by Mary Burton
Ann could feel her head clearing. “How did you meet Thompson?”
“Cleaning his house. I’m a good organizer, don’t you think? I’m sure a shrink would say it’s about control, but the truth is I like snooping in other people’s lives. Amazing what you can learn about people when you’re in their homes. Want to know what I learned about you?”
“Yes.” How could she not have recognized the warning signs?
“You care about what the world thinks about you,” she said. “You can’t stand the idea that anyone sees you as less than perfect. What’re people going to say when they learn you got knocked up by the town pariah and then passed him off as your husband’s kid?” Maura shook her head. “I had a sister who thought she was perfect. She could have any man in town, and she loved to let me know it.”
The assessment was uncomfortably correct. She cleared her throat. “Maybe you’re right.”
“I know I am.” Triumph glittered in Maura’s eyes.
As Ann absorbed Maura’s words, she calculated what cost Nate might pay if she attacked Maura now. And then she balanced it against the cost the boy would pay if she did not.
In that split second she made her decision.
Elijah pushed up on the windows on the back of the Beech Street house and finally found one that was unlocked. He slipped inside the house without making a sound and stood in the dark, listening. Hearing only the hum of the air conditioner, he looked toward the basement door and saw the light. As he had expected, Maura had come here.
He moved quietly across the main floor and made his way to Nate’s room. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see the boy lying on his bed. He was covered with a blanket, but he lay so still that Elijah thought he might be dead.
Fear knifed through him as he crossed the room and pressed his fingers to the boy’s neck. He did not pray or believe in a higher power, but in this moment, he would have sold his soul to the devil to save the boy.
Finally, the boy’s pulse thumped weakly against his fingertips. Faint, but it was there. He drew in a breath, wondering when the devil might claim his due.
Elijah smoothed his hand over the boy’s head. “I won’t let this stand,” he whispered. “Nobody hurts you.”
He lifted the boy in his arms, and when the child made a soft sound of protest, Elijah said, “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”
The boy nestled closer to Elijah, and an overwhelming sense of contentment washed over him. He was his son’s protector. And nothing had ever felt so right.
He carried Nate through the darkened house and unlocked the sliding door. Outside, he moved quickly to his car and laid the boy on the back seat.
The boy roused and opened his eyes. His look was curious, not afraid. “Where’s Mom?”
Elijah knew Ann was in the basement with Maura. If Ann was not already dead and was clever enough, she would talk her way out of this, but chances were Maura would kill her.
A part of him was drawn to the idea of Ann dying. When she was dead, he would never have to wonder where she was, what she was doing, or who she was with. He would be free.
But as he looked at Nate, he realized he did not want to be free of Ann. God help him, but she had cursed him. “Damn,” he muttered as he reached for his phone.
Bryce slowly drove past Ann’s old house. He kept his lights off as he searched for signs of life. Seeing none, he parked and, drawing his weapon, hurried through the yard toward the garage. He peered through the window and saw Maura’s truck. Gideon rolled up behind Bryce’s vehicle and followed suit, rushing toward the garage.
“The house is dark,” Gideon said. “I’d bet money Maura has them in the basement. There’s only one entrance to the room, and Maura can do a lot of damage before either of us gets down the stairs.”
“If we don’t move, she’s going to kill Ann,” Bryce said. There were times when hesitating got good people killed, and he would not lose Ann today. “She has a better chance if we go in now.”
Gideon drew his Glock.
Ann started when Maura’s phone rang. Maura cringed, as if the interruption were the last thing she expected or wanted. She dug the phone out of her back pocket, and her harsh expression softened. “Elijah?”
“Maura.”
Ann heard Elijah’s calm, steady voice and had never been more grateful for it.
“I have Ann with me,” Maura said. “And I have Nate.”
“You don’t have the boy,” Elijah said. “I do.”
“That’s impossible. He’s sleeping in his bed.”
“Not anymore. If you don’t believe me, go up and look.”
A ripple of tension rolled through Ann’s body. Elijah had Nate. Her son was safe. No matter what happened here now, Elijah would keep Nate safe.
Maura glanced toward Ann. “I go look and Ann gets away.”
“That’s a risk you’d take,” Elijah said. “Or you can believe me.”
“You have the kid.” She closed her eyes a second. “Why do you care about Ann so much?”
“I do not,” he said.
“Good. Because I’m going to kill her.”
“Do whatever you want,” he said.
Ann kept her gaze down, balled her fingers into fists, and readied to attack.
“You’re lying,” Maura said.
“I’m not.” Elijah sounded bored. “I don’t care about Ann or you.”
That last comment caused Maura to flinch, and she averted her gaze. Ann realized these were her seconds to act before Maura regained her composure and took her frustration out on her.
And so, in one wobbly move, she rose and lunged.
Ann drove her shoulder into Maura’s side. The strike caught Maura off guard, and she staggered back a step, trying to steady her balance. Ann shoved harder, tipping Maura off center and then backward.
They both hit hard. Maura took the brunt of the fall, the concrete floor knocking the breath from her lungs. Her cell phone flew across the floor, crashing into the wall. In the same moment, Ann’s shoulder struck the floor. Pain ricocheted through her body.
Gritting her teeth and determined to get back to her son, Ann rose up on her knees as Maura stood, readjusted her grip on the knife, and raised it over her head. The blade glinted and sliced toward her.
Ann threw her body weight forward, and digging her fingers into Maura’s wrist, she stopped the blade inches in front of her face. Blood pumped in her temples as she twisted Maura’s hands and the sharp tip away from her.
Maura had been in this kind of life-and-death struggle before, and she adapted quickly. She drove her head forward, aiming to butt Ann in the face.
Ann jerked her head to the left, and the intended blow grazed the side of her face. She shoved Maura’s wrist back so violently joints cracked.
“You bitch,” Maura screamed.
“This is my life,” Ann shouted as she manipulated Maura’s shoulder into a painful angle. “You’re not taking it!”
“Watch me!”
Maura shifted back suddenly, pulling Ann off balance. Ann’s grip loosened, freeing Maura’s hand just enough so she could bring the knife around and slash Ann’s side.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Missoula, Montana
Friday, August 27
2:30 a.m.
Gideon shoved the key in the front-door lock, twisted the door handle, and pushed open the door. Weapons drawn, both cops entered the house in time to hear a scream echoing from the basement.
They raced into the house, visually sweeping the darkened foyer and side hallway as they crossed the den toward the basement door.
Bryce heard the scuffle and struggle of bodies. He opened the door with such force it banged against the wall, and he raced down the steps with Gideon right on his heels.
When Bryce reached the concrete basement floor, he maneuvered his weapon toward the screams. His first image was of Ann lying on her back, blood staining her shirt as Maura straddled her body.
Rage and sadness
collided as he pointed his weapon at Maura as she raised the knife, ready to strike Ann in the chest. The distance between them was too great to cover, given the speed of a knife blade. “Maura!”
She looked at him as she brought the knife down.
He didn’t hesitate and shot her.
Maura’s body recoiled slightly and then stilled, the knife motionless above Ann. Kicking her legs as she grabbed Maura’s arm, Ann shoved the knife away.
Blood bloomed on Maura’s shirt, and she toppled sideways. She lost her balance, and her body landed like deadweight. Maura rolled on her back, gasping. She stared up at the ducts in the basement ceiling and struggled to breathe. She still gripped the knife.
Gideon moved in and kept his weapon trained on Maura as Bryce holstered his weapon. Gideon hurried toward Maura and cuffed her wrists. Bryce shifted his focus to Ann as Gideon called for the rescue squad.
Ann’s shirt was soaked in blood, and when he reached for the hem of her shirt, he feared the damage he would find. Moments like this passed at a painfully slow pace, and fears took a back seat as his brain assessed the damage.
Panic was engraved in Ann’s expression as she struggled to right herself. Adrenaline still pumped through her body, but soon it would crash, and the pain would take over.
“Stay still,” he said. “You’re making the bleeding worse.”
“I need to find Nate,” she said. “Elijah told Maura he has Nate.”
He pushed up her shirt, ran his hand through the blood, and felt the torn flesh. She winced and hissed in a breath, but she held steady as he examined her. “It’s a long gash,” he said roughly. “It’s going to require stitches, but it doesn’t look like it damaged anything vital.”
She pressed her hand to her side. “I need to find my son.”
“Are you sure Elijah called?” Bryce demanded.
“Yes, I heard his voice. He wouldn’t lie about something like that.”
“Where would he take the boy?” He pressed his hand over her blood-soaked fingers.
“Maybe to his house. Maybe they’re already on the road.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “I don’t know where Nate is.”
As Gideon pressed his fingertips to Maura’s neck, he called for the paramedics and put a BOLO out on Elijah’s vehicle.
“There’s no pulse.” He started CPR. “The ambulance is on the way, and the deputies are on scene.”
Ann shoved Bryce’s hands away. “I want to get up!” she insisted. “I have to find Nate!”
“Let the paramedics have a look at you first,” Bryce said.
“I don’t care about me,” Ann shouted. “I want my son.”
“You won’t do Nate any good if you bleed out,” Bryce said. “Be smart.”
The thunder of footsteps across the first floor signaled the paramedics’ arrival. The two hurried down the stairs, each carrying a small med kit.
One moved toward Maura and took over CPR from Gideon, and the other pressed clean gauze against Ann’s side. He directed Bryce to hold the compress in place as he tore open fresh bandages.
“She said she killed a girl in her hometown and that she killed the Fireflies and framed Thompson,” Ann said.
“We’ll sort that out later,” Bryce said.
“She’s insane, Bryce.”
“I know.”
“We need to take you to the hospital,” the paramedic said. “That wound is going to need stitches.”
“It can wait,” Ann said. “Patch me up. When I know Nate’s safe, I’ll go to the hospital.”
The second paramedic checked Maura’s pulse. “I’m not getting anything. She’s gone.”
Gideon’s phone rang, and Ann shifted attention to him. “Nate?”
“There’s no one at Elijah’s house,” Gideon said.
Tears welled in her eyes. “Where’s my boy?”
“I sent a deputy to your house as well,” her brother said. “Someone is inside.”
The shot of painkiller had taken the edge off the gash in Ann’s side, which for now was controlled by the compression bandage. The paramedic had cut off her bloody shirt, and she had changed into one of the extra shirts Bryce kept in his trunk.
Bryce settled Ann in the front seat of his car as Gideon came around.
“The deputies spotted Elijah at Ann’s house. He’s sitting on the front porch.”
Ann tipped her head back. “Did they see Nate?”
“Not yet.”
“Please, Bryce, take me to my son.”
Bryce hooked her seat belt on and hurried to the driver’s side. He started the engine and put the car in gear. Five minutes later he pulled up in front of her house behind the two deputies’ vehicles.
Elijah sat on the front steps and was reading a book. He looked calm, as if it were perfectly normal to be reading in the middle of the night with cops surrounding him.
Ann reached for the door handle and pushed it open. She gripped her side and tried to stand.
“Hold on,” Bryce said. “I’m coming around.”
“It’s Elijah.”
“I see him.”
By the time Bryce reached her door, she had struggled to her feet. The compression bandage pressed against her wound, but she could feel flesh opening and fresh blood warming her skin.
He grabbed her elbow, steadying her. “You’re bleeding again.”
She did not bother a glance down. “I want to see Nate.”
Bryce walked in front of her, his hand on his weapon. “Elijah, where’s Nate?”
Elijah carefully closed his book and rose. “He’s inside sleeping.”
“Is he all right?” Ann asked.
“He’s fine. Drugged by Maura, but he should sleep it off and recover.”
“You were at the Beech Street house?” she asked.
“Yes,” Elijah said. “I took Nate out.”
“And then you called Maura.”
“Yes. A distraction seemed warranted.” He nodded to the flecks of blood now darkening the side of the shirt she had borrowed from Bryce. “Did Maura do that to you?”
She glanced down. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Where’s Maura?” Elijah asked.
“Dead.” Ann moved past him into the house and directly to Nate’s room as pain burned her midsection.
She found him lying in his bed, the blankets tucked up under his chin. She sat on the edge of the bed and touched his face. “Nate?”
Nate drew in a breath. “Mom?”
She closed her eyes. Tears spilled, but she wiped them away. “Hey, baby.”
“I’m so sleepy.”
“I know, honey.” She brushed his bangs off his forehead, never more grateful to see anyone in her life. “You sleep, and we’ll talk in the morning.”
“Okay.”
She stared at him for a moment and then rose carefully, moving with halting steps toward the door.
Bryce stood in the doorway. His grim face was backlit by the hallway light, making it impossible to read his expression. “Are you okay?”
“He’s okay,” Ann said. “So, I can do anything.”
“Then you can go to the hospital,” Bryce said.
“I want Nate to see a doctor,” she said.
“We’ll take you both.”
Gideon parked and raced toward the house and Elijah as Ann stepped back outside. Her steps faltered. Bryce steadied her seconds before the paramedics parked in front of the house. She turned to Elijah as Gideon handcuffed him. Outrage sharpened her tone. “How much did you know?”
Elijah raised his eerily calm gaze to hers. “I slept with Maura, but I didn’t know what she was planning.”
Ann was the expert, and she had not seen through Maura’s lies. “She wanted to become me and take Nate.”
“If I had known,” Elijah said, “it never would have gotten this far. And you know, if I hadn’t called her, you wouldn’t have had a chance. She would have killed you if I’d stormed the basement.”
“Weston left you b
ehind,” Gideon growled.
Ann’s heartbeat slowed as she thought about the choice Elijah had made. He had made a choice between Nate and her. And he had chosen the boy. She was not angry or resentful of the choice, because she would have done the same. “No one could have gotten in that basement and saved me from her until he called.”
“He sure as hell could have tried,” Gideon said.
“Maura would have killed me, thinking she was freeing Elijah from me. And he did get Nate to safety.”
Elijah nodded. “Thank you, Ann.”
“If you didn’t know about Maura’s plans, how did you know to call her?” Gideon asked.
“I’ll let my attorney explain,” Elijah said. “I learned a long time ago not to trust the cops.”
Pain tightened around her midsection. “I’m taking Nate to the hospital,” Ann said. “I want a doctor to check him out.”
Elijah’s expression softened a fraction. “They will find the boy is fine, but you are the one who needs to be checked by a doctor.”
She wanted to deny the comment, but he was right. Standing was becoming more difficult. This time, when the paramedics rolled the stretcher up for her, she all but collapsed on it. When she lay back, pain speared through her, leaving her feeling helpless and angry that she had missed the warning signs with Maura. “I was such a fool.”
Bryce took her hand. “You weren’t. No one saw this coming.”
She looked up at him through watery eyes. “I’m lucky to have you.”
“Same.”
When she thought about the insanity of her life, she wondered for the hundredth time why Bryce was not running away from her as fast as he could. “A smart man would run from me.”
A half grin tipped the edges of his lips. “A smarter man knows when to stay and fight.”
EPILOGUE
Missoula, Montana
Saturday, September 11
2:00 p.m.
“Nate, hurry up,” Ann shouted. “We need to pick up Kyle and get out to Bryce’s ranch.”
