The front door was open. She rushed through it, staggered to a stop.
A man was kneeling on one knee, his arm locked around Callie, holding her firmly between his legs. While she was struggling, it was obvious she couldn’t break free.
“Mama!”
The man looked familiar but his nose was so misshapen—crooked and bent, nearly flat in the middle—that he hardly resembled the bastard who’d taken advantage of her.
“Let her go,” she ordered.
Rawley stumbled to a stop at her back.
“Well, well, what have we here?” the man said, and his voice caused the short hairs on the nape of her neck to rise.
“Let her go, Cole.”
“I don’t think so.” He waved a gun in his other hand then pointed it at Callie.
Faith swore her heart stopped.
“If either of you do anything stupid—”
“You’re her father, Cole.”
For the span of a heartbeat, he appeared stunned, then shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”
“What do you want, Berringer?” Rawley asked pointedly.
“What do I want? I want my life back!”
He pointed the gun at Faith, and Rawley stepped in front of her quickly before she could even blink. He hadn’t bothered to take the time to put on a shirt or his boots. Glancing down, she saw the gun he’d tucked into the waistband of his pants. She went to move around him, but his arm shot out, stopping her from going forward.
“And I want the damn dog to stop barking!”
“Rufus, play dead,” Faith yelled. The dog whined. “Play dead,” she ordered, and he rolled onto his side.
“That’s impressive,” Cole said.
“Grampa and me taught him,” Callie said innocently, not truly understanding the dire danger she was in or that her life was at risk.
“Aren’t you a clever girl?” Cole said.
“Let her go, Cole,” Faith said. “We can sort this out.”
“She’s my leverage. I’d planned to use you, Faith. But he’s”—he nodded toward Rawley—“been sticking to your side ever since he got back. Even cutting the wire couldn’t separate you from Cooper. Then I saw you with this little tadpole last night—”
“You were at the theater,” Faith stated with conviction.
“With it belonging to your family, I figured you’d be there, that maybe I could get you alone. But once I saw her, I decided she’d be easier to handle. You’ve got too much fight in you, Faith. How does it feel, Cooper, knowing I had her first?”
She could see the tenseness in Rawley’s muscles as he shrugged. “How does it feel knowing you’ve viewed your last sunrise?”
Cole laughed, a hideous sound. “A cowboy to the end, talking big. Except I’m holding all the cards.”
“But like Faith said, she’s your daughter. Once that sinks in you’re not going to hurt her, no matter how much of a low-down skunk you are. Me, on the other hand—” Rawley stepped down from the porch and spread his arms wide. “I’m not armed. You let her go into the house and I’ll drop to my knees right here. Then if your terms—whatever the hell they are—aren’t met, killing me won’t stop you from sleeping at night.”
She was fairly certain that as soon as Callie was free, Rawley would be reaching for his gun—but with Cole’s already drawn, Rawley’s chances of hitting Cole before Rawley took a bullet weren’t good. He had to know that.
“Ain’t that the truth,” Cole said.
