Long Hard Road (Crestwood Valley)

30. Nate

“You don’t have any food?” Chase grumbled with his head in my fridge.

“Sorry, I didn’t know I’d be feeding the whole family.” I checked the time. “Where the hell is Ronan with the pizza?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t text me back.” Chase turned around with a carrot in his mouth. “Did you try texting your girl?”

I had wanted to text her a dozen times since she left, but I was trying not to be an obnoxious boyfriend. But she was supposed to be back already and I was starting to worry. As I was reaching for my phone, it rang.

“Where the hell are you?” I asked Ronan, foregoing a polite greeting.

“Downtown. You need to get here right away.” He was panting hard. “Some guy has Harper and Madison cornered in the building next to the bookstore. He’s got a gun.”

My feet were already moving before I’d processed his words. I hurried out of the kitchen and passed worried faces watching me take the stairs three at a time.

“Do you recognize the guy? Are either of the girls hurt?” I panted.

I went into my closet and unlocked the gun safe, grabbing a pistol and forcing my hands to stop shaking so I could load it.

“I’ve never seen the guy. He fired at me and I just barely got out of the way. The girls look alright, but I can’t see them too good from where I am. I already called the police.”

“They won’t know how to handle something like this.” I shoved the gun into my waistband and ran from the bedroom. “I’m on my way. Keep your eyes on them and don’t let them leave.”

“I mentioned that he has a gun, right?” Ronan grunted.

“If he takes them away, we might never see them again,” I said through a clenched jaw and ended the call before he could respond. Everyone was gathered at the bottom of the steps. There wasn’t time for me to give them a full explanation. “The girls are in danger.”

Chase and Evan exchanged a look and then hurried after me. “Where are they? What happened?” Their questions were hurried and overlapped.

“Downtown. There’s a gun.” That was all I allowed myself to say before climbing into my truck and revving the engine. I saw them scrambling toward Evan’s truck as I peeled away, dirt flying behind me.

The drive from the ranch to downtown normally took fifteen minutes. I made it there in less than ten and had spent five of them talking to Ellison. I pulled my truck behind Ronan’s. He was standing on the driver’s side and staring across the cab toward what I had thought was an abandoned storefront.

“What the hell is going on?” I demanded as I joined him.

“They are still inside.” He pointed to the large window a few feet away. “When I tried to go in, he was between me and the girls. But he has shifted since then and is at the back of the store. I think he is using Madi and Harp as a shield of sorts by placing them in front of the window.”

“Ellison thinks it is probably one of Madison’s stalkers. He doesn’t have any of his men in the area so we’re going to be on our own.” That made me look around. “Where the hell are the police?”

“There was a terrible accident out on Bosly Road. They are on their way back.” Ronan was pressing his hands so hard onto the truck’s hood that his knuckles had gone white. “Maybe you could get in around back. I could distract him at the door and you could get the girls out.”

“He already shot at you once, Ronan. He won’t hesitate to do it again.” His plan was weak, but not entirely terrible. “There’s another way into that room. In Harper’s store, the bathroom is along the shared wall. For years, it could be accessed from either store. I helped Harp board it up after she signed her lease. It wouldn’t be hard to pry off the board.”

“And then what?” Ronan’s scoff said that he didn’t think my plan was any better than his half-baked suggestion.

“I shoot him.”

Ronan tried repeatedly to talk me out of it. He had good reason to be concerned. I knew it wasn’t a great option, but I had to do something. I wasn’t leaving Madison and my sister to fend for themselves against an armed lunatic. I used my copy of the key to let myself into the bookstore and went straight into the bathroom.

First, I shoved aside a storage cabinet that we’d placed in front of the door. Then I wedged my pocketknife under the boards I’d hammered in place to keep the door from being forced open. It took less than two minutes but it felt like much longer. I hated that I had no idea what was happening on the other side of that door.

Harper and I had taken a look inside that room before we’d boarded up the door, so I knew that it opened into a small alcove. No one in there would see me open the door unless they were standing right in front of it. As long as I could open it without making noise, I should be able to ease inside and scope out the situation.

I nudged the door with just a little force and it popped open an inch. Silently. I sucked in a breath and nudged it again. Once it was open about four inches, I could hear a male voice muttering quietly.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen. You were supposed to leave with me. We are supposed to be together, Madison.”

That confirmed that we were dealing with one of Madison’s unhinged stalkers. I pushed the door open just enough for me to slip through the gap and into the alcove. It was shallow and after just two steps I would be visible to anyone facing the back of the store. I just hoped that would still be Madison and Harper and that they would both be able to control their reactions when they saw me.

I had my gun gripped firmly in my hand, safety off. My finger grazed the trigger. My military training came rushing back to me, all the way to the silent steps I took. The muttering sounded like it was moving away from me and I risked a glance around the alcove wall. My eyes first found the gunman. He was facing away from me, gun hanging limply at his side. Past him, Madison and Harper were huddled next to each other.

Madison spotted me first. Her eyes widened fractionally and she gave a tiny shake of her head. She was pleading for me to turn back, to leave her alone with a man holding a gun. Even if I knew for certain that I was going to die, I would never leave her to face this alone.

When she realized I wasn’t going to leave, she wrapped an arm around Harper and whispered into her ear. I could see that Harper tensed and did her best not to look at me.

“Who was that man?” the gunman snapped.

“A friend.” Madison’s voice was calm and measured. “He is just a friend, Drake.”

“Why were you with him?” Drake sounded the opposite of calm. His voice was pitched and frantic. “Are you fucking him, too, Madi?”

Madison flinched. “No. But he is practically family to Harper and he isn’t going to let you hurt us. I’m sure he’s already called the police. If you leave right this second, you might be able to escape before they get here.”

“I’m not leaving without you.” He stared at her for a moment. “Why do you look so scared?”

“Because you are holding a gun and you shot at my friend. I don’t even know if he’s alright, Drake.” Her voice wavered for the first time and I tried to send her a look that said Ronan was alright. “Maybe we could send Harper out to check on him? Then you and I can come up with a plan for how we can leave.”

It was a good attempt to get Harper out of harm’s way. I loved the hell out of Madison for trying. Drake wasn’t having it. “No. She’s a witness. She’ll tell the police that I tried to shoot your friend.” Harper whimpered and clutched tighter to Madison while Drake ran his free hand through his hair, making it stick out wildly in all directions. “I think I have to kill her. Then I’ll make sure your friend outside doesn’t live to give the police my description.”

Drake was nodding furiously as he sold himself on his terrible plan. “Yes. That’s what I have to do. Kill the witnesses and then nothing will stop us from being together.”

I couldn’t wait any longer for an opening. As soon as Madison looked at me, I jerked my head to the right and raised my gun.

“Drop your weapon or I will shoot your fucking head off.”

Drake whipped around and Madison pulled Harper several feet to her left. Now they would be out of the line of fire if I had to shoot. I was a good shot and I knew that if I did fire, I would hit my target. But I wasn’t as certain whether the bullet might exit Drake’s body and hit whatever or whoever was behind him.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” His voice was practically a screech now. “You can’t have her! Madi is mine!”

“No,” I said, lining him up through the sight. “She’s not, Drake. She’s mine and I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect her.”

He let out an animalistic sound as he lifted the gun and I didn’t wait to see what would happen next. I fired one shot, right into his shoulder. The gun fell with a loud clang as Drake screamed and clutched the bleeding wound. I had already closed the distance between us and kicked the gun far away, using my free hand to shove him down to his knees. From the way he was bleeding and moaning, I knew he wasn’t going to be a threat. I slid my gun back into my holster.

“Madison, take Harper outside. Ronan is waiting. Let him and any police who may have arrived know that it’s safe to come in.”

I shouldn’t have bothered with the instruction because Ronan was already barreling through the door, looking for a fight. When he realized that it wasn’t someone he cared about who had been shot, his shoulders dropped and then he rushed to Harper’s side.

Two armed officers came strolling in behind him. I was glad that I hadn’t been relying on them to save the day. Neither of them looked old enough to drive, let alone handle a hostage situation. At least they had handcuffs and were able to put them on Drake before leading him outside to a waiting ambulance.

Ronan swooped Harper into his arms and squeezed her tight. Madison was staring at me like I was her hero.

“That was smooth, Sullivan,” she said, sinking against my chest with a sigh. “You shouldn’t have come in here, honey. You could have died.”

I put my arms around her and breathed in deep, savoring her scent and the feel of her body against mine. “You promised you would love me until your last breath. I’m making sure that doesn’t happen for at least sixty years, angel.”

“Sixty?” She tilted her head back and looked at me with a smile. “Make it seventy, Sullivan.”

Seventy years sounded good to me. “I just have one question, angel. Why the hell were you in this empty storefront?”

Her eyes sparkled and she let out a nervous laugh. “Oh yeah. About that…”