Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Garrett crouched in the trees fifty yards from the cabin, every muscle coiled tight, listening to Derek Sullivan confess to murdering Lily.
I was seventeen. Following my cousin. Learning.
His hands clenched on his rifle. Derek had been there. Had convinced Collin to take Lily first. To make Claire watch.
Garrett’s vision went red.
“Commander.” Ian’s voice in his ear, quiet but firm, as if the man knew his thoughts were spiraling. “Stay focused.”
Garrett forced himself to breathe. To think tactically. Hawk was on the ridge, scope trained on the cabin. Ian and Grizzly were positioned east and west. Lynx was in one of the SUVs, coordinating with the Feds and Blackridge PD. Garrett had already heard him place a request for an ambulance.
Because there would be casualties.
And Claire was inside with a monster, zip-tied to a chair, listening to Derek describe how he’d helped murder her best friend.
“Sixty seconds,” Derek’s voice came through Claire’s wire. “Are you going to order your team to stand down?”
“Lynx,” Garrett said into his comm. “Status on the station?”
“Evacuating now,” Lynx’s voice was tight. “But it’s going to be close, Commander. Really close.”
Forty-five seconds.
“You’re going to kill me anyway.” Claire’s voice. Steady despite everything.
“True. But their deaths will be on your hands—”
“Hawk,” Garrett interrupted. “Do you have a shot?”
“Negative. He’s moving too much. The risk of hitting Claire or Dr. Montgomery is too high.”
Thirty seconds.
Through the cabin window, Garrett could see movement. Derek was standing and moving toward Vivi with the knife.
“I’m going to kill Dr. Montgomery first, make you watch—”
Ian cursed, and Garrett knew he was in motion, out of sight but ready to go in.
“Don’t,” Claire’s voice was surprisingly firm. Bitter. Angry. “Let her go. This is between us.”
“It’s always been between us. But killing is so much fun.”
Twenty seconds.
Garrett was moving now, too, circling to the cabin’s blind side. Ian and Grizzly shifted positions, ready to breach on his signal.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for so long,” Derek said. “We’re going to have such fun.”
Then Claire’s voice, furious. “The fun is that you’re too stupid to see it coming.”
A crash. The sound of a chair splintering. Vivi screamed through the gag.
“Claire’s moving!” Hawk’s voice. “She’s—shit, she headbutted him. He’s down but getting up. She’s trying to get free of the zip ties—”
Garrett ran.
The zip ties were tight, but her hands were small. She’d been working them since he’d bound her, subtle movements he hadn’t noticed while he monologued.
Almost loose. Not quite.
No time. Claire pushed off with her legs, stood despite her bound hands, and launched herself at him. All 130 pounds of her, shoulder-first, into his back.
They crashed into the table. The knife clattered away.
Derek spun faster than she anticipated. His fist caught her cheek, snapped her head back. Stars exploded across her vision. “You bitch,” he snarled.
But Claire had trained for this. Trained for fighting with her hands bound, with limited mobility, with everything against her. She kicked his knee. Hard. Heard something pop. For Lily. For Vivi. For every woman Derek and Collin have hurt.
For the fourteen-year-old girl who couldn't fight back.
Derek howled, stumbled. His hand shot out, grabbed her hair. He yanked her down.
Claire twisted and brought her knee up into his groin. Once. Twice. He let go, gasping.
She rode the anger and the rage, a raw cry releasing from her throat. She scrambled toward the knife, but Derek grabbed her ankle, hauled her back. His weight landed on her, crushing. His hands found her throat.
“You should have died fifteen years ago,” he gasped. “With Lily. I’m going to fix that now.”
Claire couldn’t breathe. Her vision darkened. She brought her bound hands up and slammed them into his throat.
Not enough. He squeezed harder.
From somewhere far away, she heard wood splintering. Shouting.
Derek’s face above hers, twisted with rage. “Die,” he whispered. “Finally die.”
Then, suddenly, his weight was gone.
Wolf had hit Derek like a freight train. They crashed into the cabin wall decorated with her pictures. Wolf landed three punches before Derek recovered, twisted, and broke free.
“Commander!” Ian burst through the door behind him, weapon up.
Derek lunged for the knife. Wolf was faster. He caught Derek’s wrist, torqued it. Bone snapped and Derek screamed.
But he didn’t stop. His other hand came up with another knife—a smaller one that had been hidden.
He slashed at Wolf’s throat. Wolf jerked back. The blade caught his shoulder. Blood sprayed.
“Wolf!” Claire screamed.
Ian moved to intervene, but Derek kicked out, caught Ian’s knee. The big man staggered.
Derek turned back to Wolf, knife raised. “You’re too late. Just like you were too late for Lily. Right, Bobby?”
Wolf froze. Claire sucked in a breath. “What?” she managed to whisper.
Derek smiled at Wolf. There was blood on his teeth. “Oh yes. I know exactly who you are.” He flicked his gaze at Claire, still zip-tied, still on the floor. “Does she know, Bobby? Does Claire know you’re Lily’s pathetic big brother? That you’ve been lying to her this whole time?”
Claire’s world tilted.
Derek laughed. Actual laughter, wet and broken.
“He didn’t tell you? Shadow Point Security Commander Wolf is really Bobby Anderson.
He goes by Garrett Cross these days, but he’s Lily’s half-brother.
The one who wasn’t there when she needed him.
The one who’s been lying to you since the moment you arrived. ”
“Claire—” Wolf started.
But Claire just blinked. “Bobby,” she whispered. “You’re Bobby?”
Derek used the distraction to lunge at Claire. It all happened so fast. Wolf threw himself between them. The knife meant for Claire’s heart caught him in the side.
He grunted, twisted, grabbed Derek’s wrist. The knife fell.
Ian stood in front of Vivi, weapon trained on Derek. “Down! Get down now!”
Derek dropped to his knees, cradling his broken wrist. Still smiling. Still laughing.
“The truth is so very sweet, isn’t it?” he said, sneering at Claire. “You and I will never be finished. You’ll never forget me.”
Wolf—Bobby, Garrett?—shoved Derek face-first onto the floor, securing his hands behind his back.
“Medic!” Ian called into his comm as he quickly cut Vivi loose. “We need medical inside the cabin. Officer wounded, suspect secured.”
Garrett pressed his hand to his side. Blood seeped between his fingers. But when he moved toward Claire to help her up and free her restraints, he wouldn’t look at her.
She stared at him, her head swimming like it had with her concussion. Everything blurred; her stomach twisted. Her body ached, but it was a distant throb compared to the agony in her heart.
“Claire,” Wolf said. She couldn’t yet think of him as anything else. “Let me explain—”
“Bobby.” The name felt like an accusation on her tongue. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was stupid of me. I just…”
“Lied.” Claire’s voice was flat. Dead. “The whole time, you knew who I was, and you said nothing.”
“I promised to tell you after we caught Derek, remember?” His chest was heaving. As two paramedics rushed in, he waved the one off who tried to look at his wound. “I made you that promise, and I intend to fully keep it. But right now, you need medical attention.”
“Screw that.” Her voice held just as much anger as it had a few minutes ago. “Last night, you had every opportunity to tell me who you are.”
He finally looked at her. “I’m Garrett Cross, not Bobby Anderson. I left Bobby buried with Lily that day at the cemetery. I’ll never go back to being that weak kid who caused his sister’s death.” He hesitated. Blew out a breath. “Or yours.”
Something in her already broken heart fissured. “There was nothing you could have done to save Lily.”
“Except call her like I always had before.” His voice trembled. He blinked rapidly. “I’m sorry,” he said. “CJ, I’m so sorry—”
“Don’t call me that.” Claire’s voice was sharp. “Don’t you dare call me that. Only Lily called me that.”
“I know. I—”
“Sir.” The paramedic grabbed Garrett’s arm. “Sit down. You’re losing a lot of blood. We need to stop it before you pass out.”
Officers and federal agents swarmed the cabin. Derek was being dragged away. Vivi was free and hugging her husband. Vivi, who was safe. Alive. Because Claire had fought back and attacked Derek when it mattered most. It had bought enough time for the team to breach.
Not like Lily. This time, Claire had been strong enough.
The realization should have felt like victory. Instead, with Garrett's deception exposed and her heart in pieces, it tasted like ashes.
Claire coughed, gently rubbing her bruised throat. A paramedic began checking her vitals. Claire tried to push the woman away. Vivi touched Claire’s shoulder. “You saved my life and helped catch a serial killer. Let the paramedics do their job.”
Garrett reached for her. “Please, Claire.”
She jerked her arm away from him. Stepped back. “Get away from me.” She was shaking now. “Just get away.”
“Claire—”
“Get away!”
Ian stepped between them. “Commander. Let’s give her space.”
She could see he wanted to argue. Wanted to explain. Wanted to make her understand.
She pivoted, found Vivi leaning into Ian’s embrace. “I’ve got you,” he said softly to her. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
Tears sprang into Claire’s eyes, seeing their display of love and support. Husband and wife reunited.
The paramedic guided her outside, sat her in the back of an ambulance, and began treating her wound. It all felt far away, surreal.
Not just confronting a serial killer, but all of it. Realizing she’d been the target and Lily had paid the price. That Bobby—Garrett—had deceived her. That Wolf wasn’t the man she’d thought he was.
Mill’s voice came through the comm. “Station is clear. Repeat, station is clear. Bomb squad is on site. We found the device—crude but effective. If we’d been thirty seconds slower...”
Garrett strode out of the cabin, jaw tight. The paramedic chased after him, insisting he was losing a lot of blood. “But you weren’t,” he replied to Mills.
“Copy that, Commander. Everyone okay there?”
He met her eyes. Agent Hendricks stepped forward, cutting off her line of sight and asking questions, but Claire couldn’t hear them. Couldn’t hear anything but Derek’s horrible voice.
“Does she know, Bobby? Does Claire know you’re Lily’s pathetic big brother? That you’ve been lying to her this whole time?”
“Claire.” Garrett was suddenly there, cutting off Hendricks. “Please. Let me explain.”
“There’s nothing to explain.” Her voice was empty. The paramedic gave Garrett a look, then ignored him as she cleaned Claire’s wound. It was obvious the poor woman was still listening. “You tricked me. Deceived me. That’s all there is to it.”
“I was trying to protect you—”
“By lying?” Now she looked at him. “By sleeping with me while pretending to be someone else?”
“I wasn’t pretending about my feelings for you.”
Claire’s laugh was bitter. “Did you enjoy it? Watching me fall apart over your sister? Listening to me talk about that night? Kissing me while you knew exactly who I was?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Then what was it like?” Claire stood, forcing the paramedic to step back. Hendricks turned on her heel and left. Claire was unsteady, but standing. “Tell me, Bobby. What was it like?”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Why not? It’s your name, isn’t it?” She took a step toward him.
Then another. “Bobby Anderson. Age eighteen when Lily died because you had to go out with friends that Sunday night and didn’t call her.
I barely remember you. But you—” Her voice broke.
“You remembered me, didn’t you? You knew exactly who I was. And you said nothing.”
“You had so much on your mind. I wanted to wait until the proper time.”
“When?” She stopped, turned away. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.”
“Well, it shouldn’t!” She spun back. The anger at Derek morphed into anger at Garrett.
It bubbled and ran over, flooding the ground at her feet like quicksand.
Everything was wrong. How could she have trusted him?
“You lied, Garrett. Or Bobby. Or Wolf. Or whoever the hell you are. You lied about the thing that mattered most.”
“I know.”
“Then why?” Her voice cracked completely. “Why not tell me the truth from the start?”
Garrett met her eyes. “Because I knew you’d react exactly like this.
Because I knew that if you knew I was Bobby, you’d see me as a failure.
It’s my fault Lily’s dead, Claire.” He made a fist and slammed it into his chest. “Mine.” He took a breath.
“And I wanted—just once—to be the person who saved someone instead.”
Claire stared at him. Then she shook her head. “You don’t get it,” she said softly. “You saved me from Derek. But you—” Her voice broke again. “You broke my heart.”
He flinched as if the words hit like bullets. “I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t want to hear it.” She caught sight of Ian leading Vivi to a second ambulance.
Hendricks stood a respectable distance away, watching Claire carefully as she spoke into her phone.
Claire raised her voice. “After I give my statement, I’m heading back to D.C.
You can direct further inquiries to me there. ”
She pushed past Garrett without looking at him. Without saying anything else. At the door of the nearest SUV, she paused.
Derek had been loaded into a sheriff’s vehicle, still smiling despite his broken wrist and other injuries. Hendricks caught up to her. “Two deputies will transport him to the county lockup, then to our field office in Missoula tomorrow.”
Derek wasn’t staring at her, though. “You think she’ll forgive you?
” Derek called through the glass to Garrett.
“She won’t. I made sure of that. Even if I go to prison.
” He laughed. “I still won because she’ll never trust you again.
And that—” More laughter. “That’s better than killing her.
Knowing I screwed you both up for the rest of your lives.
” Finally, his gaze swung to Claire. “You’ll never trust anyone again, and as long as I’m alive, you’ll never sleep good.
You won’t be able to eat. All you’ll do is think about me. ”
She wanted to yank open the door and kill him right there. Instead, she held her ground and watched the vehicle drive away.
Mission accomplished. Derek Sullivan was in custody. Vivi was safe.
And Claire…she was still alive.