Bucking Bronc Lodge 04(44)

Chapter Thirteen




Jordan’s knees hit the floor of the barn, but she ignored the pain. The boys looked terrified. “It’s okay,” she said, praying she was right and that Miles hadn’t been hit.

She had to be rational. Keep the boys calm. If one of them tried to do something heroic like jump Dugan or escape, it could be dangerous for all of them.

Timmy clung to her. “Go on, sweetie, go sit with Carlos and the others.” His big eyes looked terrified and hesitant, but she stroked his hair. “It’s all right. Now do as I say.”

Carlos held out his hand. “Come on, sport.”

Timmy ran over to him, and Carlos pulled him up against the wall beside him.

Meanwhile, Dugan paced by the door, his harried, jerky movements indicating his agitation. He felt trapped. That could be dangerous or work to her advantage if she played him right.

“Dugan, listen to me,” Miles shouted from outside.

Relief swam through Jordan. If Miles was talking, he must not be shot. He would rescue them, she knew it.

Dugan inched to the door, cracked it a notch and shouted, “Come any closer and I start shooting in here.”

Jordan’s breath caught, and the kids made a collective gasp.

“Did you hear me, McGregor?” Dugan made a show of glancing at her, then the kids. “Let me see, who’s going to get the first bullet?”

Jordan moved to block his view of the kids. “You really don’t want to do that, Robert.”

“I’m putting my gun down,” Miles shouted. “But we have to talk, Dugan. You need my help to escape, and it won’t work if you hurt one of those kids.”

Through the slit in the doorway, Jordan saw Miles inching toward the barn, his hands raised in surrender.

Her heart stalled in her chest. What if Dugan shot him?

“Don’t come any further,” Dugan warned.

Miles halted, his expression grim. “Come on, Dugan. You want me. Just send the kids out and take me as your hostage.”

“No, no, no,” Dugan sang. “I’m not falling for your tricks.”

Jordan gently laid her hand on his arm. “I know you, Robert, you understand how these boys feel because you were afraid when you were little.”

“Stop trying to get into my head,” he snarled.

“You know you can’t stay here,” Jordan said quietly. “And you can’t take all these boys with you, so why not let them go? They’re only going to be a liability.”

He flicked his gaze toward the kids, seemingly contemplating her words.

“You’ll still have me,” Jordan continued. “You can get a car or a helicopter and we can leave. But you can’t run with this group. And if you hurt any of them, it won’t even matter if you were innocent or guilty before. The police will just come after you harder.”

“McGregor will never stop anyway,” Dugan bit out.

“Maybe not. But when you were little, you wanted someone to save you from your home. From whatever hurt you.” Despite the fact that he terrified her, she forced herself to stroke his arm in a soothing gesture. “You can do that for these boys. You can save them like you wanted to be saved.”

A heartbeat of silence lingered, riddled with tension, with emotions, with fear. Dugan paced, obviously warring with the decision in his mind. Something was off about the way he was acting, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

It was almost as if he’d suffered a psychotic break. Or perhaps he normally took medication and was off of it. His eyes didn’t seem to be able to focus, and she noticed a nervous tick in his jaw. It was slight, and something new that hadn’t been evident in his TV interviews.

“Dugan,” Miles shouted again. “I’m waiting. Send out the kids and I’m yours.”

Anger once again heated his eyes, and he swung the gun toward Justin. Wayling and Rory were hovering by him, knees drawn, faces strained.

“The little guy with the red hair, come here.”

Jordan’s throat clogged with fear, but Rory stood on shaky legs and walked toward her. Jordan grabbed his hand and pulled him against her side. “Don’t hurt him, Robert.”

That jaw twitched again. Then he poked Rory with the butt of his gun. “Go on, kid, get out of here.”

Relief swirled in Jordan’s chest, and she nodded toward Rory. Dugan pushed her to the door of the barn and held her in front of him, the gun at her throat.

“One of the kids is on his way out, but if you make a move, the woman gets it in the head,” Dugan yelled.

Jordan’s pulse pounded as her gaze met Miles’s. His look was stony, his big body rigid, the fury radiating from him palpable. She tried to offer him a smile, to let him know that everyone was safe for now, but she wasn’t sure she pulled it off.