Last Stand Sheriff

by Tyler Anne Snell

  “Sure thing,” he said to Declan. Then to her, Caleb said, “Nina, why don’t you two go over to Mom’s while we’re gone. It would be the perfect time to put together that plastic play set she’s been needing help with for the kids.”

  “Oh, you mean the one you boys were supposed to put together but always seem to have something better to do?” she responded, teasing clear in her voice. She sighed, all dramatic. “I suppose I always knew us ladies were the more capable ones. Plus, Parker took too long of a nap today and I don’t see him going to bed anytime soon. Maybe this will tire him out.”

  Caleb and Declan helped her get Parker and his things into the car. While he gave Nina a quick kiss, Declan ruffed up Parker’s hair and then gave him a tight hug. Caleb, seeing this, spent more time with the goodbye.

  It wasn’t until they were in the car and heading to pick up Desmond that Caleb turned to him.

  “When you went to that bar you told us all to watch our families because they weren’t safe. What’s going on? And where’s Remi? Why are we in her car but she’s not here?”

  “I can’t tell you yet,” Declan said with the stiffness of holding on to a world of worries for far too long. “We need to get Desmond and Madi first.”

  Caleb didn’t argue. He didn’t question. He listened to his big brother and Declan loved him for it.

  Desmond’s house had been built behind the main home they’d grown up in and their mother currently lived in but, from Declan’s earlier instructions, he and his wife were at the main house. Nina got to the house a few seconds before they did and Caleb jumped out of the car to help her and Parker into the house. Desmond came back outside with him as Declan hung back.

  He loved his mother dearly, but if Caleb was picking up on his tension, then their mother would, too.

  Desmond’s limp only made Declan feel worse. It must have shown. Both brothers shared a look between them after seeing Declan.

  All three got into the car in silence.

  Then they were on Winding Road and heading toward Hidden Hills Inn.

  “Julian will know something’s wrong,” Desmond said without prompting. “He won’t let her leave without an explanation. Not unless he knows she won’t be in any danger.”

  Declan gritted his teeth.

  “Then she’ll have to lie.”

  “It’s that bad?” Caleb asked.

  “It’ll be worse if anyone thinks something’s wrong.”

  That was enough to keep the boys quiet until they made it to the bed-and-breakfast Madi and Julian lived at and ran. There were no guests currently at the inn, but as soon as they cut the engine Julian appeared in the doorway of the house.

  “Let me go get her,” Caleb said, grabbing Declan’s shoulder to keep him from getting up. “I’m closer with Julian than you two.”

  Declan didn’t argue that. Julian had saved Caleb’s life and, since then, the two had become close. In fact, Parker’s middle name was Julian. Something that had made the older Julian tear up when he’d found out.

  Their friendship was put to the test that night. Declan and Desmond couldn’t hear what they said, but it was clear that Julian knew something was wrong, too, and wasn’t about to let Madi be a part of it. Then Madi appeared. She joined the conversation and must have strengthened whatever argument Caleb had been making.

  Then all three went inside.

  Only Madi and Caleb came back out a minute later.

  Caleb slid into the back seat and Madi buckled into the front.

  They left Hidden Hills Inn and were quiet until they got to where Declan hadn’t been in years.

  He parked next to the river he had drowned in once. It was on land that no one currently lived on. He got out and the triplets followed.

  The night was peaceful and cold.

  Declan looked at his watch and began.

  “I’m about to give you a lot of information really fast. Information that will be a lot to understand, but we’re running low on time so I need you all to take it with a nod and let me keep going. Okay?”

  They nodded in unison. No one was smiling. They wouldn’t be after he was done, either.

  “Justin Redman was supposed to meet Dean Lawson. That meeting was supposed to be secret. Lawson has been, as far as I can guess, dealing with drugs to make his fortune. Or, at least, he was back then. Justin got into a fight with one of his suppliers and then said Lawson’s name in an official report. Lawson said he knew if Dad looked into the attack at all that Justin would eventually lead him to what Lawson had been doing and everything he worked for would be taken away. So, he decided to pay someone to abduct me to distract Dad. Lawson said that the man he paid didn’t listen and, well, we know what happened instead.”

  Guilt surged through Declan. Guilt so strong he nearly stopped talking. He should have been the one taken. Not them.

  “It’s not your fault,” Madi said, picking up on his thoughts. “Keep going.”

  Declan sighed.

  “Lawson only told me this because he was dying and he was only still alive to get me and Remi to the bar. It was filled with Fixers.” At this part he hesitated. Three pairs of true-blue eyes searched his face.

  They were adults now. They had children and spouses. Careers, mortgages, and dental insurance.

  Declan had walked Madi down the aisle at her wedding in the backyard of the inn she’d made into a home and business.

  He’d been at Caleb’s graduation and then sworn him in when he’d become a detective.

  He’d stood, arm around Desmond, and looked up at a building that had been erected for the foundation he’d created that helped thousands of people daily.

  Declan knew they were adults.

  Knew that they could handle themselves. Knew they’d grown into thriving individuals.

  Yet, standing there looking at them so close to where their father used to take them all fishing as a family, Declan saw only the little kids who had snuck out to a park to play a game of hide-and-seek and had reappeared three days later all grown-up.

  How he wished with all his heart and soul he could have changed their fates.

  He took another breath and then ripped off the bandage.

  “The man who abducted you is back and he wants us to go to Well Water Cabin tonight to die.”

  There was a moment where no one said a word.

  Then that was the last silence for a while.

  “Who is he?” Caleb asked.

  “I don’t know. Lawson wouldn’t say.”

  “He hired the Fixers, though?” Desmond asked.

  Declan nodded.

  “Apparently they’ve been in his back pocket for years. All the bad stuff that’s gone down with us all? Them, at his order. I don’t know why he’s coming after us all now, but he is. The man in the suit, the leader we keep running into, said they’ll kill everyone we love if we tell a soul about the meeting.”

  Madi took a small step forward. She put her hand over her heart.

  “You want us to go,” she said, voice soft, “because they have Remi, don’t they?”

  He nodded.

  “They know something I should have told you yesterday.” He gave them a small smile. Happy for the news, angry at how he had to give it. “She’s pregnant...with my kid.”

  Madi was the first to move. She threw her arms around Declan. Caleb and Desmond weren’t far behind.

  “Oh, Declan, I’m so happy for you,” Madi said into his chest.

  “Same here, big guy,” Desmond said.

  “You’ll make an awesome dad,” Caleb finished.

  “Thanks, guys.”

  The warmth of familial love spread through him at the words. At the group hug. At the way the future seemed brighter with the thought of a baby in it.

  Then that warmth cooled until it was ice.

 
The Nash children stepped back and all joy was gone.

  “I’m not like the Fixers. I’m not going to force you to come to Well Water with me. My best guess is this man wants to talk and then he’ll kill us all. But there’s no guarantee he won’t kill us all the moment we drive up.” Declan felt the resolution in his heart before the words to back it up left his lips. “But I’m going. Even if it’s only to give Remi a better chance at escaping. I just—I wanted you all to know. You’ve deserved answers for most of your lives. I wanted you to at least get some of them.”

  The triplets didn’t even look at each other.

  Madi spoke first.

  “You’re wrong,” she said with bite. “Saving your family, getting our answers, and finally giving that son of a bitch what’s coming to him. We deserve it all.”

  “She’s right,” Desmond said with vigor. “We’re going and we’re going to save Remi and we’re going to finally put this mystery to rest.”

  Caleb nodded. Declan was surprised to see him smirk. In fact, he was surprised to see all of them so calm. The man who had scarred them, locked them up and changed all of their lives because of this was waiting for them.

  Waiting to kill them.

  Yet, there they were.

  Suddenly those three children looked exactly as they should have to him.

  Two men and a woman ready for justice.

  Caleb captured the sentiment well.

  “Whoever this man is, whatever his reason is for wanting us, he’s overlooked one devastating fact. We’re grown-up now and we won’t be as easy to push around.”

  Madi and Desmond agreed.

  Declan smiled at this brothers and sister.

  “Then it’s settled,” he said. “Now, we have less than three hours to come up with a plan to find justice for our father, bring peace to our mother, get answers for us, and save the woman I love and our kid. Any objections?”

  Not a one of them made a peep.

  * * *

  THE BASEMENT WASN’T as bad as Remi had pictured. In fact, in any other circumstance, she would have thought it was cozy.

  A few steps from the stairs was a door that led into a spacious room with a kitchenette in the corner and an open door that showed a bathroom on the other side. The light fixtures were nice and did a good job of lighting up the place, and even the kitchenette was pleasing to look at.

  What changed the feel of the room in such a sudden and violent way was the three small cots against the wall and the four locks on the door, reminding her just what the triplets had gone through all those years ago.

  When the woman in the pantsuit locked all four locks, Remi quaked in fear. She was alone in the room and leaned into the privacy. She cried. She hoped she hadn’t left Declan to die and she hoped she hadn’t just led herself and their child to do the same.

  She felt exhausted.

  She felt helpless.

  And then she felt sick.

  Remi ran to the bathroom with tears blurring her vision and threw up in the sink.

  Because of course morning sickness didn’t take a break. Not even when she was being held captive. She tried to compose herself after the deed and instead was hit with another wave of nausea.

  This time she threw up in the toilet.

  After that she leaned against the wall and cried some more.

  It wasn’t until a man cleared his throat that Remi realized someone was in the doorway.

  The man in the suit from Waypoint was holding a bottle of water and a packet of gum.

  “There might be power now, but there’s no running water in the house, I’m afraid,” he said. “And if you die tonight I’d bet it would feel nicer to die with somewhat fresh-feeling breath.”

  He stepped back to let her out of the bathroom and shook the bottle when she didn’t take it.

  “Both are in sealed containers. Not taking them is only going to make you more uncomfortable. Not me.”

  Remi was thirsty and her mouth tasted awful. Denying either point didn’t make them go away. She relented and took both, but not without a severe look she hoped hurt the man.

  “Being kind to a pregnant woman you’re about to kill doesn’t make you a good person, you know,” she said hotly.

  The man shrugged.

  “Who says I want to be a good person?”

  That sent a shiver of fear down Remi’s spine. Whether she wanted to feel it or not.

  “But, if it makes you feel better, I won’t be the one killing you. That’s not part of the plan.”

  Remi opened the bottle, breaking its seal, and went back to the bathroom to wash her mouth out. When she came back she took a long drink of water and popped two pieces of gum.

  Both made her feel light-years better.

  So did her barb at the man.

  “For someone who thinks they’re so clever, it’s interesting to find out you’re nothing more than someone else’s bitch.”

  The man snorted, trying to seem like he’d blown off the insult, but Remi saw it.

  She saw the nostrils flare, saw the anger pass over him.

  She’d hit a nerve.

  Because she’d spoken the truth.

  But the man was more disciplined than she had hoped. He was back to smiling.

  “For being the bait that’s going to lead almost an entire family to slaughter, you sure are cocky.”

  Remi wanted to say something clever, something that hurt him, but she didn’t have his discipline. She kept quiet and went to one of the cots, and he eventually left without another word.

  Then there she sat for hours.

  In that time she thought about her father, her brothers, her mother and stepfather, her job, and the Nashes. She thought about Declan and their unborn child the most.

  By the time the door to the basement opened, Remi had come to a decision. The only catch was that they all had to survive the night.

  Remi didn’t recognize the man who walked in but she recognize did the scar on his hand.

  The man who had taken the triplets.

  The man who wanted them all to die.

  And he’d come to see her first.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  There were at least twenty men and women wearing suits surrounding the cabin. It was such an odd sight to Declan. For the last decade Well Water had been forgotten by most of the world, a desolate structure that was visited by him only for the occasional maintenance. Before that it had been his father visiting. Before that it had been a circus.

  Now the abandoned cabin in the woods had too many people in and around it. People dressed for the boardroom with guns in hand like they were going to war.

  “If it all goes sideways I’m doing everything in my power to get Remi out,” Declan said after he found a place to park among a cluster of inconspicuous cars and trucks. “That includes dying. And you’re going to let me if that means you can get out, too.”

  No one rebuffed him, but Desmond tried to be reassuring.

  “This will work. I know it will.”

  No one backed him up but no one disagreed.

  They’d had three hours to come up with a plan to save Remi and themselves without weapons, without help, and without knowing how many people would be at the cabin.

  Their plan was at best risky; at worst it was downright idiotic.

  And it was all they had.

  A man came to the door as Declan got out. He was sneering. It was the one man he’d chased across Main Street. He ran a hand through his red hair, exposing the holster and the gun in it against his side.

  “Howdy, Sheriff. If you’d be so kind to allow my associates to check you all for any knives, guns, bombs, et cetera, that would be mighty kind of you.” He was mocking them but Declan allowed the search. Just as his siblings did. The redhead seemed surprised that none of them had any
weapons of any kind on them. No cell phones, either.

  Those were back at the river, GPS on, and each holding video recordings for their families and law enforcement. They were hoping their plan would work but prepared if it didn’t. Watching his siblings make their videos for their kids and spouses tore Declan apart. They’d noticed and told him again this was their choice to make and they’d made it.

  Tonight, for better or worse, one nightmare would end.

  Redhead led them inside and cut right to the living room. Declan felt the tension coming off the triplets. This was the first time Madi and Desmond had been back to Well Water since they’d escaped. For Caleb it had been a few years, but that didn’t matter.

  This place was their personal hell.

  One that was filled to the brim with strangers waiting for them.

  Among the crowd was the man in the suit. Still the fanciest in the group. He smiled when they stopped in front of him.

  “You didn’t bring any weapons and you didn’t ask for any help. I don’t know if you aren’t that smart or if you all are just a bit too confident.”

  “You gave us terms and we followed them,” Declan said. “I’d say that makes us, at least, respectful.”

  The man in the suit nodded. He was pleased.

  “It does make everything go smoothly when you follow the rules.”

  Declan looked around the room. He knew where she probably was but still had to ask.

  “Where’s Remi?”

  The man’s smile faded. He became the ideal image of a businessman.

  “She’s downstairs with the man of the hour.” He held up his hand to stop Declan from saying how much he didn’t like that. “She’s fine. We can go see her now.”

  He nodded to the people around them. Most stayed but Redhead, a woman with a sneer and three others followed. They walked behind their group as Declan followed the man in the suit to the only place that was ever an option for this horrible meeting.

  Declan turned to his siblings as they got to the top of the stairs to the basement. He lowered his voice.