“No.”
“Girlfriend?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
More silence.
I hated how awkward things were between us, especially because I knew it was completely my fault. My attraction to him was inappropriate (and had scared the piss out of me), and I’d been determined to keep him at arm’s length. Apparently, I thought keeping someone at arm’s length was the same thing as shitting all over them.
Just as I was gathering up my courage to apologize again and maybe even tell him about my move from LA to Aster Valley, the radio squawked. Penny’s voice sounded tense as she reported a 10-51 at a familiar address.
“You’d better get there quick, Sheriff. Deputy Graham is headed there now, but he doesn’t know the history.”
I responded before flipping on both lights and sirens and picking up the pace. I tried getting Shawn on the radio, but there was no response.
“What’s going on?” Finn asked quietly.
“I’m dropping you off at the lodge on the way.”
“I want to come with you,” he said defiantly.
“I can’t have you at a scene that could potentially turn violent.”
The radio squawked again. “Deputy Graham called in a code eight. Possible firearm involved.”
“Shit.” I sped up. “Okay, but you have to do exactly as I say. Do you understand?”
“What’s the situation?” Finn asked again.
“The suspect’s two sons were recently incarcerated on assault charges, and his brother, Erland—the man who was sheriff of Aster Valley before me—was arrested for financial crimes. To say this guy’s not taking it well is an understatement. We’ve had a few instances this summer of him getting drunk and belligerent. His threats seem to be escalating, but his wife refuses to provide a witness statement to help us charge him.”
“Can you blame her? It’s her husband,” Finn said, gripping the dash as I took the mountain turns quickly.
“No, I don’t blame her. She’s already had to see her boys and her brother-in-law go to jail. I’m sure she doesn’t want Gene there, too. Both boys are married and had recently started a family. Kimber is trying to take care of everyone by the skin of her teeth.”
We sped up the mountain to the Stanners’ property and pulled down the drive in time to see Gene waving a gun around while he had one of his daughters-in-law in front of him with an arm locked around her throat.
She was pregnant.
I thought of Tessa and quickly packed away the image to focus on the challenge at hand.
“Get down,” I hissed. “I don’t want him to know you’re in here. Stay in the vehicle and do not move, do you understand? Lie down and stay down.”
“Maybe I can help.”
“No. Dammit, no,” I snapped. “You aren’t armed. You’re not trained. You are an actor. Jesus. Let the professionals handle this. If I have to worry about—”
Finn held up his hands. “Sorry. Of course. Go.”
“Stay here,” I said again.
He met my eyes. “I promise.”
I let out a breath and stepped out of the vehicle. Gene and the young lady were on the front porch with my SUV between us. Shawn was approaching the pair slowly from behind a pickup truck in the driveway. Gene’s eyes were trying to take it all in, and the minute he saw me, he swung his weapon to point at the woman’s head.
“Easy, easy,” I called. “Gene, that’s your grandchild in there. Your family. I know you don’t want to hurt them.”
“I don’t, but I don’t want you fuckers out here neither! Get away. Leave us be. We were fine before all you showed up.”
Kimber stood behind him, shaking her head and wringing her hands. “Gene, this isn’t fine. Let her go. This isn’t you. You don’t want to do this.”
Gene swung the weapon toward his wife. Shawn took the opportunity to move to the side of the house and edged a little closer. The movement caught Gene’s eye, and he swung the gun back around toward Shawn and then me. I unholstered my weapon and moved away from my vehicle to get Finn’s location out of the line of fire.
“Let’s talk about this,” I urged. “Put the gun down and we can talk.”
“Like hell! You took everything from us. You and those other bastards,” Gene slurred. “I want my boys back. I want my brother back.” His voice cracked on the words. “And you can’t do that. I want my baby boys back home. They did what they did because of me.”
The arm holding the weapon waved around wildly as he spoke. The one around his daughter-in-law’s throat tightened until she was standing on her toes to keep from choking. Her face was pink and blotchy, and tears streaked down her cheeks. I pressed the call button on the radio and calmly requested an ambulance to the address.
“Gene, I’m going to have the EMTs take a look at your daughter-in-law.” If only I could have remembered her name. “Just to make sure the baby’s okay, alright? When the ambulance gets here, we’ll have them check her out.”
He looked confused by my words, as if he couldn’t figure out how they were going to do that while he still had a hold of her.
“I don’t think so, Deputy Stone,” he said when he finally decided it was a trick. “You took my boys away. You stole Erland’s job. You stole everything.”
He swung the weapon back to me, but his vision was most likely impaired by drink. I decided to take the chance. I met Shawn’s eyes and said very calmly while pointing to my chest with my free hand, “10-53.” Person down.
The rest happened in a blink.
As soon as Shawn nodded, I dropped to the ground, and Shawn rushed the pair of them, shoving the woman back into the house and grabbing for Gene’s weapon. The gun discharged, and I heard the pop of a bullet striking the passenger-side door of my SUV.
Finn.
Shawn shouted, “Clear! Suspect in custody,” as I radioed for Penny to give me an update on the bus.
My heart jackhammered in my chest as I scrambled to my vehicle. I’d told Finn not to move from the passenger seat, and then the bullet had gone right into it. Fuck, fuck, what if he’d been hit?
I wrenched open the door and saw an empty seat.
“Over here,” a small voice said from the other side of the vehicle. I raced around to see Finn crouched on the ground outside my driver’s door. His arms were over his head, and his eyes were wide enough to see the whites all around.
“Fuck,” I croaked, grabbing him and searching his body for any sign of injury. “Fuck.” It was all I could say. My brain was completely logjammed with fear.
His voice shook. “I’m okay. I’m sorry.”
I stopped manhandling him and stared. “You’re sorry? Why the hell are you sorry?”
“You told me not to move. I didn’t listen. When I heard how mad he was, I got as far away from that gun as I could.”
I grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard. “N-no, you did good. So good. You did the exact right thing. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
I wanted to say more, to kiss his face off and hug him until my heart stopped thundering, but I couldn’t. The shrill peal of the ambulance siren cut through the clearing as the bus came storming down the driveway.