"Nicole!"
Wallace moved to the door of the old barn and looked out. There he was, in the barnyard, near that stand of trees, and she was with him, of course. This was too easy. "It took you long enough to find me, Bobby."
"I want my children."
"All in good time."
"No, Nicole. Now."
"What did I tell you about making demands? I am calling the shots now. You will do as I say."
He was quiet for a moment. "The thrill of the chase, Nicole. Well, we caught you." He was quiet and the tone of his voice changed. "Did you hurt my daughter?"
"She needed to be punished. She was a bad girl."
"Who are you to decide that?" His voice was tight with fury. "You are not her mother!"
"That would have been interesting, Bobby."
"Not in a million years."
She heard a noise at the back of the barn, and she just knew that little daughter of his was into something else now. She turned in time to see the shape of a man slipping out through the back door of the barn. No...no! She aimed and squeezed off a round, but he was gone, and so were the children.
Goren heard the gun go off and started toward the barn. "Stop right there, Bobby!" Wallace growled.
He did...but his heart was racing with fear for his children. "Nicole!"
She laughed, a frightening sound. "Ah, well...you have your wife, right there by your side. You have had your life together. Now you will die together."
She squeezed off two rounds, watching the two cops scramble for cover, and she kept firing.
They heard the gunfire begin, and Barek stopped, turning to look at Logan, who also stopped and turned to look back toward the barn. He had lived up to his word. The children were safe. Now he had another promise to keep. He set Maggie down and knelt in front of her. He studied her bruised and tear-stained face, and he felt a ball of hot fury grow in the center of his torso. Gently, he held her face in his hands and wiped her tears away with his thumbs. "My big, brave girl. Daddy will be so proud of you. I have to go help Mommy and Daddy, Maggie. Stay here with Aunt Carolyn, okay?"
Maggie threw her good arm around him and squeezed, reluctant to let him go. "I want D-daddy," she sobbed.
"I know. I gotta go, bunny. Daddy needs me right now."
They heard more gunfire as he stood up. His hand resting against Maggie's curls, he lightly stroked Tom's soft head and kissed Barek. Then he ran off, back toward the barn.
He slid back into the darkness of the barn, crouching off to the side as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The talking was done. He felt relief when he heard gunfire being returned. Sliding his gun from its holster, he started forward. Creeping along the side of the car, he listened as Nicole fired off a few more rounds, his gut tightening when there was no return fire. That was not a good sign. With a sly smile, he held out his gun and, mimicking her accent, said, "Hello, Nicole."
She spun around and glared at him. "You must be 'Uncle Mike'."
"You got it, sweetheart. You hurt my little girl and I can't forgive you for that. But being the nice guy I am, I'll give you one chance to drop your weapon and turn yourself in."
Wallace's eyes narrowed. "You have spent too much time with Bobby, detective."
Logan had forgotten Goren's cardinal rule: never underestimate Nicole Wallace. Without warning she fired at him, scoring a direct hit in the center of his chest. He squeezed off three rounds as he went down. He hit the ground just seconds before she did. There was no further movement in or around the barn.
Goren rolled onto his stomach and slowly lifted his head. Blood dripped into his eyes and he wiped it away. His chest was on fire. He continued searching until he found her, a few yards away from him. Slowly, painfully, he pulled himself to her side. "Alex?"
She did not answer him. He pulled himself closer, looking at her face. "Alex..." he whispered.
His eyes scanned her body, looking for any injuries. There in her lower abdomen...a bad hit, bleeding heavily. "No..." he coughed, and he tasted blood in his mouth. It was getting harder to breathe and the world around him was spinning. He could feel himself falling toward the darkness, but he fought it. He leaned up toward her face and kissed her lips. "I love you," he managed with what remained of the breath he had.
Then he pulled himself over her, resting his body across hers, over the injury in her abdomen, and he let the darkness overtake him.
Barek had called for help as soon as Logan had disappeared into the trees. Now she heard the sirens. Holding Maggie's hand and carrying the baby, she headed toward the barn. Several long minutes had passed since an eerie silence had settled over the area. The gunfight was over, and she was scared. No one had come back to her through the trees.
Four patrol cars had pulled into the yard in front of the barn. Two officers were kneeling in the courtyard while several others cautiously approached the barn. Sitting behind the patrol cars was a familiar sedan. She searched the area until she saw him getting to his feet in the driveway. More sirens heralded the arrival of at least two ambulances. He caught sight of her and started hurrying toward her. Then Maggie saw him. "Uncle Jimmy!"
She released the child's hand and let her run to Deakins, who caught her in his arms, careful to shield her from the scene in the courtyard. He continued to approach Barek, holding the little girl against his chest. "Where's Daddy?" Maggie asked.
Deakins took a deep breath. "He can't see you right now, Maggie. He has to go see the doctors."
"And Mommy?"
"Mommy's going with him."
She frowned and looked around. "Well, where's Uncle Mike? He was gonna help Daddy."
"I don't know yet, baby."
Barek met his eyes, then looked past him to where three paramedics were kneeling where Deakins had just been, working frantically. Another two steps and the two bodies they were working on came into view. She caught her breath and looked back at Deakins. His eyes were worried. "Are they...?"
"Not yet...but they don't look good."
"Where's Mike?"
"I didn't see him."
"Wallace was in the barn."
He set Maggie down beside Barek. "Stay right here, Maggie."
He trotted toward the barn, which had been secured by the officers. He stepped into the musty darkness. Another paramedic was working on Wallace. He saw Logan, sitting against the bumper of the car. "Mike?"
He looked up and grinned. "Hey, Cap."
Deakins squatted beside him. "Are you okay?"
"I hurt like hell, but if it wasn't for this vest, I would be dead. How are Bobby and Alex?"
Deakins leaned back to look out the door. "They're being put into the rigs now."
"She got 'em?"
"Yes. She got 'em bad. Why weren't they vested?"
Logan sighed. "We came in my car when we found out Wallace had hurt Maggie. No one thought about it."
"Damn it, Logan!"
"Hey...none of us thought about them!"
Deakins let out an exasperated sigh. "Get your ass out there to see Maggie. She needs one of you, and since her father is on his way to the hospital, that leaves you."
Logan got gingerly to his feet and followed Deakins out of the barn. "Uncle Mike!"
He dropped lightly to a knee and caught her again in his arms. "Hey, bunny."
"Where's Daddy?"
He stood up with a wince, holding her, and pointed toward the two ambulances that were just heading down the driveway. "He's in one of those, and Mommy's in the other. So you and Tommy are going to stay with Aunt Carolyn and me for a little while."
"Can I see Daddy?"
"Soon, baby. As soon as they'll let you."
A third ambulance pulled in and two attendants ran the stretcher to the barn. Deakins asked, "Who took her down?"
"That would have been my doing. Oh..." He slid his gun from its holster and handed it to the captain. "Can we get the hell out of here now? My chest really hurts."
Barek handed the baby to Deakins. "Let me get the carseats from Wallace's car. We don't have any in ours."
She headed into the barn, and Logan tightened his grip around Maggie, resting his head against hers. Her left arm settled around his neck and she quietly began sobbing again.