Chapter 15 #2
“This is a Sullivan SUV, so yeah, I can.” She urged Smoky into the back seat. “Don’t bother arguing, that’s a waste of time. If you’re going, so am I.”
Dom didn’t like it. But she was right. They were wasting time. He hit the gas and headed out to the highway, silently praying Justin, Raine, and Griff would forgive him.
“What’s going on, Dominic?” Kendra broke the long silence as Dom navigated the highway. She would have rather had Smoky in the back crate area, but he had chosen to jump into Justin’s car rather than drive her own. “Why are you heading back to Billings?”
He didn’t answer for a long moment. “I almost got you and your brother killed.” He shot her a quick glance, his expression grim. “And for what? A handful of gold coins?”
She frowned, then understood. “You think this is about the Krugerrand.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “Don’t you see? Stuart Ramsey’s confession started this, but it was the Krugerrand he’d given to Helen that ramped up the danger. Bartoli must have figured out that my father had Krugerrand. For all we know, my dad stole it.”
“I’m sure he didn’t steal it.” Even as she said the words, though, she realized it was possible. Why else would Gary Lakeland have kept the Krugerrand for so many years? Or had he used some along the way? Maybe he’d use some of the gold to support his charter business.
“I didn’t know my father at all.” Dom’s expression was harsh. “I have no idea what he was capable of.”
“If your father did take some Krugerrand, it was only to help secure a future for you.” Kendra strove to sound positive. “Don’t judge him for wanting to keep you safe.”
Dom shook his head. “I don’t know what to think. Other than I almost got you killed.”
“I’m fine and so is Justin.” She reached out to touch his arm. He glanced at her hand, then shook her off. She tried to hide the flash of hurt. “This isn’t your fault.”
He shrugged without saying anything. Kendra stared blindly out the passenger-side window. She didn’t appreciate Dom keeping an emotional distance from her. As if they hadn’t worked together to survive over the past twenty-four hours.
As if she hadn’t fallen in love with him.
Talk about a stupid move on her part. She knew better than to open herself up to heartache. It wasn’t as if Dominic would pick up his life and move to the Sullivan ranch.
Maybe she could offer to move to Billings?
The idea filled her with sadness. She’d miss her family.
The almost two-hour drive back to Billings, Montana, passed with excruciating slowness. Every time she tried to talk, Dom responded with one-word answers. By the time Dominic drove into the driveway of what she assumed was his father’s home, she’d wished she’d stayed back at the log cabin.
Dom barely looked at her as he slid out of the car. Feeling like a barnacle he longed to scrape off, she called Smoky from the car and followed him inside.
“Nice place.” She wasn’t surprised he kept the place neat and tidy. Smoky sniffed the air with interest. “Where do we start?”
Dom sighed. “I have no clue. If my dad hid the Krugerrand, it could be anywhere.”
“No safe or anything obvious, huh?” She tried to smile to break the tension.
“No. Although—” Dom stopped mid-sentence, turned, and walked through the connecting door to what she assumed was a large garage. He didn’t wait for her, letting the door close loudly behind him.
Kendra glanced down at Smoky, who was still sniffing the air. Then the dog trotted over to the connecting door, sniffing along the baseboard. Her K9 sat and barked.
Kendra’s blood turned to ice. She pulled her weapon and wrenched the door open.
Dom didn’t seem to notice, but looking beyond him, she saw a dark shadow moving along the back of what she now realized was a large plane hangar.
It looked very similar to the one Jessica’s husband, Logan, had built on the ranch. “Get down!”
At her command, Dom dropped to the ground just as Levy turned and fired wildly in their direction. He held something under his arm. What, Kendra couldn’t tell. She fired three shots, one after the other, the way her oldest brother, Chase, had taught her.
Levy howled and hit the ground, dropping the box he held under his arm and his weapon.
Kendra rushed forward, kicking the gun away from Levy’s outstretched hand.
The box split open, revealing a spilled pile of gold coins.
Then she noticed the blood pooling beneath Levy’s body.
Swallowing hard at the thought she may have killed a man, she lowered herself to one knee, feeling for a pulse. Levy was alive. For the moment.
Dom dropped beside the marshal, pulling the edges of Levy’s coat together as a pressure dressing. “Go get help. I should have waited to see if Smoky would alert.”
“Yeah, you should have.” Before she could pull out the disposable phone Justin had given her, she heard a car engine.
Fearing Levy had Bartoli with him, she jumped up and headed to the side door.
When she saw Raine and Justin, she relaxed.
Pushing open the door, she gestured for them to come in. “Levy’s down. We need an ambulance.”
Justin glared at her as Raine made the call. But she ignored her brother’s annoyance.
This time, the danger was over for good.
“You should have waited for us.” Anger flashed in Justin’s eyes. “I called several times. What if Levy had shot you both? Then what?”
“Then I’d be in heaven with Mom and Dad.” Kendra glanced over to where Raine was helping Dom stabilize Levy. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer. I assumed Levy was in Canada by now.”
“That’s what happens when you’re ruled by greed.” Justin didn’t look the least bit upset at how Levy clung to life. Then he sighed. “We should try to help save him. We may need him to find Bartoli.”
It didn’t take long for the Billings police and ambulance crew to arrive. The paramedics went to work on Levy, whisking him away within fifteen minutes. Despite everything, Kendra prayed Levy would survive. Her brother was right that they’d need him to get Bartoli.
Dom washed the blood from his hands, then knelt beside the box of Krugerrand. “I’m not sure how Levy found this.”
“He used this.” Kendra lifted a metal pole with a flat head on one end. “It’s a metal detector.”
Dom shook his head. “If they’d have just found the coins right away, they would have gotten away with it. Instead, they came at me like a bull charging a red flag.”
“There was still Ramsey’s confession,” Kendra pointed out.
“Besides, nobody said criminals were smart,” Raine said with a shrug.
Dom stood, leaving the coins on the floor of the hangar. “Take them. I don’t want anything to do with stolen Krugerrand.”
Kendra reached for his arm. This time, he didn’t shake her off. Instead, he turned and folded her close. She clung to him, wishing things were different.
“They’re not worth your life,” Dom whispered in her ear. “Nothing is worth risking your life or that of your family.”
“I feel the same way about you.” She hugged him tight, then craned her head back to look up at him. “You’re safe now. We all are.”
He shook his head. “Not if Bartoli is still out there looking for the coins.”
“We’ll make an announcement that we found them,” Raine said. “Besides, I think we can convince Jake and Jennifer to cooperate. That alone should help put Bartoli behind bars.”
“Not if Levy hired them.” Dom’s expression appeared carved in stone. “I’m ready to go into witness protection, Raine. If that’s the only way to keep Kendra and the rest of you safe, then I’m ready.”
Kendra’s heart squeezed painfully. “No, Dom. That’s not necessary . . .”
He broke away from her embrace. “I won’t risk you, Kendra. I won’t! I love you!”
Her jaw dropped in shocked surprise. This was not exactly how she’d wanted to hear those three words. “I love you too! So you’re not going away, understand?” She narrowed her gaze. “We’ll figure this out, together.”
Dom threw up his hands. “I give up.” He jabbed a finger at Justin. “Talk some sense into your sister, would you?” With that, he strode into the house.
Justin took a step toward her, but Kendra lifted a hand. “Don’t even try.” She turned and followed Dominic inside. Smoky stayed close at her side.
Dom stood in the center of the room holding his head in his hands as if it might fall off if he let go. She crossed over to him. “I love you. I’m not leaving you.” He opened his mouth to argue, but she kept going, “And if you’re going into witness protection, then I am too.”
He let out a harsh laugh. “Nice try, Kendra. You’d never leave your family.”
“I don’t want to leave them, but I love you. You, Dominic.” She jabbed him in the chest with her index finger. “I love you! I don’t want to live my life without you. So if you’re going, then so am I.” She glanced at Smoky. “But I don’t think we can take Smoky with us. She’s too noticeable.”
“You can’t leave your dog and your family. I won’t let you do this.” Dom’s voice rose in agitation. “Please, Kendra, don’t do this.”
“That’s up to you.” She held his gaze. “I told you from the beginning we’re in this together.
Our parents died on that plane through no fault of their own.
Their deaths have tied us together, Dom.
Don’t you see? God brought us together to learn the truth.
And now that I’ve found the love I’ve envied amongst all my siblings, I’m not going to let you go. ”
“Kendra.” His voice was a mere whisper, but then he reached out and hauled her into his arms. “I don’t deserve you.”
Relief washed over her as she held him close. “You deserve my love the way I deserve yours.”
“I love you so much.” He pressed a kiss to her temple, then leaned back to lift her chin with his fingertip. His kiss was sweet at first, then turned molten hot. Kendra lost herself in his embrace until Smoky bumped her head against Kendra’s thigh.
“Not now,” she murmured, nudging the dog aside. Then she hauled Dom down for another kiss.
“Kendra? The police want to talk to you and Dom.” Raine’s wry tone broke them apart.
She swallowed a sigh of frustration. Couldn’t they just have five minutes alone? But then Dom nodded and stepped back. “Of course.”
Ignoring Raine’s arched brow, Kendra led the way back to the hangar. Dom’s home office was in the corner of the building. She headed that way, belatedly realizing this was the direction Levy had come from when she’d fired at him.
A rather skimpy Christmas tree stood in the far corner of the room, but what caught her attention was a perfectly square hole in the drywall at about the level of her face. “Is that where the coins were? I’m surprised the metal detector picked them up.”
“Why wouldn’t it? There are at least a hundred coins, maybe more,” Justin said with a shrug. “They were tucked behind a painting of Dom’s father’s plane. Not exactly an original hiding spot.”
“So obvious I missed it,” Dom muttered. “Although that picture is what made me head out here in the first place. I finally realized that if my father had hidden something, it might be behind the plane picture he loved.”
“Don’t beat yourself up for not realizing that sooner.” Kendra took his hand in hers.
“He should have left me a clue.” Dom gestured to the painting. “The picture was important to my father, so I left it undisturbed.”
“Maybe your father assumed you’d look behind it. Or take it down,” Justin said. “Although it’s probably better you didn’t, or you’d have ended up dead in a car crash like Helen Gingrass.”
“It all worked out the way it was supposed to, I guess.” Dom tugged her close. “Thanks to you, Kendra. And Smoky. If you hadn’t jumped into the SUV at the last minute . . .”
“I’m glad I did.” She sighed at Justin’s glare. “And I’m glad you and Raine followed us.”
“We need to take your statements.” A Billings police officer gestured for her and Dominic to follow him outside. “And this is a crime scene. You can’t stay here.”
“That’s okay, Dom will be staying with us at the Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue Ranch.” She glanced over at him. “Right?”
He nodded slowly. “If your family agrees. If not, I’ll find somewhere else . . .”
“You’re staying.” Kendra wasn’t going to let Dom stay by himself. Not when Bartoli was still out there somewhere. “We’ll be safe at the ranch until this is over.”
“Hold on, Kendra,” Justin protested. “Let’s not forget about our pregnant sisters and the kids, Eli and Ben.”
He was right. She had momentarily forgotten. “Okay, we’ll find a place to stay. Maybe Griff can arrange another safe house. One that will actually keep us safe.”
The next hour dragged by slowly. Kendra and Dom were separated and asked to provide their version of events independently of the other.
When that was finished, she joined Dom, Raine, and Justin.
The two dogs, Smoky and Stone, had played in the snow, wearing themselves out to the point they were both stretched out in the back crate areas of both SUVs sound asleep.
“I think we should stay in Billings,” Kendra said to Dom as he handed Justin’s key fob back. In return, Raine gave Kendra hers. “There are more hotels there than in all of Cody and Greybull combined.”
“No need, you’re coming to the ranch. I’ve cleared it with Chase.” Justin grinned. “Although he wants to have a talk with Dominic once we get there.”
“I understand. He has every right to be angry. It’s my fault Kendra was in danger, and that you were hurt,” Dom said.
“We’ll talk to him together.” Kendra gripped Dom’s hand. “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine.”
“Meet you there.” Raine and Justin climbed into their SUV and drove off.
Kendra stepped closer to Dom. “Are you sure about this?”
“I’m sure I love you.” He cupped her cheek with his hand and gave her a quick kiss. “Let’s not keep your brother waiting, though. I’m already starting off on the wrong foot with your family. I’d hate to make it worse than it already is.”
“They’ll love you because I love you.” She kissed him, then pressed the key fob into his hand. “Trust me.”
“I do.” Dom held her gaze for a long moment, then slid in behind the wheel. Kendra glanced up as large flakes of snow began to fall. One good thing about living in Wyoming, they always had a white Christmas.
She couldn’t wait to spend the holiday with Dom and her family. Even with their uncertain future, her heart filled with hope as they made the trip back home.