Chapter 39
Paradise slipped Isaac’s arm off her neck and eased out of bed at ten thirty. He didn’t move a muscle. He’d clutched her tightly
until sleep finally loosened his grip. Tonight had badly frightened him.
She tiptoed out of the room and went to the kitchen to find her purse. It wasn’t in the kitchen or the living room, and she
got a clear memory of seeing it on the floor of Blake’s truck. She’d probably left it in their haste to get the boys inside
to some semblance of normalcy. She could wait until morning, but she wanted to check her phone for any emergency vet messages
from Pawsome Pets.
Blake kept his keys on a hook in the kitchen, so she found them and unlocked the front door to head to the truck. She stood
on the porch for a moment and listened to the familiar night sounds of the park. Even the tigers chuffing in the distance
didn’t make her heart seize in her chest, and she let herself hope the fear that had plagued her was finally easing.
Keys in hand, she went down the steps to the vague outline of Blake’s truck in the moonlight. She clicked the unlock button and quickly found her purse and withdrew her phone. No messages.
A movement came from the left, and she turned that direction. A figure bent over her back bumper. When he straightened, she
saw the same dark hoodie they’d seen in Mason’s videos.
Mr. Adams.
Without thinking, she dove her hand into her purse and extracted her small gun before marching to intercept him. For fifteen
years she’d waited for this moment. There’d been no resolution to the anger and hatred she felt for this man.
She walked forward until she stood a foot away from his bent form. Was that a tracker under her bumper? Her fingers tightened on the gun’s grip and she restrained a mad impulse to aim the barrel at him and pull
the trigger.
He turned around, then froze when he saw her blocking his escape. “Paradise,” he croaked.
Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, and she swallowed, then licked her lips. Her pulse thumped in her ears, and nausea
roiled in her belly. She could do this. “Mr. Adams.” Her voice sounded creaky and weak to her ears, but her strength began
to rise with the release of the first syllables.
He was trapped between her and the car. The only way to escape would be to brush her out of the way, but his gaze dropped
to the gun in her hand and he didn’t move. She was close enough to smell the overpowering stench of his Old Spice cologne.
He used to practically bathe in the stuff, and he evidently hadn’t changed that habit.
She swallowed the urge to gag. “Trying to frighten me again? You lost that power long ago. I’m not a kid anymore.”
She saw him clearly for the first time—small, mean, weak of spirit, with the desire to make himself feel bigger by hurting others.
With this realization strength flooded through her body along her muscles and tendons.
She straightened to her full height, and he shrank back as if he sensed the power rising in her.
“You are despicable. It wasn’t enough to try to terrorize me—you had to traumatize a little boy. But that’s what you’re good
at, isn’t it? What did you hope to gain here? Were you afraid if I stayed around, I’d tell more people what you did when I
was a kid?”
“I didn’t do anything to you. It’s all lies.”
“Gaslighting. You can’t make me forget by denying it.” She poked the gun toward him. “Leave this family alone. You can’t break
them no matter what you do.” She studied his frightened expression. “You’re not smart enough to be the mastermind. I want
you to go back to your boss and tell him it didn’t work, that it will never work. There’s nothing you can do to drive me away.
You’ve failed.”
He wet his lips. “You need to leave town or things will get worse. I didn’t hurt the kid, but I can’t promise he won’t.”
Fear tried to grip her, but she pushed it away. She was done with that. “You’ve both lost. It’s over. I won’t be ruled by
fear, and neither will the Lawsons.”
His gaze darted from side to side, but he didn’t look at her directly. “I didn’t do anything really bad. The kid is fine.
You’re fine.”
She glared at him. “You’re small and cruel, but I want you to know you didn’t break me.
If you’d tried to enter my room again, I would have hit you with a chair or the lamp.
I would have screamed and fought. You wouldn’t have walked out unscathed.
And that’s why you’re still trying to frighten me, isn’t it?
I didn’t cave to fear, and you can’t have that. ”
Intent didn’t matter to him. Pity stirred for the first time. He was blind and weak and pathetic. She could talk about his
misdeeds all day long and he’d never admit to anything. He’d never be able to process his wrongdoing to himself. Did that
mean he was past help? Maybe. She could release the hatred that still muddied her heart, or she could be like him and hold
tight to pride and self-righteousness.
She didn’t need the gun when she had the ultimate weapon. “You can’t scare me any longer, Lloyd.” She said his first name
deliberately rather than give him any status with the title Mr. “I’ve learned something important in the past few weeks—something that is stronger than you, stronger than anything. What
you meant for evil, God worked for good. What I went through didn’t break me. It made me stronger.”
His hazel eyes widened, and he tried to step away but only succeeded in becoming more trapped between her and the car. “I
don’t even know what that means.”
Or course he didn’t—he was blind to anything but his own desires and what he thought the world owed him. She took a step back
and dropped the gun into her purse. “I never thought I’d say this, but I forgive you. It probably means nothing to you, but
it means everything to me. It destroys the last bit of power you might have had over me. I’m free from you, really free.”
Her spirit soared and her steps were light as she turned and walked toward the house without looking back. She texted Jane
as she walked toward the house. While Paradise had forgiven him, he still needed to answer for what he’d done here at the
refuge. Maybe the police could catch him on the road.
Blake kicked the covers off his feet and glanced at the clock.
Just after midnight. He’d wanted to sleep on the sofa downstairs, but Paradise had urged him to get some rest in his own bed.
He swung his legs over the side and padded to his small kitchen to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge.
When he glanced out the window, a light glowed from the cottage’s back window. Someone was up.
He shoved his feet into Nike slides and went down the stairs to make sure the boys weren’t upset and afraid after the traumatic
evening. An owl hooted as he exited the garage, and a big cat chuffed in the distance. A wolf howled, and several more joined
in. A male fox screamed out to warn off another male.
The normal night sounds here at the park wouldn’t be found anywhere else. While they’d figured out the will situation, he
had to do his best to uncover the source of the other attacks to ensure they never had to leave this place.
This sanctuary was in his soul.
He was halfway down the steps when his phone sounded with a text. He paused and glanced at it. If Jane was texting him at
this hour, it must be important. Call me when you get up.
He sat on a step and placed the call. “What’s up?”
“That was fast.” Jane sounded tired. “We got Adams a few minutes ago. He’d been holed up in an apartment in Foley, and our
officers nabbed him pulling into the driveway. And get this—we found a vial of Telazol in his bedroom.”
All this time he’d been only fifteen minutes away. “He killed Ivy?”
“He admitted she was demanding money to keep quiet about who wanted to know more about Paradise, so we think that’s what happened. He clammed up right after that and demanded an attorney, but he’s sloppy. I think we’ll find more evidence.”
At least he was in custody and couldn’t hurt Paradise. “Thanks for letting me know. Mom and Paradise will be relieved you
got him.”
“I hope to know more later today. Sorry to wake you up.”
“I was up.” He said goodbye and rose from the step to continue down. After unlocking the back door of the cottage, he slipped
into the kitchen and found Paradise making a cup of hot cocoa. “Was Isaac sideways in the bed?”
She smiled. Something was different about her, lighter, happier. “I went outside to get my purse from your truck. Adams was
putting a tracker on my car, and I confronted him.”
Anger gripped him. “Jane has him in custody. She texted a few minutes ago.”
She stirred the cocoa mix into the milk on the stove. “I don’t think Adams is the kingpin. Number one, he’s not smart enough
to be orchestrating this—the attacks on the park, the ominous warnings, the Phantom music, the rattlesnake. That all took
way too much planning. I think he’s doing someone else’s bidding. So I told him to tell his boss it’s over. We won’t be scared
away and they’ve failed.”
Blake processed the thought. She knew the man well, so he believed her. “Do you think the same person is behind trying to
run you off and what’s been happening at the park? I don’t see how they’re tied together.”
“I think they’re two prongs of the same fork.
Driving me away from the park would leave you with no vet and no way to replace me with all of the criminal activity going on here.
Destroying the park’s reputation would leave you and your mom with no option but to sell out.
Dean and Mary may even be in on it. Someone behind the scenes might have gone to them with an offer for a ridiculous amount of money, and they hatched the plan around the forged will.
A major squeeze play to remove all avenues that would allow The Sanctuary to thrive.
The kingpin would swoop in and buy up the land from either you guys or the Steerforths. End of story.”
“I admit it makes sense, but we have no idea where to look.”
She poured her hot chocolate into a mug. “So we dig harder. We know Adams was at Bea Davis’s house and also at Mary’s. Maybe
I can get one of them to talk.” She held his gaze. “Without you.” He started to object, but she shook her head. “They’re more
likely to open up to me than to you. The Sanctuary is the main target. Bea seemed to like me, so I’ll start there.”
She was right, but he didn’t like it. “I’ll agree on one condition. Let’s put a tracker on your phone. If you’re stepping
into the line of fire, I want to be able to find you.”
Her eyes lit with enthusiasm. “That’s a great idea. I’ll get my phone.”
She left her mug on the counter and went into the living room to grab it. When she handed it to him, he found a location app
and installed it on her phone before connecting them together in the locater under Lawson Family. “I have this same app on my phone and so does Mom. So we’re all together and can stalk each other.” He handed it back.
She lifted a brow and smiled, then set her phone on the counter and stepped toward him. “So you’d better make sure you’re
not seeing an old girlfriend, or I’ll find you out.”
He pulled her into his arms. “There’s never been anyone but you.” Her arms came around his neck, and he pulled her in close
for a kiss. “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid like get yourself killed,” he murmured against her lips.
She pulled away. “I’ll do my best. I like being part of the Lawson family.” Her smile widened. “There’s something else I told Adams. I let go of my anger and hatred. I forgave him for what he did to me.”
He caught his breath. “That was a hard thing to do. How do you feel now?”
“Like the sun is finally out after a long, dark storm.”
He felt her joy and pulled her into his arms again. “I’m so proud of you.” It would be a turning point for her, for them,
and for the future.