Chapter Three
Emerson
Why did I even bother talking to Starr? I should ignore him the way he ignored me in high school, only noticing me enough to christen me with that hated nickname.
Emmy. If he wanted to pretend we barely knew each other, that was fine with me.
I wasn’t that scared high school kid any longer, intimidated into silence by that icy, blue-eyed glare.
Having taken a few psychology courses, I knew why he behaved the way he did.
“You’re avoiding me by being a bastard. Screw you, Dominic.
No way am I gonna let you ruin my day.” I twirled my car keys and headed toward my car, a bag of Dolly’s goodies in my other hand.
It was a good morning. I’d had a great workout in the gym and was anticipating another date with Natalie tonight.
“Better see about a haircut.” I peered into the rearview mirror. “You’re looking a little shaggy.” I put the baked goods in the trunk and slid behind the wheel.
Like most deputies, I kept a scanner in my car, and it picked up a robbery in progress at Norman’s Jewelry.
That must’ve been where Starr had headed.
My visit to the barber forgotten, I accelerated to the other strip mall about half a mile away and spotted Starr and Bradford’s patrol car in the lot.
I checked my service weapon, which I always kept with me, and exited my vehicle. I found Bradford crouched behind their car and crept over to him.
“What’re you doing here?” he asked. “You’re off duty.”
I settled in next to him and ignored his question. “What’s happened so far?”
“There’s at least one guy holed up in there, maybe two. Not sure yet. One female salesperson. Dom went around to the loading area to see if he can sneak in to surprise them. He told me to stay here and meet with the state troopers when they come.”
Of course he did. Showboater.
“This is a hostage situation. He should’ve waited for backup.”
“They’re coming, but a tractor trailer overturned on the highway, so they’re jammed up. The county is sending another unit.”
“I’m gonna go see.”
“What? Why?” Bradford protested. “You’re not on duty. You’re not even supposed to be here. Kane,” he called out.
But I took off, running to where I knew they had a receiving entrance. Norman’s door was open, and I figured Starr would be waiting there, so I soft-footed it on the gravel and peeked in.
The cock of a pistol clicked by my ear, and I froze.
“Move, and I’ll blow your fucking head off.”
All righty. I swallowed hard and thought fast. “Okay. I work a few stores down and went out for a smoke. I was just trying to see what was going on.” No need to let this guy know I was law enforcement.
It was then that I saw Starr lying unconscious on the ground, blood seeping from a wound on his head. Shit. Was he dead?
“What happened to him?” I asked, and the cold muzzle of the gun rested on my temple. Cold sweat broke out over my entire body, but I tried to remain calm.
The gunman was nervous, his hand and neck movements jerky. He wore a mask, but my instinct told me he was young and inexperienced, which could prove dangerous. Those were the type to shoot without thinking things through.
“Same thing that’ll happen to you if you don’t shut up and get in here. Stop asking questions.”
Fuck. But I couldn’t say no. I went, passing by Starr, who started to move and groan softly. Relief flooded through me that he was alive.
“Can I see if he’s okay?” Without waiting for an answer, I kneeled next to Starr and whispered, “Hey. Open your eyes.”
“That’s enough talking. Shut it and get up.” The guy nudged me with his foot and yanked Starr up.
“What the fuck’re you doing here?” a groggy Starr mumbled as he got to his feet.
“I couldn’t stay away from you,” I retorted.
The man with the gun gestured. “I said shut up and get inside.”
Starr swayed, and I put my arm around his waist. He stiffened, and I hissed in his ear, “Don’t be a dick. We have no choice. You might have a concussion. Would you rather pass out? I can leave you lying on the floor.”
“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “He took my weapon.”
With him alternately jamming his gun in our backs, we stumbled into the store, where another man in a mask was busy loading all the jewelry and watches into bags. The lone employee, a young woman, was tied up and stretched out on the floor. She couldn’t stop crying.
“Get down on the floor.” The man’s voice hit harshly in my ear. “Both of you. And don’t move.” He took Starr’s cuffs and locked his left wrist to my right, then zip-tied the chain to a table leg.
He joined his companion in the front, and Starr took the opportunity to murmur to me, “They got my service revolver but not the piece I’ve got strapped to my leg. He didn’t know to look for it.”
Good to know he’d also remembered his NYPD training to be overly prepared and cautious. In this sleepy little hamlet, I knew most deputies didn’t carry an extra weapon.
His lips were moving again. “When they come back this way, I’ll create a diversion, and we can each take a shot. It’ll be awkward, but we can do it.”
My heart pounded out of control, and I felt dizzy. The last thing I wanted was to be involved in another shooting. I still had nightmares about that guy I’d killed, and I tried to think of another way we could handle this without shooting someone.
“What if we put our legs together? We’ll stick them out and hopefully trip them.”
Starr’s brow furrowed in thought, then cleared. “It could work. Maybe. Timing would be everything.”
“Hasn’t it always been like that with us?” I tried to lighten the mood, but his face grew taut.
“All I want is to get out of here alive,” he muttered, avoiding my eyes.
“I think we should try it.”
At my insistence, he nodded. “Fine, but we’ll keep our guns out, just in case. We can’t take a chance. They’re on edge and twitchy. That makes them unpredictable.”
I met his eyes. “I’m aware.”
A muscle twitched in Starr’s jaw, and he shifted his attention to the floor. Unlike high school, these days he had a hard time holding my gaze for long.
The gunmen’s voices rose, and we could hear them planning.
“Take the cop and the other guy along so the other cops won’t shoot us.”
“What about her?” I assumed he meant the saleswoman. “She’s a girl. They won’t wanna shoot us if we have her. The other guy—it don’t matter. We could shoot him to let them know we ain’t kidding.”
A chill ran down my spine. They meant me. They were discussing if it made sense to shoot me. Starr shifted and put his lips to my ear again. I shivered.
“I won’t let them do that. Don’t worry.”
Sweat covered my arms and legs, and I couldn’t stop shaking. “I’m not,” I lied.
A bullhorn sounded from outside, and I jumped from nerves.
“This is Detective Homer Lawson. Let the people go, and we can talk.”
The hostage negotiators were here. I could imagine them putting their heads together. I chewed my lip and called out, “Let the saleswoman go and keep us.”
“Shut up.”
The young woman began to wail. “Let me go, please. Let me go. I’m pregnant, please. Don’t hurt me. Let me go. I want to go.” She continued to wail, and I could imagine the gunmen’s nerves were at the breaking point. I heard arguing, then scuffling and the saleswoman crying.
“Get the hell out already. I can’t stand hearing your mouth anymore.”
“Hold your fire,” I heard Lawson call out when she opened the door and ran out screaming and crying.
“You send anyone in here, and we’ll blow these two guys’ heads off,” one of them yelled.
It was us and them.
“We gotta get outta here,” one of them said to the other. “Grab those two and make sure they don’t scream. Shoot ’em or knock ’em out. I don’t care no more. That bitch gave me a headache. We’ll go out the back. Blow away anyone you see.”
“It’s now or never,” I murmured to Starr, and his mouth set in a grim line. Of all the people to hold my life in their hands, how ironic that it was Starr. And yet next to Jet, he was the only other deputy I’d want by my side.
“Listen, Kane. If something happens and we don’t make it…thanks. You didn’t have to do this.”
“You’d do the same for me.”
“Yeah. I guess so.”
Did he still hate me that much for what had happened all those years ago? If he wasn’t always such a dick, I could’ve told him I’d never tell anyone.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I said with a complete certainty I didn’t feel.
We scooted closer to the pathway they’d walk through and drew our weapons, waiting for them to approach. Starr gestured with his gun and nodded.
Now, he mouthed, and we stuck out our legs. It worked perfectly. Surprised, the two gunmen fell and hit the floor. One of their guns spun across the floor.
“Stop, police,” Starr yelled. One of the gunmen raised his gun, and Starr fired, hitting him in the shoulder while my shot went wide.
“Ow, fuck,” both gunmen screamed just as the rear door burst open. Troopers poured in with assault rifles drawn, Bradford right behind them, his gun out.
“Hold your fire,” Starr yelled. “Kane and I are okay.”
They swarmed the two criminals and cuffed them.
“Yeah, we’re fine, except Starr got knocked out.” Now that we were safe, I could laugh about it. “We all know he’s got a hard head, but he should probably go to the hospital and get it checked out, just in case.”
Bradford undid the handcuffs and cut the zip tie. “Yeah, Dom. I’ll bring you there.”
“Still can’t believe he got me.” Starr met my eyes. “Thanks, Kane. I owe you big-time.”
I brushed it off even as his words sent another shiver through me. We’d both come so close to death, and it hit me that so many of the core memories of my life revolved around Dominic Starr.
I watched as Bradford helped Starr out. I was speaking to Detective Lawson as Lieutenant Simms joined us after stopping to speak with Starr.
He was a tall, authoritative-looking man in his late fifties with flinty blue eyes, thick silver hair, and a hawklike nose.
He’d put in twenty years in the Overlook sheriff’s office and had transferred here after Gleason retired.