Six-Gun Showdown
Of course, she was already doing that. Her gaze was firing all around them. Jax couldn’t be sure, but he thought he heard her mumble a prayer. Good. Because he was certainly saying a few of them, too.
Paige took out her phone, checked the screen. No doubt for an update from Cord or the killer. But there was nothing on the screen. Ditto for his own phone. No word yet from his brothers. Jax decided to believe that was good news, because if they’d spotted someone in the area, Jericho would have certainly let him know about it.
The road wasn’t long, less than a quarter of a mile from his house to the highway that led into town. It wasn’t a straight shot, though. It’d once been an old ranch trail, and it coiled around massive oaks and other trees that dotted the acres of land. Those deep curves in the road would no doubt prevent Cord or his brothers from being able to see what was going on.
There were no lights out here, but it wasn’t pitch dark yet. Soon would be, though.
And there was a moon.
Since the killer had struck only on nights with a visible moon and left the crescent shaped cuts on his victims’ cheeks, that’s how he’d earned his nickname. Maybe he wouldn’t add another victim or two to his list tonight.
“Still no text from him,” Paige mumbled, checking her phone again.
No text from his brothers, either, but Jax did spot something. So did Paige because she stopped, and they both stared at the truck ahead. It was parked right where the ranch road met the highway. The lights were off, and it was positioned so that it blocked any vehicle from getting on or off the ranch. Unfortunately, this made it impossible for Jax to read the license plates, although they were probably stolen, anyway.
“You see anyone inside?” Paige asked.
Jax had to shake his head. Too dark, and the windows had a dark tint, too. He fired off a text to Jericho. Try to use the scanner. You might not be able to see it, but there’s a truck parked at the end of the road.
Then he turned to Paige to tell her to text Cord and ask him to do the same thing, but Paige was already in the process of taking care of that.
Nothing, Jericho texted back. I got a glimpse of the truck through the trees, but it’s too far away for the scanner.
Yeah, that’s what Jax figured, and he also figured that’s why the killer had parked it in that particular location.
“Cord’s not getting anything on his scanner,” Paige relayed to Jax when she got a response. “He’s too far away to see the truck and is going to try to move closer. He’ll be careful,” she added.
No doubt. But careful might not be nearly good enough.
Jax didn’t draw his gun, but he kept his hand over it, and he started toward the truck again. Still no sign of anyone inside, and Paige and he were still a good fifteen yards away when her phone dinged with a text message.
Not Cord this time.
“It’s from the killer,” she said, showing him the screen. “‘Guns down on the ground,’” she read aloud. “‘Paige, you know what to do.’”
That was it, all the instruction they were going to get, but Paige did indeed know what to do. She shucked off her top, dropping it on the ground next to where Jax placed his Glock. He kept the backup gun in the back of his jeans.
Her shoes and jeans came off next, along with her gun.
“Sorry,” she repeated.
It took Jax a moment to realize the apology was aimed at him. And another moment to realize why. That’s because he was gawking at her in her bra and panties, and she was apologizing for putting him in this awkward situation.
Talk about bad timing, but Paige always had grabbed his attention. A half-naked Paige could grab it even more.
“He must be somewhere in or around the truck,” Paige said. She took a deep breath, then another, and started walking.
Jax could only imagine what was going through her head right now. The Moonlight Strangler had nearly killed her, but here she was, ready to face him head-on.
Part of him admired that, especially since she was doing this to save Matthew. But another part of him remembered how they’d gotten to this point in the first place. She’d become the killer’s target because she was obsessed with finding him.
As a lawman, it was hard for him to fault her for that.
As a father, he hated that she’d put Matthew on this monster’s radar.
Her phone dinged, and she held it up for Jax to see. Good girl, the killer taunted. Put your hands on top of your head and keep walking. Deputy Crockett, you stop where you are. Don’t make any sudden moves, or I’ll put bullets in both of you. And if you’ve got a gun hidden away, the best way to get Paige killed would be to try to use that gun on me.
Not good. They were still five yards away. Not nearly close enough for him to lunge at a killer.
“Why don’t you come out so we can talk face-to-face?” Jax called out. He didn’t expect a response.
That’s why he was shocked when he got one.
“Talking won’t help,” a man said. Jax didn’t recognize his voice because he was using a scrambler device. Didn’t see him, either. “Paige, turn around a sec so I can make sure you don’t have a gun tucked in those panties. Nice color, by the way. Would you call that pink or peach?”
This wasn’t just a killer, but a sick one.
“Pink,” she said through clenched teeth when she finished circling around.
“Nice. Now, do what you know you have to do.”
She looked at Jax, their gazes holding, and even in the darkness he had no trouble seeing the fear.
And her surrender.
“Just make sure you kill him,” she whispered. “He can’t walk out of here alive.”
Yes, because he would try to hurt Matthew. Jax knew what he had to do.
Paige took another step toward the truck.
“I told you to stay put, Deputy,” the man warned him when Jax moved, too. “I want you to watch.”
Definitely not good.
That’s the reason the killer had allowed him out here, just so he could witness Paige’s murder. Jax had to do something, and he had to do it fast.
“I want to tell Paige goodbye,” Jax said.
Paige froze, glanced back at him, no doubt questioning what the heck he was doing. What he was doing was trying to bargain with this fool. Or maybe distract him. Anything that would prevent him from getting his hands on Paige again.
With that stunned look still on her face, Jax went to her, positioning himself between the truck and her, and he pulled her into his arms. She was board-stiff and trembling, but that didn’t stop Jax from dropping a kiss on her mouth.
While he slipped the syringe into the elastic of her panties. He made sure the protective plastic cap was secure enough so that she wouldn’t accidentally stab herself with it.
“I’ll get to you as fast as I can,” Jax whispered in her ear, hoping it was a promise he could keep.
Paige nodded. Started walking away.
But she’d barely made it a step when Jax heard the rustling sounds to his right.
And to his left.
The dark shadowy figures were wearing ski masks, and they came out of the ditches, fast, barreling right at them. Jax didn’t even have time to react. One of them plowed right into him and knocked him to the ground.
Before he could even grab his backup weapon, the man put a gun to Jax’s head.
Chapter Four
From the corner of her eye, Paige saw the man go right at Jax.
She screamed for him to look out, or rather that’s what she tried to do, but the sound didn’t quite make it to her throat. That’s because the hulking man crashed right into her, throwing her to the ground and knocking the breath right out of her.
The pain burst through her.
The fear and dread, too.
She’d failed, and these two goons would almost certainly try to kill Jax and her. Was one of them the Moonlight Strangler? Or were these just his henchmen? If so, they would no doubt deliver them to the Moonlight Strangler so he could finish them off and then go after Matthew.
That couldn’t happen.
Even though she was fighting to regain her breath, Paige slammed her elbow into the man’s stomach. It felt as if she’d hit a brick wall. He didn’t even react to the blow, but he did latch on to her hair and yank her to a standing position with her back against his chest. He put a gun to her head.
And that’s when she got a good look at Jax.
Her heart went to her knees. No! Jax was being held at gunpoint, too. She’d prayed that he had managed to get away, but like her he was now a captive.
“Move and your ex dies,” the man growled in her ear.
That stopped her, but then Paige realized the other goon had likely told Jax the same thing because Jax wasn’t fighting. He was looking at her and shaking his head, no doubt trying to remind her not to do anything stupid. Of course, she’d already done something stupid by allowing the danger to get this close to Matthew and him.
“I’m sorry,” she mouthed.
However, that only earned her another one of Jax’s glares.
“What now?” Jax asked, and it took her a moment to realize he wasn’t talking to her but rather to the thug who had his arm hooked around his neck.
Neither of the men jumped to answer, but Paige did hear some chatter. She glanced back and saw that it was coming through a tiny communicator fitted into the man’s ear. No doubt the voice of the Moonlight Strangler, and he was almost certainly doling out instructions.
Instructions on how he wanted them murdered.
She’d been a fool to think she could outsmart him. A fool to involve Jax in this. She should have just come to the meeting alone. Yes, the Moonlight Strangler would have just finished what he’d started all those months ago, but at least Jax would be inside his house where he could hopefully be protecting Matthew.
The chattering sound stopped, but Paige heard something else. Movement to her right, in the direction of the Crockett ranch. Maybe Jericho or Cord. Unfortunately, the hired thug must have heard it, too, because he dragged her back to the ground. Across from her, the guy holding Jax did the same to him.
The road was still hot, though the sun had already set, and the small rocks and debris dug into her skin. So did the syringe. It hadn’t cracked when she fell, thank God, but she might have a hard time getting to it now that the goon had her on her stomach. However, she had managed to keep hold of her phone, and while it wasn’t an ideal weapon, she might be able to bash him with it.
“Come any closer, and they both get bullets to the heads,” the brute holding her called out when she heard the sound of more movement.
She doubted Jericho or Cord would just come charging in there, but maybe one or both of them could get into a position to have a clean shot.
More chatter came from the earpiece, and this time Paige caught three words. Her own name and a simple sentence that chilled her from head to toe.
She’s mine.
Paige knew exactly what he meant by that. He wanted to do the job himself.
“Shoot the deputy if anyone fires at us or tries to come closer,” the hired gun told his comrade. “Hear that?” he said in a much louder voice, no doubt to Cord, Jericho or whoever else was approaching. “Jax Crockett pays the price if you try to save her.”
The man hauled her back to her feet, and he shoved the gun even harder against her temple. Even in the darkness, Paige managed to make eye contact with Jax. Brief eye contact. Enough for her to see his gaze drop to her panties. Or rather to the syringe he’d put there.
“Use it,” Jax mouthed. Even though he didn’t make any sound when he spoke, his captor must have realized Jax was trying to communicate with her because he tightened the chokehold on Jax.
Paige wasn’t even sure she could get the syringe without either of them getting shot, but she had to try. And she didn’t have much time, either. The man started moving her toward the truck. Once he had her inside the vehicle, there wouldn’t be any reason for them to keep Jax alive. Probably the only reason they hadn’t already killed him was to get her to cooperate.
And that’s what Paige did—she cooperated.
Or rather that’s what she pretended to do. She let the man maneuver her away from Jax, and she looked for her chance to make a move. That chance came when she spotted a rock on the road. It wasn’t big, but when they reached it, Paige stumbled, pretending to trip.
She would have fallen if the man hadn’t yanked her back by her hair. That hurt, but it was a drop in the bucket compared to the pain that exploded through her head when the man bashed the butt of his gun against her temple.
Paige dropped down again, but there was no faking it this time.
Mercy. She was able to choke back a scream but couldn’t stop the groan of pain that tore from her throat.
Jax must have heard the groan because he shouted something. Something she didn’t catch because both her head and ears were throbbing. She couldn’t hear much of anything, but thankfully her hands worked just fine.
Fueled with the anger from the attack and the fear that Jax would get killed trying to save her, Paige yanked out the syringe and used her thumb to flick off the plastic tip from the needle. In the same motion, she stood, spun around and jammed the syringe right into the man’s neck.
The shot blasted through the air. And it took her a moment to realize he hadn’t shot her. He’d pulled the trigger all right, but his shot had slammed into the road. Thank God. She didn’t want any bullets going anywhere in the direction of the house.
The thug staggered back, reaching for her, but Paige shoved him to the ground. Too bad the drug didn’t immediately cause him to lose consciousness, because he tried once again to shoot her. However, Paige grabbed his wrist and held on.
“Paige!” Jax shouted.
She wasn’t sure exactly where he was or what he wanted her to do, and Paige didn’t have time to find out. The man tried to take aim at her, and even though his hands were as wobbly as the rest of him, she didn’t want him to get off another shot. They might not be so lucky this time.
The man cursed her, his words slurred, and his head dropped back a little. Paige took advantage of that and used his own gun to knock him in the head. When that didn’t work, she hit him again. And again. Finally, he slumped to the ground, his eyes closing and his body going limp.
One down, at least two to go.
Paige snatched up the gun and glanced in the direction of the truck to make sure the Moonlight Strangler or another attacker wasn’t taking aim at her. But she saw no one. However, when her gaze slashed toward Jax, she spotted something that put her heart right back in her throat.
Jax, in a fight for his life.
Both Jax and the goon were on the ground, and the goon still had control of the gun. As she had done, Jax was trying to get control while also trying to keep the guy’s aim away from the direction of the house.
“Cord, watch the truck,” Paige called out, though she was certain that if he was in position, he was already doing that.
Paige didn’t waste a second. She ran toward Jax. She didn’t want Jax and her to be ambushed while her back was turned, but he was unarmed and outsized. If she didn’t help, this could turn even more dangerous than it already was.
Paige was just a few feet away when she heard a sound she didn’t want to hear. Another blast. Her stomach and muscles were already in knots, but that tightened her chest so much that she couldn’t breathe. Jax couldn’t be hurt. He just couldn’t be.
And he wasn’t.
It took her a moment to fight through the panic, especially when she saw the blood. Thankfully, it wasn’t on Jax. It was on the thug, and spreading across the front of his shirt. Now Jax had the man’s gun in his own hand.
Jax cursed, moved away from the man, but he didn’t lower the gun. He kept it aimed at him while he volleyed glances between the truck, the other man and her.
“You’re hurt,” Jax said.
Was she? Paige wasn’t sure of anything right now except the relief of seeing Jax unharmed.
“Is one of them the Moonlight Strangler?” someone called out.
Cord.
She didn’t spot him right away, but Paige followed the sound of his voice. He was in the pasture, moving toward the truck.
Jax spared Cord a glance, too. And a glare. Before he yanked the ski mask off the man he’d just shot. There was just enough light from the silvery moon for her to see his face.
A stranger.
And he wasn’t nearly old enough to be the serial killer. The Moonlight Strangler had been murdering women for three decades, and this man appeared to be in his twenties.
He was also dead.
Paige could tell from his now-lifeless eyes, which were fixed in a permanent blank stare.
“Is the other one alive?” Jax asked.
She shook her head. “I’m not sure.” Paige looked back at the guy, but he hadn’t moved since she’d bashed him with the gun. “But he’s got some kind of communicator in his ear. I think he was talking to the Moonlight Strangler.”
Jax hurried toward the man but then almost immediately stopped. Paige did, too, when she heard the sound of the footsteps. She got another slam of adrenaline. Followed by relief when she saw that it was Jericho.
Good. Well, maybe.
It was possible the Moonlight Strangler was in that truck and was ready to gun them all down. Of course, Cord was racing toward it no doubt to try to prevent that from happening.
“Call an ambulance,” Jax told his brother.
Probably in case the second thug was still alive. But she rethought that when Jericho looked at her and cursed. And when she felt the blood sliding down the side of her head and face. She wiped it away but felt a new trickle follow right behind it.
God knew how bad she looked right now or even how badly she was hurt. Her head and body were throbbing, but Paige wasn’t getting in the ambulance. She had to stop the Moonlight Strangler once and for all.
Jax cursed her, too, when he realized she was trailing after him, and he automatically adjusted his position so that he was in between the truck and her. Protecting her. Despite the bad blood between them, that didn’t surprise her. It wasn’t just the lawman in him that made him do that. Jax had always had this cowboy code about protecting others.
Even if she probably wasn’t someone he wanted to protect.
Jax approached the second man with caution. His gun aimed, his gaze still firing all around them. He reached down, pulled off the mask and put his fingers to the man’s neck.
“He’s alive,” Jax relayed. “Barely.”
Paige leaned in, hoping this would be the Moonlight Strangler. But he wasn’t. Like the other man, he was much too young. And that meant the killer could indeed be in the truck or nearby.
“Be careful,” she called out to Cord.
Whether he’d listen was anyone’s guess. Unlike Jax, Cord didn’t have that whole protection code. He had one goal. Just one.
To catch his biological father, no matter what the cost. That included sacrificing his own life.
Paige had been driven by that kind of justice after her parents had been murdered. That was the reason she’d become a CSI. But justice didn’t drive her now. She only wanted to keep Jax and her son safe. That might finally happen if the Moonlight Strangler was in the truck so they could catch him.
But if he was there, why hadn’t he driven off when he’d seen that his thugs had failed?
A possible answer popped into her head. An answer she didn’t like one bit.
This could be a trap.
Jax must have realized the same thing because his attention went straight to the truck. And to Cord.
“Watch out!” Jax shouted.
However, the words had hardly left his mouth when the blast thundered through the air. And the truck burst into a ball of fire.
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