Page 84 of Lay Down the Law

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Nick took out the last thug just as he was getting into the limousine. Using his billy club for silence, Nick put him down with a single blow. The thug fell into the mud like a sack of flour. After disarming him, Nick cuffed him to the undercarriage of the car and left him in the rain.

Praying he would find his daughter in the limo, he swung open the door. Stephanie cried out, the sound going through Nick like his lifeblood. Dropping to his knees in the mud, he gathered her into his arms and held her tight while tears burned his eyes and waves of relief shook him through and through.

“Sweetheart.” He kissed her cheek, her forehead, the top of her head. “Hey, are you okay?” His voice broke as he closed his eyes and took in her sweet little-girl scent.

“Daddy.” She sobbed in his arms. “Daddy, I’m scared.”

“It’s okay, honeybunch. I’m here. You’re safe.” He tightened his arms around her. “Did they hurt you?”

“No, but those men were mean. They said a bunch of bad words.”

Clenching his jaw against the emotion gripping him, he eased her to arm’s length. “Where’s Erin?”

“She’s in the big building with another man. I think he’s bad, too. They tied her up, but Erin wasn’t even scared.”

“I’ve got to go help her. I’m going to take you into the cornfield to hide. I want you to stay there until I come for you, okay?”

Wiping her nose on her sleeve, Stephanie nodded. “I’m still scared, Daddy.”

“Everything’s going to be fine. I promise.” Loath to leave her alone, but knowing he didn’t have a choice, Nick worked off his jacket and slipped her arms into it. “Here’s my jacket so you don’t get wet.”

“’Kay.”

Scooping her into his arms, he started toward the cornfield a dozen yards away. Several rows in he stopped and set her gently on the ground. His heart broke when she looked up at him.

“Don’t leave me, Daddy,” she whispered. “I’m scared.”

Nick dropped to his knees, pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. “I love you, honeybunch. You stay put for me now, all right? No matter what happens, you stay right here. I’ll come back for you.”

“You promise?”

Because he couldn’t speak, Nick nodded, praying he’d be able to keep his promise.

Slipping his service revolver from his holster, he broke through the rows of corn and started toward the wide entrance of the grain elevator at a dead run.

* * *

Erin stared down the barrel of DiCarlo’s pistol. She couldn’t believe it had come to this. She couldn’t believe she was going to die.

Oh, God, Nick, I’m sorry I hurt you.

Oh, how she’d wanted to spend the rest of her life loving him. The thought ripped through her heart. He might not love her in return, but there was no doubt in her mind he cared for her. She’d seen it in his eyes. She’d felt it in his touch. Now, just as he’d feared, she was going to get herself killed.

“Get on the ground, Officer McNeal. I’ll do us both a favor and make this quick for you. It wasn’t the way I had it planned, but I like you—you’ve got guts. I have no desire to hear your screams.” DiCarlo’s voice rose over the drone of rain on the roof overhead. Cold. Surreal. More frightening than the gun in his hand.

He raised the pistol. “Do it now.”

Her heart hammering out of control, Erin got down on her knees. Her mind rebelled against what would happen the instant she lay down. She tried not to think of everything she would leave behind. Nick. Stephanie. The dreams that would never be. She tried not to imagine the pain of a bullet. Whether her death would come quickly, or if DiCarlo would leave her to die slowly despite his words.

Gathering what little emotional strength she had left, Erin forced her gaze to his. “I’m not going to lie down for you. If you’re going to kill me in cold blood, you’re going to do it while I’m looking you in the eye, DiCarlo.”

Her voice shook, but she didn’t care. Her spirit cried out to defy him, and bound as she was, at his mercy, this was the only way she could.

“I have no compunction about shooting you this very moment. Most people don’t like to see it coming.”

Nausea rose into her throat, mingling with the fear in a cold, bitter mass. “I’m going to be sick,” she said.