Chapter Fourteen
Sawyer arrived the next morning with Tag and a few federal agents.
He had to call this whole thing in since Reid was considered an arsonist and had murdered people in two different states; the FBI wanted to be involved.
Aaron and Sunny spent the night in the main house, barricaded in with Sadie and Norma Jeane.
Clint convinced them that it would be easier to keep them all safe if they were under one roof.
Aaron trusted him and his security team and moved his family into the main house.
He was relieved to see his friends, though.
Sawyer shook his hand, and Tag pulled him in for a quick hug.
“Hey, brother. I heard you were causing trouble in Goose Creek, so I thought I’d come and check things out for you,” Tag said.
“I appreciate it, Tag. How did Piper take the news that you were leaving for a few days?” Aaron knew that Piper didn’t like to be separated from Tag, especially now that she was pregnant.
Tag sure as hell didn’t like leaving Piper.
He was even more of a caveman since finding out that he was going to be a father.
“Well, she didn’t.” A truck pulled up behind the government vehicles, and Piper and Lorna hopped down from the cab.
Sunny squealed and ran out to hug her friends.
They held each other, jumping around in circles, crying and squealing.
It was like watching a bunch of hot cheerleaders after their high school football team won the homecoming game.
“Dammit, guys, you brought your women?” Aaron barked. They both looked at him like he had lost his mind.
“We didn’t bring them anywhere. They brought themselves, and there was no stopping them,” Sawyer grunted.
Tag couldn’t help his laugh. “They are two of the most stubborn women that I’ve ever known,” Sawyer grumbled.
Norma Jeane came out of the house as if to see what all the commotion was about.
Aaron introduced her to everyone from back home, but Mrs. Hobbs couldn’t seem to take her eyes off Tag.
Women always loved his best friend. Poor Norma Jeane wasn’t immune to Tag’s size or good looks.
Mrs. Hobbs’ only response to Tag was, “Look at the size of those arms.” They all laughed, and it felt good to forget, at least for a few minutes, that they were in constant danger.
By evening, everyone was settled in the main house.
The FBI set up headquarters in one of the small cabins on the way into town, but all of Aaron and Sunny’s friends agreed to spend the night at Mrs. Hobbs’s insistence.
“You all will hurt my feelings if you don’t stay here with me in my home.
You wouldn’t want to hurt an old woman’s feelings, now would you?
” They all agreed and were settled in for the night.
The women all stayed in the kitchen to clean up from dinner, and the men were sitting in the main room, talking strategy.
Sawyer and Clint seemed to hit it off, talking about law enforcement and the time they both spent in the army.
Tag sat quietly waiting for Aaron to join him.
He knew that his best friend was worried about him, but right now, he was just happy to have them all there.
Aaron knew that Sunny needed to see Piper, and Lorna always cheered her up.
It was just what they needed after yesterday’s scare.
“Man, I was so worried about you guys. When Sawyer told me what happened yesterday, I asked him what time we were leaving to come out here. There was no way that I was going to let you go through this alone.” Tag clapped Aaron’s back with his big hand.
“I appreciate that more than you can ever know, Tag. When I got that text and saw that crazy fucker had my kid, I almost lost my shit. I would have done anything to keep Sunny and Sadie safe, even give myself up.” Tag nodded.
“I know that my baby isn’t here yet, but I think I know how you feel. I’d do anything to keep Pipe and our baby safe,” Tag admitted.
“I just don’t know what we are going to do. How will we catch this guy when he always seems to be one step ahead of us? How did he even know where we were?” Aaron stared into the fire that Clint built. Sawyer joined Tag and Aaron.
“I think that I can shed some light on that, Aaron,” Sawyer said. “Reid put a tracker on your truck, I’m guessing, while we were all tied up with the little fire he set at your condo. It was all just a way to get us out of the picture so he could put the tracker on.”
“Fuck,” Aaron swore. “We didn’t even think of that. So now what? He knows where we are. Do we just keep running?” Aaron was beginning to feel hopeless, and he knew that wasn’t going to help anyone. Everyone grew quiet. The only noise in the room was the crackling of the fire.
“The FBI has good intel that he’s hiding out in the mountains,” Clint grumbled.
“They all belong to the ranch. I say we smoke him out. It’s time for us to do some controlled burns, and it’s safe to do them right now.
How about we make him come to us?” Aaron was all ears.
This was something that he was good at—setting controlled fires and burning.
It was what he was teaching in California before he came back to find Sunny.
He had a feeling that Clint was on to something. Aaron stood and started pacing.
“This just might work. But we will need some more help from the local fire company to make sure that we keep it controlled,” Aaron said.
Clint nodded, “They always lend a hand when it comes time for burning season. I’ll call down there now and set it up,” Clint said.
Aaron knew that Reid wouldn’t come down without a little bait.
Travis Reid was a man on a mission, and that was to kill him and his family.
He was willing to be used to lure Reid down, but he wanted Sunny and Sadie as far away from danger as possible.
“I’m good with all of this, but I should be the one up on that mountain starting the fire.
I’ve had the most training and experience with this kind of thing,” Aaron said.
Tag started to object, but Aaron held up his hands as if telling his friend to give him a minute.
“I also want for Piper and Lorna to take Sunny and the baby back to Harvest Ridge with them.” Tag and Sawyer started laughing.
“Really, Aaron, have you learned nothing about women? Sunny won’t go anywhere without you, and I’m pretty sure that Piper and Lorna are dead set against leaving without her.
So, I’d say you need to come up with another plan.
Your woman isn’t going anywhere,” Tag said.
“Damn straight, Tag,” Sunny spat. All four men turned to find Sunny holding the baby standing in the doorway, determination clear on her face.
“I’m not going anywhere. My place is by your side, Aaron.
Or have you forgotten that we are a team now?
Sadie needs both of her parents, not a mom and a father who played hero and got himself killed.
” Aaron sighed, knowing that once Sunny made up her mind, there would be no changing it.
He crossed the room and pulled Sunny and Sadie into his arms.
“I won’t risk you and Sadie, baby. You two are the most important people in my life.
I need you to keep our daughter safe. Please go back to Harvest Ridge with Piper and Lorna,” he begged.
He didn’t give a fuck that he sounded like a pussy begging his woman to do what he asked.
Her and Sadie’s safety was too important.
“Aaron.” Sunny looked hesitantly at their daughter, and he knew she was carefully considering his plea.
He knew that putting their daughter’s safety was low even for him, but he would do just about anything to keep his family safe.
Finally, she nodded and gifted him with a smile, and he just hoped to God that he wasn’t making a mistake that could cost him everything.
Sunny knew that going back to town with Piper and Lorna was what Aaron wanted her to do, but dammit, she didn’t want to leave him to deal with this mess alone.
She wasn’t sure that he realized that they were a family now, and he couldn’t go around barking orders and expecting her to follow them.
They needed to make decisions together. But here she was, packing her and Sadie’s bags to do as Aaron ordered.
It just didn’t feel right leaving him behind.
Norma Jeane refused to leave her ranch during the controlled burn.
Clint tried to explain that things could get messy with Reid hiding out on her property, but she insisted that she wasn’t afraid to stand up to a bully.
Sunny admired her spunk, but she was worried about Norma putting herself in harm’s way.
Aaron and Clint met with the local fire marshal to go over the plans for the burn, and they all agreed that two days was enough time to get everything set up.
That gave Sunny two days to convince Aaron that she should stay.
She knew that Aaron was capable of doing a controlled burn, but that didn’t help to ease her fear of something going wrong.
Every time she thought of him out on the mountains surrounding the ranch, she felt panic and fear like she never had before.
All she wanted was to stay with Aaron, but he was right—putting Sadie in danger wasn’t a smart plan.
She just wished that Aaron would hang back and let others handle Travis Reid, but that would not happen.
For some reason, he felt responsible for Reid’s actions.
After hearing about his two friends’ deaths, she knew that Aaron was blaming himself again.
He wouldn’t rest until Reid was either behind bars or dead.
The fact that he would do anything to make sure Reid wouldn’t hurt anyone else scared her.
She didn’t want Aaron taking any unnecessary chances—she couldn’t lose him again.