Chapter Seven
Officer Linden ended his phone call and joined them in the kitchen, where Chase relayed his information. Obviously, Officer Linden wasn’t happy that a quote-unquote civilian was hacking into things. Too fucking bad. It helped that Chase lived on the west coast of Canada and refused to give up his name, location and was calling from a burner phone, so there wasn’t much the Jackson Hole cop could do, anyway.
“Thanks, Chase,” Ryker said, ending the call and glancing at Molly and her daughter. The fact that the woman he loved and the kid he loved were dealing with this gutted him. He hated that he wasn’t there to protect them sooner, and that Sasha’s cat had paid the ultimate price.
Neither woman felt safe in their own home.
But now that they were almost certain of the culprits, he was going to make sure Molly and Sasha were never bothered again. That they always felt safe. Because he would always be with them.
“Police just finished questioning Mr. Huber,” Officer Linden said, accepting tea from Molly. “He hasn’t left his house all night.” Then he glanced at Ryker with a suspicious glint in his eyes. “Said he was told to stay away from Mrs. O’Shea or there would be hell to pay. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”
Ryker shrugged. “Nope.”
The officer tried to hide a smile but did a shit job of it. “Anyway, his neighbors corroborated his story, and we checked the security camera footage that his car didn’t leave the parking garage all night. Camera footage that encompasses his front door also showed that Mr. Huber didn’t leave his apartment all night, either.” Ryker got some side-eye from the cop. “Camera caught a visitor wearing a ball cap that hid his face yesterday, though.”
Ryker cleared his throat and sipped his tea. “Okay, so we can rule Huber out tonight , but the guy is still a creepy stalker who put cameras in the house and harassed Molly. Then he took it out on Sasha by benching her. And let’s not forget the misogynistic things he said to Molly. Calling her a cock-tease and saying she owed him for the dates and dinners. The guy has incel creep written all over him. He might not be a cat-killer but he’s still done some pretty heinous shit that can’t go unpunished.”
“Benching a player is not a felony, Mr. McKnight. And we can’t confirm that it was Mr. Huber who installed the cameras or killed the cat.”
“Did you send cops to Mrs. Gubler’s house?”
“We did and nobody was home.”
“They’re on the run,” Molly whispered. “They know we’re on to them.”
“We have an undercover police car and officer parked outside Mrs. Gubler’s home, so as soon as she returns, we’ll have her.”
Molly nodded and gripped her mug tighter before bringing it to her lips.
Their pensive silence was interrupted by the crackle of Officer Linden’s radio clipped to his vest. “We have a 467 in the gated community of Ridgeview Terrace. Address is 146 Buffalo Drive.”
Molly’s eyes bugged out, so did Sasha’s.
“That’s Olivia’s house,” Sasha whispered.
“What’s a 467 ?” Molly asked.
“Domestic disturbance,” Officer Linden said with a veiled calmness that Ryker saw right through.
“That’s where they’ve gone,” Ryker said. “Kate and Sailor fled to Olivia’s house.”
Officer Linden pressed the radio and responded appropriately.
The need to deal with the people who hurt Molly and Sasha gnawed like a mouse at Ryker’s gut. But he wasn’t a cop. And no fucking way was he leaving Molly and Sasha.
“You can go,” he said to Officer Linden. “I’ll stay here with them.”
The cop appeared torn for a second before nodding and heading out, the headlights from his cruiser flashing through the living room window as he pulled a U-turn and left the dead-end road.
“So, now we wait?” Sasha asked, trying not to yawn but failing.
“We wait,” Ryker confirmed. “But you can head to bed if you want to, half-pint. You’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you or your mom.”
She wrapped her arm around his waist and squeezed while he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I like that you and mom are finally together.”
“Me, too.”
Sasha hugged and kissed her mother goodnight, then retreated down the hall to her room, leaving Ryker and Molly in the kitchen.
Lightning struck Molly’s eyes, and she rushed to the cupboard under the kitchen sink, pulling out an all-purpose cleaner and some paper towels. She sprayed down the island and started to clean it. “We had sex on this island.”
He snorted and grinned fondly at the not-too-distant memory. “Yes. Yes, we did. You also compared me to gum disease, if you remember?”
She didn’t meet his gaze as she furiously wiped down the marble.
“Sash is awfully cool about us doing it where she has breakfast,” he said, sipping his now lukewarm tea.
“My child continues to surprise me with her maturity. Sometimes I wish she’d throw a temper tantrum or pee her pants. She just needs to stop growing up so fast.”
He snorted again. “I don’t think you want her to do either of those things.”
“I don’t. No. But I just … fourteen years have gone by too damn fast. I just wish time would slow down.”
“It’s gone by in the blink of a fucking eye,” he agreed. “I remember when she took her first steps. I was here for that. Remember like it was yesterday.”
“It feels like it was just yesterday.” Her exhale reached his bones, and his heart went out to her.
“You’re raising one hell of a kid. You’ve done and are doing an amazing job. Bren would be proud. We’re all proud.” Resting his hands on her hips, he stopped her militant cleaning and turned her to face him.
She put down the paper towel and blinked up at him. “I don’t want to live here anymore.”
He narrowed his brows. “What do you mean? Like in this house? Or Jackson Hole?”
“Jackson Hole,” she confirmed. “Sasha and I have been talking about it … only over the last couple of days, but she agrees. There’s nothing keeping us here now that Brendan’s parents have died. It’s a small town that costs a fortune to live in. And all the tourists … it’s exhausting. Sasha has surpassed the level of dance offered at the local studio, so she’s taking online classes and just using the studio space. And I can get a job anywhere.” This time, when she sighed, she moved into his body and rested her cheek on his chest. “All this creepy stuff with Adrian and … and now Kate, it’s just confirmed that we don’t belong here anymore.”
“Where do you want to go?” He rubbed her back and held her close, just like he’d always dreamed of doing. Like he never wanted to stop doing for the rest of his life.
She lifted her head and glanced up at him. “I don’t know.”
Pulling in a deep inhale, he rested his chin on the top of her head and she snuggled back into him. “You know … I’ve been thinking about settling down.”
She leaned back, removing her head from under his chin, and looked up at him. “You? The eternal nomad?”
The left corner of his mouth tipped up. “We’re all capable of change for the right reasons.”
“Where would you settle down?”
“Well, Ash and Nate have all this land that they’re not doing anything with.”
She huffed a laugh. “It’s called a ranch and we both know they’re doing plenty with it. They have horses and a petting farm and those cabins they rent out. Not to mention Mieka’s dance studio and Triss’s therapy clinic. They are doing plenty. ”
“Yeah, but there’s still enough unused land that putting a house on a little corner near the creek wouldn’t upset the ponies too much. And they can always use a hand. I know there’s a dental clinic in that little complex near the bakery. And Mieka is a professional dancer and I’m sure her classes are more advanced than what Sasha’s learning here. Otherwise, Denver is only an hour away and I like driving.”
“Are you suggesting we move to Colorado, move in together and live happily ever after?”
Shrugging, he flashed her one of his famous Ryker McKnight smiles. “I mean, it’s just a suggestion.” Her grin winded him. “Of course, we’ll have to see what Sasha thinks of the idea. And there’s the whole deal with you not being my wife. I don’t know how God would feel about us living in sin.”
Her mouth opened and her eyes became saucers. “W-wife?”
That’s when he put her out of her misery and chuckled, pulling her tight to him. “Relax, woman. I’m kidding. God and I parted ways a long time ago. Don’t give a shit what he thinks of me anymore. If anything, living in sin sounds hotter.”
She reared back and slapped his chest, but it wasn’t hard with her dainty little hand. He caught her hand and intertwined their fingers before taking her mouth.
“I thought it would feel like a heart’s betrayal,” he murmured after they came up for air. “Like I was turning on Brendan.”
She shook her head. “I know. At first, I thought the same thing, but over the years, I realized that Brendan wouldn’t want me to be alone. He wouldn’t want you to be alone, either. I think he’s happy that we found our way to each other.”
He nodded. “I hope so.” Then he went in for another kiss, but their lip lock was interrupted a minute later by a harsh knock at the door.
“I got it,” he said, squeezing her hipbone then heading to the foyer. He peered through the peephole to see Susannah standing on the welcome mat. Checking his watch and seeing that it was nearly midnight, he glanced at Molly, who stood in the kitchen. “It’s Susannah.”
“Really?” Molly approached him, a curious look on her face. “Well, let her in. She lives in the same gated community as Kate and Olivia, so maybe she knows something.”
A frisson of unease skittered down Ryker’s spine and he did a mental double-check that he had a few weapons on him. His gun, of course, was in his room, but he still had his garrote and his switchblade in his pocket.
Reaching into his left pocket, he wrapped his fingers around the garrote cord, then opened the door with his right hand. “Susannah!” he greeted. “What brings you by so late?”
“Do you know what’s going on at Olivia’s house?” Susannah asked, stepping inside the house before Ryker or Molly could invite her.
“No,” Molly replied. “What?”
“I don’t know. There are like three cop cars. It’s crazy.”
“Why would you think I would know?” Molly asked. “You live closer to her than I do.”
“Oh, haha.” Susannah laughed. “I don’t know. You always seem to know what’s going on. Always have the latest gossip.”
“No, I don’t,” Molly said slowly. “I hate gossip and you know that.”
Susannah laughed again and her eyes shifted across their faces in a suspicious way. She had her hair in a ponytail, unlike earlier that night when it’d been down and covering her ears. The same teardrop earring that Officer Linden found on the side of the house hung from her left lobe, but the right lobe was naked.
That frisson of unease intensified, spreading from Ryker’s spine into his limbs. His fingers tightened around the garotte cord. Kate and Susannah had the same earrings.
“I uh … I just wanted to come check on things. I hate how Kate and Olivia treated you earlier tonight, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Something about Susannah’s smile and the way she kept swallowing, while also refusing to meet Molly or Ryker in the eye, sent up blinding red flags.
“I’m okay,” Molly confirmed. She seemed nearly as suspicious of Susannah as Ryker was. “You could have texted, though. It’s pretty late. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” Susannah dismissed. “Just fine.” She smacked her lips together a few times. “Actually, do you think I could have a glass of water?”
“Sure,” Molly said slowly, heading into the kitchen to grab a glass from the cupboard. Ryker had kept the door open and stepped just onto the welcome mat to see where Susannah parked her car. Her red Honda CR-V was in the driveway behind Ryker’s rental truck.
A quick scan of the neighborhood and the wooded area beyond the dead-end proved unsuspicious, so he headed back inside, closing the door behind him.
“Ryker,” Molly called, panic in her voice and sending his entire body into attack mode. He rounded the corner into the kitchen to find Molly standing behind the island with her hands up while Susannah pointed a gun at her.
Susannah inched herself around the kitchen enough that she could see Ryker while keeping the gun on Molly. “What’s going on?” he asked slowly, his eyes moving from Susannah’s freaked out face to the Glock in her hand.
“I really liked you,” Susannah said, her voice quavering. “I considered you a friend.”
“We are friends,” Molly agreed. “Good friends. You’re the only one who knew about Adrian and Sasha’s cat. You’re the only one who knows how my husband died. I’ve trusted you with secrets I haven’t trusted anyone else with, even though we haven’t known each other as long as I’ve known some of the others. We just … had the right kind of connection. So … what’s going on?”
Susannah’s top lip curled into a sneer. “Adrian loves me. Not you. Not Kate. He loves me .”
Molly glanced at Ryker.
“You’re the ex that cheated on Adrian to make him go all jealous and snoop into Molly’s phone,” Ryker said, putting the pieces together.
“It was a mistake. It happened once when I went home to Indianapolis to visit my parents. I ran into my high school crush. I’d just lost seventy pounds and gotten my new boobs. Ethan flirted with me. He never even knew I existed in high school. But then he saw me and … I was drunk and it was a mistake.”
“I don’t understand,” Molly said. “Why didn’t you tell me about you and Adrian? I never would have dated him if you asked me not to.”
“First, he slept with Kate Gubler, but I made sure that ended.”
“How?” Ryker asked.
“I told her husband. It ended their marriage and her relationship with Adrian.”
“Does Kate know?” Molly asked.
Susannah shook her head. “Anonymous email. But then Adrian took up with you. The cameras were meant to frame him as a pedophile. That he was watching Sasha. If the town thought he liked little kids, but I showed him that I didn’t believe that to be true, he’d see that I still loved him and he’d realize he still loves me. We could move away together. Start fresh.”
“ You installed the cameras in my house?” Molly exclaimed, her eyes bigger than basketballs.
“But since Adrian denied setting up the cameras, and they didn’t have enough proof to pin it on him …” Susannah was confessing to everything. Why?
“Did you …” Molly swallowed. “Did you kill Anthony, too?”
Susannah shrugged. “Sent a message to you. I didn’t enjoy it. But something needed to be done. To keep you and Adrian apart. To get the town to turn on him so the only person he could turn to was me.”
“There were two people on the camera. Two shadows,” Ryker said.
“Olivia and I were framing Kate to take the fall.”
Why was she confessing? Why was she here? This didn’t make any sense. Surely, Molly told Susannah what Ryker did for work—or used to do for work. The woman was a fool to come to the house, even with a gun. She had to have a bigger plan. Unless she’d absolutely fallen off her damn rocker from the debilitating jealousy. And this was the plan. Come, confess, and wield a gun.
He glanced down the hallway at the closed bedroom doors. Thank god Sasha was in her room fast asleep. He wanted to pull out his phone and dial 9-1-1, but the crazy lady with the gun had some alert gray eyes that didn’t leave him.
“Why was Olivia helping you?” Molly asked.
“Because she’s my sister?” Susannah said, a confused expression on her face, like Molly should know this.
Molly looked like her head was going to explode. Clearly, she did not know this.
“Well, half-sister and we only just found out a few years ago when we realized my mom had an affair with her dad, who was also her boss. We did the online DNA tests and figured it out.”
“Why keep it a secret?” Molly asked. “I don’t understand. I don’t understand any of this.”
“You know this town survives on gossip. We love it, we just don’t want to be part of it. Olivia’s vendetta is against you. You dated Adrian, and when you ended it with him, he took it out on Sasha. Benching her hurt the team. And when Sasha quit, that hurt the team even more. Olivia was annoyed enough when Sasha was on the team because Camden rarely got to play. But with Sasha leaving, the team sucks and won’t make playoffs.”
“So, you hatched this plot as revenge because your ex loves me and not you, and Olivia jumped on the bandwagon because of the soccer team?” Molly was doing a fantastic job of keeping Susannah talking. She was asking all the right questions and remaining as calm as anybody could under the circumstances.
“People have done crazier things for love.”
“I suppose,” Molly mused, her gaze skittering to Ryker. “I just … I don’t understand. W-we’re friends. I trusted you.”
This story was getting more convoluted and bizarre by the second. Ryker still couldn’t understand why Susannah came here and was confessing everything. Unless, she felt painted into a corner and realized there was no way out, so she decided to leave as much devastation as possible in her wake before ending things. Was murder-suicide her plan here? Given the deranged glint in her eyes, Ryker wouldn’t put it past her.
“We looked into Adrian’s history and only discovered he dated Kate. But not you. Why?” Ryker asked.
“Susannah is my middle name. I only started going by it recently.”
Why?
The questions just kept mounting up.
This woman was nuts.
Then it hit him.
“You’re Janine Susannah Gobillot,” Ryker said, dumbfounded. It wasn’t a question.
“Gobillot is my legal name. But I’ve started using my mother’s maiden name—Talmage.”
Fuck, he really should have done background checks on all the women in Molly’s book club. But that would have taken time, and he’d only just met them all that night. Chase could only work so fast.
“Why are you here?” Molly asked, confusion, exhaustion and terror all fighting for the top spot on her beautiful face. “I don’t want Adrian. You can have him. You can win him back.”
“He won’t want me unless you’re out of the picture, unless he had nowhere else to go. He loves you.” The gun shook in Susannah’s or Janine’s or whoever the fuck she was’s hand.
“I’m leaving,” Molly said. “Ryker and I have finally told each other how we feel and we’re moving.”
Now it was Susannah’s turn to look confused, but that lasted only a second. Her gaze narrowed, and she shook her head. “You’re lying.”
“No, Susannah … Janine? I’m not,” Molly said slowly. “There’s nothing keeping Sasha and me in Jackson Hole anymore. My in-laws have passed away, and she’s outgrown her dance studio. We’re moving on.” Her eyes landed on Ryker, and she smiled. “We’re following our hearts.”
At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, Ryker spotted Officer Linden, gun at the ready, hiding off to the side of the deck behind the French doors. Were there more cops? Did they have the place surrounded?
He’d been inching himself closer to Susannah as slowly as he could. He’d made it about three feet without the wingnut noticing. At this point, he could possibly kick the gun out of her hand, but there was still the risk of it going off and hitting Molly.
He’d been in a standoff before, but never when the gun was pointed at the woman he loved.
A hot tear made its way down Molly’s cheek. “I swear, Susannah, I never meant to hurt you. To hurt Adrian or Kate, Olivia or Camden, or anybody. Please don’t do this. We’ll leave tomorrow. We’ll leave Jackson Hole tomorrow and never return. You can have Adrian all to yourself. There are so many wonderful things about you, I’m sure he’ll take you back. I’m sure he’s just blowing off steam with other women. He knows it’s a mistake. He knows you love him and I’m certain he still loves you.”
Susannah seemed to actually be thinking about it, and it was at that pause, that moment where she wasn’t looking at Ryker, that he decided to make his move. He threw himself in front of and on top of Susannah, in front of the gun, pushing her into the counter while deflecting the aim of the gun away from Molly.
But she pulled the trigger, and he felt it go straight through his shoulder.
Blinding pain rocked his entire body as he collapsed on top of Susannah on the floor.
Molly screamed and pandemonium ensued a moment later with police officers running in through both the front door and the French doors.
Sasha’s voice echoed behind him and Molly ran to her. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Get out of the way. Don’t look. Don’t look.”
But then Sasha must have looked because she screamed Ryker’s name at an ear-piercing volume.
“Mr. McKnight,” came the familiar voice of Officer Linden. “Have you been shot?”
“Yeah,” Ryker groaned, rolling off Susannah and against the oven. “Shoulder. Don’t think it hit anything major.” He closed his eyes and grit his teeth from the blinding pain. It would be nice when he went into shock and the adrenaline kicked in. It’d hurt a lot less.
Another officer was hauling Susannah to her feet and putting her in cuffs while Officer Linden helped Ryker sit up against the oven. Ryker grabbed the tea towel that hung from the oven handle and pressed it to his gunshot wound, sucking in a sharp breath from that more-than-a-bite of pain.
“Lean forward,” Officer Linden said. Ryker did as he was asked. “Looks like a through and through at least.”
Ryker nodded. “Not the first time I’ve been shot. This is nothing. I can make a necklace from all the bullets.”
Officer Linden snorted. “We have an ambulance on the way, sir.”
Molly and Sasha came into view, both of them crying with terror riddled faces. The adrenaline was starting to kick in and the pain was numbing. He smiled bleakly at them. “Hi ladies.”
They both dropped to their knees and hugged him, but he winced when they squeezed a little too hard.
Then Molly smacked his chest, his shirt covered in blood. “That was stupid as hell. Don’t ever do anything like that again.”
“What? Throw myself in front of a crazy person with a gun for you? Uh, I think I’ll definitely do that again if the opportunity presents itself.”
Sasha and Molly choked out chuckles through their sobs.
“Let’s get out of here,” Sasha said. “This town is …” She glanced around at the ongoing chaos of cops in the kitchen. “There’s nothing here for us anymore.”
Molly wrapped her arm around her daughter. “How about Colorado?”
She was a clever kid and caught on instantly. Her smile made the pain in Ryker’s shoulder almost completely disappear. “Like on a ranch? With horses and cows and goats and stuff? And a dance studio with an amazing dance teacher who also happens to be married to one of my many uncles?”
“Is there such a place?” Ryker asked, scratching his chin.
Sasha beamed. “When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow?” Molly suggested. Ryker and Sasha looked at her like she was crazy, but she just shrugged. “Oooor two weeks so I can give my notice at the dental office and we can pack?”
Sasha nodded. “Two weeks.”
“I better call Asher and Nate and tell them we want some of their land,” Ryker said, just as the paramedics came into the kitchen with their bag of toys and fun painkillers.
“Let’s first get you cleaned up, then we’ll call them and tell them the good news in the morning,” Molly said, helping him to his feet.
He winced a little when his arm dropped to his side, then made his way over to the couch so the paramedics could assess him.
“So it was Susannah?” Sasha asked, snuggled on the love seat with Molly as the paramedics fixed up Ryker.
“Apparently,” Molly said. “I still can’t believe it.”
Officer Linden joined them and checked on Ryker, his gaze full of guilt. “I never should have left. I’m really sorry.”
Ryker shrugged his good shoulder. “Had it under control, man. Don’t sweat it. How’d you know to come back, though?”
“Olivia sung like a canary,” he said plainly. “She gave up Susannah to save her own ass. Sailor was bullied into stealing the film by Camden who got it for her mom. Apparently, Camden was well aware of what her mother was doing and helped, however she could. We have Olivia and Camden in custody as well.”
“So Coach Adrian didn’t do anything that we thought he did?” Sasha asked.
“He still went through Molly’s phone, stalked her and treated her like crap,” Ryker pointed out. “He’s not innocent, but he’s not guilty of the crimes we initially accused him of.”
“Mr. Huber is willing to cooperate in any way we need him to,” Officer Linden added. “He seemed genuinely remorseful for what happened to Mrs. O’Shea and understands that he handled things poorly. He’s not off the hook, but he’s not the one on trial for—”
“A butt load of felonies,” Ryker said.
The cop nodded. “Indeed. Mrs. O’Shea, do you feel okay to offer your statement now? Or would you prefer tomorrow morning?”
Molly glanced at her phone. It was well past midnight and dark bags of fatigue hung under her pretty green eyes.
“Tomorrow,” Ryker answered for her. “We need to sleep. But we’ll come down to the station and all give our statements.”
“I understand,” Officer Linden replied. He rested a gentle hand on Ryker’s good shoulder. “I’m glad you’re okay. But don’t ever do that again.”
“I will if there’s a gun pointed at either of these women.”
The cop pulled in a deep breath, but eventually nodded. “Yeah, okay.” Then he wandered away with a defeated head shake.
The paramedics advised Ryker to go to the hospital. He declined. He’d been shot up far worse than this before. He knew what he could handle. “Just give me some morphine and I’ll sleep like a baby.”
With eye rolls, they shot him up with enough morphine to have him smiling like an idiot on a white puffy cloud. “I’ll get him to the hospital tomorrow,” Molly said. “We all just need to be together in the house tonight. With the doors locked and the blinds closed.”
There was little room for anybody to argue with them. So eventually, the house emptied, Molly locked the door, closed the drapes everywhere, and set the alarm.
Sasha snuggled into his good side and Molly gently nestled into his bandaged arm with the sling. He closed his eyes, a big smile on his face. “This is heaven.”
They giggled. “You’re high,” Molly said.
“Even without the morphine, this would still be heaven.”
“You were just shot by a jealous, crazy woman and refused to go to the hospital,” Sasha said. “I think this is the opposite of heaven.”
“Nope. It’s heaven. Me, here with the two women I love most in the entire world.”
“Awwww.” The both cooed.
“We’re gonna have a good life, the three of us.”
“Yes, we will,” Molly agreed. “Surrounded by family, animals and fresh air. No more of this small town gossip or fake friends.”
“No more jealous soccer moms and creepy coaches,” Sasha added.
“No more looking backward,” Ryker said, leaning over and kissing each woman on the head. “Only forward. And even with my eyes closed, the future looks damn bright.”