But it was too late.
Everything was too late. The killer charged right at her, ramming into her and knocking her to the floor.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Judson couldn’t see squat because of the blinding light that the SOB at the end of the hall had flashed at him. But his hearing was just fine, and he heard all sorts of sounds that had him charging forward despite not being able to see.
The babies were crying.
Then there’d been those gunshots. Followed by someone falling onto the floor. The thud had been unmistakable. But had it been Addie who’d fallen? Had she been shot?
“Addie,” Judson managed to get out, and the thought of her being shot got him moving even faster.
But not fast enough.
Despite not being able to see much of anything, he cleared his eyes enough to catch a glimpse of a person jumping over something and into the bedroom.
Hell.
Where was Bennie?
Keeping his gun raised and moving closer to the doorway, Judson soon got the answer to that. Bennie was on the floor, and he was bleeding. Maybe dead. He certainly wasn’t moving.
Judson had to shove aside the possibility that his fellow deputy might have been the killer’s latest victim. He couldn’t deal with that now. First, he had to somehow get Addie, the twins and Etta Jean to safety and then capture the killer. Then he could get Bennie the medical help he needed.
He considered firing off a quick text to Rory, to let him know what was going on, but every second was precious now. Judson knew that in every bone in his body. He knew he had to get to Addie or this SOB would kill her.
If he hadn’t already.
Judson made it to the door, stopping by the frame and getting another quick glimpse of Bennie. The man was breathing. That was something, at least. Maybe he could hang on a little while longer.
Maybe Addie could, too.
He peered around the edge of the door, hoping to see her—alive. And he did. But his heart dropped to his knees. She was definitely alive, for now anyway, but there was a person behind her. Someone wearing black clothes and night-vision goggles.
And that someone had a gun pointed at her head.
Damn it. The killer had her.
Now that his eyes had refocused from the burst of light, Judson took in the rest of the room with a sweeping glance. There was a small device on the floor that looked to be an attachment for a camera flash. It’d been simple but effective in temporarily blinding Judson. Heck, probably Bennie, too, which explained how the deputy had gotten shot. He wouldn’t have seen the killer coming right at him.
Judson continued looking around and spotted another gun on the floor. Maybe the one Addie had had been using. The killer could have knocked it out of her hand when he’d come at her. So, she wasn’t armed and couldn’t defend herself without risking a fatal shot to the head.
He shifted his gaze from Addie to the bathroom door, and Judson was glad to see that it was closed. Glad, too, that with the babies crying, he at least knew they were alive. He had to do something to keep them that way.
Had to do something to free Addie, too.
There was only the one person behind her. That didn’t mean that someone else, an accomplice, wasn’t outside the house. The killer’s backup. And it sickened Judson to think that the accomplice might have killed Calvin and Rory. Maybe the ranch hand who’d been in the kitchen as well.
Judson heard some soft footsteps to his right, and he snapped his gaze in that direction. His body braced for an attack.
But it was Rory and Calvin.
Alive, and unlike Bennie, neither of them was injured. Thank God. And the fact they were here told him that this person was probably acting solo.
Judson motioned for Calvin and Rory to stop. He didn’t want the killer hearing them and pulling the trigger in panic.
“What do you want with Addie?” Judson shouted out to the killer.
