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Jesse turned the gun and lifted it to his own head.
Sienna held up a hand. “No! Don’t!” Panic spiked her heart rate. Jesse had made terrible choices, and he deserved to pay the consequences for them, but suicide wasn’t the answer. She was relieved when he hesitated and took the opportunity. “There’s a better way out of this.”
Eli moved closer, but Jesse reacted by pointing the gun at him and taking a giant step toward the stairs. “Don’t do it, cowboy.” His breath came in puffs. “You can’t protect me. No one can. Gideon has friends in high places, and the moment he figures out I’ve turned on him, then I’m dead.”
Footsteps on the stairs shot fresh adrenaline through Sienna’s veins. Eli pointed his gun at the approaching figure, as did Jesse.
Dalton appeared, and his complexion paled as he took in the scene in front of him. He raised his hands. “What’s going on?”
“What are you doing here?” Eli growled.
“I thought about what you said earlier tonight about Jesse needing a place to hide.” He locked eyes with his former patient. “I remembered your grandfather used to own this warehouse and took a chance.”
“Go away, Dalton.” Jesse held the gun back to his own head. “It’s over.”
“No, it isn’t. I can help you.” Dalton took another step closer. “But first you have to put the gun down.”
Jesse’s whole body trembled. “I can’t… Gideon…”
Dalton’s eyes widened in surprise at the mention of his boss, but to his credit, he didn’t shift his attention away from Jesse. “You don’t need to fear Gideon. He’ll be in prison.”
“He’s sneaky—”
“Doesn’t matter. My brother is the best Texas Ranger in the state and he’s never let me down. Not once. If Eli promises to do something, he follows through.” Dalton didn’t take his gaze away from Jesse but directed his next question to his brother. “Isn’t that right, Eli?”
“You have my word, Jesse.”
Tears filmed the man’s bloodshot eyes. Sienna held her breath as Jesse’s hand wavered as he started to lower the weapon from his head. Then he whipped it back up. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”
Dalton lunged for him, grabbing Jesse’s hand and wrestling him for the weapon. Sienna and Eli both bolted across the space to help.
The gun went off.
TWENTY-FOUR
Eli slapped the handcuffs on Jesse’s wrists. Adrenaline and fear made his fingers tremble as he gripped Jesse’s arms and pushed him into a seated position against the wall. “Don’t move.” Anger pulsed through his words. “Don’t even so much as blink, you understand me?”
Jesse sobbed, his gaze fixed on Dalton’s prone form a few feet away. “I didn’t mean to shoot him.”
Eli ignored him, whipping off his jacket and then his flannel button-down, before dropping to his knees next to Sienna. She was using her hands to stop the flow of blood, but the move was ineffective. Eli gently pushed her out of the way so he could apply pressure with his shirt. “Sienna, call 911.”
She swiped her hands on the legs of her pants, leaving smears of blood on the fabric, and then reached for her cell phone. Rain pounded against the roof of the warehouse in a rapid beat that mingled with Jesse’s cries from across the room. Dalton was still conscious, but his complexion was pale. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
Dalton grimaced as Eli pressed hard on his wound. “Hurts.”
“I know. I’ve been shot in the gut. But I survived and you will too.” Eli half-listened as Sienna spouted off the information to dispatch. Ryker and Cole were in route, but by his calculations, they were still a good ten minutes away. And neither of them had the medical equipment necessary to stabilize Dalton for transport to the hospital. They needed an ambulance. “Help is coming. You just have to keep breathing.”
“Gideon…”
“Is going to prison for drug smuggling and money laundering.” Eli kept talking to distract his brother from the excruciating pain. “He’s been using Fresh Start as a cover for his illegal activities. We think Ruby figured it out, and he kidnapped her. When Sienna started investigating, Gideon got scared. He’s been trying to prevent us from putting the pieces together.”
The director had murdered Albert for blackmailing him and framed Sienna for it. He’d sent his thugs to burn down Sienna’s house with her in it, run them over with a speedboat at the marina, and kidnap them from the parking lot of Fresh Start. He’d even hired Jesse to break into Amelia’s house to steal Ruby’s computer. All so Gideon could keep smuggling drugs into the country on the Trident IV, with the help of the Greer brothers, while laundering the gains they earned from the drug trade through a nonprofit charity designed to help addicts stay clean.
It was diabolical. Heinous. But it all made sense.
Except for one thing… why kidnap Ruby? Why not kill her?
“You…” Dalton puffed, sweat pouring from his brow. “You suspected I was involved, didn’t you?”
