Chapter Fifty-Seven
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
EMMETT
I watched Theo inconspicuously get into position—one that didn’t have Millie caught in the crossfire.
Moving as he took aim, I dove when he fired.
Millie careened to the side, caught under the weight of Thomas Jones’s body. Midair, I knocked away his limp hold and wrapped her in my arms as we fell to the ground—my vest taking the brunt of the impact as we skidded across the gravel.
Loosening my grip so I could reach up, I brushed the hair from her face. Her eyes met mine, and my lips found hers. I moved to sit us up and realized her hands were still bound behind her. Making quick work of the duct tape, I freed her wrists and brought them to my lips—kissing the torn skin.
“Say it again,” I pleaded, needing to hear the words more than my next breath.
“I love you,” she said, and I leaned up to kiss her long and slow—my tongue demanding entrance and tangling with hers. Pulling back, I pressed another chaste kiss to her lips.
“I love you, Millie Rushing, and I consider it the greatest privilege of my life to do so,” I professed, watching as unshed tears rolled down her cheeks. The tears drew my attention to the bruises already forming on her face. My rage spiked thinking about what that lunatic put her through. If he wasn’t already dead, I would kill him myself.
Taking care around her swollen eye and the cut on her neck, my hands roamed her body—assessing for other injuries.
“Greer,” Mille whispered, her voice cracking on my sister’s name.
“She’s alive,” I declared though I had no proof—I hadn’t heard from Denver or my family.
An ambulance from the Valley sped into the parking lot, and I scooped Millie into my arms and walked the short distance to where it parked. While paramedics hurried to assess her, Theo came up beside me.
“It appears that Thomas had quite the collection of homemade films,” he stated, and I raised my brows.
Theo hesitated, and I tensed.
“What is it?” I gritted through clenched teeth, knowing I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.
“I can’t be certain,” Theo said, “but there was a cassette still in the VCR in his room. My guess is he made Millie watch it.”
“What was on it?” I asked, clamping down on the inside of my cheek and tasting blood. My gaze swung to where Thomas’s body laid now covered in a white sheet.
“From what I could tell,” Theo replied, “it looks like that particular film was made on the night of the break-in.”
Fuck .
I could not think about that right now.
“Were there any witnesses?” I asked, changing the subject. My eyes panned the vacant parking lot. Wendy and her team—as well as a coroner—were already on the way, and my deputies had the crime scene contained and preserved.
“No,” Theo answered. “There haven’t been any guests checked in since a Clarence and Winnie Redmond almost two weeks ago.”
“We’ll need to bring any and all staff in for questioning,” I said as more deputies gathered. Though, I wasn’t confident we would find them. Chances are, whoever worked here was paid under the table. There had to be a manager, though. So we’d start there.
After I finished delegating tasks and assignments, I glanced back at Millie. Her eyes met mine, and I closed the distance between us once more.
“I think you’re good to go,” the paramedic who’d just finished cleaning the cuts on Millie’s face and neck said. “You likely have a concussion, and I still think you should go to the hospital.”
Millie started to shake her head but winced.
“I’ll make sure she gets checked out,” I told him as he packed up his equipment.
“I’m fine!” Millie exclaimed but winced again at the volume of her own rebuttal. “I’m more worried about Greer,” she said, lowering her voice as she rubbed at her bruised temple.
On cue, my phone rang. I answered and put it on speakerphone so Millie could hear.
“How is she?” I asked in place of a greeting.
“It’s touch and go,” Denver said, his voice rough and full of grit. “They’re flying her to Bozeman. She needs more care than they’re capable of providing here.”
“Did the rest of my family make it there?” I asked, looking to Millie—her hand was pressed to her mouth trying to hold back a sob. Though, one escaped anyway.
I pulled her tight against me, and she wrapped her arms around my middle.
“Rory is with her now,” Denver replied. “But I sent Abigail and Greyson to Bozeman to meet her when she lands.”
“Thanks, man. We’ll head to Bozeman,” I informed him.
Denver grunted in reply and hung up.
Millie and I clung to each other, and the world around us slipped away.
“I was so scared,” she whispered into my chest—the words barely audible.
“Me too,” I admitted, cupping the back of her head. I’d never been more terrified than I was at the thought of losing her. “But you’re safe now,” I murmured into her hair. The reassurance for my own benefit as much as hers.