Lone Wolf Lawman
Addie wouldn’t believe that he had plenty of regrets when it came to her. After all his lies, she would never believe that he’d fallen in bed with her only because of the intense attraction he had felt for her.
An attraction he still felt.
Still, he shouldn’t have acted on it. He should have just kept his distance and tailed her until her father made his move, no matter how long that took.
“Start from the beginning,” Addie insisted, turning her attention back to Weston. “And so help me, every word coming out of your mouth had better be the truth, or I’ll let Jericho have a go at you. I don’t make a habit of letting my big brother fight my battles for me, but in your case I’ll make an exception.”
Weston figured that wasn’t a bluff.
The beginning required him to take a deep breath. “Two years ago I went to my fiancée’s office to see her. I’d just come off an undercover assignment and hadn’t seen her in a few weeks. Her name was Collette, and I walked in on someone murdering her.”
Hell, it hurt to say that aloud. It didn’t set well with Addie, either, because she made a slight gasping sound.
“It was my birth father,” she supplied. “I saw a list of his known victims. All sixteen of them, and Collette Metcalf was one of them.”
Weston nodded, and it took him a moment to trust his voice again. “I didn’t know it was him at the time, and I didn’t get a look at his face because he knifed me and ran out. I obviously survived, but Collette wasn’t so lucky. She died by the time the ambulance arrived.”
She touched her fingers to her mouth. It was trembling again, and Addie leaned against the edge of her desk, no doubt for support. “Your name wasn’t in the reports I read of the murders.”
“No. The FBI and Rangers thought it best if they didn’t make it public. They didn’t want him coming after me to tie up loose ends. The killer hadn’t gotten a good look at my face because I was still wearing my undercover disguise. But he must have found out who I was because letters from the Moonlight Strangler started arriving three months ago.”
“Three months?” she repeated under her breath.
Addie no doubt picked up on the timing. Weston doubted it was a coincidence that the letters started arriving shortly after he met her.
“The killer mentions me in these letters?” she asked, and Weston had to nod.
That meant the Moonlight Strangler had perhaps already been watching Addie and had seen Weston with her. Or maybe the killer had been watching him. Either way, Weston figured the killer had started sending those letters because he knew about Addie and him sleeping together.
“All the letters and envelopes were typed,” Weston continued, “so there’s no handwriting to be analyzed. No fibers or trace on any of them. They were mailed from various locations all over the state.”
Addie shook her head. “How can you be sure they’re from the killer?”
“Because there are details in them that were withheld from the press. Details that only the Moonlight Strangler would know.”
She stayed quiet a moment. “The letters threatened you?”
“Taunted me,” Weston corrected. With details of Collette’s murder...and other things. I tried to draw the killer out. I made sure my address was public. I put out the word through criminal informants that I wanted to meet with him, but he wouldn’t come after me.”
“You made yourself bait,” Addie corrected.
“Plenty of times.”
Weston had failed at that, too.
“The killer’s never contacted me,” she said. “Of course I’ve been worried...scared,” Addie corrected, “that he would. Or that he would do even more than just contact me.” She paused. “How did you find out I was his biological daughter?”
“I was keeping tabs on anything to do with the Moonlight Strangler. As a Texas Ranger, I have access to the DNA databases, and I’d hoped there’d be a DNA match to someone.”
Her next breath was mixed with a sigh. “And there was. Then, because you’d found out I was his biological daughter, you...what?” No more sighing. Her eyes narrowed. “You thought he’d want to connect with the child he abandoned in the woods nearly thirty years ago?”
Her anger was back. Good. It was actually easier for him to deal with than the fear and hurt. But unfortunately, he was going to have to tell her something that would bring the fear back with a vengeance.
“Yesterday, I got this.” Weston took the paper from his pocket and turned on the light so she could better see it. “It’s the eighth letter he’s sent me. It’s a copy, not the original, so it’s okay for you to handle it.”
She didn’t take it at first. Addie just volleyed glances between him and the paper before she finally eased it out of his hand, taking it only by the corner as if she didn’t want to touch too much of it.
Since Weston knew every word that was written there, he watched Addie’s reaction. The shock.
And yes, the fear.
“‘Tell Addie that it’s time for me to end what I started thirty years ago,’” she read aloud. She paused. “‘I can’t have a little girl’s memories coming back to haunt me.’”
Her gaze skirted over the words again. She cleared her throat before her gaze came back to his.
“This is why you asked if I remembered anything,” Addie said. “I don’t,” she quickly added.
“And you don’t remember that?” He tipped his head to the scar on her cheek.
“No.” She handed him back the letter. “Did he cut the other women he killed like this?”
Weston settled for a nod. “That was kept out of the reports to the press, too. Only a handful of people know that he cut them first. Then strangled them.”
“I see.” Her mouth tightened a moment. “I’d always hoped I got the scar from a tree branch or something.”
Yes, since that was far better than the alternative. Because that scar on her face meant the Moonlight Strangler had already gone after her once. When she was just three years old.
Now he was coming for her again.
“The killer could be worried that you remembered something in that hypnosis session,” Weston said. “Or that you might remember something in the future. The FBI wants to do more sessions with you, right?”
She nodded, confirming what he already knew. Nearly every law enforcement agency in the state as well as the FBI wanted to keep pressing her to remember.
“We don’t have much time,” Weston continued. “He usually strikes on the night of a full or half moon. Like tonight.”
Her attention drifted to the window where she could see that the sun was only minutes away from setting. Something else flashed through her eyes. Not fear this time. But major concern.
“My mother’s in the house. And the ranch hands—”
Weston stepped in front of her to keep her from leaving. “They’re okay. For now. It’s you he wants, and, other than me, he hasn’t attacked or hurt anyone else when he murdered his victims.”
Of course, since Addie was his daughter, the killer might make a really big exception. That was what Weston had to guard against.
She frantically shook her head. “Has he ever named victims before he killed them?”
“Never.”
“Then you have no way of knowing that he won’t go after my mother. Heck, my entire family.” A clipped sob tore from her throat. “I can’t let him get to them.”
“I’ve already arranged for someone to watch the road leading to the ranch. I won’t let him hurt them.” Weston hoped that was a promise he could keep. He didn’t have a good track record when it came to stopping this vicious killer.
“Who?” she pressed.
“Friends I can trust. I didn’t want to involve the Rangers in this because I’m trying to set a trap for the killer, and I didn’t want him hearing about it. But these friends are armed, and they’ll let me know if he tries to get to you.”
That was part of the plan anyway.
But not all of it.
“I don’t just want to scare off the Moonlight Strangler,” Weston explained. “I want to catch him. Tonight.”
Addie froze. Then her breath shivered. “You want to use me to draw him out.”
“Yes.” Hard for Weston to admit that, but it was the truth. “We know he’ll probably come here, and since he doesn’t know that I’ve contacted you—”
“What if the letter is a hoax?” she interrupted. “I mean, why tell you what he’s going to do? He must know that as a Texas Ranger you’d try to warn me.”
“That’s not the only reason I would have warned you.” Judging from the hard look she gave him, she didn’t believe it.
He took out the copy of the second letter. “It came the same time as the other one, but it was a different envelope.” Weston unfolded it, held it up for Addie to see. “If you try to save Addie, I’ll kill Isabel and you,” he read.
“Isabel?” she asked.
“My kid sister. She’s in medical school. I’ve already had her put in protective custody. Now the next step is doing the same for you, but that’s why I snuck onto the ranch. I didn’t want the killer to know I’d come here. It might have provoked him or sent him into a rage.”
Not that a serial killer didn’t already have enough rage. Still, Weston had wanted to try to control the situation as much as he could.
The silence came. Addie, staring at him. Obviously trying to make sense of this. He wanted to tell her there was nothing about this that made sense because they were dealing with a very dangerous, very crazy man.
“Oh, God,” she finally said.
Now her fear was sky-high, and Weston held his breath. He didn’t expect Addie to go blindly along with a plan to stop her father. But she did want to stop the Moonlight Strangler from claiming another victim.
Weston was counting heavily on that.
However, Addie shook her head. “I can’t help you.”
That sure wasn’t the reaction Weston had expected. He’d figured Addie was as desperate to end this as he was.
She squeezed her eyes shut a moment. “I’ll get my mother, and we can go to the sheriff’s office. Two of my brothers are there, and they can make sure this monster stays far away from us.”
“You’ll be safe at the sheriff’s office,” Weston agreed, “but you can’t stay there forever. Neither can your family. Eventually, you’ll have to leave, and the killer will come after you.”
“That can’t happen!” Addie groaned and looked up at the ceiling as if she expected some kind of divine help. “I can’t be in that kind of danger.”
Weston tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. Hard to do, though, with the emotions swirling like a tornado inside him. “I’m sorry. If there was another way to stop him, then I wouldn’t have come here. I know I don’t have a right to ask, but I need your help.”
“I can’t.”
“You can’t? Convince me why,” Weston snapped. “Because I’m not getting this. You must want this killer off the street. It’s the only way you’ll ever be truly safe.”
Addie opened her mouth. Closed it. And she stared at him. “I’d planned on telling you. Not like this. But if I ever saw you again, I intended to tell you.”
There was a new emotion in her voice and on her face. One that Weston couldn’t quite put his finger on. “Tell me what?” he asked.
She dragged in a long breath and straightened her shoulders. “I can’t be bait for the Moonlight Strangler because I can’t risk being hurt.” Addie took another deep breath. “I’m three months pregnant. And the baby is yours.”
Chapter Three
Addie figured this was the worst way possible a man could find out that he’d fathered a child.
But she hadn’t exactly had a choice about the timing of the news. Weston had come here to drop a bombshell that he wanted to use her to catch a killer, that the killer was actually after her, but she’d delivered her own bombshell.
And it had stunned him to silence.
Weston just stared at her for a very long time, and she could almost see the wheels turning in his head. This pregnancy changed everything.
At least it had for Addie.
Maybe it would for Weston, too.
Change him in a way that wouldn’t put her in danger. Three months ago, she would have been willing to do whatever it took to catch the Moonlight Strangler. Weston obviously felt the same way. Especially since the killer had murdered a woman he loved. But even though the killer had murdered her brother’s wife, Addie couldn’t allow herself to be used in this justice net.
Unless...
“Can you guarantee me that the baby wouldn’t be hurt?” However, she waved off the question as soon as she asked it. “You and I both know you can’t. The Moonlight Strangler’s smart. He’s been killing and evading the law for three decades, maybe more, and he might have already figured out a way to get around you so he could come after me.”
Heck, the killer might have figured out a way to use Weston. Too bad Addie couldn’t think of how he’d done that, and she didn’t want to find out the hard way, either. This had to end.
But how?
“You’re pregnant,” Weston said under his breath. He groaned, and this time he was the one to do the stepping away.
She couldn’t blame him for being stunned. The truth was, Addie had been pretty darn stunned herself when she’d first learned the news. She had always wanted children and figured that one day she would be a mom. She just hadn’t thought it would happen like this, with her being unmarried and with the baby’s father disappearing.
Weston shook his head. “But we used protection.”
Ironic that she had said the exact same thing to the doctor when he’d confirmed the pregnancy test results. That day, she’d said a lot of things, including some profanity in regards to Weston.
“Obviously, protection’s not a hundred percent. Don’t worry,” Addie quickly added. “I was going to tell you if I ever managed to locate you, but I don’t need anything from you, including child support. Or any other kind of support for that matter. As far as I’m concerned, you won’t be a part of this.”
The look he gave her could have blasted a giant hole through the moon. Weston’s eyes went to slits, and the muscles in his face turned to iron. “It’s my baby. I’ll be a part of this.”
“That’s not necessary—”
“I’ll be part of his or her life,” he insisted.
All right. She hadn’t exactly counted on that reaction. “After you ran out on me, I figured...”
Considering that his eyes narrowed even more, it was probably best not to finish spelling out that she didn’t believe him to be the sort who stuck around. Even for his own child.
And then it hit her.
Addie really didn’t know him. Didn’t know anything real about his life because of all the lies he’d told her.
“Are you married?” she asked.
That didn’t do much to help with those narrowed eyes. “No. I wouldn’t have slept with you if I’d been married.”
She let that hum between them, but hopefully he understood what she was thinking. A man who’d lie and then have sex with a troubled woman didn’t exactly have a stellar moral compass.
“And no, I’m not involved with anyone,” he went on. “Not now, and not when I was with you.”
“Why did you sleep with me?” she demanded.
Mercy, she wanted to kick herself for blurting that out. Not because she didn’t want to know the truth.
She did.
But Addie was a thousand percent certain that she wasn’t up to hearing it spelled out now. Not with all the other news that Weston had just delivered.
Now he looked at her, and that wasn’t a glare in his smoky brown eyes.
Nope.
It was a look he’d given her many times over the three days when they’d been together. It was something she felt right after she first met him.
Something she didn’t want to feel, but Addie felt it again anyway.
The heat came like a touch. Barely a brush against her skin. But it rippled through her. Gently. At first. Until the ripple became a tug and made her recall exactly why she’d landed in bed with Weston.
“Yeah,” he said. “Remember now?”
Since a lie would stick in her throat, Addie settled for a nod. “But I slept with you only because of the attraction. Can you say the same?”
No quick answer. Not verbally anyway, but she got another glare from him. She’d always thought Jericho was the king of glares and surly expressions, but right now Weston had her brother beat by a mile.
“Like I said, that wasn’t part of the plan,” Weston finally repeated. “It just...happened.”
She had the feeling he’d intended to say something else, but it was best if this part of the conversation ended. Addie didn’t need any other reminders of the heat that’d been between them then.
And now.
“Sleeping with me wasn’t part of this grand plan you keep mentioning,” she said, trying to get her thoughts back on track. “But leaving was.”
“I left because of the letters,” Weston clarified, though she didn’t know how he managed to speak through clenched teeth. “The killer warned me to stay away from you.”
Addie hadn’t thought there’d be any more surprises today, but she’d been wrong. Her heartbeat kicked up again, drumming in her ears. “Why did he give you a warning like that?”
“He didn’t want us teaming up to find him,” Weston readily answered. “He said he’d kill you if I stayed. That you’d live if I left.”
That sent another rush of emotions through her. For three months, Addie had dealt with the anger and hurt of having Weston walk out. In the past fifteen minutes, she’d had to deal with the news that her biological father was coming after her.
Now this.
If Weston had indeed left to try to save her, then that put him in a new light. One she wasn’t ready to deal with just yet. After all, he had known who she was when he’d slept with her, and she wasn’t ready to forgive him for that just yet.
Maybe not ever.
As raw as her emotions were and despite the fact Weston was still glaring at her, Addie had to push all that aside. Yes, she’d have to deal with it later, but for now they had a more immediate problem on their hands, and protecting the baby and her family had to come first. That meant making sure she was protected, as well.
Addie didn’t intend to rely on Weston for that.
“I need to tell Jericho about the threatening letters you got,” she said, thinking out loud.
However, she didn’t even get a chance to reach for her phone before she heard the footsteps behind her in the hall. Weston obviously heard them, too, because he moved fast. A lot faster than Addie. He latched on to her arm, dragging her behind him, and in the same motion, he drew his gun.
Just like that, Addie’s heart jumped to her throat, and the danger to her unborn child and family came at her like an avalanche. However, the threat that her body was preparing her for turned out not to be a threat after all.
“Put down that gun, and let go of my daughter,” her mother demanded. She had something to back up that demand, too. Her mother aimed a double-barreled shotgun at Weston.
The relief hit Addie almost as hard as the slam of fear had, so it took her a moment to speak. It wasn’t the killer, but her mother was limping her way toward them. “It’s okay, Mom.”
That wasn’t exactly the truth. Everything was far from being okay, but Addie didn’t want her mother pointing a gun at a Texas Ranger.
Even this Ranger.
Her mother obviously didn’t buy her it’s okay because she didn’t lower the gun, and she continued to volley glances between Weston and Addie. Even though she wasn’t a large woman, and her hair was completely silver-gray, she still managed to look tough as nails.
“Who is he?” her mother asked. But almost immediately her gaze dropped to Addie’s stomach.
“Yes, he’s the baby’s father,” Addie verified. “Mom, this is Weston Cade. Weston, this is my mom, Iris Crockett.”
It seemed silly to make polite introductions at a time like this, but it did get her mother to lower the shotgun. What her mom didn’t do was ease up on the glare she was giving Weston.
“You hurt my daughter,” her mother said.
“I know,” Weston readily admitted. “And I’m sorry.” He, too, put away his gun, sliding it back into his holster.
Her mother didn’t say the words, but her frosty blue eyes let Weston know that his apology alone wouldn’t be nearly good enough. Maybe nothing would be. After all, her mother had no doubt heard Addie’s crying jags and had seen the hurt and sadness.
“How did you get inside?” her mother asked Weston. “I didn’t hear you ring the doorbell, and if you had, I wouldn’t have let you in.”
“He came in with me from the barn,” Addie jumped to answer. Best if her mother didn’t know she’d just been in a partial wrestling match with the man who’d fathered her child. “Weston has bad news. Well, maybe it’s bad. If the letters he got are real, then it’s bad.”
“They’re real,” Weston insisted.
Again, her mother didn’t say anything, but she grasped it right away. “This is about the Moonlight Strangler.” Still limping, she moved protectively to Addie’s side, slipping her left arm around her. “Is he coming after Addie?”
That was something both she and her mother had no doubt asked themselves dozens of times, but they’d never spoken of it.
Too frightening to consider aloud.
Of course, Addie had taken precautions. Always looking over her shoulder. Always on guard for her biological father to make some kind of contact. Or try to murder her. But after three months of the precautions, Addie had thought she was safe.
“I need to talk to Jericho,” Addie said, taking out her phone. “I’ll have him come home right away. Jax, too.”
She almost explained to Weston that Jax was a deputy in Appaloosa Pass, but there was probably little about her and her family that he didn’t already know. Well, with the exception of the pregnancy, but then there were only six people who’d known about that: her mother, her four brothers and the doctor.
“I’ll alert the ranch hands so they can all get inside the bunkhouse,” her mother added.
But Weston took hold of both their arms before either of them could make those calls. “If the Moonlight Strangler suspects you’re on to him, he won’t come here.”
Her mother gave a crisp nod. “Good!”
“Not good.” Addie groaned. “Because he might try to go after Weston’s sister. Or he’ll just wait to attack again.”
Weston was right. They couldn’t live at the sheriff’s office or stay locked up in the house. They had a huge ranch to run. Plus, there was the baby. Addie didn’t want her child to be a prisoner because they had had the bad luck to wind up in the wrong gene pool.
“So, what do we do?” Addie asked, hating that she didn’t already have a plan. One that didn’t involve Weston and that could ensure her baby wouldn’t be hurt.
Weston opened his mouth to answer, but before he could say a word, Addie’s phone rang. It wasn’t Jericho’s name she saw on the screen, however. It was Teddy McQueen, one of the ranch hands.
“If this is about those mares,” Addie said the moment she answered, “we’ll have to discuss it another time.”
“Addie,” the man said. His voice was barely a whisper.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
For several snail-crawling moments, all she heard was Teddy’s ragged breath. That didn’t help steady her nerves. Weston’s either, because he took the phone from her and jabbed the speaker button.
“I was in the south pasture and spotted someone by the shed there,” Teddy finally continued. “A man. I was about to ask him what he was doing, and he shot me with one of those guns fitted with a silencer. I didn’t even see it until it was too late.”
“Oh, God. Call nine-one-one and get an ambulance,” Addie told her mother, and Iris immediately did that. “Teddy, how bad are you hurt?”
“Not sure. But the bullet’s in my leg so I can’t walk.”
“Just hold on. We’ll get someone out to you,” Addie assured him.
“Tell whoever’s coming to be careful. Real careful. You and Iris, too. I didn’t get a look at the man’s face, but I saw what direction he went.”