Page 71 of Ransom for His Secret Son

Brody’s grip tightened on his gun, his pulse a pounding drumbeat in his ears. He had to stop this before someone got killed.

“Tarrant, end this now,” Brody called out. “Let Maria go, and we can talk.”

Tarrant laughed again. “Talk? Now, where’s the fun in that?” He pressed the barrel of his gun harder against Maria’s temple, making her whimper. “I want to know which one of you set the sheriff and his little PI on me.” His gaze swung toward Christina and Eloise. “Who’s the mastermind? Who thought they could use Walker’s kids to flush me out?”

Neither woman answered.

Tarrant smirked. “Fine. Here’s an incentive. Whoever confesses gets a free shot. A bonus.”

Christina’s breath hitched. “I didn’t do this,” she shrieked. “I swear. But I want my shot now.”

The last word hadn’t even left her mouth when she pulled the trigger. Maria screamed, her body jerking against Tarrant as blood spread across her arm. Not a kill shot, but she was hurt.

Tarrant flinched, but he recovered fast. Snarling, he aimed and fired at Christina. The bullet missed by inches. Christina let out a strangled gasp and scrambled back behind her car, her face pale as a ghost.

Brody cursed under his breath. Now they had two injured people, a hostage still in play and a shooter growing more erratic by the second. And Christina—whether she was innocent or guilty—had just made this even worse.

Keeping his gaze pinned to Tarrant, Brody fired off a quick voice text to Harlan. Have an ambulance on standby. And get into position. Fast. We need to take Tarrant out.

It was a lot to ask of his deputies. Especially since there might not be a position to take a clean shot and because of all that protective gear that Tarrant was wearing. Added to that, it was still fairly dark. The sun was just now peeking over the horizon. Still, at the moment, the deputies were Brody’s best chance at putting an end to this or at least creating a distraction so that Brody could try to take out the man.

Tarrant laughed, his grip tightening on Maria. “I warned you not to shoot out of turn.” He glanced toward Christina’s car. “Guess she didn’t care much about collateral damage.”

Christina didn’t respond. She was crouched low, gripping the gun in her hand like she might still take another shot if given the chance. Brody kept her in his peripheral vision. He didn’t trust her.

Neither did Tarrant.

“You missed your chance, sweetheart,” Tarrant taunted. “Now it’s Eloise’s turn. Maybe she’ll have better aim.”

Eloise, still pressed behind the open door of her SUV, didn’t move. Brody could see the tension in her shoulders, the wariness in her narrowed eyes. He didn’t know if she was the mastermind behind this or not, but he damn sure knew she wanted Tarrant dead.

“Tarrant, this is over,” Brody called out. He had to keep trying to end this, and he couldn’t do it with bullets. “You’re not walking away from this. Let Maria go, and you might actually live to see another day.”

Tarrant’s expression twisted. “Live? What kind of life would that be?” He gave a bitter laugh. “Locked up, rotting in a cell while the rest of you go on like nothing happened? No, thanks.”

The man didn’t pause before shifting back to Eloise. “Come out, come out, Eloise. Don’t you want to avenge your sniveling son’s death? Or did you lose your spine along with him?”

Brody saw the cool rage slide through every inch of Eloise’s body. Zeke tried to hold her back but failed. She stepped out from behind her car door, slow and controlled, her gun raised.

“I’m the one who set Brody and Remi on you,” Eloise said, her voice even, dangerous.

Brody felt as if the air had been punched right out of him. Hell, hell, hell. He’d suspected she was involved, but hearing her admit it—seeing her stand there without a hint of remorse—made his blood boil. This was the woman who had put his sons in danger, who had used them as pawns to hunt Tarrant down.

“You’re going to have to deal with me, Eloise,” Brody warned, his voice a low growl.

Eloise didn’t even glance at him. “You’ll have to wait.” Her cold gaze remained locked on Tarrant. “Right now, I want my two shots.”

And then, with a precision that told Brody she’d been waiting for this moment for a long, long time, Eloise took aim at the man who had murdered her son.

Chapter Nineteen

Remi’s pulse pounded in her ears as Eloise stood there, her gun steady, aimed at Tarrant.

Brody’s fury was palpable, radiating off him in hot waves, and Remi felt her own anger simmering just beneath the surface. “Eloise, you put my sons in danger,” Brody growled.

Eloise barely spared him a glance. “I’d do anything to avenge my son.” Her voice was flat, devoid of any emotion beyond the steel-cold determination in her eyes. “Tarrant took my child from me. I was making sure he paid for that.”

Remi had to unclench her jaw just so she could speak. “You used Brody’s children as bait.”