Laying Down the Law (8 page)

The seconds crawled by and Cord glanced at the house when he saw some movement there. One of the CSIs was looking out the window. He didn’t recognize the guy, but he had his creds clipped to his shirt pocket. Cord motioned for him to move back. The county CSIs weren’t issued guns as part of their jobs, but many carried their personal weapons. He hoped that was the case here because he might need backup before this was over.

Thankfully, Cord could see both of the barn doors, so it would be easy to spot Rocky if he tried to escape. However, there were trees, fences and watering troughs nearby. Plenty of places for someone to hide and wait for an ambush. That was even more reason to hurry this along.

“Rocky, get out here now!” Cord shouted, though he didn’t hold out much hope the man would answer. That’s why Cord was so surprised when he did.

“I can’t do this,” Rocky said. Not a shout like Cord’s. He seemed to be arguing with someone. Or maybe himself.

“Yes, you can come out,” Cord insisted. “Because if you don’t, I have to come in there after you.”

It wasn’t a bluff. Not exactly. Eventually, Cord would have to go inside the barn, but that wouldn’t happen until he had backup in place and someone to help him protect Karina.

“I need to end this,” Rocky added. Cord couldn’t be sure, but it sounded as if he was crying. Or else pretending to cry.

“Maybe I should try?” Karina asked. “I might be able to talk him into surrendering.”

Cord was about to tell her no, that he wanted her down on the seat. However, before he could even get out a single word, there was a sound. A really bad one.

A shot blasted through the air.

And it was quickly followed by another one. Both bullets slammed into the bed of his truck, just inches from where Cord was standing.

Cord jumped back in the truck, slamming the door and trying to position himself in front of Karina. The sides of the truck were reinforced—a modification he’d made after being attacked by the Moonlight Strangler—but the bullets could still tear their way through.

“Backup will be here soon,” she told him.

That was good, but soon might not be soon enough, though.

The bullets just kept coming, and Cord tried to pinpoint Rocky’s position. But the shots weren’t coming from the barn. They were coming from the direction of the bunkhouse.

Hell.

Rocky wasn’t alone.

“It’s Scott Chaplin,” Karina said. “I recognize him from the photo you showed me.”

And that’s when Cord realized she was peering over the dash and at the doorway of the bunkhouse, where the man was standing. Cord pushed her back down on the seat and hoped she would stay put so he could figure out what the devil was going on.

He looked at the man again. Yeah, it was Scott.

But something wasn’t right.

Cord didn’t actually see a gun in Scott’s hand, and the man darted out of sight before he could get a better look. He couldn’t see Rocky any longer, either.

However, the shots continued.

All coming from the side of the bunkhouse. Did that mean Scott and Rocky had brought another member of the group with them?

The CSI that Cord had spotted from the window opened the front door of the house. He was armed, and even though he took aim in the direction of the bunkhouse, he didn’t fire. Probably because he didn’t know if this was a hostage situation or not.

Cord didn’t know, either.

But he had to put a stop to the shooter. Cord hit the button to lower the window, and he levered himself up so he could get the guy in his sights.

And Cord fired.

The shooter scrambled back, but Cord sent another shot his way. Then, a third.

With the sounds of the blasts still ringing in his ears, it took Cord a moment to hear the other sounds. An ax or something striking against the wood in the barn.

Great. Now, Rocky could be trying to escape.

“Cover me,” Cord called out to the CSI who had now made his way onto the porch. He took a backup gun from the glove compartment and handed it to Karina. “Stay down but try to keep your eye on him.”

“On the CSI?” she asked, her eyes widening.

“Yeah.” Cord hated that he’d just caused her fear to soar even higher, but he didn’t know the CSI and wasn’t ready to completely trust him with his and Karina’s lives.

Cord climbed over her and got out through the passenger’s door so he could hurry to the rear of his truck. The CSI reacted, too, moving to the end of the porch and aiming his gun at the bunkhouse.

The sounds of the chopping continued. And it was coming from the side nearest the truck.

What the hell was Rocky thinking?

Cord would still be able to gun him down, but if he did that, the man wouldn’t be able to give them answers. Cord preferred that not to happen.

Another shot came from the bunkhouse. This one was aimed at the CSI. The CSI dropped back a step, using the house for cover, but he didn’t stay there. The CSI fired into the bunkhouse.

And this time, he hit something.

Or rather someone.

Scott came staggering out the front door. He was clutching his chest, and there was blood all over his shirt. He said something, or rather he tried, but Cord didn’t catch a word of it before Scott collapsed onto the ground.

“No!” Rocky yelled.

Repeating that shout, Rocky tore through the rest of the wood and crawled out. He dropped onto his knees, his attention staying on Scott. That’s when Cord spotted the gun in Rocky’s right hand. His phone was in his left.

“Don’t die. Don’t be dead,” Rocky said. He tossed both the gun and phone at Cord, got to his feet and started running.

But so did Cord.

He hurried toward Rocky, blocking his path and pointing his gun right in the man’s face.

“Move one inch,” Cord warned Rocky, “and you’re a dead man.”

Chapter Nine

Karina knew she couldn’t ever come back to this place. The attack on her alone would have made her feel that way, but now she was certain of it. There’d been more blood spilled.

And there was a dead man lying in front of the bunkhouse.

The CSI had confirmed that fact not long after he’d shot him and while Cord was putting a pair of plastic cuffs on Rocky. Rocky wasn’t looking at Cord, her or the body. He was staring blankly at the ground. Probably because he’d just seen his friend and fellow club member die right in front of him.

“You should stay in the truck a while longer,” the CSI said, making his way toward her.

According to his name tag, he was Mitchell Durst, and the woman who had come out of the house shortly afterward was Helen Krauss, another CSI. Even though they both often dealt with violent crime scenes, they were visibly shaken.

Karina was, as well.

Before Cord had even gotten out of the truck, he’d given her a gun and told her to keep an eye on the CSI. Karina still had the gun gripped in her hand, but she was fairly sure the CSI wasn’t a threat. However, it suddenly felt as if anyone and anything could be.

All except Cord.

He’d saved her life, again.

Karina heard the sirens on the cruisers long before they pulled into her driveway. Jax and the other deputy, Dexter, got out of the first cruiser. Jax hurried toward Cord, while Dexter headed for the dead body.

Scott Chaplin.

Karina wanted to believe this was the end of it now that Scott was dead and Rocky was in custody, but there were other club members out there.

And so was the real Moonlight Strangler.

She wasn’t safe, and thanks to her getting Cord involved, neither was he. Any one of those bullets could have killed him.

Jax took over with Rocky, and the two deputies who pulled up in the other cruiser went to help Jax with the arrest. Cord kicked aside Rocky’s gun, probably so that it would be well out of the man’s reach, and he picked up Rocky’s phone. Cord looked at her, but he had a short conversation with Jax and then made a call with his own phone before he started toward her.

“The horses are all okay,” Cord said. “Jericho’s hand had moved them to the back pasture early this morning. Neither the ranch hand nor the horses were anywhere near those shots.”

In the grand scheme of things, most people might not have considered it important for her to know that. But it was.

“Thank you for checking,” she said, finally managing to get out the words. “Did Rocky say anything about why he was here?”

Cord shook his head and opened the door to help her out. “But he probably realized he was in a lot of trouble and needed a lawyer before he started talking. We can wait inside until the scene’s cleared enough for us to leave.”

He didn’t say how long that would be, and Karina wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer anyway.

While Cord led her up the porch, she glanced back at Rocky. The deputies were hauling him to the second cruiser. No doubt taking him to the sheriff’s office so he could be jailed. Jax joined Dexter by the body.

Both of the CSIs were outside, so that’s probably why Cord locked the door. However, it was a reminder that there could be others out there. Not exactly a thought to steady her nerves.

“Go ahead and gather up the things you wanted to get,” Cord added. “That way, when Jax gives us the green light, we can leave right away.”

Good. Even though the alternative wasn’t much better.

“What if someone comes after me at the Appaloosa Pass Ranch?” she asked, going straight to her bedroom.

Cord followed her but didn’t answer until she looked back at him. “I can’t give guarantees this won’t happen again. Hell, it happened right under my nose. But I can make the guesthouse at the ranch as safe as I can make any place.”

Which wasn’t 100 percent. Nothing was at this point.

Since she felt she had to keep moving or else she would collapse, Karina went to the closet, took out a suitcase and started shoving clothes into it. She knew she was moving too fast, that she probably looked like a malfunctioning windup toy, but she couldn’t stop herself.

She hurried to the dresser and grabbed some underwear, tossing them into the suitcase, too. Karina would have done the same to her toiletries in the bathroom, but Cord took her by the hand to stop her in her tracks.

“I’m not going to cry,” she insisted. “I can be as strong as you.”

“You already are.”

Damn him. It was the right thing to say. Perfect, in fact. And that’s why she didn’t listen to her common sense and back away from him when he pulled her into his arms. Besides, she wanted to be in his arms. Being there took the edge off the nerves, and it got her mind off the fact that she’d just seen a man die.

“Most people have a meltdown, a major one, when violence happens around them,” Cord went on. His voice was as soothing as his arms.

“The meltdown still might happen,” Karina mumbled. “Especially when I run out of things to pack.”

She certainly hadn’t meant to make that sound like a joke, but Cord smiled. It was lazy and slow like the long look he gave her before he lowered his head and did something she hadn’t seen coming.

He kissed her.

Judging from the soft sound he made, he wasn’t sure who was more surprised by that—him or her. Karina was thinking he’d won on that count. She’d dreamed of doing this since that kiss in Jericho’s office, but she was betting Cord had been spending his mental energy on making sure it didn’t happen again.

But here it was. Another kiss. And it was a good one.

Being in his arms had been incredible, but this took things up a mile-high notch. How could someone taste that good? And make her forget, for a few seconds anyway, about the nightmare that’d just happened.

Karina got lost in the kiss. Cord did, too. And while she figured he hadn’t wanted this to go much further, it did. He lowered his hands to her waist, pulling her closer. And closer. Until they were plastered right against each other.

Mercy.

It’d been a long time since she’d felt this kind of fire. And never like this. Karina found herself wanting more, and she was the one who deepened the kiss. The one who pulled him even closer. Until she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

But Cord could apparently hear, because he stopped.

“My phone,” he said, breaking away from her and taking out his cell.

Great day. She hadn’t even heard the ringing sound, but sure enough it was Jax. No doubt important. And she’d been so lost in that kiss, she hadn’t even heard it. So much for the vigilance she needed to make sure they weren’t attacked again.

“You still got Rocky’s phone?” Jax asked when Cord answered the call and put it on speaker.

“Yeah. You need it?”

“Not yet, but if what he says is true, I will. Rocky claims he’s been getting texts from the Moonlight Strangler. Check and see if there are any messages from God. And yeah, you heard that right.”

Cord scowled, maybe at the name or maybe because he thought this was part of the game that Rocky and his club buddies were playing. He took out Rocky’s phone, scrolled through the messages and then stopped.

“God,”
Cord repeated, “texted Rocky three times, and Rocky answered two of them.”

Jax cursed. “Is there anything in the messages that jumps out at you?”

“Not really.” He glanced through all the messages. “But they need to be analyzed, of course. There might be something important in them.” He didn’t sound very hopeful, though. “Did Rocky say anything else?” Cord asked. “Like maybe something about there being a third shooter?”

Karina’s stomach dropped. A third one? Good grief, how many people wanted her dead?

“Rocky didn’t mention anything about a third guy, but he said he’s innocent. And that Scott was, too.”

Of course, he would say that. “Then why was he here with a gun?” Karina asked. “And why didn’t he just turn himself in to the cops?”

“He claims he wanted to get his stuff. By that, I’m guessing he wanted all those photos and newspaper clippings. You know, the very things that will incriminate him when he’s arrested?”

“He was trying to cover his tracks,” Cord said as if giving that some thought. “But it was pretty gutsy of him and his buddies to come here with the CSIs still around.”

Jax made a sound to indicate he was giving it some thought, too. “It doesn’t add up. He’s hiding something. Or maybe he thought he could hide out until he got another shot at Karina.”

The chill came so fast that Karina had to fight off a shudder. Had that been it? Had Rocky been waiting to kill her?

“Jericho will grill him during interrogation,” Jax added. “Dexter and the other deputy, Mack, are taking Rocky to the sheriff’s office now. Once the ME gets here, I can follow Karina and you back, too, so you can listen to what Rocky has to say.”

That meant she wouldn’t be going to the ranch. Not right away. It also meant she’d have to give yet another statement of yet another attack. Her third one in less than twenty-four hours.

Cord ended the call and sank down on the foot of her bed. His attention went straight back to Rocky’s phone, and she sat down next to him so she could go through the messages with him.

There were five in total—three from “God” and two responses from Rocky. The first was by far the longest, and it had been sent nearly five weeks earlier, right before Willie Lee had been captured. Karina read it word for word.

“‘I saw your website, and I thought you might like to chat with me instead of just collecting pictures and doing all that blogging. I’m the Moonlight Strangler, aka the object of your affection. Since you seem like the sort who needs proof that I’m really him, here you go—I took a necklace from Gracie Hernandez. The cops didn’t put that in the reports, but if you dig, you’ll find out it’s true. Bye for now.’”

She looked at Cord, and he nodded. “The Moonlight Strangler did take the woman’s necklace. She was photographed wearing it just an hour or so before she was murdered, and it wasn’t on her body when the cops found her. Her family said she never took the necklace off.”

That twisted at her stomach, but Karina reminded herself that someone in law enforcement could have leaked the info. Still, why go to the trouble of pretending to be the Moonlight Strangler? It wasn’t a smart thing to do since the serial killer had gone after those impersonating him.

“Here’s Rocky’s response,” Cord continued. According to the time, he’d sent the text later that same day.

“‘I can’t confirm about the necklace, the cops won’t talk to me, but I do believe you’re the Moonlight Strangler. Can you
please
call me?’”
Please
was all in caps and underlined.

It sickened Karina to think that someone—anyone—would actually want to talk to a serial killer, but judging from Rocky’s interest in the Bloody Murder club, this wasn’t a surprise.

“‘No calls.’” Cord said, reading God’s answer aloud. “‘But we can chat here. I’ll answer your questions, give you stuff to put in that blog of yours, and in turn you’ll help me.’”

“‘Help you how?’” This was Rocky’s return text.

“‘I need to switch to a different phone,’” Cord said, reading the killer’s response. “‘I’m ditching this one so don’t text this number. You’ll get another message soon.’”

There were no other messages from God, but Cord went through the cache. There were literally dozens of them, some even to Karina when she’d been in the process of hiring Rocky.

And then she saw the message from an unknown caller. It was buried in the middle of plenty of others, but the first line caused Cord to stop.

“‘It’s me, again. God. And I have a problem. I’d wanted you to help me with someone playing around with my name, but there’s something bigger for you to do right now. The cops think they have the Moonlight Strangler. They don’t, and I don’t want anyone getting credit for my handiwork. Have one of your club buddies fix that, now, or the next woman I kill will be somebody you know and love.’”

Karina froze. Cord didn’t, though. He read through it again. Then, again, before he cursed and leaned in to have a closer look at the small print with the date and time the message had been sent.

“Hell,” Cord said, passing the phone to her.

Her heart thumped in her chest. Because the date of the message was two days after Willie Lee’s capture. While Willie Lee had been in a coma.

“This is the proof that he’s innocent,” Karina insisted.

“No,” Cord insisted right back. “It could be just another groupie or club member pretending to be the Moonlight Strangler.”

She wanted to remind Cord that he’d known about the necklace, but she herself had already dismissed it as proof positive. Still, Karina wanted to believe it.

“The texts will be analyzed,” Cord reminded her. He looked at her then. “If the FBI finds something and it turns out that Willie Lee is innocent, then we’ll deal with it.”

Coming from him that was a huge concession. Huge. “You’re having doubts about his guilt?” she asked.

“No. But I want to have doubts.” He cursed again, and scrubbed his hand over his face. “And that’s why I shouldn’t be backing you against a wall and kissing you.”

It was true. It was clouding both their minds at a time when cloudy thinking could get them killed.

Especially with the Moonlight Strangler still out there.

Cord’s phone rang, the sound slicing through the room and causing her to gasp. She hated the nerves, hated that they almost certainly wouldn’t be going away until this was all settled.

Whenever that would be.

“It’s Jax,” Cord informed her, and he answered the call.

“We got a big problem,” Jax said the moment he came on the line. “Two of them, actually. Rocky escaped.”

Sweet heaven. That was not what she wanted to hear. Ditto for Cord.

“How the hell did that happen?” Cord snapped.

“The cruiser was attacked on the way into town. Someone shot out the tires, tossed in some tear gas. When Dexter and Mack were coughing their heads off, the attackers rushed in and took Rocky at gunpoint.”

Cord shook his head. “Someone
kidnapped
Rocky?”