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“Then, let’s go with that,” Bull continued. “You’ll guarantee protection, and I’ll lay the groundwork to draw this snake out. Even if that snake happens to be my sister.” He tacked that last bit on in a mumble. His gaze connected with Grayson’s again. “You’ll get the word out that I’m in custody and am cooperating.Fully cooperating,” Bull emphasized. “And that I intend to spill previously undisclosed info about the militia.”
Grayson stood there, obviously considering that from all angles. Jesse did the same, and he could see a huge potential problem. If someone sent an army of thugs to the sheriff’s office, there could be a gunfight. And a bloodbath. Obviously though, that was something Grayson would consider.
“Can you lock down the entire building where you’ll have me jailed?” Bull wanted to know.
“I can,” Grayson confirmed. “The windows are all bulletproof, and the doors are metal and can be fully secured. Along with the cops inside, my stepbrother and cousin are Texas Rangers. I could have them positioned on top of the nearby buildings. They could spot anyone approaching.”
“Good. Do that,” Bull insisted. “Get everything in place and then let it leak that I’m ready to give you everything, including names, and that I’ll do that as soon as my lawyer shows up.”
In theory, that would give the militia leader time to launch an attack to silence Bull before he could rat them out, but Jesse saw another flaw in the plan. “The leader might not show. Not if he or she has henchmen to send.”
Bull nodded. “Yeah, but then the sheriff here will have at least some of those henchmen in custody, and he could pressure one of them to cough up the name of their boss.”
Grayson looked at Jesse, no doubt to get his take on whether or not doing this was worth the risk. It was. Because if it worked, Hanna and Evan might finally be safe. As long as the leader was out there pulling the strings, then none of them could ever get on with their lives.
“It’s a solid plan,” Bull argued. “And if I’m going to put my life at risk, I’d rather do it while I’m in the custody of someone I can trust.”
“How do you know you can trust us?” Jesse quickly countered.
Bull looked him straight in the eyes. “Because if you’d wanted me dead, I already would be.”
That brought on a fresh round of anger for Jesse. “Oh, I still want you dead for the part you played in Hanna and my son nearly being killed, but I’m not a killer. Besides, I think you’re right about using a fake confession to draw out the ring leader in all of this.”
Jesse gave Grayson a confirming nod, and that was all it took to get him moving Bull toward the door. “I’ll text you when I have everything in place and we’re ready to do this leak. It’ll probably be at least a couple of hours. I don’t think this will cause any henchmen to come here for Hanna and you, but better safe than sorry. Be on the lookout for any and everything once I put it out there that Bull is selling out the group.”
“I will. Good luck,” Jesse added under his breath.
He hated that Hanna’s and Evan’s safety came down to such a thing like luck, but it was definitely going to play into this. Of course, there were no guarantees that the militia leader would take the bait. He or she might see this for what it was.
A ploy.
But so far, the leader had made some reckless moves by sending thugs to Hanna’s and by trying to kidnap Boone. Maybe the recklessness would continue and by morning, Grayson would have enough people in custody that they could finally get to the truth.
“You’re riding with Ava and Theo,” Grayson told Boone. “And you’ll be taking a trip to the ER to have that leg checked out. Please,” he added, no doubt when he saw an argument about that spark in Boone’s eyes.
Boone finally nodded, and he turned his attention to Jesse. “If you need anything, just let me know.” He extended that offer to Hanna by glancing at her as well. “FYI, I got the books and toys for Evan in my truck. I didn’t forget, but since it’s not a good idea to get them out, they’ll have to wait. Stay safe,” he added to both of them.
“We will,” Jesse assured him, and he went with Grayson, Bull and Boone to the door.
Jesse didn’t close it right away. He stood by, keeping watch with his hand over his gun in case goons were out there waiting for Bull to make an appearance. But all was quiet as Grayson secured Bull in the cruiser and Boone got in with Ava and Theo. As soon as they’d driven away, Jesse did the lockup and armed the security system.
Since he’d already checked, he knew there was an armed ranch hand on every side of the house. The reserve deputy was keeping watch in the driveway. Added to that, they could have extra men out here in less than ten minutes. So, all the bases were covered.
And that left Hanna.
One look at her and he could tell that she was beyond exhausted. So was he, and since Grayson had said it would be a couple of hours before he’d be ready to leak Bull’s fake confession, then it was Hanna’s best shot at getting in a nap. Especially since Evan was already asleep. Jesse confirmed that by glancing at the monitor she still had clasped in her hand.
He put his palm on the small of her back to lead her to the nursery, he knew there was no way she’d be using her own bedroom. “I promise I’ll wake you when I get word from Grayson.”
Then, as a precaution, he might go ahead and have her move back into the bathroom with Evan. Jesse didn’t want to tell her that now, though, since he doubted she’d be able to sleep with that weighing on her. Of course, sleep might not happen anyway, but he wanted her to give it a try.
She stopped in the doorway of the nursery, gave Evan a glance no doubt to assure herself that he was still okay. He was. And then she turned back to Jesse. “You’ll get some rest, too?”
“Absolutely,” he lied.
Clearly, he didn’t convince her that was anywhere near the truth because the corner of her mouth lifted in a dry smile. “Then, since we’ll both likely be awake, why don’t you stay in the nursery with Evan and me? The lounge chair in there pulls out into a twin bed. Please,” she added in a pleading tone that was similar to the one Grayson had used on Boone.
Jesse didn’t hesitate with his nod. No way would he turn her down, not when his being there might give her even a shred of comfort. Still, this was Hanna, and the idea of sleeping next to her, in a small bed, no less, had his exhausted body coming up with a whole different idea to help them relax.
