Free One Night Standoff by Delores Fossen

profanity. “I’ll send Wyatt out there to the ranch while I work on this. He’ll get there as fast as he can. I’ll also make sure a few of the ranch hands move closer to the house.”
    Clayton didn’t refuse the backup, but he hoped it wouldn’t be needed.
    “I’ve been looking deeper into Lenora’s background,” Harlan continued. “And before you blast me out of the water for doing that, just hear me out. Something’s not adding up about her, and I want to know what it is.”
    Yeah, it was something, all right. “She has a connection with Agent Britt. She worked for him on the task force that investigated Riggs.” It wasn’t the whole story, not by any means, but it would have to do for now, because the doorbell rang again.
    “How long have you known this about her?” Harlan snapped.
    “Not nearly long enough.” He’d give Harlan more details later, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable talking about her criminal past with his family. That didn’t mean Harlan wouldn’t find it on his own.
    “Wait here,” Clayton told Lenora when he ended the call with Harlan. The doorbell rang yet again, and it was followed by a heavy knock.
    She didn’t listen to him. In fact, Lenora moved in front of him when he reached to open the door. “I know the right questions to ask him, and it could lead to his arrest. If I talk to him, it could end the danger right here.”
    That was the only thing she could have said that would have made him think twice about letting her in on this impromptu interrogation.
    But Clayton did think twice.
    And after doing that, he still shook his head. Ending the danger right here could put Lenora in the middle of something that he wanted her and the baby to avoid.
    He glanced out again and saw the two ranch hands making their way toward the house. Both were armed with rifles, probably on Harlan’s orders. Good. It might be overkill, but Clayton welcomed it. If Agent Britt was dirty, he likely wouldn’t start any trouble with three guns ready to return that trouble.
    “Stay behind me,” Clayton said to her as a way of compromising. “If anything goes wrong, I want you to get out of the way fast.”
    She didn’t argue, maybe because she knew it was a huge concession that he’d just given her, but she did draw her gun from the back of her jeans. Clayton drew his gun as well, and he opened the door only a few inches, keeping his weapon out of sight but ready.
    “Marshal Caldwell,” James immediately greeted him. He glanced back at the two armed ranch hands, and his scowl deepened.
    “Agent Britt,” Clayton replied in the same crisp tone. “To put it mildly, the timing of your visit is suspicious, so why are you here?”
    Despite the direct question, James didn’t answer right away. His gaze went from Clayton’s sunglasses to the scar on his forehead, and then to Lenora, who was peering over his shoulder.
    “I heard about the APB out for the two thugs who took shots at you,” James finally said. The chilly tone of his voice came through in the equally chilly glance he gave her. Maybe a dismissal. Maybe anger. It was hard to tell. “Also heard the shooting involved a stained-glass restorer, and I figured that could only mean one thing. Lenora. Guess I figured right.”
    “That still doesn’t explain why you came here,” Lenora quickly pointed out.
    James huffed as if the answer was obvious and planted his hands on his hips. “Just because you ended your association with the justice department, it doesn’t mean I forgot about caring what happened to you.” He glanced away, cursed. “I feel bad about Jill’s murder and everything that you’ve been through since.”
    “But you didn’t feel bad enough to return my calls for days after Jill’s death and Clayton’s shooting.”
    James’s jaw tightened. Clearly he didn’t like what Lenora had said, but judging from the glare the agent gave him, he believed that Clayton was somehow responsible for Lenora speaking her