Saved by the Rancher

chapter Sixty


THE EXCITEMENT IN the boardroom was only overshadowed by the anticipation. They didn’t have long to wait. Sam yelled for everyone to get down. Jack pushed her from behind and shoved her to the floor, covering her with his body. Shots rang out. Someone cried out in pain. Jack cursed, snapping her out of her haze. She tried to look up, but Jack kept her head down. Two more shots rang out before everything went eerily quiet.

“Jenna, are you okay?” Sam called to her from the doorway.

“Fine,” she answered automatically, unsure about anything at the moment.

“Everyone else okay?” Sam asked.

All the men indicated they were fine, but she didn’t hear Jack among them. Jack eased his weight off her and slid aside. Cameron helped her to her feet and the two bodyguards flanking her made room for her to pass. Jack leaned against the wall, blood running down his left arm, a gun in his right. She flung herself against his chest and held on to him, unable to look through the doorway where the first shots originated.

Sam was excellent at his job. In his background check on David, he’d discovered David’s gun permit. Using some of his less-than-reputable contacts from the FBI, they’d had someone break into David’s house and office to locate the weapon. David actually owned quite a few guns, only one registered, which he kept in his office, locked in his desk drawer. They assumed David would be in a rage before he left the boardroom, and his rage would make him pick up the gun and come after Jenna. Provoking him was risky, but it was also the only way to end David’s terrorism.

Knowing David would be volatile, she and Sam had sat in the office at the ranch planning what they’d do to prevent the inevitable. They figured David would probably try to get to her before she got back on the plane. She never thought David would come after her before she’d even left the boardroom.

“What the hell were you thinking? You weren’t supposed to have a gun. I’m going to kill Sam,” she said and grabbed his lapels and shook him.

“Later, give me a kiss.”

She pressed her lips to his. Warm, alive, she thanked God he was alive. She helped him off with his suit jacket, revealing the deep furrow on the outside of his arm.

“Looks like this time you get the stitches. Maybe if you need a pokey shot, Lily will give you a lollipop.” She gave him her most sugary sweet smile, even though they both knew she wasn’t happy about the situation. A tear slid down her cheek. “I could have lost you.”

“Now you know exactly how I felt when he took you.”

The relief overcame her fear. She pressed her forehead to his and took a moment to savor the closeness and the fact that they were both alive.

She took a calming breath before addressing Sam. “Is David dead?”

“Yes, just outside the door. Jack got him.”

“I told you I’d kill that bastard.”

“I never wanted you to have to live with this.”

Jack shrugged it away, but she saw the conviction in his eyes.

Sam was a trained FBI agent. She thought he’d handle this better than Jack. It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

“I’m only sorry I didn’t kill the f*cker before he grabbed you at the ranch and hurt you.”

“Jack . . .”

“This is the only way. You knew it, even though you tiptoed around it with Sam. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Jenna pressed her forehead to Jack’s, understanding everything he said and didn’t say. Jack promised to keep her safe. The only way to do that was to take David out once and for all. With his military background, Jack knew any other tactic would only result in a longer campaign of terror. “You did this for me.”

“I told you before, I’m selfish. I want you all to myself.” All joking aside, he said, “I want you to be happy. Above all else, I want you safe. I love you.”

“The police are on the way,” Sam interrupted. “We’ve got a lot of explaining to do. Cameron, you okay?”

“Fine. Thanks for giving me a heads up, by the way.”

“Sorry. We weren’t sure he’d actually try to kill her. Well, we suspected it, but didn’t think it would happen while she was still in the building. Looks like his rage got the better of him, and he wasn’t thinking clearly.”

“Yeah, looks like it.” Cameron grabbed the lapels of his jacket and adjusted it over his shoulders nervously.

Unsteady on her legs, Jenna walked out the doorway, everyone watching her. She stood looking down at the man who had hunted and terrorized her. It was over, truly over. Relief washed over her spirit, the weight of the world lifted from her shoulders. She looked upon David’s lifeless body. He appeared peaceful. He must have been shot in the chest and fallen forward. She couldn’t see any blood and his eyes were closed. She didn’t have a mean bone in her body, but for a second she wished he’d suffered a fraction of the pain she’d suffered at his hands.

She turned her back on him for the last time and went back to Jack.