Denying the Devil

by Calle J. Brookes

  He’d pulled her closer to the edge.

  Away from Nate. Nate. She looked at him again.

  He’d come out from behind the truck door. Gotten closer. Terror filled her. Clive could just shoot him where he stood, and she wouldn’t be able to stop it.

  The helicopter was too far away to help them at all. Until it was too late.

  “Nate! Get back!” Please, just let him get back.

  “I’m not letting him take you one step further, sweetheart. Not without me. Never without me.”

  “Please, Nate. Just get back behind your truck. Clive’s not going to hurt me. Just scare me.” She looked around wildly. “It’s not even the first time that he’s done that in this very spot.”

  “Let her go, Clive. We’re asking you to do that. My brother and her sister didn’t have to go back in to get Jay. They could have been killed. They almost were. I put the breathing tube down my own brother’s throat that day. Same as I did your son. The least you can do is let Perci go. Haven’t you terrified her enough?”

  Nate kept walking. Kept coming toward her.

  “Nate, get back. Please! Just get back.” Perci clawed at Clive’s arm again, trying to break free. Trying to just get to Nate before Clive snapped completely.

  65.

  THE GIRL LOVED HIM. Clive could hear the desperation in her tone as Masterson just kept walking. Stupid of the boy. You never walked toward an armed gunman like that, even if you had a weapon of your own. No matter what the incentive was.

  Clive had to admit, a woman you loved in trouble was damned fine incentive though.

  He would have walked over hot coals for Maria.

  Too bad he had been stupid enough to not realize how he felt about her until it was too late.

  “You might want to listen to your girlfriend. I could kill you right now, then toss her right over the edge.”

  He never would. He wasn’t going to hurt this girl. He had never had any intention of hurting her or her sisters. Not even those nights when he’d have a bit of fun with her alongside the highway.

  It had always just been something to do to feel like he was doing something to help his boy. To protect him.

  That twin of hers could have caused some serious trouble for Jay if she’d spoken up four years ago. It would have been much worse for his boy then.

  Maybe he’d gone too far. Protected his boy too much.

  Hell, maybe if he was still in jail for attacking that twin, Jay would still be alive.

  Maybe what had happened would never have happened. Maybe things would be so much different then.

  A helicopter soared overhead, drowning out the sound of himself thinking. Another was in the distance. No doubt from the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

  Clint would no doubt have heard what was going on by now.

  Clive’s hand tightened on the girl. She was the only thing keeping those damned kids in the helicopter from putting a bullet in him, he suspected.

  He yanked her closer and took another step backward.

  The road gave way beneath him.

  His hands tightened on her—and on the gun.

  The girl crumbled against him, her eyes wide now and filled with pain unlike any he’d seen in a long while—almost before the sound of the gun discharging reached his ears.

  He gained his footing on the wet grass and gravel.

  The boyfriend yelled her name.

  Rushed toward her, not even caring that Clive had the gun.

  That Clive could shoot him, too.

  He’d shot her. Clive had really shot her.

  He’d never forget the sight of those blue, blue eyes staring up at him. His hand was covered with her blood.

  She wasn’t making a single sound. Not that he could hear, anyway. Over the rush of his own adrenalin and the damned chopper overhead. Of the boyfriend cursing and trying to take her from him.

  All Clive had to do was take the gun and shoot that sonofabitch, too.

  End it for them all.

  End it for Clint. Then they couldn’t cause problems for his stepson, that way.

  At least he could do that much good.

  Sirens were coming. He could see them, maybe. He wasn’t so sure. Could hear them. Or was he just imagining them?

  Masterson grabbed Clive’s gun and yanked it free. He tossed it over the guardrail and down the drop-off. Then he took the girl in his arms.

  Bold move on his part. But Clive understood.

  Masterson didn’t care if he lived or died now. Just that she did.

  That all of that life didn’t leave this world, too.

  Because of him.

  Hands were there, yanking him away from the girl.

  Someone rammed his fist into Clive’s face.

  He just stood there and looked into the face of the patrolman in front of him.

  Clint.

  Fitting that his stepson was there to see the end of him.

  Things had a way of working out the way they were supposed to.

  Clive took another step toward the edge, the only thought in his head now of ending it for everyone. Making things easy on the girl, Masterson. Clint. The one person he had left. Clint and the baby.

  He should have at least held that baby once.

  Another step toward the edge.

  “Oh no, you don’t!” Hard hands yanked him away from the guardrail one more time. Cuffs slapped onto his wrists, and he was secured. Good police procedure.

  His first boy always had been the smartest of the Gunderson men. At least Clint would have a better life than Jay. Especially now that Clive wasn’t going to be around to mess it all up. He looked at Paula’s son, at his son, in every way that counted. “I’m sorry, son. I really don’t know what happened.”

  Clint didn’t say another word.

  He shoved Clive to his knees as Masterson did what he could to keep Perci alive long enough for the air ambulance to land near the police chopper with Masterson’s brother nearby.

  66.

  HER SIDE BURNED. HER ribs. She’d had broken ribs before. A few times now. Clive’s hands were no longer holding her tightly.

  But Nate’s were. “Nate...I...hurt.”

  “I know.” He turned, putting his body between hers and Clive Gunderson’s.

  “He’s still got the gun...”

  “No, honey, he doesn’t. The gun went over the cliff. Joel’s here. And the highway patrol. Clive’s in cuffs. You’re safe.”

  “It went in my side. My ribs. I can’t breathe, Nate.” Her hand lifted. She just wanted to touch him for a moment. It felt like she was moving through sludge.

  She understood about blood loss and shock. They’d had a few gunshot wounds in the ER during her time there—including Joel.

  Joel was leaning down next to them. “Honey, it’ll be ok. I promise. Hospital is just a few minutes away.”

  “And here I was hoping to enjoy my day...off. By...seducing...Nate...” All joking aside, her breathing was getting erratic. She could hear it herself. “Nate...”

  “Shhh. You’re not doing any good by talking. I think it was a through-and-through. Paramedics are coming. We’ll get you to Tiff, ok? And Dr. Paterson’s on tonight. Then you and I are going to do some talking. Maybe go away for a week or two. I hear Joel knows where there’s this little cabin, perfect for me, you, and Ivy. A vacation. Just our little family.”

  His hands were skilled on her. Confident. But she saw the pain and fear and worry in the eyes she loved so much. Worry for her. “I love you, Nathanial Masterson. Don’t you...forget it.”

  “You’re the boss.”

  He leaned down and kissed her when the paramedics she knew well made it to her side. She tried to concentrate less on the smell of her own blood and the rain and more on the man she loved.

  He stepped back to give the paramedics room to get her strapped down, but as soon as they were finished, he was barking out orders at them. Always the man in charge.

  Perci smiled. “Quit. They know what they.
..are doing...”

  “You be quiet. Let me take care of you for a change.”

  She closed her eyes and nodded slightly as one of the paramedics jammed a needle in her arm. Fluids were important, but damn, did it hurt. Her whole body was starting to hurt. Perci closed her eyes as Nate’s fingers closed around hers. Then she let herself go, knowing she could trust him to take care of everything.

  And he always would. “I love you, Nate. I’ll never deny it again.”

  She heard him say the words right back, then they were strapping an oxygen mask over her face, and she felt herself being lifted.

  His fingers never let go of hers.

  67.

  RHEA WAITED AT THE hospital with Pip and Matt, Levi and Pan, and Phoebe. As well as the rest of the girls’ family. Little Parker, who looked so much like Pan it was uncanny, was terrified. They all were.

  Ivy was currently sleeping in Phoebe’s arms. They’d been passing the little one back and forth while they waited for word.

  Rhea checked her watch again. It had been less than an hour since Perci had been taken from them.

  Less than an hour.

  She looked over at Philip as he stormed into the private waiting room she’d led them all to. “Anything?”

  “They’re on the air ambulance now.” He was pale and shaking. His phone was clutched in his hand. “He shot her. She’s hurt. My girl. Gunderson shot her.”

  Rhea held out her hand. The man she had known for thirty-something years had been through so much hell lately. It wasn’t right. “What’s her condition? Did they say?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. Signal wasn’t good. They’re on their way.”

  All they could do was wait.

  Fifteen minutes later, the ER doors burst open. Rhea had been down there waiting, next to Philip. The younger man had needed the support. She knew how much it hurt when your children were injured. It was so different when it was your children.

  She saw Joel first, clearing the way for the paramedics. The stretcher was next. Nate came at a run, his hand wrapped around Perci’s.

  She looked so still and vulnerable.

  The hardest thing she had ever done was take that step back and let the ER take care of this woman who meant so much to all of them.

  It was hours before she saw Nate again.

  When he finally appeared, just what he’d been through showed on his handsome face. He wouldn’t have been able to treat Perci because of their romantic relationship, but as head of the hospital, he had been granted permission to stay with her the entire time.

  “Nate? Honey, how is she?”

  “She’s going to be just fine. Broken ribs. We had a floating segment or two from the last time. They’re fixed now. The bullet struck her liver, but...she’s going to be fine. She’ll be just fine in time.”

  Right before her eyes, her strongest, toughest, most reserved son broke down and cried.

  All Rhea could do was hold him until he was finished.

  When she looked up the rest of their family had surrounded them, wanting news. Rhea looked at Philip first. “She’s in recovery. Nate says she’ll be just fine.”

  That’s when everyone finally let go of the emotions they’d been holding.

  Rhea just kept her hands on her third son and held him as tightly as she could. She understood exactly how the fear of losing the one you loved more than anything else in the world could hurt.

  Epilogue.

  WHEN SHE OPENED HER eyes, Perci knew exactly where she was. And who she was with. She’d smelled him before she’d seen him. She would always recognize that unique scent that was him. It was a mix of antiseptic and sexy male that was just always going to be Nathanial Masterson, MD.

  His hair stuck up all over his head, but he was wearing clean clothes. Scrubs. From the thin light coming through the window, it was early morning. “Hey...”

  She lifted the hand not attached to the IV and touched his hair. He woke and looked at her.

  Perci had no doubt he’d slept in that chair next to her all night. No one would have dared stop him. “What exactly happened?”

  “Perci...” He practically breathed her name. “How do you feel?”

  “Like Clive Gunderson finally shot me. What happened to him?”

  “Clint arrested him, after punching him square in the face. I would have done it myself, but I was more interested in keeping you from bleeding out.”

  “What’s the damage?”

  He rattled off the extent of the damage. She winced, and not just from his words. She was going to be feeling what happened for a long while. “I’ll recover completely?”

  “I’m going to see to it.”

  She smiled at the way he said it. If at all humanly possible, she believed he’d do it. Her smile faded. “I was so scared. First that he’d hurt Ivy, or your mom, or Phoebe and Parker when they arrived. I didn’t know what to do so I just went with him. And he could have killed you. I was never so scared in my life until we hit your truck.”

  A gentle arm slipped behind her. “I was afraid he’d take you from me before I could tell you how I felt. How much of a fool I’d been. I should have just scooped you up the day my mother hired you for me. Gotten all of this out of the way. Joel would have still met Phoebe. Matt would have still met Pip. Levi and Pan would have still made fools out of each other. But I would have had more days with you. I can’t forget that.”

  “I was just as afraid.” She pointed to the water on the bedside table. She’d filled and refilled so many of those carafes. The familiar sight of that light-salmon plastic was oddly reassuring.

  This hospital was her safe place, and it had been for a very long time.

  Here she’d felt free to let go. To fight when she needed to fight.

  To fall in love when it was time to fall in love.

  To forget everything that had happened since that night Jay Gunderson had changed everything for all of them.

  “I’m tired of being afraid all the time, Nate. I’m not going to be afraid anymore. It’s over. Clive Gunderson will never be able to hurt us ever again. I want to forget about him.”

  “If that’s what you want, then I’ll make it happen.”

  “Good.” She snaked her free hand around his shoulder and tried to guide him closer. He got the message. Then he was leaning in, kissing her lightly. She pushed him away a minute later. Gently. “I have a few more demands, too.”

  “Lay them on me.”

  She pulled in as deep a breath as she could without hurting herself. “First. I love you. Second. I’m going to marry you as soon as I can stand up without hurting. Three. We’re keeping Ivy. Four. I believe in big families. Five. I’m going to love you forever, no matter how much you argue.”

  He smiled. “I think I’m up to the challenge. And the answer is yes. To all of those.”

  When he leaned down to kiss her again, Perci kissed him right back.

  Everything was finally over.

  Finally the way it should be.

  If you enjoyed this book, please consider returning to your retailer and leaving a review.

  Coming from Calle J. Brookes & Lost River Lit Publishing, L.L.C.

  Summer of 2018

  A New PAVAD: FBI Romantic Suspense

  & Finley Creek Spin-off Series

  Small-Town Sheriffs

  A good man knows right from wrong, and he uses that knowledge to protect the small town he calls home. But when that special woman comes to town, what’s a brave man to do but meet the challenge head on!

  Small-Town Sheriffs

  Book 1

  Holding the Truth

  SHE’D BEEN A VICTIM of a horrible crime that left her spirit broken and her body hurting, but TSP Deputy Bailey Moore would somehow find the strength to heal. To forget that one of the very people who’d hurt he was the one who should have kept her safe.

  Her father’s betrayal had scarred her very soul.

  Bailey found solace with the family of an
other victim when Albert and Jake Dillon opened their home—and hearts—to her. Everyone just assumed she and Jake would one day—

  But it wasn’t surrogate big brother Jake Bailey could not get out of her head...It was the man who’d carried her to safety when she had been far too close to death.

  Sheriff Clay Addy was haunted by the women he’d failed to protect. His lone female deputy was one of them. She was better off staying with the Dillons and he was better off just doing his job protecting Value, Texas.

  Until Bailey’s return to the TSP reminded Clay of just how much she had suffered.

  Bailey was back and Clay would just have to forget how achingly vulnerable the younger woman was...

  As they settle into a routine, circling around each other warily, someone else from the past returns. Someone ready to hurt Clay and take Bailey for his own sickly twisted games.

  Clay will have to protect her when it is his past that threatens Bailey’s future...

  Prologue

  SHE HAD NO ONE ELSE. Just him. Sheriff Clay Addy sat by the hospital bed for hours, just watching her sleep. Counting her breaths. Listening to the beeps and hums of the machines that told him the woman—girl, really—still lived.

  She’d died once on the surgeon’s table. They’d brought her back. Thank God they’d managed to bring Bailey back. Her eyes opened, so blue they looked unreal, but they were clouded and unfocused. A small cry escaped her. Clay leaned over her so she knew she wasn’t alone. “Bailey, it’s ok. You’re safe now.”

  “Sheriff...you got them?” Her words were strained, but he still heard. “Is...Kyra safe?”