Was she by the shed or in the plane?

  He’d check the plane first. He kicked Lightning into motion. They tore across the open field, the biting wind hitting him full-on and carrying heavy black smoke in his direction. The heat soon forced him to pull up.

  Dancing flames illuminated fragments of the plane lying scattered around. No one could have survived the fiery explosion. If she was in there—No, he wouldn’t go there. Not until he checked by the shed.

  He whipped Lightning around and took off. Nearing the shed, he spotted someone on the ground. Someone moving. Small. Slight. A woman. Leaning over another person. Performing CPR.

  He threw caution to the wind and shouted, “Lexie!”

  “Gavin!” she screamed. “Hurry.”

  Thank You, God, he prayed, though he had no idea if God heard him. After shooting Emily, Gavin had been hard-pressed to trust in his faith.

  Gavin pushed Lightning into a gallop, the stallion’s breath coming in hard puffs as he quickly closed the distance between them. To be safe, he drew his weapon as he dismounted.

  “Lexie,” he said, afraid he was wrong, that she’d turn, it wouldn’t be her, and he’d learn she’d perished in the explosion.

  She looked up from doing CPR on a man.

  It was Lexie. His Lexie. No...not his. Not anymore. He let out a slow breath of relief. “Are you okay?”

  She stopped her compressions, held up blood-covered hands and peered down at the man lying in front of her.

  “It’s Dad. He...he’s gone.” A sob tore from her throat. “Gunshot wounds. I saw it all. He tried to give me an envelope and the guy shot him twice. Then took off. I tried to help Dad and failed.”

  “Oh, sugar, I’m so sorry.” Gavin didn’t think of the years that had passed...of the turmoil when they’d broken up. Instead, acting on pure instinct, he dropped down beside her and drew her into his arms. She snuggled tight against him, and he cradled her head against his chest as her body heaved with pain-filled sobs.

  She needed his comfort, and he was only too happy to hold her, but with the shooting, he had to keep his gaze roving the area, just in case the killer hadn’t really taken off.

  He gently pushed back and gazed at her. “You said the shooter was gone.”

  “He took off on a dirt bike.”

  That explained the bike he’d seen.

  “This can’t be happening. Not really. Can it?” She suddenly grabbed Gavin’s arm. “The killer can’t get away with this. We have to go after him.”

  “He’s long gone by now and we won’t catch him on horseback.” Gavin dug out his phone. “But I’ll call Dad to get an alert out on the bike. Can you describe it?”

  “Black, I think, but I’m not positive. Dark colored, anyway.”

  “Did it have a license plate?”

  “I don’t know. I was too afraid. I’m sorry.” She wiped away her tears. “But the rider wore a leather jacket and pants. He was over six feet. Thin.”

  Without a better description of the bike, the odds were bad that they’d find the guy. Especially when a dirt bike could travel off-road.

  “And the plane exploding?” Gavin asked. “Did the shooter have something to do with that, too?”

  She nodded. “He used his phone to detonate it. Thank goodness Dad was flying his own plane and was alone.”

  “I’ll want more details, but first I’ll get that alert issued.” Gavin dialed his father, Lake County sheriff Walt McKade, but stepped away from Lexie so he could speak freely about her father. He also didn’t want her to learn that conversations with his dad were still tension-filled. No sense in adding to her stress.

  As his phone rang, he kept her in view while also watching for any signs the shooter might have returned.

  “Sheriff McKade,” Gavin’s dad answered with his usual confidence.

  Just hearing his father’s voice made him cringe, but he swallowed down his unease. “It’s Gavin. There’s been an explosion and shooting at the old airstrip on Engles ranch.”

  “I know about the explosion. Just got a 9-1-1 call from neighbors...but how do you know about it?”

  “I’m in town for a few days.”

  “First I’m hearing about it,” he grumbled. “And you just happened to be out at the airstrip when all of this goes down?”

  “I’ll explain that later,” Gavin said. “For now, you need to know Dr. Grant’s been fatally shot.”

  “Well, I’ll be.” His words were slow and drawn out in his thick drawl. “Here we all thought he was dead and now he turns up only to be murdered.”

  “Lexie’s here, and she saw the whole thing. The shooter took off. Heading east on a dirt bike. She thinks it’s black but she’s not positive. He’s been gone about five minutes or so. I thought you’d like to issue an alert ASAP.”

  “You got that right. I’ll take care of it and head out there to get started on the investigation.”

  Great. The moment his dad arrived, he would demand to know Gavin’s reasons for being in town.

  He didn’t have the authority to divulge that, yesterday, Dr. Grant had become a person of interest in a major health-care fraud investigation, and that Gavin had arrived to try to track him down.

  “And before you try to claim jurisdiction on the murder...” his dad continued. “You know the ball’s in my court, not you Feds.”

  Gavin stifled a groan. As far as he knew, his dad’s only experience with the FBI was watching TV shows and movies that often got things wrong. Murder investigations didn’t top the Bureau’s priorities, and the Feds rarely involved themselves in a case without being invited.

  “No worries there,” Gavin said.

  “I’ll be there in less than ten.” His dad disconnected the call.

  Gavin returned to Lexie, who hadn’t moved, her gaze fixed on her father. Gavin squatted next to her and told her softly, “Dad’s on his way.”

  She sighed. “I suppose now would be a good time for you to tell me why you wanted to see me.”

  Though it was no longer necessary to locate her father, Gavin would still need to interview her and serve the warrant to search her father’s office and home. Obviously, there was no point in the FBI filing charges against a deceased person, but his records could contain information about other doctors involved in the fraud. Still, nothing needed to be done tonight, and he’d hold off on upsetting her until after she’d gotten some rest.

  “That can wait,” he said.

  She shook her head in wide sorrowful arcs. “You sound like my father. You both had these big things you needed to talk to me about. Turns out, he only wanted to give me that envelope. He tried, but it was so weird.”

  “Weird in what way?”

  “He was acting totally out of character. All jittery and afraid. Clearly, he had a right to be. The shooter was creepy and not at all concerned about committing murder.” She blew out an unsteady breath. “He said this would be his third strike, and he wasn’t going back to prison. He also took the envelope and said he’d killed Dad’s attorney in Mexico because Dad gave him the same information.”

  So Dr. Grant had been hiding out in Mexico this last month. But why? “Did the shooter mention what the envelope contained?”

  She shook her head. “He did say he was part of some syndicate. Said Dad was meeting with the head honcho today, and the killer wasn’t going to let that happen.”

  Gavin nodded but didn’t speak. Dr. Grant wasn’t the only doctor in the fraud investigation. Gavin hadn’t yet found a connection between the doctors, but he supposed it was possible they could have formed a syndicate and this murder was related.

  “And there’s more,” she said. “The killer knew my name. Called me Dad’s precious Lexie. Which means he didn’t know Dad very well as I wasn’t precious to him. Maybe once. When Mom was alive.”

  Gavin had hoped she’d reconciled with her father in the past few years, but clearly she’d still had issues with him. And now, thanks to her father, a killer knew her name.

  Gavin didn’t like it. Not one bit. He didn’t want the killer to know anything about her. “In what context did he mention you?”

  “He asked if Dad gave me the information, too. Dad said no, but the killer didn’t believe him. Dad warned me before he died that this guy is dangerous, and he’ll come after me. Kill me, too.”

  “Kill you?” Gavin’s voice shot up, spooking Lexie and Lightning. He lowered his voice. “Do you have the information he’s worried about?”

  “I don’t know what was in that envelope and Dad didn’t give me anything else. But now that we know someone is looking for information, it makes sense that his office and house were ransacked.” She turned her big-eyed gaze to him. “What if the killer spotted me as he was leaving? If he did, he knows I saw him commit murder.” She shuddered. “Do you think he’ll come after me? Try to kill me, too?”

  “I won’t let that happen, sugar. I promise.” Gavin wrapped an arm around her shoulders to help allay her fear, but his emotions were a different story.

  If this man had killed once, he wouldn’t hesitate to do so again, and now he had Lexie in his sights.

  TWO

  Lexie didn’t know what to think. To feel. After Gavin’s father arrived, he’d escorted her to the main road where she now sat sideways in the front of Sheriff McKade’s patrol car, her feet planted on the asphalt as she waited to give her statement. She caught a glimpse in the distance of tall lights, their halos standing like beacons in the night over the plane wreckage, another set near her father’s body, warning all who came close of the horrific sight.

  And it had been horrific. There was no question. Even for a trauma nurse. Seeing the once-solid plane in tiny bits scattered around the area. Seeing her father gunned down. Worse than horrific.

  She shuddered and stared at her blood-caked hands. Her father’s blood. He’d lain in front of her, his life floating away, his eyes going blank and glazed. She’d seen death before. Of course she had. Many times in the ER. Always feeling sad for a life lost coupled with a bit of second-guessing as she ran the trauma through her brain to make sure they’d handled it right.

  But tonight? What did she feel now?

  Something, that was for sure, but it was hard to put a finger on her emotions. She definitely didn’t feel the deep, split-your-insides-open anguish she’d experienced when her mother had died. So was it guilt for not being able to save her dad? Maybe. Actually, now that she took the time to think about it, she felt numb. Cold inside and out. Alone. So alone.

  Where are You again, God? Why take someone else from my life? From Adam’s life? Am I this undeserving of love?

  Why was she even asking at this point in life? Nothing changed.

  She wrapped her arms around her body and ran her hands up and down her arms to ward off the howling wind. Earlier, she’d tried closing the car door, but claustrophobia had set in and she’d had to open it again.

  The sound of boots stomping across the road brought her head up in time to catch Sheriff McKade marching over to Gavin.

  Gavin. What did she do about him? She’d been relieved to see him when he’d arrived. Practically thrown herself into his arms. But now what? Was he the reason for her numbness?

  She shifted to get a better look at the pair. They stood strong, staring across the road, backs to her with hands on their waists in identical stances. They were both over six feet. Both had a head of thick, black hair, though she knew gray strands that had grown in numbers over the years intricately laced the sheriff’s.

  Gavin suddenly crossed his arms and spun. His dark gaze landed on her and that familiar, angry frustration with his dad lingered in his eyes. Walt turned, as well. They spit a few more sentences at each other and Gavin suddenly stormed in her direction.

  Lexie sighed. Nothing had changed. The same old Gavin, and the same reason he’d left town. Left her.

  Gavin was the firstborn in a family of four siblings, and his father held his son to lofty standards that no one could live up to. Still, Gavin had wanted a career in law enforcement and the only option without leaving Lost Creek was to work as a deputy for his dad. He’d tried to make a go as a deputy for years. Really tried. Even if it meant he wasn’t always happy.

  Then one day he’d disagreed with direct orders from his father on how to handle a domestic disturbance. Walt had wanted to sit back and wait for things to play out. Not Gavin. He was more of a “take action and sort things out later” kind of guy. Fearing for the wife’s safety, he’d stepped in. Tensions escalated and he’d ended up in a shoot-out with the husband, catching his wife in the cross fire. Emily had survived, and Gavin wasn’t hurt, but from that day on, his father no longer trusted him.

  No matter how hard Gavin worked to right things between them, he failed and couldn’t continue to work with his father. His only choice was to leave town. At least, that was what he’d thought. Lexie still didn’t agree.

  Didn’t matter now, though. She’d had enough of her pity party and it was time to shake it off. To go on. For Adam. Her brother needed her.

  Gavin continued toward her, his strides long and powerful, his gaze focused.

  Why was he in town, anyway? If it was solely to talk to her, why wouldn’t he just tell her what he wanted to discuss? Why the big mystery?

  Gavin stopped before her and squatted down.

  How many times had she gazed into Gavin’s rich brown eyes and known he was the man she’d wanted to marry? He’d dashed that dream when he’d moved away and left her behind without a second thought.

  “Dad will take your statement,” he finally said. “I was hoping to put it off till tomorrow, but he refused. So I wanted to see if you needed anything, and I’ll take care of it while he’s talking to you.”

  For a moment, he worked the muscles in his jaw then forced a smile. The left side tipped up just a fraction higher, a quirk that never failed to make Lexie’s heart skip a beat.

  “I could get some water for you,” he offered. “A blanket. Or maybe I could call your aunt Ruth.”

  “Ruth? No. She’s on a much-needed vacation, and I don’t want to burden her with this until she gets back in a few days. But I do need to tell Adam about Dad.” Lexie saw Walt approaching. “I’ll give my statement to your dad and get going.”

  Gavin crossed his arms and gave her a steely look. “You’re not going anywhere alone until this killer is caught.”

  “So you really do think he’ll be coming after me,” she said, letting her fear usurp her unease over his sudden bossiness.

  “Yes,” he said, but his narrowed gaze told her that he didn’t like admitting it. “I’ll drive you home, and make sure you have a protective detail. I can help you tell Adam, too.”

  No way she wanted Gavin to talk to Adam. The two of them had formed a strong bond and Gavin had destroyed the kid when he’d moved away. She’d have to tell Adam he’d lost his father. Why add the unease of talking to Gavin?

  “I’m glad for the protection,” she said. “But I’ll deal with Adam on my own.”

  Walt arrived before them and slapped his hat on his head as he peered at Gavin. “Our first priority is to keep little Lexie safe. Since Ruth is in Florida, I planned to bring Lexie back to the ranch when I finish up here. I’ll send a deputy to get Adam, too.”

  Lexie disliked it when he called her “little Lexie” and when he talked about her as if she was a child. It came across as demeaning, even though she knew he didn’t mean it that way. He was just referring to her barely over five-foot height compared to his children, most of them six feet or more.

  “I’m not letting Lexie out of my sight until I’m sure she has a strong detail assigned to her care,” Gavin said. “Not with the threat the shooter made—and we have no way of knowing if he saw her. If he did, well...”

  His worried tone sent her heart beating faster. “Do you think Adam could be in danger, too?”

  “I suppose it’s possible,” Gavin said. “But I wouldn’t expect your father to confide obviously valuable information to a kid. There’d be no point. If I was the killer, I’d focus on you, and then if I struck out, I’d move on to Adam.”

  “I concur,” Walt added. “Especially since your dad has never even lived with Adam and isn’t much involved in his life.”

  They both made valid points. Her father had blamed Adam for the loss of the love of his life. Not a legitimate blame, but her dad had associated Adam with the pain and never bonded with him. He’d also claimed Lexie resembled her mother and had hardly been able to look at her. He’d promptly moved her and Adam into Aunt Ruth’s house, where they’d both lived for the last fourteen years. So when Lexie’s heart was shattered by the loss of her mother, she’d lost her father, too. Now she’d lost him for good. Tears threatened again, but she firmed her resolve to keep it together until she was alone.

  “Still, we’ll take no chances, and we’ll watch over Adam, too.” Gavin lifted his chin as if daring his father to disagree.

  “That we will.” The sheriff kept his gaze leveled on Lexie. “So what’ll it be, sweetheart? Gavin drives you home or you come to the ranch?”

  Even with the simmering tension between her and Gavin, being at Trails End Ranch with this strong law-enforcement family was a safe place while she thought through the implications of all that had happened tonight. Besides, she missed his mother, Winnie, and his grandparents, Jed and Betty. Jed would offer to protect her and both of the women would fuss over her, and right now, she could use a little comfort along with the added protection.

  “I rode Misty over here, and I need to get her home and brushed down.”

  “You can do that at the ranch. ’Sides, Tessa and Kendall would let me have an earful if I didn’t bring you home. I won’t even put voice to what Winnie would do to me.” At the mention of his daughters and wife, a slow smile slid across Walt’s lips.