Chapter 45 #2
“Don’t know yet,” Wade said. “I have an officer heading that way, but I’ve told them to hang back a little.
If we go now, we might have a shot to intercept him if we take the back way.
There’s been snow, but …” He looked uncertain.
“It may be our only chance.” He glanced at Lila and then almost imperceptibly seemed to come to a decision.
Across the kitchen, Lila stood frozen with a dish towel in her hands. Her eyes found mine, wide, a little wild. “You think he’s coming here?”
“No,” I said immediately, because it didn’t seem like it. “If he’s that close, he’s just moving through. He’s not stupid enough to hit the same town twice when we’re watching.” I was torn between wanting to insist on going with Wade and wanting to stay with Lila.
Wade’s voice cut through. “East, you and Kipp roll with me. We’ll take two trucks.
We don’t want him slipping through another damn county line.
You guys shouldn’t be coming, but we can’t lose this guy.
Kipp is OSP anyway, so I can rationalize him coming.
” He glanced at me. “You wouldn’t stay back anyway. ”
Damn right I wouldn’t. I wanted to catch those two guys.
They were getting off the street so Lila could rest easy, and we could get to the bottom of this mess.
There hadn’t been any more incidents, but it reeked to high heaven.
Milton and Derek were the only ones with answers, and they were going to talk even if I had to beat the shit out of them to get the truth.
Lila took a step forward. “I want to—”
“Listen to me. Stay here. Maggie, Sage, and Lo are here. It’ll be safe here.
” Her hands were still damp from the sink and clenched around mine.
Her nose wrinkled a little in mutiny, and her eyes sparked in anger.
I cupped her face, forcing her to look at me.
“Doors locked, security system armed. No exceptions.”
She finally nodded. “Fine.”
“We’ll be good here. I’ll get the shotgun.” Sage gave us a salute. “Come on, bestie.”
“Jesus.” Wade groaned. “That’s your fault.” He pointed at Wade in accusation as they flounced away.
“Sure it is.” Chloe deadpanned. “I’ll get the shells.”
Wade just laughed as the girls dragged her off. I wasn’t worried (too much) about the trouble they’d get into. Levi had taught us all well, and Maggie was more than capable when push came to shove.
Kipp met my eyes over her shoulder — grim, steady. We’d done this kind of thing before, only now it was personal. He gave a short nod toward the door, already pulling his radio from his belt.
We were out of the house in less than a minute. The temperature had dropped, and there was probably ice on the road now. The snow had melted, but runoff left constant black ice in certain spots. My truck engine rumbled to life, headlights cutting through the darkening night.
Wade’s voice came through the radio line, clipped and steady. “He fueled up and headed northbound. Camera feed confirms it’s a white F-150 with Oregon plates, a partial match to the ones we flagged. He’s in the passenger seat. Got a younger driver. Dark hair.”
I gripped the wheel harder. “Derek?”
“Can’t tell, but probably,” Wade said. “But there are two people in the cab.”
Kipp swore under his breath. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and get them both. You carrying?”
I nodded. I had my concealed weapons license, and even though I usually didn’t carry a gun, I made sure to get it out of the gun safe at the farmhouse when everything started to go down. It was a question I didn’t even have to ask Kipp. He was an avid hunter, and I knew he carried on the job.
We split at the junction. Wade took the back road that paralleled the main stretch, just in case they cut off through the forest route. Kipp and I stayed on 22, engines eating up the miles of dark asphalt.
Every signpost blurred by the headlights — shadows thick enough to make the world feel small.
I hated not knowing what Milton was doing this close.
It was strange that they were both hanging out so near Wildwood Meadows.
Even as I thought it, I knew I was being unreasonable.
Derek grew up not far away, and Milton did too, but neither of them was good enough to be anywhere close to Lila.
I hated even more that her name was tied to any of it.
When Wade’s voice broke through again, it was sharper. “Visual confirmed. Truck just passed the old sawmill, heading toward the ridge.”
“That puts him near the old service road,” I said. “There’s a drop-off past the bend.”
“Exactly.” Wade’s tone shifted. “We box him in before that.”
I pushed harder on the gas. My chest was tight with that mix of adrenaline and fury. I wasn’t in law enforcement like Kipp and Wade, but I’d seen what fear did to people. They did stupid shit.
The red taillights shone through the haze just as Wade’s truck pulled ahead of me. He hit the siren, and the white F-150 fishtailed, throwing gravel as it skidded sideways.
“Hands up!” Wade shouted as he got out of his truck and pulled his weapon while sheltering behind the door.
Kipp and I edged up to the opposite side behind the tailgate as we covered Wade.
This was the first time that I had been in a situation like this, and my pulse hammered in my throat.
Sure, I’d been in more than my share of brawls, but this wasn’t anything like that.
Pulling a weapon meant that I was willing to use it.
This was also watching my brother’s back.
Any sign that someone was going to make a move, and I was going to pull the trigger. Zero hesitation.
The passenger side opened first. Milton Merrick stepped out, hands raised, coat flapping in the wind. An older man, but still carrying that same mean edge in his face. The kind of look that said he thought the world owed him. I couldn’t imagine this man holding any kindness.
Derek slowly got out of the driver’s side, his smile cold and sharp.
“Easy,” Wade warned quietly. Another police car was pulling up just now, and I could see Derek’s head jerking at the sound.
Milton’s voice carried, rough and mocking. “Holt. Didn’t think you’d bring the whole family for a reunion.”
“End of the line, Milton,” Wade said. “You and your friend are under arrest for arson, fraud, and obstruction. Oh, and you skipped out on your parole meetings.”
“Arson?” Milton sneered. “That porch barely went up. Waste of a good match, if you ask me. It was just a little warning.”
I didn’t think before my body took a step. “Not worth it, East. He’s baiting you,” Kipp said next to me.
I was shaking, the shaking that comes when rage has nowhere to go. But then Derek turned, met my eyes, and smiled.
“Playing the hero, huh?” His voice was low, taunting. “You don’t even know, do you? The land—”
“Enough,” Milton snapped.
I cocked my head in curiosity. What was that bastard about to say? Milton looked pissed as the cuffs clicked, hauling him back to the cruiser while Wade shoved Derek up against the side of the truck. Rain had started to spit sideways in the wind, cold biting every inch of skin.
It was over in minutes as Wade and the officer pushed them into the back of the car. Kipp and I waited while Wade spoke to Officer Johnson about charges before making his way back to us.
“Well,” Wade cleared his throat. “I’ll need to go to the station and fill out the paperwork.”
“Will it stick? They basically admitted it, right?” The words were tight and angry.
“Well, Redhawk has found enough to make fraud stick, but the obstruction charge is probably not going to hold. I’ve got nothing on the assault charge.
I’d bet that it was Milton, but unless we can get confirmation from Lila or a confession, then we can’t charge him with that.
” Rage was choking me. “But the arson?” Wade said smugly.
“Yeah, that was a confession. That’ll stick. ”
“Okay.” I could settle for that.
Wade nodded. “Then parole violation. We’ve got Milton cold on that one. He’ll be going back to jail. If we can get Lila to press charges against Derek, we should have enough there on him. He may be the one who’ll be trickier. I’ll talk to you guys later, okay?” He smacked me on the shoulder.
“Thanks for keeping on this. Lila is going to feel so much better now that she can have some closure. She hasn’t felt safe.”
“You got it. Sorry it took so long. Give everyone my love, and for all that’s holy… save me dessert, you dicks.” He smacked me again, tipped his hat at us, and got into his truck.
As Kipp and I were driving back, he asked, “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I said after a beat. “Just thinking about what he started saying.”
“That slip he made, where he mentioned land? I caught that too.”
“Yeah.” I looked out over the mist-shrouded valley below.
“If Milton’s been working with Derek all this time, there’s more to it than just a grudge.
There’s something here they wanted. Something they thought they could get.
” I was still puzzling it out. “Maybe there was another piece of property? Something Lila didn’t know about? ”
Kipp’s jaw tightened. “We’ll figure it out. Now we can get back to the house and tell her it’s done and they’re in custody. At least she can breathe again for now.”
The adrenaline had faded now, leaving only the exhaustion and the weight of everything I’d wanted to protect her from. There were still a lot of unknowns, but hopefully with the help of my family, we’d navigate it like we did everything else. Thank God for Wade and his tenacity.
By the time I pulled into the Holt driveway, the lights were still on. Through the window, I saw her standing in the kitchen with Maggie, talking softly. When she saw me through the glass, she froze, and she ran for the door. The second it opened, I caught her in my arms.
“We were so worried.”
“They’re both in custody,” I murmured into her hair.
Her breath hitched, and I felt her nod against my chest. “You’re sure?”
“Positive. Kipp and I were there. Saw them cuffed.” She breathed a sigh of relief, and I tucked her tight against me. God, I loved her.