Settling an Old Score - Delores Fossen Page 0,34

down, he went to the window and peered out. He saw Gunnar by the barn—on the opposite side from where those shots had been fired. Good. That meant the deputy had some cover.

And could possibly be in a position to be ambushed.

Gunnar had his back against the barn wall, and with his gun gripped and ready, he was keeping watch. Still, that didn’t mean someone couldn’t take him out with a long-range shot.

Eli fired glances all around, but he didn’t see their attacker. So he waited. Hard to do since this clown could send a deadly shot straight into the house. Still, he forced himself not to move and risk having the shooter see him.

Where the hell was he or she?

There was a fence, but Eli would be able to at least partially see him if he was there. That left some trees and shrubs just beyond the fence and a water trough just inside it, but Eli caught no glint of metal from a firearm, no movement.

Another shot came. It also hit the back door, but this one had a different angle, meaning the shooter had moved again. Since Eli still hadn’t seen him or her that meant he or she was likely on the ground. A belly-down prone position wasn’t the best if a gunman wanted to get off a series of rapid shots, but it was damn good for accuracy.

Eli tested that. He took off his hat and flung it at the window. Sure enough the shot came, and the bullet tore through it. Eli didn’t need another reason to hate this piece of dirt, but that did it because it was his favorite hat. Still, it was worth the sacrifice because he now had this idiot’s location.

The shooter was on the ground by a water trough.

Eli made a quick check on Ashlyn to make sure she was still down on the floor. She was. She had her phone in her left hand, the gun in her right, and her attention was fixed exactly where Eli needed it to be. On the front door.

With his back covered, Eli leaned out and sent a shot to the side of the trough where he’d pinpointed the gunman. His bullet only kicked up some dirt, but it was enough to get the guy scurrying to the side.

“He’s by the trough,” Eli called out to Gunnar. It was possible that Gunnar would have a better angle on the shot than he would.

From the corner of his eye, Eli watched the deputy lean out from cover. Eli did the same, and he waited for Gunnar to fire. Gunnar’s shot slammed into the fence, sending a spray of splinters. Not a hit, but it got the gunman scrambling back toward the trees.

That’s when Eli took his shot.

He sent a bullet right into the guy’s shoulder, and Eli knew he’d hit pay dirt when the guy dropped to his knees. But he wasn’t down. The idiot twisted his body, taking aim at Gunnar. And that’s when Eli knew he had no choice.

He fired.

This time, it wasn’t a shot to disable him but rather one that would likely kill. The shooter took two bullets to the side of his chest before he collapsed face-first onto the ground.

Chapter Ten

Ashlyn tried to make sure she looked a lot steadier than she felt. That’s because Eli was watching her, no doubt to make sure she didn’t fall apart.

She wouldn’t.

No way did she want to add more to his shoulders than was already there.

Eli was blaming himself for the attack. She could sense that in his stiff posture and tight jaw as he paced across the living room and continued the string of calls that’d started as soon as he’d killed the gunman. Eli was angry and frustrated—two things that she completely understood. She had gone through that as well, but then it’d been eased some when she’d gotten back to Jack’s and had seen for herself that Cora was okay. There hadn’t been a second attack at the ranch.

She looked down at Cora, who was now in Ashlyn’s lap, and the baby smiled around the bottle she was sucking. Ashlyn automatically smiled back and felt some more of the tension ease away. Things weren’t perfect, not by a long shot, but it was impossible not to be at least somewhat happy with her baby cuddled like this in her arms.

Owen glanced over at her when Cora cooed, the sound obviously getting his attention. He wasn’t pacing. He was