Chapter 34

CHAPTER 34

L ock fought for control. One fucking ounce of calm.

Despite all the evidence, a part of him still hadn’t wanted to believe this was Antwan. A part of him had refused to accept that a man he’d trusted with the woman he loved would take her away from him.

But the evidence was right in front of him. Antwan was aiming a pistol at him while he held Callie in a death grip.

Lock inched another step forward. “Let her go, Antwan. You don’t want to do this.”

“I didn’t want to do this. I wanted to come to Misty Peak and have her choose me . But that never happened.”

“So what?” Lock growled. “The plan changed to force her to love you?”

“If you weren’t in the way, she would have grown to love me over time.”

Fucking delusional. Had he always been like this, and Lock had just missed it?

“She thinks she loves you, but she doesn’t,” Antwan yelled. “I tried to avoid killing you. That was my mistake. I should have manned up and done it the second I got to Misty Peak.”

Another step forward. “She’s not Lola.”

His muscles visibly tensed, shock widening his eyes.

“She’ll never replace what you lost with Lola,” Lock continued. “Or Hollie.”

Antwan scoffed. “I never cared about Hollie. I tried. But you’re right, she wasn’t Lola. Probably why it was so easy to kill her.”

Lock flinched, the world around him narrowing to pinpoint focus. His next words came out low and slow. “What did you say?”

“ I killed her. Not Malone—although it was really fucking easy to make everyone think it was him. Leave a note and suddenly everyone’s scrambling to find him.”

No…if that was true… “What about Winnie and Remi?”

The flicker of regret on Antwan’s face almost had Lock falling to his knees.

“ You killed them?” Lock whispered. “ You killed Winnie?”

“They saw the blood on my shoe and found my gun. I didn’t have a choice.”

“There’s always a fucking choice.” Pain cut through Lock like a knife. The last two years, Winnie’s murderer had been right beside him, and he hadn’t known. Hadn’t even fucking suspected.

If there was any last ounce of care for the man in front of him, it died in that moment. Winnie had been a good person. A good friend. He didn’t deserve to die.

Suddenly, Jesse appeared from the right of Antwan, stepping out from a break in the trees, a rage that matched Lock’s in his eyes. “You killed a member of our team.” It wasn’t a question, but there was disbelief in his voice.

“You would have done the same to protect your future,” Antwan shouted. “You would have chosen yourself in that moment, just like I did!”

“Wrong!” Lock shouted back. “I would have chosen him . I would have chosen to do what was right. You went to his funeral . For two years, you mourned his death with us.”

“I would have gotten out long ago. But I had to stay close to you. Callie disappeared, and I knew you’d eventually bring her back to me.”

Lock’s fingers tightened on the gun, a new anger building in his chest. An anger at himself. Because Antwan was right—he’d led the fucker straight to her.

Antwan took a step back, the pistol still pointed at Lock’s chest. “Just let us go. Let me have her.”

Have her? Like she was a pet or something? “You know I can’t do that.”

“You’re outnumbered, Antwan,” Jesse said. “Drop the gun and let’s end this.”

Antwan laughed, and the sound bordered on hysterical. “You say that like I haven’t been waiting for my time with Callie for years. Like I haven’t been patient .” The last word was a shout, ringing through the trees.

Lock’s gaze shifted to Callie. The fear in her eyes gutted him.

He looked back to Antwan. Despite everything, he didn’t want to shoot him…but he would if he had to. “Somewhere inside you, there’s the man who first joined our team. The man who saved our asses and considered us family. Find that man, Antwan. Put down the gun.”

There was a small flicker of his brows. “That man died with Lola. She was…fuck, she was my whole world. And I spent more of my time away, with the fucking team , than I did with her. I was saving other people when I couldn’t even save her .”

“She had cancer,” Jesse said, stepping forward, weapon still raised.

“She shouldn’t have! Those scumbags we chased down, they deserved to get sick and die. But her? She was good and pure, and I loved her. I fucking loved her!”

“We don’t choose who lives and who dies of sickness,” Lock said softly.

“It’s not fair…”

Jesse dipped his head. “You’re right. It’s not. But it doesn’t give reason to what you’re doing.”

Antwan’s gaze shifted back to Lock, something he couldn’t place flickering through the man’s eyes. “If I’m not getting out of this with Callie, you’ll have to end me.”

The gun started to move from Lock to Callie.

“Antwan. No ,” Jesse shouted.

As Antwan’s gaze shifted from Lock to Jesse, Callie swung her arm back and punched him between the legs.

Antwan growled, and the second he doubled over, Lock and Jesse took the shots. Kill shots to the head.

Lock sprinted forward, catching Callie before she hit the ground. “Are you okay?”

She buried her head against his chest. “I am now.”

Lock’s warmth permeated her side as she sat on the edge of the ambulance. People were scattered in front of the cabin. Mostly deputies. But the only person she could focus on was Lock. She barely even paid attention to the paramedic as he checked her over.

Jesse had already left after spending a good chunk of time talking to Eastern and his deputies. Aspen had picked him up. Her best friend had jumped out of the car and tugged Callie into the tightest, longest hug. And God, she’d needed that hug.

She looked up at Lock, but he was focused on the break in the trees. The same break where, just half an hour ago, a stretcher with Antwan’s covered body had been carried through.

She hated that he’d lost a friend today. And it wasn’t just that he’d lost his friend, it was that he lost the memory of him too. Because every memory involving Antwan was now tainted.

The paramedic stepped back. “Other than a few scrapes and bruises, everything looks okay. No concussion. You said you had no trauma to the abdomen or pain, so your pregnancy should be okay, but I’d encourage you to stop into the hospital and have the baby’s heart checked if you’re worried.”

She touched a hand to her belly. For peace of mind, she’d definitely do that. “Thank you.”

Lock helped her off the ambulance just as Eastern stepped out of the cabin. His features were grim, eyes going straight to her and Lock before heading their way.

When he reached them, he looked at Callie. “How are you feeling?”

“As fine as I can be after being kidnapped.”

Lock’s arm tightened around her.

“Did you find anything in there?” Callie asked.

“He was stocked up with enough supplies to last for months. Possibly up to a year. And we have confirmation from Lola’s parents that he had access to this cabin whenever he wanted, since they hadn’t stepped foot inside since losing Lola.”

She sucked in a sharp breath, still in disbelief that his obsession with her had started because of a resemblance to his ex.

“We also found both the Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate that was used to drug Hamish, and the chloroform that was used on you, Callie.” Eastern looked at Lock, his voice lowering. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine.”

His words rang with dishonesty. He wasn’t okay.

Eastern gripped his shoulder. “I’m going to wrap things up, then I’ll get you guys home.”

The second he walked away, Lock turned to her and studied her face. “I’m sorry. I’m so damn sorry about everything.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I brought him into your world. You were kidnapped because of me.”

“Because of him . You trusted him, and he abused that trust, because he was mentally unwell.”

“I should have seen it.”

“He hid it well. So well that no one saw, including the rest of your teammates.”

Lock lowered his head, touching his temple to hers. “I hated seeing you in his grasp. You looked so damn scared.”

“I wasn’t scared for me. Antwan had that gun pointed at you . I was terrified he’d pull the trigger.”

Lock lifted his head. “If I’d lost you today—”

“You didn’t. And you won’t.” Her brows tugged together. “How are you really?” She wanted the truth, and she didn’t care if it was hard to hear.

Pain flickered across his features. “It’s going to take time to come to terms with everything. And even then, it will always hurt. But I’ll get through it because I have you.”

She cupped his cheek. “And I’ll help you in any way I can.”

“Just you being here helps.” This time when he lowered his head, he kissed her. The kiss was slow and gentle and healing. “Thank you for loving me.”

“I didn’t really have a choice. The second we met, I was yours.”

“And I was yours right back.”