Wild Stallion (17 page)

So, Evan had been the one following her, and that’s how he knew when to send the first hired gun out to the estate. Since Evan had access to the security cameras both inside and outside the house, that explained how he had been able to pinpoint them so easily during the attacks. It made Jackson sick to think that Evan had been watching all this time.

“Bailey didn’t know about your plans,” Jackson pressed. “You can make it so she’s safe. You too.”

“Right.” Evan gave another hollow laugh. “The only thing you want is for me to be arrested. Well, that’s not going to happen. SAPD would charge me as an accessory to the hostage incident. People were murdered that day, and you and I both know that accessory to murder is the same sentence as murder itself.”

Jackson wasn’t sure of that at all, but he was certain that Evan would be charged with a whole host of other things that he’d carried out in the past forty-eight hours.

“I have the cash,” one of Jackson’s men called out from the foyer. “And the car is in front of the house.”

“Time to go,” Evan said, obviously not wasting any time. “Back up, Jackson. And don’t try anything stupid. I have nothing to lose here.”

Oh yes he did. Evan was about to lose his life.

But then Jackson saw something that could give this an ugly turn.

Behind Evan and Bailey, there was some movement, and a moment later, he spotted Sheriff Gentry. He was easing up the ladder that Evan had apparently used to gain entry into the nursery. Of course, Evan had been able to do that because he’d shot out the window.

Jackson shook his head slightly so the sheriff would stop. He wanted Gentry’s help, but he didn’t want Evan getting spooked. Best to get the man onto the stairs where there would be more room to maneuver.

“What?” Evan demanded. It was obvious something alerted him.

Jackson didn’t look at the sheriff because he didn’t want Evan to follow his gaze. But he must have sensed that someone was behind him.

A sound tore from Evan’s mouth. Not exactly a shout. Something that sounded more animal than human.

Evan turned, dragging Bailey with him. Both of them moving to face the sheriff.

Hell.

Evan’s hand tightened, poised to pull the trigger of the gun still pointed at Bailey’s head.

Jackson still didn’t have a clean shot, so he lowered his head and dove toward Bailey and Evan. It was a huge risk. The biggest one he’d ever taken, but he couldn’t just stand there while Evan fired.

He plowed right into them and sent all three of them crashing against what was left of the window frame. Bits of wood and glass flew everywhere. So did Evan’s hands. The man was trying to bash the gun and his fist into anything close enough for him to hurt.

Jackson couldn’t stop Evan’s fist from bashing into Bailey’s stomach.

And then there was the shot.

The sound of it blasted through the room.

Bailey gasped, as if fighting for air, and Jackson saw her crumple to the floor. God, had she been hit? Had he lost her?

And in that moment of fear and panic, he realized just what she meant to him.

“Bailey!” Jackson shouted, but his voice was drowned out by the other sounds.

The echo from the gunshot. The chaos that followed. The rustling of the sheriff diving through the window to grab hold of Evan. But Jackson didn’t hear the one sound he wanted to hear.

He didn’t hear Bailey’s voice.

Chapter Eighteen

Bailey heard everything, every sound of the struggle going on around her. She could see, too. But what she couldn’t do was speak. That’s because the breath had been knocked out of her when Evan punched her in the stomach.

Jackson cursed, something raw and filled with fury. He came at Evan and latched onto the man’s hand so he couldn’t fire his gun again. Jackson bashed Evan’s hand against the floor, and when he didn’t let go of the weapon, he bashed it again.

Finally, Evan dropped the gun.

The sheriff was right there to grab the man and pin him down so that he couldn’t move and go after that gun again.

Bailey tried to get up, but Jackson beat her to it. He raced to her and scooped her up into his arms.

“Are you hurt?” he demanded.

She managed to shake her head, but her voice still wouldn’t cooperate.

That’s because she saw the blood.

It was trickling down the side of Jackson’s face. “But
you’re
hurt,” she said.

It seemed to take much too long for her to reach up and wipe away the blood. Not a gunshot wound, thank God. It had likely come from the broken glass.

The relief was overwhelming. Maybe because it was mixed with the adrenaline and the realization that they had both come out of this alive.

Bailey grabbed Jackson and kissed him.

She didn’t bother to keep it simple and sweet. It was a kiss filled with the powerful emotions coursing through her.

“She’s okay, I guess,” the sheriff mumbled, sounding mildly amused. He hauled Evan to his feet. “I got an update from SAPD on the way over. They have the woman they’re calling hostage number four, and everything seems resolved. She’s safe, and there isn’t going to be another hostage incident. Turned out to be a ruse.”

Thank God. It was all over, except for dealing with the aftermath of the situation that Evan and his hired guns had created.

“Your men got the third intruder,” the sheriff continued, “and he’s spilling his guts, already trying to work out a deal so he can testify against Mr. Young here in exchange for immunity.”

“That little weasel,” Evan snarled. “I knew I couldn’t trust him.”

“He said you didn’t pay him nearly enough.” The sheriff handcuffed Evan. “He also said you were the mastermind of this disaster, that you’d hired not just him but the other gunman, and that you came here to kill Bailey and then kidnap the child.”

Evan cursed, but he didn’t deny any of it. Good reason. There was a ton of evidence against him.

“And the explosions?” Jackson asked. Bailey was thankful he’d asked. She wanted to know about those as well.

“I wanted to distract you so I could get inside,” Evan spat out. “I should have blown up the house and everyone in it instead.”

The man’s venom caused Bailey to shudder.

“We have Shannon Wright and Robin Russo down at my office,” Sheriff Gentry added. “I put them in protective custody just about the same time I got a call about this attack here at the estate. I don’t think either woman had any part in this.”

Well, that was something, at least. Still, it would no doubt take a while for Shannon to get her life back in order. And of course, Robin would face charges for taking Caden and for leaving those threatening letters.

“What about Ryan Cassaine?” Bailey asked.

The sheriff shook his head. “No links to this one here,” he said, tipping his head to Evan. Sheriff Gentry mumbled something about that being a good thing, and he led Evan out the door.

Bailey looked away from the man who’d made her life a living hell. She didn’t want another glimpse of him. She only wanted Evan and his dead henchman out of the house.

“I’m so sorry,” Jackson whispered.

“For what? This wasn’t your fault.”

“Evan worked for me,” Jackson pointed out.

“And you had no idea that his fiancée’s death made him crazy. No. I won’t let you take the blame for this.”

“Thank you for that.” Jackson gathered her in his arms and kissed her right back. That robbed her of what little breath she’d managed to gather.

He pulled back. Met her gaze. “Let’s check on Caden.” Jackson took her hand and hurried out the door and toward the back stairs.

Bailey suddenly couldn’t get to Caden fast enough. The only consolation in all of this was that her baby was too young to remember the attack that had almost cost him his parents.

“We’re his parents,” she mumbled.

Jackson’s grip tightened on her hand. “What did you say?”

“We’re Caden’s parents,” she said a little louder.

She hadn’t expected him to come to a dead stop outside the panic room and whirl around to face her again. He suddenly looked like a dark warrior ready for another battle. The muscles in his jaw stirred, and he stared at her with narrowed, waiting eyes.

“Yes. We are.” His voice was as clogged with emotion as hers. Jackson didn’t seem the ruthless businessman now. He seemed humbled. “You aren’t going to take him from me, are you?”

It was such a heartfelt question that it brought tears to her eyes. “No.” But until she heard her answer, she hadn’t been sure what was going to happen next.

She still wasn’t.

It was almost as if she were still out of breath, waiting. Because Bailey figured what she said and did here in the next few minutes would change her life forever.

A scary thought.

Her head was filled with all the images of the attack, and there was still some blood on Jackson’s forehead. She could hear Evan’s threats. The explosions. The shots that had been fired.

But for some reason, her mind was crystal-clear.

“We can share custody,” she suggested, though that didn’t sound as good as it should have. “It’s a reasonable solution.”

“Reasonable,” Jackson repeated. He shook his head, cursed. “What if I don’t want reasonable?”

Bailey blinked, and there went the air again. “You can’t want full custody?”

He shook his head again. Cursed again. He reached for the button that would open the monitor for the panic room but then jerked back his hand.

“I do want full custody,” he insisted. “And I also want you.”

Because she was gearing up for a fight, and trying to figure out how she was going to deal with a broken heart, it took a moment for that to sink in.

“You want me?” she clarified, not sure exactly what he meant by that.

He put his hands on his hips. “Not an affair. Not just sex.
You.
”

Which still didn’t clarify everything.

She must have looked confused, because he grasped her shoulders and stared at her. And it seemed as if he just couldn’t find the right words. Strange. Jackson had a knack for saying and doing the right thing at the right time.

“I’m in love with you,” Bailey blurted out. Yes, it was a massive risk. It could be too much too soon for the Texas tycoon, but Bailey didn’t regret it. He needed the facts, and the facts were that she was desperately in love with him.

He didn’t respond. Instead, he let go of her and pushed the button so the monitor would drop down.

“How’s Caden?” Jackson asked, the moment that Tracy’s image appeared on the screen.

“Sleeping.” Tracy stepped back so they could see him.

Caden was indeed asleep, snuggled into his blanket as if this was an ordinary night. It wasn’t. They’d just been attacked, and she’d just poured out her heart to Jackson and had gotten no response.

“Is it safe to come out?” Tracy asked.

Jackson nodded, and a moment later the thick steel door opened. “Could you let everyone know that the crisis is over, that they can return to their quarters?”

“Certainly.” Tracy didn’t linger. She hurried away, obviously relieved that the danger was gone.

She and Jackson stepped inside and tiptoed across the room. Bailey went to the crib and stared down at her son. She got that same warm jolt every time she looked at Caden, and it was even stronger now.

“I wanted to say this here, with Caden in the room,” Jackson whispered. He slid his hand over hers.

Since he didn’t seem eager to continue, Bailey just decided to put her fear right out there so she could try to deal with it. “You’re dumping me?”

Jackson looked as if she’d slapped him. “No.” He didn’t have any trouble getting that out. Nor moving. He pulled her closer to him and turned her so they were face-to-face.

“Dumping you?” he asked, making it sound like the last thing on his mind. “I was going to tell you that I’m in love with you, too. And then I was going to ask you to marry me.”

Now it was Bailey’s turn to be stunned.
Mercy.
She hadn’t seen that coming.

“You really were going to do those things?” she asked.

Jackson winced. “I still am.” He stared at her. “I love you. And—will you marry me?”

Bailey wanted to say yes. Heck, she wanted to jump for joy, kiss Jackson and then haul him off to bed somewhere. But she couldn’t just go blindly into this.

“No,” Jackson interrupted before she could say anything. “I’m not doing this for Caden. Or even for us. I’m doing it for me. I want you, not just for tonight. And not just to be Caden’s mother. Bailey, I want
you
because I love
you.
”

She studied his eyes, looking for any signs of doubt, but there weren’t any.

Bailey only saw the love, and it was the same love that she felt in her heart.

She smiled, slid her hand around the back of Jackson’s neck and pulled him down for a kiss. It wasn’t the frantic kiss of relief she’d given him in the aftermath of the attack. This one was meant to say only one thing.

I love you.

Still, Bailey gave him the words to go along with the kiss. “I love you, Jackson. And yes, I’ll marry you.”

He smiled, but she caught that smile with her mouth and tasted it with another kiss.

Like their other kissing sessions, this one turned hot very fast, and Jackson hauled her against him so they were body-to-body and touching everywhere. It left her breathless and wanting a whole lot more.

“I have no doubts that this is how I want to spend the rest of my life,” she whispered. “With you and Caden.”

At the sound of his name, Caden started to fuss. But not just fuss. He woke up and started to wail. It was loud and a complete attention-getter.

At the same time, they reached for him—and then laughed when they bumped into each other. Caden stopped crying and stared at them as if trying to figure out why they were so darn happy when he was cranky over having his sleep interrupted with a marriage proposal and a declaration of love ever after.

Bailey stepped back a little so that Jackson could pick up the baby. He kissed Caden’s cheek and then handed the baby to her.

“She said yes,” Jackson whispered in Caden’s ear. “Your mom is going to be my wife. And if we play our cards right, one day you might get a little sister or brother out of this deal.”

Even though Caden couldn’t have possibly understood what he meant, he must have picked up on his dada’s happy tone and expression.

Caden smiled, a big gummy grin complete with a “Coo.”

Their son obviously approved, and to celebrate, Bailey gave both of them another kiss.

This was her dream come true. The life she had always wanted. And it was right in her arms, and in her heart, forever.