Chapter Fourteen
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With Lily right beside him, Griff hurried back to the bullpen, their steps quick and focused. Jesse and Hayes were at the water cooler, in mid-conversation, but both deputies straightened the moment they saw Griff’s expression.
“We’ve got a possible intruder at Langston Holdings,” Griff said, without slowing. “The receptionist called it in. We’re heading there now.”
Jesse nodded and started moving with Hayes close behind. No hesitation.
Griff and Lily hurried to his truck, tires kicking up gravel as he tore out of the lot. The streets were mostly clear this time of day, giving them a clean run toward the office building.
As they approached Langston Holdings, Griff eased off the gas, eyes scanning the lot. Nothing obvious. But the front door stood slightly ajar.
Griff parked fast, both he and Lily jumping out, weapons drawn. They moved as one to the entrance. Griff nudged the door wider with the barrel of his gun and stepped inside.
The front lobby was empty. No Holly. No sounds.
Behind them, the cruiser pulled to a stop with Jesse and Hayes. Griff turned and mouthed—around back. Jesse gave a nod, and both men broke off to flank the building.
Griff’s focus snapped forward again. Whoever was here had likely gone in through the front. But whether they were still inside… that was about to be answered.
The silence inside Langston Holdings pressed in like dead weight. Griff moved carefully down the hallway, his steps slow and deliberate, gun raised. Lily was just behind him, mirroring his pace.
Room by room, they cleared the space.
A supply closet. Empty. The breakroom. Also empty. Then, they reached the bathroom door. Griff leaned in, keeping his voice low. “Holly?”
“I’m in here,” came the quiet, tense reply from inside.
Griff tested the knob. Locked.
“Stay put,” he told her.
Lily swept behind him, already scanning the next stretch of hallway. They moved forward, toward the two remaining doors. Everett’s office and Catherine’s.
Everett’s was first.
Griff reached for the knob. Locked.
He gave Lily a look, and she nodded, then motioned toward the next door. Catherine’s. The door was closed but not all the way. A faint gap. Just wide enough for Griff to see a sliver of light.
Then—movement. A soft scrape. The unmistakable shift of someone inside.
Lily’s eyes met his. She’d heard it too.
Griff eased up to the edge of Catherine’s office door, his heart pounding with quiet precision. He exchanged one last glance with Lily, then lifted a hand and nudged the door open just enough to see inside.
“Deputy Griff Abrams,” he called out. “Come out with your hands up.”
Silence.
A long, taut heartbeat passed.
Then, the gunshot slammed into the doorframe inches from his head, splintering the wood.
“Down!” he barked, instinctively dragging Lily with him as they dropped to the floor on either side of the hallway.
His pulse surged as he peered around the frame, but the angle was wrong. He couldn’t see anyone. Just shadows and a desk.
No movement now.
The shooter had gone still.
Or they were waiting.
Griff kept low, his back pressed to the wall, the splintered doorframe just inches from his shoulder. He ducked his head, pulled out his phone, and fired off a quick text to Jesse.
Keep eyes on Catherine’s office window. Don’t let anyone slip out. Shooter’s inside.
The response came fast.
Copy. Hayes is covering the side. We’ve got it.
Griff tucked the phone away and met Lily’s eyes across the narrow hall. She gave a quick nod, her jaw set. She was ready but pinned, just like him.
He shifted, trying to angle for a better line of sight. Whoever was inside was smart. Using the layout of the office to stay out of view. If it had been Everett… Griff figured he would’ve responded when he called out. Unless Everett had something to hide and was desperate enough to keep hiding it.
But Rhett? That made more sense. The man had already started to unravel. If he’d come here looking to destroy something—evidence, maybe—he could’ve panicked when they arrived.
Another shot rang out.
The bullet punched through the wall above them, sending drywall dust raining down. Lily flinched but didn’t move. Griff dropped even lower, shielding his head, adrenaline burning in his veins.
Whoever was inside wasn’t trying to scare them now.
They were trying to kill them.
Gunfire ripped through the office again, louder this time, closer. Griff shifted, using the corner of the doorway to angle his view through the narrow opening.
Movement—fast, low to the ground.
The shooter was trying to reposition, maybe heading for the window.
Griff caught a glimpse. Male, average build, moving with purpose. Not Everett. Not Rhett. And definitely not local.
His instincts sharpened. Not a desperate man covering his tracks. A professional. Hired. Which meant this didn’t clear anyone. Everett, Rhett, Margo—hell, even someone outside their current suspect pool could’ve brought him in.
Griff leaned closer to the doorframe, just enough to project his voice without offering a clean shot. “Put the weapon down,” he called out. “We’ve got deputies on every side of this building. You’re not getting out.”
Inside the office, something crashed, furniture being shoved, maybe a chair tipped over. A sharp curse followed, low and angry.
Then two more shots.
One slammed into the doorframe again, inches from where Griff had been a moment before. The guy wasn’t giving up. Not yet.
Griff gritted his teeth as another bullet slammed into the wall above them, splinters of wood and drywall peppering the air. The gunman wasn’t spraying wildly. He was controlled, calculated. Which made him even more dangerous.
He silently prayed that Holly was still hunkered down in the bathroom, and that Jesse and Hayes were keeping their heads low outside. The way those rounds were ripping through the building, it wouldn’t take much for someone to catch a stray.
This couldn’t keep going.
Griff leaned toward Lily, his voice a whisper, “I’m going to draw his attention. Be ready.”
She nodded without hesitation, her body already shifting closer, staying low as she maneuvered beside him.
Griff slid a hand into his pocket and pulled out his truck keys. He waited for the rhythm of the shots, the stillness that came between bursts of chaos, and then tossed the keys in a high arc through the doorway.
They clattered loudly onto the floor of the office.
It worked.
The gunman moved. Quick, sharp motions. Griff caught the full view of his face now. Someone he definitely didn’t recognize. The man pivoted, bringing his weapon around toward Griff.
Griff fired first.
Two rounds, center mass.
The man jerked back as both bullets slammed into his chest. His gun slipped from his fingers, his knees buckled, and he dropped to the floor with a dull, final thud.
Silence.
Griff held his breath for a beat, listening, watching.
But the threat was done.
He rose slowly, gun still trained, and stepped into the office, Lily close behind him. The shooter was dead.
But the questions were just beginning.
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