the instruction they were going to get, but Paige did indeed know what to do. She shucked off her top, dropping it on the ground next to where Jax placed his Glock. He kept the backup gun in the back of his jeans.
Her shoes and jeans came off next, along with her gun.
“Sorry,” she repeated.
It took Jax a moment to realize the apology was aimed at him. And another moment to realize why. That’s because he was gawking at her in her bra and panties, and she was apologizing for putting him in this awkward situation.
Talk about bad timing, but Paige always had grabbed his attention. A half-naked Paige could grab it even more.
“He must be somewhere in or around the truck,” Paige said. She took a deep breath, then another, and started walking.
Jax could only imagine what was going through her head right now. The Moonlight Strangler had nearly killed her, but here she was, ready to face him head-on.
Part of him admired that, especially since she was doing this to save Matthew. But another part of him remembered how they’d gotten to this point in the first place. She’d become the killer’s target because she was obsessed with finding him.
As a lawman, it was hard for him to fault her for that.
As a father, he hated that she’d put Matthew on this monster’s radar.
Her phone dinged, and she held it up for Jax to see. Good girl, the killer taunted. Put your hands on top of your head and keep walking. Deputy Crockett, you stop where you are. Don’t make any sudden moves, or I’ll put bullets in both of you. And if you’ve got a gun hidden away, the best way to get Paige killed would be to try to use that gun on me.
Not good. They were still five yards away. Not nearly close enough for him to lunge at a killer.
“Why don’t you come out so we can talk face-to-face?” Jax called out. He didn’t expect a response.
That’s why he was shocked when he got one.
“Talking won’t help,” a man said. Jax didn’t recognize his voice because he was using a scrambler device. Didn’t see him, either. “Paige, turn around a sec so I can make sure you don’t have a gun tucked in those panties. Nice color, by the way. Would you call that pink or peach?”
This wasn’t just a killer, but a sick one.
“Pink,” she said through clenched teeth when she finished circling around.
“Nice. Now, do what you know you have to do.”
She looked at Jax, their gazes holding, and even in the darkness he had no trouble seeing the fear.
And her surrender.
“Just make sure you kill him,” she whispered. “He can’t walk out of here alive.”
Yes, because he would try to hurt Matthew. Jax knew what he had to do.
Paige took another step toward the truck.
“I told you to stay put, Deputy,” the man warned him when Jax moved, too. “I want you to watch.”
Definitely not good.
That’s the reason the killer had allowed him out here, just so he could witness Paige’s murder. Jax had to do something, and he had to do it fast.
“I want to tell Paige goodbye,” Jax said.
Paige froze, glanced back at him, no doubt questioning what the heck he was doing. What he was doing was trying to bargain with this fool. Or maybe distract him. Anything that would prevent him from getting his hands on Paige again.
With that stunned look still on her face, Jax went to her, positioning himself between the truck and her, and he pulled her into his arms. She was board-stiff and trembling, but that didn’t stop Jax from dropping a kiss on her mouth.
While he slipped the syringe into the elastic of her panties. He made sure the protective plastic cap was secure enough so that she wouldn’t accidentally stab herself with it.
“I’ll get to you as fast as I can,” Jax whispered in her ear, hoping it was a promise he could keep.
Paige nodded. Started walking away.
But she’d barely made it a step when Jax heard the rustling sounds to his right.
And to his left.
The dark shadowy figures were wearing ski masks, and they came out of the ditches, fast, barreling right at them. Jax didn’t even have time to react. One of them plowed right into him and knocked him to the ground.
Before he could even grab his backup weapon, the man put a gun to Jax’s head.
From the corner of her eye, Paige saw the man go right at Jax.
She screamed for him to look out, or rather that’s what she tried to do, but the sound didn’t quite make it to her throat. That’s because the hulking man crashed right into her, throwing her to the ground and knocking the breath right out of her.
The pain burst through her.
The fear and dread, too.
She’d failed, and these two goons would almost certainly try to kill Jax and her. Was one of them the Moonlight Strangler? Or were these just his henchmen? If so, they would no doubt deliver them to the Moonlight Strangler so he could finish them off and then go after Matthew.
That couldn’t happen.
Even though she was fighting to regain her breath, Paige slammed her elbow into the man’s stomach. It felt as if she’d hit a brick wall. He didn’t even react to the blow, but he did latch on to her hair and yank her to a standing position with her back against his chest. He put a gun to her head.
And that’s when she got a good look at Jax.
Her heart went to her knees. No! Jax was being held at gunpoint, too. She’d prayed that he had managed to get away, but like her he was now a captive.
“Move and your ex dies,” the man growled in her ear.
That stopped her, but then Paige realized the other goon had likely told Jax the same thing because Jax wasn’t fighting. He was looking at her and shaking his head, no doubt trying to remind her not to do anything stupid. Of course, she’d already done something stupid by allowing the danger to get this close to Matthew and him.
“I’m sorry,” she mouthed.
However, that only earned her another one of Jax’s glares.
“What now?” Jax asked, and it took her a moment to realize he wasn’t talking to her but rather to the thug who had his arm hooked around his neck.
Neither of the men jumped to answer, but Paige did hear some chatter. She glanced back and saw that it was coming through a tiny communicator fitted into the man’s ear. No doubt the voice of the Moonlight Strangler, and he was almost certainly doling out instructions.
Instructions on how he wanted them murdered.
She’d been a fool to think she could outsmart him. A fool to involve Jax in this. She should have just come to the meeting alone. Yes, the Moonlight Strangler would have just finished what he’d started all those months ago, but at least Jax would be inside his house where he could hopefully be protecting Matthew.
The chattering sound stopped, but Paige heard something else. Movement to her right, in the direction of the Crockett ranch. Maybe Jericho or Cord. Unfortunately, the hired thug must have heard it, too, because he dragged her back to the ground. Across from her, the guy holding Jax did the same to him.
The road was still hot, though the sun had already set, and the small rocks and debris dug into her skin. So did the syringe. It hadn’t cracked when she fell, thank God, but