didn’t pull back his hand.
“So if it’s me you want,” Lenora said in a voice loud enough that hopefully Quentin would look at her, “then let Clayton and his family go.”
“Impossible. You’re carrying his family. No way can I leave Clayton alive.”
“He’s right,” Clayton confirmed. “I’d come after him, and I’d find him. And kill him.”
Lenora cringed. Clayton was throwing down a gauntlet, and she didn’t miss the sound of outrage that Quentin made.
“Get your hand off that gun,” he told Clayton, “or Lenora dies right now.”
Clayton cursed. But he drew back his hand, and in the same motion he kicked the gun toward the foot of the bed. She prayed he had a backup weapon and that he’d be able to get to it if it came down to it.
“Good,” Quentin said, but there was no real praise in his voice.
Quentin turned toward Lenora. “Come here, Lynnie.” Because of the light, she still couldn’t see his face, but she had no doubt that his attention held firmly on her.
“Do as he says,” Clayton instructed.
When Lenora stepped out, she saw Clayton’s hand move toward his boots, where he hopefully had some kind of backup weapon.
“Come closer,” Quentin ordered.
Lenora did, and she tried to position her body in between the two men so that Quentin wouldn’t be able to see what Clayton was doing. But that didn’t last long, because the moment she was within Quentin’s reach, he tossed the strobe light aside and grabbed her, slinging her in front of him.
Just the touch of his hand on her had her skin crawling, but at least the light was no longer stabbing into Clayton’s eyes. Now that she could see Clayton’s face, she could see the agony. He was in horrible pain, maybe too much to stop Quentin. And there was something else very bad about the new position. She was literally shielding Quentin, so that even if Clayton could return fire, he wouldn’t have a clean shot.
Well, not until they moved.
And according to Quentin, he intended to move her, to take her elsewhere so he could punish her. For that to happen, they would have to walk out of the room, and maybe that’s when Clayton could help her stop this.
“Here’s how this is going to work.” Quentin put his mouth right against her ear when he spoke, but he didn’t whisper. He kept his voice loud enough for Clayton to hear. “I’m giving you a huge gift. An opportunity to keep your baby alive.”
Lenora hated to latch on to the hope that Quentin was telling the truth, but she desperately wanted it to be true. “How?” she asked. And despite the pain, Clayton looked as skeptical as she felt.
“Easy,” Quentin answered. “If you do just one little thing, I’ll take you someplace safe, where you can finish your pregnancy and deliver the baby. I’ll even have the kid sent back to Blue Creek Ranch, so he can grow up to be a cowboy like his daddy.”
Quentin hadn’t said a word about keeping her alive, but at the moment she was willing to do whatever it took for her baby’s safety.
“What’s the one little thing?” And she held her breath, waiting for an answer that she was certain she didn’t want to hear.
Quentin took her hand and wrapped her fingers around his gun. “Easy. Kill Clayton and your baby lives.”
* * *
HELL. WHAT KIND of sick game was Quentin playing now?
He was putting Lenora in an impossible situation. One no doubt meant to punish her. If Clayton had thought for one second that his death would allow Lenora and the baby to live, he would trade his life for theirs.
But he didn’t trust Quentin.
No.
If Lenora went through with the shooting, then Quentin would only turn that gun on her or else kill her after he’d tortured her. To stop that from happening, Clayton needed a plan.
But what?
If the pain would stop roaring in his head, he might be able to come up with one. Unfortunately, that strobe light had done a real number on him, but he tried to force himself to think through the pain.
He was sure his other brothers were on the way from Maverick Springs. His cell phone had buzzed several times in the past fifteen minutes, and even though he hadn’t risked looking at the screen, Clayton figured it was either Harlan, Dallas or Slade. One of them had probably tried to call the house phone, too, and when they hadn’t gotten an answer, they would