“For what? What agreement did you have with your father?” She had to shout over the growing voices and Mayor Greggs’s calls for order.
Hunter didn’t answer her. For a brief moment, he stared at her hard and his gaze swept across her features as if trying to memorize her face. The thought filled her veins with a sense of dread. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. His lips lingered against her skin, sending warmth spreading through the chill that had invaded her insides. “Go with Kincaid. I’ll find you. We need to talk.”
She had only time to nod before he turned and fought his way through the crowd to follow his father from the room.
Finally Mayor Greggs wrested control back from the audience.
“Perhaps we should call for a vote then,” Bertram said. Meredith returned her attention to the front of the room, her mind swirling in a heady mixture of confusion as she tried to make sense of what had happened. Though the council members continued to argue for and against her and her business it was obvious the argument between Hunter and his father had left everyone shaken. In the end, they voted her proposal down four to two. She had failed.
“C’mon,” Mr. Kincaid said, his rough tone somewhat gentled. “I’ll take you to Trent’s offices.”
She let him lead her from the room, following in Hunter’s footsteps. The wind caught the door as it opened and sent it flying backward against the exterior wall with a snap. Snow whipped up in swirls from the scattered patches on the ground. Another snap split the air but this one was different.
Meredith froze, her body understanding the danger before her brain could make the connection.
A strong arm banded around her chest in the same instant the wood next to her head splintered. Mr. Kincaid pulled her back into the hall as her mind finally realized what was happening.
Someone was shooting at her.
Chapter Eighteen
Hunter went after Vernon, determined to stop him from implementing his threat against Meredith, but his father’s wagon was nowhere to be found. He hadn’t planned on confronting Vernon at the meeting, but his anger got the best of him when the man tried to damage Meredith’s reputation. In that instant he knew, his father had no intention of keeping up his end of the bargain. Vernon’s promise that she would remain unharmed if Hunter could get her out of town had been an empty one, just as he suspected. He needed to stop the Syndicate and he needed to keep Meredith safe until he did. There was no other way. And that meant another showdown with his father. Vernon was the only connection he had to the other members of the Syndicate. He needed to know who they were before he could figure out how to stop them.
He was halfway to his office to get his horse when the first shot rang out. He spun on his heel.
Another shot cut through the wind blowing down from the mountains. He picked up speed, his boots catching in the mix of muck and snow until his muscles screamed from the effort. As he came around the bend in Main Street, he saw Meredith being pulled back into the hall by Kincaid. Had she been hit?
His heart hammered against his ribs. Fear and exertion raced through his veins.
Let her be okay. The words chanted over and over in his head. He couldn’t fathom the alternative. That she wasn’t okay. That the bullet had found its mark.
He had drawn his own gun, but couldn’t remember slipping the Colt out of its holster, simply felt the weight of it in his hand. His gaze swept the street, searching for the shooter. A shadow in the alley next to Ronson’s Hardware caught his eye and took shape. He skidded to a stop, but the slippery street sent him past the alley. He doubled back and stopped.
“Vernon.” He crouched down where his father sat propped against the side of the building facing into the alleyway. His head lolled backward and he winced in pain. A hand clutched his jacket near his shoulder.
Vernon opened his eyes and glared at him through the dark night. “This is your doing, boy.” His voice was barely more than a rasp, each word infused with pain and accusation.
“Who did this?”
“Hardly matters. He’s long gone. Took the wagon.” He stopped after each statement, gathering his breath for the next.
“I’ll go get Doc.” Unless he was tending to Meredith. Hunter refused to go there. He took off again, sprinting the last fifty yards to the Town Hall. He took the steps two at a time and rushed through the door. Inside, voices rose in mass hysteria as a few of the council members tried to calm the crowd.
Hunter grabbed Caleb by the arm and pulled him around. “Where’s Meredith?”
Caleb’s calm voice did little to soothe his jagged nerves. “She’s fine. Kincaid grabbed her and pulled her inside before any harm could come to her.” Relief swept through him. “They voted down her proposal.”