it'd been a few days before. The trouble was he didn't know how to go about making sure that she stayed in his life.

“You're staring at me again,” Laine mumbled, turning away from him. “I must look pretty bad for you to keep doing that.”

“You look amazing,” Tucker blurted out, catching both his father's and Colt's attention despite the fact that Colt was on the phone talking to Reed, who had Hague in custody at the jail.

The corner of Laine's mouth lifted for just a brief moment, but it didn't take more than a couple of seconds for her to get that haunted look again. Tears came, too, and then nothing in the world could keep Tucker from her side. He didn't elbow the medic aside. Not exactly, anyway. But he put himself between the guy and her so he could pull Laine into his arms.

“We can't let that man get to the babies,” she whispered, and the tears came streaking down her bruised cheek. Tucker tried to gently kiss them away. They just kept coming. All he could do was stand there and let her get it all out.

“We won't,” he assured her.

He led her to the other side of the room. It wasn't exactly private, but it was better than the center of the foyer. The medic looked at them as if he might come over and resume whatever he'd been doing, but Tucker waved him off.

“Egan's a good man,” Tucker added, trying to soothe Laine. “No way would he let anyone get to the twins. Jack and Jill,” Tucker added because he thought they could use some levity.

It worked a little. Laine tried to smile anyway.

Roy groaned softly, shook his head. “You gotta come up with better names than that, especially since Laine said she was planning to adopt them.”

“I am.” That helped, too, and she brought her chin a little higher. “Any ideas?”

Now it was Tucker who groaned. If Rosalie had been in the room, at least there would have been some possibly good input, but he wasn't expecting much from his dad and brother.

And he didn't get much, either.

“Frick and Frack,” Colt suggested. “Or maybe Trouble One and Trouble Two?”

Laine winced, but there was actually a little lightness beneath it.

“Laine, I always thought your grandmother had a pretty name,” Roy spoke up. “Mattie. She was a fine woman. Good heart.”

It was the first time in twenty-three years Tucker had heard anyone say a kind word about the Braddocks. But his dad was right. Tucker remembered Laine's paternal grandmother, and even though she'd long since passed away, she deserved a namesake.

Laine nodded. “Mattie it is.” And she swallowed hard, as if she had a sudden lump in her throat.

Tucker didn't dare suggest using her father's name for the boy. Too much pain there yet, especially with the renewed memories from the upcoming trial.

“Matt goes pretty good with Mattie,” he offered.

Another nod, and this time she gave a little smile. “I like it. Thanks.” She mumbled the same to Roy and gave Colt a mock scolding glance, which he probably didn't even see because he got another call from Reed. Colt stepped away to take it.

The moment didn't last long, and Tucker saw the fear creep back into Laine's eyes. Before he could start another round of reassurance, or distraction, his phone rang. Not Egan, thank God, with news that they'd had a
visitor
at the safe house. It was another Ranger, Griffin Morris.

“We found Steve Wilkey,” Griffin said the moment Tucker answered. “I'm pretty sure your prisoner, Hague, was telling the truth about this jerk funding the baby farm. I pulled up his rap sheet on the way to his house, and he's corrupt all the way to the bone. He's been disbarred for years now and always seems to be one step ahead of the law.”

Tucker had been doing a lot of cursing lately, but he added some more. “Why didn't Wilkey show up on the radar before now?”

“Maybe because his only association with the baby farm was through Hague.”

That was possible. Heck, Hague hadn't even been on their radar until he'd shown up and tried to take the twins.

“What's Wilkey saying about all of this?” Tucker went on.

“He's not saying much of anything. We showed up at his house, and it didn't have a pretty ending. Before we could even tell him why we were there, he turned two goons on us. They shot at us, and we had to return fire.”

Hell. Wilkey was obviously a violent man and had been there with Laine at the sheriff's office. Just a few feet away from her. And Tucker had been so focused on their other suspects, he hadn't realized they had a second snake in their midst.

“Wilkey joined the gunfight,” Griffin went on, “and he and both of his men are dead.”

The relief was overwhelming. Wilkey and his henchmen couldn't go after the babies now. But it would have been nice to get some answers from one of them so they could tie this up into a neat little package. Maybe he could get those answers from Colt after he finished his call with Reed.

“While he was shooting at us, Wilkey yelled out that he was going to kill Hague for setting us on him,” the Ranger continued. “That's why I figured any part he had in the baby farm was only between Hague and him. Wilkey didn't name anyone else, and he was sure doing a lot of yelling.”

“Yeah. Hague said that Wilkey had a buyer for the twins so maybe he'd already paid Hague and wanted him to deliver on the goods.”

A sickening thought. Hague and Wilkey had treated the babies like livestock, ready to be sold to the highest bidder, and Tucker didn't even want to go with the rest of that thought. God knew what the highest bidder actually wanted with the twins. He figured if they'd been loving parents without police records, they would have taken a more normal route to adoption.

“I've already had someone call Egan to tell him the danger's passed,” Griffin added. “The safe house is just five miles or so from you. Figured you'd want the babies brought back to you ASAP. Unless you want them to go to social services. If so, I can call Egan back.”

“No.” Tucker didn't even have to think about it. “I want them brought here to the ranch. The woman who's adopting them will take custody.”

That would be possible now that there were no other obstacles in her way. No one in Dawn's or Laverty's family to stop her petition to get custody of Mattie and Matt. With Laine's position in the community, it appeared to be smooth sailing, despite her being a single mom.

“Oh, and tell Egan to hurry,” Tucker added to Griffin. “We're anxious to see them.” It would help Laine to be with them and hold them.

Heck, it'd help him, too.

When he finished the call, he could tell that Laine had heard every word of the conversation because she smiled and nearly launched herself into his arms. The medic must have decided he didn't want to be part of the little celebration because he packed up his things.

“Her injuries aren't that serious,” the medic said to no one in particular. “She should make an appointment with her doctor, though.”

Tucker assured him that would happen. And it would. Laine would get a thorough checkup. After they'd celebrated a little, that is.

The medic mumbled something about needing to get back to the hospital, and he let himself out.

“They're safe. We're safe,” Laine said. She kissed him, and Tucker realized it helped his raw nerves and spent adrenaline hugely.

However, they still had an audience.

Something that Tucker didn't remember until he heard his dad clear his throat. He broke the kiss, fully expecting Roy to give him a look or some kind of reminder that this wasn't a good thing.

That didn't happen.

Roy reached out and gave Tucker's arm a pat. The sort of pat a man gave his son when he was proud of him.

But he couldn't be proud.

Could he?

“You won't hear any complaints from me,” his dad offered. “Or from the rest of the family, if I have a say in it.”

And then he did something else that surprised the heck out of Tucker. Roy leaned in and brushed a kiss on Laine's cheek. The unbruised one. If there was any trace of that bad blood, it didn't show now.

Tucker was still in a bit of shock. He didn't notice that Colt had finished his call and was staring at them as if he couldn't figure out what to make of it.

Then his brother shrugged. “I guess I won't complain, either. Well, not much, anyway.”

Laine smiled, nodded. “I'll try not to make a nuisance of myself.”

Tucker frowned. He sure didn't like the sound of that, but before he could voice it, Colt pointed to his phone, reminding him that there were some darn important ends to tie up.

“Hague's cooperating big-time with Reed. Yakking his head off in the hopes of getting a plea deal.”

“He's not getting one,” Tucker argued.

At the same moment Laine said, “Not a chance. I want him in prison for life.”

“That's the plan. Reed told him the same thing, but he's talking anyway. Hague said he convinced Dawn and Rhonda that Darren was the bad guy. That's why they were afraid of him.”

Well, that explained some things. Not all, though.

“But what about the recording Darren had?” Tucker asked. “Dawn used the word
she.
Does that mean she was afraid of Rhonda, too?”

“Probably. Hague wouldn't have wanted the women to be too chummy, because they might put one and one together and figure he was in charge of the baby farm. If he'd lie about Darren being bad, I don't see why he wouldn't lie about Rhonda, too.”

True. And while it was good that Darren hadn't done anything wrong, Tucker wouldn't have minded a few minor charges thrown at him.

Okay, that was the jealousy talking.

He wasn't just riled that Laine was avoiding making a
nuisance
of herself, but he was also irritated that she'd once been in love with that selfish rat who'd treated her like dirt. Laine wasn't Darren's. She was his.

Whoa.

That brought him skidding to a mental halt.

Laine wasn't his and hadn't been since they were kids. Though he was pretty sure he wanted her to be. He was also sure he wanted a lot more than a kiss from her in his granddaddy's kitchen.

“Could you excuse us a moment?” he said to his dad and brother, leading Laine out onto the porch.

Even though there were plenty of ranch hands still milling around, it was a better place from which to watch for the babies. It was also a better place for him to make a fool out of himself with what he wanted to say.

Tucker wasn't exactly sure of the words. They might not even have made sense, but he knew he couldn't let Laine leave with Mattie and Matt.

“Look, I know I'm not exactly daddy material, but I was serious about my offer to help you raise them.”

It was a start, but judging from the way the corners of her mouth turned down, it wasn't the exact offer she wanted to hear.

“Or not,” he said, testing it. That didn't test well at all, and Tucker found himself frowning. It was obvious he needed to say something, but he wasn't quite sure what that was.

She huffed, and her hand went on her hip. “For Pete's sake, we've been through this, and you already need a reminder.”

“Yeah, I guess I do.” He didn't want to make an ass out of himself and assume that Laine was asking for a whole lot more than just a commitment to help with the babies.