Chapter 39
HIS WAY
Clay had ditched Ford.
They’d played by his brother’s rules months ago going after Reenie, and his brother almost died.
This time, he was going after his woman on his own.
His rules. His way.
He parked on the side of the road behind some trees about a hundred yards away.
There weren’t any houses close to the one Karl bought in the country about thirty minutes north of Lake George.
His online search had brought up the public notice of a purchase Karl had made months ago and Clay was banking on Meredith being there.
He went into the woods to go around to the rear of the house. He’d driven by and saw Karl’s car in the back of the driveway and didn’t trust that there might be cameras around.
He drew a breath, slow and steady, bringing his heart rate down a notch. He’s done this a thousand times—before jumps, before dives, before breaching a door. The body always wants to spike, to dump adrenaline. His job is to stay ahead of it to get to Meredith. Too much was at stake.
Checklists run automatically in his head. Muscle memory takes the wheel. He doesn’t need to tell his hands what to do; they already know.
The edges of fear, of hesitation, of self, get walled off. Right now, the only thing that matters is the task.
His pulse settles into rhythm with his breathing. Calm, controlled. It’s about clarity. Efficiency. Executing the plan, adapting when it breaks, keeping the noise out of the signal.
As much as he wanted to go through the front door, he wouldn’t be that stupid.
He wasn’t his brother showing up with a warrant and asking nicely to look around.
He was a Navy SEAL going in for an extraction on his own. His training would never leave him regardless of his current career.
One gun at his ankle, another in the waist of his jeans. More tools he’d need strapped on.
Clay moved quietly, prepared for anything, as he made his way closer to the house.
There were no signs or movements of anyone outside.
From behind a tree about fifty feet from the back door, he surveyed the property, looking into windows with his binoculars.
The land dipped down, the second story actually three stories high, as there was a walkout basement in the back.
A curtain moved on the second floor. He looked again and saw a flash of brown hair. Karl was bald.
He stayed trained on that spot until he was positive it was Meredith.
The minute he saw her face, he tilted the binoculars toward the sun hoping for a reflection to catch her eye.
Her hand came to the pane of the glass, her palm against it. Assuming that meant she’d seen his signal, he shook his head, put his finger to his lips, and hoped she understood to not give him away.
He would have liked any kind of sign or clue of what was going on inside but didn’t want to put her in any more harm.
The guy wasn’t smart enough to hide a camera in a smoke alarm or a picture on the wall, but rather behind a curtain that anyone could move. He was banking on Karl not having anything on the side of the house.
He moved into the woods some more, got to the side of the house and to a window.
Idiot had it open a crack. Probably airing the place out since it’d been unoccupied for months.
He removed the screen, lifted the window more, then hoisted himself up inside.
That was too easy in his mind and was waiting for a trap.
Clay moved through the house listening for any noises.
There was a clicking sound down the hall. Sounded like typing. Was the guy here working?
This was just bizarre. But nothing about this situation made sense to him.
He made his way up the stairs, found the one door that was shut, picked the lock and opened it.
Meredith’s mouth opened and he put his finger to his lips and shook his head, his hand going out to halt her.
He moved closer, she gave him a hug. He returned it briefly and whispered in her ear, “Don’t make a sound.”
“Are we leaving?” she whispered back.
“No,” he said. “I’m staying in here with you. I don’t think I can get you out without him knowing.”
She couldn’t be as quiet as him. She’d probably stumble down the stairs in her rush to escape. He could take the guy when he came into the room.
“I can,” she urgently whispered. “I don’t want to stay here. He’s crazy, Clay. I had no idea. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
“You’re safe,” he said. “I’ve got you. You need to trust me.”
She was looking at his face. There was black on it to go with his dark clothing. He knew she felt the gun at his waist.
“I don’t want you hurt,” she whispered. “We both should leave. Please. I don’t know what he’ll do.”
“Don’t worry about me,” he said. No one ever had, other than his family. The feeling those words delivered weighed on his shoulders.
Maybe it was best to get her out of here. She didn’t need to see the violence that he was capable of.
“We can’t stay here. He’s crazy. He drugged me. His moods are all over the place. I don’t know who this person is.”
Clay wanted to go down and break every bone in the guy’s body for the trauma that Meredith had been put through, but he wouldn’t subject her to that. Which meant if they stayed here, she’d see it too and he didn’t want her to witness it.
“If we do this, you need to move slowly. Pretend you’re walking on glass.”
She nodded her head. There were only socks on her feet. He didn’t see shoes anywhere and there wasn’t time for them to look.
“I can do it.”
“When I get you out of the back door, you run to the west toward my truck.”
“West?” she asked.
“To the left. As you run out of the driveway, go to the left. My truck is behind trees.” He put the fob to it in her hand. “Drive away.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
He let out a breath, his hand squeezing her waist. “Trust me, my brother will be on his way.”
He had no doubt Ford would figure it out soon. Probably on his way now. He might have a thirty-minute head start before backup would be on the way. If he was lucky.
He wasn’t waiting around for his brother to knock on the door with his warrant. If he was even able to get one.
They made their way toward the stairs, his body a shield to hers, his gun in his right hand now.
Meredith was tugging on the back of his shirt, almost glued to him. He’d like to just pick her up and carry her down over his shoulder, but it was best for him to have his hands free.
They got down the stairs and to the kitchen quickly.
For someone who couldn’t walk a straight line half the time, she was pretty stealthy in a high-stress situation.
She reached for the door before he could tell her not to and turned the nob.
Alarms went off.
He should have warned her, but didn’t think she’d make a mad dash before he could grab her.
The door was locked from the outside. He heard feet and threw his elbow into the glass pane, breaking it, then reaching to unlock it for her to run. He wasn’t fast enough.
“You got here faster than I thought,” Karl said, coming from inside the house to the kitchen with a gun by his side.
“Go!” Clay shouted at her. “Reach through the glass and unlock it. I’ll cover you.”
Clay aimed his gun at the man who had drugged and kidnapped the woman he loved.
“Don’t go with him, Meredith,” Karl said, shaking his head. “He can’t give you what I can. He made you cry yesterday. I won’t do that. Give me a chance.”
This guy was out of his mind. “Move!” Clay shouted to Meredith.
“If you do, I’ll shoot you,” Karl said. “Both of you.”
She was frozen in place, he saw it. The fear in her eyes, the panic setting in, her eyes fixed on the gun in Karl’s hand aimed at them.
He wasn’t going to be able to get her out without picking her up himself now.
“I’ll put a bullet between your eyes before you can hit the trigger,” Clay said. “If you want to take that chance, go ahead.” His voice was calm, his hand was steady. He was in the element he thrived in that he’d thought he’d never find himself in again.
“Meredith, you don’t want to be with him,” Karl shrieked, his hand shaking on the gun. “You want me. I’ll teach you. I promise.”
“No!” she shouted. “I never did. You need help, Karl.”
“Stop saying that!” Karl yelled. “I’m sick of everyone telling me I’m messed up in the head and that I need help. I don’t. I don’t! Don’t be like my mother!” He was pounding on his skull with his left hand, his right not so steady with the gun.
Clay wanted Meredith to leave, but telling her to go wouldn’t work. She was still frozen in place.
“Let her leave,” Clay said. “You and I can take care of this like men. Isn’t that what you want? To show Meredith that you can protect her like she needs? Like I’m doing right now. Protecting her from you.”
The gun trembled more in Karl’s hand. Clay knew he’d hit a nerve there.
“Being strong doesn’t mean you can protect someone. You have to have the whole package. You need to know what makes her happy. No one helps her like me. No one can take care of her like I learned to do.”
“By stalking me!” she yelled. “That’s not love. That’s not caring. That’s...sick. I’m outraged by you. Revolted. Repulsed.”
“Stooooopppppp!” Karl screeched. The noise was deafening.
Clay saw a flash of a white cruiser out the window moving in fast.
Shit, his brother was here.
“It’s over, Karl. You can’t escape.”
“I can do whatever I want!” Karl screamed again.
The front door kicked in, his brother racing in with his gun pointed.
“Warren County Sheriff. Drop your weapon,” Ford shouted.
Instead of dropping the gun, Karl’s hand moved it toward himself.
“No!” Clay shouted at the same time he shoved Meredith further behind him to not witness it.
“We could have been so happy together, Meredith.” Karl then fired his gun that was pointing under his own chin.
Meredith screamed and Clay turned to shield her and pull her into his arms, burying her face into his chest as Ford moved in on Karl and kicked the weapon away that had landed on the ground.
It didn’t matter. The guy was dead, his brains painted on the ceiling.
Clay rushed Meredith out of the back door and onto the steps, pushing her head between her knees.
“Breathe,” he said. “In and out. Slowly.”
She did as he instructed.
“I should have left when you told me to,” she said, crying.
“Shhhhhh,” he said. “It’s over.” He was holding her close to him, rocking with her.
“Is it? I thought it was with Richie too.”
So did he. That was his mistake.
He’d have to live with this. With not going with his gut that something was off with the neighbor.
His mind had been too clouded by everything else happening with Meredith.
Hadn’t he said she was trouble layered on top of trouble?
“I’m never letting anything happen to you,” he said. “I promise. You’re safe.”
He looked up when he saw Ford standing in the open doorway. His brother was shaking his head.
“I don’t need a lecture right now. Both of our hands are clean.”
Ford inhaled and exhaled. “I wasn’t positive that would be the case.”
Neither was Clay, but he realized he wasn’t sure he could put himself through it again. He didn’t want to do that to Meredith either.
He was finding himself, and killing another man would have buried what he’d unearthed.
Somehow, between the time he drove here looking for revenge to the minute he got her to the kitchen, he’d decided to turn Karl over to his brother.
Now she’d never have to worry about Karl again.
He was relieved, but she was traumatized and he could have prevented it all.