43. Harper
CHAPTER 43
Harper
The bakery didn’t appear to be on fire, so at least I had that going for me.
There also weren’t any fire engines or other emergency vehicles, so maybe that meant I hadn’t left cookies in the oven to burn.
I parked in the back and Owen and I got out. Garrett still hadn’t called, which was bothering me more than I wanted to admit to Owen. That sense of unease that had been growing in the pit of my stomach had only intensified on the drive into town. I was worried about the bakery, but more than that, I was worried about Garrett.
Something was telling me he wasn’t okay.
We went to the back door and I unlocked it. Maybe I’d find my phone and there would be a message from Garrett, telling me where he was. It would explain why he hadn’t answered Owen, and we’d know when to expect him back at his parents’ house.
Smoke didn’t billow out of the kitchen when I opened the door. That was a good sign.
“Maybe I didn’t leave the oven on after all.” I stepped inside and Owen followed. Then I locked the door behind us, just in case.
Without the SPS patrolling, I felt vulnerable.
I didn’t miss the furrow in his brow as I flipped on the lights.
He was worried too.
I wouldn’t lie to him and say everything was going to be okay. I hoped that was true, but I didn’t know what was going on with his dad any more than he did. It seemed disingenuous to offer empty platitudes, even in an attempt to make him feel better.
He was a kid, but too grown up for that.
Instead, I patted him on the arm, then went to check the oven.
Off.
I let out a breath. “Sorry. It’s not on. We didn’t need to rush down here.”
He shrugged. “That’s okay.”
I could have sworn I put cookies in, though. Had I imagined that? I opened the oven and sure enough, there they were. My blackberry almond thumbprints, sitting in a cold oven, not baking.
“Sugar cookies, what did I do?”
I pulled the baking sheet out and set it on the island. Apparently I hadn’t turned the oven on at all.
Or maybe I’d tried to turn it on and my bad luck had intervened. It was probably broken.
“Are those just dough?” Owen asked.
I put my hands on my hips and shook my head sadly. “Yeah. I don’t know what’s up with me today, but apparently I stuck those in a cold oven and then forgot all about them. That’s better than leaving an oven on, but still. What’s up with my brain?”
“Pregnancy brain. ”
“You’re probably right. But how do you know about that?”
“My math teacher last year was pregnant. She complained about it all the time.”
I put a hand on my belly. Not that there was any outward sign of the baby, but the tiny one was still making him-or-herself known. “I actually like the idea of it being pregnancy brain, and not another manifestation of my bad luck curse.”
“What do you want to do with these?”
“I’ll toss them. I don’t want to take the time to bake them. I feel like we should get back.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and a chill ran down my spine. I was about to ask Owen if it was just me when I realized we weren’t alone.
A man stood just inside the back door. He was dressed in black, including black gloves on his hands. How had he gotten in? I’d locked it. Pregnancy brain or not, I’d absolutely locked it.
Then it hit me. Someone had broken into my house, and Garrett’s. Locks wouldn’t mean much to someone like that.
“Don’t scream.” The man pulled a gun and pointed it at Owen. “Phone. On the counter.”
“Do what he says,” I whispered.
Owen took his phone out of his pocket and set it next to the sheet of unbaked cookies.
My mind reeled, fear and confusion swirling in a haze. Who was he? He looked familiar.
Wait. Phillip, from the prosecutor’s office. He’d been in the bakery earlier that day.
“I didn’t count on two of you.” He narrowed his eyes at Owen. “But I can make this work. It’s going to make for quite a story when all is said and done. The whole family.”
Owen inched toward me. Phillip didn’t say anything, so I reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him next to me. His phone buzzed on the island, but I couldn’t see the screen. Not that it mattered. We couldn’t answer it.
“What do you want?” Owen asked.
“No questions. Do what you’re told, and I won’t have to shoot you.”
“You can’t shoot her,” Owen said. “She’s pregnant.”
Phillip rolled his eyes. “Like I care. Here’s what’s going to happen. My car is parked just outside. You’re going to walk out the door and get in the back seat. The door’s already open. Cooperate and you live.”
Owen leaned closer. “He’s not going to shoot us in the middle of town.”
“No?” Phillip asked. “Don’t test me, kid. I’ve done far worse and gotten away with it.”
“Where are you going to take us?” Owen asked.
“Owen, I think you should be quiet now.”
“She’s a smart woman,” Phillip said. “Let’s go.”
“We’re not going with you,” Owen said, a note of defiance in his voice.
My heart beat furiously. Could we get out the front before he shot us? A moving target was harder to hit, but we’d have to navigate through the kitchen, out the doorway, and around the counter and pastry case. Then get out the locked front door, all without getting shot in the back.
He’d shoot Owen first. I could see it in his eyes.
Owen twitched. He wanted to try to run.
“Don’t,” I whispered. “He’ll kill you.”
“No he won’t,” he whispered back.
Phillip let out a frustrated sigh. He kept the gun trained on Owen and pulled something from his belt. It looked like another gun, only it was black and yellow.
He pointed the second weapon right at me. “He’s right, I don’t want to shoot you here. But you are coming with me.”
“No!” Owen shouted, twisting so his body moved in front of me .
He yelled in pain and fell to the floor.
A taser. Phillip had just hit him with a taser.
“Stop!” I screamed.
Owen groaned, his teeth clenched, and his rigid body convulsed.
“Please stop!”
His body went still, but only for half a second. The convulsing began again and Owen cried out.
“No! Stop it!”
“Listen, you little shit.” The taser stopped but Phillip pulled the trigger yet again. “I can do this all day.”
I had to stop him. But what could I do? I couldn’t overpower him. And he was watching me. It wasn’t like I could throw flour in his eyes. The only thing close enough for me to grab was the baking sheet with cold cookie dough on it. That wasn’t going to help.
“Out the back,” Phillip said. “Now.”
I heard the slightest noise, coming from the front of the bakery. The wind outside? Was it even windy out there? Owen groaned, curling up in pain.
Phillip narrowed his eyes and took slow steps toward the doorway. He still had the gun, and I knew if I moved, he’d pull the trigger on the taser again. Or maybe just shoot us both and be done with it.
“We’re leaving.” Phillip looked down at Owen. “Get up and don’t fuck around.”
Out of nowhere, a hulking figure appeared in the doorway. Phillip’s eyes went wide with shock as Garrett barreled toward him.
It was as if everything moved in slow motion. Phillip’s face turning toward me, his eyes blazing with malice. The gun centering on my chest. Garrett’s roar of rage and Owen’s shout.
Garrett smashed into Phillip right as the gun went off. I hit the floor next to Owen and he yanked me against him .
No pain. He’d missed.
The next few seconds were a blur as Garrett and Phillip wrestled for control of the gun. I held onto Owen, trying to shield him while he tried to do the same for me. Someone else appeared in the doorway, but before I could make sense of who it was, the gun fired again, the sharp pop so loud it rang in my ears.
Everything froze and it felt as if my heart stopped. Garrett was on the floor. Was he shot?
“Dad!” Owen yelled.
Phillip slumped over, falling to the floor.
Garrett rose, his face hard as he got to his feet. He was covered in sweat, dirt, and blood. He didn’t have a shirt or shoes on. Vaguely I was aware that the other man was Luke. He was on his phone, talking to someone. Probably 911.
But I only had eyes for Garrett.
Breathing hard, he walked over to us and dropped to his knees. He scooped us both into his arms and held us tight.
Relief washed over me and I couldn’t have stopped the tears if I’d tried. I clung to him, and to Owen, sobbing. Phillip had come to kill us. He’d been ready to kill us all.
But Garrett had saved us.
He’d saved his family.