Sawyer (13 page)

Chapter Fifteen

Cassidy started praying. Sawyer and she had already come close to dying today. His cousins, too. And now Sawyer was perhaps tempting fate again by racing after those gunmen. That only caused her heart to pound even harder, and it slammed against her chest.

Grayson waited with her. He fired glances all around them, no doubt watching to make sure there wasn’t another attack. But Cassidy kept her attention on Sawyer.

Until he disappeared from sight.

It sickened her to think of the danger that kept coming at them. Just two days ago, her life had been normal. Sawyer’s no doubt had been, too, though his version of normal was far different from hers. He was accustomed to facing situations like this. Well, maybe not the personal attacks. No one should be accustomed to that. But chasing down bad guys was what he did. She prayed he did it today without getting hurt.

“He’ll be fine,” Grayson said to her.

Cassidy appreciated his attempt to keep her calm, but it wasn’t working. Nothing would until this mess was finished. Until the culprits were behind bars and Sawyer was safe.

She braced herself for more gunfire, but none came. Thank goodness. Her thanks went up a significant notch when Sawyer came out of the building. Unharmed. However, she could tell from his expression that he wasn’t pleased, and that caused her stomach to drop.

Sawyer made a beeline to the SUV. “The kidnappers aren’t back there,” he explained. “Neither is Diane. But they have to be nearby. I don’t want Cassidy sitting out here waiting, in case they come back for round two.”

Grayson nodded. “Take her to the second floor of the sheriff’s office. There’s an apartment up there, and it’s fully wired for security.”

Sawyer glanced at the shot-up SUV and his truck. “It’d be stupid to try to drive back to the safe house now,” he mumbled, and Sawyer helped her from the SUV. He hurried her toward the back door.

“Stay with her,” Grayson called out, heading in right behind them. “I’ll get Mason back in here so we can regroup, and I’ll send some deputies out to search for Diane and the others.”

Sawyer didn’t disagree with any of that. They had to find Diane before something horrible happened to her. Cassidy didn’t want there to be another April, and with each attack, the chances of someone else dying skyrocketed.

He led her up the stairs just off the back exit. The stairs ended at a short hall that had a single door. When she looked inside, Cassidy saw that the entire second floor made up the apartment. It was one giant open space with a bed on one side, a kitchenette and sitting area straight ahead and a bathroom on the right.

“It used to be the jail before the city built a new one,” Sawyer explained. “Some of the deputies crash here when they’re pulling extra shifts.” He also looked around the room until their gazes met. Then he dragged in a long breath. Shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

She reached out, pulled him to her and brushed a kiss on his cheek. “I’m sorry, too.”

He flinched. Maybe because it was too dangerous for even a chaste kiss. Not with all this adrenaline and energy inside them. But he also likely objected to her apology itself. In his mind, he should have been able to do something to prevent the latest attack from happening.

“If it hadn’t been for you, the kidnappers would have taken me again,” she reminded him.

But he didn’t seem to believe that, either.

“You should get some rest,” he said, tipping his head to the bed and obviously changing the subject. “We’ll probably be here awhile.”

Cassidy was about to try again to relieve this guilt trip that was weighing him down, but his phone buzzed. Until then, she’d forgotten she was holding it. He’d given it to her during the attack.

Sawyer took it from her and answered it right away. What he didn’t do was put the call on speaker. Probably so he could soften any bad news. In other words, he would try to sugarcoat the situation because he would feel she’d already been through enough tonight. So had he, but Sawyer wouldn’t see it that way.

Cassidy moved away from him, went to the fridge and took out two bottles of water. Too bad it wasn’t hard liquor because she needed something to steady her raw nerves.

So did Sawyer.

She saw the muscles tighten in Sawyer’s jaw. But there seemed to be a new hit of adrenaline, too. A new reason for concern. And after he finished the call, she was almost afraid to ask what had caused his reaction. They’d both already had their fill of bad news today, and they didn’t need more.

“That was Nate,” he started. “While his men were out looking for Diane, he talked with some of her former patients. One of them said Diane had extorted money from him.”

Of all the things she’d considered Sawyer might say, that wasn’t on the list. This was definitely a new wrinkle in their already too-wrinkled mess.

“Extortion? How?” she asked.

Sawyer wearily shook his head. “According to this former patient, he told Diane of an extramarital affair he was having, and later Diane threatened to tell the man’s wife if he didn’t pay her ten thousand dollars.”

Mercy. If that was true, the charges were serious, and it wouldn’t just bring her credibility into question. Diane could lose her license to practice and possibly face some jail time. “Did the man say if he paid Diane?”

“He claims he did. Said he paid her in cash, just as she’d demanded. All of this supposedly went down about a week ago.”

So, recently. Probably about the time the kidnappers were putting together their final plans to take Bennie. But that didn’t mean the two things were connected.

“Did Nate believe this man?” Cassidy asked.

Sawyer lifted his shoulder. “Yeah, I think he did. But there’s a problem. The patient and Diane didn’t part on friendly terms, and he’s not willing to press charges against her because it would mean telling his wife about the affair. Nate isn’t sure if this man is just vindictive, crazy or telling the truth.”

Yes, that would be hard to prove. Unless they had bank records. “Didn’t you put in a request to get Diane’s financials?” Because maybe she’d deposited the ten grand. It wouldn’t be absolute proof, but it would be a start if Nate wanted to build a case against Diane.

“Nothing’s come back yet. But this latest incident should make it easier to get a court order if necessary.”

It might be necessary. In fact, Sawyer might have to conduct a full-scale investigation into Diane’s life. Too bad they didn’t have time for that because they kept having to dodge bullets. Literally.

“There’s more,” Sawyer continued a moment later. “You remember hearing that Diane’s married, estranged from her very wealthy husband, who’s cut her off without a dime?”

“I remember. Willy said she had a drug habit.”

He nodded. “Nate hasn’t been able to find out the reason for the separation, but there’s plenty of gossip about her possible drug use. A criminal informant told Nate that Diane owes a lot of money to her dealer and that she might be desperate to pay the guy off before he exposes her addiction.”

It was hard to think of the polished woman she’d seen at the sheriff’s office as an addict. But maybe Diane was just very good at hiding her drug use.

And maybe other things, too.

Cassidy had only gotten a glimpse of the woman when she’d run from the kidnappers. She’d certainly looked frightened. But had she been?

Or had it been some kind of ruse?

“Maybe I’m just getting cynical because of the attacks,” Cassidy said, “but do you think Diane could be behind the kidnappings and the attempts?”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Sawyer readily admitted. “Hard to tell if all of this was an act or not. But the only thing she could have gained from faking her own kidnapping would be to make herself look innocent.”

Considering that the kidnappers were looking at a murder charge, maybe Diane believed she had to do something,
anything,
to throw suspicion off herself, and in doing so, had only made it worse.

“It’s possible Diane blackmailed April the way she supposedly did this other client,” Sawyer added, and he looked at her, hesitating.

And Cassidy knew why.

“Diane could have believed that April would get the money from Bennie,” Cassidy finished for him. Before the attacks, she would have dismissed that with the blink of an eye.

She didn’t dismiss it now.

And it meant all of this could lead back to Bennie. Diane could have started this by blackmailing April, but Bennie could have finished the botched kidnappings by killing her. However, there was a problem with that theory.

“April wasn’t married, so why would Diane have been able to blackmail her about her affair with my brother?” she asked. “And why would Diane think Bennie would have paid to get April back? Yes, an involvement with a woman like April could have maybe hurt his reputation.
Maybe
. But we both know Bennie doesn’t have much of a reputation to hurt.”

He made a sound of agreement. “Diane could have told April that it would set Willy off to know about the affair.”

It would have. Willy had a short fuse when it came to April. And it wouldn’t have taken much for Diane to convince Bennie that Willy would come after him. Bennie wasn’t a coward, but he wouldn’t have wanted a fight with a psycho like Willy.

Still, there was a problem.

“Bennie didn’t have the money to pay April’s ransom,” she reminded him. “He’s broke and was trying to get money from me to pay off that bar owner.”

“Yeah, but Diane might not have known about that. She probably thought Bennie could just get the money from you.”

And in the past, that’s exactly what he’d done. This was the first time Cassidy had turned him down, and she wouldn’t have done that if she’d known it would lead to all of this.

“But April could have turned the tables on Diane,” Sawyer went on. “If April learned that Diane and Bennie were having an affair, she might have tried to press both of them for money to keep the affair quiet.”

Yes, because maybe Diane wouldn’t have wanted her rich, estranged husband to hear about her affair. Especially with a man of Bennie’s character. And that meant they were back to square one. Either April or Diane could have orchestrated the kidnappers. Bennie or Willy, too.

“Bennie,”
she mumbled, but she obviously didn’t say it softly enough. Sawyer heard not just her brother’s name but also the emotion that went along with it. And that emotion said loads—that she was worried, and furious, that her brother might be the reason for all this danger.

“I wish there was something I could do to make this go away,” he said, the emotion in his voice, too. Then he groaned and scrubbed his hand over his face.

“You’ve done plenty,” she said.

Sawyer’s gaze snapped back to hers as if he was looking for any doubts about the truth of that. He wouldn’t see doubts because there were none to see. And Cassidy proved that to him by leaning in for a kiss.

She hadn’t intended to linger on his mouth, but she did, and soon the lingering turned into so much more.

As it always did with Sawyer.

She felt the need ripple through her body. Maybe fueled by the fear. Maybe just the basic attraction that had been there all along. Either way, she didn’t fight it. Neither did Sawyer, despite the grumble of protest she heard in his throat. Yes, Cassidy knew she should protest it, too.

But she also knew it wouldn’t do any good.

She was lost in Sawyer’s kiss. In his arms. And she didn’t want anyone or anything to snap her back to reality. Here, she could forget all about the danger and the prospect of her brother’s guilt. For a few minutes away. She could forget and let Sawyer sweep her away.

It was Sawyer who deepened the kiss. Sawyer who dragged her to him until they were plastered against each other. Body to body so she could feel every inch of him. And there was a lot of him to feel. It didn’t take long for her to want more.

Despite the heat rolling through her and making her crazy, she tried to remember where she was. Above the sheriff’s office. With Sawyer’s lawmen cousins on the floor just below them. Yes, they were no doubt wrapped up in the hunt for Diane and the kidnappers. Wrapped up in the investigation, too. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t come by to check on them.

Those thoughts and doubts stayed with her. Until Sawyer’s mouth dropped to her neck. She wasn’t sure if he remembered that was a hot spot for her or if he’d just gotten lucky. It didn’t matter. The kisses robbed her of any doubts and set her body on fire.

Cassidy went after his shirt, but Sawyer didn’t exactly cooperate. That’s because he was maneuvering her to the door. The wrong direction. She wanted him to take her to the bed.

Without breaking the kiss, he reached around her and turned the lock. Something she should have thought of. Good thing Sawyer had. She wasn’t sure how much privacy they’d actually have, but at least no one could walk in on them.

The kisses continued. Making her crazy. Making her ready to demand a whole lot more, but then Sawyer tore his mouth from hers. And he stared down at her.

Uh-oh.

Cassidy knew what he was going to ask. Did she have any doubts about this? Did she want him to stop?

The answer to both was
no
.

And she let him know that by pulling him back to her. They were already past the point of no return, and if this was going to turn out to be a big mistake, then they might as well make the mistake worth it.

Sawyer made another sound, a rumble deep within his chest, and that seemed to be the green light they needed. He pushed up her top, dropping kisses on her bare stomach before he went to her breasts.

She gasped.

Oh, this was good. Better than she remembered. The kisses caused her legs to feel boneless, and she had no choice but to hold on to Sawyer and let him fire up the heat even hotter. It was wonderful.

But soon, it wasn’t enough.

His mouth only made her want more, so while they grappled for kisses, Cassidy got his shirt off and lit some fires of her own. She trailed some kisses down his chest while Sawyer rid her of her clothes.

He was perfect with that toned, lanky cowboy body, she thought as she slid her hands over all those lean muscles. But like the kisses, the touches created their own urgency, and that urgency skyrocketed when her hand slid to the front of his jeans.