right a few seconds after she did, he was flooded with memories—memories he fought to keep from overtaking his thoughts. Letting go of her wasn’t going to be easy but he’d find a way. He had to. Because a little voice, the one that still knew her, said that once she left town she wasn’t coming back this time. Colin’s heart fisted again. He reminded himself that it was a good thing to acknowledge and accept the situation for what it was.
Melissa made another turn into the parking lot of the lawnmower store at the edge of town. It was located at the edge of the last neighborhood in Bluff before hay bales and country roads dotted the landscape. The lots were one-to-two acres in this area.
On three sides of the parking lot were woods, basically mesquite trees with two feet of underbrush. It was most likely Colin’s military training that had him checking the perimeter for any signs of danger and not the hairs that pricked on the back of his neck. Why would she meet her husband after midnight in an empty parking lot?
Scenarios started running through his mind as he pulled past the lot, turned off his headlights and then made a U-turn. Was it his heart and not his logical mind saying that she wanted out of the marriage? If there had been abuse she would be smarter to meet out in the open in a busy place, like a restaurant. This would be the worst possible spot. Empty, abandoned for all practical purposes. Images of her being abducted against her will assaulted him. And that was most likely his training taking over. Now he really needed to stick around to make sure she was okay.
There was a street lamp in the middle of the empty parking lot, and that was the only light around. The building was completely blacked out. All of Colin’s danger radar flared. He wanted her to park under the light at least.
She didn’t.
Melissa parked at the far corner of the lot with woods to each side. What was she thinking? He thought he’d trained her better than that in personal safety in the time they were together. She might be meeting her husband but any whacko could take advantage of this situation.
Did she really not have sense enough to think this through? Or had he rattled her? He blamed himself for that, figuring their conversation had upset her more than she’d wanted to let on. Seeing her again had certainly done a number on him.
Colin pulled over to the side of the road where he could see vehicles as they entered and exited the lot. There was only one other place a car could turn in and it came from a country road that ended at Sander’s farm a half hour down the road.
He wanted eyes on Rancic. And then he could finally convince himself to let her go.
A light blue sedan turned right into the lot fifteen minutes later. Colin exited his vehicle and moved stealthily along the tree line in order to get a good look at the exchange, telling himself that he needed to be close enough to see their faces. Maybe he was a glutton for punishment, and it seemed his heart would agree with that statement as a knifelike pain stabbed through him with each forward step. He told himself that he was making ground on being able to let go of the grip she had on him, still had on him. That thought carried his steps forward.
The headlights illuminated Melissa’s car and Colin could see her clearly from his position as she exited her vehicle. She should be happy to see her husband, shouldn’t she?
All Colin saw clearly was fear as Rancic parked and cut the lights. Colin moved to get a better look. Melissa’s attention shifted from Rancic to the backseat of her car as she backed away from him.
What was that all about?
Colin’s fear that their marriage had gone sour seemed to be playing out in front of him. Based on her expression, she was scared to death of the guy.
All his instincts told him to walk away. Melissa had made her choice and it wasn’t his place to interfere with a husband and wife. And yet he knew without a doubt that he was about to do just that...interfere. She could thank him or curse him later.
As Colin broke out of the tree line, the sheriff’s cruiser sped across the lot. Melissa used the distraction to lock herself inside the vehicle. Smart. He’d hang back behind her car and let Tommy do his job.
Rancic dove into his vehicle and managed to come up behind the wheel. He gunned the engine in reverse, burning rubber. His tires finally gripped the concrete and he sped backward.
Tommy must not’ve seen the barrel of the shotgun poking out from the driver’s side an inch or two as he hit his brakes, no doubt ready to turn around and give chase. Fire shot out the end as the blast split the air, burning through Colin’s ears as he pushed off the back of Melissa’s vehicle and bolted toward the sheriff’s SUV.
Rancic was out of there by the time Colin reached Tommy.
He pulled his friend from his vehicle and laid him out on the cement. Blood was everywhere as Colin scanned Tommy’s body, assessing the damage.
“Damn shotgun,” Tommy said, and his voice was a little too calm. No doubt, he was in shock.
Colin knew enough about weapons to know just how dangerous shotgun shells were to bulletproof vests. They weren’t rated for those because they didn’t have a consistent velocity. Tommy had taken a bullet to his left side and blood covered his shirt. A red dot flowered. Colin needed to stop the bleeding.
“How bad is it? Be honest,” Tommy said as he searched Colin’s face, no doubt looking for a reaction so he could gauge his injury.
“You’re going to be just fine.” It was the lie every soldier had told no matter how grave the damage looked.
He maintained his game face and could only pray that no major organs or arteries had been pierced as he shrugged out of his T-shirt and then used it to place pressure on the wound.
Suddenly Melissa was there, too, and sounds of a baby crying came from a distance.
“It’s getting colder out here,” Tommy said, already shivering.
“Stay with me, man,” Colin said.
“What can I do?” Melissa asked as Colin looked up at her.
“Call 911. Now,” he said.
Colin paced in Bluff General’s waiting room after giving his statement to Deputy Garcia. The deputy had gone to speak to hospital staff, leaving Colin to wait alone for updates.
Blue carpet, blue chairs and stark white walls couldn’t erase the bloody images scrolling through Colin’s mind. There was blood on his shirt, Tommy’s blood. Tommy had been shot by Melissa’s husband. Estranged husband, a little voice in his head clarified. Colin could hardly wrap his thoughts around what had happened even though he’d seen it with his own eyes.
Tommy had been immediately taken into surgery, and Colin had called his brothers to deliver the news. His eldest brother, Dallas, was on his way to the hospital. The others would soon follow. Tommy needed all the family around him that he could get, and the O’Briens were a tight-knit bunch.
Personally, Colin had seen the inside of the county hospital a few too many times recently. As far as desirable places to end up went, Bluff General bottomed his list. In the six months since his parents’ murders, several of his brothers had ended up in a room not unlike the one
