Chapter Thirty #2
He could defuse this. He’d spent his adult life adding fuel to a million fires, and in this moment, he fully understood himself and why.
Because he’d spent a childhood defusing situations as fraught as this one. Mom had still died. So why bother?
But Jill would not be a victim in this. Glenda wouldn’t be either. He could do this, just like he once had so expertly as a boy.
Besides, Sam was waiting outside. He’d only come up to the cabin thinking he might get through to Glenda on his own, and Sam could watch or whatever for whatever everyone was so concerned about.
Turned out, they’d been right to be concerned.
Once Sam figured out what was going on, though, she’d go for help. She wouldn’t be content to wait back like they’d agreed for long. She’d come soon or go get help.
Everything would be fine.
Even knowing that face-offs like this didn’t usually end fine, Cal believed it would. Had to.
Part of defusing violent situations was believing you could.
Because he really didn’t want to get shot again. Or worse, so much worse, witness whatever happened if Mr. Everly pulled that trigger right now.
“What are you doing here?” Mr. Everly demanded, eyes narrowed.
Cal kept his hands up in a kind of surrender gesture as he took another step deeper into the cabin. “Weirdly, when your nephew called you an asshole and said he wasn’t an artist, we figured we’d turn around and come home.”
Mr. Everly sneered. “Good for nothing. Turned my sister against me is all he ever did. So high and mighty. I bet he loved having a detective interrogate him.”
Cal shrugged, taking another step forward. He wished he could make any sense of this, but nothing was clearer, even knowing Mr. Everly was somehow behind … whatever this was.
A threat to him that connected to Glenda. Because it was clear. Mr. Everly wasn’t protecting anyone. He was the source.
“You. You drew those pictures.” Cal was utterly and completely baffled. “You’re the one threatening me. Why?”
“You know why.”
Cal didn’t. God, he really didn’t, but he glanced at Glenda then and saw a truth in her eyes he didn’t want to see.
Maybe he didn’t remember why, but apparently somewhere in the recesses of his brain, he did know.
Which meant he knew what he had to do.
“She’s got nothing to do with it,” Cal said, gesturing at Jill. “She doesn’t know anything.” Cal kept his hands up, trying to look as unthreatening as possible while his heart beat too loudly in his ears. “Just let her go.”
Everly looked from Cal to Glenda, definitely considering what Cal was saying, but his grip on the gun never loosened.
Cal couldn’t even look at Jill. He was afraid that might break this tenuous grasp on control he had.
Because it all felt a little familiar, especially when he looked into Glenda’s light-green eyes.
“You want to hold a gun on someone, hold a gun on me,” Cal said firmly, pressing whatever advantage he could find. “I seem to be the one you have a problem with.”
“Or me,” Glenda rasped.
Shh. Don’t tell.
Shh. Be still.
Shh.
Cal heard the echo of a gunshot and jerked.
But nothing happened.
There was no echo. He looked around, fazed, realizing … that sound had been a memory. Not a reality.
The sound of that gunshot. Not the here and now. Something before, and even if he didn’t remember it, something to do with Glenda and Mr. Everly.
But he couldn’t afford to get lost in another memory. Not when a gun was pressed to Jill’s head. Get her out, defuse the situation, then … they’d deal.
Yeah, he knew how to do that. He could. He would. He had before, even if he didn’t remember the details.
“Look, too many people know this is you now. You can’t hide that anymore. Let’s not make it worse by hurting innocent bystanders.”
Everly snorted. “People know? Like Hayes’s kid?” He said it so dismissively, like Hayes wasn’t a detective, a police officer, but still just a kid.
“Yeah, and my brothers,” Cal said evenly. “And pretty soon every police department in a hundred-mile radius. Whatever you’re looking to accomplish, you can’t. It’s over. Let’s leave it where it is while everyone is still unscathed.”
“You think I don’t have a plan?” Everly replied, like Cal was particularly na?ve and maybe stupid to boot. “I always have a plan, Cal. I always did.”
Cal ignored the headache, the nausea, the whispers of memories trying to take hold. He focused on the gun and Jill’s temple.
“Fine. You have a plan. She’s not part of it,” Cal said.
He took another tentative step forward. Maybe if he got close enough he could do something.
“She’s not part of this. Let her go. I’ll stay, if you need another body for your plan, but you let her go.
She’s not part of it.” He didn’t remember how or why, but he knew.
“I am a part of this. Take me. Leave her.”
Everly looked from Cal to Glenda then back again. There was some consideration in his gaze. Maybe he did have a plan, but if he did, he was recalculating it now.
“Drop your phone,” Everly ordered, jerking his chin toward the coffee table Cal stood next to.
Cal had to let his breath out carefully. It meant Everly was going to take him instead. It had to. He pulled the phone out of his pocket, placed it on the coffee table.
“Go out the front door—but stay where I can see you. Grab the bag by the door.”
Cal hesitated, but he saw something in Everly’s eyes. A kind of dead-eyed determination. This was not a situation like last summer, when some hot-headed kids full of grief and a little too into drugs wanted to cause some damage.
No, this was a man with a plan.
Cal would thwart it, but for now he had to make sure no one died. He moved carefully to the front door, opened it, and stayed where Everly could see him. He scanned the front yard, didn’t see Sam. He inwardly swore.
“Now, Cal. Or make a run for it. See what happens then.”
There’d be no running. Not on his end. He glanced at the porch and saw the bag Everly must be referring to. He grabbed it and turned back to face the man.
“So you can follow instructions,” Mr. Everly said bitterly. Then he dragged Jill to one of the kitchen chairs, shoved her into it, but he still held that gun pointed at her head. “Get the wire and tie her up.”
Cal sucked in a careful breath and opened the backpack. There seemed to be supplies for a backpacking trip. Was that the plan? Disappear into the wilderness with Glenda?
But why?
Well, nothing good.
Was going to Kalispell just a distraction? But Everly had to have known Jill would be here, so why would he involve her?
Cal didn’t have time to work it out. If Everly got impatient … well, Cal had to get that gun away from Jill and then maybe he could concern himself with why any of this was happening.
He got the wire out then moved to the chair. He didn’t want to look at Jill, so he kept his gaze on Everly. Who never once dropped the gun from her head.
Nate would probably know how to knock that gun out of his hand without risking Jill, but unfortunately, Cal didn’t have that kind of skill, and he was too terrified of hurting her to try.
He knelt in front of her on the chair and worked to gently and carefully tie her to the seat with the wire, hopefully without hurting her, or doing too good of a job she couldn’t get out of given the chance.
Sam was out there. Maybe she’d wait longer than would help Cal, but surely she’d come in eventually. She wouldn’t wait forever.
Even if they’d agreed for her to wait. Sam was impatient.
God, he hoped.
Once he was done tying her up, he met Jill’s gaze. Wide, wild, terrified. He tried to smile reassuringly. He didn’t dare reassure her with words—Everly might hear, might worry someone would come, might change his mind about leaving her here.
He hoped the leg pat as he stood was promise enough.
She’d be okay, and nothing was going to happen to Glenda on his watch. He’d do whatever he had to.
And they were finally going to get to the truth.
“Now, Glenda. Tie his wrists together. We’ll leave the feet free for now.” Everly ordered, gesturing at Glenda with his free hand.
The gun still on Jill.
So Cal turned to Glenda with the wire. He did the only thing he could think to do. Held the wire so she could fasten it around his wrists. She took it without resistance or complaint or fear.
He couldn’t understand her in all this. Her granddaughter had a gun to her head and she was just … acquiescing. Just tying Cal up.
To get Everly away. Just like you.
Glenda focused on fastening the wire, but when she was done, she glanced up, light green eyes meeting Cal’s with a steady gaze. Maybe fear lurked in there. Maybe it didn’t. Cal, for a moment, just froze.
In those eyes, he’d often found himself remembering. Bits and pieces. Something.
But he didn’t feel the way he’d felt over remembering his mother’s death. Sure, something was off and weird and wrong, but it wasn’t the same.
So what the hell was it?
“Now, we’re going out the back,” Everly said. “Glenda first. You know where we’re going. I’ll follow with the gun on you, Cal. Because if anyone tries anything, you’re going to die. Like you should have back then.”