“No, there has to be another way—one where we all walk away from this and Travis doesn’t,” Sunny pleaded. A hard knock at the cabin’s front door startled them both. Aaron pulled his gun and pushed Sunny behind him. He peeked out the front window to see Clint, the head of security for the ranch, pacing on the front porch. Aaron pulled the door open, and Clint pushed his way into the cabin and shut the door.
“Your guy is here, and he has Mrs. Hobbs.”
Sunny nodded, “We know. He also has our daughter.” Clint looked a little shell-shocked. Aaron knew that they didn’t have to deal with this type of thing too often. Clint’s biggest problem on the ranch was probably wildlife breaches and the occasional rowdy tourist.
“He hasn’t knocked out all the security cameras, only the two main ones. We were kind of sneaky when it came to camera placement. Mrs. Hobbs has put your baby girl up in her spare room. It used to be Justice’s nursery, and she kept a lot of her granddaughter’s toys. We snuck a camera into one of her stuffed animals.” Clint pulled out his cell phone and showed them the live security feed of Sadie sleeping in a portable crib. She was safe for now, and Aaron said a little prayer of thanks.
“If she is safely tucked upstairs and that fucker is on the main floor with Mrs. Hobbs, we might just be able to work out a plan,” Aaron said, pacing the small cabin.
“With Clint’s security team, this just might work,” Sawyer said from the cell phone. “How many men do you have, Clint?”
“We have about fifteen guys on site today. I have most of them on standby waiting for orders around the main house.” Clint pulled up another security camera on his cell and showed Aaron. “This is the main room where he is holding Mrs. Hobbs. The old bird looks madder than hell. She’ll have no issues with us using her as a distraction. I’ve known that woman for years, and I’m willing to bet that she has something already planned. She doesn’t take kindly to assholes like your old friend there.” Aaron had an idea, but he needed to somehow get a message to Norma Jeane. He needed her to cause a distraction so they could move in.
“I think I have an idea. If Norma is as smart as I think she is, hopefully, she’ll catch on.” Aaron texted Travis back a message, hoping that Norma Jeane would catch the clues he placed in it. Knowing his old captain, he would share Aaron’s text with her.The smug asshole would want to brag, believing that he had them right where he wanted them. Aaron texted Travis, hoping his plan would work.
I’m coming over now, Travis. Please don’t hurt my daughter; she is my world. Norma Jeane has a heart problem, and she can’t take too much stress. We will be there in five minutes.
Clint held up his phone, and the three of them watched as Travis checked his text message and laughed. He looked like he was asking Norma Jeane something. At first, she looked a little confused, but then she seemed to catch on, holding her hand to her chest and nodding her head. Yep, she knew exactly what to do, and if Aaron had to guess, she was about to cause quite the distraction.
Clint got his men in place, and at about the four-minute mark, Mrs. Hobbs grabbed her arm and fell to the sofa that conveniently sat behind her. Travis didn’t drop his gun, but he lowered it and crossed the room to where she fell. Watching the video feed, Sunny was sure that Norma Jeane just might win an Oscar for best performance by a leading lady. She was quite a woman, and if they all got out of this mess safely, Sunny would never be able to repay her.
Clint gave the signal to go, and his team moved into the house. He convinced Aaron and Sunny to stay behind and watch the entire thing play out on his cell phone. Sunny knew that Aaron was pissed about leaving his daughter’s safety in a virtual stranger’s hands, but Clint convinced him that he was too emotionally involved to stay level-headed. They both held their breath as they watched the men swarm the house oncamera feeds hidden in each room of the house. One of the men went into the room where Sadie was sleeping and scooped their daughter up. Sunny felt like she couldn’t stay in the cabin any longer, but Aaron held her close to his side.
“We stay here, honey. He’ll bring her to us when it’s safe.” Sunny could tell that Aaron didn’t like the idea any more than he did, but she stayed in the cabin and waited. After the house was cleared, Mrs. Hobbs and Clint showed up at their cabin with Sadie in her arms. The old lady was crying, and Sunny ran to her and pulled both her and Sadie into her arms. Aaron took Sadie from her and kissed her cheek.
“Thank you, Norma Jeane. We owe you everything.” Mrs. Hobbs wiped her eyes.
“You owe me nothing. I did what I had to do to keep that little angel safe.” Norma insisted.
“Where’s Reid?” Aaron looked at Clint, and Sunny knew the answer before he gave it.
Clint shook his head. “We didn’t get him. He must have snuck out onto the balcony through the French doors in the main room.” Norma Jeane nodded her head, confirming Clint’s hunch. “We’ve called in the local authorities. I think you all will have to stay put for a while and answer some questions. They’ve been looking for Reid since your friend Sawyer put out an all-points bulletin that he was armed and dangerous and suspected of the murders of at least six people,” Clint said. Sunny knew that things could have ended so much worse for them all. Aaron handed Sadie to her as if knowing that she wanted to hold her daughter.
“I’m going to feed her.” She took Norma Jeane back into the kitchen so that Aaron could talk to Clint. Sunny knew that he would want to work out securing the area in case Reid came back. She trusted Aaron to keep her safe; she just wondered ifthey would ever find a place where Reid couldn’t find them. So far, that place didn’t exist.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Sawyer arrived the next morning with Tag and a few federal agents. He had to call this whole thing in since Reid was considered an arsonist and had murdered people in two different states; the FBI wanted to be involved. Aaron and Sunny spent the night in the main house, barricaded in with Sadie and Norma Jeane. Clint convinced them that it would be easier to keep them all safe if they were under one roof. Aaron trusted him and his security team and moved his family into the main house. He was relieved to see his friends, though. Sawyer shook his hand, and Tag pulled him in for a quick hug.
“Hey, brother. I heard you were causing trouble in Goose Creek, so I thought I’d come and check things out for you,” Tag said.
“I appreciate it, Tag. How did Piper take the news that you were leaving for a few days?” Aaron knew that Piper didn’t like to be separated from Tag, especially now that she was pregnant. Tag sure as hell didn’t like leaving Piper. He was even more of a caveman since finding out that he was going to be a father.
“Well, she didn’t.” A truck pulled up behind the government vehicles, and Piper and Lorna hopped down from the cab. Sunnysquealed and ran out to hug her friends. They held each other, jumping around in circles, crying and squealing. It was like watching a bunch of hot cheerleaders after their high school football team won the homecoming game.
“Dammit, guys, you brought your women?” Aaron barked. They both looked at him like he had lost his mind.
“We didn’t bring them anywhere. They brought themselves, and there was no stopping them,” Sawyer grunted. Tag couldn’t help his laugh. “They are two of the most stubborn women that I’ve ever known,” Sawyer grumbled. Norma Jeane came out of the house as if to see what all the commotion was about. Aaron introduced her to everyone from back home, but Mrs. Hobbs couldn’t seem to take her eyes off Tag. Women always loved his best friend. Poor Norma Jeane wasn’t immune to Tag’s size or good looks.
Mrs. Hobbs’ only response to Tag was, “Look at the size of those arms.” They all laughed, and it felt good to forget, at least for a few minutes, that they were in constant danger. By evening, everyone was settled in the main house. The FBI set up headquarters in one of the small cabins on the way into town, but all of Aaron and Sunny’s friends agreed to spend the night at Mrs. Hobbs’s insistence. “You all will hurt my feelings if you don’t stay here with me in my home. You wouldn’t want to hurt an old woman’s feelings, now would you?” They all agreed and were settled in for the night. The women all stayed in the kitchen to clean up from dinner, and the men were sitting in the main room, talking strategy. Sawyer and Clint seemed to hit it off, talking about law enforcement and the time they both spent in the army. Tag sat quietly waiting for Aaron to join him. He knew that his best friend was worried about him, but right now, he was just happy to have them all there. Aaron knew that Sunny needed to see Piper, and Lorna always cheered her up. It was just what they needed after yesterday’s scare.
“Man, I was so worried about you guys. When Sawyer told me what happened yesterday, I asked him what time we were leaving to come out here. There was no way that I was going to let you go through this alone.” Tag clapped Aaron’s back with his big hand.
“I appreciate that more than you can ever know, Tag. When I got that text and saw that crazy fucker had my kid, I almost lost my shit. I would have done anything to keep Sunny and Sadie safe, even give myself up.” Tag nodded.
“I know that my baby isn’t here yet, but I think I know how you feel. I’d do anything to keep Pipe and our baby safe,” Tag admitted.
“I just don’t know what we are going to do. How will we catch this guy when he always seems to be one step ahead of us? How did he even know where we were?” Aaron stared into the fire that Clint built. Sawyer joined Tag and Aaron.
