The Marshal's Justice (Appaloosa Pass Ranch 4) by Delores Fossen

truth. But maybe the visitors’ logs and the guards would be able to give him some information that would link one of their suspects to Crossman. If he could just make that connection, then other charges could be filed against Crossman and his assets could be frozen.
    Chase went ahead of her when they reached the door, but he’d barely made it a step outside when he saw something he didn’t want to see.
    Renée.
    The woman was standing next to a black SUV, and she had binoculars pressed to her eyes.
    “Get back inside,” Chase told April.
    It was already too late. The shot slammed through the air. And it hadn’t come from outside.
    It had come from behind them.
    The shooter was in the hospital.

Chapter Nine
    Before April even realized what was happening, Chase pulled her to the floor and to the side of a chair. Not a second too soon. Because another shot came their way and blasted into the glass surrounding the sliding doors.
    Oh, God. Someone was trying to kill them again.
    Bailey wasn’t with them this time, but there were plenty of people in the hospital who could be hurt.
    There were screams and shouts, people running and trying to get out of the path of those shots. The gunman didn’t seem focused on any of them, though. The shots were coming in the direction of Chase, Jax and her.
    “You see the shooter?” Jax asked. He, too, had dropped to the floor and was to the side of a display case. Not much cover at all.
    Chase shook his head. “But I did see Renée in the parking lot.”
    April’s heart was already pounding, and that only made it worse. She doubted this was a coincidence, especially since the woman had said it’d be an hour before she arrived for her meeting with Quentin. Maybe Renée knew that would spur Chase and her to leave so that Renée could have someone gun them down.
    But the shots weren’t outside. They were coming from the very hall that led to Quentin’s room.
    April wanted to believe a hired gun couldn’t have gotten inside, but there was no metal detector in the small hospital, and the security guard was with Quentin.
    “Keep an eye on the parking lot,” Chase told her. “If you see Renée or anyone else coming closer, let me know.”
    She would. But she also doubted Renée would just come walking into the middle of this. Well, unless Renée planned on taking some shots at them, too.
    While keeping his body in front of hers, Chase called for backup. Since the sheriff’s office was just up the street, it wouldn’t take Jericho and the other deputies long to get there. But it still might not be in time to stop someone from getting hurt.
    Heavens, was this shooter after her? Or was this some kind of ploy to get to Quentin?
    April didn’t have time to think about that, though. There was another shot, followed by a woman’s scream. “Help me,” she shouted.
    Chase glanced around the chair and cursed. So did Jax. Judging from the woman’s frantic pleas, April figured the gunman had taken a hostage.
    “Tell Jericho to approach through the back of the hospital,” Chase whispered to Jax, and he leaned out.
    A shot came right at him, and he ducked back behind cover.
    “Let her go,” Chase called out. “She has no part in this.”
    “She does if she’ll get me out of here,” the gunman shouted back.
    April peered around the edge of the chair and spotted them. Like the other men who’d kidnapped Bailey, the gunman was wearing a ski mask, and he was using his hostage as a human shield. The woman was a nurse and couldn’t have been more than twenty-five. And she looked terrified, her eyes pleading for someone to do something to save her.
    “What do you want?” Chase asked the man. “Who sent you here?”
    “I could answer that, but it’d get me killed in a really bad way. No thanks. So, here’s how this is going to work. You’re going to let me walk out of here, and once I’m sure I’m out of the line of fire, I’ll let her go.”
    April replayed his words and shook