“That’s PR nonsense. People need to stay and be grateful.” Simon’s careful facade crumpled. “End of story.”
“I don’t believe you about Roger.” She glanced around. “If he’s on your payroll, bring him out here. Let him tell me.”
“I would, but he is no longer with us.” Simon actually smiled as he said it. Looked at Todd and he joined in, too.
The color leached from her face. “You killed him.”
“He had an accident, but I can show you his files and the communications going back and forth between us.” Simon waved all the words off as soon as he said them. “But we have more pressing issues right now.”
Lindsey’s body visibly shook. “What?”
“Cleaning up your mess with Holt here.”
Holt had expected the threat. Knew it was coming and started the mental countdown to shoving hard against Todd as they wrestled for the gun. Holt had to hope any shot the other man got off would go wide.
This time she did step in front of him. “Do not touch him.”
Holt put his hands on her forearms and dragged her back against him. His mouth went to her hair and he whispered, “It’s going to be okay.”
Like that, some of the tension eased from her body.
“I do believe you’ve come to care for him. That’s a shame, really.” Simon spared Holt a glance but not a long one. “He is not who he says he is. I’m digging into that because I want to know who is meddling in my business. I like the idea of making Holt here an example and having him pay a steep price to persuade others not to.”
“He is my boyfriend.” Her voice rang out loud and clear with that one.
At any other time, Holt would have smiled. Now he had to hold it in and save it for later.
Simon shrugged. “I think we both know you could do better, Beth.”
“That’s not my name anymore.” She exhaled as she stared at her uncle in confusion. “But what happened to you? You were poor and angry. When did you become the leader? Or should I say how? I don’t doubt that you eliminated everyone in front of you.”
“Beth will always be who you are, just as this place is part of your legacy.” Simon skipped over most of her accusations and anger. He went right for one point and stuck there.
“I don’t want anything to do with New Foundations.”
“Of course you do.” Simon used his arm to gesture around him. “I’ve created this.”
Holt wondered if Simon knew he was pointing to a falling-down building in the middle of nowhere as the example for his success. To Holt, Simon’s bigger claim was those weapons. He sat on a pile of firepower, which did give him a certain status. Would also make him a target of other people in the business. Holt didn’t spare one second of pity for Simon on that score.
“If I end up with this place, I’ll turn it into a cat sanctuary or something.” She glared at Simon as if she dared him to contradict her.
Simon’s mouth fell into a straight line. “I will not dignify that.”
Holt thought the idea had potential. “I like it.”
The comment earned him a shove from behind by Todd. Holt had almost forgotten about the man and how he hovered. He clearly viewed himself as the second in command to Simon. It was a match made in hell as far as Holt could see.
“I’m going to make you a deal. It’s better than I’ve ever given anyone else.”
Lindsey shuddered. She looked ready to heave. “No.”
Simon talked right over her. Acted as if she’d never spoken and didn’t get to say her mind. “I will allow you to make it up to me for running away and leading your life in ways that do not follow the camp’s guidance.”
Her frustrated expression mirrored the anger in her voice. “Stop pretending as if I had a choice.”
Holt knew the story. The one thing the men in her family had never given her was a chance. They didn’t respect her or appreciate her. Holt vowed not to make her suffer from the same thing from him.
“You have a choice now.” Simon unclipped one of the guns from his belt and handed it to her.
She stared at his palm and the weapon but didn’t take it.
Holt didn’t have the patience for this. He jumped in while Lindsey stood there staring in stunned silence. “What is this about?”
Simon’s smile grew. “If Lindsey kills you, she gets to live.”
Chapter Eighteen
The words echoed in Lindsey’s brain. Her uncle, the man she despised and the same one who had scared her so much growing up, actually thought she would choose him. Take money over integrity and happiness.
“Prove to me you are as strong and independent as you claim.” Simon continued to push the gun in her general direction.
Holt stared at the gun with an intensity that suggested he thought this whole barbaric exercise was real. Somehow her idiot uncle thought she could be bought and brought back into the sick family fold with the equivalent of a fancy watch.
“It’s him or you, Lindsey.” Simon’s hand stayed steady.
“I won’t do it.” She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t kill another human being in cold blood. The heartlessness and sheer depravity of that act tore at her. If he’d offered this deal before to other people, members new and old, that meant others died, and she couldn’t think about that.
Beyond all that was one very simple fact. She loved Holt. She didn’t know how or why it had happened. It had started out with attraction and she thought it would always simmer there. He’d come into town and eventually move on. Instead, he’d stayed and lured her in.
Even as she’d waited in that cell for death to come, she’d thought about him and the pain subsided. There were so many facets to him. Pieces she kept learning that helped explain the man.
He was stubborn and good, handsome and gruffly charming. He made her knees weak and her head spin. And if she managed to get out of here, she would say it. Somehow.
But no matter what Simon promised or how much he egged her on, she would not capitulate. She would not kill Holt.
That was when it hit her. Not Holt. The choice became so clear then. She would die first.
“This is your last chance.” Simon nodded in Holt’s direction. “You kill him or I will.”
Only if he came through her. “I said no.”
“Lindsey, do it.” Holt’s voice carried over Simon’s shouting.
Her gaze flipped to him and she shook her head. Her heart flipped inside out as every cell ached for him. She knew he meant the words. He’d made her a promise and was willing to ride it into death. The idea of losing him, of living in this world without him, sent a numbness spreading through her. She couldn’t feel or taste or think.
But one thing was absolutely clear. She would not be the second person he cared about—and she was pretty sure he did care—to shoot him and leave him to die. No way. He’d survived once. There was no telling if he could survive a second time. And even if he could she couldn’t. It would be a move she’d see for the rest of her life.
Shooting him to save her. Never going to happen.
“Be a smart girl and listen to your boyfriend.”
Simon was an idiot in every conceivable way. She thought it back then and thought it now. “I’m a woman, not a girl.”
“If it’s between me and you, you live.” Holt’s voice, sharp and focused, bounced through the open room and back at her. “I need you to live.”
No, no, no. This was not a sacrifice she would allow him to make. “And I want you with me.”
“Lindsey, please.” The begging in his tone slapped at her.
“I...” She could not make the admission among all this hate. She loved him, but that was between them. Private. “I care about you. I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t.”
She didn’t know what that meant. Desperation filled her as she tried to ferret out the clues and figure out a safe way through this for both of them. Because her life dragged them to this place. Her vile past. The shocking sight o
f her uncle. This was all on her.
“You are weak.” Simon shook the hand with the gun sitting in it. “Prove to me you understand what’s happening here and end this. One bullet to...what do you call him, Holt? To Holt’s brain and we restart. All will be forgiven.”
Her uncle’s sickness spewed out and covered everything. Wallowing in it made her long for a bath. “I don’t need your forgiveness.”
“Lindsey, be careful,” Holt said in a tone she’d heard so many times over the past few days. Not preachy or demanding but concerned.
Simon’s face was a mask of pure fury. Red and blotchy with teeth snapping. “Yes, he’s right. There is such a thing as respect, and you are not showing any.”
He could not possibly think she owed him anything. He and her dad had kidnapped her and stolen her life. The stress killed her mother. That sealed their relationship and guaranteed that the only thing she would ever feel for the man with many names who claimed to be her uncle was hate. “Not for you. Never for you.”
“I flipped my world upside down for you.”
She listened as he turned it all around and took on the role of savior. She gagged on the thought. “I never asked for it. I was happy with my mom.”
“Do not talk to me about that stupid cow.”
“Lindsey, no.” Holt yelled and reached for her.
She was already moving. She grabbed the gun and pointed it right at Simon’s chest. She fired once and then a second time. The gun kept clicking, but it didn’t fire any bullets.
Holt blew out a long breath. “It wasn’t loaded.”
She had no idea how he knew. Her whole body shook as the unspent adrenaline coursed through her. After a few seconds she looked up into her uncle’s evil eyes.
“You will pay for that betrayal,” he said.
He’d offered her the out and now that she took it he held her accountable. If he wanted to play games, she would. “Now give me one with bullets.”
Simon stared at her for long minutes. The hatred pummeled her as the disdain dripped from his lips. When he finally spoke she almost wished he hadn’t. “Now it’s my turn to fire the gun.”
Chapter Nineteen
Holt knew they were officially out of time. Simon had played this out and put Lindsey through the wringer. He planned every minute in order to suck the life out of her. Now she stood there looking devastated with her energy draining into a puddle on the floor.
He got it. She’d been fighting with this man, hiding, for years. In her position, he probably would have taken the shot. But he’d known the gun was empty. It was the reason he didn’t tackle the guy and steal the gun. That personality type, narcissistic and unbound by social conventions, Simon thrived on the chaos. He liked to create fear.
He was sick and Holt had no idea how someone as special as Lindsey had come out of a household that included Simon.
“Get on your knees.” Simon gave the order as he waved the gun around.
It was a novice move and it worried Holt more than all the threats. “I’ll stand.”
If Simon wanted to kill him, he could look him in the eye and do it in front of his face. Holt intended to hold firm but then, with a simple nod of his head, Simon issued the one argument Holt could not counteract. Todd stepped up and put the gun right against Lindsey’s head.
In other circumstances with family members, Holt might not be so ready to agree one family member would go through with killing another. But Simon’s logic had gotten all twisted up. He lived in a place where belief in something should matter, but he seemed utterly devoid of any sort of personal code. His motivation turned out to be simple and timeless—greed.
Holt looked over and saw the fear in Lindsey’s eyes and the gun right behind her head, and his knees started to buckle. He would not lose her to pride.
“Very good.” Simon turned to Lindsey. “Now you.”
She didn’t hesitate. She hit her knees, kneeling close enough that their shoulders touched. Her fingers tangled with his. Holt gave in to a second to enjoy the touch. Her hand had turned ice-cold and he took that hesitation to try to warm them.
But he had no plans to die today.
No way was he allowing any harm to come to her, and this was not his time. He always thought he’d know. When he lay bleeding in that sand, convinced that was the end, his mind had rebelled. Just as he’d accepted his fate, he found a new burst of energy. This was how they would get through this time, too.
He might only have one shot. If Cam and Shane had infiltrated the camp and this building, all would be well. They’d unleash firepower from above and take Simon and Todd right out. There would be others in camp they’d need to interview and possibly remove, but Simon was the key. Take him out of the equation and the whole thing might unravel.
Holt tried to think of a way to clue in Lindsey. They would need to go together. Both duck and roll. Both move and keep going until the shooting stopped. Holt just wished he had a gun. Todd had taken his, but he’d missed the knife. Big mistake.
Simon pointed the gun first at Holt. “You will die for thinking you could infiltrate my camp without consequences.” The barrel moved to Lindsey. “You will die for failing me.”
“Do it,” Todd egged his boss on as he stood over them with a weapon of his own.
Holt gave Lindsey’s hand a squeeze as he prepared to go. He started the mental countdown.
Since Simon seemed to be dragging this out and enjoying every minute, Holt didn’t know how much time he really had, so he took one more shot. “All this is over money.”
“I am able to do something others failed to do.” Simon’s ego took over. He shifted focus from the weapon to his perceived brilliance.
Just as Holt had hoped. “You move weapons around. It’s not that hard.”
“There are causes that need support. A silent partner, of sorts.”
Holt had heard this speech from so many men. All of them twisted by the endless race for money. “You don’t care about ideals. You’re about collecting cash.”
“Are you trying to get me to kill you first?” Simon smiled. “No worries. That is the plan. Lindsey should see the man she thinks is so strong and perfect bleed out at her feet. Watch the life drain right out of him.”
Holt hit his maximum. There would never be a better time, what with Simon half pontificating and his weapon slightly lowered. Holt gave Lindsey’s hand a final squeeze and started moving.
He plowed into Simon’s legs as shots rang out over his head. He heard screaming, a woman’s voice, as wood and glass splintered above. The room broke into a volley of gunfire and banging sounds.
The dive had Simon falling back and his gun skittering across the floor. Holt heard thuds and crashes and wanted to look around and check on Lindsey, but all his focus stayed on Simon. She needed him gone. The world needed him gone.
But Simon wasn’t the type to go out without a fight. His knee caught Holt in the chin, making his teeth rattle. The older man’s legs flailed as he kicked out. Between the punching and shifting, Simon scooted across the floor on his backside with Holt right there chasing him.
When Simon got close to the wall, he flipped over to his hands and knees and crawled, quick and determined like a spider. Holt caught him in the back right before he lunged for the dropped gun. He kicked one of Simon’s legs out from under him and leaped onto his back. The move flattened Simon against the floor. He continued to thrash and rear back, but Holt refused to let go. He had his knife out and was about to deliver a slicing cut when shoes appeared in front of them. Boots to be exact.
Simon looked up and Holt followed his gaze. Shane stood there with a gun aimed right at Simon’s head.
Shane did not blink as his finger sat on the trigger. “I dare you to keep fighting.”
Holt didn’t realize he was breathing heavily until he rolled off Simon. The dropped gun wedged under his thigh. His side hit the floor and he conducted a frantic visual search for Lindsey. She sat a few feet away and when he nodded at
her, she scrambled to her knees and fell against his chest. With one arm, he pulled her in tight. The other held the knife.
A quick glance around the room showed chaos in every corner. The walls and what little furniture was in there had been torn up and destroyed by gunshots. Todd lay on his back with a small round hole in the middle of his forehead.
Simon survived. That meant he would face charges. Not a perfect ending, but an ending of sorts, which was what Lindsey needed.
And Holt needed her.
Simon was babbling about something. Talking and arguing. Holt ignored it all. He was too busy with the woman in his arms and the thoughts bombarded his brain.
Then it hit him. Where they were and the weapons load nearby, and his brain snapped into action. “We have to get out of here.”
He was about to get up when Simon moved. Went from still, as Shane started to slip the zip ties on, to a fighting rage.
Simon came up off the floor yelling. Shane aimed his gun, but he was a beat too late. Holt grabbed Simon’s own gun and nailed him in the chest with a bullet. His eyes widened and his breaths came out in a wheeze. It only took a few seconds for him to slide to the floor in a motionless heap.
“This time check his pulse,” Cam called out from the other side of the room.
Shane said something back, but Holt missed it. He looked down at the woman in his arms. Her heartbeat thundered so hard he could feel it. A tremble moved through her every few seconds and he knew she’d need some time to work out what had happened today.
“Lindsey?” He wasn’t sure what to ask or how to help.
Those wide eyes stared up at him. “Take me home.”
Chapter Twenty
Lindsey gasped for breath as Holt pushed into her again. She lay sprawled on her big bed with Holt on top of her, tucked into the V between her legs. It had been this way for hours. They came home, showered and crawled right into bed. They hadn’t been out or without each other since.
The bed shook and her fingers curled into the sheets. She tried to regain control of her muscles but couldn’t. Her thighs trembled from the force of the pressure against his hips. The way he moved, plunged. He had her grabbing on to his back and not letting go.
Sheltered Page 16
