Chapter 58
CHAPTER
FIFTY-EIGHT
GUNNER
After practice, I hit the shower and mentally prepare for another, exhausting stakeout.
Rebel and I have decided not to let the outside pressure get to us, but it’s still my job to keep her safe. The only way I can give her the life she deserves is to resolve this matter between my family and hers.
I just hope Uncle Clancy makes a move soon.
We can’t keep living in limbo.
“Gunner!” Thielan yells loud enough that I can hear over the hiss of the shower. “Your phone’s been ringing off the hook.”
I’m instantly on hyper alert and my first thought is: Rebel’s in trouble.
I wrap a towel around myself and skate out of the shower so fast I almost fall. Windmilling my hands to catch my balance, I keep running and wrench my locker door open.
My phone goes silent as I reach inside my duffel. Out of breath, I tap on the recent call logs.
The number on the screen isn’t Rebel’s.
It’s my dad.
I call back. “Hey, dad.”
“Son, I just heard back from my colleagues at forensics. We got a hit.”
My entire body turns rigid. “What did they find?”
“Uncle Clarence’s fingerprints.”
“Are they sure?” I already know Uncle Clancy will deny being involved until he’s blue in the face. There can’t be any room for error.
“Thankfully, your grandfather’s will was kept in a safety deposit box and rarely touched all these years.”
“Is that enough to end this?”
“No, but it’ll help build a strong case.” The sound of a harsh breeze fills my ears and robs some of dad’s words. A moment later, I hear a door slam open and shut. It gets quiet in the background again. “By cross-checking court records and legal document transfers, I spotted a 24-hour gap in the will’s chain of custody.”
I stare unseeingly at my locker and grunt, “What does that mean?”
“It means we have motive and opportunity . Clarence had unauthorized access to the document before it was submitted for probate. I requested the security tapes from the city council and went through hours of footage. A few hours ago, I found a video of Uncle Clancy entering the file room after hours. There’s no camera inside the room, but it’s enough to bring this matter to the light.”
“Where are you heading now?” I grab clothes and start dressing. It’s tricky since I’m still dripping wet, but I don’t care. I hold the phone with my cheek and my shoulder. “I’ll meet you.”
“This is police business. I’ll bring in Uncle Clarence. Tell Rebel to stay at the garage. Right now, he and Stewart are probably panicking. Desperate people do desperate things, and I don’t want the situation to escalate.”
“Dad.” I blurt.
He pauses.
I swallow hard. “Are you… going to be okay...?”
Okay arresting your own family?
Okay losing your good name?
Okay giving up the farm?
“Son,” my dad says in a grave voice, “there comes a moment in every father’s life when he realizes what kind of human being he raised.” He pauses. “Because of you, I can say I raised a good one.”
Something odd lodges in my throat.
“Your grandfather started out with nothing. We can do the same. The Kinseys are more than their money.”
I rub my chest to stave off the burning there. “Stay safe.”
Dad hangs up and my hand falls to my side.
“Everything okay?” Watson asks.
Renthrow’s observing me too, his arms folded over his chest.
For once, Theilan isn’t cracking jokes or grinning mischievously.
I grunt.
“What does that mean?” Theilan whispers.
While they discuss amongst each other, I send Rebel a text.
ME: Hey, are you still at the garage?
I take big, loping strides to the exits when Chance grabs my shoulder. Behind him, Renthrow, Theilan and Watson are standing close.
“Do you need backup?” Chance asks.
I look at my team members. Their eyes are set, arms tense, bodies braced for action. This entire week, they’ve been watching over Rebel and her mom and accompanying me on stakeouts while asking no questions.
A realization comes to me at that moment. I might get kicked out of the Kinsey clan after this, but I know that I’ll still have a family.
“I’ve got it.” I take a moment to look at each of their faces. “Thank you.”
Chance steps back.
Renthrow turns away with a small smile.
Theilan looks shocked. “Did he just… smile at us?”
I leave the team behind and hustle to my car. Before driving, I check my phone to see that Rebel hasn’t answered my message yet.
On the way to the garage, I call her.
She doesn’t answer.
Alarmed, I call again.
Every ring echoes in my ears and sends my pulse clamoring.
The moment I hang up, my phone gets an incoming call and I answer urgently, “Rebel?”
“It’s Chance. April just called to tell me they’re heading to Rebel’s mom right now.”
I slam on the brakes. “Now?”
“Yeah. She didn’t say much, but I could hear in her voice she was flustered.”
I barely hear anything else that Chance says. Hands firm on the steering wheel, I slam my foot on the gas and U-turn so hard the vehicle almost teeters over on its side. Once it rights itself again, I floor it and fly to the trailer park. I spot Rebel’s truck right away and come to an abrupt stop.
Running across to the mobile home, I launch up the stairs and throw the door open.
Rebel’s standing in front of her mom, one arm extended protectively while Mrs. Hart trembles behind her. April is standing in front of them both, waving her phone around.
“You should be ashamed of yourself! Trying to scam this woman into marriage to cover your tracks!”
I stop short.
M-marriage?
Uncle Stewart’s brilliant plan was to marry into the Hart family?
Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me. It’s just the sort of desperate, hare-brained plan only someone like Uncle Stewart would come up with.
“Put that down, girl or…”
“Or what, Stewart? I’m on a live call with the nursing home group chat. Try anything funny, everyone will see.”
“Put that phone down,” Uncle Stewart growls.
April continues filming.
Uncle Stewart swipes at her device, and April jumps out of reach but she almost loses her balance in the process.
I see my uncle gearing up to get more violent with her and step inside.
“Uncle Stewart!” I yell so loud that the entire house trembles.
April, Rebel and her mom swivel to look at me.
My eyes collide with Rebel’s baby blue gaze. I’m here.
She sighs in relief.
That same relief is echoing in my heart. Rebel’s hair is mussed and she’s breathing hard but, other than that, she looks unharmed.
I’ll make sure it stays that way.
“ You! ” Uncle Stewart points a stubby finger. He stomps over and grabs me by the collar. “This is all your fault.”
“Gunner!” Concern carved into her beautiful face, Rebel moves toward me.
I shake my head at her.
She stops abruptly, chewing on her bottom lip.
“You’re right. It is all my fault. Let’s talk about it outside.” I lift both hands in surrender. Right now, all I want is for my uncle to get as far away from Rebel as possible.
Uncle Stewart follows the direction of my gaze to Rebel and his mouth twists into a sneer. “You idiot! We tried so hard to keep you away from this girl, tried to keep you from finding out and you still went ahead anyway. And for what?” He gestures to Rebel. “She’s nothing but a pretty face from the trailer park. Girls like her are dirt cheap; I could buy ‘em for a dollar.”
My nostrils flare and I grab Uncle Stewart by the throat. Trembling with rage, I growl, “Watch. Your. Mouth.”
“Or what? You’ll hit me? You’ll hang me out to dry? For her .” He shoves me against the frame of the door. His elbow digs into my neck. “We’re the ones who come pick you up in the dead of night when you’ve got a blown wheel and no one else to call. We’re the ones who taught you how to drive and shoot a gun. We’re the ones who share the same blood. You’re turning on your own family. Making enemies of your own people. Some juicy lips and a nice rack will keep you warm at night, but is that anything compared to family?”
My face twists and anger surges through my veins. I ram Uncle Stewart in the jaw. The clash of my knuckles to his jawline hurts the both of us, but Uncle Stewart makes a garbled sound, eyes clouding in surprise, pain and shock. His entire body stumbles to the side as if he’s being dragged by an invisible hand.
While the punch was deserved, it was the wrong move.
An already tense situation escalates fast.
Uncle Stewart lunges to the left. I jump on him, but a damaging blow to the head knocks me to my knee.
Mrs. Hart screams.
Rebel shrieks, “Gunner!”
I lift a hand to my hair, stars dancing around my eyes. And then I look at Uncle Stewart. He’s holding a bat—something Mrs. Hart probably kept close by the door for self-defense—and is gearing up to swing again.
Pushing to my feet, I run deeper into the living room and stand in front of Rebel. “Get behind me!” I roar. “April, get back!”
April drops her phone as she races to join the other ladies. When she stops as if she’ll pick it up, Rebel grabs her arm and yanks her behind me, wrapping an arm around the shorter woman protectively.
“I know why you’re here! I know what you’re trying to do!” Uncle Stewart swings the bat like a drunk. His eyes dart back and forth like a cornered animal.
Desperate men do desperate things . Dad’s warning from earlier rings like a church bell in my head.
“Clarence said he’d pin this on me and you’re falling right into his trap!”
I hold out a hand and take a step forward. “Dad’s heading to pick up Uncle Clarence as we speak. You’re both going to pay for what you did.”
“You think that slimy fox will be so easy to catch? He left town hours ago.”
My eyes widen. Does dad know about this?
“I’ve been framed, Gunner. I swear to you. Clarence is the one behind all of this.” Uncle Stewart swings the bat in a giant arc. “You think I know anything about shell corporations and paper companies? I’m just a mechanic. All I know is cars. He put the money in my account and told me what land to sell. That’s all I did.”
“What about the will?” Rebel snaps. “Didn’t you know about that too?”
I glance over my shoulder and find my girlfriend glaring a hole into Uncle Stewart. My uncle better hope Rebel doesn’t get ahold of that bat because I have no idea what damage she’ll inflict on him.
“The will… he-he never told me about that. I have no idea.” My uncle’s eyes dart to the side.
“Yeah, right!”
Mrs. Hart looks very confused. “What will? What are you talking about?”
“Rebel,” I hiss.
But the train is rolling down the hill and there’s no stopping her now that she’s off.
“Clay Kinsey left a plot of land for you in his will,” Rebel blurts, her eyes as hot as the bluest flames.
Mrs. Hart’s eyebrows fly to the top of her head.
“And Stewart here saw it as another opportunity to manipulate and use you.”
“That’s not true! I’ve had feelings for your mother for a long time.”
“Oh please! You were planning to marry her and then pocket all the money once it comes rolling over to her.”
“And you think you’re any better? Didn’t you date Gunner just to get into the Society?”
I freeze.
April covers her mouth.
Mrs. Hart glances between me and Rebel.
Uncle Stewart preens. “You and your mother are nothing but the help. You should be thrilled you get the chance to marry a Kinsey. Everyone in town respects us. But you? You’re just trailer trash. You and your mother should be thanking me for?—”
Her face a flaming red, Rebel surges forward. I catch her by the mid-section before she can fly into Uncle Stewart’s bat.
“You want to see trailer trash? Fine, I’ll give you trailer trash! Gunner, put me down!”
I keep her airborne as her legs scramble several inches off the floor.
At that moment, the door bursts open and dad barrels in. He’s wearing his sheriff’s uniform and has his two deputies with him.
“Dan!” Uncle Stewart’s eyes widen.
My dad doesn’t break his stride. He storms over to his brother, yanks the bat away and slaps handcuffs on him.
“Dan, what are you doing? I’m your brother? Get these off me.”
“Stewart Kinsey, you are under arrest…”
As dad rattles off Uncle Stewart’s crimes, I stare at him and a memory snaps into my brain. It was all the way back in kindergarten and dad came to present for career day. I watched him in his uniform, talking in front of my entire class and I felt a sense of awe.
That’s my dad , I thought proudly that day.
The remnants of that same pride echo now.
That’s my dad.
“You’d turn on your own family, Dan! You’d really do that?” Uncle Stewart squirms as dad hauls him upright.
“I’m doing what’s right as an officer of the law and a servant of my community.”
“You’ll have nothing after this, Dan. You’ll be nothing!”
Uncle Stewart’s yelling gets fainter and fainter as the deputies cart him off.
“Oh my goodness,” Mrs. Hart mumbles.
I rush to catch her as her legs give out. “Are you okay, ma’am?”
“Lewis, call the ambulance,” dad says into his walkie.
“I’m fine. I’m fine. I just need to sit down,” Mrs. Hart says. I lead her to the couch and Rebel pushes pillows behind her back to make her comfortable.
“I’ll get you some water, mom.”
“Let me.” I go to the kitchen and grab three cups, handing all the ladies one.
“Are you okay?” I ask Rebel when I give her the water.
She nods and squeezes my hand.
I brush her hair away from her face tenderly. The adrenaline rush is starting to fade.
“Is it over now?” Rebel whispers.
“Yeah.” I rest my forehead against hers while still cradling her cheek. “It’s over princess.”
Now, it’s time to pick up the pieces that Uncle Stewart and Uncle Clancy left behind and give Rebel the happily ever after she deserves.