Chapter 23

23

T error pinned Dean to the ground as he stared into the barrel of Paul’s gun. Limited options ran through his mind. He lifted his palms into the air and wished like hell he could get to the weapon tucked at the back of his waistband.

Sadie laid motionless beside him.

“What are you doing, Paul?”

“What I have to do in order to save my family. You’d do the same thing if you were in my shoes.” Paul frowned and kept his gun trained on Dean’s head. “I’m sorry it had to come to this. I really am.”

Dean braced himself for the impact of a bullet in his brain. He’d failed. He hadn’t seen what was right in front of him, and now Elsie might be lost forever.

Elsie. So sweet and kind. After Gina left him, he never thought he’d find someone he’d open his heart to or build a life with. Never thought he’d find another woman to love.

A gun fired, the abrupt sound vibrating his eardrums.

Paul crumpled to the ground, and a moan of pain ripped from his mouth.

Dean lunged forward and swiped the gun still clutched in his hand. Blood poured from the wound on Paul’s chest. Dean checked Paul’s pulse. Still alive but losing buckets of blood.

He whirled around to find Sadie sitting up and clutching her chest, her weapon in her hand. “Holy shit, Sadie. You okay?”

“Thank God Tommy made me put this vest on, but dammit, that bullet still hurt like a bitch. Never been hit at such close range.” She grimaced and climbed to her feet then bent over at the waist, leaning her forearms on her knees. “He alive?”

“Yeah, but he needs medical attention fast if he’s going to stay that way. We need to alert Tommy and call in paramedics.” He studied the unconscious man lying on the ground.

“On it.” Sadie grabbed the communicator clipped to her shoulder and brought it to her mouth. “Tommy, Sadie here. Paul pulled a gun. I handled the situation. He’s incapacitated and needs medical attention as soon as possible. Unsure of Justin’s involvement at this point but be on high alert.”

The sound of rapid gunfire echoed through the forest, stopping his heartbeat. His gaze flew to Sadie’s.

Elsie!

“Go!” Sadie yelled. “I’ll stay with Paul.”

Dean took off at breakneck speed toward the terrifying sound. He weaved through trees, ducking to avoid low branches. Weeds and overgrown brush rubbed against his ankles. Dim moonlight barely filtered through the canopy of leaves overhead.

Bang!

Another gunshot quickened his pace. He tripped over an upturned root, nearly throwing him to the ground. Catching his balance, he kept moving, kept running, tuning his ears to every sound until only the calls of nature surrounded him.

Unsure of which direction to head, he stopped and drew in large gulps of air. His lungs burned and his head spun. Fear stretched his nerves to the limit, but he couldn’t give in to the horrible thoughts clamoring for his attention.

He closed his eyes and brought the map of the property to mind. Paul had taken them northeast of the house. The mine where Tommy had led Calvin and Mr. Sweet was to the west, directly parallel from where they’d headed. Which meant if he kept moving in the same direction, he’d be close to the mine.

If that’s where the gunshots were fired.

Moving on instinct, he sprinted ahead.

Bang!

The shots grew louder. He pushed himself harder, digging deep for every last ounce of energy left inside him.

The trees parted and revealed a narrow path that snaked its way through the woods. Marks through the dirt caught his attention and he crouched for a closer look. Deep lines interrupted faint outlines of shoe prints.

Validation spurred him on until the path ended at the opening of a cave blasted into the side of a mountain. An old board stretched across the entrance; a second board discarded on the ground. He ran to it and the sight of blood turned his stomach. He debated charging inside the cave, but the shots he heard hadn’t come from inside the mountain.

Bang!

The explosion of gunfire was closer than ever. He raced to the left, heart in his throat. He followed the curve of the mountain until the outline of a man staring down a chute of some kind came into view.

Justin!

Dean secured his weapon and slowed, stepping carefully. At ten feet away, he yelled, “Drop your weapon!”

Justin stilled.

“I said drop your weapon,” Dean repeated. “Hands in the air.”

Justin whirled around. His gun stayed firmly in his grip.

“It’s over. We know your stepdad is involved and that you were helping Malcom launder money through the bar. We found the stuff for the poker games. There’s no way out for you, so set down the gun and put your hands where I can see them.”

Justin sneered. “You’re forgetting one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You come one step closer, and my next bullet goes in your girlfriend’s head. She’s already hit. Took her right down. You don’t want to be the reason she’s dead, do you?”

Dean stopped moving but his weapon stayed in place. He considered the threat. He couldn’t risk leaping into action if Justin was telling the truth.

A flash of movement caught Dean’s eyes. Something rustled the brush behind Justin. “Why did you take Mila? She had nothing in this.” He inched a little closer.

“I didn’t want to, but she saw too much. I couldn’t let her leave my grandma’s. She would have ruined everything.” Justin flung his free hand wide. “Hell, she did ruin everything even though I didn’t kill her.”

Hope flared to life. “Why didn’t you?”

“I didn’t want to hurt her, dammit. That’s not the kind of person I am. Even when Malcom went after her, I wouldn’t let him. Wouldn’t let him do the things he wanted to with her. But I couldn’t let her just walk away. Then your stupid girlfriend wouldn’t leave it alone, wouldn’t stop looking.”

The hope melted into raw, hot anger. “If you couldn’t kill them, what was the plan? Leave them out here to die?”

Justin shrugged. “Maybe. But then your girlfriend had to keep being a pain in the ass, even trapped in a damn mine.”

Dean took another step.

“Stop moving!” Justin’s piercing scream sent a pair of birds flying overhead.

The movement behind the young man increased and a flash of brown and black fur darted forward. Boo raced from the tree line and lunged at Justin, shoving his front paws against Justin’s back.

“What the—?” Justin yelled as he fell to the ground.

Dean sprang into action, erasing the distance between him and Justin. He stomped his boot on Justin’s wrist, forcing him to release the gun, then dropped his knee between his shoulder blades to pin him to the ground.

“Ahh!” Justin screamed. “Get off me.”

Tommy and Calvin emerged from the woods, running at full force, Mr. Sweet not far behind.

“Toss me your handcuffs,” Dean yelled over his shoulder.

Tommy dangled the cuffs from his hand. “I got him. Where’s Elsie?”

Dean spang to his feet and stared down the mineshaft into a pit of complete darkness. “She’s down there. I just hope she’s still alive.”

Elsie curled in a ball on the dirt floor, her hands over her head. Her muscles were so tight she swore they’d never relax, never uncoil. Each bullet that ricocheted around her tore at her psyche—brought with it a promise of more pain, more fear, more undeniable truth that death was near.

The gunfire stopped.

She held her breath and waited.

“Elsie!”

The sound of Dean’s voice washed over like a calming balm. Tears clogged her throat. Excitement built in the pit of her stomach. She was safe. Dean had found her. Now he had to get her out of this hellhole.

Sitting up, she waved her hands over her head. “Dean! I’m here! Mila’s here, too. She needs help right away. I don’t know how to get out.”

“Don’t worry,” Dean yelled. “I’ll be down in a second.”

Relief settled into her bones and adrenaline leaked from her system. Her teeth chattered and shivers shook her body, stealing what was left of her energy. Heat crashed against her cheeks.

A rope trickled down the hole. Dean lowered himself inch by inch until his feet hit the ground and he rushed toward her, pulling her into his arms. “You’re alive. Oh my God, I was so damn scared.”

Elsie melted against him, clinging to his chest. Tears filled her eyes and fell down her face. “You’re here. I can’t believe you’re really here.”

He cupped his hand around the back of her neck, and she let out a hiss of pain. He pulled back and studied her, the worry in his eyes clear even in the dark mine. “Are you hurt? Justin said he shot you.”

She tried to dip her chin toward her leg but couldn’t find the effort to move. “My leg. He shot me then hit the back of my head before he tossed me down here. Mila’s in worse shape. Down the tunnel.”

“Honey, you’re burning up. I think you have a fever. We need to get you out of here right away.” His words were gentle, soothing, but he couldn’t hide an undercurrent of fear.

Her eyelids grew heavy. She blinked to keep them open but dropped her head to his shoulder. “Mila first. Please.”

“Tommy,” Dean yelled. “We need medics here now! Elsie and Mila both need immediate attention.”

Dean was here. He’d take care of her. She didn’t have to find a way out, didn’t have to stay awake another second to make sure Mila was okay. Her body turned lax. Her muscles refused to move.

“Elsie, baby, I need you to stay awake. I’m getting you out of here, okay? But you need to stay with me. Can you talk to me?”

His voice became faint. His steady arms pressed her against him. She was safe now. She was with the man she loved. A calming buzz sounded in her brain. The dizziness came rushing back. She couldn’t keep her eyes open one more second, but at least she got to see Dean one more time.

Giving into exhaustion, her head fell forward. She savored the feel of Dean’s body as the world around her disappeared and she surrendered to oblivion.