Page 36 of Her Baby, Her Badge

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Dutton heard theshout from one of the ranch hands a split second after he smelled the smoke. It was coming from one of the storage buildings behind the barn, and Dutton ran as fast as he could in that direction. Ran but kept watch. Because this very well could be a ploy by the killer to lure him away from the house, farther from Grace.

Or it could be just a way of making him an easier target.

Still, Dutton had to go in. He had to make sure his father wasn’t inside.

Dutton rounded the corner of the barn and saw the smoke billowing from the storage building, where they normally kept tractors, ATVs, a hay baler and other large equipment. There were no windows, but the smoke was coming out from around the large garage-style door.

Two of the hands reached the storage ahead of him and began trying to lift the door. Not easy, not with the smoke coming right at them, so Dutton drew in a deep breath and hurried to help. If the killer was going to strike, this would be a darn good time since it would take him precious seconds to draw his gun or to dive to the ground away from gunfire. He hoped the killer didn’t just start shooting to try to take out as many of them as possible.

Dutton soon saw the reason the door wasn’t budging. Someone had jammed a piece of wood on the side, and it was acting like a wedge to prevent it from opening. Blinking back the sting of the smoke in his eyes, Dutton yanked out the wedge, and the three of them lifted the door.

The smoke charged out at them.

He had to fight the coughing spell that overtook him, and despite his burning eyes, he fired glances around the building. It was one large area with no windows and no other exits. No working overhead lights, either, he realized, when he tried to turn them on. It was possible the fire had damaged them or else someone had tampered with them.

His gut told him it’d been the latter.

Hell. If so, then a lot of planning had gone into this. And his father could end up dying in whatever sick game the killer was playing.

Dutton drew his gun and then covered his mouth and nose with the crook of his arm. And he stepped inside. He couldn’t see any actual flames, only the thick white smoke, but he heard something. A thud, as if someone had kicked the wall, and he was pretty sure someone inside was coughing, too.

“Wait,” someone called out to him.

Grace.

Dutton cursed again because he’d been hoping she was still inside the house. Apparently not. Here she was, right in the thick of things, and it’s where she’d no doubt stay until the situationwas resolved. One way or another. Dutton decided to try to put a faster end to it by hurrying into the cloud of smoke toward the sound he’d heard by the back wall.

As he got closer, he heard other sounds, too. Definitely coughing, and he doubted it was the killer. With all the planning, the killer would have likely been wearing a gas mask. And if the killer was, then he or she was almost certainly waiting for Dutton to be in a better position to kill him.

“Dutton,” someone said. Not Grace this time. He was pretty sure it was his father.

That got him moving even faster, and then he realized someone was right behind him. Thankfully, it wasn’t Grace. It was the two hands and Rory. The four of them continued to fight through the smoke to reach the back wall.

And that’s when Dutton saw the figure on the ground.

There was blood on his head, and his hands and feet were tied. But he was moving and trying to speak, which meant he was alive. Dutton needed to make sure he stayed that way and that meant getting all of them out of there.

“Get him,” Rory said. “I’ll cover us.”

Good thing, because the killer could be right there. Or on the way out to go after Grace. Dutton had to shove aside that thought and just do what was necessary. He scooped up his father, hoping he wasn’t making his injuries even worse, and he started running toward the door.

His lungs felt ready to burst, and each step felt like an eternity, but he finally made it outside and into the fresh air. And he saw Grace. She, too, was coughing and trying to bat away the smoke while she kept watch around them, looking for any signs they were about to be attacked again.

Dutton didn’t stop running. He moved his father away from the storage building and to the side of the nearby barn that was about ten yards away. It wasn’t ideal cover, but it was betterthan being out in the open. And it had the bonus effect of getting Grace, Rory and the hands there, too.

“I’ll call an ambulance,” Rory said, taking out his phone. “And the fire department.”

Yeah, the EMTs were definitely going to be needed. Ike’s head was bleeding, and it looked as if someone had clubbed him. There were also marks on his neck that looked as if they’d been caused by a stun gun. Added to that, Grace had inhaled enough smoke that she needed to be checked as well. Hell, they all probably did.

“What happened?” Dutton asked his father while he untied him.

They were all still coughing, and Ike was shaking his head. That only caused the bleeding to get worse, so Dutton tried to stop him. Tried and failed.

“An ambulance will be here soon,” Dutton said to try to soothe him.

His father’s eyes were wild, pleading, and the headshaking continued. He tried to speak but couldn’t get out any intelligible words.

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