“We’ll get there in time, Boss.” Storm’s declaration did little to make Jackson feel better. “Don’t let yourself think otherwise.”
It was too late—his mind had made several trips down the darkest possible outcomes already. But even though his fear told him this would end badly, he couldn’t stop himself from trying to get there faster.
If he hadn’t pushed her, she would be at home with him instead of in the hands of the man who’d tried to kill her.Please, don’t let me be too late.“Can you do something useful like find out if Colton got us any backup?”
“He already texted me he did. Gleason and Jennings are in town interviewing folks about Seneca’s poisoning. They’ll meet us there.”
One less thing to worry about. With Colton back at the ranch keeping watch over Aja’s aunt and her employees, they still needed more bodies to take this madman down.
* * *
Aja’s could feel the same paralysis that had locked her in place when the scaffold was falling toward her and when Seneca collapsed. She tried to take a breath, but it was stuck in her chest, burning her lungs.
You can’t do this again, Aja. You will die this time.
She swallowed hard, clearing her throat, and forcing her rib cage to expand so she could take in much needed oxygen and clear her brain of its anxious fog.
“Mat, put the gun down and let’s talk about this.”
Mat squinted at her in confusion, then looked down at his own hand.
“This isn’t for you.” He shoved the gun into the back of his pants, and some of the tension left her.
See, just keep him talking and you’ll get out of this alive.
“I would never hurt you,” he declared. “I’m trying to save you. I keep trying to save you, but everyone keeps getting in the way. This is my last chance.”
“What are you talking about, Mat?”
He ran a ragged, shaking hand through his hair. His eyes were wide and bright with fear. Whatever was going on, he wasn’t faking this. He was panicked about something.
“The night your foreman caught me in the bushes, I was trying to get up the nerve to get you away from Restoration Ranch. Then, at the party, while you were in the basement, I slipped into the kitchen and poured enough roofies in your thermos to knock out a horse. I was certain I could sneak you out of the house unnoticed while the festivities were going on. But Seneca somehow got your drink instead.”
Aja’s brain tried to digest everything spilling from Mat’s mouth in a frantic stream of words. “You poisoned Seneca? Do you realize she could have died?”
He stepped closer to her, remorse bleeding into his face as his silence filled the room. “You have to believe me. It wasn’t my intent. I was trying to save you.” He shook his head and again stepped closer to her. “I know I’m not making any sense. I promise when we’re safe, I’ll tell you everything. All you need to know is that I trusted the wrong people, and right now, they think you are the only thing standing between them and a lot of money. I can’t protect you any longer.”
* * *
They pulled in front of Mat’s office and quickly and quietly made it inside the building with their weapons drawn as they attempted to get their bearings. Jackson could hear a muffled voice coming from the back of the office, but at this distance, he couldn’t understand what was being said. All he knew was it wasn’t Aja’s voice.
Storm must have recognized the panic Jackson was fighting to keep at bay because he placed a firm hand on his shoulder, his eyes questioning if Jackson had his head in the game or not. “How you wanna do this?”
“Fast and hard,” Jackson replied. “We can’t see inside that room, but we need to catch him off guard and hope we can get her out of there.” The layout of the office didn’t offer much in the way of cover. There was a small reception area in the front and a narrow hallway that ran from front to back with a few rooms along the corridor. If they came under fire, things could get dangerous quickly.
They walked carefully along the wall leading to the back offices until they each stood on either side of the closed door.
Jackson used two fingers to signal Storm to kick the door in. With a nod, Storm acknowledged Jackson’s directive, and the door gave way the moment his heavy boot made contact with it.
Jackson was the first in the room. “Texas Rangers, put your hands in the air and get down on the floor.” He scanned the room quickly and spotted Mat in the center of the room with an arm around Aja’s neck and his gun pointed toward the door.
Jackson yelled, “Gun,” as Storm tried to enter the room. He pushed him aside just in time for the loud bang of gunfire to fill the air.
Jackson needed to get eyes on Aja. He peeked into the doorway to see Mat still standing behind Aja with his arm around her neck.
“Stay back or I will kill her.”
“Mat, you don’t need to do this. They’re the Texas Rangers. There’s no way this ends with you getting away.” Aja’s voice was steady despite the tears streaming down her face. “If you tell me why you’re doing this, I’m sure we can figure this out.”
