Maverick Sheriff (22 page)

He got just a glimpse of Jessa then. At the stark terror on her face. Donovan still had his left arm hooked around her neck, and even though he was holding his gun in his right, he somehow managed to get off another shot.

Cooper had lost count of how many shots Donovan had fired, but he prayed the man ran out of ammunition soon. While he was praying, he added that Tucker had managed to rescue Liam and Linda. There’d been no other texts from his brother, and he hoped nothing had gone wrong.

With Donovan, anything was possible.

Cooper had always known the man hated him, but he’d had no idea just how much until tonight. Donovan wanted to make him suffer in the worst way possible and then kill him. Jessa, too. And it didn’t seem to matter that others would know of his guilt. Donovan was just hell-bent on getting even for what he considered an old, unforgivable wrong—Molly no longer loving him.

“Watch out!” Jessa shouted to Cooper when Donovan turned the steering wheel, aiming the truck right at Cooper again.

Cooper didn’t want to run toward the tree where he’d last seen Linda and Liam. They could still be there or nearby, and it was too big a risk to take. There was no other nearby cover, so Cooper went behind the barn instead.

Donovan followed right along behind him. So close that Cooper could feel the heat from the engine on his back and legs. He couldn’t risk shooting at the SOB because he could accidentally hit Jessa. She was already in too much danger without him adding more. However, Cooper did aim for one of the tires. He missed.

Cooper made it around the barn, hoping it would take Donovan several seconds at least to maneuver the vehicle. It didn’t. Despite being hindered by a struggling Jessa and a weapon clutched in his hand, Donovan just kept coming.

And he fired another shot.

This was one didn’t hit the barn, and it put Cooper’s heart right in his throat. Liam was out there somewhere, and that bullet could have come close to him.

Or worse.

Cooper got back to the front of the barn, and he ducked around Peggy’s lifeless body and inside the still-open doors. Maybe when Donovan reached him, Cooper could somehow get Jessa out.

However, Donovan didn’t slow down enough.

Nor did he turn away from the barn.

He swerved around Peggy, and the truck bashed through the doors and came right at Cooper. He had no choice but to run again and try to get back outside. If he stayed inside, Donovan could hit one of the thick posts while trying to get him, and since Jessa wasn’t wearing a seat belt, she could be thrown through what was left of the windshield.

Jessa screamed, and Cooper glanced over his shoulder to see her sink her teeth into Donovan’s arm. The man cursed and let go of the steering wheel so he could bash the gun against her head.

Cooper could have sworn that he saw red.

Cooper darted to the side, hoping he could still try to pull Jessa from the truck. But Donovan regained control. Not just of the steering wheel but also his weapon.

He fired at Cooper.

And this time Cooper wasn’t so lucky at dodging bullets. The pain sliced through his arm.

Hell. He’d been hit.

He couldn’t take the time to figure out how badly he was injured, because the truck was coming right for him again. Worse, Jessa was dazed or something. Her eyes were half-closed, and she looked ready to faint. Donovan had obviously hurt her when he’d hit her.

And that made him a dead man.

Cooper couldn’t stop the shout that roared from his throat, and he turned, not to get away from the truck. But rather to face it head-on. He took aim, praying he had a clear shot so he could stop Donovan for good.

Donovan came right at him as if he was playing a game of chicken. Cooper cursed because he still didn’t have a clean shot.

“Be seeing you,” Donovan said, smiling.

He gave the steering wheel a sharp turn to the right and plowed through the back door. The splintered wood burst out like daggers, some of them slicing across Cooper’s face, but they didn’t stop him. He barreled out the gaping hole and hurried outside.

Donovan was getting away.

Cooper hadn’t thought that knot in his stomach could get any tighter, but he’d obviously been wrong. Donovan was taking Jessa God knew where, and there was no telling what the man would do to her to get back at Cooper.

Again, he couldn’t shoot because he had no idea where Liam and the others were. But Cooper started running. He had to get to the truck before Donovan managed to get off the ranch. He took out his phone, and without slowing down, he hit the button to call Tucker.

“Don’t let Donovan get away,” Cooper insisted, and he shoved his phone back in his pocket in case he had to fire.

His heart was already racing, but it started to pound against his chest. It only got worse when he heard Jessa scream again. Cooper could only see shadowy movements in the cab of the truck, but it looked as if Jessa was in another fight with Donovan.

And then Cooper heard the shot.

This bullet hadn’t come at him; he was pretty sure it’d stayed in the cab of the truck.

Hell.

Had Donovan shot Jessa?

That only made Cooper run faster, even though he knew he’d have a hard time catching up with the now-speeding truck. That didn’t stop him. No way. Somehow he had to get to Jessa and make sure she was all right.

Ahead of him, he saw the bloodred flash of the brake lights, and it took Cooper a moment to figure out why Donovan had done that. But there were several horses in the pasture, and Donovan had nearly run right into them. If he had, it would have not only injured or killed the horses, it would have disabled the truck. That was probably the only reason he hadn’t crashed into them.

That delay gave Cooper some much-needed seconds so he could close the distance between him and the truck. Even over the engine, he heard Donovan curse. Saw more of the struggle going on in the cab.

Thank God.

It meant Jessa was alive, but she wouldn’t stay that way for long.

Cooper was still running when he saw the truck door fly open, and he caught just a glimpse of Jessa trying to get out before Donovan hit her with the gun again. He dragged her back inside with him, slammed the door.

“Jessa!” Cooper yelled, just so she’d know that he was close. He wanted her to keep fighting. Wanted her to stay alive so he could get to her.

Donovan must have realized it, too, because he floored the accelerator. Maybe it was because of the struggle going on inside the truck.

Or maybe Donovan suddenly had a death wish.

Either way, Cooper could only watch as the truck slammed right into a tree.

* * *

J
ESSA WAS SO
caught up in her fight to get away from Donovan that she didn’t see the tree in time to brace herself for the impact.

Not that she could have done much.

She wasn’t wearing a seat belt. However, she was squeezed against the driver’s-side door and Donovan, and he was the one who went through the windshield first. Jessa wasn’t far behind. She smashed into him.

The pain slammed through her, so hard and fast that it blurred her vision and knocked the breath out of her. She did a quick assessment and didn’t think she was hurt too badly. But Cooper could be a different story. She’d seen the shot that Donovan had fired at him in the barn.

And she’d seen the blood.

He was hurt. Maybe it was a serious injury, and she had to get to him to see if he needed help.

Jessa forced herself to get moving. Not easy to do. Both Donovan and she were on what was left of the hood of the truck, and they were wedged against the tree. Worse, Donovan had somehow managed to hang on to his gun. She reached for it, but that was as far as she got.

Donovan’s eyes flew open, snaring her in his gaze.

God, no.

He should be dead or at least unconscious, but here he was ready to attack her all over again. And try one more time to kill Cooper. He latched on to her wrist, digging his fingernails into her skin.

And he fired.

The shot blasted past her, but she knew it could have hit someone. Maybe Cooper. Heaven forbid, maybe Liam. It crushed her heart to think of her baby being hurt, and all because of this monster and his hatred.

“Jessa?” she heard Cooper call out, and she spotted him running toward her. He was alive, thank God, but even in the milky moonlight, she could see the blood on his shirt.

“Donovan’s still armed,” she warned Cooper. He was close, but not close enough to stop Donovan from getting off another shot. She had to be the one to stop him, or this time he might succeed in killing Cooper or her.

Jessa rammed her elbow against the man’s jaw, and while it wasn’t enough to loosen the gun, it did cause him to let go of her. She didn’t have much wiggle room, but she used her hands and feet to get some leverage, pushing herself away from the truck, the tree and him.

She made it the rest of the way through the broken windshield and was finally able to roll off the hood.

She didn’t land on her feet. She was too woozy for that and instead fell to her knees, but Jessa got up as quickly as she could.

However, it wasn’t fast enough.

Donovan slid off right behind her.

Just like before, he put the gun to her head, and he ducked down behind her. Unlike before, Cooper didn’t have the cover of the barn to protect him. He was out in the open, running toward her.

“Get down!” Jessa shouted.

She braced herself for Donovan to fire again. But he didn’t. Maybe because he was running low on ammunition. He’d already fired a lot of shots.

“Let her go,” Cooper ordered. He stopped about ten yards away from them and took aim. Not that he could shoot. She was in the way again, and Donovan did his best to keep hidden behind her.

“You’re not going to win this time,” Donovan spat out, the venom heavy in his voice.

Cooper shook his head. “Your beef’s with me, not Jessa. Let her go.”

“Right, so you can just gun me down,” Donovan snarled back. “By my calculations, I have just one bullet left. I’ve got extra ammo in my pocket, but by the time I got to it, it’d be too late.”

“Yeah, it would,” Cooper assured him, and he inched closer. He bracketed his right wrist with his left hand. “And that’s why you need to put down your gun and surrender. It’s over, Donovan.”

That wasn’t the right thing to say. She felt the muscles in Donovan’s body turn to iron again, and his breath rushed out like fire.

“It’s never over!” Donovan shouted. “I could live as long as I knew you were grieving every single day. But you’re not grieving now, are you? You’re sleeping with Jessa, knowing it’ll help you breeze through getting custody of your son.”

Cooper took another step, held his aim. “Not that it’s any of your business, but that’s not why I slept with her.”

Donovan laughed. “Please,” he said, stretching that out a few syllables. “You haven’t looked at another woman since Molly. You’ve been moping around town, all dark and tortured. Just the way I wanted you to feel.”

Cooper didn’t argue with that. “You made sure I felt that way by kidnapping my son and keeping him from me.”

“Yes, I did.” Donovan sounded pleased, but Jessa heard another sound. He was shifting the gun, no doubt so he could aim it at Cooper. He’d said he only had one bullet, but one was enough.

“Ironic, though, that you’d figure out a way to get your son back,” Donovan snarled, “and replace Molly at the same time.”

Despite the pain from the wreck and Donovan’s blows with the gun, that riled her to the core. “I’ll never replace Molly,” she fired back.

In fact, she couldn’t be sure that Cooper hadn’t slept with her just because of Liam. He wouldn’t have done it intentionally.

No, he was too honorable for that.

But Cooper could have been drawn to her simply because he was so thankful to have found his little boy. It would be easier on her heart if it’d been the same for her, if her feelings for Cooper had been because of Liam.

But they weren’t.

Jessa could see that now. She knew that she cared deeply for Cooper, despite the fact that if they survived this, he might take Liam from her.

“Time’s up,” Donovan repeated. “No more happy times for you.” And he raised the gun to fire at Cooper.

Just as Jessa dropped to the ground.

The men fired their guns at the same time, and the combined blasts created a thundering boom that seemed to echo through the darkness. Jessa was terrified to look in case Donovan had hit his intended target. Terrified also that Cooper hadn’t hit his.

She lifted her head, but she didn’t even get a glimpse of Cooper before Donovan slumped against her, knocking her face-first to the ground.

“Jessa?” Cooper called out.

She was still fighting to get Donovan off her when Cooper made it to her and pulled away the dead weight so she could scramble back and stand. Jessa saw him then. Donovan’s lifeless eyes fixed in a blank stare.

Unlike Cooper’s.

There was plenty of life and concern in his eyes, and he slipped his arm around her and pulled her to him. He brushed what had to be a kiss of relief on her forehead before his gaze fired all around.

Mercy. He was looking for Liam and her mother. They definitely weren’t by the tree any longer, but she couldn’t see them anywhere in the pasture.

“Where’s Liam?” she managed to ask.

But Cooper just shook his head. “Come on. We have to find him.”

Chapter Twenty

Cooper ignored the throbbing in his arm and scooped Jessa up so he could get her away from Donovan and find Liam. Jessa had already seen too much blood tonight, and there was no need for her to see more.

“Tucker?” he called out.

No answer, so he managed to take out his phone and handed it to Jessa. “Call my brother.”

They’d been through hell and back, but there was no worse hell than not knowing if their son was all right.

He mentally repeated that:
their son.

And while it packed an emotional wallop, Cooper decided to table it for now. The only thing that mattered was getting to Liam and then making sure that everyone was okay.