Grayson (16 page)

“No,” Grayson continued. Except that wasn’t a bark or a snarl. He mumbled it. “Eve’s with me. There wasn’t anyone at the ranch to stay with her. The ranch hands have already left for their Christmas break.”

Even though he practically mumbled that part, too, she heard the frustration. Grayson hadn’t wanted her to come along when he questioned Sebastian. He’d wanted her tucked safely away at the ranch, but both Dade and Mason were still in town working the details of Nina’s murder. Or rather Sophia Collier’s murder. And with Bessie and the ranch hands off the grounds, Grayson had reluctantly brought her along to arrest and interrogate Sebastian.

Not the ideal way to spend Christmas Eve.

Of course, the danger was almost certainly over for her now that the photos she’d taken were in the hands of the authorities. Sebastian had no reason to kill her. Well, unless he was hell-bent on getting some kind of revenge because she’d inadvertently incriminated him, and now that he was in police custody, even that wasn’t possible.

She hoped.

This could all be over soon, especially if Grayson managed to get a confession from Sebastian. Or if something hadn’t gone wrong with his arrest. Judging from Grayson’s sour expression and change of direction, that wasn’t just possible but likely.

Grayson slapped his phone shut and took the turn for San Antonio Memorial Hospital.

Her heart dropped.

“Is someone hurt?” she asked and then held her breath.

He shook his head. “Claude’s doctor doesn’t think he’ll last much longer so he requested the family’s presence at Claude’s bedside. That includes Sebastian.”

Since Claude was critical, the doctor’s request was reasonable, or at least it would have been if Sebastian weren’t a murder suspect.

“An SAPD officer is escorting Sebastian,” Grayson let her know. “They should arrive at the hospital any minute now.”

And that explained why Grayson took the final turn toward San Antonio Memorial. It wasn’t a large hospital but was in one of the more affluent neighborhoods of the city. No surprise about that, considering Claude was a millionaire many times over.

“Did Nate say if Claude was talking?” Eve asked.

“He’s lucid.” Grayson paused. “And he wants to see me.”

Strange. Claude certainly hadn’t wanted to see Grayson when he’d been ordered to SAPD headquarters. “Do you think he’ll make a deathbed confession?”

Grayson’s scowl deepened. “Maybe. But if he does, it’ll probably be for one reason—not to tell the truth, but to save his son.”

Of course. With Claude dying, it wouldn’t matter if he confessed to a murder he didn’t commit. But then, it was possible that he had indeed killed Sophia since there was no tangible proof that Claude knew she was his biological daughter. And even if he had known, he could have killed her when he realized she wasn’t the darling little girl he wanted in his family.

There was no street parking, just a multilevel parking garage so Grayson drove in and looked for a spot. He took the first one available, at the back of the second level.

Grayson glanced around. So did Eve. And somewhere amid the glancing, their gazes collided. There.

Eve saw it in his eyes then—the conversation he’d been avoiding all morning.

“Do I need to apologize?” Grayson tossed out there like a gauntlet.

She thought about her answer. “No. Do I?” She tossed that proverbial gauntlet right back at him.

He cursed, looked away and scrubbed his hand over his face. “I’m the one who went to your bed.”

“And I could have said no,” Eve reminded him.

But that was a lie. She’d never been able to say no to Grayson, and she wouldn’t have started last night. Still, this had caused more tension between them, and that’s the last thing they needed when they were within minutes of facing the Colliers.

And facing a possible pregnancy.

Eve certainly hadn’t been thinking about getting pregnant when Grayson had climbed into bed with her. She’d been thinking about making love with him, but now that it was the morning after, she knew that last night had increased her chances of getting the baby she’d always wanted.

However, it hadn’t helped her
relationship
with Grayson.

She could feel his uneasiness, and she had to do something to diffuse it.

“What happened between us doesn’t have to mean anything,” she settled for saying, but those words hurt. Because it sure as heck had meant something to her. It meant that Grayson had still wanted her enough to risk plenty by coming to her like that.

He looked at her, as if he might dispute her not-mean-anything offer, but he only shook his head. “We’ll talk about this later.”

Eve caught on to his arm when he started to bolt. “No need.” That hurt, too, but she had to give Grayson an out. He’d done her a huge favor by having sex with her, and she didn’t want him to feel guilty or tormented.

She leaned over and brushed a chaste kiss on his cheek. “I already know how you feel about fatherhood, about a lot of things.” Eve had to take a deep breath before continuing. “And I know when this investigation is over, your life can get back to normal.”

Something flashed through his metal-gray eyes, and his face tightened. For a moment she thought they might have that blowup they’d been skirting around all morning. But he didn’t toss out any more gauntlets or launch into an argument. He eased her hand off his arm and stepped from the car.

Eve could only sigh and do the same.

The garage wasn’t just dank, it was cold, and Eve pulled her coat tighter against her. She had no scarf or gloves. She’d forgotten to pick those up when they’d been at her condo the day before, and women’s clothing was in short supply at the Ryland ranch. Eve had made do with the gray pants and sweater that she’d packed, but she had been forced to wear the same red coat that had survived their trek through the woods.

Ahead of her, Grayson pulled the sides of his buckskin jacket together, as well. No festive red for him. He was wearing his usual jeans and dark shirt. Practically a uniform for him. He’d also worn his badge and shoulder holster, of course, which meant because he was armed, they would have to go through security inside.

She fell in step alongside Grayson as they walked to the elevator that would take them into the hospital, but they didn’t get far before Grayson stopped. He lifted his head and looked around, just as he’d done when he had first parked. She looked, too, but only saw the sea of cars in the dimly lit space.

“Is something wrong?” Eve asked.

Grayson didn’t answer. He glanced around again and caught on to her to get her moving to the elevator. It was clear he was hurrying now, but Eve didn’t know why.

“I got a bad feeling,” Grayson mumbled.

That put her on full alert because she knew from experience that Grayson’s instincts were usually right.

And they were.

The sound zinged through the garage. It wasn’t a blast. Eve wasn’t sure what it was until the window shattered on the car next to them. Then she knew.

Oh, God.

Someone had fired at them.

GRAYSON CURSED AND SHOVED Eve to the side between two parked cars. He followed, moving directly in front of her, and in the same motion, he drew his gun.

What the hell was happening now?

The danger to Eve should be over. Finished. She was no longer a threat to Sophia’s killer since her photos had gone public. Obviously, the shooter wasn’t aware of that.

Because another shot came right at them.

Not a loud blast but more like a swish. That meant the gunman was using a weapon rigged with a silencer.

This had to be connected to Sophia’s murder. They couldn’t be that unlucky to now be the victims of a random attack. Maybe someone didn’t want them hearing whatever deathbed confession Claude was likely to make. If so, then it was even more vital that Grayson speak to the dying man.

Grayson pushed Eve flat on the concrete floor and tried to pinpoint the origin of those two shots. He also tried to spot the gunman. There was no sign of anyone, but he thought maybe the shots had come from a black van on the other side of the parking lot. It wasn’t a huge space, only about fifty feet across, but with the vehi cles jammed together, there were plenty of places for a would-be killer to hide.

“Call Nate and tell him we need backup,” Grayson told Eve. Without taking his attention off that black van, he grabbed his phone from his jacket pocket and handed it to her.

Another shot.

This one smacked into the headlight of the car right next to them. The glass shattered, flying through the air, and Grayson had to duck down and shield his eyes.

Almost immediately, he heard footsteps.

Behind him, he also heard Eve call Nate and request assistance, but Grayson shut out what she was saying and concentrated on those footsteps. Someone was running, and he caught just a glimpse of that someone before they ducked out of sight.

The person was dressed head-to-toe in black and was wearing a black baseball cap that obstructed the shooter’s face.

It could be anyone.

And that
anyone
ducked between two other vehicles—a white pickup truck and a red sports car.

“Nate’s on the way,” Eve relayed. “He said he’ll seal off the exits to the garage and do a silent approach.”

Good. He needed his brother because this situation could get more dangerous than it already was. If anyone came out of that elevator, the gunman would probably shoot to kill so there’d be no witnesses to this attack. Plus, someone driving into the garage could also become a target. Right now though Grayson’s biggest concern was Eve, and getting her safely out of there.

He lifted his head a fraction and listened for any sound of movement or more footsteps. None on both counts. Just Eve’s too-fast breathing, and she was mumbling something that sounded like a prayer. She was obviously terrified, and it didn’t help that this was the third attempt to kill her. In fact, it was probably worse now because she might be pregnant.

But Grayson pushed that thought out of his mind.

He needed to focus, and he couldn’t do that if he thought about the baby he’d possibly made with Eve.

The next shot got his full attention. It didn’t slam into the car as the others had. This one was aimed at the ground, and it ripped through the concrete just a few feet in front of them. The shooter had obviously gotten himself in a better position to deliver a fatal shot.

Grayson needed to throw him off-kilter as much as he could. That wouldn’t be easy since he only had his sidearm. There was extra ammunition in his car, but that was yards away and would be too dangerous to try to reach. That meant he had to make every shot count while maneuvering the gunman as far away from Eve as possible.

Grayson waited for the next shot, and he didn’t have to wait long. It, too, tore into the floor and sent a cloud of debris and dangerous concrete bits right at them. He ducked out of cover for just a second and then fired in the direction of the shooter.

He hit the red sports car.

The shot bashed into the front end, and almost immediately the alarm went off. It was a piercing roar that was almost deafening. And worse. It blocked out any sound of the gunman’s footsteps.

“Stay down!” Grayson warned Eve when he felt her move behind him.

He knew for a fact that she didn’t have her gun with her because he’d talked her out of bringing it. Now, he wished he hadn’t. He didn’t want Eve up and returning fire, but it would have been nice to have the extra ammunition.

Even with the distraction of the car alarm, Grayson saw where the next shot landed. This one hadn’t been aimed at them but rather the overhead lights. The gunman took out the ones near the elevator and stairwell, plunging that area into total darkness.

That could be good or bad.

Good because Nate would likely make his approach using the stairs, and the darkness would help conceal him. But that same darkness could also conceal the shooter if he tried to escape. Grayson didn’t want this SOB to get away. He wanted to end this now.

Two more shots came at Eve and him, one right behind the other.

The gunman had moved again. This time to the right. Hell. The gunman was moving toward those stairs. Not only would that give him an escape route, it would also give him a better angle to fire more of those lethal bullets.

“What’s going on up there?” someone called out. “I’m the security guard for the hospital.”

“Sheriff Grayson Ryland. We’re under fire. Stay back!”

But the words had no sooner left Grayson’s mouth when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. To his left. There was a man in a dark gray uniform. The security guard, no doubt. He had his weapon drawn and had ducked down a little, but he was still making his way toward them.

The gunman obviously saw him, too.

Because a shot went in that direction.

The guard dove to the ground, but he was literally out in the open and therefore an easy target. Grayson had to do something, so he came out of cover, estimated the position of the shooter, and sent a bullet his way.

Because of the blasted car alarm, he couldn’t tell if the gunman even reacted. Maybe he’d managed to hit the bastard, or at the very least maybe he had gotten the guy to back off so the guard could scramble to safety.

“You need to get down!” Eve snarled, and she put her hand on his back to push Grayson to the ground again.

It wasn’t a second too soon.

The next bullet that was fired would have slammed right into him if Eve hadn’t pulled him down with her.

However, Grayson didn’t have time to thank her because everything seemed to happen at once. Another shot went toward the security guard who was trying to scramble away.

And then there was the movement in the stairwell.

For one horrifying moment, Grayson thought it was the gunman getting away. But this person wasn’t dressed all in black.

It was Nate.

His brother was sneaking up the stairs, trying to get a drop on the gunman. But it was dark, and Nate was out of position. Unlike the gunman, who was probably only a few feet away.