Chapter 21
The moment John showed himself at the top of the hill, he drew the attention of the men at the riverbank. They aimed their guns at him, and he held his hands in the air, hoping this wasn’t a mistake. But he would risk anything to save Maggie.
The two men immediately became defensive, using Maggie as a human shield. But John kept his cool, trusting that Parker could make his shot.
“Don’t move!” the man holding Maggie kept her close, barking the order behind her. “I will kill her if you move!”
“I’ve got a bead on you,” John said, speaking to the man who held his wife. “Try anything, and you’re a dead man.”
John wasn’t sure what was taking Parker so long to shoot. The longer the situation dragged on, the harder it would be for any of them to walk away from this alive. Perhaps he had misjudged Parker’s abilities.
“I will kill her!” the gunman said. “Get on your knees, now!”
John glanced between the two gunmen in front of him. If he dropped to his knees, he would lose his ability to reach for his weapon quickly.
John glanced past Maggie and to the other farm hands on the riverbank. All of them were terrified, but with no one watching them, John wondered if any of them would try to help.
None of them were armed, and they were all paralyzed by fear. John wanted to call out to them to help, but he feared that in doing so, he would put them in the line of fire. He didn’t want anybody else to die today because of his actions.
“I’m warning you!” The man who had Maggie tightened his grip around her and pressed the gun more firmly against her head.
With his finger on the trigger, all it would take would be one small amount of pressure to end Maggie’s life.
“I’m giving you to the count of three, and then I’m going to kill her. ”
“John,” Maggie said, and the fear and helplessness in her voice flooded John with fear and anger.
“One,” he said.
John tensed, and he cursed under his breath. He didn’t know what Parker was waiting for.
“Two,” he said.
Maggie was visibly shaking now, and she made eye contact with John as she mouthed “I love you” to him.
John had to make a decision. He believed the gunman had every intention of killing Maggie in front of him. John was never a good shot at the range, and the window to shoot this man was narrow. But he wasn’t about to lose his wife, not after so much pain to keep his family together.
“Three—”
The gunshot thundered from the distance. The gunman on John’s left was struck right in the chest, and he was thrust backward. He coughed and gagged a few times, drawing a rattling breath as he died on the grass.
The gunfire had caused the man holding Maggie hostage to lose his concentration, and Maggie seized the opportunity and sprinted away from her captor, which cleared the way for John to shoot.
John pulled his weapon and shot the man in the shoulder, then the chest, putting him on his back. The moment the altercation was over, John and Maggie sprinted toward one another, collided into each other’s arms, and held each other closely.
“Thank God you’re alive,” John said, leaning back to ensure Maggie wasn’t injured. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” Maggie answered.
“I found Sydney at the house,” John said. “I sent her to meet Blake at the cabin.”
Maggie sighed in relief, thankful to know their children were safe. “I wasn’t sure if leaving him at the hospital was the best choice. But I knew you would find him. I believed in you.”
“We believed in our family,” John said.
Maggie kissed him. But when she pulled back, she turned around and looked at the barge on the river. “The man who is out there is the one who is responsible for all this.”
“I have an FBI agent with me,” John said.
“Agent Willow survived?” Maggie asked, hopeful.
“No,” John answered. “But I found his partner, and he’s the one who’s been helping me.”
And on queue, Parker hurried down the hill toward the riverbank. And the moment he arrived, the farmhands who were near the water’s edge converged around John and Maggie. Everybody was thankful they had been saved, but they weren’t out of the woods yet.
“Everybody needs to go home,” John said. “Get out of here as fast as possible.”
“He took other people to the barge,” Maggie said. “Teddy and two of the farmhands.”
“Teddy?” John asked, unsure of why that name sounded familiar.
“Teddy is Sydney’s friend,” Maggie answered. “He helped save her. We can’t let him die out there.”
“We need to get to the barge before Dillon leaves,” Parker said.
“He’s not going anywhere without this,” John said, holding up the box that Parker had taken from the FBI’s field office. “This is the key that will open safe on the barge.”
But before anyone could reply, they heard Dillon’s voice escape the walkie-talkie on the dead men around them.
“Well, Maggie, you’re more resourceful than I imagined,” Dillon said. “I’d like to say I’m surprised, but I knew you were trouble the moment I set eyes on you.”
While everybody else just stared at the radio, it was Maggie who picked it up off the dead man. She turned toward the barge, looking at it as she spoke into the transmitter.
“I told you my family would come for me,” Maggie said.
“You did,” Dillon answered. “It appears I underestimated them. And is that Agent Parker I see?” Dillon laughed. “You really pulled out all the stops for me.”
Parker reached for the radio, and Maggie handed it over to him. “It’s over, Dillon. Your team is dead, and you have nowhere to run.”
“I have an entire river to run,” Dillon said. “And you killing my team only makes my share of the money even bigger. I should be thanking you.”
“You and I both know you’re not getting the money without the key,” Parker said, and then he held it up. “Which I now have.”
Dillon was quiet for a moment, and John wondered if the FBI agent had angered Dillon to the point of a rash decision.
“Don’t act all high and mighty on me now,” Dillon said. “I have something you want as well. One hostage is worth one key, don’t you think?”
Parker grimaced. “This isn’t a negotiation.”
“Oh, well, in that case, I can kill the boy now,” Dillon said.
“You do that, and you’re a dead man,” Parker replied.
“We are all dead men eventually,” Dillon replied. “But are you willing to put this young man’s life at risk for the sake of your pride?”
“It has nothing to do with pride,” Parker said. “You’re a criminal, and I’m a law enforcement officer. I’m bringing you in.”
Dillon went silent after that, and they all waited on the shoreline.
“He’s not moving,” John said, noticing how the barge remained still. “He would have already started up the engine and taken off by now if he was going to leave.” He held up the key. “He wants this more than he is letting on.”
“He’s right,” Maggie said. “He wants to drag this out.”
“And you two are experts now?” Parker asked.
“Considering I spent the last several hours with him as a hostage in close proximity, I would say I have some valuable insight about what he is capable of,” Maggie said.
“And I’m telling you he is willing to do whatever it takes to get that money and ride off into the sunset, marking this as his greatest triumph. ”
John realized Dillon was like his construction foreman at the job site earlier in the day. There was a difference, of course, but the same underlying qualities of fear and selfishness controlled their actions.
“Let me talk to him,” John said.
Parker hesitated but eventually handed over the radio.
“Dillon Elliot,” John said. “My name is John Carver. I’m Maggie’s husband.”
“Ah, the elusive husband,” Dillon said. “Maggie mentioned you quite a bit in our time together. She kept saying you were going to find her, and I guess I should have known better than to doubt her. She’s quite the woman.”
John stiffened at the comment, but he stayed on track. Chirping back and forth with this guy wouldn’t help, so he decided to take a more direct approach.
“I’ll come to you alone. Do we have a deal?”
“Just you,” Dillon replied, the playfulness in his voice gone. “And remember, this boy’s life is in your hands.”
“I’m coming over,” John said. “And unless you want to fish out this key from the bottom of the river, I’d suggest you don’t kill me on the swim over.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, John,” Dillon said.
John returned the radio to Parker, and Maggie immediately rushed to him.
“I don’t like this plan,” Maggie said. “You’re giving him too much control.”
“I can handle myself,” John said.
“I know you can,” Maggie said. “But this man is more dangerous than any other person I’ve ever met. He’s not normal. He is a sociopath.”
John understood his wife was worried. He was afraid, too. But they had exhausted all their other options. “If we want to save that boy, this is our only option.”
“Be careful,” Maggie said.
“I will,” John said.
Even though John wasn’t sure if it would do any good, Parker insisted that John bring a weapon with him. Parker gave him a handgun and a knife.
“The first thing you’re going to want to do is secure the kid,” Parker said.
“Do not give Dillon anything until the kid is off the boat. Because he will do anything to get what he wants before you get what you want. Do not trust a word that comes out of his mouth. He is much more dangerous than you realize, John.”
“I can see that,” John said.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Parker said.
“Me too,” John said, and then he gestured to the farm hands still standing around. “Get them out of here. I don’t want Dillon to have more hostages than he does right now.”
Parker nodded. “Good luck.”
John didn’t want to linger on the riverbank any longer.
He was only putting off the inevitable. He smiled one last time at his wife before he walked into the water.
He hoped it wasn’t the last time and he would see her.
But John was at peace with his decision.
And as he waded out into the chilly waters of the Ohio River, John whispered a prayer for the good Lord to protect him and Teddy.
He just hoped the big man upstairs was listening.