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“it’s just you and me, darlin’. And if you try anything funny, your cowboy here is gonna be the one who pays. Got that?”
    That was the only warning Laine got before the man hooked his arm around her neck. He kept the gun pressed to her head.
    â€œJust so you know, cowboy,” the man drawled. “I got no problem putting a bullet in her, or you for that matter, so my advice is for you to back off.”
    Tucker stayed put. But the man maneuvered her forward, each step taking him farther away from the babies. She couldn’t see them, but they definitely weren’t asleep. Laine could hear them making some whimpering sounds, and she prayed everything was okay.
    â€œThis way.” Her captor didn’t lead her toward the kitchen door, where Tucker’s sister was likely holding his comrades. Instead, he dragged her forward, which meant they’d have to go right past Tucker.
    Tucker adjusted, moving just out of the guy’s reach, but his gun stayed trained on him.
    â€œYou’re not going to get far on foot,” Tucker said. “Especially not with the storm moving in.”
    The man shook his head. “Won’t need to go far.”
    Maybe because he had a vehicle stashed nearby. But more likely it was because he intended to kill her once he’d used her to escape.
    No way would he want to keep her alive, since she’d witnessed the murder.
    Even if he hadn’t been the one to pull the trigger, he would still be charged as an accessory, which carried the same sentence. He was looking at the death penalty if she stayed alive and could testify against him.
    Behind her, the babies began to cry. She desperately wanted to go to them and try to comfort them, but each step she took kept the killer away from them. That’s why Laine didn’t resist when the goon practically dragged her past Tucker and toward the front of the house.
    Tucker followed, of course. Using the furniture for cover along the way, he kept his attention pinned to the man. They went through the small dining area and into the living room. Without taking the gun from her head, he reached behind him and opened the front door.
    Laine immediately felt the dampness of the rain, and even over the sound of it on the tin roof and the babies’ cries, she heard something else. Sirens in the distance.
    Backup was on the way.
    The man’s arm stiffened, and he mumbled some profanity. Still, that didn’t stop him maneuvering her onto the porch with him.
    There were six limestone steps leading down into the yard. A fence and gate, too, and some woods on the other side of the narrow road.
    Those woods were no doubt where he intended to take her. And kill her. That meant she had to do something in the next few seconds.
    But what?
    She looked at Tucker to see if he could give her a suggestion, but he only shook his head. “Sooner or later, this clown will make a mistake, and I’ll take the kill shot,” Tucker said.
    â€œYou wish,” the guy growled.
    His choke hold on her neck got even tighter, and he began to back down the steps with her. Escaping would take precious time, and with sirens moving closer with each passing moment, Laine could feel the gunman’s muscles getting tenser.
    He was trapped.
    â€œMaybe you could get a plea bargain,” she suggested.
    â€œMaybe you could shut up!”
    The moment he cleared the steps, the rain began to swipe at them. Either the rain was cold for September, or it was just her nerves, but Laine immediately started shivering. Unlike Tucker. He was using the doorjamb for cover, but there were no signs that this was anything but routine for him.
    Again, the man reached behind them and opened the gate, pulling her through the opening and onto the road. Because of the way he was holding her, she couldn’t turn her head, but from the corner of her eye, she saw flashes of blue lights approaching.
    It wouldn’t be long before backup was