Landry's Law (13 page)

Seth leaned forward and in a hushed tone said, “I might have to. I love you, Savannah.”

She closed her eyes for a minute. “
Maybe
you lust for me,” she countered. “Lord knows we have a combustible sexual chemistry, but you haven’t known me long enough to love me.”

“Says who?” he challenged defensively.

“Logic. It wouldn’t be fair to you or your family if you made some rash decision and disappeared from their lives. Believe me, I know.”

“Believe me,” Seth returned with annoyance. “I love you and I think you feel the same way about me.”

“I
can’t
feel that way.”

It was his turn to sigh. “Keep telling yourself that lie, Savannah. But I promise you, it won’t hold up for long. Luckily I’m a patient man. I can wait to hear you say the words.”

Thankfully, their food arrived, which put an abrupt end to the uncomfortable conversation.
Uncomfortable?
she asked her brain,
or just truthful?
No! He couldn’t be right. It was just lust, she insisted to the annoying voice inside her head. She wanted him, which was the problem. Maybe if she just did it and got it out of her system, she could return to normal.

“Are you going to eat?” Seth asked.

Savannah immediately picked up her burger and took a small bite. It was good, except for the under-taste of bacon from the air. That couldn’t be helped. No matter the time of day, the café always smelled of bacon and coffee.

“So what good things did you find out today?” she asked as she put the burger back on her plate. Somehow Seth’s proclamation of love had dampened
her appetite for food. However, it had increased her appetite for another form of sustenance. Placing her hand beneath the table, she jabbed her fingernails into her palm in an attempt to shut off her hormones. It seemed to be a continual problem when she was around Seth. One she either had to control or act upon.

“I found out how the Saint Barnabas medal ended up in my bedroom.”

“How?”

“Someone jimmied the lock on my basement door.”

“That’s scary,” Savannah said. “Do you think Updyke, Angelica or Lurch would have the nerve to break into the town sheriff’s house?”

“It was probably Updyke. The ballistics on Angelica’s .22 proved it wasn’t the murder weapon.”

“I still don’t understand why the killer left the medal at your house. According to Olive, everyone and their brother knows you’re sleeping at my house. Why not put it there?”

Seth’s brows drew together. “Probably to make a point. Taunt me a little. The killer knows I’m investigating, so my guess is he was just toying with me.”

“I think he wanted to freak you out so you’d back off on the investigation,” Savannah offered. “He probably thinks that if he can get you out of the picture, he’ll have a clear shot at me.”

“I’m staying in the picture,” Seth said with con
viction. “As we dine, I’m having an alarm system put in my house and I called Shane and he’s sending over some of the hands to stand guard at night.”

She smiled. “I guess it’s convenient to have ranch hands at your disposal.”

“It is,” he agreed easily. “We’ve used them before. Every one of them is a decent shot.”

“But not as decent as you, right?” She grinned when her compliment stained his cheeks pink for an instant.

“I also had Mable run a check on registered .22s in Lewis and Clark County.”

“Wouldn’t Updyke have brought his own gun?”

Seth nodded. “Yes. But I thought as a precaution I’d like knowing who has a .22 in the area.”

“Who does?”

His expression deflated. “Unfortunately, more than three hundred of our friends and neighbors.”

“That many?” Savannah asked, astonished.

“Yep, and that list includes Mable, Angelica, Olive and almost every other person in town. Even Sam bought one for Callie a few months back.”

“I’ve never seen a gun in Olive’s shop,” Savannah said.

“I’m sure you haven’t. It was registered twenty-six years ago by her husband.”

“It gets worse,” he admitted. “There are more than a thousand registered .22s in the Gold West Country. I wish I had the manpower to check every last one of them, but I don’t.”

“Well, you’ve already ruled out Angelica. I’m sure we can rule out Callie and Olive, as well. I’m sure your sister-in-law isn’t a pregnant hitwoman and Olive’s hands are so gnarled from arthritis I doubt she could pull a trigger.” She pushed her plate away.

“You didn’t eat much,” Seth observed.

“I ate enough,” she promised him.
I ate as much as I could considering the fact that you told me you loved me.

Seth paid the check and he and Ruthie shared a very pleasant goodbye. The waitress even insisted he bring Savannah back on meat loaf night.

Seth took her to her house so they could both pack to stay at his newly alarmed home. Savannah packed lightly then threw in a heavy ankle-length skirt at the last minute, just in case she needed to dress for something.

Seth carried his duffel and her small bag and headed out the door ahead of her to load the Bronco. Savannah was in the process of locking the door when she heard it.

Spinning around, she turned just in time to see Seth get hit in the head by the bullet.

Mindless of his injury, Seth lunged at Savannah, covering her body with his own. He stayed that way for several minutes, until he was as sure as he could be that no more shots were to be fired. Making sure to shield her, Seth urged her to crawl in front of him across the front porch to the door where the keys still hung in the lock.

After opening the door, he said, “Stay on your belly. When we get inside, stay away from the windows.”

“Don’t worry, I will,” Savannah answered, her voice tremulous. “You’re bleeding.”

“I’ll live,” Seth said, annoyed that he’d almost
failed to protect her. Visions of Savannah lying dead on the porch haunted him as he worked his way inside, then over to the phone.

His first call was to his deputies. “I want every available unit to Savannah’s cabin right now. Call the state police for reinforcements,” he instructed as he felt Savannah press a soft cloth against the left side of his head. It barely stung, which he knew meant he’d only been grazed. “I want them to search every inch within a half mile of the cabin.” He then went on to explain what had happened.

His second call was to Chance.

“You got shot?” his brother asked with genuine concern.

“I don’t think it’s serious,” Seth said.

“Can you get out of there safely?” Chance asked.

“I’ve called for backup. I doubt the shooter is going to stick around when this place is swarming with cops.”

“You’re closer to the Lucky 7 than town. I’ll head out now and meet you there. Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?” Chance queried.

“I’m sure. At best I’ll need a stitch or two.”

Savannah piped up with, “I don’t know, Seth. It’s bleeding profusely.”

“Head wounds always bleed,” he told her.

Chance interjected, “Let me be the one to make the diagnosis. Is Savannah hurt?”

Seth glanced in her direction and with the excep
tion of a bruise on her cheek—most probably from his tackling her on the hard wooden porch—she appeared shaken but fine.

“You might want to look her over. She’s pretty shaken. See you at the ranch.” He hung up and took the towel from Savannah and applied more pressure with his own hand.

“I don’t need a doctor,” Savannah argued.

Distant sirens grew closer, then they heard several cars come to a screeching halt just outside the door.

“Stay down,” Seth said as he worked his way back to the door and slowly opened it.

J.D. had followed his instructions to a tee. There were cars from the county, the state and two neighboring towns outside. The state SWAT van was also waiting.

Wearing protective black suits, vests and carrying shields, two of the SWAT guys made their way to the door.

“Sheriff Landry?” the older of the two inquired.

“Yes.”

The two men introduced themselves, then asked, “How bad is your head wound?”

“Not bad,” he assured them. “I was standing in front of the Bronco when I was hit. I think he was aiming for Savannah. She was here,” he indicated Savannah’s position, “so, my guess is the shooter was someplace up there near those boulders.”

“Savannah?”

“She’s fine,” Seth told the specialized officer.

“We’ll get you an ambulance.”

“Not necessary,” Seth replied. “I just need cover to get out of here. I’m meeting my brother at our ranch. He’ll fix me up.”

“Your call,” the officer said, obviously not in agreement with the plan. “But I don’t think you should be driving with a head wound.”

“I won’t. Savannah can drive. Just get me two cars to flank the Bronco until we’re on the highway.”

“Done.”

“And I want every inch of this property searched. I think we’re looking for a guy named Updyke.” Seth gave a description of the amateur hitman. “Hopefully he left some forensics behind this time.”

Seth went back inside and explained to Savannah what they were going to do.

“Is it safe?” she asked. “Shouldn’t I drive you to the hospital? Your head is still bleeding.”

He gave her his brightest smile. “You can give me another towel to ruin. You can buy yourself new ones with the hundred bucks I owe you from our bet.”

She responded with a burst of anger. “I don’t give a damn about towels or silly bets. I care about you getting proper medical treatment. I can’t stand knowing you got hurt because of me.”

Seth winked at her. “See, you do care.”

“Don’t start with me, Landry,” she warned. “Getting shot at doesn’t bring out the best in me.”

Their pseudoargument was interrupted by the SWAT members who had come to take them to the Bronco. Seth flipped her the keys. “I think I’ll let you drive this time.”

“Thanks.”

It didn’t take the trained SWAT team long to get them and their bags into the Bronco. It was a bit of a tight squeeze for Seth, since there were matching SUVs on either side of his.

“I can’t reach the pedals,” Savannah said.

Seth explained the console on the armrest and she soon had the seat and mirrors in a position to start the engine. The minute she did, two others followed.

Only they turned on their sirens, which didn’t do much for the headache Seth had coming on at a record pace. Luckily, the two official vehicles left off when they were safely on the highway, headed for home.

Seth winced inwardly at that thought. Could he really do what Savannah suggested? Could he leave his career, his home, his family and heritage to join her in the Witness Protection Program? It was a tough call. So was imagining his life without her in it.

She’d been right about one thing. He didn’t think he could handle abandonment again. Even after a decade, he still felt the loss of his parents deeply. And he felt anger. How could they have done that?

“Are you conscious?” Savannah asked.

“No,” he teased, hoping to ease some of the tension he heard in her voice.

“How’s the bleeding?” she asked.

“Bloody.”

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a real smart-ass when you’ve been shot?”

“Never been shot before,” Seth replied. “The gate is about a half mile up.”

“I remember,” Savannah said. “I’ll feel a lot better once Chance has seen to your wound.”

Seth slipped his free hand over and rested it on her leg. “Thank you for that.”

“That what?”

“Your unintentional admission that you care what happens to me. It has revived my hope.”

“I do care,” she said.

He watched her grip tighten on the wheel.

“You know I do,” she continued. “But there are just too many obstacles in our way for us to start anything.”

“What if we didn’t have those obstacles?” he asked just as she parked in front of the house.

Savannah never had an opportunity to answer. Virtually the whole house came bounding down the stairs to open the door and help him inside.

Sam and Shane insisted on holding his arms as they climbed the steps. Taylor was waiting at the top with a fresh towel. Callie looked horrified, but apparently it was her assigned task to look after Savannah.

His brothers helped him up to his room. It had an adjoining bathroom, so Chance would have everything at his disposal. When he got around to showing up.

“I
T’S ALL MY FAULT
,” Savannah was telling Sam, Shane and Callie. She couldn’t help but wonder what Chance was doing upstairs. It seemed as if an eternity had passed since he had climbed the steps with his bag.

“You can’t blame yourself,” Sam told her. “You aren’t responsible for the actions of a deranged person, is she Callie?”

Callie shook her head. “I had something similar happen to me almost a year ago. Just be grateful that you and Seth are alive, well and together.”

“They aren’t together,” Taylor added candidly. “Though only the Lord himself knows why.”

Savannah was being stared at by four sets of surprised eyes. “What?” she almost snapped.

Sam cleared his throat and said, “I was under the impression that you and my brother shared…a mutual interest.”

She chuckled at his attempt to be delicate. “We share a common physical attraction,” she said. “There is no future in a relationship based solely on chemistry.”

Callie went over and sat on her husband’s lap. In spite of her pregnancy-swollen body, Sam
seemed thrilled to have her so close. His hands went to her belly, feeling for signs of the life they had created together.

“Where’s your older son?” Savannah asked.

“We didn’t know how badly Seth was injured, so we had one of the hands take him to a friend’s house.”

“Smart,” Savannah said.

“No,” Callie began politely but firmly. “Smart is recognizing when you’ve found your soul mate and not letting him slip away. I almost made that mistake with Sam, and I’d hate to see it happen with you and Seth.”

“Nothing has happened with her and Seth,” Taylor supplied as she refilled everyone’s coffee cups.

“May I ask why?” Callie asked with gentleness. “I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you what a wonderful man Seth is.”

Hugging the steaming mug of coffee, Savannah tried to think of an answer that had a touch of truth. “I move around a lot. I can’t stay in one place for long and Seth is very rooted here in Jasper.”

“That’s true,” Sam admitted. “Are you sure you couldn’t give putting down roots a try?”

“I’m sure,” she answered honestly.

The telephone interrupted the inquisition. Sam answered, then surprisingly passed the phone to Savannah.

“Hello?”

“It’s Cody,” he said, sounding majorly pissed. “How is my brother?”

“Chance is still with him.”

“Then go find out. I’ll talk to Sam while you’re gone. Then I have some news for you.”

As Savannah passed the phone back to Sam, she was on the verge of tears. She knew that because of the shooting, especially since it was his own brother, Cody was going to relocate her yet again.

She climbed the stairs and listened for Chance’s voice. Following the sound, she found the two of them in the next to last room on the left.

Chance was putting stitches in Seth’s head and Seth was providing unkind critique as he went along.

Savannah lightly knocked on the open door.

“Come in and see what a terrible seamstress my brother is,” Seth invited jovially. Then he must have seen the hurt and anguish in her eyes because he said, “What’s wrong?”

“C-Cody is on the phone,” she managed to choke out as she battled tears. “He wants to know how you are and then he’ll give me some more information I’ll tell you about.” She turned to leave.

“Wait!’ Seth commanded. “How much longer are you going to be?” he barked at his brother.

“Last stitch.”

“Good, then can you give us some privacy.”

Chance looked from Savannah to Seth and made haste.

He closed his door on the way out, saying he would write out instructions for him to follow.

The minute they were alone, Savannah burst into tears. She was in Seth’s arms in an instant with him placing light kisses on the top of her head. “He’s going to relocate me again,” she said.

“He said that?”

“No, but he told me to get back on the phone with him after I found out how you were. He was pretty mad at me for getting you shot.”

“Obviously my brother doesn’t always think straight.” Seth moved away from her and went to an extension on the nightstand. “Sam, hang up. I need to talk to Cody now.”

Savannah brushed away the remnants of her tears. She couldn’t remember the last time she had cried. Lately it seemed as if it was the only thing she wanted to do.

“Really?” Seth said into the receiver. “That’s great news on both counts.” There was a long pause before Seth said, “And Cody, if you ever make Savannah cry again, they won’t be able to identify you with dental records.”

After he hung up, he went to the door, opened it and yelled for Chance.

“What was good news?” she asked.

“I’ll tell you as soon as Chance checks you out.”

“I’m fine,” she insisted as the doctor reentered the room.

“She’s an emotional wreck,” Seth told Chance.

“I am not,” Savannah insisted.

“Let’s see.” Chance opened his bag and got out a blood pressure cuff and a stethoscope. He checked her pulse, her heart rate and her blood pressure. “You’re pretty stressed,” he concurred.

“So I’ll take some deep breaths,” Savannah promised.

“If that doesn’t work,” he said as he reached into his bag, “take one of these before bedtime.” He turned to Seth and added, “As for you, I want someone to wake you up every forty-five minutes during the night to make sure you’re coherent. Without an X ray, I don’t know if the graze wound was enough to cause a concussion.”

Savannah stuffed the pill into her pocket and volunteered. “I’ll stay up with him.”

Chance looked at her and said, “He needs rest.”

Savannah rolled her eyes. “Does every member of this family think we’re lovers?”

Chance seemed taken aback. “Well, I thought—”

“Wrong,” Seth said in her defense.

Shrugging, Chance pulled a card from his wallet and said, “Okay then. Here’s my home and pager numbers. Call me if he stops making sense or develops any additional symptoms like blurred vision.”

“I will.”

“I’ll be by tomorrow at lunchtime to check on you,” Chance said to his brother. I want you to stay glued to that bed until I say so.”

Seth’s response was both vivid and vulgar.

“You, too,” Chance said before he left the room.

“What did Cody say?” Savannah asked on a rush of breath.

“Come and lie with me,” Seth asked.

“Seth!”

“Just lie,” he said, making a cross sign over his heart. “I’m more comfortable lying down.”

Savannah complied, going to the far side of the king-size bed and stretching out. Apparently that wasn’t good enough for Seth. He refused to tell her anything about his conversation with Cody until she was nestled in his arms.

“He has a lead on Updyke. They expect to pick him up tomorrow or the next day.”

“Here in Jasper?”

“No, New York.”

“Then who shot you today?”

“That’s the sixty-four thousand dollar question,” Seth agreed. “There’s more good news.”

“What?” Savannah asked. She felt her stress draining away just from being in his arms. Tucked safely away at the ranch in Seth’s arms seemed like the place she was meant to be. Suddenly, Connecticut sounded like a place to visit, not live.