Chapter 15
Damien wasn’t dead! Bryn couldn’t believe her eyes.
Her former boss was alive and well. She blinked, then focused her attention on the details.
Damien stood perfectly still holding a gun in his hand as he stared suspiciously toward the building.
She couldn’t tear her gaze from him. All this time she’d assumed Richard was guilty of orchestrating this entire scheme.
That Richard had gotten rid of his partner.
But she’d gotten it all wrong.
And who was the dead man who’d been left in her house as it burned to the ground? Damien must have killed someone else, but she wondered why he’d bothered. It wasn’t as if the truth wouldn’t come out when the DNA results came back.
Maybe Damien planned to be far away by then. It was a bit of a relief to know she couldn’t be thrown in jail for killing a man who wasn’t dead. Although there was the minor issue of the embezzlement to consider, especially the way the money had been transferred through her personal bank account.
But that was something to worry about later.
Right now, they needed to find a way to disarm Damien so they could tie him up along with Nate and Phillip.
A woman slid out of the passenger seat to stand beside Damien. Bryn’s stomach knotted painfully as she recognized her.
Gwen. The moment she saw her colleague, it suddenly clicked in her brain where she’d heard Nate’s voice before. She remembered Gwen’s husband had called looking for her while Bryn was covering Gwen’s phone. Nate was Gwen’s husband.
And as Gwen stood close to Damien, also staring at the building with a wary gaze, Bryn realized her so-called friend had teamed up with Damien to pull this off without Richard being any the wiser.
Worse than that, though, was that Gwen held her gun like she knew how to use it. Two armed bad guys against her and Micah. Granted, Micah was a trained soldier, but she was pretty much useless as far as backing him up.
She gripped Micah’s arm tightly, wondering how he planned to get out of this mess. She didn’t dare make a sound, holding her breath as Damien and Gwen took cautious steps forward. In the back of her mind, she realized Micah was waiting for them to come close enough that he could see them better.
“Nate?” Gwen called her husband’s name. A muffled grunt was the only response. Gwen’s expression went from wary to concerned.
“Stop! Throw down your weapons,” Micah shouted. “I’ve got you both covered. Don’t make me shoot.”
Damien and Gwen both spun toward their location. Damien lifted his gun higher, clearly intending to shoot, but Micah was faster. He fired off two rounds in rapid succession.
Damien let out a hoarse cry and fell backward, clutching the upper portion of his chest, blood seeping through his fingers.
His weapon dropped uselessly to the ground.
Gwen screamed and fired wildly a second before she went down as well.
It had all happened so fast that Bryn hadn’t been able to discern if Gwen had been hit or not. Knowing Micah, she had.
For long moments Micah didn’t move. Bryn realized she shouldn’t have been worried. Micah had this under control.
“Stay here,” Micah said, finally stepping out from behind the edge of the wall. “Get ready to run to the SUV if they try anything.”
She nodded, although she couldn’t imagine running and leaving him behind. She decided to make her presence known.
“I have a gun, and I am not afraid to use it!” She hoped the threat alone would be enough to keep Damien and Gwen from going after Micah.
Again, she needn’t have worried. Micah scooped up both weapons, then took a few steps back from their supine bodies. “Bryn? Call 911 again, request they send two ambulances to this location.”
“Okay.” She used her disposable phone to make the call as the surge of adrenaline that had coursed through her bloodstream slowly faded away, leaving her feeling shaky and exhausted.
When the dispatcher answered her call, Bryn began to explain what was happening just as the shrill wail of sirens could be heard in the distance.
“Police officers are en route,” the dispatcher said calmly.
“Thanks, I can hear them now. But two people have been shot, so make sure you send another ambulance too.”
“Are you safe?” the dispatcher asked.
A wry smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she eyed Micah. “I am now.” Without waiting for the dispatcher to say anything more, she ended the call.
Safe. She was finally safe! Bryn sent up a silent prayer thanking God for watching over her and Micah, then she moved toward Damien and Gwen.
“Should we offer first aid?” She frowned as she noticed both Damien and Gwen had identical gunshot wounds to their upper chest on the same side as their dominant hand. Dazed, she realized Micah had purposefully aimed to wound, not kill.
Although she had no doubt he would have fired again to finish them off if needed.
“They’ll survive,” Micah said.
Her knees threatened to buckle, so she leaned against the SUV for support. Micah must have noticed because he stepped forward and drew her into his arms.
“You were amazing,” he whispered.
“Me?” Her voice came out as a hoarse croak. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. And God’s grace.”
“I agree about God’s grace. We are blessed that He has been watching over us.” Micah leaned back to search her gaze. “It’s over, Bryn. You’re safe, and I’m sure we’ll be able to clear your name without difficulty.”
“I know.” She stared up into his blue eyes, searching for the right words to say. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him. Then it was too late, as the ear-piercing sounds of the sirens made it impossible for her to be heard.
She leaned up to brush a kiss over his cheek, then stepped back to watch as the two police cruisers came to a sudden stop a few feet beyond the gray SUV.
“Put your hands where I can see them! Both of you!” One cop barked orders as three officers spilled out of the two vehicles.
When Micah lifted his hands, Bryn did the same. “I’m former Army Sergeant Micah Newton, and this is Bryn Sinclair. We have two people down with gunshot wounds requiring medical attention. We have two other men who are tied up, sitting just inside the building.”
“Throw down your weapons,” the officer demanded.
“Okay, don’t get trigger-happy.” Micah tossed his gun down, then pulled the second weapon from behind his back to get rid of that one as well.
Bryn threw her confiscated weapon alongside his, then raised her hands again. “That man is Damien Rochester. He’s not dead, despite faking his death and framing me for the crime. He’s also responsible for embezzled funds from the company.”
The officer in charge appeared to ignore her as he surveyed the scene. He gestured for one of the other cops to head inside the building. A moment later, the officer called, “Two men are here bound with some sort of mesh tape.”
“It’s drywall tape,” Micah said helpfully.
The lead officer frowned, then stared hard at Micah. “I need you to explain what happened here.”
“Bryn Sinclair was framed for embezzling funds and the murder of Damien Rochester,” Micah said.
“As you know, there’s a warrant out for her arrest. But the man she was accused of killing is alive.
And I was with her during the time frame in question.
We set out to prove her innocence. We came here to check the data center and heard Nate and Phillip Justin discussing how they’d framed Bryn and mentioned their intent to kill her.
I have an audio recording of their conversation if you’re interested. ”
The cop’s eyebrows hiked up in surprise. “Yes, I’m interested. Go on.”
“Nate and Phillip were armed, but we managed to disarm them and tie them up,” Micah made it sound as easy as baking a cake. “We were about to call your department when Damien and Gwen showed up. They were armed, too. Those are their weapons over there.”
The cop glanced over to where the two guns were lying in the dirt. “And how did they get shot?”
“I told them to throw down their weapons, they didn’t comply.” Micah didn’t hesitate. “Based on the fact that I was outnumbered, and Damien pointed his gun at me with the clear intent to fire, I was forced to protect myself and Bryn.”
Bryn stepped forward. “These men were trying to ruin my life. They were either going to kill me outright or they were going to see to it that I spent the rest of my life in jail. We only did what was necessary.”
The cop glanced at his partner, shrugged, and lowered his weapon. “And why exactly did they do all of this?”
“We don’t know for sure,” Micah said. “But we know this data center is at the heart of the crime. Nate admitted that much. We suspect they’re planning to use the data center for illegal activities, like hacking or something along those lines.
” He glanced over toward Damien. “Hopefully, you’ll get some answers from them as to what the goal was here. ”
“Hmm.” The cop seemed to think the theory was far-fetched, but he didn’t pursue the issue. “Okay, step over there,” he said. “I’ll need to hear that video, and we’ll need to go through all of this again down at the station.”
Bryn tried not to groan as she moved to the side far away from Damien and Gwen. More sirens split the air as the two requested ambulances arrived on the scene.
The EMTs went to work on Damien and Gwen.
“You’ll need to send officers with them to the hospital,” Micah warned. “They’re both involved in this. Nate is Gwen’s husband.”
“Nate and Gwen White,” Bryn added.
The officer sighed heavily. “Fine. Let’s hear this tape of yours before I decide whether to arrest you and Sinclair too.”
Micah pulled out his phone and hit the play button on the video. There was nothing interesting to see on the recording, but the words were loud and clear.
The cops will find and arrest her. We need to stay focused on the plan.
I still think we need to flush her out into the open. We can’t risk anyone in the police department buying her side of the story.