time. Hopefully, he and the others would be long gone by then and law enforcement would have things under control.
Breathing heavily, Aaron pulled Pete from the stall then went back and grabbed his coat. He shoved his hands into the sleeves, grabbed Pete’s gun, then slipped back out of the stall shutting the mama and baby in behind him. He stuck Pete’s gun in his shoulder holster.
A phone, he needed a phone.
He patted the man down, searched his pockets and came up empty. Great. There was a phone in the office.
He raced to it and twisted the knob. Locked. And he didn’t have his keys. Aaron stepped back, lifted a foot and kicked. The door shook, but held. Three more kicks and it swung open. He grabbed the handset from the base and turned it on. Listened.
To nothing.
He groaned. They’d cut the landline.
He stopped and pressed a hand against his forehead. Think, think. Consider your options.
And came up with one.
Overpower Jed, get the others out before Cody came back. Or Pete woke up. It wasn’t a great plan—or even a plan at all—it was just what he knew he had to do.
Aaron slipped out of the barn and up to the house. He figured boss man would be in the den or at least near it to keep an eye on Lance, Zoe and Sophia. He’d go in the front door as he figured it was probably still unlocked. His rushing adrenaline made him shaky and clumsy. He took a deep breath. He wasn’t a cop, this wasn’t his deal. He was perfectly happy to leave catching the bad guys and rescuing people to Clay and the deputies, but today it fell to him.
He wanted to hurry, but had to be careful. If he got caught this time, there wouldn’t be a third chance for escape. They didn’t need him as Pete had just proven while in the barn. He and Lance were collateral damage. He couldn’t believe Pete had bought his story about neighbors coming to check on the cow. Most likely, they’d have heard her and figured she was giving birth and Aaron was there to help. Birth was a noisy affair, and the neighbors knew that. Aaron’s hunch that Pete wouldn’t know that had paid off.
At the front door, he paused, placed a hand on the knob and twisted slowly. Nothing happened, so he cracked it enough to see inside. The foyer, the living area to the left, dining to the right. The den was straight ahead. He slipped inside and shut the door behind him.
He listened, ear tuned to the slightest sound, muscles bunched and ready to act. Sounded like Jed was on the phone. He glanced out the window and thought he saw a vehicle down the drive. Cody coming back?
Heart racing, he moved until he could see Lance still on the couch with Zoe. Sophia sat between them. He caught Lance’s eye. Lance blinked but made no other indication that he’d seen Aaron.
“Fine. I’ll take care of it. I’ll deliver them both tonight. And you’d better have the rest of my money.”
Aaron raised the gun.
Lance shifted. “Hey, when are we going to get something to eat? Sophia needs some food even if you’re not going to feed the rest of us.”
Jed stepped into view, the back of his head toward Aaron. He pointed to Zoe. “Go fix something.”
Zoe moved to stand when Aaron stepped up behind Jed and placed his gun against the man’s head. “Move and you die.” The man froze. “Put the weapon on the counter.” Jed did. With his free hand, Aaron took the gun and held it. He nodded to Zoe. “Cut Lance loose.”
She raced into the kitchen and came back with a knife. She cut the tape and Lance stood. Jed twitched like he wanted to try something. Aaron pressed the gun harder. “Don’t.” The man stilled.
“Hey, Jed, Pete? I got the part,” Cody called as the back door slammed behind him.
Zoe froze, but didn’t have time to stand there for long. Jed started to call out, but Lance’s fist shot out and caught him in the jaw. Aaron brought the gun down on the back of his head for good measure and the man crumpled to the floor. Lance took the gun from Aaron. “Get them out of here. I’ll deal with Cody.”
But Cody appeared in the small hallway between the kitchen and the den before Lance could get there. Cody stood for a brief moment, his jaw swinging as he took in the scene, but Zoe didn’t stop in her rush to get Sophia out of the house. She reached the large bookcase next to the front door and pulled Sophia next to it praying it was out of the line of fire. She could feel her child’s body trembling, but she never made a sound.
“Hey!” She saw Cody’s hand lift, the gun aimed at Lance. Lance dropped and rolled in front of the counter and out of sight. Aaron fired his weapon and she saw Cody spin into the wall then hit the floor. Zoe moved away from the bookcase and toward the door, pulling Sophia with her. She looked back to see Cody roll and bring his weapon up again, firing even as Lance aimed at him and pulled the trigger. She dropped to the floor covering Sophia’s body with hers. The loud cracks made her ears ring.
“I’m going to kill you! All of you! I don’t care about the money anymore, you’re all dead!” Pete’s bellow came from the kitchen somewhere behind Cody. She heard the door slam once again. Lance leveled his weapon toward the kitchen and fired back. She wanted to get Sophia out, but was afraid to move. Afraid it would be the wrong direction and one of them would catch a bullet. She heard a curse and saw Jed move, shake his head then sit up.
Then Aaron was beside her grabbing Sophia from her and pushing her toward the door. “Go, go, go.”
Zoe, Aaron and Sophia raced through the front door. Aaron snagged Sophia’s heavy coat as he passed it. Bullets pelted the doorframe, and Sophia screamed. Zoe just followed expecting to feel the slam of a bullet at any moment. Lance was backing out behind them, firing back, keeping the three men at bay.
“Head for the trees!” Aaron urged her. “Don’t look back, just run. I’ve got Sophia.”
“Go!” Lance hollered as he whipped around and fired his gun once again. She heard a harsh scream from one of their pursuers but didn’t turn. Five more steps and they’d be in the shelter of the trees. The house had been built with a plan to utilize the wooded area for shade during the summer months. Even stripped of most of the leaves, the trees would offer them the most protection. The frigid wind made her flinch, but she couldn’t stop now.
Zoe raced into the thicket and turned to find Aaron carrying Sophia in his arms. Lance brought up the rear. He continued to look over his shoulder as they ran. “They’re still coming.”
“At least they’re not shooting,” she panted.
“I got one of them, I think. The one they called Jed. Just winged him, though.” Lance stayed close. “Keep going. We’re going to follow the tree line all the way around and head up to the store on the hill. Hopefully Michael is there and will have a phone we can use.”
“Won’t they think of that?” Zoe asked.
“Yeah,” Aaron grunted. “I basically told Pete about the place when I was trying to convince him to let my hands free. If we head up there, we’ll just put Michael in danger.”
Zoe kept casting glances at Sophia.
