inside. Haven’t left the trailer yet.”
Burke and Smith split up. Smith ducked behind a Jeep parked to the left of the trailer door. Burke ran to the left side. He called out, “FBI. Throw down your weapons. Come out with your hands up.”
The response was a blast of bullets fired through the door. If Burke had been dumb enough to stand there, he would have been mowed down.
Both he and Smith let loose with a barrage of gunfire. As agreed, they aimed low, almost into the dirt. Burke didn’t want casualties. He circled the trailer, staying away from the windows.
From the bunkhouse, he heard shouts of protest.
The corresponding voices of his men, heard through his headset, were polite. They explained that they were there to protect the women and children, to remove them from a dangerous situation.
In just a few minutes, the head of the rescue team reported, “We’re leaving with the hostages. Three men are escorting them. Two more are headed back toward the guys at the front gate.”
The plan seemed to be operating smoothly, and that concerned Burke. After years in law enforcement, he knew that nothing was easy.
He spotted a woman running toward the trailer. One who had broken away from the others?
She screamed, “Logan, look out! They’re coming for you, Logan!”
A shot was fired. From inside the trailer.
The woman fell.
DYLAN REFUSED TO WAIT. Nicole’s phone call had raised his level of anxiety to a fever pitch. “We’re going to deliver that damn ransom. And we’re going to do it right now.”
“Use your head, Dylan. It’s a trick. The kidnappers have to be watching the house. They know we’re alone. If we wait until Burke gets back…”
“Nicole could be dead by then.”
Carolyn begged him. “Please. Let’s call Burke.”
“That was my wife on the phone. She wouldn’t lie to me.”
She might not have a choice. The kidnappers could be standing over her with a gun. “I heard her.”
“She said to meet her in half an hour. After we pay the ransom.” He held Carolyn’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. In his face, she saw the depth of his suffering. “Either you help me with this or I’ll do it alone.”
How could she refuse her brother? She’d promised her father that she’d protect him. And he had a point. If they didn’t deliver the ransom, Nicole might pay the ultimate price.
“I’ll ride with you,” she said.
“Not enough time. La Rana and the creek are in opposite directions. We’ll never make it to both in half an hour.”
He was correct, and the timing was important. She drew the obvious conclusion. “There must be two of them. One to pick up the ransom. The other to hold Nicole.”
“Butch Thurgood and Pete Richter.” He stormed from the dining room and grabbed his jacket near the door. “Bastards.”
“I’ll drop the ransom at La Rana,” she said. “You go and wait for Nicole.”
“I’ll grab a couple of horses from the men and bring them to the back door. Hurry.”
“What are you going to tell the sheriff?”
“I’ll figure it out.” He wrapped his arms around her for a quick hug. “Thanks, sis. I love you.”
“Love you, too. Be careful.”
While he went to make explanations and find them a couple of mounts, she entered the office to retrieve the ransom from the safe.
Her fingers trembled as she spun the dial on the combination lock and took out the heavy backpack. This might be the biggest mistake she’d ever made. Remembering the fierce blast to her chest when she’d been shot, she wished that she had one of those uncomfortable bulletproof vests.
She put on her jacket and jammed her arms into the straps of the backpack. No time to waste.
Still, she returned to the computers in the dining room and activated the channel Dylan had used to communicate with Corelli. “I have a message for Burke.”
“Carolyn?”
“I’m delivering the ransom now.”
“Wait,” Corelli said. “Don’t make a move until—”
“Tell him La Rana.”
She turned off the channel and ran for the door, trying to outrace her better judgment.
Chapter Twenty-One
Burke watched the woman writhing on the ground, holding her leg and crying. He couldn’t leave her there, suffering. But he couldn’t rescue her without stepping directly into the line of fire. The man inside that trailer had been cold-blooded enough to shoot someone who was trying to warn him.
It had to be Logan.
“Logan,” Burke yelled. “This is your last chance to disarm and come out with your hands up.”
“Then what? Prison?” It was Logan, all right. “Get off my land,