Beyond Risk

by Connie Mann

  He clicked on a flashlight, and Charlee bit back the shout when she saw Natalie kneeling by the water’s edge, tape over her mouth, hands and feet bound. She looked at Charlee, utter panic in her eyes, and Charlee smiled, trying to offer what reassurance she could.

  Then he turned the light to the right. Nora. Also tied up and kneeling by the water.

  “What do you want with Nora? She’s no part of this.”

  He spat in the dirt. “Show’s what you know, Miss Smarty Pants.” For the first time, Charlee noticed the gun he held, and another chill raced over her skin. He tucked the gun under Nora’s chin and raised her head. The same panic swirled in her eyes as in Natalie’s. Charlee smiled at her, too. Be brave. We’re going to get through this.

  “Nora is my niece, in case you haven’t figured that out yet. But she was supposed to die that day, not JJ. Never JJ. So you see, this is as much her fault as yours.”

  “Why Nora and not JJ?” Charlee was desperate to keep him talking, to figure out how to take him down.

  His face distorted, and he smacked Nora with the gun. Her head snapped back, and she screamed behind her gag as she landed in the sand.

  “Oh no, you don’t.” Jennings dragged her back to a kneeling position. He fixed Charlee with a curious gaze. “Didn’t you hear the way she talked to him? Always belittling him and making fun of him. She showed him no respect whatsoever.”

  “But don’t all brothers and sisters talk to each other like that? I don’t understand.”

  “No; they’re supposed to protect each other! To be good to each other and take care of each other!” His voice rose with every sentence, spit flying. “Get over here. Now.” He held the gun to Nora’s temple and motioned Charlee over with his other hand. “You’re going to do what should have happened last year. You’ll drown Nora. It seems only fitting.”

  Behind her gag, Nora struggled to get away, yelling behind the tape. Charlee’s heart rate sped up. This was her one chance.

  She walked over to Nora slowly, sliding the knife out of the sheath at her waist, hoping the shadows would hide what she was doing.

  As she slid down next to Nora, she whispered, “Stay put until I tell you to run.” She used her body to hide the quick slice she made through the bindings on Nora’s feet, grateful the girl understood. She didn’t move a muscle.

  “Yank off the gag,” Jennings instructed. “But if she screams, I’ll shoot her right there.”

  Charlee met Nora’s eyes, and the girl nodded. Charlee yanked off the tape, ignoring the tears that ran down the girl’s cheeks.

  “Hold her head under the water until I say stop.”

  Charlee hesitated, trying to come up with another plan, until Jennings screamed, “Do it now!”

  Charlee put her left hand behind Nora’s neck and quietly counted to three. She made sure the girl sucked in air before she stuck her head under the water, then held her own breath, waiting for Jennings to take a step closer. Praying he would.

  Time seemed to slow down as she counted silently. One. Two. Three… Thirty-five…forty-six. Her lungs were starting to burn, and she knew Nora’s were, too.

  Come on, Jennings. One more step.

  Just when she thought her lungs would burst, he took that last step closer to watch Nora die. Which was exactly what Charlee was banking on.

  The second he did, she spun around and jabbed her knife into his midsection with all her strength while she tried to knock the gun away with the other arm. “Run, Nora!” she shouted.

  She let go of the knife and used both hands to try to wrestle the gun away from him, but he was a lot stronger than she’d given him credit for. Charlee used every bit of her strength, but in one blinding move, he twisted her arm behind her back while his other hand came around her neck. Next thing she knew, he had the gun jabbed against her temple.

  He was breathing hard as he muttered, “You will pay for that, Charlotte. After you’re dead, who will protect Nora from all I have planned?”

  “What are you doing, Tool Man? Is that Charlee?”

  Charlee’s blood ran cold as Sammy stepped out of the woods, stumbling a little, looking even more confused than usual. He raised a hand to the back of his head and then gave a little shriek when it came away bloody. “You hit me, Tool Man. Why did you hit me?”

  Beside her, Tool Man’s voice gentled, and Charlee wanted to scream at Sammy to run and hide. “I’m sorry, Sammy. I never meant to hurt you. But you kept asking questions, and I needed to think.”

  “Why are you holding Charlee like that? I don’t think she likes it.” Sammy’s eyes widened. “Is that a gun? Why are you holding a gun on Charlee?”

  “Do I have to hit you again, Sammy?”

  “N-no.” He shook his head, then winced. “I’ll be quiet.”

  “Good boy. Now come here.”

  Charlee’s mind scrambled for what to do next. Her eyes met Natalie’s panicked ones, and she fervently hoped if Hunter was nearby, he’d get over here already. She needed backup.

  But as soon as the thought formed, she rejected it. She’d do whatever she had to do, with or without backup.

  Sammy inched closer, clearly confused by what Jennings was saying.

  “Come closer, Sammy. That’s it. Now, bend down by Natalie. She’s been a bad girl, and you’re going to punish her.”

  “What did she do? Why is she a bad girl? I don’t know Natalie.”

  “She’s my sister, and she hasn’t done anything wrong, Sammy,” Charlee said. “Don’t listen to him.”

  Jennings tightened his grip and aimed his gaze at Sammy. “You’ll do as I say, or I’m going to hurt Charlee. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”

  Sammy shook his head, clearly miserable. Charlee tried to think, to come up with something, anything.

  “Bu-but I don’t want to hurt anyone. It’s not nice to hurt anyone. And Charlee’s always nice to me.”

  Jennings’s control snapped, and he lunged for Sammy. Charlee bent down and whipped her second knife from its ankle holster. She leaped up on Jennings from behind and wrapped her legs around his waist. He had the gun trained on Sammy, but this time, it was Charlee who had her arm around his neck, and her knife was pointed just below his ear.

  “Drop the gun or I slice you open,” she hissed.

  “I’ll shoot him—or your sister—before you can get it done.”

  “I wouldn’t bet on that,” Hunter said, stepping out of the shadows. Charlee breathed a quick sigh of relief, especially when she saw his body armor. “Drop the gun, Jennings. It’s over.”

  “It’s not over until I say it’s over. Drown her, Sammy. Do it NOW!”

  “He’s lying to you, Sammy. Don’t do it,” Charlee said.

  Sammy stood, frozen in indecision.

  Hunter kept walking closer, never taking his eyes off Jennings. “I understand why Brittany had to die, and why you think Nora should, too. They were mean to their brothers, weren’t they?”

  “Yes. Sisters should protect their brothers. And mothers should never be mean to their sons. Never. They should love them and protect them.”

  “Just like you protected Tommy from your mother.”

  “Yes. She called him names, told him he was worthless. She was a terrible mother. She ruined Tommy.”

  “So why did you kill him, then? You’ve protected him all his life.”

  Jennings struggled to break Charlee’s hold. “It’s all her fault! Tommy saw me try to kill Nora last year, and he threatened to tell. My own brother who I protected his whole life. How could he do that to me?” His eyes filled with tears, and he started crying. “All I ever tried to do was protect him. That’s all. And he threatened to betray me, to turn me in. I couldn’t let him do that.”

  Charlee met Hunter’s eyes, saw him nod toward Sammy. She hoped she understood what he meant, what he wanted
her to do. She uncrossed her legs and slid down so she was standing behind Jennings. She met Hunter’s eyes and counted to three. On three, she gulped in a breath and spun away from Jennings, grabbing Sammy and rolling into the water with him. “Get down,” she shouted to Natalie.

  As Charlee pulled Sammy behind a big rock in the water, she heard a shot, then another, followed by a third. The silence seemed to go on forever. Then she heard splashing and Hunter’s voice. “Charlee? You okay?”

  She stood up, dragging a confused Sammy up with her. He swiped at the water running down his face. “What happened? Why were people shooting?”

  Hunter positioned himself so Sammy couldn’t see Jennings lying on the bank. Josh appeared beside Hunter, also wearing body armor. “You okay, Sis?”

  Charlee smiled. “I am now. Thanks.” Then she turned to Sammy, tried to find the right words. “Sweetie, I know that Tool Man gave you a place to stay and took care of you, but he was a bad man.”

  Sammy swallowed hard. “He wanted me to hurt Natalie. And he was going to hurt you.”

  Charlee hugged him. “Yes, but you tried to save us. Thank you, Sammy.”

  He tried to look past them. “Is Tool Man coming home?”

  Charlee met his eyes. “No, Sammy, he’s never coming home.”

  Pete showed up to give Charlee a hug. “You okay, squirt?”

  Sammy eyed him. “I’m glad you didn’t die.”

  Pete stopped, stared at Sammy for a long moment. “Somebody rolled me over, that day along the Ocklawaha. That was you, wasn’t it, Sammy?”

  Sammy ducked his head. “You looked like you needed help. And I knew you were Charlee’s brother.”

  Pete held out his hand. “Thank you, Sammy. You saved my life.”

  Sammy looked from one to the other, then back at Charlee. “I never wanted to hurt anybody. Tool Man told me to shoot his gun and scare you a little the day you were on the river with those people, but I didn’t want to. When somebody started shooting back at me, I ran away before something bad happened.”

  Charlee exchanged glances with Hunter, who put a strong arm around Sammy’s shoulders. Was it possible Sammy didn’t realize he’d actually hit her and Brittany that day?

  Sammy’s eyes were wide, and his chin quivered. “What will happen to me now? Where will I go?”

  “Why don’t you let Josh find you a blanket and look after you for a while, and then later, you can come home with me until we figure something out. Okay?”

  Sammy looked Hunter up and down. “You saved Charlee.”

  “We all did.”

  Sammy thought about that. “Then you’re not a bad man.” And with that, he hugged Hunter until he couldn’t breathe.

  Once Josh led Sammy away, Charlee rushed over to hug Natalie, who sat on a log beside Sanchez and sobbed. She leaped up and wrapped Charlee in a bone-crushing hug. “Oh, thank God, Charlee. You were amazing, and I’ve never been so scared in my whole life.”

  “I’m just glad you’re okay.” She looked over Nat’s shoulder at Pete. “Is Nora okay?”

  He hitched a thumb over his shoulder to where Nora sat on a rock with Fish, who had an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

  Satisfied they were all okay, Charlee turned and marched over to Hunter, who was talking with Sanchez.

  He reached out to hug her, but she wasn’t having any of that. Not yet. She pulled back her fist and punched him in the jaw with enough force to land him on his butt in the sand. He looked up at her, a little dazed. He shook his head to clear it, worked his jaw.

  “Don’t you ever, ever knock me out again to get me out of the way.” She stood, hands on hips, and glared at him while her brothers burst into applause.

  Hunter just stared up at her for another dazed moment, then climbed to his feet. “Look, Charlee, I’m sorry, I—”

  “Why?”

  He looked confused. “Why what?”

  “Why did you knock me out?”

  “Because I didn’t want you to die. Why do you think?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “Not because you didn’t think I could take care of myself?”

  He spread his hands around the area. “Obviously, you can take care of yourself. And then some.”

  “Why else?”

  He fisted his hands on his hips. “Why else what?”

  She waited.

  His eyes met hers for a long moment, then darkened to green fire as he took a step in her direction. Then another. Until he stood right in front of her. “Because I love you, Charlotte Tanner. And I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you.”

  She cocked her head, considered, as his words sank deep into her heart. Then she shot him a cheeky grin. “Then kiss me, you overbearing idiot, before I deck you again.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said before he swept her into his arms and into a kiss that had her feeling like a movie star, never mind that she was soaking wet and standing in the middle of a crime scene.

  Chapter 31

  In the end, Charlee finally took Natalie and Sammy home with her, while Hunter and her brothers finished processing the crime scene. Sally Jennings came for Nora, and instead of cursing this time, she hugged Charlee and thanked her over and over for saving her daughter.

  It was near dawn when Hunter slipped into her room and slid under the covers. He pulled her back against his chest and wrapped her tightly in his arms, like he’d never let go. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, cher,” he muttered before he dropped into a dead sleep.

  Charlee cradled her head on his shoulder and drifted back to sleep herself, smiling.

  Later that morning, her dad picked up Natalie to take her to the hospital before driving her back to Gainesville. Their mom had woken up, finally, and the doctors were confident she would recover. Liz had called, twice, to make sure Charlee was okay.

  Sammy prowled Charlee’s small kitchen, unsure of himself. He smiled shyly when Hunter walked in.

  “Hey, Sammy.” Then he walked right over to Charlee and kissed her soundly. “Good morning, beautiful.”

  Charlee leaned back. “Wow. That was nice. Good morning to you, too.”

  “You guys want to go to the Corner Café for some coffee?”

  “And cupcakes?” Sammy asked hopefully.

  “Maybe. Charlee hasn’t had time to bake any lately. But I’m sure Liz will have other goodies.”

  Smiling, Sammy led the way outside. The café was crowded when they arrived, and they again spent longer than Charlee would have liked answering questions and getting hugged. Charlee was exhausted and just wanted a bit of quiet time to process it all. But apparently, that would have to wait.

  The bell jangled, and Sammy’s face split into a wide grin as Frank Graham, the carnival boss, and the heavyset lady they’d met the other day stepped through the door. “Frank! Ida! It’s good to see you. I’m having a cupcake. Liz had a special stash, just for me.”

  “We’re glad to see you, too, Sammy.” They exchanged glances with Hunter and pulled up chairs at their table.

  Sammy grinned, a bit of frosting on his cheek. Ida handed him a napkin and signaled, so he wiped it away. “Did you hear about Tool Man? Hunter said he was a bad man. And he’s not coming back, ever.”

  Ida patted Sammy’s hand. “We heard that, sugar, and we’re sorry. We know you two was close.”

  Sammy shrugged and focused on peeling another cupcake wrapper. “I don’t know what to do now.”

  The adults exchanged glances, then Ida said, “Well now, that’s why we’re here. We talked with Lieutenant Boudreau, and he said it’d be a right fine idea if you came and stayed with me.” Ida paused. “What do you think about that, Sammy?” Even though Sammy had confessed to shooting at Brittany and Charlee that day on the river, everyone, including the ADA, believed he’d only meant to scare them, not hurt anyone. They were all hope
ful that Sammy would get a suspended sentence or community service rather than jail time.

  He scrunched up his eyes, thinking. “I could keep my job?”

  “Of course you could. And you could stay with me as long as you like.”

  “That would be good.” He finished his cupcake and stood, held out his hand to Hunter. “Thank you, Mr. Copper.” Then he turned and hugged Charlee. “Thank you, Charlee.” He looked from one to the next. “I have to go now. But you were my friends, and you saved me.”

  “We’ll always be your friends, Sammy,” Charlee said. “You come see us next time you’re in town, okay?”

  “You’ll have cupcakes?”

  “Of course.”

  Sammy smiled and followed Ida and Frank out the door.

  Charlee cocked her head as she looked at Hunter. “I think you’re nothing but a softy under that tough exterior, Lieutenant.”

  He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, then looked around the café before aiming his gaze back at her. “You ready to tell your parents you’re trading your kayak paddle for a mixer?”

  Charlee smiled. “Actually, I told Dad this morning that I’m ready to take over the Outpost full-time, whenever they’re ready. Liz is okay with me supplying cupcakes when I can.”

  “What changed your mind?”

  “Big Shoals. You.”

  “How so?”

  “When I was out on the rapids, I remembered how much I loved it. How much I love being outside and on the water. The guilt, the fear, it blocked out the love for a long time. I’m finally ready to put the past behind me, to move forward.”

  “Is there room for a—what was it you called me, an overbearing idiot?—in that moving-forward plan?”

  “Maybe. What did you have in mind?”

  He looked down and unclasped the thick silver bracelet he always wore. “I gave this to my brother for his high school graduation. It’s not a ring, but maybe it will do until I can buy you one.” He looked at her, love and trust and admiration shining in those green, green eyes, just for her. “I love you, Charlee Tanner. Marry me?”

  With those simple yet heartfelt words, the last of the fear slipped away, and her heart soared. This man would always have her back. He probably would never take her to the symphony—not that she wanted to go—but he’d let her know she was loved and protected every day of her life. What more could a girl want?